What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Lee says that people often book helicopter trips for very special occasions — marriage and prom proposals, graduation celebrations and anniversaries — but "a lot of them are just dates, wanting to do something special for their significant other." The company's Christmas lights tours, which start the day after Thanksgiving and run through the end of the year, are fan favorites and bring in a lot of repeat customers. And if you're someone who might be nervous at the thought of riding in a helicopter, Lee says not to worry. "Most people have never been in a helicopter before," she says. "They'll put their fears aside and take the flight and love it. I can't think of a time when someone has gotten off of a flight and said, 'I hate it.' They always think it's a really neat experience." Exercise Your Brain Mark Underwood, who owns NWA Escape Room (4083 E. Georgetowne Square Drive, Fayetteville; 466-3555) with his business partner, Stephen Brooks, thinks teaming up to solve a mystery as the clock ticks down is the perfect option for a first date. "This takes activities that you would typically think of for a date and makes them better," he says. "Imagine 10 years ago — you might take a date to watch the 'Mission: Impossible' movie. That's fun, but you're watching Tom Cruise do all the action while, in an escape room, you are the 'Mission: Impossible' team — you get to do the amazing things yourself. That's more fun." NWA Escape Room has four rooms with originally designed mysteries that range from moderate to solve (around 30% solve rate, which is the industry standard) to pretty darn hard (around a 20% solve rate). Underwood says it's a delicate balance, developing a mystery that is tough, but not too tough. "We always rigorously test [the mystery] to make sure it's at a good level before we open to the public," says Underwood. "We always want the rooms to be [solvable] in close to an hour — we want people to finish right before time runs out or else they can see the finish line and didn't quite get there." And if you doubt that solving a mystery together can be romantic, NWA Escape Room hosted a marriage proposal recently. "We worked it out so that we put the ring toward the end of the room, and when they got to that part they found the ring and he got down on his knee and proposed," says Underwood. "She said 'Yes'." JULY 7-13, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 9 Courtesy Photo Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose — but you always have fun trying to solve the puzzles in an escape room. NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Cher Evans of Bentonville performs at Big Box Karaoke in Fayetteville. The karaoke suites range in size and can accommodate large groups as well as a romantic couple. Engage Your Competitive Spirit If you're part of a competitive couple, and bowling just doesn't do it for you any more, Patrick Stuart, one of the partners who recently opened the Ozark Axe House (718 N. 2nd St., Rogers; 372-4053), has just the activity for you. "It's similar to bowling — you get your own lane," says Stuart. The two sports diverge there, however. "Our lanes consist of two targets — that way you can be competitive and throw at the same time. The scoring is similar to darts, and when it comes to the way the game is played, you can take turns with teams or do it one on one — adjust it to whomever is with you. We've run bracket tournaments, and then some people just want to throw one throw to one throw ." The OAH does a lot of team building business, but Stuart says he would estimate about 25 percent of their clients are people out on date. "It's a good way to get to know someone, and it distracts from the awkwardness" of a first date, says Stuart. "It opens up a big conversation that most people wouldn't have on a normal date. When you're sitting across a dinner table from someone, it's like an interview, and no one likes to do those." See Outside The Box Page 10