For the single… Celebrate with friends

Why not mix things up a little this Valentine’s Day? Grab a group of friends and start your own unconventional traditions. Here are a few ideas:

Pick three of your favorite Harrisonburg restaurants and go on a round-robin dinner. For example, start out at The Artful Dodger for a bowl of soup, then try out the unique, large main dishes at Taste of Thai and finish up at the Daily Grind for a cup of coffee, Chai tea or one (or a few) of the homemade desserts. Or do a potluck dinner where everyone brings his or her favorite dish to share.

If you love the crisp, cold winter weather, try the 14 slopes and trails for snowboarding and skiing at the Massanutten Resort (www.massresort.com). Never been on a slope before? Sign up for a ski or snowboarding lesson with some other beginner friends or hit the snow-tubing park.

Sign up with a partner or group of friends and join the 5K walk/run supporting the health-endorsing club P.R.O.Motion (Peers Reaching Others through Motion). It begins at the College Center on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. Contact JMUpromo@hotmail.com for more information. For a bonus afterward, cook stacks of heart-shaped pancakes with all your hungry pals!

For all you women and adventurous males, watch Eve Ensler’s "The Vagina Monologues." Make it a true Valentine’s Day with your closest girlfriends and attend this humorous — yet emotional — celebration of female sexuality and all that it encompasses. Tickets are $5 and the show will begin at 7 p.m. in the College Center Grand Ballroom. Maybe leave some of the ticket/time information out and direct the reader to the calendar, because it is also mentioned there- and that would also give them more ideas for Valentine’s Day or other special occasions during the wonderful month of February.