Love is in the air — and often shared between two people at the dinner table.
While you can not go wrong with a traditional Valentine’s Day dinner for you and your sweetheart, couples looking to shake up their holiday this year may want to consider a show, wine tasting or even ice skating.
So to help lovebirds fly away from the ordinary celebration, here are 11 Valentine’s Day date ideas in the Boston area that are more than just grabbing dinner and drinks.
The Pink Rink: Skate with your sweetheart at The Rink at 401 Park in Fenway that will be lit up in soft pink hues from Friday, Feb. 9 through Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tickets are $6-12.
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Valentine’s Day Soirée: Enjoy craft cocktails, sweet treats and stories of love and romance at this special GBH “Stories from the Stage” performance in Brighton from 6:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $120.
90′s Valentine’s Day Cabaret: Cabaret takes on a romantic and retro spin at this ‘90s-themed performance featuring pole dancing, burlesque and contortion by local artists at Sonia at the Middle East in Central Square in Cambridge. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets cost between $35-45.
The Main Stage: Valentine’s Day improv show: Make it the perfect Valentine’s Day night with the Main Stage cast at Improv Asylum in Boston. The lovey-dovey-inspired sketches and improv sketches will be inspired by audience suggestions. The show starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday and tickets are $35 per person.
Valentine’s Day Sparkling Wine and Cheese Pairing: Learn all about sparkling wine, taste varieties from different regions and toast to Valentine’s Day at this sparkling wine and cheese pairing class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Harvard Square. The class is $200 and couples and register online.
Valentine’s Day Adult Night at LEGO Discovery Center Boston: Celebrate love at the LEGO Discovery Center at Assembly Row in Somerville with a Valentine’s Day-themed building competition, quest challenge, prizes and a 4D movie in the LEGO theater. The event starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $19.99.
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Cyberpunk Sweethearts Ball: Dance it out under black lights to live beats by DJ Sir Richard, try your skills at the on-site video arcade and savor themed snacks and drinks at this romance-fueled cyberpunk ball at the Crystal Ballroom in the Somerville Theater. Tickets are $20 and the dance starts at 7:30 Wednesday night.
Beer Mug Painting Night at Break Rock Brewing Company: Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday, you and your Valentine can create a beautiful work of art that you can fill with your favorite beer. Tickets cost $25 and you can save a spot online. Space is limited.
BeauTease Burlesque’s “Some Enchanted Evening” show: Catch some of the award-winning troupes from BeauTease Burlesque at a special Valentine’s Day performance at Central Wharf Company in Boston. The show includes a prix fixemeal of your choice of appetizer, entreé and a to-go dessert bundle. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. and tickets can be bought online.
“Have a Hoot” Comedy Night at Night Shift Brewing: Share a laugh with your Valentine in Everett at Night Shift Brewing’s comedy show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Tickets are $20 per person.
Wolf’s Fat Ash Valentine’s Day Massacre: A Slightly Tardy Mardi Gras Ball: The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge will host a Mardi Gras/Valentine’s Day party starting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The show feature special guests of the Mardi Gras Balls and Bastille Day A-Go-Gos. Tickets are $15.
Jose Pineda, 62, a Salvadoran immigrant who has legal status in the U.S., spent two days in a Burlington ICE facility under “cruel and inhumane conditions,” his attorneys say.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is seen in Park Ridge, Ill., Sept. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File
An East Boston father is suing ICE, alleging immigration agents unlawfully stopped, arrested, and detained him because of his race and national origin despite having his legal status, his lawyers said.
Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Jose Pineda, a 62-year-old Salvadoran immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades and is authorized to remain and work through humanitarian relief, the nonprofit legal organization said in a press release.
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The suit is seeking damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, assault, and severe emotional distress.
“I came to the United States to escape the civil war that devastated El Salvador. I worked hard, started a family, and built a life here,” said Pineda, who works as a landscaper and lives with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. “I never expected to feel that kind of fear again, much less in the United States.”
According to the 30-page complaint, written by LCR senior attorneys Victoria Miranda and Mirian Albert, Pineda has been a recipient of Temporary Protected Status, which allows certain foreign nationals from designated countries to live and work legally in the U.S.
Pineda also had a pending asylum petition and had been granted a T visa, which provides immigration protections to trafficking victims, the complaint states.
“We will not stand idly by as ICE wreaks havoc on immigrant families. Through racial profiling, ICE agents are carrying out an unquestionably discriminatory agenda,” Miranda said in the release. “The law exists to protect people like Mr. Pineda, and it must be enforced against ICE.”
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The lawsuit stems from a May 2025 encounter in Weymouth, where Pineda was driving a landscaping truck to a job site when agents in unmarked ICE vehicles surrounded him, according to the complaint.
“The aggressive nature of the questioning made it clear to Mr. Pineda that he was not being judged based on any evidence of unlawful conduct, but rather on his identity, race, ethnicity, and/or national origin,” Pineda’s attorneys wrote.
The lawsuit alleges ICE officers then “forcibly” handcuffed and shackled Pineda before taking him to the agency’s field office in Burlington.
Officers searched Pineda’s belongings during the stop and again at the field office, allegedly confiscating $600 in cash that he intended to use to pay his family’s rent. The money has not been returned, according to the complaint.
Pineda spent two days in ICE custody under what the lawsuit describes as “cruel and inhumane conditions.”
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“After what ICE did to me, and after everything my family has endured, I don’t know if I will ever truly feel safe again,” Pineda said.
According to the complaint, he was held in severely overcrowded cells containing more than 40 people — at times as many as 60 — leaving little room to sit and forcing him to remain standing for much of his detention. Detainees also allegedly shared a single toilet and sink without soap or toilet paper and were not provided toothbrushes, clean clothes, or showers.
Fluorescent lights remained on around the clock, making it difficult to sleep, while temperatures became “extremely cold” overnight and some detainees received only aluminum blanekts for warmth, the complaint states.
Pineda was given only a two-minute phone call during his detention and received two bottles of water each day, along with “inadequate and limited” food and water, according to the complaint.
“Mr. Pineda has suffered devastating and ongoing physical and emotional harm that has impacted all aspects of his life,” his attorneys wrote. “Mr. Pineda brings this action to seek accountability for these violent and traumatizing tortious acts of the ICE officers and to address the harms inflicted upon him.”
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According to LCR, Pineda was released following advocacy by Centro Presente, a Massachusetts immigrant rights organization.
After his release, ICE initiated removal proceedings against him depsite his humanitarian protections, the organization said. Those proceedings were ultimately dismissed.
“ICE targeted Mr. Pineda based on nothing more than his perceived national origin and the nature of his work,” Albert said in the press release. “Our laws prohibit this kind of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Through this lawsuit, we seek to hold the federal government accountable for the violence and harm inflicted on Mr. Pineda.”
ICE referred questions about the lawsuit to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
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