story by Alex Frisch

Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, and whether you’re spending it with friends or a significant other, the Dart has compiled a guide to help readers find fun ways to spend Feb. 14th in KC with people they love.

Places to go:

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – With free admission and nearly 40,000 works of art, a visit to the Nelson-Atkins is an interesting and low-cost way to spend Valentine’s Day.

• Address: 4525 Oak St. Kansas City, MO 64111
• Admission price: Free

National World War I Museum and Memorial – Even if you don’t have an interest in history, the publically accessible rooftop of this museum offers views of downtown Kansas City that are difficult to beat.

• Address: 2 Memorial Dr, Kansas City, MO 64108
• Admission price: Tickets to visit the tower only are $5 each, tickets to see the rest of the museum are $14 each

Sea Life Aquarium Kansas City – The Sea Life aquarium can be found at Crown Center. This aquarium provides an opportunity to watch fish and other sea creatures while spending time with your Valentine’s Day date.

• Address: Crown Center, 2475 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
• Admission price: $20 plus tax

photos by Cassie Hayes

Gallery • 3 Photos

Kansas City's Sea Life Aquarium is located at Grand Boulevard, across the street from Crown Center. Both popular tourist attractions, the area typically is most busy during the weekends. photo by Cassie Hayes

Food to eat:

Andre’s Confiserie Suisse – Andre’s is a local Kansas City chocolate shop that also functions as a tea room and cafe. Whether you’re looking to buy chocolates or pastries as a gift or a sit-down lunch, Andre’s is a great option.

• Kansas City address: 5018 Main Street Kansas City, MO 64112
• Overland Park address: 4929 West 119th Street Overland Park, KS 66209

Chez Elle – Chez Elle is a coffee shop and creperie on Summit St. in Kansas City. Once it gets dark outside, the tables inside are candle-lit. Crepes range in price but are typically under $10.

• Address:  1713 Summit St, Kansas City, MO 64108

Gallery • 4 Photos

Chez Elle is a French coffeehouse and creperie located at 1713 Summit Street. Mostly popular for their crepes, Chez Elle also offers a gluten free and vegan selection. photo by Cassie Hayes

Gifts to give:

Photos – At Shutterfly.com, you can upload personal pictures and have the photos put on everything from iPhone cases to fleece blankets. You can even have your photos placed on candles and pillows. Once you’re done personalizing, Shutterfly will ship the gift to you.

Not-so-flowers – If you don’t like giving flowers as a Valentine’s day gift, Suburban Lawn and Garden on Roe Ave. almost always has a huge selection of small succulents and cacti for around $10 each.

• Address: 10501 Roe Ave, Overland Park, KS 66207

For those of you who hate Valentine’s Day:

Haunted Houses – If you hate anything and everything romantic, go to a haunted house instead to find all things creepy.

Atchison, Kansas – Atchison is considered to be one of the most haunted towns in the Midwest. It has been featured on the TV series Sightings as well as the subject for the TV movie Haunted Heartland. During the Halloween season, Atchison offers trolley tours of the 8 most haunted locations in the city. During the off-season, however, you can still visit many of their haunted locations around the city and even stay overnight in “Sallie’s House,” considered to be one of the most haunted houses in Atchison.

• Jackson Park:  Located in Atchison, Jackson Park is said to be haunted by a woman named Molly who can be heard moaning and screaming some nights at around midnight.
• Atchison Street: This street is said to be haunted by the ghost of  a woman who drowned in the river near this road. It is said that at night a woman’s voice can be heard calling from the river
• Sallie’s House: For $100 per person, you can stay overnight in Sallie’s house, said to be the most haunted house in Atchison, haunted primarily by the ghost of a little girl who died there. The house is known for unexplained fires, voices, and moving objects as well as minor injuries of guests at the house.

Volunteer at an animal shelter – If you hate people altogether, volunteering at an animal shelter may be a great way to spend Valentine’s Day.

• Wayside Waifs: Wayside Waifs is a humane, Kansas City-based animal shelter that regularly  has more than 300 animals in their shelter. It is the largest no-kill animal shelter in Kansas City. They take in homeless pets and make a point of finding them homes. You must be at least 16 years old and go through a volunteer orientation to volunteer.
  • Location: 3901 Martha Truman Road,Kansas City, MO 64137
• KC Pet Project: KC Pet Project is a no-kill animal shelter dedicated to finding homes for all adoptable pets, and they care for about 10,000 pets a year. They have multiple locations around the Kansas City area. You must attend an hour and a half long orientation program to volunteer.
  • Locations:
    • 4400 Raytown Rd. Kansas City, MO
    • 7351 NW 87th Terr. Kansas City, MO
    • 11620 W. 95th St. Overland Park, KS