One resolution of UW students, especially undergraduates, who are not very familiar with Laramie is to discover more cost-friendly activities to participate in around Laramie.
New year’s resolutions are still in full effect, even in the second week of February.
There are the mainstream things to do in Laramie, such as bowling at Laramie Lanes bowling alley, seeing a movie at either Studio City in UW Plaza or at Regal Fox 6 Theatre on 20th Street, or enjoying the various bars and other restaurants that Laramie’s downtown has to offer.
Some students want a little bit more to do than that.
“Some things that prevent me from going out into Laramie is not knowing what to do, other than to go and drink, and not having the money,” Maggie Ericson, UW sophomore, said.
Olivia Hamilton, another sophomore at UW, agrees that going out and doing activities can be a harsh reminder that a college student’s bank account is not something with indefinite amounts of money.
“Money is a huge factor. It isn’t very hard to find cheap things to do in Laramie, but for college students, cheap things tend to pile up quickly,” Hamilton said.
Some businesses in Laramie keep the UW students’ bank accounts in mind. Laramie is a college town, and the college students bring in a lot of revenue to small businesses all throughout the town.
To businesses, it is important to keep satisfaction high, and it’s important to keep general prices low. All Points West, Laramie’s laser tag family fun center on Snowy Range Road, keeps this in mind with one 10-minute round of laser tag only costing about five dollars. Co-Owner of All Points West, Andrea Osborne, believes that it’s part of running a successful business.
“We did have deals with that Around Campus app at the beginning of the year, but we didn’t get very much feedback from it,” Osborne said. “We do just try to keep our prices low. Usually at the beginning of the year, we will have a ‘show your student ID, get a discount’, to try to get the new students. In the whole scheme of things, we just want to keep prices low for everybody.”
All Points West offers two escape rooms, laser tag, an arcade, and a virtual playground, an iPad-type screen on the floor that responds to your touch, with thirty different games to play.
Some businesses in Laramie implement another approach to money-efficient entertainment.
At Art and Soul Paint Your Own Pottery and Studio near the intersection of Grand Avenue and 1st Street, there are certain events for penny pinchers that ensure a good time without putting stress on their wallets.
“We do a Pizza and Pottery night, which is for all you-can-eat pizza for five dollars plus the price of whatever you decide to paint,” Caley Meyers, owner of Art and Soul, said. We post random Wine Nights on our Facebook page. You can bring in beer and wine, and we provide appetizers, like cheese and crackers.”
The ideas that All Points West and Art and Soul have appeal to the college crowd as well.
“I’ve heard of the art studio. It’s something that I’d be interested in going to for sure,” Hamilton said.
A variety of activities keeps things interesting for students looking for things to do as well.
“There’s definitely fun activities for the college crowd,” Osborne said. “It’s a variety of activities because everyone likes different things. On the same note, it can appeal to everybody because it’s something that everybody can do.”
