Celebrating a birth­day while in Big Rapids should be a spe­cial time filled with friends, fun activ­i­ties, and lots of freebies.

Weather per­mit­ting, get a group of friends together and go tub­ing down the Muskegon River or go disc golf­ing. You can also check out The Max Miniature Golf located on 3^rd Avenue. If your skills are more advanced, rent a cart and go golf­ing at Katke Golf Course.

Pack a pic­nic with birth­day cup­cakes and take a group of close friends to the pub­lic access point at Clear Lake; enjoy a relax­ing day on the water. Stop at Dairy Queen on the way back into town to cool down and refresh your­self – there’s no such thing as too many sweets on your day of birth.

Walk around down­town Big Rapids with a group of friends and buy some cool gifts for your­self. Downtown offers jew­elry, cloth­ing and shoes, can­dles and gifts, ice cream and candy, a wide vari­ety of restau­rants, a bak­ery, an antique store, and thrift stores.

“Although small by most shop­ping stan­dards, Big Rapids down­town offers a fine array of shops with the lat­est trends and styles avail­able,” said President of the Downtown Business Association John Miedema. “Many offer dis­counts and/or free gifts to cus­tomers who reg­is­ter their birthdays.”

For the colder month birth­days, there are lots of fun indoor activ­i­ties to do as well. Try out rock climb­ing at the Student Recreation Center on cam­pus. Big Rapids Roller Rink offers “Cheap Skate” on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 3 to 5:30 p.m. The cost is only $2 plus skate rental.

Another rel­a­tively inex­pen­sive fun activ­ity is to visit Carmike Big Rapids Cinema, which is within walk­ing dis­tance of campus.

Take advan­tage of your day of birth and eat at restau­rants that offer free­bies. Check out the list on this page for great deals and start sign­ing up as soon as pos­si­ble to get the rewards!

If you are 18 or older, check out Cleopatra’s Hookah Lounge on Northland Drive. If you are of legal drink­ing age, find a des­ig­nated dri­ver and go bar hop­ping to all the bars in Big Rapids. This includes the new pub in the base­ment of Pizza King, Star Shooters, The Gate, The Sawmill Saloon, Szots Bar and Grill, Schuberg’s, Odyssey Nightclub, and Scoreboard. Ask about free drinks on your spe­cial day at each location.

Don’t feel like you have to leave Big Rapids to cel­e­brate your birth­day. There is plenty to do in town with­out hav­ing to spend money on gas to go to neigh­bor­ing locations.