Date Night returned to BYU-Idaho for another semester on Saturday, this time with the theme of "Around the World." The event was held May 8 and began at 7 p.m. For some students, Date Night offered a chance to meet someone new. For others, an opportunity to look back on where it all began.

Date Night has been a tradition on campus for several years. According to the BYU-Idaho Student Activities page, "Date Night is one of the most popular and well-attended events each semester, and it’s free. The only cost of admission is a date.” This event is meant to give students a chance to get to know each other. Activities like karaoke, soap carving, henna, dodgeball and silent discos were all options at this latest Date Night.

Kassidy Wallace and Noah McCarthy, a couple on a blind date, decided to share their experience from beginning to end. Wallace is a freshman studying animal science with a passion for Pokémon and video games. McCarthy is a senior studying software engineering with a love for games and Star Wars.

The duo started with little information about each other. Wallace said, “I’m excited to get out there and have fun. Maybe a friendship can come out of this.” 

Wallace explained they had only just met on the way up to campus, set up on a blind date by her sister-in-law. McCarthy also showed his excitement about getting to know her better. 

While this was Wallace’s first Date Night, McCarthy hadn’t been in a long time. With this fresh start, there were many activities to enjoy.

McCarthy said, “I think most people think, with Date Night, that it's same old same old, but … even with the things we’ve seen online, there are new things to try together.” They planned on visiting the soap carving and Pokémon station after finding a shared interest in Pokémon. 

While Wallace and McCarthy spent the evening getting to know each other, another couple was remembering their own first experience attending Date Night together.

Brigham Powelson, a senior studying public policy and administration, and his wife, Alyson Powelson, a senior studying elementary education, met during the spring semester of 2024 after Alyson Powelson had just returned home from her mission. They met at a group activity, and Alyson Powelson thought Brigham Powelson was cute and decided she would ask him out.

“… Date Night was next week,” Alyson Powelson remembered, “and I kept hearing encouragement to go to Date Night, so I decided to ask Brigham.”

They went together the next week. There was a fireside before the activities started, where they spent most of it joking and talking to each other.

One activity that stood out to them was the scavenger hunt, where they had to take photos with everything they found, leaving them with plenty of memories of that night.

“It was a pretty good setup that semester,” Brigham Powelson said. “It was super fun.”

This semester, the two attended again to celebrate two years of knowing each other.

As the night came to a close, Wallace and McCarthy discussed what they enjoyed about the date.

“I learned … that we had a lot of similarities from gaming. We love Marvel, Star Wars, Disney,” said Wallace. “ We also got to make some Pokémon cards, which was a lot of fun.”

McCarthy agreed, saying, “We have a ton of the same interests. I like anime, she likes anime, we both like gaming.”

Alyson and Brigham reflected on their experience as well.

“I can’t believe it’s been two years since that first date,” said Alyson Powelson. “We’re so grateful for Date Night.”

“I think overall, my biggest feeling has been nostalgia,” said Brigham Powelson.

Both Alyson Powelson and Brigham Powelson agreed that the best part of Date Night was simply being there together.