We're always on the hunt for new things to do, scouring the city for not-boring Brisbane activities — and that includes different ways to spend time with your special someone. Need an idea that's guaranteed to take your next date way beyond done-before beers at the pub? We have suggestions. Whether you're taking someone on a second date or doing your 100th with your significant other, we've got some killer (and, yes, cute) options for dates to go on this week, no matter how much money you've got to spend. Just think of us as your cultural wingman. You're welcome. Under $20 Hit the Seas From Your Cinema Seat Science is everywhere, and Brisbane has an annual festival dedicated to that fact — an event that features everything from the physics of skateboarding through to the Antarctic landscape in 2025. For movie lovers, World Science Festival Brisbane also delivers an annual treat in the form of a dedicated cinema lineup, taking over the Gallery of Modern Art's Australian Cinematheque for a few days each March. From Friday, March 21–Sunday, March 24, this year's film program is all about seafaring cinema. Sharks and other sea creatures, Studio Ghibli and Disney, lingering under the ocean's surface: covering all of the above, Into the Deep has a flick on the bill for everyone, including you and your other half. It all kicks off with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, so with one of Wes Anderson's greats — and if you want to make it a double feature, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is also playing on the Friday night. Come Saturday, it's animation time — and viewing for all ages, too — via Ponyo and Moana 2. Then, you just might be afraid to get into the water after Sunday's sessions, with documentary Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story and classic blockbuster Jaws hitting the screen. Session times vary each day, but this is one of the cheapest cinema dates on offer right now, with tickets costing $10 — or $7 for GOMA members. Under $50 [caption id="attachment_942570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pixel Punk[/caption] Say Cheers to a Margarita Festival In 2025, World Margarita Day has been and gone. February 22 might be the official date to say cheers to 'ritas each year, but it isn't the only time to celebrate the beloved drink in Brisbane. Fish Lane decided the extend the fun in 2024, starting its March Into Margarita festivities to dedicate an entire month to margs — on menus in general, as well as at events focusing on the cocktail. This year, until Monday, March 31, the 'rita-fuelled fun has returned. Venues taking part include Bar Brutus, Chu the Phat, Julius, Kiki's, Midtown, Next Episode and Southside, all with special margs available across the month — and some with pop-ups as well. If you and your special someone are most excited about trying different takes on a classic, your options include a fruit tingle variety at Midtown, a Tommy's yuzu margarita at Chu the Phat, a spicy mango tipple at Julius, and both watermelon and passionfruit at Next Episode. And yes, the OG marg is on offer at a heap of joints. If you're looking for a specific day to head along rather than simply dropping in whenever suits your diary, hit up the Margs-a-Million festival. Taking place on Sunday, March 23 (postponed from the week earlier due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred) across two sessions, it'll again see Southside serve up margaritas — ten types this year — and host a mezcal and tequila tasting station. Also, the folks from Baja are joining in to take care of the snacks, and mariachi music will set the mood. Or, each Friday and Saturday in March from 3–5pm, you can head to Hello Please for margs, tacos and ceviche. It was true in 2024 and it remains the same in 2025: with all of this marg-centric fun, if you claim that you don't know what to drink to kick off autumn in Fish Lane, no one will believe you. Under $100 Put Your Music Trivia Knowledge to Great Use Where can you and your plus one play a music game show, watch well-known folks do the same, and possibly spend the evening in the company of Spicks and Specks favourite Myf Warhurst or Murray Cook from The Wiggles — or Broden Kelly and Mark Samual Bonanno from Aunty Donna, Boy Swallows Universe author Trent Dalton, Agro, Ben Lee, Steven Bradbury, Kate Miller-Heidke, Robert Irwin, Ranger Stacey, Craig Lowndes, Tim Rogers, Will Anderson and Adam Hills, plus perhaps members of Powderfinger, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays, Ruby Fields, Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants and The Go-Betweens? In Brisbane, there's one answer: at Not on Your Rider. Taking some cues from Spicks and Specks and the UK's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, aka the show that the hit Australian TV series is based, Not On Your Rider gives the big name-filled music quiz panel show format the live treatment. Yes, the audience gets to play, too. And yes, the event is back for 2025. This year, there's a few changes in store — not to the format, but to how and when Brisbanites can head along. After the 2025 season kicks off on Thursday, March 20, it'll mostly return bimonthly. Also, 2025's events are headed riverside, to the Felons Barrel Hall at Howard Smith Wharves in the Brisbane CBD. This might be a case of new year, new venue, but the setup remains the same otherwise. Attendees will be peering at a stage, rather than a screen — and answering questions themselves, of course. And if it has you thinking about pub trivia nights, they don't include The Creases' Aimon Clark (who is also behind Isolation Trivia) and Patience Hodgson from The Grates hosting, let alone a heap of entertainment-industry guests. Here's how it works: Not On Your Rider takes something that everyone loves — showing off their music trivia knowledge — and dials it up a few notches. While the two on-stage teams are always filled with musos, comedians, drag queens and other guests, anyone can buy a ticket, sit at a table and answer questions along with them. The quiz element is accompanied by chats about the music industry, plus other mini games involving attendees. Big Blowouts [caption id="attachment_897289" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Carlos Luna / Secretaría de Cultura CDMX[/caption] Dance to Fatboy Slim in a Winery For the third time in the 2020s, Fatboy Slim is touring Australia and breaking out 'Right Here, Right Now', 'The Rockafeller Skank', 'Praise You' and plenty more dance-floor fillers. After heading this way in 2020 and 2023, the dance music legend is back in March 2025 on a five-stop trip, four of which are getting him spinning tunes in wineries. Trying to dance like Christopher Walken, pretending you're in Cruel Intentions, being transported back to the late 90s and early 00s: that's all on the agenda again. So is making shapes to DJ Seinfeld, CC:DISCO! and Jennifer Loveless, who are supporting the British legend at all five gigs — including at Sirromet Wines in Mount Cotton on Sunday, March 23. Cook has been making music since the 80s, but took on the name Fatboy Slim in the mid-90s, starting with 1996 record Better Living Through Chemistry. His 1998 album You've Come a Long Way, Baby was the club soundtrack to end the 20th century — a staple of every 90s teen's CD collection, too. As for 2000's Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, it gave the world 'Weapon of Choice' and its iconic Walken-starring (and Spike Jonze-directed) video. Fatboy Slim's discography also spans 2004 album Palookaville and 2013 single 'Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat'. Tuck Into Omurice From a Viral-Famous Japanese Chef It's omurice time. Some dishes are as straightforward as they sound, and this one — aka omelette rice — is among them. It's an omelette made with fried rice, then typically topped with sauce. Clearly it's an easy concept to get around. And Motokichi Yukimura from Kichi Kichi Omurice in Kyoto keeps visiting Down Under to whip it up. Not all iterations of this western-influenced Japanese eggs-plus-rice staple are made equal, which is why Kichi Kichi Omurice's version might be on your travel bucket list. Chef Motokichi Yukimura's viral-famous take on the dish has made him an internet star — the term "Japan's most-famous omurice chef" has been used — and seen his eatery become a tourist destination. Sometimes, however, he brings his omurice to Australia, as he's set to again in March 2025. If you and your significant other would like the Kichi Kichi Omurice experience without the airfares, you can make that a reality in Brisbane. And if this sounds familiar, that's because Yukimura headed this way twice in 2024. He's again visiting Harajuku Gyoza to show why the dish he's been making for over 45 years is such a smash. The chef is doing 'meet and eat' events, cooking everyone who attends his specialty — and putting on a show, complete with his Kichi Kichi Omurice song and dance. Queensland capital residents are headed to Harajuku Gyoza South Brisbane across Sunday, March 23–Tuesday, March 25. Tickets cost $170 per person, with sittings for both lunch and dinner. That price covers tucking into Yukimura's omurice, as made at your table, plus a range of Harajuku Gyoza signature dishes — and meeting the chef. Top image: Pixel Punk.