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Rapid City Nightlife, South Dakota

Rapid City nightlife is full of spice, full of variety – dig into the delicacies offered at the local eateries, chill out with your favorite drink at a lounge, shake a leg in a nightclub or go for refined pleasure like watching a movie or live music show at a community theater. No wonder that there are people from Alliance (Nebraska), Bismarck (North Dakota), Buffalo, Casper and Gillete (Wyoming) coming down to Rapid City for its electrifying nightlife.

Here we group Rapid City nightlife entertainment under two specific heads – pure fun and frolic and cultural entertainment. Make your plans and enjoy your nights in Rapid City.

Rapid City Nightlife – Night-Spots for Pure Fun

In this category, we cover the city’s many bars, cafés, clubs and lounges.

Speaking of bars, pubs and lounges, we must first name Hotel Alex Johnson’s popular bar, Paddy O’Neill’s. A very relaxed, cozy bar, it has a good collection of imported beers. Other popular Rapid City drinking-holes include names like Belvidere Bar, Romans Bar, Regency Lounge, Oasis Lounge, Sagebrush Bar & Lounge, etc. There are also a number of sports bars in the Rapid City area – Kelly’s Sports Lounge, Teddys Sports Grill, Uncle Sams Diner & Sports Bar, Valley Sports Bar are only to name a few. You will also come across establishments like Froghollow Alehouse & Grill and Murphy’s Irish Pub & Eatery if you are looking for something more than just pub-grubs.

When you will be in a mood of donning your dancing shoes in Rapid City, please guide your steps to clubs like Calendar Club, Shotgun Willies or Woody’s. The Hooky Jack’s & Phatty McGee’s is a must-stop. Actually, it is a three-in-one nightspot; while Hooky Jack’s, a restaurant famous for its brick-oven pizzas, occupies the lower-floor, Phatty McGee’s, on the upper-floor, is a bar-cum-nightclub.

The Firehouse Brewing Company is going to be an altogether different experience. Set in an almost century-old firehouse, it is decorated with firefighting gear. While the lounge is a great place to relax with live music and lovely beer, the restaurant has English pub fare as well as American snacks and soups on offer. There is even a theater on the third-level.

Rapid City Nightlife – Night-Spots for Cultural Entertainment

Rapid City nightlife also means refined entertainment like live music and concerts, Broadway musicals, dramas and movies, etc.

Since its inauguration in 1977, the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center has been the chief venue of all major Rapid City events, including nighttime events like concerts and touring Broadway shows. Then, there is the Black Hills Community Theater, the other Rapid City nightlife venue that hosts shows of local artists/groups. The downtown area promises varied cultural programs and events.

Rapid City has three cinema-halls and watching a movie at any one of these will be a good way of spending your evening.

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