Things to Do in Logan

Whirlybird Helicopters’ FAA-certified pilots take to the sky for an array of services—from crop dusting to cattle herding to aerial photography. During flight training classes, they provide one-on-one instruction while introducing students to real-life situations aboard a Cessna 172 airplane or Enstrom or Robinson helicopters. Pilots also jettison guests high above the city for 10- to 60-minute helicopter tours, which take in sprawling views of the Ogden Canyon, Wasatch Mountains, and more.

Salty Dinner Theater, which ABC 4 describes as “bringing a twist to traditional on-stage classics,” combines professional players and proficient chefs to create edible productions performed at area eateries. Audience members gobble supper as performers interact with attendees before and during the production. Regularly inhabiting Madeline’s Steakhouse, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Joe Morley’s Smoked Beef & Bar-B-Q, and Mimi’s Café, among other locales, the show-accompanying meals range from scratch-made baked lasagna with ground beef and pork to a pound of succulent smoked-beef brisket.

At Castle of Chaos, the most fearless of participants can sign a Hands On Horror waiver, allowing ghouls to touch them as they traverse the creaky hallways of the haunted mansion. Whether opting for the add-on or not, spooks await visitors within the mansion, asylum, and dungeon at the Taylorsville location, four new attractions such as the Bedlam Institute and the Phobias Research Center greet guests at the Orem location, and the Riverdale facility coaxes guests into its creepy 3-D carnival and a haunted house modeled after the seven deadly sins. Riverdale participants can also settle into a coffin for a simulated journey from mortuary to graveyard or explore a menacing midway's games, live entertainment, and concessions. Continually rearranged rooms at both houses ensure that feng shui is maintained and repeat scare-seekers will frequently embark on new trips of terror.

More than two decades ago, Angy Ford, the owner of Bravo Arts Academy, taught her first piano lesson. In the years that followed, Angy’s student base steadily grew, taking over her home-studio space and filling it with noise like a college roommate with no conception of personal space. Angy was heartened by this positive response and overwhelmed by the number of students knocking at her door, so she moved her operation to its current Ogden studio space, which, like the home studio that came before, has continued to expand. Here, Angy couples her bread-and-butter music classes with a host of other engaging pursuits—from art classes to dance lessons—that help kids develop confidence, coordination, and artistic skills. The academy’s facilities invite tots to tumble over thick foam, ballerinas to pirouette over a floating marley floor, and pianists to tickle the ivories in a group setting.

Broken down by age group, the academy’s offerings include preschool, where classes are kept small and incorporate sign language into the curriculum, and extends all the way to private music lessons for adults. Angy models her daycare after the best practices she observed while visiting more than 50 childcare centers, encouraging creativity and learning rather than running infants through daily gauntlets of strength.

The Front Climbing Club has attracted a crew of passionate setters and climbers with various outdoor-climbing experience, earned while climbing around the world. The staff brings this knowledge to its route setting, filling the 10,000-square-foot space with bouldering routes and top-roping walls that will boggle the mind and body like a kiss from Albert Einstein. Instructors lead these climbing and bouldering classes as well as training sessions, either teaching the fundamentals or helping attendees of virtually any age and skill level master more advanced techniques. Also offered are yoga classes and a full array of strength and cardio equipment, which can provide year-round conditioning training. The Front runs afterschool kids’ programs and camps, helping young climbers hone skills needed for teamwork and concentration. The club's pro shop also keeps visitors prepared for climbing excursions by allowing them to stock up on specialty supplies, including rock shoes, ropes, alpine and ice gear, and training equipment.

Classic Fun Center's Layton facility shelters its various attractions in a pirate-themed playground. Guests can rack up strikes on the mini-bowling lanes or ascend a three-story rock wall. The park also hosts a bounce area with inflatable slides and obstacles courses, as well as an arcade with more than 50 games such as skee-ball and Deal or No Deal, where kids teach the computer how to pinky swear. Guests at Classic Fun Center's Riverdale location can cool off on the water park's four 300-foot slides, super-sized "fat" slide, kiddie splash ground, or inflatable slip-n-slide.