Fun Times, Flash-Sale Style

Shoes, spa treatments, trips to Tahiti — is there anything you can’t buy at a steep discount on a flash-sale website these days?

Now you can add fully guided group events and activities to the list. Launching in 30 cities on Thursday, LivingSocial Adventures offers custom-designed experiences that combine local activities, transportation and related services and are led by LivingSocial employees.

It’s like Events and Adventures without the interview, membership fee or focus on meeting that special someone (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Among the initial offerings:

• Washington, D.C.: 90-minute equestrian trail ride, catered picnic lunch, wine tasting and roundtrip transportation ($99)
• Chicago: Scenic river tubing, catered barbecue and roundtrip transportation ($65)
• Minneapolis, Minn.: Sushi-making lesson, sake tasting, “sake bomb” (kanpai!) and take-home sushi cup ($39)

The concept is the brainchild of Maia Josebachvili, a one-time Wall Street derivatives trader who spent her spare time planning weekend trips for herself, her friends and, eventually, friends of friends who wanted to come along.

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