Columbus, OH

Get your taste buds ready for some baklava! The Greek Festival will be held this weekend at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral downtown.

Greek Orthodox Cathedral
555 N. High St.
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight
Sun. noon-midnight Monday 11-7
614-224-9020
Adults $4. Seniors $3. Children 12 and under free.

Or, head down to the Short North for the Short North Gallery Hop.

Short North Arts District
North High St. from Goodale Blvd. to Fifth Ave.
Sat. 6-10 p.m.
614-228-8050

For more art, head to the Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival

Northam Park
Northam and Tremont roads, Upper Arlington
Monday 10-5
614-583-5310, 614-583-5311

Finally, if you are feeling TRULY adventurous–head south down route 23 out of Columbus to the city of Chillicothe, which is hosting the annual Easy Rider Motorcycle Rodeo Grand National. When you think Easy Rider, this is it, everything you think of and more. But be warned, this is not for children nor the faint of heart.

Thurs.-Mon.
Ross County Fairgrounds
344 Fairgrounds Dr.
Chillicothe

Camping and day passes available.
See the EasyRiders Events website for pricing.

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columbus, OH

With Columbus’ very own minor league team, the Clippers, set to move to a new stadium soon, I’d like to encourage anyone who hasn’t ever seen a Clippers game to head over to Cooper Stadium (just to the southwest of downtown) while you still can and take in a game.

As the farm team for the Washington Nationals the Clippers do an amazing job. This year alone they have sent a record 24 players to the big show. Who knows, watch a Clippers game and you may be able to say “I saw Player XYZ when he was just playing for a farm team.”

The Clippers fan base is small but seriously enthusiastic. Go and enjoy Dime a Dog Night. Have some peanuts. Grab a beer or a soda. Cheer on the home team.

Columbus Clippers Baseball
Cooper Stadium
1155 W. Mound St.
614-462-5250

Tickets run just $6 to $10 with discounts for both children and seniors. This is one of the reasons I’d love you to go now. You know they will be raising prices when they move downtown. And wouldn’t you like to get to see Cooper Stadium from the inside while it’s still a dedicated sports arena?

Click HERE for the remainder of the summer schedule.

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I honestly don’t understand why we send children to school so early in the fall. No let me rephrase that, I don’t understand why we send our kids back to school right in the middle of summer.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve noticed that the true nip of fall never comes to central Ohio anymore until October. We may have some significantly cooler nights, but the 90+ degree days last well into September.

What was the last class you attended in 90+ degree heat? Mine was a swimming class.

For the last two weeks, some central Ohio schools have wound up needing to cancel classes because of the heat. These are days that are there to ensure schools can be cancelled when the roads are impassible in the winter.

The school year has been extended so far into the summer that I wonder if federal mandates that force us to just pony up for central air in all schools wouldn’t be better. Let’s just air condition our schools like we air condition our factories and other businesses. Let’s send the kids to school year round, which will address the retention problem the schools keep whining about, then graduate our kids at fifteen or so. It’s not really the solution I like, but it sounds a heck of a lot better to me than sending kids to school in the middle of August with no AC and then having to find random baby-sitters for a dozen “in service” days throughout the year (yes, I’m not a fan of “in service” days either).

I’ve heard all the arguments about the football (and other “fall” sports) seasons and needing to align classes with them. Wrong, there is no law that says football season can’t start before classes. (Heck, look at OSU–season opener this week, fall classes September 19.)

My true preference is to send kids to school from the Tuesday after Labor day to the Friday before memorial day. Unfortunately, considering all the holidays and three day weekends, that would not quite give us the 180 required school days.

Still, I’d rather see kids stay in school a little longer into June, when the heat isn’t quite so opressive yet, than to return to school in 97 degree heat like we had last week. Today the forecast is for 93 degrees. You know what I would learn in 93 degree heat? That August is too soon to go back to school.

Columbus schools, teacher in service days, COTA days, school closings

If you happen to be in the downtown area for lunch today, stop by the Topiary garden on Town for a little Celtic music by Knott Fibb’n, vendors will be on hand with lunch items for purchase. Today is the last of the summer’s Topiary Garden Concerts.

480 E. Town St., Columbus
11:45-1:15
614-645-3800, 614-645-7995
Admission is free

Also going on downtown is the exhibition of artwork by students from the Columbus College of Art and Design. 2000 pieces are on display, highlighting the college’s seven areas of study.

Annual Student Exhibition
Columbus College of Art & Design
107 N. 9th. St.

Mon.-Sat. 10-5
Thurs. to 8
Sun. 1-5
614-224-9101
Admission is free

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Would you give an hour of your time to save a life?

Central Ohio blood banks are dangerously low. According to the Red Cross, every two seconds someone in America needs blood. Special blood drives are being held all over the area.

If you can give, please do.

Click HERE to enter your zip code and find a blood drive near you.

Give blood, save a life.

Head to Franklin Conservatory for Blooms & Butterflies. This special event ends Sept. 3, so get there while you can. New butterflies are released daily at 1 & 3 p.m.

Franklin Park Conservatory
1777 E. Broad St.
Tuesday-Sunday 10-5 Wednesday until 8
Contact Phone: 614-645-8733, 800-214-TREE (8733)
Adults $7.50. Seniors and students $6. Children $4. Under 2 free.

Or you could head over to Grandview and enjoy the Grandview Art Hop. This event includes national and local artists, both visual and performing.

Grandview Avenue between W. First and Fifth avenues, Grandview
Saturday 4-9
614-876-4966

Or for something really special, grab your “best friend” and head over to West Jefferson for the WAG! festival in the Prarie Oaks Metro Park. Described as “a dog friendly festival. The only truly dog-centric event of it’s kind in the area,” the event has dog themed demonstrations, special events and guests all afternoon.

Darby Bend Lakes, Prairie Oaks Metro Park
3225 Plain City-Georgesville Rd., West Jefferson
Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

If you are looking for something different to do this Friday night, why not head over to the Columbus Zoo and enjoy a beer tasting?

Yes, you read that correctly. A BEER tasting at the ZOO.

Tomorrow the Columbus Zoo hosts the Brew at the Zoo event. For $45 you get to enjoy 12 different beers, appetizers and a concert by Six Pack Theory. If you enjoy beer, I can’t think of a better and more entertaining way to show your support for the Zoo.

Tickets are available at the door. This is an over 21 event.

All proceeds benefit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
9990 Riverside Dr., Powell
Friday 6-11
614-645-3581, 800-666-5397

As always, if you overindulge call a cab. Or even better, designate a driver.

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Walking with Dinosaurs starts today at the Schottenstein Center. I think this time, a YouTube video is far more effective than me telling you to imagine it.

The Schottenstein Center
Wed. through Fri. 7 pm
Sat. 11, 3 and 7
614-431-3600
Admission: $72, $47 or $35

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Overall this has been an unusually warm, but otherwise uneventful summer here in central Ohio. In the wake of the last few days, I’d like to ask you to be especially careful.

Electrical storms are beautiful, but dangerous. If you enjoy watching the ‘fireworks’, please watch from the safety of a secure area.

Storms mean low visibility. Please slow down on the roads.

Storms mean an increased risk of tornadoes. Listen to the radio when the skies darken and have your tornado plan in place, making certain every member of your family knows what to do.

Storms mean road hazards. Please be especially watchful for downed trees and power lines.

Storms are dangerous to your pets too. Please bring outdoor pets inside.

Storms mean flooding. Please do not cross flooded streets, even if you think you know how deep the water is. This has proven to be deadly again and again.

Flooding means water contamination. Areas that are hardest hit with rain, often have contaminates in their drinking water. Please listen to the radio and check with your local health authorities to be sure your drinking water is safe.

Finally~Please pray for our neighbors to the south, as they hold on through hurricane Dean. Dean is the first level 5 hurricane to hit land since Andrew devistated Florida in 1992.

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This week and next, central Ohio children head back to school. This is the first day of school list for Columbus City and the school systems surrounding.

Bexley City August 22

Columbus City August 27

Dublin City August 27

Gahanna City August 22

Grove City (Southwestern) August 27

Groveport Madison K-9 August 29
Groveport Madison 10-1 August 30

Hilliard City August 22

Pickerington Local August 21

Reynoldsburg City August 27

Upper Arlington August 22

Westerville City Grades 1-6 & 9 August 29
Westerville City Grades 7, 8 & 10-12 August 30

Worthington City August 28

With school back in session please be careful around school zones and bus stops. Our children are depending on you.

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Enjoy the African Village Arts Festival

Saturday Only 11-7
Old Central Community House
1251 Bryden Road

Columbus Children’s Theater presents Disney’s Aristocats Kids
based on the 1970 film.

Friday 10-11 a.m. and 7:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 3-4 p.m.
Admission: $9

Park Street Theatre
512 N. Park St., Columbus
614-224-6672 or 614-224-6673

The CAPA Summer Movie Series Presents

The Muppet Movie
Saturday 10 AM
&

Grease
Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7
Ohio Theatre
39 E. State St.
Admission $3.50

Or, head East to historic Roscoe Village in Coshocton for the Canal Festival which celebrates the birth of Ohio’s canal system.

381 Hill St., Coshocton
Saturday 10-6
Sunday 10-5
740-622-9310, 800-877-1830
Admission is free.

If you find yourself in the Short North area and looking for a great place to eat, try Lemongrass.

This Asian fusion restaurant has just the right atmosphere to put you completely at ease. They have great seafood and salads (yummy scallops!), and don’t leave without trying a green tea martini. Yes, I know a green tea martini sounds strange, but it’s really good.

The staff here is really great. Servers in the restaurant are pleasant and quick, and the bartenders are good at what they do and do it with a smile.

Like many other restaurants in the area, Lemongrass is expensive for Columbus overall, but average for the Short North. Be prepared to spend $40-60 per person and you should be all right (unless you REALLY like those green tea martinis).

So you know–parking is at a premium in the Short North, so if you are not already there expect to search for a spot. We parked all the way down by The Garden and walked up, but it was a nice evening and we didn’t mind. Or, you could always take COTA which is a fine ride as long as it’s after 6:30 or so.

641 N High St
Suite 103
Columbus, OH 43215
614-224-1414

Open:
Mon.-Thurs. 11AM-10PM
Fri.-11AM-11PM
Sat. 3-11PM
Sun. 3-10PM

As always, if you are going to drink, don’t drive. The city of Columbus and the staff of Lemongrass want you back, happy and healthy, and without a $6000 DUI (or worse) hanging over your head.

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If you ever find yourself stuck at the Columbus airport and needing to kill ten minutes or so, walk toward concourse B and take in the ‘magesty’ that is Brushstrokes in Flight.

What makes me laugh about Brushstrokes every time I see it is not the sculpture itself, but the history behind it.

In the early eighties, Roy Lichtenstein was a very big deal in the art world. I have to admit, to me his stuff looked like any old cartoonist could have drawn it. (But anyone can spatter paint on a canvas too–Jackson Pollock made it art.) So, in our infinite wisdom, the City of Columbus comissioned a sculpture to sit at the entrance to the Columbus airport and sort of represent our city to the incoming visitors from around the world. We paid $150,000 for the original art that was to represent our city-not the fortune now that is was then, but still a hefty sum.

It was unveiled among much hullabaloo, then quietly fell into obscurity until the mayor decided he wanted to give it to the city of Genoa, Italy as a thank you for a sculpture of Christopher Columbus that they had given us. “Luckily” he didn’t have the authority to do that and the sculpture remains here.

Brushstrokes in Flight has been moved twice, finally landing at the entrance to concourse B. If you take a good look, you can see the damage that was overtaking the sculpture when it sat outside, so since we are apparently keeping it, it is a good thing they moved it to where they did.

If you have the opportunity and you have never seen it, take a walk over to concourse B and take a long look. It is amazing the small elements that make up the history of a city. Brushstrokes in Flight represents all the fun and a little of the excess of Columbus in the 1980s. I hope you enjoy, and no one will blame you if you laugh just a little too.

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Because there are only a few weeks left for you to take it in, I must make a post about the amazing outdoor drama that is Tecumseh! This show has presented the story of the legendary Shawnee leader for thirty-five years.

This is probably the best show of its kind in the country. Over two million visitors have watched the drama unfold, making this central Ohio tradition the best attended outdoor drama nationwide. Once you go you will agree that there is nothing else quite like it.

It is presented entirely outdoors, so try to go on an evening you are certain will be clear. If you can, get there early enough to have dinner, visit the gift shop and take in the backstage tour (at 4 or 5 pm). The production starts promptly at 8 and lasts just under 3 hours with a single intermission.

Offered nightly through Sept. 1 (dark Sundays)

Where: about an hour south of Columbus.
The Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre
Just north of Chillicothe.
5968 Marietta Road
Chillicothe, OH 45601

Take 23 south out of Columbus, as you approach Chillicothe, follow the “Outdoor Drama” signs.

Adults: $17.00
Seniors: $15.50
Children: $10.00

Order advance tickets HERE

Tecumseh, outdoor drama, Chillicothe, native American, American Indian

On July 12 Gordon Gee, former and now current university president formally accepted the post. He left Vanderbilt to return to OSU. In his remarks, Gee pointed to the advancements OSU has made in the last decade to improve the school overall. He called Ohio State “The University of the American Dream.”

Ohio State-One of the world’s largest universities.

Ohio State-Home of OSU hospitals. Making constant advancement through unprecedented research into cancer, mental health, heart health, women’s health and dozens of other specialties.

Ohio State-The temporary and loving home of students from every corner of the world.

Ohio State-Home of the Wexner center for the arts. Developing the best artistic talents from across the globe.

Ohio State-Yes, home of the most insane and dedicated college sports fans on the planet.

Ohio State-The heartbeat of our city.

Ohio State-”The University of the American Dream”

Welcome home President Gee.

Ohio State’s fall quarter begins Sept. 19th.

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