Boy, last weekend was a hot one, felt like I was melting away at times. Ironically, we have had hotter summers, but with the humidity and heat index... even I (who enjoys hot weather) wanted to stay indoors. At least this weekend is planned to be a little cooler (yet a little rainy). Here is this week's list of things to do around Columbus...
What to do...
1. Pelotonia is next weekend, so this weekend is some last chance fundraising opportunities (although riders have until October to raise their commitments). Test your endurence by running up the hill on Denison University's hill in Grandville for the Alpe de Denison Hillclimb Challenge... then have s few drinks at Moe's Original BBQ with a Homestead tap takeover or check out Three Tigers Brewing.
2. There are still a few tickets left to the Healthy Bites iteration of the Best Bites series hosted in Columbus Museum of Art. I can't wait to check out the new Picasso exhibit while lasting the best healthy food Columbus restaurants have to offer. Check out the list of who is participating here.
3. Keeping with the healthy theme, wake up Saturday and run a 5k with sweat local columbus. Hopefully it will be a bit cooler on Saturday, but if it too hot for a run, check out their expo indoors.
4. Wolf's Ridge is not just having a plain old bottle release party this weekend... they are going to have a real wolf on site during the bottle release! So get a number, then pet a real (trained) wolf... how often do you get the opportunity to do that?! Oh yeah, the release includes Coffee Vanilla infused Dire Wolf and Coconut infused Howling Moon.
5. What a drag... I mean, 100 drag queens are going to be at Axis Saturday night! Go party with Nina West and help raise money to send their team to the Gay Softball World Series and dance the night away.
6. Couldn't make it to the sweat local columbus 5k? How about Sunday morning... this 5k ends with a pretty sweet cool down... the Frosty 5k hosted by Wendy's. Kick it off from Huntington Park and end with a delicious frosty at the finish line. :)
7. Probably one of the weirdest things on my 'Columbus Bucket List' is seeing Greenlawn Cemetery. Seems totally strange until you think of all the architectural, botanicals, and memorials to people who made this city great are all right there. Columbus Landmarks Foundation is putting on a walking tour, which has to be the best way to get the most interesting factoids and history of Cbus.
Need more history? Head over to the Orange Johnson house in Worthington to hear about the role central Ohio played in the Civil War way back when.
Where to eat...
The Ohio State Fair starts tonight... and you know what that means... fried everything for dinner! Hope you're planning on fitting in some of those 5ks, because after eating at the fair... you'll need to fit in some cardio!
Where to drink...
It's the fifth Friday of the month and to celebrate Fri-YAY, the Daily Growler is throwing a $5 Fest where all pints are $5 all night long. Aloha Streatery food truck will be there too for some fab eats while you get your beer on.
It's going to be a hot and sticky weekend, but don't let that stop you from having fun around town! There are plenty of things to do indoors, but it's summer in Ohio, so get outside and find a shady spot to enjoy this week's list of things to do...
What to do...
1. Lancaster kicks off its annual Lancaster Festival today and the music, art, and community continues through next weekend. Go on Friday to participate in the Artwalk too.
2. Grab a plain white tee and a tutu, then run, don't walk, to the Columbus Color Run on Saturday. You'll be plenty colorful at the finish line!
3. Jazz and ribs... need I say more? We always mark our calendars for this weekend... Jazz and Rib Fest sets up downtown for some good eats and cool tunes on this hot summer weekend.
4. If you need a new fur baby in your life, you're in luck. This Saturday all of the local animal shelters are teaming up with a Clear the Shelters adoption event where your new best friend will only cost you $20.
5. The Franklin County Fair technically started last weekend, but it runs through Saturday, don't miss out on some good midwestern fun at this nearly century-old tradition (demolition derby is on Saturday at 7pm).
6. Seeking air conditioning or maybe shelter from a pop up thunderstorm? Tuck away into the downtown Hyatt for Pulpfest. Think Comic Con for pulp fiction.
7. Start your Sunday funday with some brewga, yoga at a brewery! Head over to Zauber, stretch it out, and stick around for some coffee, brunch, and brews of course.
8. Test your volleyball skills at Flannagan's Chaos Beach Volleyball Tourney all day on Sunday. Enjoy the pool, the sand, the drinks...
Where to eat...
Finish out Restaurant Week with a bang and head to as many of the participating restaurants as humanly possible!
Where to drink...
Actual Brewing is hosting a game-a-thon where a dollar from every beer and 10% of the food truck sales are donated back to Nationwide Children's Hospital, so drink for a cause while having fun!
You may have spent last weekend catching Pokemon in random walks around town (ahh, they are taking over!). This weekend, give your phone battery (and phone bill) a break with this list of things to do around town (okay... you can catch them in these places too). :)
What to do...
1. Get over to the zoo and enjoys the active animals after hours and then get your seat for some jazz at JazZoo on Friday night.
2. Prefer a movie instead? Take it way back with Honey I Shrunk the Kids under the stars a Highbanks metropark... popcorn is on them!
3. Living in Columbus, you get the perks of a big city with the feel of a close-knit small town. Enjoy that combo at the Pickerington Violet Festival where you have fair rides and food that ends with a pretty big concert at night.
4. There are still some tickets left for Promowest Fest going on in McFerson Park all weekend. Don't miss out on this lineup, including Snoop Dogg and Garbage... time for a 90s throwback!
5. Speaking of the 90s, you're probably one of the millions clogging up the Pokemon GO servers (it's okay, I am too). Meetups are popping up everywhere luring in those cute little pocket monsters. Win prizes for the most Pokemon and most rare at some of these meetups; Como Park on Friday, The Oval on Saturday, and Goodale Park on Sunday.
6. After all that walking from Pokemon catching, stretch it out with a little yoga. Enjoy the new Cherry Street parklet at the Cherry Street Community Yoga Festival on Saturday starting at 6:30pm.
7. Head over to German Village for an Art Crawl on Macon Alley. See 30 regional artists, listen to live music, and wine/beer tastings all night.
8. If you're riding in Pelotonia next month, it's time to start training... and the best way to end a long bike ride is with a cookout and ice cream at Velvet ice cream's mill!
Where to eat...
Stuff your face with all kinds of good eats at the Taste of Worthington on Friday night, there will be 60 different foods to try!
Where to drink...
Staas is celebrating their three year anniversary on Saturday with a party. Don't want to drive all the way to Delaware? Stay a little more local at Four Strings and partake in their Hawaiian BBQ popup.
Another great weekend in Columbus! Beautiful weather... perfect for a visiting streetpub and picnic with the pops. We finished our patio table last weekend and we've been using it ever since... casual coffee on the patio, grilling dinner, relaxing with a magazine, and post-concert Nelly listening under the stars.
That dang Pokemon game... held out downloading it until today (I really don't need another distraction) but now I have it. Wonder if everyone who has it reached their step goals over the weekend, haha! We saw people wandering aimlessly trying to catch these guys. Now there are meetups at Pokestops to search for catch them all and battle at gyms. I've also heard stories about budding friendships over trying to find the rare ones. Oh well, back to being productive tomorrow! Here is this week's meal plan...
BBQ chicken and corn-on-the-cob
homemade pizza
breakfast tacos for dinner
ravioli and sauteed zucchini
Hope you had a great three-day weekend! Ours was kind of lazy... which was much needed. Saw some fireworks, drank some drinks, had some great BBQ... you know... the ultimate American weekend.
We also went chasing waterfalls... in Columbus! There are a couple in Dublin that, while limited parking, are easy to get to if you know where to look (Hayden Falls and Indian Run Falls).
It's a short week after the long weekend... so it's a short meal plan...
chicken stir fry
shrimp po' boys
creamy salmon pasta
steak tacos
