Photo: Due Amici

Today’s post is written by Katharine Moore, executive director of Dine Originals Columbus, a community of independently owned and operated restaurants. During Dine Originals Week , March 7-13, participating restaurants are offering special menus at price points of $10, $20 or $30.

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Seven Days of Savoring
by Katharine Moore, Dine Originals Columbus

Dine Originals Week March 2011 is upon us. Our supporters love the tradition because it offers diners the opportunity to enjoy more than 50 participating restaurants — including many of the city’s most notable — at a bargain price. One of the lessons we have taken away from this Groupon-era of discounts is that everyone appreciates a bargain, but over the long term the real appeal is for value, and a price fixe lunch at Barcelona for $10, or a three course dinner at Alana’s for $30 certainly fits the bill. (more…)

Photo by Jay LaPrete
Courtesy Arnold Sports Festival

Today’s post is written by Brent LaLonde, one of our friends over at the Arnold Sports Festival . It’s the nation’s largest multi-sport event and its coming soon to Columbus, so Brent’s here to provide some info to help you make the most of the weekend.

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A guide to the 2011 Arnold Sports Festival
by Brent LaLonde, Arnold Sports Festival

The 2008 Summer Olympics attracted about 11,000 athletes to Beijing, China. In 2010, about 2,600 athletes competed in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

But did you know there is an event in Columbus that attracts more athletes than the Olympic Games?

The Arnold Sports Festival, the nation’s largest multi-sport event, will bring 18,000 athletes from 80 nations and more than 175,0000 health, fitness and sports enthusiasts to Columbus from March 3-6 to compete in more than 45 sports and events, including 12 Olympic sports. The festival has grown steadily since starting out as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic men’s professional bodybuilding contest in 1989.

And, yes, Arnold still attends every year and makes a special appearance at each of the weekend’s sports and events.

Whether you’re attending for the first time or you’re a veteran of The Arnold, here’s an overview and a couple of tips that will help you make the most of your weekend: (more…)

Sean Christopher Lewis in Just Kids
Photo: Available Light Theatre

Tomorrow night, Available Light Theatre opens its next production, Just Kids . It’s the newest creation from touring playwright/performer Sean Christopher Lewis and Available Light Theatre artistic director Matt Slaybaugh.

Their last collaboration, the award-winning play Killadelphia , has toured two-dozen U.S. cities and been heralded as a triumph everywhere it’s landed (including here in Columbus, where it knocked my socks off ). If you saw that show, you might be thinking that Just Kids is not to be missed.

You’d be right about that.

The play weaves the stories of several damaged teens in Kansas, where Sean was teaching at a school for troubled youths, with Sean’s discoveries about his own unsettling past and difficult realizations about his long-estranged biological father. (more…)

Today’s post is written by Bethia Woolf , owner of Columbus Food Adventures . A UK native, Bethia has long been a prolific chronicler of the Columbus food scene. She began Columbus Food Adventures with the belief that the quality and diversity of Columbus’s food scene is a story worth sharing.

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Last minute holiday gift ideas for food lovers
by Bethia Woolf, Columbus Food Adventures

If, like me, you are still looking for last minute gift ideas, here are some ideas for the food lovers in your life. These suggestions are Columbus based but might give inspiration to those of you living elsewhere.

Gift certificates

Gift certificates are available for many Columbus restaurants. If you don’t want to pick a restaurant for your giftee- then opt for a Dine Originals gift certificate and your recipient can choose from over 50 restaurants. You can use these at wonderful restaurants such as Tasi Cafe , Rigsby’s and Pistacia Vera .

North Market gift certificates offer similar flexibility as they can be used at any of the 30+ vendors. Jeni’s ice creams gift cards are a fun stocking stuffer, and best of all, of course is a Columbus Food Adventures gift certificate . You can choose a gift certificate for any of our scheduled tours and they are valid for a year. (more…)

Today’s post is written by Kristin Marks, a.k.a. cBus Mom . She writes a blog by the same name , which she created to offer suggestions and reviews of kid-friendly activities in Central Ohio.

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Huntington Holiday Train at the Columbus Metropolitan Library
by Kristin Marks, cBus Mom

To the left of the mountain is green Percy!

Do not miss the Huntington Holiday Train set up at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library. I took my 2 year-old Thomas-aholic and we were both mesmerized for almost an hour. Thomas with Annie and Clarabell and Percy with those mischievous freight cars, along with a few other trains, run the the tracks through a replica of a town in Germany.

Teased by a train track crossing sign in the atrium, patrons get the real surprise when they walk into the library. The Huntington Holiday Train is a pleasant shock the first time you lay eyes on it – it is so big and beautifully crafted. My son actually gasped, his eyes almost popped out of his head, and his smile reached from ear to ear. I think I got major mommy points…especially when he saw Thomas for the first time. The display is so beautiful and magical. Snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, miniature people selling wares or playing in streets, detailed buildings made of wood, and lots of train tracks offer a step into another world. (more…)

Celebrate our favorite city on Columbus day weekend with Experience Columbus Days , Oct. 8-11.

You’ll get up to 50% off at at variety of Columbus entertainment and attractions, plus a can’t-be-beat 25% discount on food at Dine Originals Columbus restaurants. If you’ve been wanting to experience something new, or you just want to hit an old favorite, this is the perfect time to do it.

Attractions and entertainment venues offering great deals include COSI, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Food Adventures, SegAway Tours of Columbus, BalletMet, the Wexner Center for the Arts . . . and the list goes on.

Dine Originals Columbus restaurants include those like Pistacia Vera, Figlio Wood-Fired Pizza (Grandview), Katzinger’s Delicatessen, Due Amici, The Refectory, G. Michael’s Bistro, The Top Steakhouse, Surly Girl Saloon . . . and again, the list goes on.

To see everyone participating, visit ExperienceColumbusDays.com . While you’re there, be sure to download and print the discount flyer . You must show it to receive your discount, and you can use it as often as you like.

Want to share this event on Facebook? Please do. Click here .

And, for other ways to get the word out about Experience Columbus Days to your friends, blog readers, Twitter pals and others, check out the resources here . Let us know if there’s anything else you need to help share the news.

The members of the Greater Columbus Events Council are back with their third and final set of prizes – it’s giveaway time!

If you missed out on the first or second sets of giveaways, here’s your last chance. Four lucky readers will win.

This time, there will be…

THREE winners of the following:

• Greek Festival package, including admission and baklava for two
• Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival package, including two t-shirts, one parking pass and sunscreen
• Two Arnold Sports Festival keychains

ONE winner of the following:

• One fleece and two tickets to the New Albany Walking Classic
• Two tickets to the Columbus Jewish Film Festival
• Two Arnold Sports Festival keychains

How to win : Leave a comment below, and name at least one Columbus festival or special event you plan to attend in September, October, November or December . If you need a few ideas, visit this list of Greater Columbus Events Council members.

One entry per person, please. All entries must be posted by 2 p.m. on Friday, August 13 . After that, we’ll randomly select the winners.

Congrats to all past winners and good luck to everyone! Enjoy the remainder of event season in Columbus.

UPDATE (8/13): Winners have been selected! See comments for details.

Ohio State Fair

Festival season continues in Columbus, and so do the giveaways.

Like we mentioned last month , members of the Greater Columbus Events Council are helping us celebrate lots of events by sharing lots of prizes.

This time, we’re featuring July and August happenings, and the ante is definitely upped: FIVE LUCKY READERS will win the following:

• A North Market Food & Ohio Wine Festival package, which includes a $20 North Market gift certificate and 2 entries to the preview party
• A VIP parking pass to Jazz & Rib Fest
• 2 tickets to the Ohio State Fair
• 2 tickets to the Dublin Irish Festival
  

To win is easy:

Simply leave a comment below, and name at least one July or August Columbus festival or special event you plan to attend this year. If you need a few ideas, visit this list of Greater Columbus Events Council members.

One entry per person, please. All entries must be posted by noon on Tuesday, July 6 . After that, we’ll randomly select five winners who are going to have a lot of fun this summer. Good luck!

P.S. Don’t forget the third and final giveaway:

Stay tuned for the last prize package, which we’ll give away in August. Check back or subscribe to this blog via your RSS reader or email to receive updates.

UPDATE (7/6): The winners have been selected and are posted in the comments. Congrats!

Columbus Arts Festival
Photo: Randall Lee Schieber

At Experience Columbus, we hear a variety of reasons why people love Columbus. One that comes up time and time again? This city’s festivals and events. Art, music, food, games, ethnic culture, sports…we’ve got ‘em all, and then some.

If you’re one of the many who love Columbus festivals, you’re in luck because you have the chance to win some pretty sweet prize packages. The members of the Greater Columbus Events Council are celebrating the festivals and events season by offering up several giveaways over the next several months. And the first two start now.

Here’s the first set of prize packages to be won by two lucky readers: (more…)