Photo:
PromoWest Productions

A couple Saturdays ago Serena Ryder, an amazing folk-singer who opened for Howie Day at The Basement , asked the concert goers to sing along with her. When her request was met with the majority of the crowd joining in on her chorus, she exclaimed, "Man, I love you Columbus!" As I swayed along to the beat, singing the lyrics myself, I looked around the venue at my fellow concert patrons and felt a surge of pride.

Of course, I can’t say that all Columbus concert-goers display the utmost respect and enthusiasm at every concert, but I think there’s a deep level of music appreciation in Columbus. I feel especially thankful for the presence of smaller, intimate concert venues in Columbus that allow me to experience all sorts of musicians.

There’s something so appealing about small venues. There’s a special connection between the musicians and the crowd. For example, I just recently attended an intimate preview concert of the Barenaked Ladies at A&R Music Bar . The band members were talking a lot between their songs and really engaging with the audience. I think this is partly because the A&R Music Bar has a fun, casual atmosphere that creates a comfortable vibe and allows the musicians and crowd to relate easier.

A similar vibe occurs at The Basement. When Howie Day came on to perform, he made a comment about how whenever he plays there, he feels like he’s in high school, in a friend’s basement while the parents are out of town. Of course, I don’t know of any basements that have such a large bar, but I can definitely relate to the comment because whenever I’m there, I get the sense that I’m with a whole bunch of friends, just hanging out and enjoying some music. There’s that comfortable, low-key atmosphere that really makes the music resonate that much more.

Yet another smaller concert venue is Newport Music Hall , located on The Ohio State University campus. While this venue is substantially larger than A&R Music Bar and The Basement, it still allows for you to get close to the stage with a general admission ticket. You also have the option of viewing the concert from the balcony, if you’d prefer that perspective. The venue itself is an older building that has a concert hall feel to it, and all in all, it’s another great Columbus concert venue to add to the list.

I love concerts of all sizes, but I have a distinct appreciation for the smaller venues. And as an avid concert-goer, I’m especially grateful for these precious Columbus gems.

For more info on these venues and concert lineups, check out the PromoWest Productions Web site .

When you think of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Columbus, one place that easily stands out is the northwest suburb of Dublin. They take Irish pride to a whole new level all year long. In Dublin, “Irish is an attitude,” and their St. Patrick’s Day Celebration , held this Saturday, is no exception.

It all begins with a big Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfast from 7-11 a.m. at Sells Middle School, located at 150 West Bridge St. Adult admission is $6, children under 12 are $4.

Then, Dublin’s annual parade, expected to draw 20,000 spectators this year, begins at 11 a.m. It will start at the Metro Center and make its way east along Bridge Street through Historic Dublin - you can check out a map here . The parade features bands, floats, clowns, St. Patrick himself, leprechauns and all-things-green.

The community will also be filled with Irish-themed activities that would be fun to share with family or friends. Here are some ideas, all of them taking place on March 13:

• Irish Tasting event with live music - Whole Foods Market. 12-2 p.m. (3670 W. Dublin-Granville Rd.)
• Irish tea & scones with writer Cindy Thomson, author of Brigid of Ireland - TehKu Tea Company.  10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (55 S. High St.)
• Performance by the Celtic Band Mythica - The Brazenhead Irish Pub. 4-7 pm (56 N. High St.)
• Chocolate Guinness cupcakes and St. Pat’s decorated treats - Sugar, Inc. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (36 N. High St.)
• The American Cancer Society Blarney Hop - The Shoppes at River Ridge. 12-4 p.m. (6436 Riverside Drive)

Click here for more St. Patrick’s Day Celebration info provided by the City of Dublin.

If you haven’t heard about Columbus Neighborhoods, I highly recommend that you get acquainted. WOSU Public Media describes it like this:

"To celebrate Columbus’s bicentennial, WOSU Public Media is undertaking the production of Columbus Neighborhoods, a series of hour-long documentaries including extensive online resources about the city’s historic neighborhoods. It will feature a comprehensive series of documentaries, an innovative web component, community storytelling events, and classroom components that will be one of the most visible and memorable projects associated with the observance of the city’s bicentennial."

If you ask me, this is one very impressive project. I love that we now have a unique way to  get to know Columbus’ rich history. Two things to check out right away:

1. The Columbus Neighborhoods Web site .  It just launched this week, and it offers users an opportunity to share their own Columbus neighborhood story. You can upload photos, audio and video, launch discussions, and explore the uploads of others.

2. The upcoming series of Columbus Neighborhoods documentaries. Take a peek at the video trailer:

Six neighborhoods will be featured in their own hour long documentaries, and the Short North Arts District is first up. Local friends: Tune in on Monday, March 8 when it will air on WOSU TV at 8 p.m. (channel guide here ).

I attended the Short North documentary premiere last night at the Arena Grand, and found myself taken in by the story. Notable figures of Columbus past are highlighted along with various areas of the neighborhood, and local residents and historians share their knowledge. Discover what was happening here when The Ohio State University was that "new" university to the north, how the Short North got its name, what and where Flytown was, the story of the "Circus House" and more.  Cool side note: the documentary’s soundtrack features Columbus bands.

For more info about Columbus Neighborhoods, visit this link . You can also give them a follow on Twitter or fan them on Facebook .

Photo: Randall Lee Schieber

Calling all Columbus-loving friends! To help you keep tabs on dining, playing, shopping and staying in Columbus, we’ve added some new features to our blog and the @ExpCols Twitter profile. Here’s the lowdown:

Columbus Conversation

Our blog now has a page called Columbus Conversation . Here, you’ll find links to the latest posts across the Web - news articles, reviews, blog posts, videos and more. If it’s a recent link about a place to dine, play, shop or stay in Columbus, chances are good that you’ll see it there.

To stay up to date on what’s new to the page, click here to subscribe - updates can be sent your RSS reader or to your email inbox (you’ll never receive more than one email a day, and sometimes less).

Columbus Widgets

We have a couple of new widgets that you can use to share links about Columbus on your own blog or Web site:

• Columbus Conversation widget: Features the links you see on the Columbus Conversation page I mentioned above.
• Columbus Events Calendar widget: Features links to upcoming events and things to do in Columbus (the links are pulled from the Columbus Events Calendar ).

You’ll find both widgets here . Click over to check them out and grab the code for installing them on your own corner of the Web.

Twitter lists

If you’re a Twitter user, you’ve probably noticed that they launched a lists feature back in November. If you click here , you’ll find all of the Experience Columbus Twitter lists:

• A list of dining - full of our restaurant friends
• A list of playing - full of entertainment and attractions
• A list of shopping - full of galleries, shops and markets
• A list of staying - full of places to lay your head during a visit
• A list of staff - all the tweeters who work for Experience Columbus or our sister organization, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission

Give any of the above lists a follow, and you’ll have an easy way to check in on the current dining, playing, shopping, and staying scene on Twitter.

And as always, you can connect with experiencing Columbus here, too:

• Facebook : Where we post updates and send special offers to fans.
• Flickr Group : Where amateur and professional photographers across the Web share their shots of Columbus.
• YouTube : Where you can watch over a dozen videos about the Columbus experience.
• FriendFeed : Where you can catch many of our updates in one place.

Do you have…

• Questions or suggestions?
• A blog we should be watching for posts that cover places to dine, play, shop or stay in Columbus (and therefore, links we might share on the Columbus Conversation page)?
• A Twitter account that belongs on one of our lists?

Please let us know. Leave a comment or send a tweet to @ExpCols . We’d be glad to hear from you.

Ah yes, Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and you have to find something to do with that special someone. I thought I’d share my plan and expand on one of the Valentine’s Day ideas Scott shared earlier , because Opera Columbus has covered me for part of the weekend. I’ll be attending the opening performance of Romeo & Juliet at the Ohio Theatre with my girlfriend. Performances take place Friday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available here .

Tip: I was able to get my tickets on the cheap. As Opera Columbus shared on their Facebook page , if you use code FANS when buying your tickets, you’ll get a 20% discount.

And I’ll leave you with a fun fact -  the leads, Jonathan Boyd and Malinda Haslett, are a real life married couple. Brian Banion (Friar Lawrence) and Elise DesChamps (Stephano) are also a married couple. Love will certainly be in the air on stage.

Opera Columbus presents
Romeo & Juliet
Photo: GroovyDoodle Photography

Wondering how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Columbus?  Below you’ll find ideas for singles, couples and families. Everything listed here is happening on Feb. 14 unless otherwise noted.

Entertainment

• Ballet Met presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream , a comedic ballet based on the Shakespeare classic. Performances are at the Capitol Theatre, February 5-14. Tickets start at $25.

• Opera Columbus presents one of the world’s most famous love stories, Romeo & Juliet .  Performances are at the Ohio Theatre, February 12-14 . Tickets are $27.50-$102.50.

• From 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, BoMA is hosting The Rose Party - a night filled with music, dinner and dancing. There will be a buffet dinner, introductory dance class, a dance CD giveaway, and a professional dance show. Tickets are $20 or $25 at the door. VIP tickets are $35 or $40 at the door.

Dining

• At Barcelona Restaurant & Bar in German Village, enjoy dinner with music by Trista Hill , who performs in classical, popular and jazz styles. (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. She also writes for Ohio Moms Blog and is a monthly contributor to Columbus Underground .

Here, she shares her experience at the Columbus Children’s Theatre , the award winning professional theater that has been entertaining families for over 40 years.

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Columbus Children’s Theatre: Engaging, fun and affordable
By Kristin Marks, cBus Mom

I recently went with a friend and three little girls to see Rapunzel at Columbus Children’s Theatre . We got the girls gussied up in their finest princess frocks and spent the afternoon enjoying the theater.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous because the girls were not quite 4 years old (theater gives that as a suggested viewing age) and I worried that their attention spans would get lost in the middle, but that was not the case. Aside from a short game of musical laps, the girls did great at their first theatrical performance.

I think the elements the actors used to command audience participation helped keep the attention of little ones. The play was engaging and fun for the children because not only were the characters entertaining, but the children got to participate.

At the start of the show the audience was prompted to make certain noises or hand gestures when the witch came on stage. Each time the witch came out we all said in a scary voice "ooooohhh," and immediately there was giggling from kids - they loved being part of the production. Also, many times throughout the play there were chase scenes where an actor would run into the audience and sit in an empty seat. (more…)

If you only had 24 hours to spend in Columbus, what would you do? This was a hard question for me to answer, but I’ve come up with a list of must sees and must dos that I feel will leave any visitor with an experience uniquely Columbus.

I’m sharing these ideas in a three part series - the first post is geared to families, the next to the business traveler, and finally, a post to help a local decide what to do with visiting friends or family.

Here’s part three of three, with suggestions geared to residents looking to entertain visiting friends or family.

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We all have friends and family come to visit us. And inevitably we all get asked the question, “So, what are we going to do while in town?”  Check out the following ideas for a fun Columbus experience and give your visitors a better sense of why you call Columbus home.

Where to Eat
My favorite place to take family and friends to eat in Columbus is Tasi Cafe . Located just behind High Street, Tasi’s offers freshly prepared comfort food with a unique flair. The casual atmosphere makes it a favorite of locals, and the menu offers breakfast, lunch and dinner options.

The Refectory is an AAA Four Diamond award winner, offering contemporary American cuisine and classic French cuisine. The restaurant’s location is unique - it’s inside of an old church, and the atmosphere has a rustic feel. Also, they have an amazing wine cellar with over 700 selections.

No matter what your visitors’ tastes, they are sure to find something they like at the North Market . Central Ohio’s historic public market since 1876 and located between the Short North and Arena District, it features fresh and prepared foods, and authentic ethnic cuisine. (more…)

Broadway Across America-Columbus brings another highly anticipated show to Columbus this week with The 39 Steps .

Adapted from the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, this play has already proven itself a hit with people of all ages. It just finished a two-year run on Broadway, and the original production is in its third year in London. Critics have taken notice as well, awarding the play two Tony Awards and the Olivier Award for best new comedy in 2007.

Credentials aside, this is a show unlike anything I had seen before. Four actors play over 150 characters, and in the process create a frenzied pace that never slows down. The play transports you to a world of make believe—one in which four chairs can be believed to be a car, men can pass for women and a windy day can be conveyed with the mere shaking of the actors own clothes.

The best part? You, the audience, are in on the joke. The actors do not pretend to be fooling anyone. Instead, they embrace the minimal props and get creative with what they’ve got. They even go as far as to purposely slip up on occasion—forgetting to switch into a new character or leaving a prop behind a little too long—just to remind you they know you’re there.

Based on the reaction of the opening night crowd—people were laughing, a lot—I would say this show is a winner. But don’t take my word for it, catch one of the seven remaining performances at the Palace Theatre and judge for yourself. Tickets range from $20-$55 and can be purchased here .

Tip from the CAPA Facebook page : If you act fast, you have the opportunity to purchase two tickets for only $39 to the Wednesday or Thursday show. To redeem this offer, call the CAPA ticket office at 614-469-0939 and use the password “TRAINS”

If you only had 24 hours to spend in Columbus, what would you do? This was a hard question for me to answer, but I’ve come up with a list of must sees and must dos that I feel will leave any visitor with an experience uniquely Columbus.

I’m sharing these ideas in a three part series - the first post is geared to families, the next to the business traveler, and finally, a post to help a local decide what to do with visiting friends or family.

Here’s part two of three, with suggestions geared to the business traveler.

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With Columbus being the state capital and the home of 14 Fortune 1,000 companies (six of which are Fortune 500), it is a frequent stop among business travelers. The city is located within a one-day drive or one-hour flight of nearly half of the population of the U.S. and Canada, so those who do travel here may be in and out of town in a day or after a brief overnight stay.

Here are some helpful tips and recommendations to make the most of your visit.

Where to Stay
Like I mentioned in the family travel post , there are several great hotel options at varying price points around downtown - click here to check them out. One property great for business travelers is The Columbus, A Renaissance Hotel , located on N. 3rd St. in the heart of downtown and near the capital, Nationwide Arena and the Greater Columbus Convention Center . The Columbus has the city’s only seasonal rooftop pool with great views of downtown; it’s often the site of an impromptu happy hour and always a great place to relax or swim a few laps. The hotel also has Wi-Fi access throughout, a large lounge and bar in the lobby.

Where to Eat

Photo: Latitude 41

If you’re staying at The Columbus, I recommend dining at Latitude 41 .  It’s located in the lobby of the hotel and it’s known for unique American cuisine. Also, a quick walk down Gay Street (across from the hotel) offers several unique Columbus restaurant options including fine Italian at Due Amici , great comfort food at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails and Cuban cuisine at Plantain Cafe.

Once you’re done with business, a few great places to get dinner and a drink with locals downtown include the Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus , M restaurant, Mitchell’s Steakhouse and The River Club at Confluence Park .

Another uniquely Columbus eatery is our public market, the North Market . This is one of my favorite places to grab a quick bite and people-watch, as it is home to dozens of unique, independent merchants and farmers. Merchants offer ethnic food specialties, gourmet groceries, flowers and gifts. (more…)