This post is written by Mary Szymkowiak, for the Dublin Convention and Visitors Bureau. You can find Mary on Twitter @MaryS_DublinCVB .

As a longtime Dublin girl (and Dublin Convention & Visitors Bureau staffer ), I love all-things-Irish. So, my anticipation grows exponentially every year as we approach the Dublin Irish Festival —a magical central Ohio event, TWICE named a “Top 100 Event in North America.”

The 24th anniversary of the Dublin Irish Festival (Aug. 5-7), or “DIF” as fans call it, will be an amazing celebration of Irish music, culture, food and fun that comes with the tagline: Like Ireland, except smaller. Set on 29 beautiful acres of Coffman Park, DIF features many of the world’s top Irish bands. Best of all, you don’t have to be Irish to attend!

As a diehard DIF girl (one that has greeted many motor coaches), here’s my list of insider tips:

• Buy tickets at the gate–or save by purchasing them early online . Buying online is the ONLY way to take advantage of the weekend pass (not available at the gate). Kids under 12 are free. Students with a valid school ID save $2 on admission. Free admission Sunday until 11 a.m. with a donation of a non-perishable food item.
  
• Come early, stay and play. Historic Dublin hosts the Thursday night 5K Run and Dub Crawl —a fun event featuring plenty o’ Irish attitude. Dublin has 14 hotels, all within five minutes of the Festival. Additionally, Columbus has many hotels within a short drive of Dublin.
  
• Free parking is available at many businesses within walking distance of Festival grounds. Metro Center Business Park offers parking AND a free shuttle. Many Dublin hotels also offer shuttle service for guests. The best parking is reserved for bicycles.
  
• With 65 acts and 535 performances , you can feel the electricity in the air during DIF weekend. I’ll drop a few names (Moya Brennan, Gaelic Storm, StepCrew, Liz Carroll, The Young Dubliners, Teada, Karan Casey & John Doyle) and leave it to you to chart your fan plan.
  
• The Columbus Feis Irish Dance competition coincides with DIF, taking place at Dublin Coffman High School on Saturday. On Saturday night, the Feis Parade of Champions strut their stuff on the PNC Bank Irish Thunder Stage . It’s ALWAYS a showstopping ‘best of the fest’ event.
• If you find yourself lost, hurt or (Irish) penniless—think entrances. That’s where the Columbus State Preferred Pathway Information Tents, First Aid stations and ATMs are located.
  
• Thirsty? You’ll need to purchase tokens ($2 each) for Festival alcohol, soda and water stands; cash not accepted. (DIF has its own signature stout, brewed exclusively for the event. Warning: get yours while it lasts.)
  
• Embrace the culture. Buy a DIF T-shirt. Visit the Wake Tent. Pet a Celtic Canine. Shop for imported goods. Watch a hurling competition. Remember-While you’re here, you’re Irish!

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!

Monday, May 31 through Sunday, June 6, the top professional golfers in the world will converge on Muirfield Village Golf Club in the northwestern Columbus suburb of Dublin. The 35th Memorial Tournament is sure to be fun for all who attend.

To get you ready, we are sharing some tips and information to make sure your Memorial experience a memorable one.

Getting There and Around
Once you are 3-5 miles away from Muirfield Village, tune your car radio to 1610 AM for the latest traffic, parking and weather information. Carpooling is encouraged and you’ll want to plan your logistics in advance. Course maps are available as you enter the course, or you can click here to download one.

Survival Guide – Must Pack Items
Sunscreen, lip balm, hat, sunglasses and comfortable walking shoes. (You won’t believe the shoes that people seemingly think are comfortable and appropriate to walk around a golf course all day.)  You might also want to bring an umbrella, wind breaker and/or poncho if inclement weather is in the forecast.

Things to Leave in the Car or at Home
Don’t bother bringing the following items as they are banned from entering the course. For a complete list of banned items, click here .

• Cell phones
• Still cameras (acceptable on practice days only; banned Thursday through Sunday)
• Video cameras
• MP3 players
• Binoculars
• Bottled beverages, water included
• Chairs with arms

Pictures and Autographs
If you want to take photos, you must go out on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. These practice rounds are the only days the public is allowed to take still cameras out on the course. Video cameras are never allowed on the course.

You are prohibited from asking for a player’s autograph while on the course all week, but you can ask for their autograph upon them exiting the course, most likely at the 18th green as they walk to the clubhouse to turn in their scorecard.

The 19th Hole
If you are looking for some fun, food and good company after the tournament ends each day, head over to the Bogey Inn , a perennial favorite for Memorial enthusiasts (and non-enthusiasts, too). If you park in the public lot on Dublin Road south of Glick Road and enter the course at the 6th tee, you’re in the best possible position to experience the tournament and the "19th hole."

For more information about the Memorial Tournament, click here to visit their Web site. To buy tournament badges, click here .

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.

I work with a variety of groups visiting Columbus – girlfriend getaways, family reunions, church groups, school groups, book clubs…the list goes on. And they almost always ask for “something different” to do.

In response to these requests, Experience Columbus has worked with a number of partners to develop a variety of options for people looking to do something fun and hands-on. We now have 57 different “experiential” activities that include everything from interacting with exotic zoo animals to learning about herbs to tasting and toasting with Irish beers .

If you’re part of a group looking to plan something unique in Columbus, check out some of what’s available:

• Be a Columbus Clippers baseball player . Attend a press conference announcing your signing with the team, dress in the clubhouse, warm up in the cages and then take the field.

 

• Go behind the scenes of the renowned BalletMet and discover what it takes to bring a production to life. Learn secrets the audience never sees, enjoy an interactive meeting with dancers and take an exclusive backstage tour

 

• Participate in a one-of-a-kind sensory experience in Worthington . Blend and pour a scented candle, then sniff and sample among two-dozen distinctive wines.

 

• Learn what’s in fashion from the experts , create scrapbook memories , and learn to cook with top chefs – all at Easton Town Center.

 

• Cook with spicy foods master CaJohn , sample an array of amazing tastes and learn how artisan ice cream is made from farm-to-table at Columbus’ lively and historic North Market

 

• Tour a 13,000 year-old cranberry bog where only a rare few are permitted to travel, create a blown glass ornament and make teas when you explore Licking County

 

• Pamper yourself at a spa , enjoy an evening of adventurous dining , and become a winemaker in the lively Short North Arts District

 

• Be a horse trainer for a day , learn about saddles, bits and more or discover some betting secrets of the pros with a behind-the-scenes thoroughbred racing experience

 

A complete list of current tours can be found here . For more details or to set up an experience for your group, feel free to call me at 614-222-6136 or send me an email .

The countdown has begun for the annual Dublin Irish Festival , taking place July 31-Aug. 2. If you’ve always wanted to go to Ireland but didn’t have the funds or time to make that trip, this is the place to be!

First, there are numerous culture exhibits throughout the weekend. Reenactors will share what it was like to live in 10th century Ireland - everything from how they made their food to how they fought in battles. You can also participate in hands-on activities and crafts, some of which are taught by nationally and internationally known artists.

I normally end up enjoying some great music or dance performances at one of the seven stages, and having fish and chips from Old Bag of Nails. Of course, a cold cup of beer is a must and Coors brewed a special beer in honor of the event - the Dublin Irish Festival Stout .

This year, I plan on trying something new by watching some traditional Celtic sports like caber toss and stone throw. It’s amazing how strong the men are. And who would have thought sheep herding was a sport?

Tickets are on sale now and you’ll save a dollar if you purchase yours online by July 30. For more details, including a planning tool you can use to schedule your whole weekend, visit DublinIrishFestival.org .

Hole #9
Photo: the Memorial Tournament

Every year, my in-laws visit from South Carolina to attend the Memorial Tournament . It’s a special week in Central Ohio – I always look forward to it, and I always have fun. This year, it’s June 1-7.

PGA superstars descend upon Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, a northwest suburb of Columbus. The course and the tournament were created by Columbus native and golf legend Jack Nicklaus. As the Memorial Tournament site explains, Jack set out to design a golf course that would challenge the world’s best players in a spectacular setting, and he created the Memorial Tournament to remember and honor great golfers of the past. The tournament also gives back to the community through charitable donations to organizations throughout Columbus and Ohio.

My husband and my father-in-law, golf fanatics, run around the course chasing the likes of Kenny Perry, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods, to name just a few (you can check the most current list of who’s confirmed for 2009 by watching the news that appears here ).

In the meantime, my mother-in-law and I take in the previously mentioned spectacular setting. Muirfield Village Golf Club is an idyllic backdrop for the tournament – the landscaping and houses that line the course are beautiful, and everything is remarkably pristine.

Want to experience it for yourself? PGA tickets for the tournament are available here . You can also connect with the Memorial Tournament on Facebook and Twitter .