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Columbus International Film + Video Festival November 16 – 21, 2010

Jason Blanton — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:07:42 +0000

The Columbus International Film + Video Festival is in full swing this week. The festival runs from November 16 – 21 and will be running films at Gateway Film center as well as Canzani Center at Columbus College of Art & Design.

The Columbus International Film and Video Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, USA annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is held each year in November.

It is the longest running Film Festival in the USA,~~second oldest film festival (according to Wikipedia) in North America,~~ having existed since 1953.

Visit the Columbus Film Festival website for full details.

Films being screened:

The Rivals
They shared a state but were worlds apart
Tuesday November 16 7.00PM
Gateway Film Center
1550 North High Street
Columbus, OH

Award Winning Student Films From Around The World
Thursday, November 18 · 8:00pm – 9:30pm
Canzani Center, Columbus College Of Art & Design
60 Cleveland Ave (just south of the giant ART)
Columbus, OH 43215

Saturday Morning Cartoons From Around The World
Saturday, November 20 · 10:00am – 11:00am
Canzani Center, Columbus College of Art & Design
60 Cleveland Ave (just south of the giant ART)
Columbus, OH 43215

Movies + Mead, Animations 4 Adults 3
Saturday, November 20 · 7:30pm – 11:30pm
Canzani Center, Columbus College of Art & Design
60 Cleveland Ave (just south of the giant ART)
Columbus, OH 43215

Percy Schmeiser: David Versus Monsanto
Sunday, November 21 · 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Gateway Film Center
1550 North High Street
Columbus, OH

City Hop Showcases “The Downtown Way of Life” with June 12 Tour of Homes

Jason Blanton — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:15:08 +0000

Columbus Landmarks Foundation Presents 2010 City Hop Dinner Party, Rooftop Party and Walking Tour

COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 27, 2010) – A summertime tradition takes place on June 11 -12 in downtown Columbus when Columbus Landmarks Foundation presents the 11th annual City Hop walking tour of premier downtown residences. City Hop will include owner-occupied, for-sale and, new this year, for-rent units. Under the theme of “The Downtown Way of Life,” City Hop activities will include progressive dinner parties, an exclusive party on the rooftop of The Brunson, a City Hop Info Stop featuring historical displays and Pearl Alley Market vendors, a Cannondale Quick 4 bicycle raffle and an “I SPY…” architectural scavenger hunt among the eight tour stops of the walking tour. Downtown residents, as well as Columbus Landmarks Foundation volunteers, will be on hand to provide their perspective and experiences, as well as answering questions about what it’s like to live downtown.

The weekend begins on Friday, June 11 with City Hop progressive dinner parties hosted by downtown residents. Guests select from eight downtown residential buildings and visit up to three residences where homeowners will provide appetizers, entrees and desserts, as well as access to their creatively designed condominiums. Following the progressive dinner parties, an After Hours Party will be held on the rooftop of The Brunson at 145 N. High St. The party is sponsored by Grove City Dental and The Social Room, and will feature music by DJ Aus10, food by J Gumbo and beverages by Barefoot Wines and Bubbly.

The City Hop walking tour runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, featuring tours of lived in, for sale, and for rent units in 10 premier downtown addresses.
This year’s tour includes:

Neighborhood Launch (45 N. 4th Street)
The Condominiums at North Bank Park (33 W. Spring Street)
8 on the Square (8 E. Broad Street)
The Annex at RiverSouth (186 S. Front Street)
The Exchange Urban Lofts (110 N. 3rd Street)
Ohio Loft (139 E. Main Street)
The Brunson (145 N. High Street)
CityView at Third (78 E. Chestnut Street)
481 E. Town Street
City Hop Info Stop at 33 N. 3rd Street

At the City Hop Info Stop, ticketholders can find information on Columbus history as well as the area’s plan for 2020, and additional information on downtown living. Vendors from Pearl Alley Market will also be on hand.

Hoppers can also participate in an “I SPY…” scavenger hunt to identify interesting architectural elements as they progress through City Hop. Two $50 gift certificates to Barrio and Due Amici restaurants and four copies of Columbus and The Ohio State University Then and Now by Kathy Mast Kane and Doreen Uhas Sauer will be awarded to successful scavengers. Also, a Cannondale Quick 4 bicycle and custom fitting from B1 Bicycles is being raffled.

Tickets for the progressive dinner parties ($75), rooftop after hours party ($25) and City Hop walking tour ($12 for members and $15 for non-members in advance and $18 on the day of the event) are available at the Columbus Landmarks Foundation website at www.columbuslandmarks.org. Raffle tickets for the Cannondale bicycle are available by calling Columbus Landmarks office at 614-221-4508.

City Hop 2010 sponsors include: Neighborhood Launch, CASTO, Nationwide Realty Investors, Lifestyle Communities, Capitol South, Capital Crossroads SID, Columbus Monthly, CMH Magazine and WCBE 90.5 FM.

About Columbus Landmarks Foundation
Established in 1977, Columbus Landmarks is a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for, promotes and preserves Columbus landmarks and neighborhoods. Columbus Landmarks encourages community action in historic preservation and quality new design of the built environment throughout central Ohio. Our members are individuals who both cherish the past and embrace the future, and include a dynamic array of residents living in historic neighborhoods, architects, developers, land use planners, leaders in the government and business sectors and investors. For more information please visit www.columbuslandmarks.org.

$1 Lattes & Mochas for Crimson Cup’s Anniversary!

aharperhess — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:19:41 +0000

Since 1991 Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has roasted and packaged quality, great-tasting coffee in Columbus, Ohio and taught independent business owners how to be successful in specialty coffee. In May Crimson Cup turns 19; to celebrate on May 11th they are throwing a HUGE bash at their coffeehouse on High Street in Clintonville. As a “thank you” to Columbus for being such a supportive community, they will sell $1 lattes and mochas all day! In addition to $1 drinks there will be giveaways, music, and much more. Make sure you mark this special event on your calendar!

When: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 from 6AM-8PM

What: $1 lattes and mochas to celebrate Crimson Cup’s 19th Anniversary!

Where: Crimson Cup Coffeehouse 4541 N. High Street Columbus, Ohio 43214

POWERADE Jam Fest – March 29, 2010

Jason Blanton — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:26:07 +0000

To help keep you informed on the events surrounding the 2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games, we’re featuring a series of posts from guest blogger Sabrina Terry. Sabrina, an OSU student and McDonald’s crew member, has been granted behind the scenes access to each of the major events of McDonald’s All American Week.

POWERADE Jam Fest – March 29, 2010

Tonight was the POWERADE Jam Fest and I had the most amazing seats in the house! I sat right on the court at a media table, the absolute closest I could be to the action. Everyone is excited to see the players and they all put on a great show. We watched as they battled it out over the three-point shoot out. Maggie Lucas for the girl’s team dominated the entire competition with 22 points!

Next the players went through a timed obstacle course of weaving and shooting where the fastest player won. The best boy’s player completed the entire course perfectly in 25 seconds. They even had a crowd member win a chance to try and complete the course in under a minute to win a plasma TV and he did it!

To give the players a little break Cupid came out to do his famous song, “The Cupid Shuffle,” and it was a lot of fun to watch the players get out with him and dance to the music.

Finally the main event came: the dunk contest. It was pretty outrageous to see how talented and creative these players were, just like the pros! I saw everything from coming from behind the hoop around to drunk, to catching the ball from the side of the backboard and dunking. I could tell these players had definitely put some thought into this and had a really good time with each other. Ray McCallum really stood out with his performance and had one of the top scores of the night. The entire night was a ton of fun and really was a great intro to the main event on Wednesday at the All-American games.

Up next, I’ll have an opportunity to interview some of the players, so stay tuned.

2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games

Jason Blanton — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:01:20 +0000

JARED SULLINGER NAMED TO 2010 McDONALD’S
ALL AMERICAN® HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM
Ohio State committee Deshaun Thomas joins Sullinger on East squad

Headlining the event for local basketball fans is center Jared Sullinger of Northland High School. Sullinger will be joined by forward Deshaun Thomas of Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.; both are part of The Ohio State University’s 2010 men’s basketball recruiting class.

The 2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games will be played March 31 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, meaning local fans will get a sneak peak at the two future teammates.

“Both Jared and Deshaun are tremendous talents and we’re excited that central Ohio fans don’t have to wait till next year to see these two in action together,” said Matt Harper, local McDonald’s owner/operator and local chair of the 2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games.

Final rosters consist of the top 24 boys and 24 girls high school players as chosen by the McDonald’s Selection Committee, which is comprised of the nation’s most knowledgeable high school analysts, prep scouts, high school newspaper reporters and prestigious basketball coaches. Those 48 student athletes were selected from a combined pool of more than 2,100 nominees. For more information on the nominee and roster selection process, visit www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com.

Tickets for both the POWERADE® Jam Fest (March 29, 2010, 6:30 p.m. ET) and the McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games (March 31, 2010, 5:30 p.m. ET – Girls, 8:00 p.m. ET – Boys) can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or at the Value City Arena Box Office. Ticket prices range from $10 – $15 for the POWERADE Jam Fest and $10 – $58 for the McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games.

Proceeds from the events will directly benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RMHC). RMHC provides a home away from home for families with seriously ill children staying and receiving treatment at nearby hospitals.

More than 900 high school athletes have been named to the McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Team in the last 33 years. From that alumni class, more than 90 percent have played college basketball for Division I programs and more than 150 currently compete in the NBA/WNBA, meaning Ohio will get an opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow up close and personal.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities

Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most — right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children’s lives through its global network of local Chapters in nearly 50 countries and regions and its three core programs: Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile™. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded more than $460 million in grants and program services to children’s programs around the world. For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to millions of customers every day. More than 80 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees. For more information on McDonald’s visit www.mcdonalds.com or log on at any of the 11,000 Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants.

Note: More information can be found online in our electronic press kit: http://mcdepk.com/2010allamericangames/.

POWERADE Jam Fest

The POWERADE Jam Fest is Monday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Value City Arena.

The POWERADE Jam Fest is comprised of a three-point contest, skills challenge and slam dunk contest.

Great tickets can still be purchased at your local McDonald’s restaurant or via Ticketmaster.com and the Value City Arena Box Office.

Tickets are on sale for anywhere from $10 to $15.

The POWERADE Jam Fest will allow these talented young men and women, including OSU recruits Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas, to showcase their skills.

We’ll also have a celebrity judging panel with some great Columbus flavor including Ron Stokes, Eddie George, Archie Griffin, Jessica Davenport and Kirk Herbstreit.

It’s a tremendous event for families because tickets are affordable and there will be tons of action for fans of all ages.

Visit McDonaldsAllAmerican.com for more info on the POWERADE Jam Fest, including highlight reels from previous events.

McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games

The McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games are Wednesday, March 31 at Value City Arena.

The girls’ game starts at 5:30 p.m. and the boys tip-off around 8 p.m.

Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.com or the Value City Arena Box Office.

Tickets are on sale for anywhere from $10 to $58.

The McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games feature the top 24 girl and top 24 boy high school basketball players in the country.

Several players have Ohio ties including Natasha Howard from Toledo Waite High School and OSU men’s basketball recruits Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas.

I know Ohio State fans are excited about the chance to get a sneak peek at Sullinger and Thomas on the court together well before next season rolls around.

They should also be excited about seeing several future all-stars before they make it big on the national scene.

In the last 33 years, more than 950 athletes have been named to the McDonald’s All American Team. From that alumni class, more than 90 percent have played Division I college basketball, meaning we’re getting a great opportunity to see some tremendous athletes up close and personal.

The McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games are important to Columbus not only because of their national prominence but because all profits from the Games directly benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio provide a home away from home for families with seriously ill children staying and receiving treatment at nearby hospitals, particularly Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Several months ago, the event committee set a goal of using the Games to raise $1 million for our local Ronald McDonald House and I’m proud to say we’ve achieved that goal with the help of 185 local businesses.

These funds will allow Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio to expand and strengthen its services – a need that’s unfortunately growing by the day as the House has been above 90% occupancy for the last two years.

The easiest way to support the Games and the House is to help us fill Value City Arena Wednesday evening. This is a national event and Columbus obviously wants to put its best foot forward.

If you’re unable to attend the events but want to support our local Ronald McDonald House, simply purchase a large soft drink at McDonald’s restaurants in March and a portion of the sale will be donated to the House.

Visit McDonaldsAllAmerican.com for more info on the McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games.

The Greatestcityofall Angels have a new mission….

tiffeckhardt — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:01:16 +0000

All mavens of social media in our own rights, the GCOA Angels have decided to pack up our collective gifts for a road trip. Our mission: to help market great retreats and resorts using our social media networks in exchange for a complimentary night stay. Forging ahead as Weekend Retweat… Michele Savoldi, Kelly Gingery, Cheryl Harrison, Tiffany Eckhardt and Rose Landon chose our first adventure close to home at The Hopkins House B&B in Mechanicsburg, a short drive west of Columbus.

The Hopkins House B&B

The Cooper family welcomed us to the Hopkins House B&B, a lovely historic home that graces the front of the 200 acre Darbyland Farms. The Hopkins family built the home in 1902 on an existing foundation. The original home built in 1870 was destroyed by a house fire. Harold Hopkins designed the rebuilt home at a mere 10 years old. This becomes apparent, as it seems designed by a young Harry Potter. The unusually sized windows, built-ins, upstairs den with 20-foot cathedral ceiling, sleeping porches, nooks and crannies are just a few of the unique features that creates a sense of stepping back in time.

The restoration of the Hopkins house has been a family affair since 2006 when Amanda Cooper acquired the property. Amanda’s parents Steve and Nona have been actively involved in the three-year renovation. The Hopkins House B&B launched their debut during the 2009 Champaign County Home and Garden Tourwith approximately 800-1000 guests.

Our Stay

Upon arriving, Nona and Amanda gave the WeekendRetweaters the grand tour. The entire house would be ours to enjoy for the evening. The Hopkins house makes an excellent retreat for all kinds of groups, such as card clubs, quilting groups, scrapbook clubs, etc. Once checked into our grand retweat, rooms were chosen and we were off to Urbana for dinner. The Hopkins House is surrounded by many great local eateries both in Mechanicsburg and Urbana.

Verde

Verde located in Urbana’s historic downtown treated us to an amazing complimentary dinner. We were thrilled to try samples of their fresh, organic menu. We started with fresh hummus served with hot peta bread, sampled the Turkey Ruebun panni, Greek salad, quiche trout with aspagrus, crab cakes with thousand island dressing and capers, celery root soup, apple grannysmith parmessan onion salad and a “to die for” chocolate mousse. To top it off, there was a wine tasting that evening as well. Verde is just another little gem to be discovered!

Back on the farm

After settling into the B&B, the evening was spent chatting about movies, social media, plans for the future and whatnot. We finally called it a night when a waving porch flag got our imaginations working overtime. Cheryl poetically tweeted: In the dark of night (& haze of wine) our charming B&B has turned into a haunted mansion @cbusimpressions @kellygingery @tiffanyeckhardt 11:02 PM

The Dawn

We were awakened to a beautiful sunrise and the aroma of breakfast cooking. The morning also revealed Tiffany the winner of a friendly competition between herself and Cheryl for foursquare mayorship of the Hopkins House. (Winning by five minutes) Breakfast was served using ingredients from local merchants, such as the coffee, eggs, herbs and sausage. A perfect farm-like breakfast!

First successful mission

The Weekend Retweats First Successful Mission: The Hopkins House and Verde will be hard to top. Weekend Retweat already has a couple destinations in mind. There is so much to do in Central Ohio. We’ll just have to retweat it one weekend at a time.

(Maybe next time Bos will be invited)

Half Price Adoptions at Franklin County Dog Shelter

meganhofmann — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:48:12 +0000

In the market for a new family member? If you don’t already know all the perks about adopting from a shelter as opposed to a breeder or (oh the horror) Petland, you should read up on them. To name a quick few-

1. You’re supporting organizations that HELP animals and by adopting, you’re giving the pet a loving home and opening up the spot for another needy animal. Your adoption fee also covers medical expenses, surgeries, food, and other animal needs for the shelter as opposed to paying hundreds (yes hundreds and sometimes thousands depending on the breed) for a pet shop dog that goes directly back into puppy mill breeders. (If you don’t know about puppy mills- please read this.)
2. A lot of shelter dogs are fostered and you know all their pros and cons before you adopt them… your carpets, children, other animals, and sanity will thank you.
3. Shelter dogs come with all their shots and are already fixed (spayed or neutered) before you take them home. HUGE expense you won’t need to pay out of pocket at your vet later on.
4. You can also get an older dog that’s already house-trained and has a developed personality. No surprises in that area are always a good thing.

And that’s just a couple of the benefits…

Which brings me to the reason for this post. Franklin County Animal Shelter is a great organization that takes in as many homeless dogs as possible and they are offering a special right now for 50% off your adoption fee for dogs 45lbs. and up through February 21st.

Lucy

Now adopting a dog is not a snap decision, but if you were thinking about it- then this could be a great time to act on that. You can check out the shelter’s website for a listing of dogs to see if any look like they might be a good fit for your family. If you can’t find one that seems like a good fit, then expand your search to smaller dogs as well. They aren’t included in the 50% off but you’d still be getting a great deal considering everything the shelter does for your pet before you take them home. (See #1 and #3 above.) If you can’t find any dog at the moment that fits with your family or home, just wait a week or two and check back. The shelter is always getting new dogs in due to the massive pet overpopulation.

If you aren’t in a position to adopt or foster a dog but would like to help- the Franklin County Shelter is always looking for donations, monetary or otherwise. (A few months ago I took up a collection of newspapers at work to drop off at the shelter.) All help is welcome.

And here’s where I sound like Bob Barker, but please have your pet spayed or neutered!!!

(Pictured is a dog named Lucy… she can be found on the Franklin County Shelter Website and she is available for adoption!)

Beer Camp Columbus

cherylharrison — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:16:41 +0000

A day to celebrate all things heavenly hoppy? Count me in.

Sunday, March 28 will mark Columbus’ first (and hopefully not last) Beer Camp and parade at Wild Goose Creative. Beer Camp celebrates all things beer – beer crafts and art, food cooked with beer, homebrewed beer and beer music! There are a limited number of tickets (at $12 a piece) so buy them early. The official BeerCamp parade starts at 1pm and will march around Old North Columbus. If you’re interested in being in the parade, you can register your float or group here. All parade participants will receive a goody bag for their efforts.

There are four different categories for competition:

Best Homebrewed Beer – dark and light categories, bonus points for local ingredients
Food Cooked with Beer
Beer Crafts or Art – made with beer, inspired by beer, looks like beer… whatever!
Beer Label Design Contest

All entries for competitions must be submitted by Monday, February 15th, and those selected to compete will be notified by Monday, February 22nd along with details and instructions on competition.

For more on beer camp, visit Wild Goose Creative’s website.

Shop Local with the SBB Community Card!

meganhofmann — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:27:18 +0000

With Christmas almost here… you’re probably still looking for last minute gifts. Well a great idea is to shop local as many of my Columbus friends and Social Media lovers have been mentioning. While you’re shopping at these awesome local stores, you should take some time to learn about the SBB and ask these shops if they accept the SBB Community Card.

The Small Business Beanstalk (SBB) is a Columbus based organization that helps local businesses connect to one another so that they can utilize each other’s services and help each other grow. For example, say a local restaurant needs new menus printed. The SBB would connect the restaurant to a printing business in the area. With all these businesses connected together, it would help boost the Columbus economy, as well as cultivate a tight knit community of businesses working together to help one another succeed. It’s a pretty genius idea since Columbus is already a great community of people and businesses, that like to see each other thrive. When I learned about the group, I believed in their vision so much that I joined as a member and decided to help them with their social media efforts, though I’m not getting paid to do so. In the interest of full disclosure, however, in return for the work I do for them, they are helping me with their connections to find a more work.

One of the other great benefits of SBB membership is the Community Card. Card carrying members can visit the participating local businesses and receive discounts and specials. The best part is that the card is totally 100% free! You can sign up on the SBB website and have the card mailed to you or you can pick one up at one of these local stores:

MilkBar (Short North)
TigerTree (Short North)
LadyBird (Short North)
What the Rock (Short North)
Shine Me Up (Downtown)

Check out the website for a full list of stores and restaurants currently accepting the card and their deals. The SBB is currently expanding all over Columbus including Dublin, Worthington, and Clintonville, etc. so be sure to ask every local store you shop at if they accept the card.

You can also follow The SBB on Twitter (@thesbb) and become a fan on Facebook to keep up to date with the newest stores and restaurants accepting the card. Or if you’re a business interested in participating in the program you can contact Starr @ thesbb.com.

Happy shopping and happy holidays!

Top 10 Holiday Gifts from Central Ohio

cherylharrison — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:32:44 +0000

Dine Originals Gift Certificate

Paul Robinett Candles

Crimson Cup Coffee

Cheryl & Co. Cookies

Columbus Area Performing Arts Gift Certificate

Skreened Swag

What are YOUR favorite places to shop for holiday gifts in Columbus? Let us know in the comments!