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Cocktails at the Conservatory

The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (Broad Street, in Columbus) isn’t just about nature and its beautiful gardens and flowers. One of the finest, and certainly a fun way to take in some of the exhibits is by enjoying a full bar selection and a little food. For $11, you can do this on any Thursday evening up to the end of this March. Why not next Thursday, February 9th, or the one after that? Interested? Here are a few more details for you…

For starters, the events start at 5:30 p.m. (and run until 10 p.m.). You know the price, and the place; the exact address is 1777 East Broad Street. Reservations are recommended and to make them just call the Conservatory at (614) 645-1800. If you’re wondering ‘well, what do I get for my $11?’; rest assured, you get a lot. Of course, you get admission into the Conservatory. But guess what? You get some of that back right way: every guest receives $10 back in tokens, and the tokens can be used toward the purchase of food and drinks. So you get f-r-e-e parking, and essentially you pay $1 for admission into the Conservatory. That’s not all. You’ll listen to live music while enjoying your munchies and drinks. More, you can view current exhibitions while you’re there, view the Chihuly Collection, and if you’re there at the right time, watch as James Turrell’s Light Raiment II illuminates the John F. Wolfe Palm House. That would be right at dusk.

If you’re into exotic or simply yummy tasting drinks, you’ll be offered a chance to purchase their special cocktails. On February 9th they’ll have Espresso Martinis, and the week after, Spicy Rum. By the way, yes, you have to be 21 years or older to get in these Thursday evening events.

The City of Columbus, The Columbus Foundation and other partners stand proudly behind and for the Conservatory. Here’s your chance to contribute, and to enjoy yourself in the doing!

Photo Credit: Franklin Park Conservatory by Rellim

Ever missed a message on Facebook?

We all have. Facebook users everywhere are searching in vain for messages they KNOW must have been sent. Those messages go astray when mathematical formulas tell Facebook computers that a particular message is unlikely to be of interest to you, so off it goes into your OTHER message box. Without any notice. And, yes, the title on the message box is OTHER.

Never noticed a second message box on your page? Most of us don’t. Think you don’t have one? Everyone does. Click on your message box, and your OTHER message box will magically appear right underneath. Again, it happens quietly, and without notice.

The next question many of us have, after peeking into our OTHER box, is how we can rescue the messages we DO want to see. We’re happy to have Facebook protect us from some of what’s in there, but other messages and senders are more important than the math might suggest.

Blogger Erika Napoletano has a solution and step-by-step instructions for how to rescue your messages from particular senders, and keep them safe from OTHER! Click through to get to her blog post and simple instructions. You’ll be glad someone figured it out, even if you are one of the few Facebook users that realized the OTHER box was there!

February Events in Central Ohio

February may be cold and wet, but it’s the month of Valentines and looking forward to spring fever! Get in the mood with our many February activities…many of which are free or budget-friendly for keeping those resolutions you made last month!

All Month – for All – COSI presents a new exhibit, “Race: Are We Really So Different?” for more information, contact the COSI Call Center at 614.228.2674

All Month – for Adults and Teens – The Wexner Center presents “David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy” and for hours and more info, see the Wexner Center web site.

All Month (2:30-6pm) – for kids 7-15 – The King Arts Complex presents the Afterschool Arts Institute (AAI) 
September 6, 2011 – May 11, 2012 for a $10 registration fee and $35 per week Monday-Friday Students participate in 8 week, arts focused sessions featuring all different visual and performing arts taught by amazing local artists in the city. Past instructors include: Jazz Arts Group, Columbus Children’s Theatre, and Thoissane West African Dance. For more information, see their web site.

Fridays – for All – February by the Fire means snuggling up to our cozy fireplace and listening to good music. Snuggle with your honey or your kids and enjoy! 3- Dave Powers, 10- Teen String Quartet, 17- Ukulele Cowboy Society, and 24- Mark Flugge at the Old Worthington Library, 820 High Street Worthington OH 43085 at 614-807-2626

February 1-19 – for Adults – CATCO presents “The Rubenstein Kiss” A theatrical production about the infamous Rubensteins in the 1950′s. Contact CATCO for times at 469-0939

February 2 (7pm) – for Adults – Food for Thought: Just Desserts Learn about decadent desserts, and taste some. Plan for your Valentine’s Day treats in advance! Free – reservation required, so call the Old Worthington Library, 820 High Street Worthington OH 43085 at 614-807-2626

February 4 (4-10pm) – for Adults – Short North Gallery Hop: Resolved to broaden your horizons, do something different, or just finally do the gallery hop you’ve read about? Come see what the buzz is all about. The first Saturday of every month, galleries and other businesses stay open late, and welcome those who celebrate art, take in the sights, and enjoy food, shopping, and a great neighborhood. The calendar of events for the Short North is available at their web site.

February 5 – for Kids – From Pulp to Paper: A class where kids learn how to make paper from beginning to finished product! At the McConnell Arts Center. For reservations and more info, see the MAC website.

February 7-12 for All – The Palace Theater host the Blue Man Group, for times and tickets see capa.com.

February 8 – for Teens and Tweens – Most of the library branches are hosting something fun for you today! Plus, many branches have gaming or other activities weekly for kids this age. Contact your library branch or look here for more info.

February 14 – See our Valentine’s Day events post for all the possibilities around town! Book early!

February 16 – for Adults and Teens – the Lincoln Theater presents “Bill Blagg’s the Science of Magic, a behind-the-scenes educational experience on how magic is done! For time and tickets, contact capa.com.

February 20 and 23 (7pm) – Women 12 & up – Self Defense 101. This course is free, but reservations are required, so call about the Feb 20th class at the Old Worthington Library, 820 High Street, Worthington 43085 at 614-807-2626 or for the Feb 23rd class, call the Northwest Library, 2280 Hard Road, Columbus 43235 at 614-807-2626 for reservations.

Metro Parks Winter Hikes

On the eve of the New Year, we introduced you to a list of winter hikes you can get in on as part of Columbus Metro Parks 39th season of the same. We listed dates for you that ran from the beginning of January right through to January 28th. Well, we’re just about in February, and want you to know that great outdoors activities still abound. In this post we’ll focus on the many trails and activities at Blendon Woods Trails.

Blendon Woods, in northeastern Franklin County, has itself seven different trails! All are walkable, and depending on the amount of snow, joggers would be able to run on most of them. There’s even one especially for pet owners: Goldenrod Pet. Goldenrod is available for walkers, joggers, or hikers, and is we mentioned, is pet-friendly. It passes through two meadows, is 1.2 miles in length, and is classified by Metro Parks as “easy”. Sound good? The six other trails—Sugarbush, Brookside, Overlook, Ripple Rock, Hickory Ridge, and Pond—run from one-quarter mile to 2 miles (Hickory Ridge being the shortest, and Sugarbush the longest). Most of the six other trails are listed on Metro Parks’ scale as “easy”, with Sugarbush and Brookside having a “moderate” rating as well. Cross-country skiers will delight in that the longest trail, Sugarbush, is for you!

The Blendon Woods trails have a variety of surfaces, from grass to crushed limestone compacted to paved (Pond). Four of the seven have connector trails. What an amazing array, all in one area! In the Winter, the trails open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Metro Parks makes good use of the trails, as it has programs that run year-round, taking you on various outdoors adventures. Blendon Woods has two programs coming up on Saturday, February 4th and Sunday, February 5th. These are not the only programs available at Blendon Woods, nor through Metro Parks, but we wanted to cover these two in this article.

On the Saturday, there’s a special 2-mile winter hike that takes you to Thoreau Lake and the Nature Center. For those with boundless energy, there are off-trail segments that will add on another 2 or 4 miles for you! Chicken soup will be waiting for you when you’re done! There is no charge for this program, and it’s open to youth, teens, adults, and seniors. Bird lovers: on the Sunday, you can get in on the Audubon Bird Hike. Don’t forget your binoculars as you wonder around the various trails in search of winter waterfowl. There is no charge for this event either, and it’s open to teens, adults, and seniors. Neither program is wheelchair accessible.

If you’d like more information on either of these weekend programs, or would like to reserve your spot, please phone Metro Parks at (614) 508-8111. We suggest you do phone, as you’ll need to know where to meet when you get there. Both events start at 10 a.m. You can also pop over to the main Blendon Woods events page which is at MetroParks.

Cabin Fever Craft Night

Almost three years ago, Crooked Alley KidSpace, an arts and entertainment center just for kids opened in Groveport (Wirt Road). Children between the ages of 3 and 12 can get in on all sorts of activities—dance, art, visits from folks at the zoo, Scout meetings, and so forth. On Wednesday, January 25th at 7 p.m., your kids can join the gang at KidSpace for what’s described as “a night of mix and match crafts”. And no, there is no charge for this one-hour event.

So it’s for kids from ages 3-12. Yep, it is a “Just for Kids” event! If your boy or girl is under 9 years old, she or he will have to be accompanied by an adult. You will need to pre-register for this event, so you have a week to give them a call 614-836-3333.

We’re going to share a little more information about Crooked Alley KidSpace, but if you want the full story, visit the Village of Groveport’s KidSpace webpage.

KidSpace has all sorts of interesting programs, and facilities that you can rent for private functions. There’s a Kid’s Art Gallery, a children’s garden, and even an enclosed playground (with a treehouse, no less). There are two separate rooms you can reserve for your own function, with FunSpace, the larger, holding up to 84 people. The cost is only $50 per hour, and for the smaller room (Library), the cost is half of that. Groveport residents or taxpayers don’t have to pay anything to reserve for functions.

If you have preschoolers, there are several different programs available. For example, you or a caregiver can learn to grow along with your child in KidSpace’s “Grow With Me” program. Together, you can do arts and crafts, storytelling, music and dance, and more. Every Tuesday and Wednesday morning (9-10:30 a.m.), activities are themed, and themes are explored in a variety of ways.

So get out for the January 25th craft night, or get in touch with KidSpace on the phone or through their website, to enjoy some quality time with your children.

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