(614) Magazine: August 2019 by 614mediagroup

BIG PICTURE DON’T LOOK DOWN OR TRY THIS AT HOME! IT’S BEST LEFT TO THE PRESSIONALS AND YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEM AND R ADVENTURE PARK ON PAGE 102. PHOTO BY BRIAN KAISER

CONTENTS

96 68

COV E R SE C T IO N AN ADULTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GUIDE TO PLAYING YOUNG 96

AUGUST FESTIVAL PREVIEW 32

ALL THINGS THURBER 36

FLYTOWN RECORDS LANDS IN COLUMBUS 42

AN RSVP TO ROYS SUPPERCLUB 54

THE GLOBAL GROCERY AT SARAGA 68

THE FAMILY FUN GUIDE 80

FALL WEEKEND GETAWAYS 113

113 16

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O N TH E COV E R : DESIGN BY JESS WA L L ACE | PHOTO BY B R IA N KA ISER | FEAT U RIN G MIK E T HOMAS, R EGIN A FOX, A N D MITCH HOOPER

O P E N I N G VO L L E Y

he trailer for the film version of the musical Cats was recently released, and everyone suddenly had a Cats opinion, or at least a question. Why do they look like people if they’re supposed to be cats? What the hell is a Jellicle cat? How is it different from a regular cat? Why do they have weird names? Why are they dancing? How are they dancing? What does Cats even mean? I can’t tell you what it means to you. That’s really for you to decide. What I can tell you is that I love the musical Cats. I mean I would watch it again and again. And I have. Cats was the first musical I saw on Broadway. I purchased my tickets at regular price from a semi-reputable-looking transient salesperson standing outside the Winter Garden Theatre and walked in. It was one of those things that shouldn’t have worked, but did. The seats were good. Main floor. And spread out in front of me was a cosmic junkyard/playground, scaled to human-as-cat-sized proportions. The house lights went down, the overture began, and Munkustrap began to introduce the cats that might be chosen to go to the Heaviside Layer to begin a new life. Cats looked like something I would create if I had designed sets when I was five—remnants and leftovers and broken-down stuff that spontaneously, magically became setpieces and costumes. It was dark and mysterious, not shiny and spectacular, a powerful expression of music and movement and playful words fueled entirely by the imagination rather than thick layers of plot and character motivation. Cats had the ability to transport its audience to an overt fantasy world. (If they were open to such a thing, which apparently many people are. Cats is now the fourth longest-running Broadway musical.) When the haters start in on Cats, I silently roll my eyes and think, Where’s your happy button? Why can’t you just roll with thing? Seriously, what else does a musical with wildly innovative choreography and chart-topping music really owe you? A theory of everything? And what do you tell your kids? You know you’re not really Superman. You’re just wearing your underwear and a towel. Cats is about acceptance, redemption, and finding your tribe. We all belong. We’re all worthy. We all deserve second chances. And there’s hope for all of us. Now and Forever. It’s a profound message in a joyous, non-cerebral (although not anti-cerebral) performance. You know, something a child could understand. Something children do understand. Therefore the experience of Cats is about finding your inner child (or kitten). That’s mostly a matter of saying “yes,” and seeing where that leads. Yes, a musical doesn’t need to

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PUBLISHER Wayne T. Lewis

MANAGING EDITOR Laura Dachenbach ASSISTANT EDITOR Mitch Hooper PHOTO EDITOR Brian Kaiser CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Rebecca Tien, Kyle Asperger, Kyle Tracey, Megan Leigh Barnard 614NOW EDITOR Regina Fox STAFF WRITER Mike Thomas

SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS J.R. McMillan, Jeni Ruisch Jaelani Turner-Williams, Linda Lee Baird

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John McLaughlin, Melinda Green, Nathan Cotton, Madi Task

COPY EDITOR Dan Sponseller

CREATIVE DESIGNERS Jess Wallace Sarah Moore GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Hugo Albornoz

PHOTO BY BRIAN KAISER

play by the rules of logic to make an emotional impact. Yes, I will have a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for dinner. Yes, I can make it through this obstacle course. Yes, you are indeed Superman. We’ve had a lot of fun setting aside our adult selves and reliving the memories of childhood to bring you this issue, so even if I haven’t convinced you to run out and find the direct-to-video definitive stage version of Cats, at least I hope that the fun you’ll see this issue will let know that whatever your secret childhood pleasure is, it’s ok with us.

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Meggin Weimerskirch SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Derek Landers ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becky Frazee , Nikki Harris DIGITAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Lori Brittanham VP OF SALES AND MARKETING Lindsay Press

Best,

Laura Dachenbach Managing Editor (614) Magazine

(614) Magazine 458 E Main St., Columbus, OH 43215 Office: (614) 488-4400 Fax: (614) 488-4402 Email submissions to: editor@614columbus.com www.614columbus.com

WELCOME TO THE INSIDER!

There are so many amazing events happening in the 614 that we needed to give them a little more room to stretch out. Not only will you get more events each month coming from the magazine staff, but a few will be recommended by your fellow readers. Have an event you want to shoutout? Send an email to events@614columbus.com.

(8.2 - 8.4) Pelotonia Ride Weekend MCFERSON COMMONS

Back for its tenth year, Pelotonia aims to raise money for cancer research through bicycling. This threeday fitness-fueled event offers cyclists the chance to take on routes that range from 25 miles to 100 miles, meaning riders of all experience levels can participate. Each year the fundraising hits new heights and with more than 7,000 riders ready to go, we’re sure this year will do the same.

Superhero Day EASTON TOWN CENTER

Billy Currington EXPRESS LIVE!

Famous for country hits like “People Are Crazy” and “Must Be Doin’ Somethin Right,” Billy Currington showcases the days of country music before bro-country took over. Check out the musician at Express Live! at the beginning of August and drink a few cold ones because if we know anything about Currington, he’s pretty good at drinking beers.

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8.8 Common Ground Concert Series: Boyz II Men

COLUMBUS COMMONS

Boyz II Men has been making hits since the early 1990s and those tunes are still loved to this day. In August, the iconic group will be performing at the Columbus Commons for a free outdoor concert. If you’re still holding a grudge against your mom for not letting you go to a concert when you were younger, here’s your chance to let that hate go!

Who needs to wait until October to break out the superhero costumes? Easton Town Center is inviting all the little ones to come out in full force as plenty of other costumed characters will be in attendance. From villains to heroes to sidekicks, this event should offer your child the perfect photo opportunity with their favorite characters.

8.10 Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati MAPFRE STADIUM

Who are we? The Crew! What do we want? Well, actually it’s a complicated list of things—namely a new soccer stadium—but we’ll settle for a big win against our fellow Ohioan squad, Cincinnati.

UPCOMING SHOWS! AUG. 1-4

TONY ROCK AUG. 8 & 11

AARON KLEIBER

AUG. 9-10

JIM NORTON

SPECIAL

ENGAGEMENT

AUG. 18

DAVE LANDAU

AUG. 21

ALL OHIO KINGS OF COMEDY

SPECIAL

ENGAGEMENT

AUG. 22

DYLAN MANDLSOHN

SPECIAL

ENGAGEMENT

AUG. 23-24

EARTHQUAKE

SPECIAL

ENGAGEMENT

AUG. 25

Queen and Adam Lambert: The Rhapsody Tour NATIONWIDE ARENA

If the blockbuster movie Queen just wasn’t enough for you, the Rhapsody Tour featuring Queen and Adam Lambert should just about do the trick. Though frontman Freddie Mercury won’t be leading the way, former American Idol star Adam Lambert provides for an energetic and fun show. Plus, how many times have we done the “We Will Rock You” stomp/clap at a Jackets’ game? It’s only fitting we hear the real deal live and in-person.

ROD PAULETTE

ALL ACTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

VISIT US ON THE WEB www.columbusfunnybone.com TEXT FUNNYBONE TO 31279 TO JOIN THE VIP FUNNY BONE TEXT PROGRAM (msg & data rates may apply)

VISIT US ON

145 Easton Town Center Columbus, OH 43219 RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST!

614-471-(JOKE) 5653 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

Taste The Future

COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Taste The Future might be one of the most flavorful ways to see what’s going on in our city’s kitchens. At this event benefiting students at Columbus State, more than 50 of Central Ohio’s chefs will be in attendance crafting delicious dishes from their respective restaurants. From Del Mar SoCal Kitchen to Harvey & Ed’s, the options are seemingly endless.

(8.16-8.25) Disney’s Alice In Wonderland Jr.

SHEDD THEATER, COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Let your imagination run wild and fall down that rabbit hole. All of your favorite cheshire cats, mad hatters, and caterpillars will be there. Literary heroine Alice comes to life on stage with CATCO is Kids, bringing songs you learned from the 1951 Disney classic movie.

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Prints and Pints

THE DAILY GROWLER — GERMAN VILLAGE/ BREWERY DISTRICT

With 15 local graphic designers paired up with 15 different local breweries, this event promises to promote all things Central Ohio. At The Daily Growler, designers and artists will have prints available for sale featuring breweries like Ill Mannered, Wolf’s Ridge, and Land-Grant. With the purchase of a $30 ticket, you’ll receive one print to take home as well as a drink, though it is a freeto-attend event.

Peach Fest

LYND’S FRUIT FARM

August is here and for Lynd’s Fruit Farm, that means it’s peach season! Stop by the farm out in Pataskala to scoop some of the freshest peaches Ohio has to offer, plus there’s activities like wagon rides and games for your children.

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Field To Table

FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY

8.23 Craft Brew At The Zoo

THE COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM

Summer is drawing to a close and for the Franklin Park Conservatory, that means it’s time to celebrate late-seasonal offerings. The evening begins with cocktails and a candlelit meal and eventually ends with an extravagant dinner under the stars once it’s dark enough. The night is every bit as elegant as you are imagining and a perfect way to go into the fall season.

The Columbus Zoo is ready to throw a party, but unfortunately, you’ll have to leave the little ones with a sitter. This night is for the adults as it will feature craft beer, food trucks, and live music from Sugar Ray. Your $35 ticket purchase includes two drink tickets good for two 12 oz. beers as well as complimentary soda and water.

(8.24-8.25) Urban Scrawl 13 400 WEST RICH

Back for another year, Urban Scrawl is a twoday event featuring public murals on display at 400 West Rich. While artists create large murals in real time, you can enjoy the food trucks in the area, listen to music from the DJs, or simply kick back a few beers.

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CHA 29th Annual Dog Jog GENOA PARK

Grab your pup and get ready to do some running! The CHA Dog Jog 5K is a chance for you to get active with your pet while also supporting the CHA Animal Shelter. This day stands as one of their biggest fundraising events of the shelter so donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss your shot to help!

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DRX Dash: One Mile Obstacle Challenge

BLACK DIAMOND OBSTACLE COURSE ON COLLEGE AVENUE

Let’s just see how tough you really are! At the DRX Dash, your endurance will be put to the test as you fight your way through this mile-long obstacle course. From sprinting to crawling to picking up heavy things and throwing those heavy things, we’re getting sweaty just writing about this.

Shawn Mendes: The Tour

NATIONWIDE ARENA

In a surprise to almost no one, another uber cute and talented boy has emerged in the pop music world. Shawn Mendes has grown to fame with hits like “If I Can’t Have You” and “In My Blood” and it’s for good reason. Beyond being extremely catchy songs, the dude can truly belt out some notes.

9.5

The Jonas Brothers: Happiness Begins Tour

THE SCHOTTENSTEIN CENTER

Ohio State Buckeyes v. Florida Atlantic Owls OHIO STADIUM

New coach, who dis? It’s officially the first game for head coach of the Buckeyes Ryan Day as he starts his campaign at the helm of it all. Luckily for him (and all of us), the Florida Atlantic Owls aren’t really posing any big threats, and c’mon, we’re Ohio State. OH-! Football season is back, baby.

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Before Shawn Mendes, there was The Jonas Brothers. Though the three brothers were a hit together, they took some time apart and now they’re back featuring all their newest songs as well as the classics. Honestly, we’re just worried about the city with having both the Jonas Brothers and Shawn Mendes come through in the same week. Godspeed, Cbusers.

( INSIDE the PARENTHESES ) BY M I TC H H O O P E R

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•The Six:

“What’s Different?” On page 84, you’ll find out more about the characters of Amy’s Princess Parties who stopped by our office and instructed us in the details of what goes into making a child’s party magical. Inspired by the nostalgia of the moment, we thought about our fellow Columbus publication, Highlights For Children, and decided to recreate one of our favorite games featured in their magazine: “What’s Different?” There are six differences between these two photos of Sleeping Beauty at her desk. Can you find them all?

Answers: 6. “The princess shall” inspirational poster reads as “The prince shall.” 5. “File TPS Report” missing the ‘S.’ 4. Rose tattoo on Sleeping Beauty’s hand. 3. Hidden Mickey instead of Apple logo on computer. 2. Ryan Gosling photo instead of Prince Phillip. 1. Frog prince trying to get in on the action.

Behind The Cover

PH OTO BY BRIA N KA I SER

Adorned in our Mario-themed apparel, our brave writing and photography team took to the tracks this month. Thanks to our cartoon-fashionknowledgeable friends at Costume Holiday House and our fun-forwardthinking pals at Grand Prix Karting, we recreated a scene from Mario Kart. With a stylus and an iPad, our designer Jess Wallace, was able to transform this scene to something straight out of your Nintendo 64. As you know now, it takes a village to make a cover.

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BY M I TC

Round out the season with these summer festivals in August H HO O

PER

\\ 8.10 \\ COLUMBUS FIERY FOODS FESTIVAL Columbus Commons | $15-$30 This August, the festival game will be turned up a few notches at the Columbus Fiery Foods Festival. Here you can try all kinds of spicy treats from around the world with vendors like The Spicy Shark, Elijah’s Xtreme Hot Sauce, and SH’ That’s Hot. You can find out more about the new spicy festival on page 74.

\\ 8.10 \\ FRONTSTAGE FEST Big Room Bar | $12 It’s a party in the parking lot! Stop by Big Room Bar to hear the sounds of a variety of local acts including Ghost Soul Trio, label me lecter, and Girl Fox. This one-day music festival will run all of Saturday with food trucks and booze providing you fuel to get through it all.

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\\ 8.10-11 \\ FESTIVAL LATINO Genoa Park | Free Celebrating all things Latino in Columbus since 1996, Festival Latino is the perfect way to experience culture in our city. The twoday, free-to-attend event will bring in a variety of Latino musicians and groups like La Reunion NorteĂąa on Saturday and Los Rabanes on Sunday. And of course, you can get your fill of all the LatinAmerican cuisine you can handle from one of the many vendors at Genoa Park for the weekend.

\\ 8.16-19 \\ ITALIAN HERITAGE SUMMER FESTIVAL Coffman Park | Free Just a week after Downtown celebrates Festival Latino, Dublin will be celebrating the Italian Heritage Summer Festival at Coffman Park. This three-day festival will boast all things Italian from families to music to food.

\\ 8.17 \\ THE OHIO EGGFEST Grandview Yard | $25 They might be small, but boy are they mighty. Dome-shaped barbeques have been dubbed egg grills and this festival is bringing these out in a big way. Your $25 ticket includes food from all of the participating cooks as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Additionally, all proceeds of egg grill sales as well as beverage and ticket sales will be donated to The James for cancer research.

\\ 8.17 \\ WONDERBUS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL The Lawn At CAS | $20-$400 Stepping into Ohio as one of the newer festivals this season is Wonderbus Music And Arts Festival. This two-day event will showcase alternative, indie-pop, jazz-funk, and jam rock bands such as Walk The Moon, The Revivalists, and Chelsea Cutler. Whether you go with a general admission pass or ball out on the VIP passes, this weekend is for the music lovers.

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\\ 8.17-18 \\ COLUMBUS FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL Bicentennial Park | Free If every festival features food trucks of some kind, it’s only right we have a general festival of just food trucks, right? Come one, come all to the Columbus Food Truck Festival where you’ll have options galore to satisfy your indulgences, dietary restrictions, and anything else you’re looking for. We recommend trying something new this year, but let’s be honest, all roads lead back to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on a hot summer day.

\\ 8.17 \\ CRESTFEST Crestview and Tulane Roads | Free Festivals are always great chances to get the little ones playing outdoors and CrestFest might be your kid’s new favorite festival. Here they can play in inflatable areas, check out the skate park, or work on some arts-and-crafts. Meanwhile mom and dad can enjoy the local music and sip on a few adult beverages. Don’t even worry, mom and dad, we know what you’re after in an evening.

\\ 8.23-24 \\ BREAKAWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019 Mapfre Stadium | $45-$85 The Columbus Crew will have to share Mapfre this August as Prime Social Group’s Breakaway Music Festival is returning to the city. Find out more about Breakaway Fest and PSG on the next page!

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\\ 8.24 \\ COLUMBUS SUMMER BEERFEST Express LIVE! | $20-$65 Whether you prefer the hoppy IPAs or the heavy stouts, Columbus Summer Beerfest is sure to please your palate. This event is always loaded with breweries from Ohio, and beyond giving beer fans the opportunity to explore lesser-known brews, or simply enjoy their favorite pints. Grab your tickets, and more importantly, bring a DD.

\\ 8.30-9.2 \\ COLUMBUS GREEK FESTIVAL The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral | $5 The cultural celebrations keep coming in August and we round out the month with Columbus Greek Festival. Here youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find delicious Greek food like gyros or lamb chops as well as live entertainment, tours of the Cathedral, and a bit of a history lesson on the Greek traditions. Your $5 ticket grants entry for the entire weekend, and children younger than 12 get in for free!

\\ 8.31-10.27 \\ OHIO RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Waynesville, Ohio | $19 Come forth all ye proud jesters and commonfolk as we step back into the past at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, where you can munch on a giant turkey leg and watch a live jousting match. With a medieval marketplace suited for a king and events that bring a smile to the queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face, going back to a time without wifi or iPhones has never sounded so great.

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Prime Time Live

Adam Lynn and Zach Ruben are bringing the music festivals to the midwest with Breakaway BY MI TCH HOOP ER PH OTOS P ROVIDED BY P R I M E SOC I A L G R OU P

In the world of fast-moving trends, it seems music festivals have taken a turn for the rich and famous. What used to be a chance for music fans to enjoy a handful of their favorite artists in the same place has turned into an exclusive party for celebrities, or anyone rich enough to foot the bill for a ticket. While festivals like Coachella in California and Lollapalooza in Chicago feature some of the biggest names in the music industry, that doesn’t mean the Midwest can’t get in on the action. In fact, creators and founders of Prime Social Group and Breakaway Music Festival are here to alleviate this problem by bringing the action to us. Meet Adam Lynn and Zach Ruben, founders and creators of Prime Social who host a plethora of concerts and music festivals like Breakaway Music Festival. Now in its fifth year, the two have worked together to bring rap icons like Kendrick Lamar, EDM favorites like Dillon Francis, and even Columbus’ very own Twenty One Pilots to Mapfre Stadium. However, it hasn’t always been this way for the two entrepreneurs. 34

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Before the days of PSG, Lynn and Ruben didn’t start working together until they collaborated on a Steve Aoki tour. “We just took [Steve Aoki] all over the Midwest,” Lynn recalled. “It was just the craziest two weeks of my life. We went from Ann Arbor to Bloomington to Columbus, basically just traveling the country. But Zach and I had really been competitors until that tour.” The final stop on the tour was Columbus where Ruben is originally from. Lynn, a New York native, said he had never been to Columbus before, but it only took one time to fall in love. “I really like the whole ‘Ohio versus The World,’ ” Lynn said. “No one really says that about New York.” In 2011, PSG hired its first employee. Eight years later, the company has locations in Columbus and Nashville while dipping its toes into other mid-size markets like Detroit and Milwaukee. And the world is starting to take notice. Just recently, Billboard named both Lynn and Ruben to its 2019 Dance Power Players list as live leaders shaping the genre. Who needs California? “If you look at sports teams, what are some of the best sports attendances? It’s pretty comparable—they’re selling tickets, I’m selling tickets,” Lynn explained. “Look at Milwaukee for example. That is a market that will have the strongest MLB attendance of the entire league, but their population is a fraction of some of these cities.” The hype surrounding Breakaway has been taken to a national level, and Lynn said he’s ready to add more fuel to that fire. In 2019, PSG hosted

four festivals and that number is expected to double in 2020. Breakaway business is boomin’. This year’s Breakaway will bring back some familiar faces to the festival. Both Young Thug and Future return for hip-hop fans while Bassnecter will be blowing out speakers with an EDM set. If you’re looking to discover someone new, Kid Quill is someone Lynn said to keep your eyes and ears on. He’s an up-and-coming hip-hop artist from Indiana who takes the stage on Friday. “I think that we’ve been around the business long enough that people are beginning to respect us. We’re not just here to come and go and make a quick buck,” Ruben said. Lessons are taught even with success, and if Ruben can nail down one lesson he’s learned, it’s keeping the festival to just two days. Last year was the first time Breakaway spanned three days, and while it was successful, Ruben said he feels the markets are just better suited for two days… For now. Breakaway Music Festival is at Mapfre Stadium on August 23 and 24. For tickets, visit breakawaymusicfestival.com.

Prime Time Playlist We know who Lynn is putting on the stage, but who is he listening to in his free time? What are the three most recent artists you listened to? Rüfüs Du Sol, Louis The Child, and Kid Quill. Name me an album you can’t get enough of. Solace by Rüfüs Du Sol. You have to download it, put it on replay, put your headphones on, no distractions and just let it rip. What was the last concert you went to? In June, I went to Bonnaroo, FireFly Festival, and Electric Forest Festival. And which was the best? Electric Forest Festival. It’s the best festival on the planet. It’s a festival, to me, that could book no talent—every year—and still sell so many tickets. I wouldn’t say sell out, but people have a blast. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

The Secret Life of James Thurber

BY JA E L ANI T URNER-WI LLI AM S

A L L I L LU STR ATI O NS BY JAM ES T HURB ER from A MI LE AND A H A LF O F LIN ES : THE A RT O F JAMES TH U RBER, pu bl i s he d by The Ohi o St ate Univer sit y Press, are copy ri ght Â© 2 01 9 by Ros e ma ry A . Thur ber. Repr inted by p e rmi ss i on of Ros e ma ry A . Thur ber and t he B ar ba ra Hoge ns on Age ncy, Inc .

Columbus Museum of Art pays tribute to the known and unknown work of Columbus humorist 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

here’s a cartoon by James Thurber that sums up the work of author and 40-year Thurber historian, Michael J. Rosen. In the cartoon, a woman receives an eye exam while a doctor points to a line of letters on a classic eye chart. From several feet away, the woman replies, “Certainly I can make it out! It’s three seahorses and an ‘h.’ ” “I love the woman’s benighted confidence, and how Thurber suggests that our perceptions are always a bit off,” Rosen explains. “Mine have always been, and I’ve harnessed that for much of my work.” Perhaps you’re familiar with Columbus-born humorist James Thurber from the Thurber House—the home he rented for a period of time which is now a haven for writers-in-residence and literary programs for all ages. But for Rosen, it’s his second home. As former literary director of Thurber House, Rosen’s fascination with Thurber’s legacy is unwavering, to the point that he can recollect key drawings, stories and facts with episodic memory. In correlation with what would be Thurber’s 125th birthday, Rosen is prepping the book release of A Mile and a Half of Lines, an extensive look at Thurber’s artwork that redefined American humor and cartooning. Thurber’s work will also be exhibited under the same title at the Columbus Museum of Art, reintroducing viewers to his twentieth-century influence. With access to all of Thurber’s images, both published and unpublished, Rosen proposed the notion of the Mile and a Half exhibit 38

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in 2015. As Thurber was known to spontaneously draw on scraps of notebook paper, his art was never used with archival consideration. “I wanted some plastic, inimitable, vintage Thurber that people would know, and I wanted to present a great deal of imagery that people didn’t know,” Rosen says. “So, 125 years after his birth, [Columbus Museum of Art] agreed it was high time to claim James Thurber as one of Ohio’s great artists and one of the nation’s most important creators of the cartoon. Here we are with nearly one hundred drawings appearing at the museum for six months.” Some exhibit guests may discover that Thurber succeeded Mark Twain in terms of following the humorist pedigree, while others may learn that he was an artist who was almost rendered entirely blind (which prevented him from graduating from Ohio State University.) The crux of Thurber’s drawings evolved from 1927 to 1941, as he attempted to draw with a giant magnifier with white ink on black paper, while lacking some of his sight. Unlike many artists in the late period who works in watercolors and oils, “Thurber’s output is exclusively done as spontaneous. He in many ways invented the idea of an unstudied line in art,” Rosen says. “Before Thurber, [a] cartoon was a very well-drawn image, usually with two or three lines that provided to humor. Thurber was the first to draw not beautiful pictures, but the pictures were funny themselves,

and the captions dropped to just one phrase or one line. When we think of Twain, we think novels, maybe some essays, things that are in the canon because they’re big. Thurber wrote an enormous variety of different forms in which his art take shape.”

“So, 125 years after his birth, [Columbus Museum of Art] agreed it was high time to claim James Thurber as one of Ohio’s great artists and one of the nation’s most important creators of the cartoon. Here we are with nearly one hundred drawings appearing at the museum for six months.” As Thurber lived through Prohibition, the Great Depression and the Cold War, much of his work, while humorous, is based upon resilience. Politically active in the 50s when he was red listed as being a “communist sympathizer,” Thurber declined to accept an honorary degree from Ohio State, as the university prevented free speech on campus. Considering humor as a vital force of the human condition, Rosen regards works in A Mile and a Half of Lines as relevant and engaging, with all viewers approaching the exhibit with different motives. “It’s both the fact that he was an astonishingly polished wordsmith as well as having the heart of humor at the center of his work, which is, ‘something’s wrong and humor is a mechanism of coping,’ ” Rosen says. “Art helps us translate our experience because it’s in a different medium. There’s appeal for families and then there are those who will look at the cartoons and recognize the poignancy.” • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

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So would James Thurber detest modern technology at 125 years of age? Rosen doesn’t think so, in fact, the real-time social media age would make for good material. “Back in the sixties, he was writing about the culture going at such a fast pace, words were blurring that we couldn’t keep up with things. News was daunting, language was eroding at such a fast pace because of people skipping and being sloppy. I mean he would be writing about the fact that right now, no one does one thing at a time,” he says. “Our information overload has exceeded the capacity of the brain. As a jittery, jumpy person—as he often describes himself and his generation—he would need the tools of humor and the art of writing all the more.” Throughout his life, Thurber’s influence ventured beyond Columbus, but as A Mile and a Half of Lines resides at the Columbus Museum of Art for six months, Rosen hopes that Thurber’s work finds its way home. “Perhaps his best known work was the autobiographical vignette of My Life and Hard Times, then during his more grim period, he returned to Columbus in his imagination, researched and wrote The Thurber Album, which are portraits of people that were dear to him,” Rosen says. “He’s famous for saying that the clocks that chime in his dreams are the clocks of Columbus.[...] Columbus remained very much the sketchbook on which he could draw.”

A Mile and a Half of Lines: The Art of James Thurber, will be on display at Columbus Museum of Art from August 24, 2019 through March 15, 2020. Visit columbusmuseum.org for information. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

the Fly

arnest efforts by public officials are necessary to protect our physical landmarks. Take Columbus’ Union Station, for instance, which was saved from complete demolition through a single archway near Nationwide Arena. But these same efforts are not always sufficient to capture the spirit or sentiments of a bygone era. That lofty goal is perhaps best left to artists, activists, and other cultural ambassadors. Nick D’Andrea, Jonathan Elliot, Joey Gurwin, and Eric Rollin— veterans of the Columbus music scene with a wide variety of experiences in the industry–are eager to play this role by invoking a nearly-forgotten piece of 19th century Columbus history as they expand opportunities for musicians today. The four partners founded Flytown Records last year, an independent label committed to mentoring and developing recording artists in Central Ohio. Named for the eclectic, racially-integrated, and working-class “Flytown” neighborhood that emerged in the 1860s across the modern Short North and Arena District, Flytown Records has signed four local artists: Doc Robinson, the alt-rock/indie band founded by D’Andrea and Elliot in 2016; Mistar Anderson, a hip-hop band emceed by Rollin; singersongwriter Riley Dean; and 16-year-old lyricist Bree OTB. The partners hope to embody the harmonious, collaborative setting of the neighborhood recalled by Franklin County’s Historical Society as “democracy’s melting pot for the city of Columbus” in their recordings. 42

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New independent record label taps into Columbus music potential BY N ATH A N COTTO N | P H OTO BY BRI AN KAI SER

(614) caught up with Flytown to discuss their motivations for founding a record label and what makes the Columbus music scene unique. (614): What inspired you to start a record label? Are there other prominent labels in Columbus or across Ohio that you’re seeking to emulate, or was Flytown formed to combat a deficit? JG: At the studio I hear a ton of great music, and get to have a hand in the production. Some of that music doesn’t see the light of day for one reason or another. And sometimes the music that does go out doesn’t get the attention that I feel like it deserves. There is so much great music being made, and anything that we can do to help foster that, we should. ND: We felt our skill set was basically like a production company. The things we found ourselves doing day in and day out—writing, recording, and releasing music—we realized could be valuable as a service to other artists that we admired and wanted to see succeed. We also felt that the connections we’ve made over the years could be useful to the next generation of artists, and that by each other artist’s success we all stand to benefit. The idea, that I feel is very much in line with the Columbus music scene, that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ Starting this label was creating a framework to put that philosophy into practice.

(614): How have you selected Flytown artists up to this point? ND: Our first two artists—besides our own bands Doc Robinson and Mistar Anderson—that we’ve signed, co-produced, and helped to release their music were both artists that we had worked with individually before, and were really impressed by their natural abilities, authenticity, and determination. Stylistically, I don’t think they really have anything in common. JG: We love great music that we think that should have a wider audience. We have all figured out in our own ways over the years how to create and then find an audience. We know it when we hear it. (614): Mentorship is one of Flytown’s stated goals. How can positive mentors accelerate or adversely affect careers in music? JE: I personally owe so much gratitude to the many incredible mentors and teachers that I’ve had in my life, who have helped me achieve the success that I’ve been fortunate to have, and prepare me for situations and experiences that come along with this business. I believe it’s our imperative duty to give back, and bestow the knowledge that has been passed on to us, to the next generation. We are fortunate to live in a city where musicians can survive and make a living, a good mentor and solid assistance from those who have walked a similar road, can be invaluable, and help an artist thrive. ND: I think mentorship is an essential part of both the music industry and the Columbus music scene. I think it is at the forefront of what we are building especially considering our artists thus far are very much at the beginning of their careers. The main thing we feel we have to offer beyond connections, production, or distribution, is experience. (614): What is especially unique or valuable about the Columbus music scene? JG: What’s great is the community, the support that we all give each other, and that we are honestly all rooting for each other and get excited about each other’s work. ... Just like I take an out of town friend to my favorite sushi, or coffee spot, I’ll take them to a local show. The result is always the same. I just took a friend from California to Hoodoo [Soul Band at Rumba Cafe] last night, he loved it, danced all night and talked about how he wishes there was more of a local scene in Santa Cruz. We know what we have is special (and has been so for years) we’re just doing our little part of shining a light on it. It might change lives...or at least someone’s playlist. JE: I believe our music scene’s biggest strength is perhaps in our cultural diversity. Being the home to OSU, one of the nation’s biggest universities, and other great institutions like Capital and CCAD has helped to create a rich and competitive environment of intellectuals and creatives, hailing from all over the planet. In the future, I hope to see more and more purposeful collaborations and far better networking opportunities for those who are struggling to find a niche or a scene to fit into. ND: Collaboration is the superpower of the Columbus music scene. It is ingrained in the DNA of the community from the beginning, and the seeds its founders planted are still flowering today, at Comfest, in Hoodoo [Soul Band], at Dick’s Den, every Sunday morning in churches all over the city, at all the summer fests in all of the wild amalgamations of the same musicians in different formations playing in four, five, six different bands that are all writing great original music. • The final “Flytown Presents” summer music series event will be held on August 8 at Land-Grant Brewing Company. See landgrantbrewing.com/ taproom/music for information. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

Gallery Space

Prints and Pints BY M I TC H H O O P E R

Timothy Brennan | BrewDog

Sam Brieck | Yellow Springs Brewery

Can you tell us about the idea behind what you created for your brewery?

Going into this project, I think both myself and the folks at BrewDog were really interested in showcasing the Canal Winchester brewery and taproom. ... We wanted to include the overall footprint of the property, the murals by Craig Fisher, the DogHouse Hotel, bicycles for the weekly bike night hosted here and as many of the smaller elements as we could while still keeping it bold and graphic with a retro vibe.

The name of the beer, Captain Stardust Saison, and just Yellow Springs in general bring all kinds of colorful images to mind. I wanted to make something that captures the whimsy of the beer but also is inspired by the town itself which has an absurd amount of character to it. While we bounced around different ideas/directions, the brewery team really gave me free reign to go nuts.

What beer from your brewery did you keep close by during your creation process?

I recently had the opportunity to design the label for one of BrewDog’s pilot beers—Grapefruit Pay Citrus Saison. So those were always within reach to pull me out of any creative rut.

Is this a test? Captain Stardust. It’s actually my absolute favorite beer they have. I was just lucky that they wanted to feature it. It’s incredibly tasty, refreshing, and has a nice subtle spice to it.

If you could work with another brewer in this event, who would it be?

Finish this sentence: You should totally go home with one of my prints because…

So many great breweries in the mix this year, but one in particular I’d love to work with is Yellow Springs Brewery. Their Boat Show IPA is such a good beer and I just love visiting the brewery by the bike path in Yellow Springs, perfect spot to spend a summer afternoon and stroll through town afterwards.

All your dreams will come true. Especially the weird ones.

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With 15 local designers paired up with 15 different brewers, the Daily Growler in German Village hosted by Upright Press is primed with a new batch of beer art on August 17. Visitors can browse through the prints for free and purchase brews from the bar. (614) caught up with six of the designers from the event to see what they’ve brewed up.

Benjamin Howes | Wolf’s Ridge Brewery If you had to name this collection, what would you name it? If I had to name this poster it would be “Back With The Pack.” What beer from your brewery did you keep close by during your creation process? Pack IPA, hands down. Although a rogue bottle of Clear Sky Daybreak may have slipped into the mix. Finish this sentence: You should totally go home with one of my prints because… It glows in the dark! And it’s an homage to the natural history of our great city. Remembering and respecting our relationship with our land, our rivers, our forests, and our air will continue to make Columbus an incredible city for eons to come.

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Dustin Goebel | Homestead Brewing Can you tell us about the idea/concept behind what you created for your brewery? I picked Homestead Brewing for two reasons. One, their beers are amazing and two, they always come up with unique names for their beers. Names that beg to be accompanied with art. ... This piece for me is about taking chances. This is one of the first times I’ve done color separation for screen prints so, in a way, being a part of this event at all is taking a chance. Another chance taken was using a holographic swirl paper. The paper reminded me so much of oil in water that I knew it’d be a missed opportunity if I went any other direction. If you could collab with another artist in this event, who would it be? I’m a big fan of Lucie Shearer’s work. The poster she did with North High for last year’s event was amazing and the mural stuff she’s been posting online lately has been top notch.

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Donnie Mossman | North High Brewing Company Can you tell us about the idea/concept behind what you created for your brewery? Is it something you worked aside the brewery, or were you free to create on your own? When I think of the brewery I always think of this view from High St and the ‘beer’ sign in the window, I wanted to capture the chill neighborhood bar atmosphere they have. If you had to name this collection, what would you name it? Minimal Posting. If you could collab with another artist in this event, who would it be? I’m really into screen printed concert posters so I’ve been a big fan of Clinton Reno and Logan Schmitt for years. I’d love to learn more about this art form from working with either of them. More recently I discovered Benjamin Howes on Instagram and his simple/minimal style is right up my alley so I think we would work well together.

Sam Fout | Ill Mannered Brewing What beer from your brewery did you keep close by during your creation process? It was all about the Juice Box, but Ill Mannered has some incredible beer. Hopefully I will get the chance to work with them again when they begin bottling and distributing soon. Finish this sentence: You should totally go home with one of my prints becauseâ&#x20AC;Ś Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not enough beer, devils and/or skeletons in your den. Or maybe there is. In which case you should definitely buy one. If you could work with another brewer in this event, who would it be? I love Land-Grant, Seventh Son, North High, BrewDog, Combustion, all of the breweries in this event are great. I would be happy to work with any of them.

The Daily Growler in German Village is located on 702 S High St. Tickets are available for $30 which grants you one print to take home, a beer from one of the participating breweries, and access to the art an hour earlier than start time.

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Sun , Swimsuits , & Self-Acceptance Pool party empowers women to reclaim and celebrate themselves

BY L AU R A DAC H E N B ACH | PH OTO BY ME G AN LE IG H B ARNARD

omen tend to form friendships through the intimacy of their conversations. Stef Streb, a body-positive photographer, and Julie Ohlemacher, an intuitive eating health coach realized they were having the same conversations about body image with their respective clients, and wanted to bring their voices together. “We wanted to make that discussion bigger,” said Streb. “So we started Girls Night, our event series where we host an open discussion with about 30 women about what it really means to be body positive, and how to navigate a society that promotes the idea that there’s only one ‘right’ body to have, which most of us don’t.” That conversation next led to “Sun’s Out, Tums Out!,” a body-positive pool party celebrating the beautiful reality that women come in all shapes and sizes. The event will also host a charity raffle to benefit ROX, a Columbus-based organization that creates programs to build confidence in girls and young women. (614) sat down with Ohlemacher to find out more.

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(614): What has been the response to your events? JO: Our Girls Night events have been incredible. ... [Our] goal is simply to open up the conversation. It’s not about us lecturing. It’s about us creating and holding space for all women who come to have the opportunity to share their story, to ask a question, to be a part of this larger conversation of body image struggles and the devastating impact of living in a culture that praises one body size over another. For so long, body image struggles were our shameful little secrets. I always felt like I was the only one who had this struggle. I told no one, and of course, the more I kept it in, [the more] this shame expanded. Turns out, unfortunately, that many women feel this same shame, that many women struggle in their bodies. So by creating a space for us all to share and be open and to fight back against the cultural standards that hurt all of us, to illuminate the almost $70-billion diet industry that literally profits off of us feeling not good enough, it allows women to release that shame because they realize they’re not alone, and it’s not their fault they’ve felt the way they do. Woman after woman has come up to Stef and me thanking us for creating this space. Women often measure their appearance against other women. So why do you think that all-female participation in an event like this makes a difference in self-acceptance? This entire event is about creating space to fight back against our fatphobic culture that hurts us all, that forces us to make these damaging comparisons. This event is about celebrating all body shapes and sizes, and when we do that, comparison falls by the wayside because when there is no ideal, there’s no standard to compare yourself against. This event is about seeing the beauty, the value, the worth in all bodies of all sizes. It’s about saying, “Hey, your body is good simply because it’s your body and she allows you to experience life, and who we are as human beings is way more important than how we look.” I mean, as women we’re told the most important thing about us is our looks. This event fights against that. It says, “Hey, we’re all beautiful, but we all have much more to offer this world than our appearance.” This event creates a space for women to celebrate themselves and each other, to support and uplift each other, to bring us all together. How do you want women to feel as they walk away from this experience? Empowered and celebrated. My goal is for the women who come to have an experience in their bodies that maybe they’ve never had before... an experience of true acceptance, respect, love and celebration for their body and for all bodies of all shapes and sizes. But even more than that, I hope women walk away from the event feeling more grounded in their bodies so that they can be rooted in the truth that who they are as human beings is always much more important than how she looks. Is this event going to expand in the future? We’ll see! I could easily see this becoming an annual event. And of course, our Girls Nights will absolutely continue quarterly! •

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Columbus Does Good:

Community for New Direction BY M ELI N DA G R E E N | P H OTOS BY R E B E C A TI E N

At 9 a.m. on a Tuesday in July, dozens of children from around Franklin County pile out of vans and into a west side elementary school. Some grab breakfast; others head outside to play before morning exercise. Greetings ring out across the school’s common area. “We’re the best-kept secret in Columbus,” Susie Shipley-Norwood jokes. Shipley-Norwood, Community for New Directions’ Director of Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Prevention Services, also directs the organization’s six-week summer day camp. More than 200 students from high-risk areas enrolled in camp this summer, and all spots were filled on the first day of registration. Long-term impact is a theme here; many of the staff members benefited from CND’s programs as youth and have returned to pay it forward.

Thirty Years of Growth CND started 30 years ago in a two-bedroom apartment in Sullivant Gardens, staffed solely by volunteers who saw a need for the children in their community to make positive choices and find opportunities for growth.

Today, CND has over 40 full-time positions, serving children, youth, and adults in high-crime and high-need areas around Columbus. With primary funding from the ADAMH Board of Franklin County, CND has been able to step up when other agencies have closed. Their area of focus is ATOD-V (Alcohol, Tobacco, Other Drugs, and Violence), with programs in prevention, intervention, and treatment, all tailored to be sensitive to age, culture, and gender. During the school year, CND offers an after-school substance and violence prevention program, as well as in-school leadership training for elementary through high-school students. Their Future Opportunities Created for Urban Students (FOCUS) program offers high-schoolers professional development activities, community speakers, and a weeklong bus tour of historically black colleges and universities. Students choosing college receive a small scholarship and everything they need for transitioning to dormitory life. The students CND serves are primarily from Black, Hispanic, and white Appalachian communities. Many live with a single, female head of household and see few positive adult-male interactions in their home lives. Many live in non-English-speaking homes. Financial instability, substance use, and violence often are part of their world. CND provides• 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

the safe, stable environment these students need to build a positive future, while also assisting the adults they depend on. “The family aspect is, I think, what makes us unique,” says Kari Roll, CND’s Director of Development and Community Relations. Families are invited and included, with the hope that participation will spark conversation and connections at home.

Paying it Forward Not only are adults returning to the programs in new capacities; they are bringing their own children along. In Whitney Garrett’s summer camp classroom, 11-to-14-year-old students read library books quietly at their desks during morning reading time. Garrett, a social worker, joined CND’s programs at age 11, participated in FOCUS, and has transitioned into a camp instructor, marking 19 contiguous years with the organization. “I believe, truly, that CND is very impactful,” she says. “Compared to my siblings—I graduated; they didn’t. I went to college. I was offered opportunities I never would have experienced otherwise.” Garrett’s 12-year-old daughter, JaNiya, is in her class. When asked if she feels empowered because of CND’s programs, JaNiya breaks into a huge smile. “Yes!” she exclaims. “I had a friend in school; he was bullied a lot, and he wrote a bad note. I talked to him, and I told him that’s not OK. It’s a short life; you wanna live it. And he’s changed. Now, he wants to live.”

Creating Rich Connections In the school’s common area, the 8-to-10-year-old group is having an ATOD lesson. Their curriculum is the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s “Brain Power,” a science-based program focusing on brain and body health. “Hippocampus!” “Learning!” “Amygdala!” “Emotions!” the group shouts together in response to fast-paced questions. After about five minutes, the children settle in to draw the brain hemispheres and limbic system on colored paper. Summer day camp includes physical and wellness activities, social 52

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and emotional learning, daily reading time, meals, and, of course, field trips. The students go fishing; they go to the zoo, Zoombezi Bay, COSI and movies. They meet first responders and community leaders and even have a special basketball camp led by Scoonie Penn—all things they may not get to do otherwise, and all rich learning opportunities. The registration fee is nominal—“sort of a commitment fee,” according to Roll. CND’s funding supports all of the other costs, keeping all students on a level playing field. And that level playing field builds connections that keep campers coming back year after year, even after they have aged out of the programs. Aracely Reyna, an occupational therapy student at Capital University, joined CND’s programs at age 12, participated in summer camp, and now is part of the camp’s adult staff, striving to build meaningful connections with all age groups before she takes on graduate school. “Behind every kid is their life story,” she explains. “I had the chance to have the rewards for myself. Now, if I can make an impact, it makes them want to come back.”

Beyond the Classroom Outside of school, CND’s Application for Purpose Pride and Success (APPS) program builds positive relationships with young adults involved in gang activity and helps them access support services when they’re ready to change direction. Intervention specialists are on call nights and weekends, to help defuse potentially violent situations. Then, to fill another growing need, CND began adult substance use and mental health treatment in 2014. The program has grown 300% in the past two years and now serves more than 350 adults, nearly a third of whom are homeless, with outpatient programs as well as a new recovery house. The gifts of empowerment and reducing barriers fuel not only the programs, but much of the constancy among summer camp students and staff. Gregory Carson, a public affairs major at Ohio State, started with the camp as a youth worker, moved into the FOCUS program, and now is an adult worker with the camp. “FOCUS helped build communication skills; I can talk to anybody and not be nervous,” he says. Asked about mentoring campers who have little positive experience with adult males, Carson says, “I take time just to hang with them, talk about their day… eventually, they open up.” It’s a simple concept. “Just a listening ear can change their lives.” • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

By Invite Only Roys Avenue Supper Club features experimental and exclusive dinner meetups BY JA EL A N I T U R N E R -W I L L I A MS | P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I S E R

hough it doesn’t require the same ritualistic initiation as Eyes Wide Shut, Roys Avenue Supperclub, a private monthly tasting hosted at the home of Columbus chef Andrew Smith, is an affair where both indulgence and experience come together. For Smith, experience is something he often mentions when speaking about his creations. After attending culinary school in Portland, Oregon, Smith relocated to Columbus in 2010, crafting meals at The Rossi for five years, and partially opening Rockmill Tavern along with the now-defunct Salt & Pine. Recently returning to The Rossi to manage quality control, Smith spontaneously began Roys Avenue Supperclub with the aid of his wife and business partner, Devoney Mills. “It’s really fun being able to put an elaborate dinner

together and pull that off with her help, because there’s no way I’d be able to do any of it without her,” Smith says of his partnership with Mills. “It’s very underground, word-of-mouth. We do have an Instagram page, but that’s the extent of it.” The Instagram page for Roys Supperclub is a detailed visual portal into dishes featured at past and upcoming dinners, along with the curation of menus each month. At a glance, viewers can find a whipped dollop of white chocolate ice cream, dusted by toasted buckwheat and glazed with bay oil, along with a thumbsized short rib, sprinkled with molasses, garlic lemon and macadamia. Just as you begin to salivate, a ninecourse menu may catch your eye, one specifically made with a certain bird in mind.

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“ I really feel like my approach to food, I would like to say, changes as I change. I think that I’ve learned more about the term ‘less is more’ than I ever thought I knew. The more we do these dinners, the more we’re able to accomplish that in a more eﬀicient way than before. I don’t know if that makes sense or not, but I think we’re getting better and faster with coming up with ideas, because we don’t have any restraints.”

“One of the things with that dinner is, we wanted to showcase duck in a way that most people aren’t used to eating it. Just because we were using duck, it doesn’t mean that that was the focal point of each dish,” Smith says. “We wanted to be able to highlight a specific ingredient with the duck instead of highlighting the duck with another ingredient. We tried to utilize everything, from the liver, to the fat, to the skin, to the legs, to the breasts, everything was a part of it.” Constantly forward-thinking, Smith and Mills assess their relationships with other food resources, utilizing the farmto-table method, and updating guests on what they’ll be served prior to arrival. It’s a build up of communication that eventually leads to the execution of both nourishment and connectivity. “Menus are generally written three to four weeks out, and they’re definitely inspired by as many local farmers or people who are raising whatever animal we use,” Smith says. “I think that’s where the biggest part of where we get our ingredients is trying to work with people who can provide the highest quality that we can find locally.”

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Held in Smith and Mills’ home, Roys Avenue Supperclub allows not only room for the enjoyment of culinary arts, but the conjuring of discussions between guests who may have been previously unfamiliar. “The two of us, we have a lot of acquaintances and people that we’re more than comfortable having in our home. Keeping it word-of-mouth and small, it allows us to really provide a comfortable atmosphere for people who want to come and participate in our club,” Smith says. “If someone were to just come in randomly, our home is very inviting and it’s a very chill, laid-back atmosphere. We have people that leave the dinner at the end of the night and they didn’t know anybody else there and they feel like they’ve just had dinner with people they’ve known forever.” Thoughtfully garnishing dishes that are able to be savored within a few bites, Smith also foresees eventually holding a fully-vegetarian or pescetarian dinner. With menus being presented in invitation form, for now, the minds behind Roys Avenue Supperclub are only taking allergies into consideration, not wanting to restrict their creativity. “I really feel like my approach to food, I would like to say, changes as I change. I think that I’ve learned more about the term ‘less is more’ than I ever thought I knew,” Smith says. “The more we do these dinners, the more we’re able to accomplish that in a more efficient way than before. I don’t know if that makes sense or not, but I think we’re getting better and faster with coming up with ideas, because we don’t have any restraints. My wife and I love each other very much, so it really helps in the situation. It provides a really amazing thought process between the two of us.” More experimental than practical, Smith prides Roys Avenue Supperclub for its innovation and reliability, transforming the dinner table into a meeting place where ideas are interwoven. “We’re trying to provide an experience that is unique to Columbus, not for us, but for the guests. We want them to leave feeling like they’ve had a different experience, like it’s something they’re not used to having in their city,” Andrew says. “We want them to have made friends with people that were there, we want them to talk about food and keep that conversation going, and hopefully it can spark some creativity in them.”

To see the latest creations from Andrew Smith, visit roys_ave_supperclub on Instagram.

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Up Stepping To The Plate

Popular Hoyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen makes its move to North Market

BY N AT HA N COT TON P HOTOS BY R EBECC A T I EN 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

he foreboding threat of heavy rain looms over downtown Columbus on a summer evening. But upstairs inside the cavernous, empty, and dimly-lit North Market, brothers A.B. and Mohamed Hassan describe the path they’ve walked as the founders and co-owners of Hoyo’s Kitchen, a fast casual Somali restaurant launched alongside their family back in November 2014. Hoyo’s new North Market location has been met with a few delays, but to the Hassans, who have learned the business without any prior restaurant experience, setbacks are only a slight inconvenience—nothing compared to the uncertainty and stress they’ve been through since Hoyo’s first opened in an awkward strip mall corner on the corner of 161 and Cleveland Avenue in northeast Columbus. “We wouldn’t have survived the first few years if it wasn’t just us, our sweat,” recalls Mohamed. “Restaurants are competitive in general, but Somali restaurants in Columbus? There’s one that comes up every year or every few months. And another one that shuts down every few months.” The concept of a family restaurant was in the works long before Hoyo’s became reality, explains A.B. “We grew up eating good food, and I’d always tell our mom, ‘We’re gonna open up a restaurant to showcase your talent.’ ” When an opportunity to occupy a space not far from the city’s buzzing international Morse Road corridor presented itself, A.B. knew it was worth the risk. Poise, purpose, and commitment to the mission carried the Hoyo’s team through a tense initial period, when a small and inexperienced staff and a lack of equipment threatened their vision for a fast casual model. “I just was confident if we offer good food—even though the old adage is ‘location, location, location’—it wouldn’t apply to a business that offered good food.” The Hassans eventually hit their stride, and along the way grew more comfortable moving away from the norms of Somali restaurants. Most notably, the initial plan to operate as a traditional sit-down restaurant 62

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was scrapped in favor of a quick service restaurant model in line with trends across the food service industry. As their comfort with largescale food prep and customer service grew, Hoyo’s earned a reputation as a Somali restaurant unique for its accessibility to those new to the culture’s food. “[The American community] realized you could go to Hoyo’s Kitchen and we’re all born and raised here, so we can communicate, we know how to converse with people in English. That worked to our advantage because many of the other restaurants, they’re New American-run. There’s a language barrier. So we broke that barrier down and people appreciated that,” says A.B. Eventually, word reached North Market Executive Director Rick Harrison Wolfe, who surreptitiously visited Hoyo’s one day to see the buzz for himself. “They came, and they loved it. They absolutely loved it. Rick offered me an opportunity to propose [the concept for a stall]. He asked me if I was interested and I was like, ‘What? Hell yeah man.’ I never thought North Market was attainable.” “It was the break that we needed at the perfect time,” adds Mohamed. It’s hard to tell what’s more impressive about the Hassans: the confidence necessary to start such a bold enterprise from scratch, or the calmness in the face of such a profound step up. Regardless, A.B. and Mohamed are eager to share their recipes with a diverse clientele fond of trying new recipes without reservation. “Nothing about our stall is subtle. I designed it to be eye-catching,” says A.B. “The food is not scary. It’s familiar, it’s just different. Everyone knows what rice is, our rice is different. People have had chicken before I’m sure, ours is just different.” “The cool thing about it is everybody that’s here [at North Market] is willing to try something, so you’re not having to coax them or pull them by their ear,” echoes Mohamed, who frequented North Market as a high school senior new to Central Ohio. “Whenever I would go out, I would come to the North Market. Or

when cousins from out of town would come, I would take them to the North Market. This is kind of like a stamp of validation. They were pretty adamant about having a North Market that looks like the city, basically. There’s a huge Somali population in Columbus—the second largest in America—just behind Minnesota. So it’s pretty cool to see the Indian stall here, and then the Nepali stall here, and we’ll be the first African stall in the North Market in their history.” The mission, first and foremost, is food. Yet A.B. has another tangential assignment in mind for Hoyo’s when their long-awaited debut finally arrives. The friendly fast casual environment is designed to expose customers to the delicacies of a culture with deep roots in the Ohio capital, roots that are here to stay. “Food is part and parcel to the culture. It’s the gateway to the culture,” he explains. “We’re just doing our part to elevate the culture and the people, and the first way to do that is through the food. Some people don’t even know we have a cuisine. Media tells people we were starving—there was a famine in Somalia, of course, that came because of the lack of a central government. But Somali food is one of the best foods in the world.” The process of normalizing and accepting a foreign culture may have never looked so natural and inevitable. Despite making history inside one of Columbus’ oldest institutions, the Hassans are calm, collected, and ready to proceed. “The only pressure I have is to represent it right. I want to make sure I represent it right, because we’re gonna be the first ones to do it here, and we’ve got to make sure people leave thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll try another cuisine within the continent. Maybe I’ll check this out.’ ... North Market]’s gonna be crazy but I feel like I’m not even stressed out. I’m really not. I’m just ready to do it.” • Hoyo’s Kitchen is located at The North Market on 59 Spruce St. For more information on the restaurant, check out northmarket.com for the latest. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

On the QTiki Inside the Fraternal Order of Moai: Tiki culture enthusiasts, charitable organization BY J. R . MC MI LLAN P H OTOS BY KY LE ASPERGER

he unexpected closing of the Grass Skirt Tiki Room later this month isn’t the first time local tiki fans have been broken-hearted. When the Kahiki shuttered its doors nearly two decades ago, it wasn’t just the end of an era in Columbus. The Polynesian-themed restaurant was the largest of its kind in the country, and nothing matching its quirky architectural grandeur has been seen since. Faithful fans still seek coveted collectables, scouring thrift stores and flea markets for rare finds. But there’s also a secret sect of tiki enthusiasts hiding in plain sight, quietly curating vintage kitsch while anonymously funding worthy causes from coast to coast. They call themselves the Fraternal Order of Moai and their members remain a mystery. “When the Kahiki finally closed, many of us were in shock that it was actually gone. But for me, something kind of snapped,” revealed Matt “Kuku Ahu” Thatcher, one of the founders of the obscure order who prefers to go by his Moai moniker. “People wanted to hold onto a piece of the Kahiki by building their own basement tiki bars. But there were three of us who were less interested in finding the artifacts than the people who shared this same strange obsession.” Nostalgia often comes at a premium price. One of those old Kahiki menus on eBay will set you back more than any entrée did back in the day, and a matchbook might cost you more than a carton of smokes. Even a ceramic tiki tumbler is more expensive than any drink it ever held. For committed collectors, these aren’t just treasures and trinkets. They’re art from a bygone age. “We thought there might be a dozen of us, enough to get together for backyard luaus,” Ahu chided. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

“We thought there might be a dozen of us, enough to get together for backyard luaus. I joked that maybe we should make it a real club with fezzes, like the Shriners. It sounded crazy, but the idea stuck.” “I joked that maybe we should make it a real club with fezzes, like the Shriners. It sounded crazy, but the idea stuck.” The Fraternal Order of Moai is organized much like independent islands scattered across the vast Pacific, each with unique customs and rituals rooted in a common ancient culture. Individual groups each choose a cause or charity at the local level, but the Moai still operate as a self-described “pirate democracy” with elections and major decisions all coming down to a vote among the entire membership. What seemed silly at the time has become something of a movement with ten chapters nationwide and at-large members worldwide. Some chapters were started by folks with Columbus ties. Others emerged independently, inspired by the capital city’s quiet tiki revival. “Our group is secretive and selective, but our events are open to everyone,” Ahu explained. “People who come regularly, regardless of whether they’re members or not, become family we look forward to seeing just as much as we do each other.” Their enigmatic membership is more than a secret handshake. “Tourist” is the tongue-in-cheek terminology for active attendees who are still outside the order. Those who think they’re worthy must earn the support of existing Moai and pass a series of challenges, which are also secret. Akin to the Shriners, the Moose Lodge, and similar animal orders, questions of character are answered through a process outlined on their website, coyly branded the Port of the Initiate. The most obvious evidence of the Moai’s influence is also hiding in plain sight, surrounding unsuspecting guests at the Grass Skirt Tiki Room. When Columbus Food League decided downtown was overdue for a tiny tropical oasis, the Moai were early and eager to offer 66

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their insights and assistance. Members carved and cast much of the bar’s décor themselves, nearly every mask and lamp that makes the contemporary tiki bar feel older and more authentic than its sevenyear history otherwise suggests. Ahu even admits he may have had a hand in developing the cocktail menu. (He’s a modest Moai.) The most iconic contribution to the Grass Skirt is undeniably the giant concrete monkey fountain named George, which used to grace the entrance of the Kahiki. With support from the Moai, and literally a last minute commitment of additional funds from the bar, George was saved from the same demise as fellow monuments from the fabled restaurant. “We knew if we didn’t get him, he’d either end up in a private collection instead of the public eye, or rotting in a field,” Ahu noted. Point of fact, the enormous Easter Island statues ended up essentially abandoned, while a short search on YouTube reveals the fate of the famous fireplace still sitting outdoors under a tarp. “After the auction, we went to pick him up at Kahiki frozen foods and realized they’d actually constructed the building around him. They offered to cut him into four pieces to remove him, but the auction said pickup was outside. You wouldn’t let someone cut a Corvette into four pieces if you were told you could pick it up in the parking lot?” Somehow George ended up outside for pickup as promised. The Moai don’t know how he got there or if walls or windows were removed to do it. It seems even George has his secrets. Aside from “Tiki Tuesdays,” the only time local members really surface publicly is once a year in August for the annual Hula Hop, a charity event that raises money for Cure CMD, an organization that

funds efforts to treat congenital muscular dystrophy, and serves as an annual call to prospective members, some of whom aren’t even old enough to remember the Polynesian longhouse that used to be off East Broad Street. “We didn’t think we could pull off an all-day tiki event in Columbus when we started, so it was a ‘Hot Rod Hula Hop,’ with classic cars and we brought in all of the decorations to turn a regular bar into a tiki bar,” Ahu explained. “But now with the Grass Skirt, it’s become just the ‘Hula Hop’ with five live bands, vendors, and food trucks. Instead of selling tickets or charging a cover, folks come for free, buy drinks and make donations directly. People know where their money goes.” The Fraternal Order of Moai, whose exact ranks remain unknown, has funded several studies and drug tests through Cure CMD. But recognition and notoriety were never the goal. “It was a cockamamie idea that started out more as performance art, but it turned into something more,” Ahu admitted. “Now we’re a registered nonprofit and pretty darned legit. Tiki bars are popping up across the country, even in Europe. But in Columbus, even after the Kahiki closed, they never really went away.”

The Hula Hop on August 10 at Grass Skirt will go forward as planned. For details on the event and the Fraternal Order of Moai, see fraternalorderofmoai.org. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

No Taste Like Home Second Saraga International Market opens to the delight of customers around the globe BY L AU R A DAC H E N B AC H P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I S E R

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F O R Y EA RS in Columbus and other Midwestern cities, if New Americans wanted to find the fixings for kimchi, the right brand of rice noodles, or some teff flour to bake a batch of homemade injera, they had to find and frequent small ethnic stores with a limited selection, make a substitution, or perhaps do without. Saraga International Market opened in Indianapolis in 2005 and quickly changed that model by bringing the foods of multiple cultures to one large grocery store, providing a hub for newcomers who were longing for the flavors and textures of home. The store also became a homing beacon for foodies and experimental chefs looking to expand their palates, those who wanted to recreate the foods they had tried while visiting overseas, or those who simply find a food label written in Spanish, French, Arabic, or Mandarin to be an exciting find. Six years ago, Saraga made its Columbus debut on Morse Road and is continuing to expand. At the end of this past May, its Cleveland Avenue store opened its doors. The new 59,000-square-foot location has everything Saraga shoppers have come to expect in quality and variety, with additional space to grow. A store on South Hamilton Road remains in the process of opening, hopefully soon ready to serve eager customers from Whitehall, Pickerington, and Canal Winchester. “We have a very strong passion, serving this community. We’re not here just only making money. We want to serve. Our mission is helping this community,” said John Sung, the store owner. When Sung says “community,” there’s the sense that the word refers to many groups: the Linden neighborhood, the immigrant community, and the number of people with a passion for world cuisine. Certainly, around the world, the marketplace is a gathering space, meant for more than just commerce. Marketplaces welcome and connect people. Saraga maintains that environment. “I’m also an immigrant from South Korea. 30 years. I came here to the United States 30 years ago,” said Sung, describing the homesickness his family felt, the comfort that familiar food brought, and the experiences that drew him to the food industry. “We love to serve international food to everybody: Nepali, Somali, Hispanic, Central American, South American, African.” •

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And American. You’ll find Pringles and Coke, chicken wings and T-bone steak among the aisles of at Saraga. In fact, domestic products are the base of Saraga’s staples, but customers from everywhere around the globe have contributed their knowledge and added to the store’s ever-growing international inventory. The word “saraga” means “living” in Korean. “Living a life is a big challenge,” says Sung. “Immigrants come to the United States and need to find a job, make money, support a family. This is a big challenge.” Saraga the store supports people adapting to this challenge, providing food, jobs, and cultural understanding for newcomers. In keeping with its support of the community, the new Saraga location will be home to several other vendors including a Mexican restaurant, a Paletería (ice cream parlor), a Puerto Rican bakery, and Khaja Ghar—a Nepali restaurant similar to Momo Ghar at the Morse Road location, known for its incredible traditional dumplings. “We provide space for new entrepreneurs,” said Sung, explaining that it can be difficult for small immigrant-run businesses to get the exposure they need to develop a customer base, and the crosspollination from the diverse clientele at Saraga helps those businesses thrive. (Indeed, Momo Ghar eventually found itself featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.) “They get support from us, construction-wise, financial-wise, so they can start their business and they can grow.” A grocery store is not an easy business. A large number of workers are needed and much of the stock is perishable. Saraga prefers to advertise with old-school flyers and face-to-face contact, a large business entity making itself personal and relatable to the customers who value it. But Sung’s experience seems to have been his best teacher, and he moves forward not only by a business plan, but also by a persistence that has guided him over the last 30 years, and his mission to serve. “Every day is a challenge.” • Saraga’s second Columbus location is at 3353 Cleveland Avenue.

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Your First Saraga Visit — While the original Morse Road Saraga tends to be more geographically arranged, with foods grouped by region. The new Saraga location tends to be more traditionally organized by types of foods. You might want to try the more familiar layout first. — If you are just exploring, make sure to hit up every aisle, as there are some surprises in product placement. — Arrive early and get the dumplings before you shop. There will likely be a line for these justshort of $10 delectables. Momo Ghar is rated #1 on Yelp and has received national attention. — While packaged goods bearing unusual alphabets are always a fun find, some of Saraga’s best reviews come from its seafood, meat, and produce. — Finally, try something you’ve never had before. Saraga is an amazing resource. Take advantage of it. •

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Columbus Fiery Foods Festival makes its debut this August BY OLIVIA MILTNER | ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH MOORE

itting on a table at the Columbus Commons, Mike Gallicchio’s phone rings constantly for 15 minutes. It buzzes. He ignores it (as he’s in the middle of our interview). This repeats. That’s because Gallicchio is in the throes of organizing a calendar full of festivals around Columbus. He’s on overdrive, working 15 hours a day, but his enthusiasm seems boundless, and he’s particularly hyped about a new festival he’s helping launch in August: the Fiery Foods Festival. With 35 vendors bringing their hottest foods, sauces, and salsas, the Fiery Foods Festival is poised to challenge even the toughest Midwestern taste buds. And for those who truly want to earn their stripes, they can compete in the hot pepper-, hot pizza-, hot wings-eating contests and/or amateur hot sauce-making contests. Although Gallicchio is co-founding the festival with CD 102.5’s Randy Malloy, he says he won’t be partaking in those events. While everyone else is heating up, he wants to take a moment out of his packed schedule to cool down. “I want to sit back and enjoy it. It’ll be fun,” Gallicchio said. “I’m excited. I think it’s going to be cool. It’s going to be great for the city.” For the co-founder, the Fiery Foods Festival isn’t just a business venture; he loves spicy foods, which he likes to cook when he’s at home. Curries, in particular, are a specialty. “The hotter the better,” Gallicchio said. “My kids aren’t really fond of that, but my wife is and I am.” This isn’t Gallicchio’s first time bringing such an event to Columbus. At 53, he’s been a business owner and entrepreneur in Columbus for more than 20 years. Nine years ago, he co-founded the Columbus Food Truck Festival “just out of pure fun at the time,” and along with that he now organizes the Columbus Summer Wine Festival and the Ohioana Book Festival, among others. To put into perspective how much Gallicchio is doing right now, he says festival management isn’t even his main gig. It’s more of a supersized side hustle—what he does for fun, and for profit, to accompany his fiveyear-old business building customized food trucks. “The food truck scene is thriving,” Gallicchio said. “It’s doing really, really well.” To be fair, he doesn’t do the manual labor of installing commercial kitchens inside trucks. He’s more of the connecter, hooking up aspiring 74

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food truck owners with the vehicles they need. He says he just finished a grilled cheese truck, and his company is now working on a pasta one. Gallicchio first became interested in food trucks and festivals after working in the restaurant industry. He owned a couple bars along Park Street, and after helping out with Park Street Festival, he decided to launch one for food trucks. A Columbus native and graduate of The Ohio State University, Gallicchio says he’s seen how vibrant the Downtown and Short North areas have become over the past few decades. He believes that the changes have created a market for events like the Fiery Foods Festival to be a success. “Columbus is a growing, thriving city. I’ve been here my whole life, so I’ve seen it get bigger and better, so I'm excited to create these things,” Gallicchio said. “I’m used to putting these things together, so I just got to get past the first couple years. They either work or they don’t; it’s just a business to me in a sense.” Across the U.S., spicy food festivals are also held in New York, Chicago and Albuquerque. Jungle Jim’s International Market near Cincinnati has a “Weekend of Fire.” But Gallicchio says he’s surprised there aren’t more. Here in Columbus, the North Market used to host a similar spicy foods celebration until about five years ago. For Gallicchio’s version, he’s working with Flavor and Fire, a North Market vendor that used to be known as CaJohn’s Fiery Foods. At the event will also be Crimson Cup, with a spicy coffee, along with a variety of spicy food vendors. The Fiery Food Festival will benefit the children’s charity CD102.5 for the Kids. A $30 ticket includes two beers or nonalcoholic beverages, an engraved fork, six spicy food samples and samples of all the hot sauces and salsas. “It’s fun for me,” Gallicchio said. “I like to create things, I like new things, I like to put something together and see it really happen. That’s part of the thrill for me.”

This year’s Fiery Food Festival will be on Saturday, August 10 from 2 to 10 p.m. at the Columbus Commons. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

Potion Matcha pop-ups literally go green BY MI TC H H O O P E R P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I S E R

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t was only a matter of time before matcha made a comeback. It’s 2019 and if we know one thing, the phone eats first. Mix it into your morning smoothie and you’re sipping on a bright-green elixir packed with caffeine and antioxidants without the afternoon crash thanks to L-theanine. Add the powder to your pancakes for a healthier take on a breakfast classic. Or, if you’re talented enough, you can transform it into pearls to garnish your fresh oysters. Be warned, though, this method is best left to the matcha masters like Chloe Emmons of Potion Matcha. Oysters with matcha pearls is just one of the many ways Emmons is taking the traditional Japanese ceremony tea and infusing it with modern takes. Her pop-ups took going green to a whole new level as nearly every menu option is that iconic bright green color, or at least featuring it. From iced matcha with fruit purees down to the biodegradable drinking straws made from hay, everything is also completely vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free. The menu at her pop-ups are constantly changing, but have featured the likes of peaches and cream iced matcha, a combination of peach puree with iced matcha and oat milk. The subtle green tea sweetnesses combined with the powerful punch of peach and the creamy oat milk makes you wonder how something so healthy can taste so good. For Emmons, getting matcha into your diet can be as simple as adding it to your chia seed pudding for lunch, or going a step forward by whipping up some vegan ice cream with frozen bananas, oat milk, cinnamon, your favorite fruit, and a pinch of matcha. “I love making my morning matcha at home using the customary chawan and chasen [...] as a way to slow down and really focus my energy on setting good intentions for the day,” Emmons said. The idea of focusing energy and setting good intentions dates back to the origins of the tea. Originally, it was used in important rituals to represent tranquility, purity, respect, and harmony, Emmons explained. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

“Drinking matcha has been life-changing for me,” she said. “From my morning ritual enhancing my mental state, to physical changes in hair, skin, and nails—thanks chlorophyll!—to detoxifying and strengthening my immune system. I had no idea this tea would become such an integral part of my life.” And by hair, skin, and nails, she means that literally. Potion Matcha offers a matcha-based face and body mask which helps hydrate skin as well as clear and shrink pores. If you don’t think matcha-based shampoo exists, you have some googling to do. When it comes to scoring some matcha for yourself, Emmons recommends caution from sources overselling the benefits of it. She notes to recognize the difference between conventional matcha which might be cut with sugar or low-grade green dye to create that iconic color. There’s also loose leaf matcha which is similar, but used for different applications. If you’re looking for the powder version, Potion Matcha offers it in 2-ounce bags on its website. As for a brick-andmortar location, a firm date isn’t set yet, but plans are in the works for a Downtown/Olde Towne East location. Potion Matcha also has a special whisk for creating your concoctions, and beyond just looking cool, the bamboo whisk is perfect for proper blending. Plus, we’ll admit it, it’s just cool. “A bamboo whisk is crucial in making sure you’re getting rid of clumps, creating a homogenous mixture and forming a nice foam on top. Plus it’s really fun!”• Potion Matcha can be found next at Breathe Fest at the Dublin Market on August 10. For all future dates, check out @PotionMatchaBar on Instagram. 78

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Matcha Appreciated Cocktails Want to make your matcha game a little more interesting? We had Emmons dish out three matcha-based cocktail recipes for you to try at home. TOKYO MULE: 4 oz. ginger beer 1 1/2 oz. vodka 1 oz. unfiltered sake 1/2 lime, squeezed 1/4 tsp. matcha Directions: Muddle ginger and cucumber in bottom of cocktail shaker. Add above ingredients, shake and serve in copper mug with ice. MATCHA GIMLET: 2 oz. matcha-infused gin 1 oz. fresh lime juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup with lime zest 1/4 tsp. matcha Directions: Shake and serve in a coupe glass rimmed with matcha and honey. MATCHA HIGHBALL 2 oz. Japanese whisky 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice 1/2 oz. honey syrup 1/4 tsp. matcha 4 oz. club soda Directions: Add whisky, lemon juice, honey syrup & matcha to shaker and shake. Pour into a collins glass over ice and club soda.

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Read more about Jeni’s Made Stand on pages 82-83 • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE 81

Small Change Jeni Britton Bauer challenges young entrepreneurs to test their creativity at a summer Made Stand BY J O H N M CLAU G HL I N | P HOTOS BY TOBY HA M E L & E R I KA C L A R K

ong before she was famous throughout the United States as the face of her James Beard award-winning brand of expressive, artisanal ice creams, Jeni Britton Bauer cut her teeth selling another kind sweet treat: homemade pixie sticks. “I actually managed to sell a lot of them,” Britton Bauer said. “As a kid in middle school, I never got an allowance, so I would borrow money from my dad’s change jar and buy Kool-aid and sugar, and mix them together in straws. We would even come up with different names for the different colors.” And while a clandestine pixie stick operation headed by middle schoolers (one of her many youthful hustles) doesn’t equal the scope or prowess of the ice cream empire Britton Bauer has established with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, she believes this young flair of entrepreneurship is critical to cultivate in the younger generation. “For me, entrepreneurship is a lens I see the world through. When a lot of these programs geared toward younger people talk about entrepreneurship, they only talk about business, but there’s so much more to it than that. Forget pitches; forget what you’ve seen on Shark Tank,” Britton Bauer says, stressing that the entrepreneur embraces his or her image, passion, drive, and creativity to latch on to something they love or can do well. “I want to make sure kids are taught to see the world through this lens before they get too old.”

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And to achieve this goal here in Columbus with its youth, the company is launching a first-year program this summer, entitled Jeni’s Made Stand. A reference to the all-American, by-the-bootstraps lemonade stand, the initiative challenges local youngsters to turn $10 into $100 dollars, by crafting and selling anything they’re interested in or that they can create. There aren’t prizes or strict guidelines, but Britton Bauer believes pushing kids to engage in the project will stoke their entrepreneurial fires. In her important bid to redefine entrepreneurship, especially for a younger generation of budding and potential talent, Britton Bauer also extended a set of refreshing views about money and the power of selfmotivation. “I think there’s a misconception about money. Yes, it’s important, but it isn’t the most difficult resource to acquire, or the most important,” she says. “Things like perseverance and creativity can be harder to come across and a lot of times are more useful.” The program encourages participants throughout the city to engage with her and Jeni’s via social media, particularly Instagram. This allows Jeni’s to not only see the progress kids are making, but it also affords the youngsters a chance to be seen and feel appreciated. Britton Bauer may even take the steps to visit some of this Summer’s Made Stands in action, but she also noted that this may have to wait until next year. The

“I think there’s a misconception about money. Yes, it’s important, but it isn’t the most diﬃcult resource to acquire, or the most important, things like perseverance and creativity can be harder to come across and a lot of times are more useful.”

initiative might eventually spread to other cities and states in the future as well. And if the project seems a bit undefined at first, that’s because in some important ways, it is. “There aren’t a lot of rules, and we wanted to keep it that way on purpose,” Britton Bauer says. This open-ended approach to the Made Stand should in no way be considered negatively. It’s just another facet of her dynamic, iconoclastic views on business and what defines success. And we should be listening. Where so many successful con-temporary businesses are meticulously concerned with public image and app-earing perfectly polished and complete, Britton Bauer is embracing a project that’s still evolving and figuring itself out, and she owns this. She’s eschewing optics for progress; she wants her business to help, and that, more than anything else, is apparent. In fact, she prefers the term “company” over “business,” as the former implies a working, breathing community. And ultimately, this is what the Made Stand is about: community. It’s about helping the future generations of Columbus harness their own capabilities, some that many of them didn’t even know they had. “It could be anything; you could start with $75 borrowed from your parents and finish with a lot more. It’s about getting young people started here in Columbus.”

If you would like to try your hand at entrepreneurship and start a Made Stand, visit jenis.com/madestand. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

Amyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Princess Parties nutures new princesses and superheroes, one party at a time BY R EG I N A F OX | P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I S E R

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“W

hen you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.” The quote is attributed to Walt Disney, and I think it’s also something we often forget when we grow up. But kids? Without the tools or knowhow to navigate life, believing is all they can do. Wouldn’t it be something, though, to combine the wonder of believing with practical life skills for an experience equally magical for kids and adults? Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, I present to you Amy’s Princess Parties! With her esteemed cast of imaginative employees, Amy Kavelaras spins, twirls, and curtseys into the lives of young people with the intent to impress upon them the qualities of a good person—all while dressed as famed princesses. “I think it’s so magical,” Kavelaras said of the experience. With over 30 characters to choose from (including superheroes) parents can hire Amy’s Princess Parties by the hour to transform their child’s birthday into a fairy tale-like occasion they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives. It begins with a class on “how to be princess”—walk, wave, curtsy, that sort of thing. For superheros, obstacle courses and other games are on the menu. Once the party goers have the mannerisms down, Kalvelaras and her cartoon-y crew transition into lessons on what really counts: the heart. “We really use our platform for good, so we use these role model characters and we try to create an atmosphere where we’re influencing the next generation,” explained Kavelaras. “So we talk about character values of being kind, being loving, and being caring.” Parents look on—sometimes tearfully, according to Kavelaras—as their starry-eyed child hangs on every word of their role model teaching them the importance of being truthful, thankful, helpful, and accepting in every situation from home life to the playground. “A 3-year-old may not listen to their parents, but a 3-year-old will listen to these characters because they are their personal heroes,” said Kavelaras. “We really want to make a difference.” And as important as it is to drive these messages home with the kids, Kavelaras puts equal weight on deciding who will do • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

“We really use our platform for good, so we use these role model characters and we try to create an atmosphere where we’re influencing the next generation.”

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the driving. She has hand-picked each magical member of her company, not only because they embody the princess or superhero physically, but also mentally and emotionally. In other words, practice what you preach (Matthew the Apostle said that, but I’d be willing to bet that Walt Disney would agree). “Yes, technically you do need to look like the character from the outside [to be an employee at Amy’s Princess Parties], however the most important thing is the heart and finding someone who emcompasses both is really important to us,” Kavelaras explained. All this may seem like an elaborate dress-up game for the employees, the opportunity offers so much more. “It truly makes you feel like you’re not yourself...like, ‘I am this person’s role model, this person looks up to me,’ ” said Kate Glaser, one of Amy’s princesses. “That’s really special.” And even after the birthday candles are blown out, the magic isn’t over. “I had to stop at a friend’s house to grab something after a party and there was a kid outside in a [Little Mermaid] bathing suit who saw me [while I was still dressed as Mermaid Princess]. So, I got out and talked with her,” Glaser continued. “Even after the party is over, you have an impact on everyone you see.” They stop at lemonade stands, make Starbucks runs, go to the grocery store, pump gas—all while in character—to bring a little magic to everyone they cross. These interactions, along with being able to make appearances at charity events with both kids and disabled adults are some of the most rewarding experiences for the princesses and superheroes. “As much as we’re changing their lives, they’re changing our lives,” said Kalvelaras. After all the etiquette lessons and life courses, it’s time for the tiny princesses and superheroes to be coronated. With the flick of a magic wand, some magic dust, and the promise that they are so loved, Amy’s Princess Parties gives the children the fairy tale ending they deserve. And they all lived happily ever after. • To book a character for your next pary go to amysprincessparties.com. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

Bring Your Own Baby

dulting is hard. And just when you think you’ve maybe got it figured out—with a semblance of stability in your life—you may (in a burst of confidence) decide to have a baby. Surprise! You will never feel like you have anything figured out again. Welcome to parenthood! Can I buy you a drink? But wait. Where can you even get a drink as a parent? As it turns out, Columbus is a great city for raising kids without having to completely give up the life you had before. Here are a few places you can take your children that are fun for adults, that are welcoming for little ones, and where no one is going to judge you or bat an eye over a dreaded public kid meltdown. Take it from this mother of two: you deserve a break.

16-BIT SHORTY DAY If you find yourself waking up early on a Sunday, mourning weekends of yore when you actually got to leave the house on Saturday night, 16-Bit’s weekly Shorty Day might be just what you need. Every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., 16-Bit drops its “21+” requirement in favor of family fun. You can introduce your kids to classic arcade games like Ms. Pacman, Tron, and Centipede, while kids sip on slushies and grownups indulge in authentic adult beverages. Admission and arcade games are free, and pinball games cost a mere 50 cents. While I was there on a recent Sunday, I witnessed a mom in town from Seattle get the high score in Asteroids, proudly showing her teenage daughter the way it’s done. 16-Bit Shorty Day: Sundays from 12-5 at the 254 S Fourth St. location. Kids are welcome daily until 8 p.m. at the Dublin location with adult supervision. Learn more at 16-bitbar.com.

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Entertain your kids without giving up the privileges of adulthood BY L I N DA L E E B A I R D P H OTOS BY R E B E CC A TI E N

RAMBLING HOUSE MUSIC BAR’S FAMILY FRIENDLY FIRST FRIDAYS Rambling House Music Bar serves up zippy sodas with traditional and roots music six nights a week. Once a month, they relax their age requirements for Family Friendly First Fridays, where from 6-8 p.m., kids can enjoy age-appropriate craft beverages while dancing to the tunes. Eileen Wukusick has attended a few Family Friendly First Fridays with her three and six-year-old. She cautions first timers to be prepared for crowds, both in the search for parking and on the dance floor. Rambling House does not serve food, though cake has been known to appear during these events, so you may want to bring along some munchies to complement those sodas, and get ready to dance the sugar off before bedtime. Rambling House Music Bar is located at 310 Hudson St. Family Friendly First Fridays take place on the first Friday of every month. For more information visit ramblinghousemusic.com.

STUDIO 35 During many snow days this past winter, Studio 35 came through as a hero for Clintonville parents in search of last-minute entertainment when it offered free screenings of classic family movies. In addition to bigscreen entertainment, the booths by the bar in the front room are stocked with board games that appeal to little brains; recently my kids played Operation while I drank a beer and watched the Women’s World Cup on the televisions—a true parenting win. In August, Studio 35 will screen the last two movies in its free summer kids series, The Secret of the Kells and

A Long Way Home. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for more events, including last-minute ones. After all, school is just around the corner, which means heat days and parent scrambling can’t be far behind. Studio 35 is located at 3055 Indianola Ave. Free summer Kids’ Series movies screen on Saturdays at 11 a.m. through August 10. Visit studio35.com for more information.

FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY CHILDREN’S GARDEN Franklin Park Conservatory has always been an awesome place to take kids—mine never tire of walking through the rainforest and desert, especially in the middle of gray Ohio winters. When the two-acre Children’s Garden opened last summer, however, the conservatory jumped from a “nice place to visit” to an “absolutely must do” on my list of family-friendly Columbus attractions. From the second kids enter the garden through a special tunnel that’s just their size, it takes on a magical aura. As they explore, they’ll find everything from fairies to musical instruments to giant hammocks to, yes, all kinds of native-Ohio plants. If that’s not enough, the Learning Pavillion hosts regular activities and special guests, so all of you can get even more out of your visit. • The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden at Franklin Park Conservatory is open year-round. Admission to the garden is included in the conservatory’s ticket price: $19 for adults and $12 for children 3-12. For more information including children’s events, visit fpconservatory.org/explore/gardens-collections/childrens-garden.

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Still the

SHAZZBOTS

Columbus “kindie” band hasn’t forgotten their retro roots BY J. R. M C MI L L A N | P H OTOS BY KY L E TR AC E Y

usic for kids tends to get a bad rap for good reason. From the Wiggles to Barney, inane to annoying, somewhere along the way, “kids” and “music” became decoupled, as though children don’t deserve sincere songwriting, and education and entertainment also became mutually exclusive. That’s why parents are over the moon for the Shazzbots, the credible Columbus kids band that might just save the universe from one more infernal refrain of “Fruit Salad” or a hyperkinetic purple dinosaur professing his static affection. Founded by Ian Hummel more than a decade ago, the Shazzbots began a live show which eventually evolved into an Emmy-winning television pilot, funded entirely by loyal fans. Their latest album,

LIGHTSPEED!, is their long-awaited third release and an apt metaphor for their change in trajectory, marked by a growing international audience. “When we first started, it was just songs. But I didn’t want it to just be me. I wanted it to be more, something along the lines of Sesame Street, with characters and a backstory behind the songs,” recalled Hummel, whose nautical alter ego Captain Captain travels the galaxy with an acoustic guitar and an archetypical band of misfits in a heavily-modified Winnebago. “We weren’t even sure what form the band would take. For a while, there was no drummer, only percussion. For a hot minute, there was even an accordion.”•

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“When we first started, it was just songs. But I didn’t want it to just be me. I wanted it to be more, something along the lines of Sesame Street, with characters and a backstory behind the songs.”

Hummel recruited friend and bass player Mike “Navigator Scopes” Heslop to help craft the band’s elaborate backstory, with characters whose talents matched those of their real-life counterparts. Josh Tully, better know to kids as Professor Swiss Vanderburton, moved back to electric guitar when Steve Frye, aka Watts Watson, settled in behind the skins. That initial lineup has remained unchanged, but there have been three female members of the crew. Amber Allen as Debora Nebula, Molly Winters as Aurora Borealis, and Diane Hummel as Luna Stardust, who rounds out percussion and also happens to be married to a certain space captain. “It’s important to have female role models, and you can see from the stage how little girls connect with Luna Stardust,” noted Hummel. “Her costume is still girly, but you can tell she’s a member 92

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of the crew. There’s a team dynamic you see in cartoons like Voltron and Thundercats I knew I wanted in the Shazzbots.” Though the age of their audience has stayed the same, expectations for the entire music industry changed course. Social media was barely a blip when the band began, and streaming services were almost nonexistent. Now they’re essential. But this too is where the Shazzbots shine, a retro band ready for a new frontier. “After filming the television show and getting it on Amazon, we kind of hit a wall deciding what was next,” he admitted. “So we spent nearly a year creating content for YouTube, something new every week. Kids still listen to songs in the car, but they also watch music videos on their iPads. You have to be available everywhere they are.”

Another giant leap into this new era for the band required rethinking the brand. Matthew Hubbard, one of the filmmakers behind the TV pilot, helped tap into the emerging “kindie” industry, clever slang for independent music catering to kids. Unlike commodity kids bands created to make a quick buck, so-called kindie artists are steeped in the sincere songwriting tradition that predates the digital age. They Might Be Giants and Dan Zanes are more contemporary ambassadors for children’s music with a message, but even Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie released kids albums every bit as sophisticated as their more famous fare. “Embracing the kindie label, as well as working through a distributor and with a PR person who understand that audience, has really opened doors,” Hubbard explained. “We’re now available on Sirius XM Kids Place Live and Shazzbots albums are in more than 600 libraries nationwide. There are also all of the major streaming services, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple as well helping to reach a global audience.” The irony of the Shazzbots now broadcasting songs via satellite hasn’t escaped the band. It’s probably impossible to be more on brand. But that doesn’t diminish the analog roots and inspiration behind LIGHTSPEED!, available on CD, digital, and as an actual vinyl record with an intricately illustrated gatefold cover featuring a cross-section of the ship created by artist Joel Jackson, whom many may recognize as the ominous pirate from the television pilot’s cliffhanger ending. “These new streaming options and the release of the new album have given us more reach and more information than we’ve ever had before,” Hubbard noted. “We know how many people are watching the TV show, which is really starting to take off in the UK. We can see which songs are doing well in Australia, a market that is also growing due to songs getting play on the inflight kids entertainment service on Quantas airlines. We use these insights to decide which song should be next for a music video, or maybe shouldn’t, at least not right now.” “Having all of this data can be overwhelming, and you can overthink it. It can reinforce your instincts as a musician, but you also have to be careful not to let it affect you too much as an artist,” Hummel explained. “These are great tools to have, but you can’t let them keep you from pushing boundaries by trying to find a formula for success. Sometimes those simple little songs will surprise you.” Plenty of musicians have been there before, watching an outtake or alternate track that barely made an album resonate unexpectedly, despite prevailing opinion. It’s also why live shows remain the best market research for the Shazzbots, even now that some of their earliest fans are old enough to be in college. Requests from the audience, often songs that may not have the obvious hallmarks of a hit single, still spark something unexpected. It’s evidence that those obscure deep cuts have sticking power too, feedback a synthetic studio-only kids band just wouldn’t understand. “I was playing at Big Fun last weekend, and a dad and his two daughters were there. The youngest daughter was wearing one of our t-shirts she’d gotten as a hand-me-down from her sister who is now a teenager,” Hummel revealed. “The older daughter still knew all of the songs. It’s something they shared. She grew out of the shirt, but not the Shazzbots.” •

For more on the Shazzbots, LIGHTSPEED!, and upcoming live shows, visit theshazzbots.com.

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MINIMALIST

Local podcaster Diane Boden shares her advice on doing more with less, even when your kids want more BY L I N DA L EE BA I R D P HOTO BY R EBECC A T I EN

DIANE BODEN found minimalism while standing with her then-fiancé in her parents’ basement, searching through boxes. He said, “These were once hours of your dad’s life that he worked away that are now in boxes.” Boden calls it her “ah-ha” moment. “It was like, oh my goodness! ... Are all these things that I’ve been consuming and desiring going to end up in a box in my basement one day?” They decided then that in their marriage, they would prioritize experiences over things. Minimalism became so important to Boden that a few years later— after she became a mother—she started a podcast with her friend Megan Ericson called Minimalist Moms. While both approached minimalism in different ways, the friends shared the desire to live simply and possess only what they needed. Now hosting the show on her own, Boden told (614) about her minimalist journey, and shared some tips on how parents can pare down the stuff that comes with raising kids today. (61 4): HOW DO YOU D EF I N E M I N I M A L I SM ? DB : I would say that minimalism is going to look different for everyone. ... I know Marie Kondo is really big into what sparks joy. I’m not completely on board with that, but if we’re speaking about what brings

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us joy ... there could be much more of an abundance of items in your home that bring you joy, whereas maybe for me, it’s fewer items. But I think it’s getting rid of what’s superfluous and what’s unnecessary. H OW DI D YO U R P R AC TI C E O F M I N I M ALI SM CHANGE FO R YO U W H E N YO U B E C A M E A PA R E N T ?

You can live with less and you don’t need a ton of things when you have children. ... If you look at other cultures or just like the way that people lived even like fifty, sixty years ago, it was very different. ... I’m also a big believer in quality over quantity. ... I will save up for something nicer so that I’m not having to replace it constantly. Parenthood involves a lot of stuff, some of which you need, but much of what you don’t. How do you recommend dealing with the excess? Communicate to [friends and relatives] to purchase experiences over things for your kids. We have like all the passes to everything: Franklin Park Conservatory, COSI, zoo. ... Utilize second hand-shops, utilize your neighbors. Ask around. Borrow over buying. ... That is so beneficial. I did that with my son, and I didn’t really buy any [clothing] for him until he was a year.

“IF WE PUT THAT IN THEM AS THEY’RE LITTLE, THEY’LL BE MORE EMPATHETIC AND GIVING AS THEY GROW.” H OW DO YOUR K I DS R ESP ON D TO M I N I M A L I S M?

I’ve already started talking to my kids [about] what our values are. ... If we go to the store and [my daughter] sees something she wants, I’m like, “Let’s put that on your wishlist,” ... We’ll either take a picture out or mommy will get out the note in her phone. ... That way we have something for when a birthday or Christmas rolls around. I think that you can invite them in as they’re growing and allow them to make the decision. Like, “We can keep five of these items. Which ones are really special to you and which ones do you want to donate?” ... If we put that in them as they’re little, they’ll be more empathetic and giving as they grow. W HAT A DVICE WOU L D YOU G I V E TO A PA R E N T W H O WA N TS TO P LAN A M I N I M A L I ST BI R T HDAY PA R TY B U T DO ESN’T WANT TO BE T HE ON LY P ER SON N OT TO S E N D K IDS HOME WITH FAVOR S?

Send them home with a treat, or send them home with a craft that they can do. ... The other parents are probably happy you’re not sending home a bunch of nonsense with their children. ... [Don’t give] a gift just to ... have a gift that you don’t really care about. I would say if you’re not intentional about it, don’t do anything. It’s just not worth your time, it’s not worth your money. W HAT DO YOU D O A BOU T KI DS’ A R T WOR K ?

I’m very big into making Shutterfly scrapbooks for us each year. ... I have a section in there called “Charlotte the artist,” and I take pictures of all of her artwork. The few pieces that I know I really want to keep, like she has one box ... we’re only gonna fill up the one box with art ... and once that’s filled, we need to pick and choose. W HAT ADVICE WOU L D YOU G I V E SOM E O N E W H O I S INTERESTED IN P R AC T I C I N G M I N I M A L I SM B U T D O E S N ’ T K NOW WHERE O R HOW TO STA R T ?

Start in the bathroom! I know that’s kind of bizarre, but it’s usually the smallest space in our home. ... I would say that there’s little old bottles of toiletries that we probably don’t need that are expired. It’s kind of like, why are we curating such a space that we’re only in to shower and use the [bathroom]? I’ve never gotten rid of something that I’ve once looked looked back upon and regretted. ... If you haven’t used it in 3 to 6 months, you’re probably not going to use it, and it probably can be replaced down the road. •

Minimalist Moms is available on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow on Instagram @minimalistmomspodcast. 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

A KID AT HEART You have a place to call home and a car, both reasonably clean. You know how to cook and do laundry, and sometimes you even recycle. You can make a pretty convincing case for being an adult. But admittedly, adulting is a little easier when you make time for your kid side to play. Grab your cookies and glass of milk, grown ups. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to get your nostalgia on.

EAT LIKE A KID Childhood favorite foods, all grown up BY MADI TASK

ometimes I think back on the food I ate as a kid and wonder how the heck I was able to go back outside and continue playing with surely fewer nutrients than the human body needs to work with. Pop a quick Little Debbie Fudge Round or inhale a bowl of Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese and go. I don’t know how I did it, but I know that today I definitely value food existing as an experience all on its own. With this list, I give you memory-making foods that will either flash you back to a simpler time, or feel like a true upgrade from the fast-meal nature you used to adore but sadly outgrew. Stay gold!

• Boozy Milkshakes HADLEY’S BAR + KITCHEN | 260 S FOURTH ST. The shortcut to turning any kid treat into an adult favorite is simple: add booze. And at Hadley’s, they are all too familiar with this formula. The menu here features sophisticated flavors like Oreo Bonanza with Smirnoff Vanilla, Key Lime Pie with Absolut Lime, and a Bacon Bourbon Maple with Bulleit Bourbon. Of course, we all have a vegan friend who avoids dairy, and Hadley’s made sure they were covered with a vegan Coco Coffee Shake with Watershed Vodka. Usually, I’d say grab a few straws and share with your friends, but these are best enjoyed separately.

The Octodog DIRTY FRANK’S | 248 S FOURTH ST. Some of those disgusting combinations you crafted as a child have potential in the eyes of the chefs over at Dirty Frank’s. Forget cut-up hot dogs mixed into mac ‘n’ cheese, you completely neglected to consider the presentation of the dish. (Classic kid move.) Order The Octodog, an octopus-shaped hot dog sitting happily on top of a pile of mac ‘n’ cheese from Dirty Frank’s. This could also be seen as the adult-equivalent to dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. Since when was the last time you ate something shaped like an animal? Probably before junior high. Feel young again by stuffing your face with creamy mac ‘n’ cheese and an octopus hot dog cooked to adult standards, but visually appealing to the five-year-old at heart.•

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P HOTO BY KY LE T RACEY

• Ramen Noodles FUKURYU | 1600 W LANE AVE. Here we transition into adulthood and arguably the first meal you ever learned how to cook: ramen noodles. Your standards have surely upgraded since the last time you made a $0.98 meal from home, so prove it at Fukuryu, where you can eat actual, authentic Japanese ramen. This quick-and-easy, Costco-style dinner has been given a bad rep for far too long, because one trip to Fukuryu will show you how ramen is supposed to taste. Piled with chicken, pork belly, soft shell crab, or tofu, and a mountain of toppings you pick like sweet corn, chili pork, naruto, leeks, chili oil, toasted garlic oil, and more, their flavors are more expansive than your under-developed child taste buds could probably take. Now, they’re right up your alley. Get slurpin’.

Edible Cookie Dough COOKIE DOUGH CREAMERY | 7227 N HIGH ST. Butter, flour, sugar, and a secret ingredient...don’t worry, it’s not eggs. No one’s getting hit with a spoon for eating raw cookie dough around here, they’re just getting tips at Cookie Dough Creamery. Fill a cup with one of six cookie dough flavors and pile it high with ice cream and toppings the way you always over-did as a kid. They have five main flavors of cookie dough: chocolate chip, sugar cookie, oreo, peanut butter, and brownie batter. Plus, every few months they offer one to three seasonal flavors to try. (This summer it’s lemon!) As far as making your own cookie dough at home goes, quit the risk and trust whisk at Cookie Dough Creamery. I can tell you from experience it’s just like Mom’s, minus the lecture for eating it. 100 (614) MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 614NOW.COM

Gourmet Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches KREMA NUT COMPANY | 1000 GOODALE BLVD. The picky eater in all of us died at age 12 when we quickly became aware of how good food combinations foreign to us actually taste. In other words, we aren’t as stuck to only strawberry or grape jelly as we used to be. We’re not as hard on our friends who were scared to try peanut butter and fluff as a kid. Today, we go gourmet. Krema’s has a wide variety of PB&Js, all with an unconventional twist. Strawberry preserves are used instead of strawberry jelly, and fresh slices of strawberries sit in the sandwich with it. Other combos include The Kicker, or peanut butter and spicy raspberry preserves for the kid who made sure everyone knew it was his rock, not the neighborhood rock. Plus other game-changers like PB Apple Cheesecake, and almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter are up for grabs at this one-of-a-kind nut company serving classic American favorites with a twist.

Cotton Candy Cocktail FORNO | 721 N HIGH ST. The days of begging your parents for overpriced fluff at baseball games are over, but the days of making our everyday cocktails more Instagrammable are coming quickly. As a result, Forno is now serving a new cotton candy cocktail served in two glasses: one for the drink, and the other to hold a cloud of pink cotton candy, set aside for you to dissolve when your iPhone flash is ready. Sip one and you’ll start acting like those sugar-high cartoon characters who were actually acting drunk to get a laugh from the parent viewers helicoptering over their kid’s TV shows. Grow up and spike your cotton candy this summer!

P HOTO BY BR I A N KA I S E R

• OG Nachos WOODHOUSE VEGAN POP-UP 1038 N HIGH ST. (AT ODDFELLOWS LIQUOR BAR) Don’t let the word vegan scare you away; these plant-based dishes are every bit indulgent as they are animal-free. Whether nachos take you back to a time of concession stands at sporting events or a quick thrown together meal after school, they’ll always hold a spot in our hearts. At Woodhouse Vegan, these nachos will put whatever you threw in the microwave as a kid to shame. They are loaded with vegan cheese sauce, jalapeno peppers, guac, black bean dip, and all kinds of other things primed and ready to stain your shirt. Even the staunchest of meat eaters will have no problem devouring this down. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

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PLAY LIKE A KID

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R Adventure Park in Hocking Hills offers fun for everyone BY M I TC H H O O P E R P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I S E R

ucked away from the main road leading into Hocking Hills sits a world that rivals most theme parks you can find. Complete with a multimillion dollar ropes course, 68 miles of riding trails, a speed course, off-road vehicles, zip-lining, a paintballing arena, and a damn roller coaster, this dreamland sounds just like that—a dream. But for Karry Gimmel, owner, curator, imagineer, and engineer—R Adventure Park is every bit of his wildest dreams made into reality. Upon arriving at the park, we drove up the long drive-way and eventually our playground was unveiled from behind the tall trees. The ropes course towered in the background as Polaris quads, side-bysides, and three-wheeled Slingshots were scattered about near the front desk area. As gray skies filled the sky, we knew the Ohio weather was going to do its best to give us its worst. “Don’t worry,” Gimmel assured us. “We have some of our best days when it rains.” It didn’t take much to convince us. Gimmel has worked and continues to work as an engineer for Disney World—if anyone can be trusted as a reliable source for fun, it’s him. Combine his knowledge of theme parks from Disney World with seemingly unlimited space (thanks, unplotted land!) and a little horsepower, and you have a place where kids, mom, dad, and even grandma can participate. He took us to the eye-grabbing rope course to begin our day. I’ve never been one to call myself an adrenaline junkie, but heights haven’t really bothered me before. Whether it be the roller coasters at Cedar Point or working summer construction on scaffolding 60+ feet off the ground, I came, I saw, and I conquered. So when I approached the first tier all strapped in my safety harness with my guide on hand, I was befuddled to find how nervous I was. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE 103

The first obstacle is an easy one: a balance beam. But to my eyes and brain, it was a tightrope across the Grand Canyon. And when I took that first step, I was sure it was a tightrope across the Grand Canyon and the slightest gust of wind would send me to my doom. Slowly and methodically, I stepped forward making sure to follow OSHA tips like always keep three points planted when at high altitudes. Turns out that summer construction job is paying off. After making it down and back comfortably, we continued to turn the heat up. Each level higher presented more difficult obstacles—all seemingly insane until you actually complete them. Every obstacle completed might just bump your confidence to the point where you might just try a few backwards, hopping on one foot. But if you’re feeling more comfortable staying on the first tier, there’s no shame in that.

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As we finished up the ropes course, the rain seemed to be moving in which made for an appropriate time to switch. We ditched our belays for helmets and safety glasses and made our way to the Polaris side-by-side vehicle. To say this vehicle was covered in dirt, mud, and dust is an understatement. Our driver went to brush some off the seat, but Gimmel quickly stopped him. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that; you’re going to get muddy,” Gimmel said. “Do you want to do the trail, or the ‘trail’ trail?” Of course, we picked the “trail” trail. After a crash course in how not to crash, we took off into the woods cruising through the curvy trail surrounded by trees and nature. We continued as tree branches brushed by us and the mud slinging party only grew bigger. Each dry strip of land was a chance for the mud to come free from the tires and these human-seeking dirt bombs were on a mission. Our trek through the trail eventually took us to a speed course where we could finally let loose and see how this machine works. Gimmel knew exactly where to take us: the drag strip. On the count of three, we screamed off down the quarter-mile dirt strip like a rocket shot out of a cannon. Gimmel, leading us in a one-man side-by-side, gave us a few seconds head start and still managed to smoke us in a cloud of dust. (We’ll get him next time, though.) • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE 105

All-in-all, the 30-minute adventure on the trails felt like an eternity—in a good way. The twists and turns of the trails remove all your sense of direction, making you feel as though you just traveled miles away from the park. But with a few turns here and there, we wound up right next to the ropes course where our day all started. Of the 68 miles of trails, we covered about three. The mantra at R Adventure Park is fun for everyone with an added bonus: instant gratification. Gimmel said the park started when he would have business partners visit for various reasons and inevitably, he’d be scrambling for a way to entertain them. He always keeps vehicles nearby and he had a few ATVs on stock which quickly became the favorites for his friends—anyone who’s ever tried to rent quads before knows how much of a headache it can be just finding a rental place, let alone finding trails. Gimmel recognized the lack of options as well as the high overhead with getting into off-roading. At R Adventure Park, he could offer both without the big investment. But he was going to need some more off-road vehicles to accommodate. After some reluctancy, he was able to work on agreements with Polaris, making R Adventure Park one of the few spots in North America where you can rent, learn, and ride ATVs without having to purchase your own.

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There’s another mantra for R Adventure Park and Gimmel says its thanks to his Canadian genes: creating a community. While you’ll find adventure and excitement in nearly every corner here, you will not find lodging. And Gimmel seems like he has no plans for that in the future. Instead, he encourages visitors to look into lodging options near the park as to support his neighbors. For him, it’s not about having the entire pie, it’s about everyone getting a slice. It just helps that his slice comes served in a Polaris Slingshot that can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.6 seconds. •

R Adventure Park is located on 15155 Sauerkraut Road, Logan, Ohio 43138. For hours and operations, visit radventurepark.com.

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COLLECT

LIKE A KID

“Too many toys” not a problem for Columbus curator of Marvel characters and more BY M I K E TH O MAS P H OTOS BY B R I A N KA I SER

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nown as simply as “The Collector” to most, Taneleer Tivan is the Marvel Comics universe’s most prolific accumulator of stuff. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, where The Collector is played to perfection by Benicio Del Toro in maximum weird mode, the character has everything from one of those now-famous infinity stones to a wisecracking anthropomorphic duck in his possession. While he may lack talking waterfowl or a gem with the power to reshape reality as we know it, Wyatt Boggs has of one of the most impressive collections this side of the MCU. As a matter of fact, pieces from the Marvel universe account for around half of the collectables on display in Boggs’ office, which is practically bursting with pop culture goodness. Transformers, the classic vehicle-to-robot creations that have been a toy aisle staple since the 80s, make up most of the rest, along with various ephemera from classic horror films. (614) spoke with Boggs about what he looks for in a collectable, and where the haters can (respectfully) stick it. (614): How did this collection get started? WB: At the age of 11 or 12, I was sort of waiting to stop watching cartoons and stop playing with toys. I was waiting to get into sports like all the other kids, and that just never happened. I realized that this is just what I’m into, and it sort of snowballed. It’s been about 11 years of collecting now. How would you categorize the things that make up this collection? Action figures, toys of all kinds…? I would just say “collectables,” because I like action figures, but I also like replicas, 1:1-scale things, and anything like that. But it does mainly consist of action figures. What was the first piece of this collection? I don’t remember the first toys exactly, but I remember the first toy that I got that I looked at and said, “I want to collect more of these,” and that was an Optimus Prime figure from the first Transformers movie in 2007. I got that and was just really enamored with it and knew I wanted a lot more. What criteria do you consider when adding to the collection? When it comes to Marvel, I try to keep it to [characters] I know. There are thousands upon thousands of Marvel characters out there, and I don’t know every single one of them. I try to keep it to the characters that I recognize and am invested in. When it comes to Transformers, there are figures that actually transform, there are high-end statues that don’t transform, and others. For myself, the non-transforming things—while I think they’re great pieces—I’m not into those, because I like the technical aspect of the transforming. If it’s a Transformer, I want it to actually transform. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE 109

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What do you consider to be the “crown jewel” of the collection? The crown jewel is my one-to-one scale “Good Guy” doll from Child’s Play. I’ve been a huge fan of Chucky for about 12 years now. I’d always wanted one of those, and a company finally made it available last year. The thing that’s always confused me is that Chucky is a toy, but there’s never been a very good 1 to 1 scale replica—an “actual” Chucky doll. I always wanted one that was legitimate, that looked like it came out of the movie. That’s what this one finally is. It feels like a grail, to have finally tracked it down and to be able to put it on my shelf or hold it. There’s catharsis of finally owning that replica that I’ve been wanting for a really long time. Do you ever come across haters with a collection like this? How do you respond to negativity? If I’m in a toy store and someone walks past and scoffs, I don’t care. The way I look at it, at the end of the day—it’s not meth. I’m not hurting anybody, and it’s something that makes me happy. I buy merchandise the same way that others do with anything they’re into, be it movies or sports. That’s all I’m doing, investing into a hobby. The thing that I would want people to know about me, or about anybody who’s into this sort of thing, is that people are into what they’re into. Just accept people for who they are and for what they enjoy. I think it’s important that people get out and express themselves, and have the freedom to do so. Let people be themselves—that’s all I’ve ever tried to do. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

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Labor Day is approaching, which will quickly be followed by Christmas shopping. So now is the time to plan your last vacation before your calendar fills with holidays. No need to empty out your wallet. “The Heart of It All” has plenty of fun on the cheap, whether you’re looking for relaxation or excitement. So buckle your seat belt for a quick Ohio tour and everything the season has to offer. • Road in Mohican State Park, photo by Rob Shaker

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John Bryan State Park •

Yellow Springs: $200 BY MIKE THOMAS

A town that seems largely forgotten by time and real estate developers, Yellow Springs, Ohio offers a charming change of pace from the ubiquitous orange barrels and construction cranes of our own bustling mini-metropolis. If you think vaguely of Yellow Springs as “that hippie town,” or “that town where Dave Chappelle lives,” you’re not doing it justice. When the order of business in most locales is the constant march toward newer, shinier, taller, Yellow Springs sports more character-per-foot than cities twice its size—progress be damned. Little more than an hour drive from Columbus, Yellow Springs is the perfect destination to get away for a day or two to shake loose from the familiar. With $200 dollars as our target budget, there’s plenty to discover, but let’s be real. Yellow Springs isn’t about hangups like dollarcounting, maaaaan. Just vibe out and have a good time! On the edge of Yellow Springs just off of I-70, the first stop on your adventure is Young’s Jersey Dairy. You’ll know this destination by its big red barn and signature roadside cow statue, but don’t be fooled by the rural appearances—you could easily blow your whole $200 budget here before ever setting foot in Yellow Springs proper. While you could spend all day at Young’s hitting balls in the batting cages or teeing off on the driving range, (what kind of dairy is this, anyway?) you’re better off grabbing a to-go cup of their delicious homemade ice cream and handful of buffalo cheese curds and hitting the road. Fueled up on fresh dairy goodness, you’ll be all set for everything that awaits you in town. If you overdid it at Young’s and need to burn off a few calories,

there is one more detour you could elect to make. Situated on the Little Miami River, John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs is known as the most scenic state park in western Ohio. When you’re done walking off your dietary transgressions, have a go on the park’s 18-hole disc golf course, or try your hand at rock climbing on the North Rim Trail. Blew your lodging budget on cheese? It happens. Luckily, camping in scenic John Bryan State Park is one of the most affordable and memorable ways to lay your head down in Yellow Springs.

Little Miami River •

You’ve gorged on cheese and ice cream and taken in the great outdoors, and now you’re ready to hit the town. Enter: historic downtown Yellow Springs. With its quirky bohemian charm and colorful exteriors, Yellow Springs’ main drag is a vision of small-town USA with a Jerry Garcia Twist. But don’t spend all day outside gawking—duck into some of the many fine establishments and see what this town is all about. If by chance you’re still hungry, hit up Peaches Bar and Grill for a burger and fries. This neighborhood watering hole is laid back in a David Lynch sort of way, and features live music from the area’s top talent on a regular basis. Got the giggles? Ha Ha Pizza is a favorite with tourists

Beer can and patio photos provided by Yellow Springs Brewery •

and locals alike. According to legend, the name harkens back to a time when this joint’s pizzas were topped with mushrooms of the magic variety. Though you’ll have to settle for the regular white button variety of fungus these days, this pizzeria remains a hit. Along with a variety of first-rate eateries, Yellow Springs is home to one of the best breweries in the state in the aptly-named Yellow Springs Brewery. Sporting some killer label art from Dayton artist Don Pendleton, (known for his work with such skate companies as Alien Workshop and Element) the beer inside tastes as good as the cans look. While you’re there, relax and kick back a few on the brewpub’s cozy patio, which overlooks the bustling Little Miami Bike Trail. Downtown Yellow Springs sports so many unique shops and art galleries to explore, and you can make a whole day of it without spending a dime. Remember OSU campus headshop Import House? A location in Yellow Springs is alive and well. Record stores, comic book shops, multiple (MULTIPLE) independently-owned bookstores—shopping in Yellow Springs has something to suit any taste. With a community-first approach that keeps makes it a haven for everyone from crunchy art-types to internationally-known celebrities, Yellow Springs is in no hurry to catch up to the rest of the world. Get there and get free from the hangups and hassles of the increasingly hectic Columbus lifestyle, if only for one weekend. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

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Mohican State Park Fire Tower view in Fall, photo by Lorne Skyora •

Mohican State Park: $100

BY REGIN A FOX

I’ve been going to Mohican State Park on Memorial Day weekend for all 24 years of my life. This tradition of my hometown, err...village long predates my existence, even. For one weekend every year, a convoy of trucks and trailers carries nearly half of Arcadia, Ohio’s population (590 in total according to the 2010 census) 100 miles southeast to an oasis deep in the Mohican wilderness. And the best part besides the great outdoors, hot dogs, and excuse to not wash your hair all weekend? You get your kicks for cheap! Here’s how you can stretch $100 to have a truly memorable weekend getaway out in the sticks. From Columbus, the park is only about 80 miles, so you’ll only have about $20 in gas. Your GPS will wind you through the Amish countryside, 116

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down old dirt roads, and through amber waves of grain before you will completely lose cell service—an unsuspecting perk of the trip before you even arrive. There are many campgrounds within Mohican State Park, but over the last several years, we’ve set anchor at Wilderness. (What I actually mean is that the Arcadia group has been kicked out of every other campground over the years. We run a little rowdy, to say the least). Campsites there cost anywhere from $25 to $44, depending on electricity hookup and time of year. So, once you pitch the tent or park the trailer, it’s time to crack open your first adult beverage and let the good times roll. With traveling and setting up camp, the first day has the potential to bring on some stress or anxiety. Let your problems drift away with a tubing trip down the mighty Mohican River. If you forgot to pack a tube or means to inflate one, don’t worry! Rip off the sheet you just stretched across your air mattress and prepare for the most comfortable float this side of Put-in-Bay’s Jet Express. Climbing up the muddy riverbank to your campsite is probably the closest you’ve come to fulfilling your New Year’s fitness resolution, so you’ll need to eat. Staying with the theme of simplicity on the first night, don your pie irons and make pizza sandwiches! Want to class it up a notch? Swap out Kroger brand shredded mozzarella for smoked gouda and trade pepperoni for Soppressata. Wash it down with an ice cold Busch Light and you’ve got yourself a tasty meal way on the south side of $10. Round out the evening with a friendly game of beersbie, cornhole, or thumper around the fire. You’ll fall asleep to the soothing sound of crickets and tree frogs. Just remember to pack away all your food before calling it a night—the local racoons are not shy. On day two, you’ll wake up with a slight backache from your lumpy mattress, but eager to get the fun started. Head up to the front office and reserve a spot on the 5-mile canoe ride. You may be enticed by

the 10-mile trip, or maybe even the 20-mile one, but between stopping off to explore the woods, picking up the wreckage from a tip, and bathroom breaks, you’re still in for a long day on the river with the 5-miler, trust me. Make sure you bring a couple bucks because turning down a Drumstick at a river-side ice cream stand is something you should never put yourself through. If you split the $20 cost of the canoe with your boat mate and factor in $2.25 for treats, you’ve got yourself a 6-hour activity that’ll only bust you $12.25. Once you’ve finally washed ashore, it’s time for dinner. Rather than wasting precious Mohican time hunched over a cutting board or cooktop, we like to throw a crockpot potluck where each camp brings a dish to share, buffet-style. So far, you’ve enjoyed $92.25 worth of fun. That means you’ve got a whole $7.75 left in your budget to splurge on ingredients for your contribution! So give the people what they want: a dip. Buffalo chicken, Mexican street corn dip, spinach artichoke—it truly doesn’t matter, just as long as the main ingredient is cheese. And just like the melted goodness you scoop out of the crockpot, the evening will slowly stretch into night. They say the best things in life are free and this is especially true with camping. On your last night in Mohican Wilderness, do absolutely nothing. Sit around the fire with your fellow campers, embrace the sounds of your laughter bouncing off the tall trees lining the riverbank, and really soak up each other’s company; it is then that you will truly embrace the spirit of Mohican camping. You may not come away with the next greatest Instagram photo, or a wildly unique souvenir (although you can dip your own wax candle at the Mohican Wilderness craft cabin), but there’s a reason I’ve visited the park for 24 consecutive years. I hope you find your reason, too. •

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Cleveland: $300

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Great Lakes Brewery •

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Just because LeBron left Cleveland and Tristan Thompson ruined Ohio’s only shot of hosting a Kardashian from time-to-time doesn’t mean all is lost for the city. (Except no way, LEBRON, COME BACK. PLEASE!) Sorry, sorry. Let’s not dwell. They don’t call Cleveland “The Land” for nothing; our notso-far-away northern sister city offers plenty to do without having to dip too far into your vacation budget. Load up the car and drive as straight on I-71N for as long as you can—if you hit Pennsylvania you went too far. The first order of business is lodging and we highly recommend snagging an Airbnb. For prices as low as $53 a night to be in the heart of Downtown, it’s tough to beat. The closer you get to the stadiums (Progressive Field, FirstEnergy Stadium, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse), the more you’ll see a rise in prices so keep that in mind while booking. On the other hand, if you’re looking to go to an Indians game, staying close to the stadium makes the parking situation less of a headache. Beyond the sportsball going down up north, Cleveland has many staples to remind you of home like Barrio, a build-your-owntaco restaurant and rival of Condado, as well as breweries to quench your thirst. Visit Ohio City where you’ll find Platform Beer Company as well as the West Side Market where you’ll taste the boozy brews of Great Lakes Brewing Company. Ohio City also plays host to the completely non-GMO restaurant, TownHall, which features an array of plates including vegetarian and vegan options. If you’re a big fan of Short North spots like Standard Hall and The Pint House, you’ll love TownHall. Other options for food and booze can be found on East Fourth Street where shops, restaurants, bars, and breweries all collide. The aforementioned Barrio can be found here as well as Mexican restaurant Zocalo Tequileria with an expansive list of tequilas. The Corner Alley offers a large bar area and patio in addition to bowling lanes and arcade games—something for the little kids, and more importantly, something for the big kids. For the sake of souvenirs and swag, Cleveland Clothing offers Cleveland-themed apparel and some of the softest sweatshirts of all-time. If you’re sticking around the East Fourth Street area heading into the evening (or the morning, we don’t judge) the JACK Cleveland Casino is ready and raring to take your money. May the odds ever be in your favor? (They’re not.) And what’s a vacation without satisfying your sweet tooth? Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream and Mason’s Creamery have your frozen treats while Malley’s Chocolates get straight to the point with their decadent chocolates. For the sake of your own happiness, get the chocolate covered pretzels from Malley’s.

Platform Beer Co. •

Cleveland also boasts a plethora of concert halls and venues and the outdoor venue Blossom Music Center is loaded with a variety of talent for all of August. Classic rock fans can see Santana on Aug. 7, Peter Frampton on Aug. 8, while country fans will see Jason Aldean on Aug. 9. The following week brings Train and The Goo Goo Dolls on Aug. 14, Nelly on Aug. 15, and Korn and Alice In Chains on Aug. 16. If you want music variety, Blossom has it. There’s also House Of Blues which has live music playing on most days starting at 3 p.m. and specialty appearances slated throughout the month. We’d be remiss to not mention the tourist spots of The Rock’N’Roll Hall Of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, and the always-free Cleveland Museum of Art. But if you’re looking to go down a less-followed path, kayaking in the Cuyahoga River is an option if you have your own equipment, or you can check out River Cruising Kayaking. After you finish your adventure outside of Cleveland proper, head a little further out to Fat Head’s Brewery and Brew Hall in Middleburg Heights. If you do anything this trip, order a Bumbleberry Ale which comes served with frozen blueberries. Tour the brewing facility at your leisure, or just gulp back some delicious beers. • 614NOW.COM AUGUST 2019 (614) MAGAZINE

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[ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ] Important Local News

- JULY 19 -

Dive into Guy Fieri’s picks for best BBQ in nation, including one local spot Columbus native and mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri has always had a soft spot for his hometown, especially its BBQ. He’s been around the country to enjoy some of the best food America has to offer for his show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, but it’s right here in Columbus where some of the meats are being smoked: Ray Ray’s Hog Pit.

- JULY 8 -

Find all your favorite foods on menu of new Polaris restaurant A new restaurant planned for Polaris will be your new favorite destination for quality, familiar, homemade food. Kitchen Social will be opening at 8954 Lyra Drive later this year, serving up tavern classics like burgers, fried chicken, seafood, salads and more.

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- JUNE 28 -

Columbus’ next rooftop bar will be in a familiar Brewery District building Something new is brewing at a pre-Prohibition era brewery. The long-dormant Hoster Brewing Company at 477 S Front St. has been purchased with the intent to develop it into a boutique hotel, rooftop bar, events venue, and more.

- JULY 10 -

- JULY 18 -

The alleged link between Les Wexner and millionaire sex oﬀender Jeﬀrey Epstein

New construction at I-70 split means more traﬃc for now

Jeffrey Epstein, a 66-yearold millionaire financier and registered sex offender, was arrested on Saturday and charged with sex trafficking dozens of minors between 2002 and 2005. According to The Daily Beast, one of Epstein’s accusers is claiming to have been assaulted in the home of local billionaire Leslie Wexner.

Changes coming to a busy stretch of highway near Children’s Hospital could lead to serious-short term traffic headaches. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has announced two changes to I-70 downtown which are set to begin this August.

- JULY 9 - JULY 1 -

Sneak Peek: 360 views from Bridge Park’s newest restaurant There are a ton of excellent dining options in Dublin’s Bridge Park, including one new lunch spot you have to try: Cleveland-based REBoL is officially open, offering guests 100% non-GMO, organic, nutrient-rich food.

We’ve got updates on the highly-anticipated Quarry Park It’s been a while since we’ve heard an update on Quarry Trails, the soon-to-be 20th Metro Park in central Ohio, which will include kayaking, camping, backpacking, sheer cliff face climbing, and many more wilderness activities.

Never miss a thing:

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