The title of this public art sculpture doesn't lie: It's literally giant dancing rabbits. This…read moresculpture is huge and sits on top of a hill in Ballantrae Park, a park located in a residential area of Dublin. You can spot this sculpture from the road, but if you look at it up close, it's even better. Up close, you'll see all sorts of random objects implanted on the rabbits: bicycle gears, hammers, fossils, scissors, springs, pliers, and even a Space Jam medallion (?!?!). It's sort of like a huge Seek and Find. At the bottom of the hill, there's a splash pad that's open during the warmer months. There is also a lot of parking here.

So fun and the beat part is that it's free!!! My son absolutely loves going there in the summer.read more

Stumbled upon this place with a friend and was instantly intrigued. We were able to pull over and…read moreget a closer look at the sculptures. Each ear of corn looked unique and they were about 6ft tall. I really enjoyed this small side quest to learn about something new and see a piece of Ohio history up close

This art installation is a great concept. I love what it represents. What don't I love? The lack of…read morecolor. I wish the ears of corn were actually painted. It's a free experience and cool to see, but kind of underwhelming once you get out there. The details on the corn is pretty awesome though.

We came across this fun sculpture while participating in a scavenger hunt in historic Dublin. The…read morefrog definitely helped us out, but that's not the only reason for the stars. It is both a neat piece of art and a fun bit of history. It's a very large (for the subject matter) bronze sculpture that is memorializing the Dublin frog jump contest. It was designed by Dale Johnson. The attitude conveyed by the frog gave me a chuckle!

This is a very impressive interactive art piece located in Coffman Park. It consists of a small…read morestructure (the watch house) and a large circular mound, located near some woods and a stream, which provides a different feeling from the rest of the park, which offers a lot of traditional park amenities. You can walk all the way around the mound and get different views of the watch house. The watch house itself has two doors and several windows, providing plentiful opportunities to look out. If you look up, you can view a variety of shapes cut out of the dome-shaped ceiling. It's neat that the artist, Todd Slaughter, incorporated a variety of elements reflecting on the history of Dublin, including those of the indigenous people, in the work.

Let me paint you a picture here…read more.. You're driving down the road, the sun is shining perfectly in your face. You can't escape it. You know, like in that sweet spot where your visor doesn't cover the blindingness and you have to hold your hand up to see the road. Your music is blaring, traffic is stopping at the red light, and you finally get a break from the glaring sun thanks to the car shadow in front of you. You open your eyes fully, after several minutes of squinting, and see A GIANT FIELD OF GIANT CORN!! Ok, ok, this isn't a picture at all. This is actually a true story. I know it's true because it happened to me yesterday! Of course, I had to take a few minutes to jump out and explore this random field of art. I easily found the entrance to the space and pulled up alongside the field. I got out and started towards the Osage Orange trees lined up on the west side of the installation. I noticed several plaques and love learning about art so I read up on the history of this area of Dublin and the inspiration of the art in front of me. There was even a Dublin Arts Council QR code that I scanned and was able to listen in on the artist explaining it. Excellent touch! After soaking up a ton of information about corn and the history of the neighborhood, I snagged a few photos and enjoyed these giant corn cobs up close. They're rock solid, made out of cement, and much taller than me. They're also all different, much like their edible muse. Need a laugh? Need a break from life? Swing through this park and embrace the simple things.

Frantz Park is home to the famous - or infamous, depending on your point of view - field of corn…read moresculpture. The site used to be a corn farm before becoming a park. There is a small Osage Orange tree area with benches along one side, but the vast majority of the space is dedicated to the art installation consisting of 109 corn cobs. This is one of those quirky sights that you just need to see for yourself for fun! It's an easy stop on the way to do something else in the area.

Ogun is one of the pieces within the Elemental Gardens located at Reed Road Park. This eye-catching…read moresculpture is made of metal and was created by Steve Bush.The beautiful reds and oranges contribute to the feeling of fire evoked by the piece. It is named for god of metal work that is part of several African religions. Very nice piece that is easy to stop by and enjoy as you follow the multi-purpose trail around the park.

I have been coming to the Dublin Irish Festival for decades. How much it's grown is really amazing!…read moreCoffman Park has really turned I to a beautiful spot, too, with lots of playgrounds and landscaping. The fest itself is full of great vendors, food options, and so many talented performers and musicians. You can't fault any of the food or performance options! A few things of note: it's not cheap. Online price is $25 for over 12 years old. 11 and under are free and don't require tickets. A lot of free parking options nearly, too, which helps. We came at 4pm Friday, right at opening. It is honestly inexplicable how dirty the portajohns were already. There are so many but twice in two different locations, both pretty grody. Prices for food and drinks aren't cheap, either. Tokens for water/soda at the beverage tent are $4 per drink equivalent and beers are $8-9 as the cheapest option. Food trucks are a wide range, but I'd say a beef hot dog $7 and most meals $14-15. Maybe I'm stuck in 90s prices, though! All in all, if the weather is nice, it's a great way to hear music and shop some lovely vendors. Fun night out! I don't prefer to stay at night anymore because I'm not much of a partier, but it can be great fun.

The Dublin Irish Festival is an institution for a reason! To be honest, it's not an every year…read moreevent for me, there is a LOT going on, but it's definitely a must see. I think the festival is really well laid out. There are about 6 main stages, and some smaller event tents scattered throughout, in addition to the athletic area (don't miss the Highland Games, they're fascinating!). There is always music somewhere, but the tents are spread out enough that you don't get a lot of overflow. I like to go to the Games, the Police and Fire Pipe and Drum Corps, and this year, we spent a lot of time at the Celtic Rock stage. If you're going for the evening performances at the Rock stage, it's a good idea to bring a chair, though I don't know what you'd do with it earlier in the day..... Gaelic Storm on Saturday night was PACKED, and they weren't the headliner! There is a ton of food to chose from, and again, it's kind of scattered across the park to keep things moving. It's ALWAYS hot as heck for this festival. They have water refill stations, several, and again, throughout the park, which was an awesome option. I brought extra water, but really only needed one bottle. Parking is a pain in the butt - various business have paid parking to capitalize on the crowd (and who could blame them), and you can park for free a quarter to half mile away at various city owned properties. There are also one or more shuttle lots (also free) that I did not use, but my friend said was really easy. It's hot, it's crowded, you walk a lot, but the music and the people watching are great. No joke - I saw a group of Storm Troopers in kilts. Where else can you find that?!

Driving up Riverside Drive you may have notice a place just beyond McCoy Road where an old drive up…read morea hill has been overgrown with grass underneath an unreadable sign from the highway. Just north of it behind a stone wall up on the hill is a pile of round rocks. For years I wondered what that was. It is this: the gravesite of Bill Moose. Bill Moose was the last of the original Wyandotte, a Native American tribe that once lived in central Ohio. His family refused to move to the reservation when the US government set one up. He lived to about 100-years old and was a beloved figure in Columbus up to his death in the 1930s. He performed in the Sells Brother circus and became a local celebrity of sorts, selling pictures and trinkets to people. They buried him here, on the banks of the Scioto because the river was an important trail for Native Americans, and he loved spending time in the area. It is he who gives the Beechwold creek and ravine it names for his residence was off Morse where the Ohio School of the Deaf is. The memorial is comprised of large round rocks stack in a pyramid standing about 8 or 9 feet high, Some stones are engraved with pictures of him. Behind is a large box garden celebrating the tribes communion with nature, and Kihue's, his real name, love of it. The hilly meadow around the grave is serene even with the buzz of Riverside traffic. Research digs up the names Wyandotte Hill or Wyandotte Park for this plot, but it is not listed as such on CPR website. I assume it is an add on to Griggs reservoir. It has wooden tables, a bike trail, and lots of grass and trees. It is made of two somewhat steep hills. This would be a decent place to sled, snowboard or ski in the winter. Parking in available off Lane Road.

A very nice set of three bear sculptures is located inside of the Centennial Plaza at Northam Park…read more They include a large mother bear with two cubs and are made from bronze. They were designed by a local sculptor, Alan Hamwi. It is a very fun sculpture to look at, and the kids enjoy it too. It is a shady area and has benches, so you can sit and enjoy. It has a nice location between the pool area and the playground/library, so it's a fun stop as you explore the many community offerings located around Northam Park.

The Into the Woods art consists of some nice stone features. One is a set of four granite benches…read moreengraved with the Latin names of trees. The tree varieties used are some that are found within the park. The benches are located towards the center of the park, in an area that's accessible by several of the winding trails that come from various entrances. The other piece is a granite entry way that includes leaf imprints and a haiku about the woods written by local Yvonne Hardenbrook. The granite art is a nice complement to this beautiful and peaceful wooded space, and I love that they incorporated the haiku into it - very fitting.