Another year and another fun con. Sadly masks were required again, but hopefully this will be the…read morelast year for it. The voice actors are good about a free autograph with admission, but some are weirdly picky about what they sign or if they will charge for pictures you take of them. The scavenger hunt can be pretty fun and the ribbon game is also interesting as you can collect a lot of ribbons. Panels range acriss the board. If you have something you love be sure to apply to be a panelist or volunteer as staff to keep the con going.

Ohayocon was a blast! I didn't manage to catch any panels, but the artisans and vendors were…read morefantastic, the atmosphere was good, and the people were friendly. Ohayocon has a thriving ribbon tradition, so make sure to hunt for ribbons to add to your con pass, or even bring your own!

I was trying to find CBJ tickets as a Xmas gift for a coworker and her family. I called Matt at…read moreMinuteman Tickets and he explained the options available between purchasing online vs over the phone. He was extremely patient and sensitive to my needs and offered the option of paying with Paypal when I expressed my aversion to providing credit card numbers over the phone. I could not be more pleased with a monetary transaction.....and he saved me some money by doing the transaction through him vs online. I'll certainly be doing more business with him. I've recommended him/Minuteman Tickets to several of my colleagues. Well, I said I would do more business with Matt/ Minuteman Tickets and here I am three months later. I wanted to get a pair of tickets to a Brad Paisley concert at Blossom Music Center in July, '18 for a special relative, who happens to be a police officer. I called Matt (who remembered me!!) and explained what I wanted. He said his staff would work on it and call me within an hour. In the interim, I went on line with StuHub and TicketMaster to at a seating map; I also noted there prices. I called Matt again and explained, to narrow their search, where I wanted the seats to be. Matt said they'd call me within 30 minutes. He called 20 minutes later with several options, all much cheaper than StubHub and TicketMaster!! He was also able to get the parking pass I requested. Within 20 minutes, I received my receipt and the police officer received his emailed tickets. I cannot imagine having a better experience. I am very grateful I heard their radio ad on 105.7 ("Hooley ans Spielman") back in November, '17. I'm certain I'll be doing business with Minuteman Tickets many more times.

I was looking for tickets to a concert in Pittsburgh, PA. I wasn't sure if Minuteman Tickets would…read morehave tickets outside of the Columbus area but they did! Matt was so helpful and provided excellent customer service. He emailed the tickets to me immediately and we had no problems when we arrived at the venue (PPG Arena). The seats were great and it was the best night of my daughter's life! Thank you Matt!

What an amazing day! Alfred had a blast laying in the Ice Castle…read more This is a free event for dogs and their people. There were three sections of vendors with lots of pet food samples, treats, and toys. There are also vendors selling great pet products, local dog rescues and everything dog related you can think of. The line for the Kong bag was worth the wait.

WAG you have an event lover over here, that's my dog Bella. She was having the best time of her…read morelife at this event. I think it was the attention she got but I don't know, she enjoyed seeing all the vendors there that day too. Bella tells me her favorite vendors were the ones with the tennis balls they gave away. Those were her favorite toys at this event. She didn't care about the treats, that was an extra. (I know we have a strange dog here not caring too much about all the free treats at over 20 booths but she had fun!) Bella and I took home lots of treats, toys and food from vendors like Pet People, Mutts and Co, doggie day cares, etc. She was even kind enough to share her food and treats she received with her friends. See she does have a good heart sometimes! My girl even got a signature from the local news anchors Karina Nova and Molly Brewer from 10TV. I cannot wait to come back next year and experience all the vendors from pet stores to trainers, local media stations, etc. We had so much fun and appreciate all the time and attention these vendors put into this event to make it a great day!

Via Colori is a two day festival at Goodale Park where local artists, under sponsorhip from local…read morebusinesses, chalk huge drawings on the streets and sidewalks around the park. The festival takes place as the artists are doing the work, so you can see the art develop and multiply throughout the day. I walked over just to grab a bite of festival food before work. I was surprised in two ways. One, I thought it would be a more extensive festival. But then, I've only been to Comfest, which is the biggest festival of the year at Goodale Park. Two, I was impressed both at how good a lot of the work was, as well as how different everyone's technique was. Some artists were sprawled out on the ground like a 5 year old kid with a coloring book. Others sat upright detailing the huge pieces with wet paint brushes. Overall, it's just one more reason why I like living in the Short North.

I was quite excited to see this festival of chalk. Parking is nearly impossible on a weekend in the…read moreshort north so I opted to park in the Giant Eagle parking lot(off of Neil Avenue) in hopes that I wouldn't get towed. The festival is only a couple blocks away at Gooddale Park and as I am entering I hear belly dancing music. (Yes, there was belly dancers on a stage.) Strange but entertaining. The artists are lined up on two streets surrounding the park and each is given their own square to create art with chalk. I was impressed with each artist and that they have the courage to draw in front of many spectators. Many with zoom camera's. I ventured to the park for awhile and decided to relax. There was a nice breeze that day and it was refreshing to sit under a tree for a moment. I then hear blues music from that same stage. Later....I walked over to see the progress of the artists but was distracted by the amazing lily pads in the pond. Be sure to check that out! All n' All very fun afternoon but I do suggest going later in the day/evening because the artists are then done creating their masterpieces. Art, Music, Live Entertainment, Food.

Amy's Princess Parties is by far the best princess business there is! They have over 20 characters…read moreto choose from! My niece Mia had her 5th birthday party with Princess Elsa and I've never seen kids have more fun than they did that day! Amy's voice is so beautiful (she should be famous) and her interaction with the children is impossible to beat! My niece' jaw dropped the day she met Elsa because she was so in awe Elsa actually stopped by to see her! It was such an amazing experience not only for the kids but for me. The experience was so real, I almost forgot Amy wasn't actually Elsa! :). No other princess business I know offers such amazing talent along with a genuine personable experience. I highly recommend!

I hired Amy's Princess parties for my niece Bella's 4th birthday party. When Princess Elsa showed…read moreup the the party, the girls were beyond excited!!! Not only did 'Elsa' (Amy) take an interest in each girl, but she took the whole room through a princess training class, teaching the girls good values about being kind and respectful of others! She crowned all the girls as real princesses at the end of the party and it was a huge hit!! The girls couldn't believe Elsa came all this way for them! I have been to other parties in the past with other Elsa impersonators and Amy's Princess Parties was by far the best I've ever seen or experienced. Amy has an incredible Broadway Star voice and did a sing along with the girls. We felt like we were at Disney's Magic Castle with her in the room!! I have recommended Amy's Princess Parties to all of my friends as she is the best in Ohio!

I feel really awkward reviewing a charity event, so please don't take this as mean-spirited…read morecriticism--but rather, feedback to hopefully help one of my favorite events get back on track. I've been coming to Slice Of Columbus for about 8 years, and I look forward to it every time. It has always been a relatively chill event: tasting pizza, drinking beer, listening to live music, and supporting a good cause (Nationwide Children's Hospital). I was thrilled when it moved to the Commons, which has so much space for hosting events. But this year was different. I'm not sure how to better say this, but this year was a disaster--IMO. Here's what went wrong: -There were simply too many people. I could understand it better if this were an open event where you couldn't predict the attendance, but this is a ticketed event. The organizers were in complete control and sold too many tickets. -Because of the size of the event, the lines were disgusting. Ridiculously long. Almost every line had a 20-30 minute wait--for a teeny tiny slice of pizza! -In addition to being the biggest crowd ever, SOC decided to heavily market this year's event toward kids and families. Part of me is definitely a hater and loved how "adult" this event felt in the past, but I understand wanting to make it family-friendly. Here's the problem though... they already oversold the event, and then they attracted truckloads of families. Imagine the Commons completely slammed and hundreds of strollers pushing through the park. Everything moves a bit slower with kids (no hate, I swear), so this definitely slowed the lines. -While we're talking about kids, there were so many kid activities happening on the west side of the park. The pizza lines were so long that they kept running into all the kids! -The number of attendees appeared to have doubled, but the number of pizza vendors did not. Yep, you guessed it--another factor in the miserably long lines. -The vendors each brought several types of pizza, and with long lines filled with lots of kiddos--making a decision took longer than it should have. -The beverage situation is crazy. At first glance, it looks like you need a ticket for any drink. But then you can magically buy water without one. It's confusing. This is another case of bigger not being better. Although more people means more money, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the good of the event--and for the experience of the people attending. If it's a great experience, they'll come back next year. Or you can cram as many people into the event as possible and risk having many of them never return.

Both of my kids go here it is close to uptown westerville next to two parking areas. The…read moreinstructors are great my kids love coming here for dance lessons.

I just went to the Columbus Museum of Art annual fundraiser. There are two parts to the event: Art…read moreBall-$500 ticket which includes a sit down dinner, open bar, a band, dancing and desserts all night. And ArtFUSION-a$100 ticket, young professional mixer with heavy hors d'oevres, open bar, music, dancing and desserts all night. $60 of the Art FUSION ticket was tax deductible! Art FUSION was held in the Museum's sculpture garden on top of the pond! It was covered with clear floor panels. The food was delicious and the drinks were plentiful. The signature drink, the PomFiz Fusion was extremely refreshing and easy to drink. It consisted of pomegranate juice, champagne and pomegranate seeds. Try it at home...delish! It was an Ohio State football game night, so to accommodate, the museum set up a big screen theater which broadcast the game. Following the Art Ball dinner, Art FUSION guests were encouraged to mingle with Ball guests and to walk through the new exhibit: The Ohio State University's Objects of Wonder Exhibition. During which dancing, music, desserts and the open bar continued to entertain. This is an annual event and would highly recommend attending! At first thought, the $100 ticket price seems steep, but after considering the drinks, food, entertainment, networking, art and fun, it's more than appropriate!