Right Now Downtown

WHAT’S A WUNDERBLENDER?

Is it a frosty beverage or an exotic kitchen appliance? You couldn’t be further from the truth, but it might just be a little bit like speed dating for the networking-challenged. Did we pique your interest?

Wunderblender is an innovative networking opportunity set in motion by Wonderland, bringing together different groups of people to encourage creative collaboration. For the inaugural event, artists and techies will congregate at The Jury Room on August 2. Participants will move around the room in four-minute intervals talking to other peeps while adding tons of new names to their contact lists. The pace will then slow for some mingle time over another cocktail or two.

“We see a lot of great creative groups in Columbus that don’t always get the opportunity to talk about what they are doing with other groups,” said Josh Quinn, co-founder of Wonderland. “Hopefully this will spawn several new ideas that wouldn’t have happened without the cross pollination of an event like this.”

Wonderland is all about building and nurturing the creative community while providing the public with opportunities to really get involved with arts and culture in Columbus. The Wunderblender fits perfectly in this mission and might just fill your address book with all kinds of new friends, so how about joining the conversation? Click here to get the scoop.

STAND BACK, SISSIES

Fitness guru Mitch Potterf coached and trained people for years, but he got fed up with the fluff and fads of the fitness industry. He even admits getting irritated with clients who weren’t serious about their workouts.

“I got tired of training people who just wanted me to carry around their towels, and I started pushing people REALLY hard. I mean hard,” he said. “My boss at the time didn’t like it and fired me, but I found the harder I pushed people, the more they liked it.”

He started training by lifting anything he could get his hands on – logs, rocks, manhole covers, and it was fun. He also used these same kinds of things to help others get fit, and the idea started taking shape.

Now, you can find Mitch and his Fit Club right downtown at 15 West Cherry Street. Using his experience, training and a little bit of that bulldog determination, Mitch started a fitness center like no other in the area.

You won’t find fancy, schmancy studios and equipment and routines, but Mitch might just toss you a manhole cover or a bag of bricks or a couple of sandbags and race you around the block. These guys have even been known to carry each other around – just for fun. And for the record, the only part that is mandatory – the fun part.

Is it crazy, or exhilirating? Well, maybe both. Yes, you’ll be pushed. This is a serious performance-based fitness and athletic program, but the whole idea is to have fun while you’re digging this high-intensity workout. Click here to get some more info, and if you want to give them a test run, check out some of their free group classes at Columbus Commons this summer.

BALL, BOOM, BREW AND A FLICK

Calling history buffs, baseball enthusiasts, kids, bargain shoppers and peeps who like good eats. Yea, you get the point, calling EVERYONE. 

Save the date to head down to the People’s House on Friday, July 22. The fun begins at 7 p.m. with the Ohio Village Muffins vs. Ohio General Assembly in some old-time base ball, and for the record, base and ball were two words back in the day. Geez, you even get a grammar lesson to boot.  

The Statehouse Sesquicentennial celebration continues with family games, Ohio historical displays, and the dudes with the cannons even promise big booming good times. Concessions, including a cash bar with plenty of frosty beverages, will be in easy reach on the Statehouse Lawn thanks to the guys at Milo’s Catering and Banquet Service.  

Once the sun sinks behind the Cbus skyline at about 9 p.m., Glory will explode on the giant screen outdoors, so bring a blanket big enough for the entire family and plan to stay until the last credits roll. 

Oh, and if it rains? CAPA’s got you covered. They’ll show Glory on their big screen at the Ohio Theatre. What are you waiting on? Call a friend or two and invite them along. See ya at the People’s House.

KICK-A-BOOM

Boom, July is here, and back in February you planned an incredible summer, but procrastination got the best of you. Well, the daylight hours are already getting shorter so get off your duff and do something about it while you still can. 

This week’s vendor spotlight shines on Veggielicious, a vegetarian food cart in Columbus, Ohio. They offer wraps, quesadillas and bowls filled with awesome ingredients, prepared with lots of fresh vegetables, eggs, cheese, black beans and vegetarian sausage. Entrepreneur Becky Karppala wanted to find a way to sell vegetarian-friendly meals that non-vegetarians would also enjoy. She came up with the idea for her Veggielicious food cart business, and Pearl Market offerd a perfect location to test the downtown market.

To learn more, check out our vendor spotlight video.