The farmers’ fantastic offerings, including asparagus, greens, herbs, peas, green beans, radishes, strawberries, plants, flowers and, later in the season, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash and apples, remain a big draw.

“People realize the importance of purchasing food that is locally grown,” explained Adam Schroeder, Pearl Market Manager.  “Shoppers get to know farmers who grow their food, they get to support area merchants and they really learn the benefits of buying local.”

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission recently released the region’s first Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan, which highlights the importance of having fresh, local, healthy food available to all neighborhoods in Central Ohio.  Executive Director of MORPC, Chester R. Jourdan, Jr., addressed the crowds on opening day of the Market, emphasizing that Pearl Market’s offerings fit right into this “locavore” movement.

Joining some returning vendor favorites, such as Great Harvest Bread Co., 3 Babes & a Baker, Sweet Thing Gourmet and Nellie’s Samosas, are some vendors making their Pearl Market debut, including Let Us Eat Cupcakes, J Squared Organics, Devour Cookie Co. and Afrikan Designs.

In addition, daily live entertainment and a public eating space will encourage visitors to pick up lunch from one of the food vendors or bring a packed lunch and enjoy the hustle and bustle.

There are some changes afoot.  Due to overwhelming requests from the farmers and merchants, the Market will now spill out of the alleys and expand on to both Broad Street and Gay Street.  The spill-over will include both farmers and merchants, with farmers setting up shop on the Gay Street end of the alley for the first time.

“This will give the Market more presence on those high-traffic thoroughfares,” added Schroeder.  “Especially on Gay Street, where folks are beating a path to new lunch spots like Plantain Cafe’, J. Gumbo’s and Sugardaddy’s.”

In addition, after a test run during the Winter Pearl Market, the summer Market now accepts credit cards and the Ohio Direction Card.  Customers just need to visit the Market tent located at the intersection of Lynn and Pearl to pick up red credit card or green Ohio Direction Card tokens.  All vendors that are accepting the tokens will display a special sticker on their vendor sign denoting which tokens they accept.  This change will allow those who may not be cash-carriers to make some must-have purchases.

As the summer progresses, fans of the Market should keep an eye out for special events.  The Ohio Department of Agriculture will bring their Ohio Proud Mobile Food Kitchen to the Market, where area chefs will shop the Market, do a live cooking demonstration and let visitors sample their dish.  Mark your calendars for June 29, August 31, September 28 and October 26.  Other special events include Strawberry Day on June 8, Sweet Corn Day on July 13, Kids’ Day on July 27, Tomato Day on August 10, Squash Day on September 14 and Apple Day on October 12.  The Market will be closed on Friday, July 2 in observance of Independence Day.

For a sneak peek at the beautiful sights of Pearl Market, take a look at our Opening Day Photo Album.

Grab your walkin’ shoes and shoppin’ bag and GO!

Pearl Market opens in just one short week and shoppers will find record numbers of vendors this year offering a cornucopia of treasures.  One-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry and artwork, baked goods, meats and cheeses, and don’t forget the freshest seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers abound on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning May 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Get to know the farmer who grows the food you purchase and find out what inspired the artist who creates that can’t-live-without necklace.  While you’re there, grab a bite of lunch and enjoy the live entertainment.

Shopping is even easier this year since Pearl Market now accepts major credit cards and the Ohio Directions Card.

Want a little preview?  Check out the video below.  Farmers Jarrod and Carie Starr from Cherokee Valley Bison Farm and Steve and Gretel Adams from Sunny Meadows Flower Farm tell you all about the benefits of Pearl Market.

Pearl Market Opens Soon from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

How can anyone NOT love MadLab?  The idea of a crazy laboratory is undeniably appealing; and this one hosts a gallery space for visual arts and a theater space for performing arts (a theater troupe).

And where does a place like MadLab belong?

You already know the answer to that question: right in the heart of Downtown Columbus.  They’ve put down serious roots by buying the whole building at 227 N. Third Street.

Who knew there was a theater there?  There’s not… yet.  Before MadLab made its purchase, the space was an auto detailing operation.  Right now, the Lab team is hard at work doing renovation work for the space’s March 2010 debut.

The renovation team has already discovered one of the very coolest things about downtown properties: they are chock full of fun finds.  According to managing director, Andy Batt, “One of the interesting things we found was that half of the building had three separate ceilings, one on top of another.  The third ceiling was an antique, ornate tin ceiling.  We are hoping to be able to clean that up and use it in our gallery space.”

That’s not all.

“We also found a small basement we didn’t know was there when we purchased the building.  It’s about 10 feet by 10 feet and about seven feet tall.  There are old signs down in the basement that are from previous uses of the building.”

Who knows what MadLab might do with those signs?  Regardless, we’d say the signs are good for the group’s success in the new digs!

December is the magical month in these parts.  Thanks to Daylight Savings, it gets dark early – so downtown’s glow combined with holiday lights makes the scene sparkle.  The air is crisp and it feels like something special has arrived.

This year, there are all kinds of after-hours opportunities to experience the magic.  Oh, you’ve already heard about BalletMet’s Nutcracker?  We love it too.  And there’s much more…

How’d you like to sing the Messiah with the choir?  Yes, really – it’s okay to sing at ProMusica’s Messiah (And More) Side-by-Side Sing Along on December 11 at the Southern Theatre.  There’s no better way to be literally engulfed by the sights and sounds of the season.

Rock and Roll more your style?  An old school Christmas Rock N’Roll Spectacular is set for the Capitol Theatre on December 12.

For a little mental exercise, Available Light Theatre brings XMAS to the stage from December 10 – 13.  It’s a new take on A Christmas Carol, re-designed to be a modern reminder of the original message.  XMAS is locally written and produced and will be performed at the Columbus Performing Arts Center (549 Franklin Ave.).

For the child in all of us, COSI is hosting A Day of Make-Believe on December 5.  Classic toys are the focus of attention, along with storytelling, puppet-making and a special appearance from BalletMet’s Nutcracker.  A few weeks later, December 18 – 19, look for COSI’s massive holiday train display, courtesy of a collaborative effort from several Ohio model railroad teams. 

Downtown IS home for the holidays!

Highlights from Independents’ Day, September 19.

Inside 43215: Independents Day Montage from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Independents are supposed to be “the little guys.”  It’s the soulless conglomerates that build monolithic operations under one umbrella. 

Then again, check out the line-up on the Independents’ Day Web site.  Forget about “the little guy”, this year we’re rooting for the BIG guy, and the giant happens to be independent operators. 

How big is this year’s celebration?  In terms of duration, the event is pretty similar.  The festivities around Gay Street kick off at noon on Saturday, September 19 and continue into the wee hours of September 20. 

What they pack into that teeny time frame is downright dumbfounding.  It’s HUGE: the Downtown Resident’s Association is hosting a giant flea market; there will be live music, food from Columbus Originals restaurants, two-hundred vendors, Via Colori’s chalk artistry, live mural painting, hula hoops AND the Ohio Roller Girls. 

Adam Brouillete, who is brave enough to coordinate all these independent souls, understands the phenomena at work here.  “This city is full of a spirit in which people want to be active, contributing members of their creative community. The growth in this year’s event is merely an open invitation to those people to do what they do.” 

Whatever that is, they all want to “do what they do” right here, downtown.

Event “big guy” Adam Brouillette shares a little about what to expect this Saturday, promising rowdy, even naughty, artists and fun surprises.

Inside 43215 on Independents Day. from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District (CCSID) - sponsored summer fun doesn’t end with the Capitol Square Kickball League.  Downtown LIVE, a free after-work summer concert series, returned again this summer to the patio at the corner of Third and State Streets on Thursday evening, for a fifth summer of live music, happy hour specials, and fun.

The traditional gift for a fifth anniversary is wood.  Downtown LIVE went another route, adding an opening act to the line-up.  Alex White, who plays acoustic style easy listening tunes hits the stage at 5 pm, providing a welcoming stage presence as the crowd files in.  He also shares information about other downtown events between songs, helping to cross-promote the Capitol Square Kickball League and Pearl Market.

Again this year, CCSID has coordinated with Class Acts Entertainment to book an excellent line-up of bands, including the ever popular Reaganomics, the regional favorite, Red Wanting Blue, and culminating with country rock favorite, Jacked Up.  Most of the bands hail from Central Ohio, but this year there are also acts from Indianapolis, Cincinnati and even New York.

Though the partner restaurants remain the same this year, both Darbys Cafe and San Francisco Oven have upped the ante with new happy hour specials, to draw even bigger crowds.  Following the dollar menu craze, Darbys is offering $1 chips and salsa and $1 sliders, while San Francisco Oven is offering a whopping $5 off a large pizza and $10 buckets of five beers.

Joey Jerome of San Francisco Oven believes that the band line-up and the improved happy hour specials have increased crowd size this year.  “Definitely, more people are coming and they are coming earlier.  They seem to like the opening act too.  And we are seeing repeat customers.

Dowtnown LIVE will continue on Thursday nights through August 27.  For a complete band line-up, visit downtowncolumbus.com.

Last summer, when my mother visited me, I called for a pedicab to take us from my Victorian Village house to Black Olive Restaurant at High and Buttles.  My mother, whose age I will not disclose because she will yell at me if I do, would find the walk too challenging.

In both cases, parking would have cost as much or nearly as much as a pedicab.  By the way, pedicabs charge no fare.  You tip whatever you feel the ride is worth, so you can keep the cost comparable to a taxicab or valet parking if you live in the area.

If you want a great city experience, a pedicab ride will be quite satisfying.

In these days of turbulent fuel and electricity costs, let’s celebrate urban features that allow us to provide our OWN personal calorically-enhanced power.

POWER GENERATION
Although Chuck Hootman, a seasoned bike messenger and co-owner of Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, refuses to take any credit for the existence of P2 (saying, “That belongs to its inventors, Nathan Ober and Gene Felice.”), he certainly deserves kudos for helping popularize it in our community.

The P2 is a bicycle-charged generator that has been powering movies at spots like Tip Top and the Santa Maria.  Haven’t seen it yet?  Hootman promises, “It’ll be back for Awesomefest.”

POWER PARKING
The lovely deluxe RiverSouth Parking Garage will house your car for around $80 per month.  But you can park your bike there, legally, for free.  That’s right, a section of spaces have been reserved for two-wheelers to park at no cost.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Sure it’s hard to read a map and bike at the same time – so take a peek at the free metro maps you’ll see around downtown.  The maps highlight the savviest street to travel when you’re biking here in the neighborhood.  Check out the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission for the electronic map or email info@downtowncolumbus.com to request a hard copy.

Happy Biking!

Two restaurants serve this patio: Darbys as well as San Francisco Oven.  I am amazed the area is not full of diners seven evenings a week.  Apparently, not enough people linger downtown after work.

One of the reasons why Capital Crossroads SID sponsors Downtown LIVE is to feature this incredible space.  If you have not experienced it, you should consider having dinner and drinks during a concert by The Fabulous Johnson Brothers this Thursday evening.  For those of you who have experienced it, I am interested to know if this space is as good as I think it is.