By Lacey Luce
My first Columbus Arts Festival (as part of the team working it) was as advertised: Awesome and exhausting. I’m not going to lie, my brain is still functioning at a pretty basic level: “fire bad, tree pretty.”
As such, I am fixated on events that allow me to just sit back and enjoy the ride. For me, this is means music and film, and we got a lot of that going on this weekend.
On Thursday you could watch Darjeeling Limited at the Wex Drive in, or the Manchurian Candidate at the Ohio Theatre. On the music front Imagine Dragons is at Nationwide and Best Coast is at the Newport. I would like to go to all of these. I need that time thingy Hermione used to take extra classes in the Harry Potter series.
Friday is just as fetch. (Yeah that’s right, I’m trying to make it happen.) The North Market’s drive in is featuring Mean Girls, and CAPA’s Summer Movie Series has Mildred Pierce at the Ohio Theatre.
On the music front, Picnic with the Pops kicks off with jazz artist Chris Botti.
Saturday’s Picnic with the Pops will feature Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and I am uber excited to have been invited to join a friend’s table. I remember and loved the swing revival of the 90s, so this will be a fun little trip down memory lane for me. I’m going to bake something amazing to bring to our picnic in the hopes that my friends will be so wowed by my culinary skills that I get invited back again.
If I weren’t going to BBVD, I’d go to the Ohio Theatre to see Cabaret.
Sunday brings The Veronica’s to the Newport. Good music is always a healthy way to wrap up a weekend.
While I may not be quite ready spend the entire weekend at another festival, there are two great ones coming up June 19-21 and I have to give them a mention. The Juneteenth festival will be downtown at the Genoa Park Amphitheater. A weekend-long celebration of African American culture that includes soul food, jazz and blues? Yes please.
You’ll find more jazz and blues at Gahanna’s Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival. I have a friend that lives within walking distance and, while I don’t go EVERY year, it’s a good time, and you should definitely try to make it down.
Finally, at the Columbus Arts Festival, I bought a lovely little ceramic piece from Lisa Belsky and Lance Thompson who were Juror’s Choice Award winners. They mentioned that they will be at the Worthington Arts Festival this weekend. There work is just divine.
Above image: Picnic with the Pops, provided by CAPA Columbus, photo credit: Randall L. Schieber.
Lacey Luce is the marketing, communications and events strategist for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and surprised that her brain is functioning enough to remember her title.
June 21
