International festivals: Celebrate the love

by Jamie Rhein on

This weekend has one of the best events in Columbus, I think. If it’s not the best, it’s pretty darned good. The Columbus International Festival pulls together people from all over the world in two days of food, dance, music performances, displays, and a parade of nations. The groups that come aren’t just local, but from various parts of the world. Sure, it’s one way to see just how diverse Columbus is, but it also captures the richness of the people who call the U.S. home. The people who go are as diverse as the people who are vendors and performers. (This Flickr shot by a. feng is of an African dancer at the Columbus festival. I love the colors.)

My best time to go is right before it closes on Sunday. Prices are slashed so if you have a feasting spirit, you can take away truckloads of food if you want. My problem is deciding if I want to head to Denmark for a dose of frikadeller of to load up on Indian and Greek fare.

Columbus isn’t the only city to throw an international festival in November. I found three others.

Best City Neighborhoods for Retirement: The Rest of the List

by Jamie Rhein on

Now that I’ve expressed my glee that Columbus’s Short North is listed as one of the best neighborhoods for retirement, here’s the low down on the rest of the list. The original article is from Money Magazine and posted at CNN.com. The version I saw yesterday was on AOL’s welcome page. It’s an abbreviated version. Instead of 30 city neighborhoods, there are 10 with a link to the other 20.

Here they are:

SoFa in San Jose, California. The sunny 300 days a year here attracted me. Cloudy days are the bane of Columbus living. According to the writers, San Jose also has a noteworthy art scene.

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. My closest college friend would probably second this. She lived here for one year and LOVED it. Unfortunately, the year she was living here, I didn’t have the money to visit her. The Back Bay was her dream come true, until her next dream came true which is the life she’s living now. The reason she only stayed a year? Just like the article said, it’s expensive.

Belltown in Seattle, Washington. I don’t know about Belltown, but I do know that Seattle is wonderful. I visited friends in two neighborhoods not far from downtown this summer, and living in either of them would be terrific. If I lived in Seattle, I’d head to Chinatown often.

LoDo, Denver, Colorado. Denver is another honey of a city if you don’t pay attention much to the brown cloud from the air pollution. I was just talking about how glorious the botanical garden is in Denver.

Midtown, Nashville, Tennessee is a terrific place for its music scene. The description of this area sounds a bit like the Short North.

Arts District Dallas, Texas. When I saw this choice, I was surprised. I went to Dallas years ago for a cousin’s wedding. I do remember going to the Blue Goose restaurant (I think that was the name) and liked it a lot. I vaguely remember someone talking about an art scene.

Mass Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis is a bit like Columbus. The article mentions it being a little bit sleepy. I agree there. The Children’s Museum is anything but sleepy. It’s phenomenal.

Copper Square, Phoenix, Arizona. The things you can do here are the same ones offered in downtown Columbus. The difference is, it’s sunny. With the sun in this part of the U.S. comes the heat. That’s a downside.

Riverside/Avondale, Jacksonville, Florida. Interesting architecture, the arts, the river and the weather are just a few of what puts this neighborhood on the list.

You can see the next 20 by going to this link.

Eiteljorg Museum of Native Americans and Western Art

by Jamie Rhein on

The Eiteljorg Museum of Native Americans and Western Art is located where I didn’t expect it to be. I don’t know why it surprises me that it’s in Indianapolis, Indiana. I assumed it was in the Southwestern part of the United States. But, now that I’ve typed out Indianapolis, Indiana, and see how the word Indian appears twice, I think, well that’s fitting. According to the Web site, the museum is one of the only two museums east of the Mississipi River to focus on Native American art. Contemporary art and Western culture and history are part of the museum’s focus. Georgia O’Keefe, Andy Warhol and Charles Russell’s work, among other notable artists are included in the collection

Here’s a video tour of the contemporary art exhibit with a commentary–just another reason to head to Indianapolis. This weekend is the WestFest, a family day of cowboys, entertainment, art and food.