Around central Ohio signs of the popularity of the local-food movement are popping up everywhere.

The word locavore — one who tries to eat locally produced food — was added to the New Oxford American Dictionary in 2007. The use of locally sourced food was named one of the hot trends at restaurants for 2011, according to the National Restaurant Association. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 17 percent increase in farmers markets from 2010 to this year.

Major grocery chains — including Giant Eagle, Kroger and Meijer — proudly stock their produce sections these days with fruits and vegetables grown close to home.

With the increasing access to local food, consumers need ideas for selecting, storing and cooking the fare.

“People want to eat well, but they need direction on how to use it,” said Lynne Genter, founder of the Clintonville Farmers’ Market.

Michael Jones — executive director of Local Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making locally grown food available to everyone — agrees.

“The No. 1 barrier we see with more people participating in the local-food movement,” he said, “ is lack of cooking skills, from what times of the year they should expect to find things to actually what to do with it.”

It is difficult to move to preparing food when you have been on a pre-packaged food diet for a long time.

To start you could check out a book like The Locavore’s Kitchen: A Cook’s Guide to Seasonal Eating and Preserving by Ohio native Marilou K. Suszko.

There are several other resources in Central Ohio where you can learn more about eating local. To name a few:

• OhioProud.org
• Local-Matters.org
• LocalFoodColumbus.wordpress.com
• LocalHarvest.org

Here are some extra tips on buying and eating local.

• If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. This is one of the most readily available alternatives in the market and making this choice protects the environment and your body from harsh chemicals and hormones.
• Choose Snowville Creamery for dairy. Supporting local farms helps to keep food processing decisions out of the hands of corporate conglomeration. Not to mention the taste is out-of-this-world better!
• Basics like coffee and bread make buying local difficult. Try a local coffee shop or bakery to keep your food dollar close to home.
• Purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie, France or parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy.
• Hit the farmers’ market before the supermarket. Plan your meal around local ingredients you find at the market.
• Feed the freezer. Can’t cook every night? Worried about your fresh produce going bad? It’s easy. Make lasagna with local tomatoes or a soup packed with fresh veggies and freeze it! You can also make personal size meals for a brown bag lunch.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

The fact that Columbus has the best zoo in the country should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Jack Hanna on Letterman. The zoo has been open since 1927 but it’s reputation elevated considerably under Hanna’s guidance, making it what is considered today to be the aspiration of any traditional zoo. Along with over 7,000 animals, the Columbus Zoo has more recently expanded to include a water park, amusement park and golf resort.

The zoo features great exhibits, packed full of information about the animals and their habitats. They have an abundance of different animals. They also feature REALLY cool bronze statues at the “key” animal exhibits, many life sized, for you or your children to pose with for pictures. What a unique idea!

If you are thinking about a trip here’s some tips:

• Plan to spend more than 1 day here. There is a LOT of ground to cover for the animal exhibits. If you plan to take part in the waterpark or the amusement area, plan for at least 3 days. They will be worth it.

• This zoo lets you bring your own food if you like. DO IT… even if it’s only a sandwich from somewhere else. The food prices are high inside the park, and you’ll be happy you thought to bring drinks or food of your own.

• Get there EARLY. The zookeepers bring out animals to pet during the first hour or two the zoo is open.

• Buy your tickets for whatever you want to do (zoo, waterpark, rides) at the front gate early in the day. You can buy tickets at the doors for each (waterpark, rides), but the lines are super long near the attractions themselves.

• The food court, although it’s at the back of the zoo, is what you should plan to eat if you decide to eat there. Good food (with a kiddie station all it’s own featuring mac&cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.)!! and free drink refills. Smartest choice hands down.

A few videos from inside the park:

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

The Short North is the cultural mecca of Columbus. With eclectic shops and eccentric sights, like a bicycle bar, this week I literally saw a bicycle bar. That’s right, people facing each other drinking on a center bar and peddling with one person in front and 1 in back guiding somehow. This is the Gallery Hop.  If you’re planning a trip to the strip here are a few tips.

1. Parking, because of the number of people this free event draws parking can be a bit of a pain. If you are willing to walk a bit it thins out just past Northstar restaurant. You can find spots on the side streets and start at Roy G Biv gallery and Flower Child.
2. If you are planning on getting Jeni’s ice cream (this week’s top spot on Yahoo’s Best Ice Cream in the Country) and you don’t like gigantic lines I highly suggest getting an early start to your evening as the lines build around the block in the after dinner hours.
3. Many of the galleries have openings on the nights of the art walk, lots of schmoozing, great for people watching.

Galleries

Many of the galleries are situated in the area of High adjacent to Goodale Park.

Kathy Ruttenberg "Role Reversal", at the Sherrie Gallery

The galleries’ artists range from local to national, with everything from sculpture, to glass, to jewelry, to realist painting, to contemporary abstractions.

Terra Gallery

Art Exchange Ltd.

Studios On High

Funky and Functional

Gallery V

Art Consulting & Gallery

Kathryn Gallery

PM Gallery

Sherrie Gallery

Shops

A few of the new hot spots in the Short North

Tigertree known for their great clothes and knickknacks and they’re expanding their store.

On Paper they are serious about paper, you can find very interesting stuff for homemade cards etc.

Posh Pets Boutique the name says it all, check it out if you have a pet you love.

Jinny designer women’s clothing

Roche Bobois amazing contemporary furniture

Collier West awesome boutique

Milk Bar Boutique very very cool clothing

Restaurants

In the Short North you can get anything from a coney dog at Phillips Coney Island to sushi at Haiku. Whatever your taste buds are calling for they are bound to be satisfied. Below is a link to a map of all of the restaurants in the Short North, take your pick!

Phillip's Coney Island puts on a show

View Larger Map

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

In a little more than two weeks, Pelotonia, the annual Columbus cycling event will return bringing thousands biking to raise money to find a cure for cancer.

Pelotonia, going into its 11th year is a grassroots bike ride that raises money for cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solve Research Institute.

Last year, Pelotonia raised $7.8 million for research at the James Solve Cancer Center.  Some of that money raised is right now being used to prevent oral cancer.

This year Pelotonia is getting a boost from Victoria’s Secret. An event featuring the Supermodels of Victoria’s Secret in New York City raised $100,000.

Pelotonia 2010

Limited Brands, parent company of Victoria’s Secret, is a lead sponsor of Pelotonia. Every dollar raised at Supermodel Cycle will be matched by the Limited Brands Foundation which will bring the total donation to more than $200,000.

One hundred percent of the money raised for Pelotonia goes to The James, which is one of the nation’s leading cancer research facilities.
Pelotonia’s mission is to fund life-saving cancer research. Pelotonia is a three-day experience that includes a weekend of cycling, entertainment and volunteerism. Thanks to its generous sponsors, Huntington Bank, Limited Brands Foundation, Richard and Peggy Santulli, American Electric Power Foundation and Nationwide Insurance, Pelotonia is able to direct 100 percent of every dollar raised to cancer research at The James Solve Cancer Center.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Ever since moving their headquarters to New Albany about a year ago there have been more and more news items popping up about the tech company Bluemile . One such news item that just popped up is a joint venture with BlueBridge out of Cleveland to link the 2 cloud computing hubs and create the most secure regional data service center in the country.

So why is Bluemile so important exactly? I mean I know they deal in fiber optic cloud computing, but what in the world does that really mean?

Here a are a few things that it means…

• Using light to carry information, fiber optic data speeds are so much faster they will usher in a new kind of internet.
• New Albany businesses will have access to the fastest connection on the planet.
• This puts New Albany in an elite class of technologically forward leaning communities.
• This positions New Albany and the surrounding area nicely to be a hotbed of implementing future technologies.

This video will show you a glimpse at just how important light is becoming, and some of the applications of communication technologies of the near future.

The Community of New Albany has been on a bit of a roll lately. Someone forgot to tell them the country is in a recession.

Not only has the city seen their $1 billion dollar investment in commercial and state-of-the-art infrastructure over the past 10 years pay off in bringing in companies that want to make use of that infrastructure, they have also increased accessibility through building community.

This has resulted in the New Albany Business Park’s record commercial growth in the midst of a recession. Growth that has captured the attention of media outlets on a local and state level by creating 3,500 jobs.

In the spirit of continued re-investment in community New Albany council created, newalbanybusiness.org, a micro-site that supports the idea of challenging the status quo by finding innovative new ways to promote smart growth.

The site also reinforces that New Albany’s business propositions go well beyond tax incentives and focus on a high level of business connectivity, productive public private partnerships and maintaining a technological edge.

The micro-site is the cherry on top of a communications plan that earned New Albany Council and staff the coveted Diamond Award at the recent Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) East Central District Diamond Awards competition. New Albany’s communications plan beat out 16 local PRSA chapters in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

If you are like me and you have stepped outside in the past month you have probably been thinking a lot lately about how much sunshine and heat we always get at this time of year. It looks like the solar industry is too. With the demand for solar technology consistently growing as it becomes cheaper it is easy to see why this is a win win for our area. Of all of the green technologies out there solar seems to have the most going for it.

Photovoltaic cells (light collectors) are constantly becoming more effective and at the same time cheaper making for a technology that can only get larger as it becomes more affordable. Central Ohio has the framework in place to capitalize in a big way on this growth.

Businesses who want to grow in this developing industry need a perfect location where innovation is backed by generations of hands-on manufacturing expertise combined with extensive resources that also support profitable commercial success. Resources like R&D, academic institutions, a skilled workforce, strong industry partnerships and a supply chain to efficiently and cost-effectively bring a product to market.

Check.

Ohio offers a complete advanced energy supply chain infrastructure for businesses in the solar energy. The state’s manufacturing strengths, skilled workforce, and central location make Ohio a preferred location for advanced energy manufacturing businesses.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

The Swings at The Ohio State Fair

The heart of Americana will be illuminating the Columbus area in the next few weeks. With the Franklin County Fair in full swing through Saturday, and The Ohio State Fair coming in just 5 days there is plenty for fair goers of all ages to see and do.

The Franklin County Fair features contests galore including a pie eating contest, bread juggling, and a duct tape contest (whatever that is?)  as well as a tractor pull, car derby, and bull riding this weekend.

With all of its authenticity the Franklin County Fair is a sight, yet it is just the opening act. The Ohio State Fair is the main event. If it happened in Ohio in the past year you can see it here.

To just give a taste of whats to see here is a mini list of some of the hits.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

• Budweiser Clydesdales, 10 am – 9 pm
• Fireworks presented by Team Realtree Outdoor Energy, the Sportsman’s Drink at the Fair,  9:45 pm
• Giant Slide, 10 am – 11 pm
• Live Shark Encounter presented by WWHO, 10 am – 9 pm with shows daily at 1 pm, 3 pm, 7 pm
• Petting Zoo, 10 am – 10 pm
• Sand Sculpture, 11 am – 6 pm
• Pig Races presented by Classic Hits 103.9, 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm
• Pony Rides, 10 am – 10 pm
• Daily Parade presented by WINK 107.1, 4 pm

Thursday, July 28

• Wood B Creations Chainsaw Carving, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm
• Central Ohio Model Railroad Club Exhibit, 10 am – 9 pm
• Monster Mural, 11 am – 7 pm

Like I said, this is just for starters. To get the FULL LIST go here.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

The Sombrero Galaxy as seen through a 32" telescope similar to the Perkins Observatory's main telescope.

If you live in Central Ohio and you haven’t gotten enough of the sun lately you may be a crazy person. But, if you happen to be that crazy, the Perkins Observatory (20min north of Columbus) will be the perfect place for you this weekend.

They are having the last event of the “Celebration of the Sun!” series Saturday July 23rd at 4pm.

Weather permitting you will be able to view the sun directly through Perkins high powered telescopes and learn a little bit about what you are looking at too.

The first Celebration of the Sun! sessions held July 9 and 16th were well attended so come early.

Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for children if the tickets are pre-ordered by phone. Tickets at the door cost $2 more.

If you HAVE gotten enough of the sun lately nighttime programs resume July 29, including astronomy lectures and tours of the observatory. If weather conditions permit, participants will have the opportunity to look through the telescopes at celestial objects like the Sombrero Galaxy pictured above.

Perkins is one of 32 observatories in Ohio and is the only one in Central Ohio that allows members of the general public to look through its large telescope, according to the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association’s website.

Perkins once was home to a 69-inch Perkins telescope, which was the third-largest in the world in 1931. It since has moved to Arizona and a 32-inch telescope has taken its place.

The observatory serves more than 40,000 guests each year, including many local school groups and organizations.

Perkins is operated by Ohio Wesleyan University and is used by the physics and astronomy department for research purposes.

Perkins schedule for the rest of 2011

Starting at 9pm:

July 29

August 5, 12, 19, 26

Starting at 8pm:

September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

October 7, 14, 21, 28

November 4, 11, 18

December 2, 9, 16

For more information visit Perkins Observatory.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.