In just under 2 weeks New Albany’s McCoy Center for the Arts will kick off its 2011-2012 season with a powerful night of music at the Pythian Theatre-King Arts Complex. Committed, a 6 man a cappella group (who are the winners of Season Two of NBC’s The Sing Off) are known for their powerhouse vocals that stretch from harmonizing melodies to booming bass. Their versatile song catalog runs the gamut from gospel worship songs, to tight-harmonized jazz, to doo wop.

Purchase tickets here. Ticket prices: $25; Discounts available for Students and Seniors.

In October the action moves back to the McCoy Center’s Shottenstein Theatre.

Below is a list of the rest of this Season’s Attractions.       (Click the name to buy tickets!)

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble

Tuesday, October 18th, 7:30pm Schottenstein Theatre- McCoy Center

Jim Brickman – A Holiday Celebration

Wednesday, November 30th, 7:30pm Schottenstein Theatre- McCoy Center

Columbus Children’s Theatre – Aladdin

Sunday, January 8th 2:00 & 3:30pm, Mershad Hall-McCoy Center

National Touring Company- Fiddler on the Roof

Thursday, January 26th 7:30pm, Schottenstein Theatre, McCoy Center

Best-selling Author- Michael Gates Gill “How StarbucksSaved My Life”

Friday, February 24th 8:00pm, Schottenstein Theatre-McCoy Center

Capitol Steps

Friday, April 13th 8:00pm, Schottenstein Theatre-McCoy 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.

Two businesses, one new and one established, are moving to Main Street in New Albany.

Their plan is to provide patrons with a different kind of dining experience, one that is completely local.  All of the food on your plate made with fresh, local ingredients, and all art created by local artists.

Hayley Gallery of New Albany is moving from Second Street to 270 Main St. and will adjoin a new restaurant called ella, which stands for “eat local, love art,” at 266 Main St.

Hayley Savage, owner of Hayley Gallery, has a stake in both businesses. She is partnering with Amy Schottenstein on ella and they have chosen New Albany High School graduate Travis Hyde as the restaurant’s executive chef.

Hyde said when he learned about ella, he felt “like a kid in a candy store.”

“This is something New Albany has needed for a long time,” he said. “We’re going to do great things out here.”

Hyde said the plan is to have a place that is not pretentious and would appeal to parents who want to eat out with their children, as well as parents who want to celebrate their anniversary without the children.

“We want to use as much locally sourced produce as I can get on the menu,” he said.

“As the seasons change, the menu will change, with the produce and spices,” he said.

An example of an appetizer at ella is an almond-crusted mozzarella cheese topped with sage pesto and prosciutto, with the cheese made in-house at the restaurant. The menu will have salads, including one with fresh beets, candied walnuts, apple and fennel.

Desserts will be made on site, as well, and accented by Jeni’s Ice Cream. Hyde said he is planning a caramel apple bread pudding and a chocolate cheesecake with a pretzel coating and banana compote.

Savage said ella is expected to open sometime in November.

“We are hoping and planning to be open before Thanksgiving,” she said.

“I think it’s going to be amazing,” Hyde said. “There’s no concept like it.”

Savage said the gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays until the restaurant opens.

“Once the restaurant opens, we plan on having hours to mimic, as much as we can, the hours of the restaurant,” she said. “We want people to come into the gallery when they are waiting on a table.”

The partners and several community members are excited about the possibilities when the gallery and restaurant open.

“The 9,000 employees who work in New Albany each day want additional restaurant options and often leave the city to get them,” said New Albany Mayor Nancy Ferguson. “Ella will change that with its close proximity to the New Albany business park and its fresh, local food options. It is just what our employees and residents have been asking for.”

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.

Enjoying the last moments of summer at Market Fest

If you saw the rides in New Albany this weekend and felt compelled to check out the festivities you were not alone.

Billed as a last hurrah before the start of a new school year the new version of the Market Street Festival was created as a replacement for the annual Fall Fest event, previously an October staple for the New Albany community.

“We felt like there are so many events in the fall already,” said Market Street Festival Chairman Greg Ecleberry. “We wanted an event so that families could come together and celebrate the end of summer.”

There were plenty of good times to be had. Gut-churning carny rides, shrieking kids, a rock climbing wall, stands selling beer, wine, and pina coladas for thirsty and frazzled visitors. Lots of different kinds of food including the classic kettle corn.. mmmm kettle corn.. and a guy on the stage singing Fire and Rain. A fitting end to the freedom of our sweltering summer.

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.

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.

Hayden Falls Park, Dublin

Midsummer is a great time to get out of the city. Central Ohio has a lot of metro parks to help you with that. The bountiful trees all around filtering and cooling the air are reason enough to go, here are a few more if you need them.

Hayden Falls Park has a gorgeous waterfall and stream tucked into a cove that is easily accessible and open to anyone who is interested in getting wet as well. And its just up the road in Dublin.

Take a trip down the Scioto at the Scioto Canoe Livery, called Columbus’s best kept secret, where you can rent canoes, kayaks, and tubes.

Did you know that 12 Metro parks have trails where you can walk your dog? Prairie Oaks and Battelle Darby Creek even offer places where you can let your dog go for a swim and Scioto Audubon has dog parks with agility courses at their park.

Below is a list of links to local Metro Parks, you’re sure to find one that draws you in.

METRO PARKS

BATTELLE DARBY CREEK
1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway, OH 43119

BLACKLICK WOODS & GOLF COURSES
6975 & 7309 E. Livingston Ave, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

BLENDON WOODS
4265 E. Dublin-Granville Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

CHESTNUT RIDGE
8445 Winchester Rd N.W. Carroll, OH 43112

CLEAR CREEK
185 Clear Creek Rd, Rockbridge, OH 43149

GLACIER RIDGE
9801 Hyland Croy Rd, Plain City, OH 43064

HAYDEN FALLS PARK 4335 Hayden Run Rd., Dublin

HERITAGE PARK and TRAIL
7262 Hayden Run Rd, Hilliard, OH 43026

HIGHBANKS
9466 U.S. 23 N., Lewis Center, OH 43035

INNISWOOD
940 S. Hempstead Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

PICKERINGTON PONDS
7680 Wright Rd, Canal Winchester, OH 43110

PRAIRIE OAKS
3225 Plain City-Georgesville Rd, West Jefferson, OH

SCIOTO AUDUBON
395 W. Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215

SHARON WOODS
6911 Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43081

SLATE RUN and LIVING HISTORICAL FARM
1375 S.R. 674 North, Canal Winchester, OH 43110

THREE CREEKS
3860 Bixby Rd, Groveport, OH 43125

WALNUT WOODS
6833 Richardson Rd, Groveport, OH  43125

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.

FARMER’S MARKETS
The farmer’s markets in Central Ohio are in full swing and they run through October. Here is a handy guide to see what’s hitting the market when. Below is a list of local farmer’s markets, no matter where you live there is one for you.

• Bexley Farmer’s Market – Bexley City Hall, 2242 E. Main St, Bexley
  Aug 13 – Oct 29, Sat 10a – 1p
• Canal Winchester Farmer’s Market – High St, Canal Winchester
  Sat 9a – 1p (May 6 to Oct 21), Wed 5p – 8p (July 5 to Aug 30)
• Clintonville Farmer’s Market – High St. in front of Clintonville Commons, Clintonville
  May through October, Sat 9a – 12p
• Delaware County Farmer’s Market – Delaware County Fairgrounds
  Sat 10a – 12p (June to Oct), Tues 3p – 5:30p (July to Sept)
• Grandview Avenue Farmer’s Market – Grandview Ave at Second Ave, Grandview
  July 23 – Oct 29, Sat 10a – 1p
• Grove City Farmer’s Market – Town Center, Grove City
  July – Sept, Sat 8a – 12p
• Groveport Farmer’s Market – Brook Alley and Main St (Huntington Bank parking lot), Groveport
  June – Aug, Thurs 5p – 7p
• Lancaster Farmer’s Market – OJFS parking lot, Wheeling St & Memorial Dr, Lancaster
  Sat 7:30a – 12p (Apr 22 to Oct 7), Wed 6p – 8p (May 3 to Oct 4)
• London Farmer’s Market – Keny Blvd. and Lafayette St, London
  June – October, Wed 3p – 7p, Sat 8a – 1p
• Main Street Delaware Farmer’s Market – downtown Delaware
  May – Oct, Wed 3p – 6p, Sat 9:30a – 12:30p
• North Market Farmer’s Market – 59 Spruce St (Short North), Columbus
  April to late October, Sat 8a – ?
• Pearl Alley Farmer’s Market - Pearl Alley (near Rhodes Tower), Downtown Columbus
  May 20 – Oct 28, Tues & Fri 10:30a – 2p
• Powell Farmer’s Market – Olentangy St. between Liberty and Depot, Powell
  June 1 – Oct, Wed 4p – 7p
• Sunbury Farmer’s Market – Town Square, Sunbury
  May 20 – Oct 14, Sat 9a – 12p
• Upper Arlington Farmer’s Market – 2100 Arlington Ave, Upper Arlington
  July 20 – Oct 26, Wed 4p – 6p
• Union County Farmer’s Market – Corner of Plum and 6th St. Muncipal Parking Lot, Marysville
  May- October, Sat. 8am
• Westerville Farmer’s Market – N. State St. and E. Home St. in the Church of the Messiah parking lot May- October, Wed. 3p-7p
• Worthington Farmer’s Market – N. High St, Old Worthington
  May 14 – October, Sat 9a -12p
• New Albany Farmer’s Market – Market Street Square at 200 Market Street, New Albany July- September, Thurs. 4p-7p

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.

On September 22nd Ken Burns, director of documentaries on topics of Americana from Baseball, to Jazz, to The Civil War, will be in Westerville to give a talk before the debut of his documentary, “Prohibition”. The visit comes as a result of his research team’s extensive fact checking information for the documentary at the Westerville Public Library’s Local History Center. As Westerville city law director Bruce Bailey points out,   “This all began in our town 102 years ago,” “He wouldn’t have a show without us. We are the home of the Anti-Saloon League.”

While in central Ohio, Burns will attend a luncheon at the Westerville Public Library then teach a master class at Otterbein University before going to WOSU for an appearance on a local news show.

Local history coordinator Beth Weinhardt said the library will conduct a public lottery for tickets to the luncheon.

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.