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12 things to do outside in Columbus this weekend

Mike Farrenkopf helps kick off the 54th Annual Columbus Oktoberfest during an event at Hofbrauhaus in Grandview Yard on Thursday, September 5, 2019. Oktoberfest will be held September 6, 7, and 8, 2019, at the Ohio Expo Center. There will be lots of space for polka dancing. [Fred Squillante/Dispatch]

The weather is expected to be awesome this weekend, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to and get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine?

There are ample events and activities to enjoy, too.

Need a little inspiration? We have plenty for you.

Things to do in Columbus:10 of the best events in Columbus the weekend of Sept. 10

Consider the 55th annual Columbus Oktoberfest at the Ohio Expo Center. If food, music and fun are at the top of your list of things to do, then you can check them all off with this event. 

And while you are there, why not pop into the Fall Dispatch Home & Garden Show in the Bricker Building? A ticket to one event will get you in free to the other. 

Columbus Oktoberfest:Oktoberfest 2021 celebrates 55th anniversary with traditional festivities, new offerings

Want some more ideas?

Wine Craze Corn Maze

Wine Craze Corn Maze an atypical experience

Explore a corn maze with some extra incentives at the Wine Craze Corn Maze from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 9 at Van Buren Acres, 5066 Keller Road, Hebron. The third annual event benefits the Licking County Farm Bureau’s Scholarship Fund. Guests will receive five tickets and then hunt through the corn maze for stations offering tastings from Buckeye Winery. Singer-songwriter Lee Gantt will perform, and free appetizers will be available. Tickets cost $35, or $25 if you skip the wine. For more information, call 740-452-2356 or visit ofbf.org/events

Enjoy the Lithopolis Honeyfest

Lithopolis Honeyfest abuzz

Lithopolis will be buzzing from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sept.10 and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at the annual Lithopolis Honeyfest in downtown Lithopolis. Meet local beekeepers and sample their wares, take part in a honey bake-off, listen to music and check out the work of local artisans. Admission to the Honeyfest is free, and free parking and shuttle services are located at the Crossroads Church, 11573 Lithopolis Road. NW, Lithopolis; or and the Bloom Baptist Church, 4210 Cedar Hill Road NW, Lithopolis. For more information, call 614-774-4416 or visit www.centralohiobeekeeper.com 

The Egyptian Festival will take place Sept. 10-12

Egyptian Festival offers food and tours 

Make a weekend of it at the 26 Annual Columbus Egyptian Festival at St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 200 Old Village Road. Sample homemade Egyptian food and pastries, tour the church and get yourself decorated with henna drawings while kids enjoy games and other activities and a petting zoo. The festival will run from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 10, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 11 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 12. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/columbusegyptianfestival 

Dispatch reporter Eric Lagatta snaps a picture of a heron as he kayaks down the Olentangy River.   A kayak ride on the Olentangy River, and through to the Scioto River,  reveals a side of the city seldom seen from the streets. Photographed June 25, 2020. (Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch)

Olentangy River Festival offers water activities

Celebrate a state scenic river at the Olentangy River Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 11 at Mingo Park, 500 E. Lincoln Ave., Delaware. Do some kayaking and creeking, help with litter cleanup, listen to live music, play bingo, enter a rain barrel raffle and check out the educational booths at the site. Above all, learn how to keep the river clean and beautiful. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.visitdelohio.com 

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2005 file photo, Nancy Wilson poses with her award for best jazz vocal album for "R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)" at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Grammy-winning jazz and pop singer Wilson has died at age 81. Her manager Devra Hall Levy tells The Associated Press late Thursday night, Dec. 13, 2018, that Wilson died peacefully after a long illness at her home in Pioneertown, a California desert community near Joshua Tree National Park. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Hot Times Festival to pay tribute to Nancy Wilson

The Hot Times Festival is scaling back a little this year, but will still be offering plenty of music to be experienced live (with masks highly encouraged) or via livestream. The Festival has moved to 51 Douglass St., where the music will start at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10, 1 p.m. Sept. 11 and 11 a.m. Sept. 12. A highlight promises to be the “Ladies’ Night” tribute to the late jazz singer Nancy Wilson, who was born in Chillicothe. The event will feature performances by members of Wilson’s family and others, which will take place at 8 p.m. Sept. 10. For more information, visit hottimesfestival.com 

Blues musician Taj Mahal, one of the subjects of the upcoming PBS documentary film "American Epic," poses for a portrait during the 2015 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

HotLicks Bluesfest has dynamic lineup

Blues will dominate the streets of downtown Granville from 1 to 10 p.m. Sept. 11. Local favorites Teeny Tucker, Ray Fuller and the Bluesrockers, Tom Carroll and Friends and the High Definitions will lead up to a performance by Grammy winner Taj Mahal. Head to 100 E. Broadway, Granville for the free event. For more information, visit the HotLicks Bluesfest Facebook page 

garden06 sale
credit: Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens
cutline: The annual sale at Chadwick offers a mouthwatering array of colorful plants.

Chadwick Arboretum open house

The Chadwick Arboretum at Ohio State will be holding an open house at its Learning Garden, with free tours every half-hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 10 for those interested in getting involved with volunteering or otherwise supporting the arboretum. Meet in front of Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Court. Also included in the open house is a houseplant giveaway — while supplies last — as well as a botanical print (of a buckeye, of course) giveaway. For more information, call 614-688-3479 or visit chadwickarboretum.osu.edu

garden29 joe pye
credit: Doug Berube / Dawes Arboretum
cutline: A monarch butterfly finds sustenance on a Joe Pye weed, a late-summer bloomer.

Dawes Arboretum history explored

Relax and enjoy an afternoon tea and talk from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Dawes Arboretum, 7770 Jacksontown Road, Newark. Learn about Bertie Dawes, one of the co-founders of the arboretum, and her favorite plants as recorded in her many journals at Bertie’s Tea. The speaker for the event will be Debra Knapke, also known as “The Garden Sage,” and the author of several books about gardening in Ohio, who will speak about “What Plants Mean to Us: Traditions, Language and Stories.” The talk will be followed by a jaunt out to see the plants in Bertie’s garden. Tickets for the event cost $95. For more information, call 740-323-2355 or visit dawesarb.org.

(paw paw Dutto albrecht 1/15/03 ) paw paw -- annona species from Africa with fruit.  ( Dispatch photo by Eric Albrecht )

Pawpaw 101

Learn how to grow the notoriously finicky pawpaw plant in the “Pawpaw Pandemonium!” class at 3 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Columbus Garden School, 1350 E. Cooke Road. The class, which will cover the history and habitat as well as the care and feeding of the pawpaw, is available in both in-person and online options. The first five registrants will receive two pawpaw seedlings for $10. Pawpaw seedlings will otherwise be available for $10 per seedling. Masks are required for in-person attendees. Tickets cost $10. For more information, call 614-404-7236 or visit columbusgardenschool.com

This highly-anticipated repeat-blooming rambler rose has sprays of fragrant blush pink flowers and grows up to 10 feet to 15 feet tall, depending on growing conditions. It has long and slender flexible stems bearing large sprays of semi-double flowers. Each bloom is approximately two inches across, with an open formation set off by a nice "The Lady of the Lake, with citrus-scented blooms, can grow as tall as 15 feet." boss of golden stamens. There is a lovely, fresh citrus fragrance. This is a healthy rose that will repeat flower regularly throughout the summer and will be suitable for growing on an arch, wall, trellis or small tree. Credit David Austin Roses

Worthington homes and gardens on tour 

Return to the Worthington of a century ago from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Worthington Tour of Homes and Gardens. The tour, which will begin at the Old Rectory, 55 W. New England Ave., will focus on buildings constructed during the 1920s, with five public buildings and five private homes as well as an extensive garden on display. Tickets cost $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the tour. Only cash or checks will be accepted on the day of the tour. For more information, call 614-885-1247 or visit worthingtonhistory.org

Milkweed flowers offer nectar for adult monarchs, just as the leaves supply food for caterpillars. 2015.  Credit: Monarch Watch

Plant sale to benefit FLOW

Stock up on milkweed plants in a sale supporting the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW), in collaboration with Riverside Native Perennials. Prairie, whorled, butterfly, swamp and common milkweeds will be available at a price of $12 for a one-gallon container, which includes two or three stems. Order online and then pick up the plants from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Sawmill Wetlands Education Area, 2650 Sawmill Road. For more information, visit www.olentangywatershed.org.

Columbus Metro Park activities this week

This is a great time of year to visit Metro Parks

Now that September is here and the weather might be starting to cool down, organized hikes are back on the menu at the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks.

Here’s a snapshot for the weekend:

• Start your Friday right with a brisk four-mile fitness hike from 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 10 at Blendon Woods, 4265 E. Dublin-Granville Road, Westerville.