AN ABUNDANCE OF THE ARTS

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
For every week of the year there is a festival or signature event to attend in Columbus. A few of these prominent events include:

• Biggest Block Party Ever: A downtown block party featuring two stages, ten bands, and numerous restaurants
• NeighborFest: Held downtown throughout the summer with live music, food vendors, and a beer garden
• Fair on the Square: A seasonal open-air farmer’s marketplace in downtown Columbus with the freshest locally grown fruits and vegetables, complimented by local artists and entertainers
• Ethnic Expo: Begins with a parade and goes on to feature food, music and entertainment from around the world. The festival draws an average of 30,000 visitors.
• Rock The Park: A concert featuring national bands held in Mill Race Park
• AntiFreeze Comedy Series: Live comedy preformed by nationally known comedians
• Fabulous Fridays: An evening of free music from regional musicians held at the amphitheater in Mill Race Park
• Salute!: A concert of patriotic music by The Philharmonic held on the courthouse lawn
• PopFest: Two symphonic concerts and food vendors held at Library Plaza
• Young Professional Meet, Greet, and Eat: An excellent chance to meet new people, network, or just mingle
• The Hospice Concert: An all-evening event with food, fireworks, and music
• The Scottish Festival: Devoted to all things Scottish...clans, pipers, dance, sheepdogs, and athletics
• First Friday for Families: Performance arts and events for families
• Festival of Lights Parade: A parade and the lighting of the City Hall tree

kidscommons
A children's museum providing a vibrant and safe setting full of hands-on learning and fun. Spend time in the Childhood Garden, enjoy the state-of-the-art computer lab in the Power Outlet, scamper up the17-foot-tall climbing wall, or hang out in the bubble room.  Find out more: www.kidscommons.org 

ZAHARAKOS
Has been serving sundaes, sodas, and smiles since 1900. Step inside Zaharakos to find an ice cream parlor of stained glass, carved oak, and marble. Look for the Tiffany-style lamps and the double soda fountains. Find out more: http://www.zaharakos.com 

PLAY AS HARD AS YOU WORK

COLUMBUS WAS NAMED ONE OF "THE 100 BEST SMALL ART TOWNS IN AMERICA"
Columbus, Indiana's world-class public art compliments the collection of modern architecture for which the city is known. The newest installation of public art is Dale Chihuly's bold and colorful Sun Garden Panels in Suspended Circle located at the Columbus Learning Center. In addition to these masterpieces, loaned sculptures by nationally-known artists are on display throughout the downtown.

Columbus has not one, but two symphony orchestras with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. The Philharmonic has thrived on a partnership of the best musicians from Columbus and the surrounding region as well as talented students from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. It also hosts guest artists that are rated among the top talent in the world. The group has been broadcast nationwide many times on National Public Radio's “Performance Today” and on Public Radio International's “Pipedreams.”


PARKS AND GARDENS
Columbus, Indiana has hundreds of acres in a city park system ranked number one in the U.S. by the National Recreation and Park Association for cities of its size. Parks featured facilities include an ice-skating rink, a skateboard park, an observation tower, to the more typical—yet fun—activities such as fishing, walking, hiking, and biking.

There are over 20 miles of people trails that encompass the city.

Columbus won the highly competitive 2006 America in Bloom national competition. Eight core categories were judged, such as heritage, urban forestry, and floral displays. Columbus ranked “Best of the Best” for landscape design, citing Irwin Gardens, national landscape design awards, and the city’s park and trail system.

Columbus is just minutes away from Brown County State Park-- Indiana's largest state park. Millions of people visit Brown County State Park each year. They camp, hike, swim, fish, ride horseback, picnic, and enjoy the natural beauty of the park located in the rolling hills of southern Indiana.


SPORTS TO PLAY
For those who love sports, Columbus has first-rate facilities where you can participate in almost any activity you can imagine including: batting cages, biking, bowling, canoeing, climbing walls, golf, ice skating, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, miniature golf, swimming, tennis, bird watching, camping, fishing, gardening, landscaping, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, and running.

SPORTS TO WATCH
For those who like to watch some of the country’s best athletes compete, the Columbus Area Visitors Center through a partnership with Columbus Parks and Recreation has made the city a host to some of the county’s most popular sporting tournaments including: baseball, softball, basketball, biking, golf, gymnastics, hockey, ice skating, rugby, running, walking, soccer, swimming, tennis, and triathlons.

Columbus is forty-five minutes from Downtown Indianapolis which is the home to a number of professional sports teams including Super Bowl Champs the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers, the Firebirds AFL, the Fever WNBA, the Indiana Ice hockey team, and the NCAA Final Four Tournament. Indy is also the home to the world's largest sporting event—The Indianapolis Motor Speedway—which hosts both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.


A NEW AND REVITALIZED COLUMBUS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
Recently, the public and private sectors have partnered to invest more than $200 million in the revitalization of the Columbus Entertainment District. The new Columbus Entertainment District reinforces the existing physical fabric of Downtown to better communicate a sense of place including a stronger definition of districts, gateways, gathering places, and relationships to surrounding neighborhoods. New projects within the Columbus Entertainment District include:
  • The new Commons mall containing an indoor playground, entertainment and performing arts venues, street-front retail, an extended-stay hotel, restaurants, a corporate conference and training center, and an office complex housing over 500 professional employees.
  • Two new parking garages providing more than 1,100 parking spaces.
  • A 125,000 square foot indoor sports complex for soccer, basketball, volleyball, softball, and workout training.
  • Hotel Indigo—a unique boutique hotel experience bringing metropolitan style to Columbus’ historic beauty.
  • A number of new loft apartments and upper-level studio homes.

OTHER PLAY DELIGHTS

Retail shopping districts are abundant in the area including Edinburgh Premium Outlets where you can shop 85 stores featuring famous brand names like Coach, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, and Ann Taylor at discounted prices. Nearby, peruse Indiana’s biggest antiquing destination, Exit 76 Antique Mall. Just minutes away, you’ll discover distinctive shops in downtown Columbus. Enjoy seasonal and outdoor markets for the freshest locally grown fruits and vegetables. To top it off, shop under one roof at two indoor malls—FairOaks Mall and the new Commons mall.

Columbus is also just 30 miles from Nashville, Indiana. The quaint village of Nashville is a great place for a romantic getaway, with hundreds of unique craft, specialty and antique shops, and great music & theatre venues. Visitors enjoy watching artists in galleries and craft studios throughout Brown County Indiana which is known as the "artist colony of the Midwest."
 

EASY ACCESSIBILITY FOR PLAYING ABROAD
Columbus is located within the Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati triangle. Within an hour’s drive you have access to the any of the three cities which have thousands of restaurants, retail shopping districts, and cultural amenities.