Your Champaign Bucket List for November Fun and Giving Thanks

by | Nov 4, 2014 | Active Living, Business, Events, Food, History, Music, Nonprofits, Tourism

In this month of Thanksgiving, welcome to the third installment of the Champaign Uncorked! Bucket List. Here goes with a sampling of the ways to celebrate the season and the goodness Champaign County has to offer.

Celebrate the Season!

Holiday Open House in Urbana, Ohio's downtown Monument Square District.

A glimpse of The Boston’s window display for the Holiday Open House, Nov. 7-9, in Urbana’s Monument Square District..

 

Holiday Open House Weekend, Friday, Nov. 7-Sunday, Nov. 9 – Beat the hectic pace of Black Friday shopping. Support the local merchants of Urbana’s charming downtown Monument Square District and discover the one-of-kind presents and hospitality they keep in store. Downtown shops will be open Friday, Nov. 7, 10-8; Saturday, Nov. 8, 10-6; and Sunday, Nov. 9, 1-5.

And take a shopping break at one of downtown Urbana’s fine, locally owned restaurants. Check out Monument Square District’s Facebook page for updates on what stores have to offer.

Urban Loft Tour, Urbana, Ohio, featuring historic Monument Square DistrictUrban Loft Tour, Saturday, Nov. 8 – Ever wonder what’s above the shops in downtown Urbana? Satisfy your curiosity while you’re downtown Nov. 8 for the Holiday Open House. The Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) will take you on a tour of the upper stories of seven downtown buildings, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The day of the tour, tickets will be available at the Stage Building, 38 Monument Square, and the Urbana Cinema/Gloria Theater, 216 S. Main St., which is on the tour Prior to that, tickets are available at the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, Champaign Bank, Peoples Savings Bank, Perpetual Savings Bank and Security National Bank. The $12 ticket cost will support CCPA’s historic preservation work.

For more information, visit the Loft Tour pages of the CCPA’s Home and Garden Tour website.

Make a Gingerbread House at the Library, Saturday Nov. 22 – The Champaign County Library offers children two opportunities to decorate a gingerbread house:

  • At 10 a.m., hosted by the Friends of the North Lewisburg Branch Library, at 161 Winder St., North Lewisburg
  • At 2 p.m., hosted by the Friends of the Library at the main library at 1060 Scioto St., Urbana.

Register by Nov. 19 for either program by calling 937-653-3811.

Thanksgiving Morning Walk – The Champaign Family YMCA invites the community to meet outside the west entrance to the First Presbyterian Church, 116 W. Court St., Urbana, for a time of thanks and a short walk, which will begin at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving, Nov. 27. Paul Waldsmith, CEO of the Y, and Jennifer Post, health enhancement director, will lead the walk and offer participants their choice of a 15-minute walk route or a 1-mile route.  The walk will be held  no matter the weather.  Participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for local food pantries.  “This is not a competition, just a way to give back to our community,” Waldsmith explains. For more information, call the Y at 937-653-9622.
Community Thanksgiving dinners in Champaign County, Ohio

Photo Credit: timsackton via Compfight cc

Community Thanksgiving Dinners – Community members have three opportunities to give thanks by volunteering, donating food and enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together:

  • Caring Kitchen, at 300 Miami St., Urbana, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27,  needs volunteers and food donations for its annual Thanksgiving dinner for residents of the Urbana, Mechanicsburg, Triad and West Liberty-Salem school districts. Serving from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with carryout and home delivery beginning at 10:30 a.m. Call 937-653-8443 by Nov. 15 to volunteer or make donations or by Nov. 24 to schedule a delivery. Individuals planning to dine in or pick up a meal also are encouraged to call ahead to ensure enough food is available. Meals will be delivered to the sheriff’s office and local police and fire departments.
  • Graham Elementary School, 9644 U.S. 36, St. Paris, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27 – community dinner, noon to 1:30 p.m., coordinated by the St. Paris Federation of Churches. Dine-in, carryout and delivery will be available. Call the St. Paris First Church of God at 937-663-4441 to request delivery or to volunteer to help prepare the meal, serve, deliver and clean up. Monetary and food donations are welcome.
  • Mechanicsburg Community Dinner, Saturday, Nov. 15, hosted by Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools, 60 High St., Mechanicsburg, in honor of Mechanicsburg’s bicentennial celebration. Guests are to arrive 5 to 5:30 p.m. in the Commons. Pow wow dancers will perform following the dinner. 

Details for these dinners are available on the Urbana Daily Citizen website.

Music in the Air

Veterans Day Dinner and Dance, Saturday, Nov. 8 – Amid historic aircraft and World War II memorabilia, this dinner and dance at the Champaign Aviation Museum, 1642 N. Main St., Urbana, will take you back to the days of USO dances. Featuring the Bob Gray Orchestra, this dinner and dance is presented by the Champaign County Arts County with support from the Champaign Memorial Foundation. Social hour begins at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. with music and dancing to follow. Tickets $20. For information, contact the Arts Council, 119 Miami St., 937-653-7557. 

The Castros and Get in the Ark at Spotted Cow Coffeehouse, Saturday, Nov. 15 – Urbana’s newest coffeehouse, The Spotted Cow, at 927 N. Main St., will host these two popular Columbus indie folk bands in a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15. In Columbus’ (614) Magazine ColumBest readers poll The Castros were voted Best Local Band in 2013 and runner up in 2012 and 2014.

Prior to this show, beginning at 4 p.m., local musicians Scott Patrick Knies, Tayler Carpenter, Mark Blair Glunt, Samantha Sanderson and Dylan Glunt will perform. The event also will feature poet Aiyana Marcus and the photography of Dave Millner. Carmazzi’s Corner will be the featured business. Food provided by Week of Hope.

Win a Made in the USA Best Seller by a Champaign County Original

by | Nov 1, 2014 | Business, People

Ohio Manufacturing Month came to an end Friday. But I’m continuing the celebration, giving you a chance to win a copy of a New York Times Best Seller, Factory Man, authored by a product of Champaign County, Ohio – Beth Macy.Factory Man by Beth Macy

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below. I’ll announce the randomly selected winner here November 10.

Factory Man author Beth Macy speaks at Champaign County Library, Urbana, Ohio

Author Beth Macy with her proud high school English teacher, Margaret Tabor.

Beth, a 1982 Urbana High School graduate, returned to Urbana in August for a book talk and signing at the Champaign County Library. The library meeting room was packed with Beth’s high school classmates, family, friends, her high school English teacher, Margaret Tabor, community members, and yours truly. I was managing editor of the Urbana Daily Citizen when she interned there.

Factory Man author Beth Macy at Champaign County Library, Urbana, Ohio/

Beth signs books after her presentation at the Champaign County Library

Upon release in July, Factory Man, Beth’s first book, became an instant best seller, welcomed by rave reviews including a tweet from actor Tom Hanks: “Great Summer Reading. I give it 42 stars. No, I give it 142 stars. It’s THAT good.”

And that was no idle tweet. Hanks’ production company, Playtone, is developing Factory Man as an HBO miniseries.

Recently, Publisher’s Weekly selected Factory Man for its Best Books of 2014 list.

Well researched and entertainingly told, Factory Man chronicles the rise and evolution of the Bassett furniture dynasty and John Bassett III’s determined fight against globalization and offshoring to save his Virginia-based furniture company, his employees’ jobs and his town.

Back in Beth’s hometown, and across the country, manufacturing is on the rebound from the Great Recession. Manufacturing employment in Champaign County, at 3,700 in 2001, hit a low of 2,373 in 2010 before rising to 3,487 this year. That number could be higher if manufacturers – in Champaign County and throughout the U.S. – weren’t having such a difficult time finding enough qualified candidates for skilled, high-tech positions. (Local efforts have been launched to introduce students to manufacturing careers.)

In this video, produced by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Beth (whose mother worked for Grimes Manufacturing in Urbana) talks about the significance of American manufacturing.

For a chance to win a copy of Factory Man, don’t forget to leave a comment below – by 8 a.m. EST Nov. 10.

For instance, what is your favorite U.S.-made product? Or tell us about your experience in manufacturing (while in college I made fireplace inserts on an assembly line). Or tell us about your favorite job in any setting.