My Best of Columbus
Every year Columbus Alive, an alternative weekly newspaper, does its Best of Columbus readers' poll. Since I'm a little bit of a hermit for economic reasons, I can't knowledgeably vote on all the categories, but here are some highlights worth commenting on.
| Category | CA's pick | My Pick | Comments |
| Best Movie Theater | Arena Grand | Landmark Gateway | Maybe I'm partial because I go to church here, but I also like Gateway's selection of more eclectic films. |
| Best Museum | Columbus Museum of Art | COSI | This one's a tough call, but I'm going to go with COSI because I volunteer there and I think it has wider audience appeal. |
| Best Place for People Watching | Easton Town Center | OSU's Oval | I concur that Easton is great for people-watching, but if you want true variety, hit the Oval on a sunny spring day. |
| Best Festival | ComFest | Columbus Arts Festival | I admit I've never been to ComFest so I can't say for sure, but the Arts Festival is always really neat. |
| Best Sports Mascot | Brutus Buckeye | Brutus Buckeye | Duh. |
| Best Art Gallery | Hayley Art Gallery | Studios on High | Right next to Cookware Sorceror, and featuring Judy Hoberg's cute clay animals...what more could I ask for? |
| Best Public Art | Short North "Mona Lisa" | I think my favorite would have to be the decorated Brutus Buckeye statues near the Schottenstein Center. | Duh. |
| Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners | Short North | Short North, OSU | Toss-up. But they're so close to each other you might as well visit both! |
| Best Neighborhood | Short North | Upper Arlington | I know UA is a city in its own right, but it retains a lot of its regal dowager character, if a city could be thought of to have such a quality. |
| Best Park | Goodale Park | Schiller Park | I love going here to see Shakespeare in the summer. |