November 2023 - Organization Pending Newsroom - Upper Arlington, Ohio
Welcome to Organization Pending's Newsroom, November 2023: Slowing Down for the Season edition.
This month, we're hitting the pause button to enjoy family time at Holiday Events, and sitting down with Community Recommendation Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy® to learn more about their store's gift ideas and events! Dive into our recommendations for slowing down with the Just Plain Wrong Podcast, Great Art Explained Youtube™ Channel, and Book recommendation on the history of Monopoly®. Don't miss upcoming Upper Arlington Decluttering Dates!
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Holiday Events and More
Drop off your letter in Santa's Mailbox November 15 - December 13 at the Municipal Services Center, 3600 Tremont Road, in the Kenny Road parking lot - to ensure a reply, put each child's letter in an individual envelope, and include their full name, address, and an un-affixed postage stamp.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's Wildlights starts Friday, November 17! Take a stroll Sunday - Thursday, 5pm-9, and Friday - Saturday, 5pm-10 until January 7 for their annual holiday festivities featuring millions of LED lights, animated musical light shows, reindeer, 7pm live holiday music at the Lakeside Theater, and more! Wildlights is included with Zoo admission, with available add-ons for a two-hour VIP Wildlights Tour with complimentary hot chocolate (bring your reusable mug!), or to watch The Rudolph 4D Experience at Shores Play Park.
Conservatory Aglow is back at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens! Find synchronized lights and holiday melodies, dance celebration, illuminated outdoor games and tabletop games in festive igloos, with new additions of a life-size gingerbread house, train display, and Whirly Tree. From November 18 - January 7, visit 5pm-9, or 5pm-10 Fridays and Saturdays in December. If you stop by December 1-14, included with the Conservatory Aglow ticket is an outdoor synthetic ice rink with a 60 guest capacity, operating on a first come, first served basis.
Or stop by during Conservatory Aglow and General Admission for the Conservatory's Holiday Blooms, November 18 - January 7, featuring the 17th annual Gingerbread Competition Display in the Cardinal Health Gallery in December. Reserve tickets online for General Admission and Special Engagements, or plan your visit on Community Days, the first Sunday of each month.
Want to pick up local foods for Thanksgiving? German Village Farmers Market has you covered with their Thanksgiving Market on Saturday, November 18, 9am-1pm, at the German Village Meeting Haus, 588 S 3rd Street.
Mozaic Ohio is hosting a Trans Day of Remembrance Variety Show Monday, November 20, 6pm-9. "The evening will start with reading the names of those we've lost this year, followed by free food and entertainment with the community. A quiet space with counselors will be set aside for those needing mental health support." RSVP here.
The Ohio Vintage Expo is Sunday, November 26 in the Lausche Building of the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair, 717 E 17th Avenue. This year includes more than 60 Midwest vendors of vintage clothing, toys, collectibles, vinyl records, home goods, jewelry, handmade items and more. Tickets are available at the door or online - join them for $5 General Admission from 12pm-5, or see it first with their $15 Early Bird option starting at 10:30am.
German Village Farmers Market is teaming up again with Parsons North to bring us Schumacher Place Farmers Market! This food forward market is perfect for picking up local meat, cheese, jams, vegetables and baked goods for the holidays. Stop by on Saturdays from 11am-2pm, December through April, inside Parsons North Brewing Company at 685 Parsons Avenue.
Don't miss German Village Society's Village Lights 2023 on Sunday, December 3, 5pm-9. Restaurants and shops will stay open late along German Village's illuminated streets, with festive surprises and trolley stops throughout the Village! Start the festivities early at the corner of City Park and Thurman with the German Village Makers Market from 3pm-8, featuring more than 60 vendors.
Upper Arlington's Parks and Recreation department is hosting their annual Winter Festival 6pm-8:30, Friday, December 1 at the Mallway Park, 2096 Arlington Avenue. Visit with Santa and the reindeer, watch ice carving, get a carriage ride, and see the tree lighting ceremony!
Kaleidoscope Youth Center is hosting a Winter Open House for families, new youth, and the community to see their Drop-in Center and new Wellness Center! Stop by Saturday, December 2, 12pm-3, for seasonal refreshments, connecting with community and Kaleidoscope Youth Center staff and board members, learn more about their programs and services, and support LGBTQIA+ youth this holiday season with their Holiday Wish Tree! When you're done, take a trip on the 10th annual free Downtown Holiday Trolley Hop 1pm-6 to explore downtown holiday shopping options, kids' activities, live music, and more. Start your trip at the Columbus Metropolitan Library at 96 S. Grant Ave., or the Warehouse District at 256 E Neilston St.
Register at the Miller Park Branch of Upper Arlington Public Library to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus 4pm-6pm, Thursday, December 7! Don't miss the take-home crafts, cookies, and face painting.
Upper Arlington Public Library Tremont Road Branch's annual Winter Wonderland party is Saturday, December 9 from 10am-2pm. This year's family activities include iceless ice skating and floor curling, cookie decorating, crafts, snow globe photo booth, a caricaturist, and more!
Or join them to Make Your Own Light-Up Cards Wednesday, December 13, 4pm-5:30 for ages 10-18. Learn how to create simple circuits to make up to five cards for unique holiday gifts!
Upper Arlington and Columbus Decluttering Dates
Did you miss Westerville Queer Collective's Trans Clothing Exchange Series in October? Join them Saturday, December 2 from 2pm-4 at Good Vibes Winery for their Holiday Exchange - ugly sweaters welcome! Bringing clothing to the exchange isn't necessary, and right now they're looking for donations of sizes 1X-6X, with many other sizes available since their last event. This event is a collaboration with Otterbein FreeZone's Trans Clothing Exchange Initiative.
Working on decluttering toys or craft kits before the holidays? If you find unwanted items in new condition, stop by Station 71 on Arlington Avenue, or Station 72 on Reed Road to donate to the Firefighters for Kids Toy Drive on Saturday, December 9! Keep an eye on their webpage for updates as more information is available.
The last day to rake your leaves for Leaf Collection is December 3.
Pumpkin Recycling at Fancyburg Park ends December 8.
Holiday Lights Recycling is available behind the Municipal Services Center at 3600 Tremont Road December 26 - January 31.
Live Christmas Tree Collection is part of your regular trash collection day - make sure to remove all decorations and leave it unbagged. If the tree is 8' or taller, cut it half before putting it at the curb for pickup.
Join Upper Arlington Public Library Lane Road Branch for their Sustainable Holidays Series!
Thursday, November 30 at 6:30pm-7:30: Conscious Gift Giving
Saturday, December 2 at 2pm-3:30: Deck the Halls with Zero-Waste
Thursday, December 7 at 6:30pm-7:30: Avoiding Festive Food Waste
Community Recommendation Highlight: Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®
Have you visited Ohio's Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy® store? Their commitment to Customer Safety & Comfort for a "safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for any member of the comics and gaming community" makes this our first stop for the tabletop, role playing, and comic fans on our list!
A lifelong passion for books and comics prompted David Wheeler to open the first Texas location in 1986.
"I have a great love of libraries and, from a young age, haunted them. [...] I started helping out comic book stores while I was in Elementary school. When I got to college I worked at two comic book stores before I opened Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®. In many ways I opened my store, with a lot of help and support from customers and friends, so that we could have a place to share our passions for comics and games." - Founder David Wheeler
Expanding to four current Texas locations (visit them in: Austin, Houston North, San Antonio Alamo Ranch, and San Antonio Medical Center), in late 2020, Phil Siewert opened the franchise in Lewis Center, Ohio.
"We strive to provide a safe, inclusive and family friendly space to shop, explore and experience the fun and fantasy that surrounds comic books, graphic novels, manga, board games, card games, miniature games and more! Our goal is to complement and help grow the existing comic book and tabletop gaming community in Columbus by offering a premier retail location and event space. As a lifetime tabletop gamer, role player and comic books fan, I have personally benefited from the communities that comprise local comic book shops, card shops and game stores." - Owner Phil Siewert
In February, our location announced that they are the only store in Columbus to have been awarded Premium Store Status by Wizards of the Coast, allowing us access to additional events, exclusive promo cards, Commander parties, and more, including making them a Testing Store for new upcoming formats of the popular Magic the Gathering™ (MTG) game. They are also a sanctioned Lorcana Organized Play Store, receiving promo cards, pins, and other prizes they use to host tournaments and support League play.
Starting on Black Friday, Siewert says "we'll have numerous Holiday season specials including discounts on manga, graphic novels, as well as curated blind gift boxes from several of our product categories." Don't forget to visit our location's bearded dragon Ripley the Columbus Lair Beast and say "Hi!" from Organization Pending!
Working on decluttering your games before the holidays? Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy® has a Consignment program for gently used (or unused) games that are less than ten years old, and rated 7.0 or higher on Board Game Geek, with a preference given to Kickstarter editions. They ask that games be complete, inventoried and sorted/organized. When the game sells, you will receive 70% of the sale in store credit.
Have common games to sell? Take a look at our Community Recommendations for additional resell and donation options.
What you'll find at Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®:
"Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy® sells comics, graphic novels, board games, RPGs, CCGs, TCGs, Miniatures and many other great products! We run events every day of the week ranging from board game open play to D&D meet-ups, Friday Night Magic and more!"
Check their Facebook page for their monthly Calendar of Events updates, or take a look at the new releases, sale items and other products online.
comic books
graphic novels
manga
board games
role playing games
miniatures
collectible card games
plush animals
action figures
accessories
new and used inventory
store events, including game workshops
Find Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®:
Website: https://dlair.net/columbus-north/
Facebook: Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy - Columbus Instagram: dlair_columbus
Sign Up for the Lair Blog™: Lair Blog™
Email: phil@dlaircolumbus.com Phone: (380) 220-1300
Address: 1222 East Powell Road Hours: Monday- Thursday: 10am-11pm
Lewis Center, OH 43035 Friday & Saturday: 10am-12am
Sunday: 10am-10pm
Podcast Recommendation
Tabi Berkey
Brought to you by The MennoBrarians, Just Plain Wrong is "three Mennonite librarians, discussing depictions of Amish, Mennonites, and other plain groups in media and popular culture".
"I was interested in starting a podcast and brainstorming a number of ideas, and the one that stuck was doing something related to Amish romance. Seeds of the idea were planted at the break room table, where we would often chuckle at Amish romance titles, or other pop culture references related to Amish and Mennonites. I knew I needed co-hosts, and when Abby and Tillie said yes, we started planning!" Since January 2021, Erin, Abby, and Tillie have been deep diving into Amish romance novels, other Amish fiction, TV episodes, movies, and more, taking an educated lens to popular culture's versions of plain groups. Explore what's right and wrong in the For Richer or Poorer movie, Schitt's Creek and 3rd Rock from the Sun's Amish Episodes, Weird Al Yankovic's Amish Paradise, books by popular authors Beverly Lewis and Linda Castillo, Amish TikTok, and a Research Rabbit Hole into Amish romance self-publishing.
"Being librarians is especially helpful when we are fact checking content we find in the media we cover. We're familiar with both how to research and where to look for answers. In our episodes we frequently reference GAMEO, an online Mennonite encyclopedia, the [Goshen College] Mennonite Historical Library [MHL], and the 'Mennonite books' that we have in our personal collections. Tillie is a librarian (cataloger) at MHL, which provides us with access to a never ending list of titles to cover, as well as reference sources that would otherwise be difficult to access. It also gives us access to Joe Springer, the MHL curator, who is a fount of Mennonite historical knowledge - we interviewed him in season three for All the Maiden Ladies (of Lancaster County): A Discussion with Joe Springer of the Mennonite Historical Library." - Erin of the Mennobrarians
Just Plain Wrong's Favorite Episodes
Check out the MennoBrarians' favorite episodes to get started, or join them every other Wednesday for new episodes of Just Plain Wrong.
Enjoying Just Plain Wrong? Make sure to follow them, tell your friends, and consider supporting them on Patreon, or check out their store for dark or light colored t-shirts, coffee mug, or phone cover.
YouTube™ Channel Recommendation
Tabi Berkey
Visiting art museums is one of my favorite winter past times. With the YouTube™ channel Great Art Explained, I'm able to learn more about the history and technique behind specific art pieces, and about the different artists I might encounter on my visits. For the past three years, United Kingdom curator and gallerist James Payne has been sharing his insight, "on a mission to demystify the art world and discover the stories behind the world's greatest paintings and sculptures." Payne uses his love of art to "focus on one piece of art [each episode] and break it down, using clear and concise language free of 'art-speak'." Learn more about Frida Kahlo's 'The Two Fridas', the Mona Lisa, Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Georgia O'Keeffe, Salvador Dali, and more, including the Great Art Cities Explained playlist.
Are you a literature lover? Check out Payne's new channel, Great Books Explained!
Book Recommendation
Tabi Berkey
Happy board game season! Monopoly® is one of my family's favorites, and I was intrigued picking up The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon. Digging into the history of the game, the book opens with Ralph Anspach and his Anti-Monopoly game in the 1970's. When Anspach receives a letter from the Parker Brothers, it leads to a decade-long legal battle, uncovering the shady truth behind the origins of Monopoly®, and its claimed inventor.
In 1935, Charles Darrow patented Monopoly® for sale through Parker Brothers, presenting the story that he had thought of the game while unemployed at the beginning of the Depression. Forty years later, Anspach discovered the truth and subsequent cover-up while researching for his trial. In 1904, Lizzie J. Magie patented her first version of The Landlord's Game, updating her patent with new features in 1924. Unlike the game we know today, The Landlord's Game focused on the dangers of monopolies, letting players choose their way of play: team up to break up monopolies, or a version where one person wins and everyone else loses, mimicking the real-life consequences of monopolies. Discover the Parker Brothers cover-up and journey around the country with Anspach as he learns more about The Landlord's Game and how it became Monopoly® with additions from multiple colleges and Atlantic City Quakers before Charles Darrow was introduced to the game.
Along with deep dives into the histories of board games, manufacturers, Magie, and Anspach's legal battle, The Monopolists also looks at the history of Monopoly® game play and facts!
"From the beginning, much of the public disregarded Parker Brothers' written rules [...] when played according to its written rules, the typical Monopoly game lasts less than ninety minutes." Take a look at the rules in your box regarding property auctions and the Free Parking space for shorter game play.
"Some of the early tokens - including the iron, the top hat, the thimble, the shoe, the cannon, and the battleship - were emblematic of their time. The electric iron was one of the first electronic appliances to make its way into homes, thereby liberating women from the dangerous and time-consuming chore of heating an iron in a stove fire. The top hat was a holdover symbol of Jazz Age elegance, the thimble was a vital tool for sewing, and the floppy and dilapidated shoe was a common sight during the Depression. The cannon and the battleship served as a reminder of World War I and the role that America had played in the conflict."
Make sure to borrow The Monopolists from your local library, and be ready to tell an interesting story around your next family game night!