WestChesterBuzz.com

From a restaurant crawl to a winter farmers’ market, there is plenty to do in West Chester this weekend.

For things to do in Greater Cincinnati, visit Cincinnati.com’s new Things to Do page.

Below are some things to do close to home.

Friday

Armchair program – Residents of West Chester Township are invited to experience New Zealand and Australia without ever leaving their hometown. The countries will be discussed at this week’s Armchair session at Township Hall, 9113, Cincinnati-Dayton Road, at 7 p.m. Friday.

Lakota boys’ basketball – Both Lakota West and Lakota East will host conference opponents Friday at 7:30 p.m. Lakota West (6-4 overall, 4-3 in Greater Miami Conference) will host Colerain (4-7 overall, 0-6 in GMC), while Lakota East (11-2 overall, 5-1 in GMC) will host Princeton (6-5 overall, 3-3 in GMC).

Saturday

Union Centre Restaurant Crawl – The fifth annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl (photo) benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will take place this Saturday. The crawl will begin at 4 p.m. at the UNO Chicago Grill and will move to other participating restaurants that include El Rancho Grande, The Wise Owl Wine Bar, the Dingle House and Jag’s Steak and Seafood.

Winter farmers’ market – The weekly farmers’ market season is over, but the winter farmers’ market will be open this Saturday at the Square at Union Centre. This Saturday’s market will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Like in the summer, the winter farmers’ market also features all local vendors with produce and meats grown and raised locally and products made by hand.

Lakota girls’ basketball – Both Lakota West and Lakota East will host conference opponents Saturday at 2 p.m. Lakota West (10-2 overall, 6-2 in Greater Miami Conference) will host Mason (13-0 overall, 8-0 in GMC), while Lakota East (5-9 overall, 4-4 in GMC) will host Hamilton (3-11 overall, 2-6 in GMC).

Sunday

Community choir rehearsal for MLK program – Residents of Liberty and West Chester townships are invited to Sunday’s community choir rehearsal for the Martin Luther King Day program. The choir will practice beginning at 2 p.m. at St. Paul AME Church, 7161 Ohio 4 in Fairfield. All residents are invited to sing with the group, which will perform at the Jan. 21 Live the Dream: Our Declaration of Unity program.

Posted in: Events, News, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: business, business news, charity, Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, dingle house, Dingle House Irish Pub, El Rancho Grande, Jag's, Jag's Steak & Seafood, Lakota East, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Stone Creek, Stone Creek Dining Company, The Wise Owl, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchants Association, Union Centre Restaurant Crawl, UNO, Uno Chicago Grill, Uno's Chicago Grill, West Chester restaurants, Wise Owl, Wise Owl Wine Bar

The fifth annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will take place this Saturday.

The crawl will begin at 4 p.m. at the UNO Chicago Grill and will move to other participating restaurants that include El Rancho Grande, The Wise Owl Wine Bar, the Dingle House and Jag’s Steak and Seafood.

Those interested can pre-register for the crawl by giving a $30 donation in advance. Registration at the door can be done for a $35 donation.

Parking will be available at the old Max and Erma’s building next to UNO, which is located at 9246 Schulze Drive in West Chester. After checking in at UNO, crawl participants will be walking (dress appropriately) to all of the other nearby restaurants.

The first 50 crawl participants to sign up will receive a complimentary t-shirt. All participants will receive appetizers and discounted drink specials at each restaurant. There will also be raffles and games during the crawl.

Taxi service will be available after the event at Jag’s.

Tickets can be purchased at http://unioncentrecrawl5-eac2.eventbrite.com/#.

For more information please email Lindsay Wiseman at lmdwiseman@gmail.com.

Posted in: Business, Events, News |

Tags: Tags: business, business news, charity, Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, dingle house, Dingle House Irish Pub, El Rancho Grande, Jag's, Jag's Steak & Seafood, Stone Creek, Stone Creek Dining Company, The Wise Owl, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchants Association, Union Centre Restaurant Crawl, UNO, Uno Chicago Grill, Uno's Chicago Grill, West Chester restaurants, Wise Owl, Wise Owl Wine Bar

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

West Chester remembers 9/11 – West Chester community members gathered at Chesterwood Village last Tuesday morning for a 9/11 remembrance event. The program featured a 9/11 display, a brief ceremony, as well as dozens and dozens of American flags.

Lakota seniors look back on Sept. 11 as first graders – It was an odd day. Union Elementary first grader Jeff Back didn’t understand why recess was being held inside on such a beautiful day or why so many of his classmates were being picked up from school by their parents. Meanwhile, at Liberty Elementary, Anna Starr was starting to get jealous. Why wasn’t her mom picking her up? What was so special about today? It was Sept. 11, 2001.

Union Centre Music and Food Festival returns this fall – Last year, trying to escape the extreme heat of late August, the Union Centre Merchants Association decided to take control of its signature summertime festival at the Square at Union Centre and move it to mid-October. This year’s event, to be held Sept. 28-29, will look very similar, maybe minus the bad weather, to the event held last October. Again, the festival will feature free admission, numerous bands and food from local restaurants.

Police warn of car break-ins near West Chester – Rachel Richardson reported last week there was a spike in the number of automobile break-ins – up to 17 in one night – has prompted police in the neighboring city of Mason to warn residents: If you like it, lock it. Police say that 28 break-ins have been reported in several of the city’s northwest neighborhoods that border West Chester, including Birchwood Farms, Codington Reserve and Hickory Woods.

RASKALS seeks volunteers for fall chores – A local community service program called Random Acts of Simple Kindness Affecting Local Seniors (RASKALS) is looking for volunteers to help senior citizens with outdoor chores this fall. The West Chester Township program, which is offered twice each year, helps local seniors with window washing, raking, trimming shrubs, painting fences, spreading mulch, planting flowers and other chores.

Local students named National Merit semifinalists – A total of 10 local students have been named semifinalists in the 2013 Natioinal Merit Scholarship Program. The students are among approximately 16,000 named this week in the program. The recognized students include Jeffrey Back, Christina Clyde, Meghan Gibbons, Sophia Li, Jamie Silva and Jasmine Tuazon of Lakota East; Ethan Bennett, Paul Register and Abd Alrahman Traboulsi of Lakota West; and Amber Nix of West Chester (homeschool).

Posted in: Business, Events, News |

Tags: Tags: 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, 9/11 attacks, Chesterwood Village, Music and Food Festival, Square at Union Centre, the Square at Union Centre, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival, West Chester photos

Last year, trying to escape the extreme heat of late August, the Union Centre Merchants Association decided to take control of its signature summertime festival at the Square at Union Centre and move it to mid-October.

Mother Nature didn’t like the change.

Storms, blustery winds and cold weather killed beverage sales and hurt attendance.

“Last year would have been wonderful if Mother Nature had just worked with us a little better,” Union Centre Boulevard Merchants Association President Pam Shrout said.

“It was the first year that we put on the event, entirely by ourselves and everything was lined up to go, but due to storms coming through, the blustery wind and the late date of the festival … that is why we are doing it at the end of September.”

This year’s event, to be held Sept. 28-29, will look very similar, maybe minus the bad weather, to the event held last October. Again, the festival will feature free admission, numerous bands and food from local restaurants.

• Union Centre Music and Food Festival band lineup
• Union Centre Music and Food Festival directions
• Union Centre Music and Food Festival full schedule

If you are accustomed to the summertime festival, formerly referred to the Union Centre Boulevard Bash (and Blast in 2010), the event will feature a more localized group of food vendors and has decided to do way with amusement rides and games.

Last year, many of the rides and games were absent from the festival due to the association’s desire to focus on two of the more popular items every year at the event – the food and the music. In addition to that, last year’s weather also required festival volunteers to shut down the few rides that were there.

The rides were never the biggest draw, anyways, as many of the people who braved the weather in 2011 came out to see the bands.

“The bands were wonderful. People came out to see them and I think this year’s band lineup is a lot stronger than last year,” Shrout said. “The Beatles tribute band, BritBeat, is the most awesome band. They were here last year and we got them back. Overall, the whole band lineup is phenomenal.

“I truly think it will be a great event.”

This year, any proceeds leftover from the festival will benefit the Cheering for Charity Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and raising funds to support and educate the thousands of families living with Alzheimer’s.

The festival will take place from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 28 and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Music and Food Festival, Square at Union Centre, the Square at Union Centre, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival

Union Centre Music and Food Festival puts down fall roots

WestChesterBuzz.com will count down the area’s top 11 stories of 2011 this month, concluding with West Chester’s most discussed topic of the year Dec. 30.

After seven years of successful growth, West Chester Township’s signature summertime festival at the Square at Union Centre was reconfigured in 2011 by the Union Centre Merchants Association and pushed back to the fall.

The Union Centre Boulevard Blast took place Oct. 14-15, 2011, under its new name – the Union Centre Music and Food Festival.

Like the summer version, this new fall festival featured free admission and numerous bands.

Evolving itself from the Blast, the Merchants Association decided to do away with amusement rides and games, made the event a day shorter and featured a smaller and more localized group of food vendors.

• 2010 Union Centre Blast photos from MetroMix
• 2010 Union Centre Blast photos from WestChesterBuzz.com

“We decided that we were going to downscale it this year … and then start back up with the three-day event next year,” Union Centre Boulevard Merchants Association President Pam Shrout said.

“We just felt that we had to put something out because so many people look forward to this event every year. We decided to make it smaller and will try to use a learning curve to grow it next year.”

The Merchants Association’s vice president, Michael Klaber, said that the association wants to create a “new foundation to build upon” and learn from last year’s mistakes.

Hague Atkinson, who was hired to promote last year’s event, estimated that 35,000 people would attend the Blast and within three years the event “could grow into one of the largest festivals in the state of Ohio.”

“I think the mindset there was that he wanted to make it as big as possible, which really wasn’t what we wanted in the first place,” said Klaber. “We wanted to be featuring our local area, so I think there might have been a little bit of a disconnect there.”

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: Music and Food Festival, Square at Union Centre, the Square at Union Centre, the Swimsuit Models, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival, West Chester top 11 stories of 2011, West Chester top stories of 2011

The third annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will take place this Saturday, Oct. 29. The crawl will begin at 2 p.m. at the UNO Chicago Grill and will move to other participating restaurants that include El Rancho Grande, Asiatique, The Wise Owl Wine Bar, Stone Creek Dining Company, Jag’s Steak and Seafood and the Dingle House.

Those interested can pre-register for the crawl by giving a $30 donation in advance. Registration at the door can be done for a $35 donation.

Parking will be available at the old Max and Erma’s building next to UNO, which is located at 9246 Schulze Drive in West Chester. After checking in at UNO, crawl participants will be walking (dress appropriately) to all of the other nearby restaurants.

Crawl participants will receive a complimentary t-shirt and happy hour specials at each restaurant. There will also be raffles and games during the crawl.

With it being Halloween weekend, there will also be a costume contest. The winner will be announced at the last location (Dingle House) and will be awarded a gift certificate from each restaurant.

Tickets can be purchased at unioncentrecrawl.eventbrite.com.

For more information please email Lindsay Wiseman at lmdwiseman@gmail.com.

(photo taken during the first annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl – click to enlarge)

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Asiatique, Asiatique Bistro and Lounge, business, business news, charity, Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, dingle house, Dingle House Irish Pub, El Rancho Grande, Jag's, Jag's Steak & Seafood, Stone Creek, Stone Creek Dining Company, The Wise Owl, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchants Association, Union Centre Restaurant Crawl, UNO, Uno Chicago Grill, Uno's Chicago Grill, West Chester restaurants, Wise Owl, Wise Owl Wine Bar

The first annual Union Centre Music and Food Festival took place over the weekend, Oct. 14-15. The event, known last year as the Union Centre Boulevard Blast, was expected to draw between 15,000 to 20,000 people.

Evolving itself from the Blast, the Union Centre Merchants Association decided to do away with amusement rides and games, make the event a day shorter and feature a smaller and more localized group of food vendors.

Cincinnati Enquirer photographer Tony Jones attended the event on Saturday afternoon.

>>>PHOTOS OF THE UNION CENTRE MUSIC AND FOOD FESTIVAL<<<

There are also many other great moments captured on our Flickr photostream. And more West Chester and Liberty Township related photo galleries on our Photos page.

Also, remember to share your photos through the Photos page.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: festival, food, music, Music and Food Festival, photo gallery, photos, Square at Union Centre, the Square at Union Centre, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival, West Chester photos

The first annual Union Centre Music and Food Festival will kickoff Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight. The event, known last year as the Union Centre Boulevard Blast, is expected to draw between 15,000 to 20,000 people.

The festival will also take place from noon to midnight Saturday. Alcohol will not be served past 11 p.m. on either night.

Union Centre Music and Food Festival entertainment schedule

Friday

5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Rumpke Mountain Boys

8 p.m. to 11 p.m. – DV8

Saturday

Noon to 5 p.m. – Car cruise-in show

Noon to 1 p.m. – Anada

1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Tropicoso, salsa lessons

4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Local firemen’s chili competition sponsored by Firehouse Subs

4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. – The Swimsuit Models

7 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Wing-eating contest sponsored by Willie’s Sports Café

8 p.m. to 11 p.m. – Britbeat, Beatles tribute band

Under the names of Union Centre Boulevard Blast and, before that the Union Centre Boulevard Bash, the event took place in August. Due to unpredictable weather, the Union Centre Boulevard Merchants Association decided to push the event, which was entering its eighth year, back to the fall.

Last year, the heat index was greater than 100 on all three days of the event. This year, the National Weather Service is predicting highs in the mid-60s and lows in the mid-40s on the event’s two days. It also appears that it remain dry.

Admission is free, but parking is $5 which supports Lakota After Prom. People are also being asked to bring canned goods for Reach Out Lakota.

For more information about the event and why it was moved, visit WestChesterBuzz.com story “Union Centre Music and Food Festival puts down fall roots.”

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Britbeat, DV8, festival, food, music, Music and Food Festival, photo gallery, photos, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Square at Union Centre, Swimsuit Models, the Square at Union Centre, the Swimsuit Models, Tropicoso, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival

After seven years of successful growth, West Chester Township’s signature summertime festival at the Square at Union Centre has been reconfigured by the Union Centre Merchants Association and pushed back to the fall.

The Union Centre Boulevard Blast will take place this Friday and Saturday under a new name – the Union Centre Music and Food Festival.

Like the summer version, this new fall festival will feature free admission and numerous bands.

Evolving itself from the Blast, the Merchants Association has decided to do away with amusement rides and games, make the event a day shorter and feature a smaller and more localized group of food vendors.

“We decided that we were going to downscale it this year … and then start back up with the three-day event next year,” Union Centre Boulevard Merchants Association President Pam Shrout said.

“We just felt that we had to put something out because so many people look forward to this event every year. We decided to make it smaller and will try to use a learning curve to grow it next year.”

>>>2010 UNION CENTRE BLAST PHOTOS FROM METROMIX<<<<

The Merchants Association’s vice president, Michael Klaber, said that the association wants to create a “new foundation to build upon” and learn from last year’s mistakes.

Hague Atkinson, who was hired to promote last year’s event, estimated that 35,000 people would attend the Blast and within three years the event “could grow into one of the largest festivals in the state of Ohio.”

>>>2010 UNION CENTRE BLAST PHOTOS FROM WESTCHESTERBUZZ<<<

“I think the mindset there was that he wanted to make it as big as possible, which really wasn’t what we wanted in the first place,” said Klaber, who expects this year’s event to draw somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000 people. “We wanted to be featuring our local area, so I think there might have been a little bit of a disconnect there.”

This year’s event will feature 10-to-12 local food vendors, which will include Firehouse Subs, Bravo!, Asiatique Bistro and Lounge, Stone Creek Dining Company, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Raymond’s Pizza.

Performing at this year’s festival will be the Rumpke Mountain Boys (5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday) and DV8 (8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday), Anada (noon to 1 p.m. Saturday), salsa band Tropicoso (1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday), the Swimsuit Models (4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday) and The Beatles tribute band Britbeat (8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday) will take the stage.

Other unique attractions taking place Saturday include a chili cookoff sponsored by Firehouse Subs (4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) between the fire houses in West Chester and Liberty townships, a wing-eating contest (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.) sponsored by Willie’s Sports Café, art booths (11 a.m. until dark) and a free car show cruise-in (Noon to 5 p.m.).

Festival-goers are encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to Reach Out Lakota. Parking will be offered for $5 around the Square at Union Centre, with proceeds benefiting the Lakota After-Prom.

The festival will take place from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and from noon to midnight Saturday. Alcohol will not be served after 11 p.m. on both nights.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Britbeat, DV8, festival, food, music, Music and Food Festival, photo gallery, photos, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Square at Union Centre, Swimsuit Models, the Square at Union Centre, the Swimsuit Models, Tropicoso, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival

In August 2010, thousands of people sweated through the Union Centre Boulevard Blast. This year’s event, also formerly known as the Union Centre Boulevard Bash, is scheduled to take place Oct. 14-15 at the Square at Union Centre under its new name – the Union Centre Music and Food Festival.

Last summer, the Blast was expected to draw upwards to 35,000 people. However, extreme heat (heat index was more than 100 degrees on all three days of the festival) kept many people from attending during the afternoon hours.

>>>2010 UNION CENTRE BLAST PHOTOS FROM METROMIX<<<<

“It was so hot,” said Jillian Kelley, event co-chair and volunteer. “We had extremely bad weather that weekend (Aug. 13-15), so this year we wanted to make it more enjoyable and that is why we chose Oct. 14th and 15th.”

Separating itself from the Blast and other festivals, the new Union Centre Music and Food Festival will eliminate all of the amusement rides and games that are common place at summer festivals and fairs in West Chester and in the Greater Cincinnati area. Instead of the games, the Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association has decided to focus on two of the more popular items at last year’s Blast – the food and the music.

>>>2010 UNION CENTRE BLAST PHOTOS FROM WESTCHESTERBUZZ<<<

It is not currently known, but the new fall festival is expected to host 30-to-50 food vendors in 2011.

Festival organizers also have many of the bands already lined up for the event. Performing Oct. 14 will be the Rumpke Mountain Boys and DV8 (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.). On Oct. 15, the salsa band Tropicoso (1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.), the Swimsuit Models (4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and The Beatles tribute band Britbeat (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) will take the stage.

This year’s event will take place from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oct 14 and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 15.

For more information about the event or to become a sponsor, email Kelley at jilliankelley@hotmail.com or visit the Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association website.

Posted in: Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Britbeat, DV8, festival, food, music, Music and Food Festival, photo gallery, photos, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Square at Union Centre, Swimsuit Models, the Square at Union Centre, the Swimsuit Models, Tropicoso, Union Centre Boulevard Bash, Union Centre Boulevard Blast, Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Music and Food Festival