SIDNEY — For those who love to be outdoors, Spring and early Summer in Ohio offer many terrific options. Later this month, how about Alumapalooza? Alumapa-what you ask? Alumapalooza is a family-friendly festival for people who love Airstream travel trailers. For any or all of six days and five nights, participants camp in a field right next to the Airstream manufacturing facility. A wide variety of seminars and fun presentations are offered throughout the week plus additional things like live music, yoga, trailer open houses, cooking demonstrations, a barbeque, and the not to be missed factory tours. In fact, the Airstream factory tour has been acclaimed by FoxNews.com as one of the top ten factory tours in the U.S.
A new addition to Alumapalooza this year is the first ever Airstream Fine Art Invitational where forty living legends from coast to coast will show their work May 31 through June 4. National and international award winning watercolor landscapes will be exhibited. For art fans, this show is not to be missed.
Alumapalooza is open to Airstream owners and non-owners alike. Also concurrent with Alumapalooza, the Village of Jackson Center, which is home to Airstream, is hosting Community Days, a local festival featuring live music, beer tent, great food, and amusement rides for the kids.
And speaking of community festivals, others in the area during the month of May and June include the Anna Homecoming, Botkins Carousel, Holy Angels Parrish Picnic, and Downtown Sidney’s Kids Around the Square. Each offers their own unique variety of family friendly entertainment, live music, delicious food, and lots of fun.
Coming to the Shelby County Fairgrounds in May is the Buckeye Farm Antiques Show. Cockshutt tractors and equipment are the featured attractions this year, but many other brands will be on display as well. Special activities not to me missed at the show include: Threshing & Corn Shredding, Craft & Flea Market, Primitive Crafts, Quilt Show, Parts Area, Blacksmith, Sawmill, Shingle Mill, and lots of Free Entertainment. Also featured are a Pick-up & Semi Truck Pull, Antique Tractor Pull, and Division II Tractor Pull. A Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Show will be presented on Sunday.
Have you ever been to Lake Loramie State Park? If not, you’re missing out on enjoying one of Ohio’s premier natural resources. The 1,600 acre lake with 30 miles of shoreline is one of the original canal feeder lakes for the Miami-Erie Canal and offers visitors a quiet retreat in rural Ohio. Swim from a sandy beach, hike along the old canal towpath, wet a line from the lakeshore or a rented boat, spend a night in a shaded campsite or cabin to totally unwind in the great outdoors.
Opening May 28 and continuing every Saturday through mid-October is the Great Sidney Farmers Market. The market is “the place to be” where crafters offer a large variety of homemade items and farmers bring their freshest produce to tantalize your taste buds. Fresh baked goods along with homemade jams and jellies are always a crowd pleaser. Plants and flowers are abundant and ready for you to take home. Come on down to the square. The market opens at 8 a.m. and typically winds down around Noon.
After a quick bite to eat at one of Sidney’s variety of restaurants, an afternoon at Tawawa Park will more than round out your days adventure. Swimming, hiking, biking, and fishing are only a few of the many outdoor adventures that await you at this premier municipal park. While there, you’ll have to check out the water park too. The slide is awesome.
One more thing… Country music fans will not want to miss this year’s three day music festival at Country Concert in early July. Headliners include Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, and Brantley Gilbert. Other well-known artists scheduled to appear are Big & Rich, Dustin Lynch, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Old Dominion, Kacey Musgraves, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many more. Twenty-four performers on two big stages are sure to put Country Concert at the top of your to-do list this summer.
For every recreation and leisure interest, the possibilities are plentiful. Additional information about these and the many fine attractions in west central Ohio can be found on the web site of the Sidney Visitors Bureau at www.VisitSidneyShelby.com. A quick review of the web calendar there will entice you with an incredible array of things to do. Sidney, Ohio… We’re waiting for you.
