Editing Columbus, Ohio (section)

==Parks and attractions==
{{see also|List of parks in Columbus, Ohio|l1=City parks in Columbus|Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks}}
[[File:McFerson Commons 01.jpg|thumb|Located in the [[Arena District]], [[McFerson Commons]] is home to the [[Union Station arch]].]]
[[File:Scioto Mile 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Scioto Mile]] includes nine parks along both banks of the [[Scioto River]] between [[Downtown Columbus, Ohio|downtown Columbus]] and [[Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio|Franklinton]].]]
[[File:Scioto Audubon 03.jpg|thumb|[[National Audubon Society|Audubon]] nature center at [[Scioto Audubon Metro Park]], the first built close to a major city's downtown]]

Columbus's [[Columbus Recreation and Parks Department|Recreation and Parks Department]] oversees about 370 city parks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/columbusrecparks/docs/crpd_2019_fall_guide_web|title=Columbus Recreation and Parks Guide &#124; Fall 2019|website=Issuu|date=September 9, 2019|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728180157/https://issuu.com/columbusrecparks/docs/crpd_2019_fall_guide_web|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in the area are 19 [[regional park]]s and the [[Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks|Metro Parks]], which are part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District.

These parks include Clintonville's Whetstone Park and the [[Columbus Park of Roses]], a {{convert|13|acre|ha|adj=on}} rose garden. The [[Chadwick Arboretum]] on Ohio State's campus features a large and varied collection of plants, while its [[Olentangy River Wetland Research Park]] is an experimental wetland open to the public. Downtown, the painting ''[[A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte]]'' is represented in [[topiary]] at Columbus's [[Topiary Park]]. Also near downtown, the [[Scioto Audubon Metro Park]] on the Whittier Peninsula opened in 2009 and includes a large Audubon nature center focused on the [[birdwatching]] the area is known for.<ref>{{cite news| last =Gebolys| first =Debbie| title =Grange donating $4 million| pages =Business 01G| newspaper =The Columbus Dispatch| date =November 16, 2006}}</ref>

The [[Columbus Zoo and Aquarium]]'s collections include lowland gorillas, polar bears, manatees, Siberian tigers, cheetahs and kangaroos.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/5-largest-zoos-america/|title=5 Largest Zoos In The United States|date=May 6, 2016|access-date=November 10, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110225638/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/5-largest-zoos-america/|archive-date=November 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in the zoo complex is the [[Zoombezi Bay]] water park and amusement park.

===Fairs and festivals===
[[File:Ohio State Fair Picture 1.JPG|thumb|The [[Ohio State Fair]] is held in late July to early August.]]
Annual festivities in Columbus include the [[Ohio State Fair]] – one of the largest state fairs in the country – as well as the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz & Rib Fest, both of which occur on the downtown riverfront.

In mid-May from 2007 to 2018, Columbus was home to Rock on the Range, which was held at [[Historic Crew Stadium]] and marketed as America's biggest rock festival. The festival, which took place on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, has hosted Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot and other notable bands. In May 2019, it was officially replaced by the [[Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=info |url=https://www.thelantern.com/2018/11/first-ever-sonic-temple-art-music-festival-to-replace-rock-on-the-range/#:~:text=Sonic%20Temple%20Art%20%2B%20Music%20Festival%2C%20Columbus'%20newest%20concert%20and,at%20MAPFRE%20Stadium%20in%20May. |access-date=July 26, 2020 |website=thelantern.com |date=November 27, 2018 |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704013659/https://www.thelantern.com/2018/11/first-ever-sonic-temple-art-music-festival-to-replace-rock-on-the-range/#:~:text=Sonic%20Temple%20Art%20%2B%20Music%20Festival%2C%20Columbus'%20newest%20concert%20and,at%20MAPFRE%20Stadium%20in%20May. |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the first weekend in June, the bars of Columbus's North Market District host the Park Street Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors to a massive party in bars and on the street. June's second-to-last weekend sees one of the Midwest's largest [[Pride parade|gay pride parades]], [[Columbus Pride]], reflecting the city's sizable gay population. During the last weekend of June, [[Goodale Park]] hosts [[ComFest]] (short for "Community Festival"), an immense three-day music festival marketed as the largest non-commercial festival in the U.S., with art vendors, live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, [[body painting]] and beer.

The city's largest dining event, Restaurant Week Columbus, is held twice a year in mid-January and mid-July. In 2010, more than 40,000 diners went to 40 participating restaurants, and $5,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=5000|start_year=2010}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) was donated the Mid-Ohio Foodbank on behalf of sponsors and participating restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 9, 2022|title=Restaurant Week January 2023|url=https://614now.com/restaurant-week-jan-2023|access-date=December 26, 2022|website=614NOW|language=en-US|archive-date=December 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226181135/https://614now.com/restaurant-week-jan-2023|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Around the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]], Columbus hosts Red, White & Boom! on the Scioto riverfront downtown, attracting crowds of over 500,000 people and featuring the largest fireworks display in Ohio.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Budzak |first=Gary |title=Revelry is plentiful not too far away |newspaper=Columbus Dispatch |date=May 29, 2005 |url=http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2005/05/29/20050529-H5-00.html |access-date=May 2, 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[The Short North]] is host to the monthly Gallery Hop, which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and [[Street performance|street musicians]]. The Hilltop Bean Dinner is an annual event held on Columbus's West Side that celebrates the city's Civil War heritage near the historic Camp Chase Cemetery. At the end of September, [[German Village]] throws an annual [[Oktoberfest celebrations|Oktoberfest]] celebration that features German food, beer, music and crafts.

Columbus also hosts many conventions in the [[Greater Columbus Convention Center]], a large convention center on the north edge of downtown. Completed in 1993, the {{convert|1.8|e6sqft|m2|adj=on}} convention center was designed by architect [[Peter Eisenman]], who also designed the Wexner Center.<ref>{{cite web|last=Robison |first=Elwin |title=Eisenman's chip-board fantasy: The Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio |year=1994 |url=http://architronic.saed.kent.edu/v3n1/v3n1.05.html |access-date=September 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926210823/http://architronic.saed.kent.edu/v3n1/v3n1.05.html |archive-date=September 26, 2007  }}</ref>

===Shopping===
Both of the metropolitan area's major shopping centers are located in Columbus: [[Easton Town Center]] and [[Polaris Fashion Place]].

Developer [[Richard E. Jacobs]] built the area's first three major shopping malls in the 1960s: [[Westland Mall (Columbus, Ohio)|Westland]], [[Northland Mall|Northland]] and [[Eastland Mall (Columbus, Ohio)|Eastland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2003/03/03/story2.html?page=all|title=New owners poised to revive Westland|last=Showalter|first=Kathy|date=March 3, 2003|work=Columbus Business First|access-date=April 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214222948/http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2003/03/03/story2.html?page=all|archive-date=December 14, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Near Northland Mall was The Continent, an open-air mall in the [[Northland (Columbus, Ohio)|Northland]] area, mostly vacant and pending redevelopment. [[Columbus City Center]] was built downtown in 1988, alongside the first location of [[Lazarus (department store)|Lazarus]]; this mall closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2011. [[Easton Town Center]] was built in 1999 and [[Polaris Fashion Place]] in 2001.