Short North Gallery Hop

I am absolutely shocked that the SN Gallery Hop hasn't been reviewed in 3+ years! While this year they obviously had to pivot and go virtual, this art hop is just one of the many things that makes this neighborhood so special. I'm currently really missing the hustle and bustle on High St. that occurs on this first Saturday of the month celebration. Between musicians busking on the street to the art galleries opening their doors and the creative works that come out of the artists in our beautiful city, it's pure magic. A lot of the bars and restaurants will also have specials and fun promotions going on. It's my favorite to simply walk up and down the sidewalk, admiring the fun. I used to have a studio and participate in an art walk in my hometown of Zanesville and I really miss being on the artist side of things. That being said, I'm glad Columbus celebrates art all year around. I can't wait until the in-real-life hops start up again. I can only imagine the artwork that came out of the year that was 2020.

Personally, come spring/summer/early fall is my favorite time to journey out for Gallery Hop. Held in the Short North district of downtown Columbus, the first Saturday of every month is always a fun evening. Galleries are open later. Local musicians playing on the streets; better-known acts at the local bars and eateries. Perfect time to stop and shop; grab a table on the patio and people watch, or just get outside for some fresh air!Negative: Parking! You're hard pressed to find a metered spot along High St. I suggest looking on side streets. Another option is the CBUS that continuously circles from the Brewery District up to 3rd Ave. You're able to park in German Village, catch the bus up to ShoNo, all for free! Of course, there's the growing-in-numbers public parking garages, too (caution: these are not free!).

Another month, another Gallery Hop! I'm beginning to think that I had fallen victim to a bad case of 'local syndrome' in regard to the Gallery Hop. You know, that feeling of been there, done that, over it, ugh. But this time, a group of us made our way from a Kentucky Derby party down to the Gallery hop with a friend who had never been before. It was refreshing to see the Hop through the eyes of a newbie! And it definitely sparked my enthusiasm in the event again!We got down there fairly late (and so full of food and alcohol from the party) so we didn't stay long - just long enough to walk from the Cap to the White Castle, cross over, and walk back, all whilst stopping at a few shops and galleries. Its definitely much more fun in the warmer weather and I'm so glad that Columbus has decided to come out hibernation! Even though we didn't have a whole night of things planned, it was a fun outing. I prefer to make an evening of it. Getting dinner (pick a restaurant, any restaurant, they are all fun), doing a little shopping (window shopping most of the time!), after dinner coffee at Impero (http://www.yelp.com/biz/impero-coffee-roasters-columbus), *drool* any and all flavors at Jeni's *drool* (http://www.yelp.com/biz/jenis-ice-creams-columbus-2), and then a bit of alcoholic libation. I've never had any trouble finding parking since I realized I could park over at Goodale Park and walk. You gotta burn off that ice cream you know...

Gallery Hop is so much fun - it really sums up the flavor that Columbus has to offer. If you haven't tried it, you should, because you might be surprised to find that Columbus can actually be that cool. And it's something that's totally unique to this city.Gallery Hop is essentially just arts galleries and bars and restaurants along High Street opening their doors so you can pass through if you wish - it's not really anything that you can't do any other night of the week. Sure, there's sometimes special events going on and CD101 is usually set up somewhere, but Gallery Hop is about getting out and enjoying what Columbus' local businesses have to offer. It was a great idea and a great way to help keep these small businesses alive, because people who might never otherwise check out any of these small art galleries or clothing stores now are.What I like about Gallery Hop is the people. It's pretty crowded, but I live right by the Short North, so it's great to see so many different kinds of people out there all enjoying themselves together. You'll find everything from homeless people out there having a good time, to the wealthy people who can actually afford to buy the art in the galleries. And somehow it all works.Gallery Hop is really what you make it. You can personalize it to be the kind of experience you want it to be. You can just hit the art galleries, or just go bar hopping, go out to eat and hang out in one of the restaurants and watch the people walk by, or what I usually do is just walk the length of Gallery Hop and just see where it takes me.Another cool thing is that street performers will play here and there and you wonder where all these people came from. All of the sudden, on the first Saturday of every month, Columbus comes alive with such a vast array of culture. It's really quite exciting.Gallery Hop is free and it's something for couples, friends, families, or you could even go it alone. Just end up in the Short North on the first Saturday of the month and you're there. I'm lucky because I live so close that I can just walk, but driving around during the event isn't easy. There's a lot of traffic and parking is an issue. I think that most people have to end up parking on a side street and then walking to get to High St.It's great in the summertime and warm weather because since it's so comfortable outside, you really feel like you can enjoy yourself. But unfortunately, everyone else has the same idea you do, so good luck getting a patio seat anywhere in the Short North during Gallery Hop. The wintertime can always be fun. Around Christmas there's all kinds of pretty lights and decorations and trees, but it gets so cold that the galleries and bars all get really crowded because people just want to get warm. But random people will start fires in big trash bins and I remember one time, while Gallery Hopping with some friends in December, we stopped to roast marshmallows with some friendly people in a (safe) contained fire they had started. Certainly not what I thought I'd be doing on a Saturday night, but that's the beauty of Gallery Hop: it's all randomness and spontaneity.Gallery Hop happens every month, rain or shine. The galleries and shops all close around 10, but the restaurants and bars stay open much later, so you could make a whole night out of it if you wanted to. It's a really fun experience, but be prepared for a parking nightmare, lots of walking, and long waits and crowds. And be sure to bundle up if it's cold!

A+ for people watching, a fun atmosphere, and free entertainment! Sure, it's called the Gallery Hop, but it's really more of a complete experience, with the myriad of shops and restaurants all open late. Musicians and vendors line the sidewalks, adding more arts, crafts, and jewelry for the viewing. The Gallery Hop takes place the first Saturday of each month, but thanks to the changing exhibits and different special activities, it is constantly reinventing itself. Ultimately, however, the hop is whatever you want it to be. Stroll around and glance in windows, and pop in wherever something catches your eye. Grab a bite to eat or stop for a drink. My must-stop is always the Global Gallery to check out the newest fair trade goodies.Parking can be a pain, so carpools and comfy walking shoes can be helpful.

So before you make all kinds of snide or rude or condescending or cynical or wannabe ironic or quizzical remarks about this review, and before you begin comparing the Gallery Hop to countless other similar events in other places with more reputable or interesting galleries, let me just say that even in Columbus, Ohio, there are cool people with cool ideas. You may not believe that, but it's true.When my brother lived in the Short North--which, in case you're keeping score at home, is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio; this was also a couple of years before I lived in the Near West Side, which is a neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio; my brother and I moved to Ohio at two different times for two different reasons, and we never lived in the state at the same time; go figure--it was 1996. Mind you, this was before farmers markets and block parties and temporary pedestrian-only zones were becoming faddish all over the country. And yet every month, they had this thing called Gallery Hop in which people walked around and basically had fun in the neighborhood.Again, I know this isn't terribly unique now, but I think it was at the time, especially in Central Ohio.Here's the story for which you've all been waiting: My brother is basically the only nonprofessional who cuts my hair, so when he lived in Ohio, I didn't get too many haircuts. Needless to say, one of my mom's only requests for my trip to visit my brother was that I was to come back with my hair cut. So right before we were going to check out the Gallery Hop, my brother began cutting my hair. At the time, he normally used a combination of scissors and an electric clipper, and he had recently bought a new cordless clipper. The problem was that the battery either wasn't fully charged or didn't hold a charge very well. So halfway through my haircut, the clipper died. He didn't have the plug-in kind with him, and there was no way to charge the battery in time, so he suggested we check out the Gallery Hop while waiting for the battery to charge.Since it was my brother who was cutting my hair, I trusted that he had done a decent enough job for me to be seen in public. But as we were walking around on High Street amid more people than I knew lived in Columbus, I noticed that there were hair clippings on my collar. I brushed them off, only to notice that there were hair clippings on my face and in my ears as well. I tried to object to my brother, but it was really loud, and he said I looked fine.When we got back to his apartment, I didn't even look in the mirror because I didn't want to know how embarrassed I should have been. He finished the haircut, and we went out again.It's pretty cool. I'm not into all the galleries, but there is a nice sense of non-froufrou community, and that's refreshing. And the good people of Ohio, at least those who attended Gallery Hops in the mid-'90s, aren't so shallow that they would publicly humiliate a person walking around with a partial haircut and hair clippings all over himself. Thank you, Ohio.

Note the progressive worsening of my reviews:Goodbye Urban Gardner and Byzantium. Goodbye to the underground amateur gallery. Goodbye OAL. Goodbye, now, to Kathryn.Hello average to sub-par "theme" restaurants. Hello activists and mediocre musicians. Hello bad facial, worse mini-skirts, and horrible cologne.

Sorry, but I wasn't impressed. No parking, a crapload of people in every single store, and not that many galleries. I walked around with a group of my friends, and we ended up dropping by 4-5 galleries before barhopping to Bodega and Surly Girl.

People say there's no parking during the Gallery Hop. That's true. And they say there's too many drunk college kids and not enough art; that's true too. But nobody says the Gallery Hop isn't FUN. Because it's amazing.It is one of those things that makes you happy that you live in Columbus. I've never experienced anything like it in any other city. It's a night out with 10,000 of your closest friends and neighbors strolling around under the guise of browsing art. It's just about perfect.And yeah, if you're lucky, you might find a cool piece of art or two, but you can go to the galleries anytime to do that. The Gallery Hop is about the Event itself; it's about our community. It's a county fair with culture, and that's why it is worth going, whether you know who Matthew Barney is or not.

The best part of the 1st Saturday Gallery Hops isn't the shops, you can visit those any time, it's the general activity and atmosphere when you pack that much into High St.Walking the sidewalks and seeing all the street performers is a blast. From small bands, to impromptu break dancing, chalk and graffiti artists, it's a great time.While plenty of parents do come with their kids, please make sure you're prepared to keep them close by. There are just so many people that it's difficult to navigate with a stroller and hold on to hands.