OxfordPress.com

Best Festival

Pick a theme, and there's a festival to celebrate it. The Greek Festival, on the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church, pulls us in with free admission, group dancing and baklava; the Celtic Festival is likewise free and free-wheeling over at RiverScape; the Dayton Art Institute's annual Oktoberfest is yet another not-to-be-missed event, though there's a cover charge. We've never minded paying our way for the good of art.
1. Greek Festival
2. Celtic Festival
3. Oktoberfest at the DAI

Back to top

Best County Fair

There is definitely something special about the Darke County Fair, with its country roots and Annie Oakley sensibility. Montgomery and Greene are good because lots of us live there, and it's always good to see the local 4-H kids show a sow or two.
1. Darke
2. Montgomery
3. Greene

Back to top

Best Bowling Alley

What makes a bowling alley great? It can't be too new; its carpet must be disgusting; it must have a grill that has nachos on tap; it must have the lovely smell of feet and beer — that's what we love about bowling alleys. Now if only we could break 100.
1. Poelking Lanes
2. Beaver-Vu
3. Capri Lanes

Back to top

Best Golf Course

Depends on the weather, your foursome, your spouse's mood when you left for four-plus hours of a good walk spoiled. We've got it pretty good around here, weather permitting, and since Pebble Beach was out of the running, we make the most of what we've got, which isn't too shabby.
1. Yankee Trace
2. NCR
3. Heatherwoode

Back to top

Best Place For A Romantic Dinner

After last season's Nip/Tuck, it's hard to consider anything called Carver's the least bit romantic. But it is, and so are the other two — get yourself a cozy little corner and bring your own companion. Even full-service restaurants draw the line somewhere.
1. Wellington Grille
2. Carver's
3. Blue Moon

Back to top

Best Place For Stargazing

Give us a sky and a pair of eyes, and we're happy. This is one case in which staying home has its rewards, though it never hurts to see the world from another angle. Note to novice stargazers: At RiverScape, don't get fooled by the laser shows.
1. "My back yard"
2. RiverScape
3. Caesars Creek

Back to top

Best One-tank Weekend Getaway

Depends on your tank, but heading out of town is sometimes a sanity saver. Go for the shopping, stay for the zoo, or the sports, or the chance to say you were "out of town." Makes you sound mysterious.
1. Cincinnati
2. Indianapolis
3. Columbus

Back to top

Best One-hour Bike Ride

Around here, that's like asking where the best ragweed grows: Like bike paths, ragweed's everywhere. The difference is that we love our bike paths and could easily live without our ragweed, but we've learned to take the good with the bad.
1. Yellow Springs
2. Xenia Bike Path
3. River Corridor

Back to top

Best One-hour Bike Ride

Anyplace without gravel is good with us, though some places are more hospitable than others. At SkateWorld, there's no fear of bicycle interference, but there's that issue of limited scenery. Whatever.
1. Yellow Springs
2. SkateWorld
3. "Bike Path"

Back to top

Best Place to People-watch

We love Tipp City as much as the next guy, but as a place to watch people, we don't know how it beat out New Carlisle. Or Miamisburg, for that matter.
1. RiverScape
2. Malls
3. Tipp City

Back to top

Best Place to Take the Kids

Stuff to touch, stuff to eat, stuff to ride, things to buy — what's not to like? If there weren't good places to take the kids, we'd have to stay home with them. And nobody wants that.
1. Boonshoft Museum
2. Young's Dairy
3. Kings Island

Back to top

Best Place to Avoid the Kids

And why would you want to do that? Children are our future, our light, our hope, our — oh forget it. Know this: They want respite from us just as much as we need to get away from them.
1. The Wellington Grille
2. "A Bar"
3. Oregon District

Back to top