🍴Columbus Favorite Named A 2026 James Beard Semifinalist

Plus: 🍻 These Free Winter Events Combine Ohio State Parks, Trivia, and Local Beer

Author

Chelsea Wiley
January 22, 2026

Sponsored by the Greater Columbus Arts Council 🖼️
Explore Columbus through a new lens by checking out the arts-focused event calendar from Art Makes Columbus. Discover the events that bring our community together and experience art made authentically. For more info, head over to columbusmakesart.com.

Hello, Thursday! Chelsea, here.

Food people get very serious this time of year, and for good reason. The James Beard Awards are basically the Oscars of the restaurant world, spotlighting the chefs and bakeries setting the bar nationwide. Making that list is a big deal, especially for cities outside the usual food capitals. This year, Columbus is back in the mix with a local spot earning national recognition for the second year in a row.

🍻 These Free Winter Events Combine Ohio State Parks, Trivia, and Local Beer
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, winter doesn’t have to mean staying inside. Luckily, I’m not the only one who believes that! Nocterra Brewing and the Ohio State Parks Foundation are hosting cozy, free events that mix beer, trivia, and Ohio nature all season long.

❄️ After Four Decades, People Are Still Talking About The Blizzard of 1978
The Blizzard of 1978 has an almost mythic quality to it. The storm shut down cities, trapped thousands, and left a story that many Ohioans still talk about decades later. With a weekend of big winter weather on the horizon, I wonder if people will end up talking about this snowstorm for decades to come too!

Headlines 📰 

🥶 This weekend is shaping up to be the coldest we’ve seen all season, with near-zero temps and a chance of snow moving in. Forecast models are still sorting out how much we’ll actually get, but it’s definitely a bundle-up-and-keep-an-eye-on-the-weather kind of weekend. (NBC4)

👏 Columbus libraries are doing a lot more than lending books these days. New programs are helping teens and young adults connect with jobs, skills, and support, turning libraries into places where young people can find their footing and figure out what’s next. (Axios Columbus)

🧣 As temperatures drop, a local nonprofit is taking help directly to people experiencing homelessness instead of waiting for them to come indoors. Mission Warmth is sending volunteers and a converted bus out to camps across central Ohio to deliver coats, boots, and other cold-weather essentials. (10TV)

🌤️ Weather: 32 and mostly sunny

Coming Up This Week 📆

Coming Up This Month 📆

🖼️ The Best Things To Do This January In Columbus
January doesn’t slow Columbus down. From hockey games and big-name comedy to ice sculptures, winter hikes, and late-night museum events, this month is packed with reasons to get out and do something, even when it’s cold.

Today's Photo 🤳

Instagram Post

😍 The orchids are back at Franklin Park Conservatory! This exhibit is one of my favorite ways to escape winter. It opens this weekend and runs through March 15.

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- Chelsea