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- 🎅 Lazarus' Santaland Was The Most Magical Christmas Destination In Columbus
🎅 Lazarus' Santaland Was The Most Magical Christmas Destination In Columbus
Plus: ☃️ It's Wintergarden time at Land-Grant
Chelsea Wiley
November 17, 2025
In partnership with
Sponsored by Columbus Recreation and Parks ⛄️
❄️ Kick off the holiday season at WinterFest Columbus! Head to Bicentennial Park on Dec. 6 for a day of live music, seasonal craft beers, and bites from some of the city’s favorite food trucks. Presented by Columbus Recreation and Parks, this free downtown festival is the perfect way to celebrate winter on the Scioto Mile. For more info, head over to winterfestcolumbus.com
Hello, Monday! Chelsea here.
It’s that time of year things start to feel a little extra cozy and a lot sentimental. As the city flips the switch to holiday mode, our minds can’t help drifting back to the places that shaped the season for so many of us. And if you grew up here, you already know exactly where that memory reel starts. Before the Black Friday deals, before online shopping, before “add to cart” became a reflex, there was one downtown destination that made the holidays feel downright magical: Lazarus.
Navigator Feature Story: 🎅 Lazarus' Santaland Was The Most Magical Christmas Destination In Columbus
🍻 Land-Grant's Wintergarden Offers Ice Bumper Cars, Igloos, And Brewery Curling
Cozy igloos, brewery curling, and ice bumper cars, oh my! Land-Grant’s Wintergarden is turning cold nights into Columbus’s coolest winter hangout. It’s become an annual tradition in the city and rightfully so, because it’s a fantastic use of your freewill (and it’s actually a blast).
Headlines 📰
🏈 As the chase for Ohio’s high school football crowns hits the home stretch, the OHSAA has locked in this Friday’s regional finals at neutral-site stadiums across the state. With semifinals next week and championships set for Dec. 4–6 in Canton, the season’s biggest stage is finally in sight. (NBC4)
🏃 Clintonville’s newest stretch of the Olentangy Trail is finally open, rerouting folks off neighborhood streets and onto a scenic riverfront path. Some love the upgrade, others aren’t thrilled about the new road crossing, but it’s already changing up local walks and runs. (WOSU)
🍸 If you’ve ever questioned which Columbus bar really nails a fall cocktail, this week’s citywide shake-off delivered some answers, along with plenty of very enthusiastic taste-testers. (Columbus Monthly)
☀️ Weather: 49 and sunny
Sponsored by the Greater Columbus Arts Council 🖼️
Explore Columbus through a new lens with the For Us by Us Public Art Tour curated by Lance Johnson. This self-guided tour highlights 11 inspiring works across the city, celebrating compassion, empathy, and connection through public art. Discover the pieces that bring our community together and experience art made authentically. For more info, head over to columbusmakesart.com
Coming Up 📆
🏒 11/17: Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens
🎸 11/19: Great Lakes Swimmers
🎵 11/19: Blue October
🎶 11/19: The Faint
✨11/21-11/23: Wanderlights
🛍️ 11/21-11/22: Ohio Made Holiday Market 2025
🎵 11/21: The Band CAMINO
🏈 11/22: OSU vs. Rutgers
🤩 11/22-11/23: Conservatory Aglow
🎸 11/23: Portugal The Man
🖼️ 11/23: Free Sundays at the Columbus Museum of Art
Today's Photo 🤳
🏟️ Did you know that on October 10, 1936, the Ohio State University Marching Band performed Script Ohio for the first time during a game at The Shoe between Ohio State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
Want your photo to be featured? Use #columbusnavigator or tag us!
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- Chelsea