Last night we joined Dr. Science and the GV Jogger and checked out the Rhythm On The River festival at Bicentennial Park on the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus. ROTR is a free event that featured a full day’s worth of musical acts. We arrived in time to listen to the last two acts — The Ides of March, who had a hit in the ’70s with “Vehicle,” and ’80s MTV staple The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It was a fun event on a beautiful early June evening.
If you’ve never been, the Bicentennial Park Amphitheatre is a good place to listen to live music. We lugged over some chairs and set up on the wide lawn in front of the Amphitheatre; even though we got there late there was plenty of room to find a good spot and get set up. The only drawback to a late arrival was that most of the food trucks were either sold out or besieged by very long lines. We endured a reasonable wait and picked up some excellent grilled cheese sandwiches from the Momma Can Cook food truck then settled back to enjoy the music.
As I enjoyed the music wafting by on a pleasantly warm evening and looked around at my fellow festival-goers, I thought about the value of a community festival like ROTR. It drew a very diverse crowd, and all of us sat together on a pretty green lawn, sharing a fun mutual experience. People who brought kids watched them play in the fountains next to the park, and everyone had a good time. It seems like the kind of thing cities should want to encourage.
Webner House 