on location: midwest ❖
melinda hughey
★
Groups in Columbus can satisfy their culinary impulses, create their own pizza and learn how baseball bats are made.
THE COLUMBUS E X P E R I E N CE OHIO’S CAPITAL ABOUNDS WITH INTERACTIVE FUN FOR TOUR GROUPS
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or group travelers, the hottest thing in Columbus is the opportunity to really experience what this eclectic and entertaining state capital has to offer. And on a recent fourday FAM trip, the Experience Columbus team packed in enough ideas to create an endless array of itineraries suitable for girlfriends, senior adults, families, students or virtually any other special-interest group. Instead of merely taking a passive look around, visitors on Experience
36 August 2011
Columbus’ experiential tours get to immerse themselves in imaginative encounters ranging from creating a work of art to being cast as a newly-signed baseball player starring in a press conference. With an entertainmentpacked city center ringed by a collection of charming suburbs, the Columbus area generates enough activity to keep a group busy for days. For girlfriends looking to get their groove back, Columbus offers infinite possibilities built around culinary, artistic, gardening and shopping.
The picturesque suburb of Worthington, reminiscent of a New England village, imparts a sensory nirvana in the form of candle making, winetasting and spa services, plus a bit of card-making at a vintage letterpress thrown in to satisfy artistic types. The “Wax, Wicks & Wine Experience” begins at The Candle Lab, where a mindboggling selection of more than 100 scents encourages inventive blending for the soy candles group members pour and take home. Next up and next door, House Wine hosts a tasting LeisureGroupTravel.com