Get Outside
The population of Athens will drop by nearly 60 percent in the next few weeks as Ohio University students hit the road for summer break. After fest season and a quarter full of festivities, a three-month break is just what the city needs to recover.
A quarter of OU undergrads enrolled in summer classes in 2010, and that number grows slightly each year. Spending the summer in a ghost town with no fests or block parties seems daunting at first, but when the students disperse, those temporary townies who choose to stick it out may find themselves discovering an unfamiliar Athens — one that is only seen by a lucky few. Free weekends for OU students at the Athens City Pool and other Athens happenings are not to be missed this summer.
A hot dog and a milkshake
Hot dogs and ice cream are staples of every summer diet and one weenie hut has mastered both. Larry’s Dawg House has dominated the fast food scene in Athens for decades. Every week, this hot dog joint cooks up more than 3,000 hot dogs, topping them with secret sauce and other fixin’s.
But the real moneymaker is Weenie Wednesday. Just last Wednesday, the restaurant plowed through 2,080 short dogs, selling each for $0.99.
“Weenie Wednesday is a social event,” restaurant owner Larry Young said. “It’s not just about coming in and eating hotdogs, it’s like a weekly reunion for some people.”
Now a local celebrity, Larry can be found conversing with regulars in the dining room.
“To me, the most enjoyable part is spending time with the customers I have served since the early ‘60s. They know me and I know them,” he said. “All of the little kids think I’m Ronald McDonald or something.”
Larry worked at the weenie joint for eight years before buying it in 1972. Since then, the little eatery has become an essential factor in local culture and a must-see Athens landmark.
A day @ the ballpark
Not long after students close the books on finals week, local baseball fans flock to Bob Wren Stadium to see the Southern Ohio Copperheads in their first game of the season. Since 2002, the baseball team has been a highlight for families and students during the summer.
A decade ago, OU officials — including baseball coach Joe Carbone — noted the need for family entertainment in Athens. The bunch recruited Miami RedHawks assistant coach Scott Googins and the Copperheads were born. The team is now one of 10 in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.
The Copperheads can be found mowing lawns throughout Athens and hosting free parties at the city pool. Unlike any other baseball game, costumed fans and dressed-up pets fit in with Copperhead games. These snakes will claim the ballpark from June 14 through July.
The Boomsday Spectacular
Athens kicks off July with its annual Boomsday celebration, which ends in the year’s biggest traffic jam. But it’s worth sitting through hours of honking horns and “God Bless the USA” playing at maximum volume, to see the Hocking River light up under a light show.
Patriotic floats and local veterans make their way down Court Street early in the morning for a Fabulous Fourth Parade, and the Independence Day celebrations continue through the night when families claim their spots on East State Street with fold-out lawn chairs and portable radios.
For a more dramatic celebration, complete with funnel cake stands and live music, Hocking College’s Thunder In The Valley is the place to go.
Brew Week
July 8 will kick off a week-long celebration devoted entirely to beer. Ohio’s finest microbreweries will flood Uptown bars with master craft brews for all to taste during the sixth annual Ohio Brew Week, which will feature more than 200 homebrews.
“It’s about the atmosphere,” Dan Gates, director of Brew Week, said. “People want to get out of the city and go somewhere low-key. In Athens, people feel like they can relax and enjoy the camaraderie.”
Instead of piling kegs under a tent, commercial brews are distributed to the town’s numerous bars during Brew Week. Visitors who find that a particular bar doesn’t fit their style simply walk to the next.
Unlicensed, non-taxed homebrews are unavailable for public consumption and are off limits to everyone except a handful of expert beer tasters from the Beer Judge Certification Program. These craft beers are split into 23 categories of about five brews each. The winner of each category is granted the coveted Ohio Brew Week gold medallion.
“You know a good beer when you taste it,” Jody Grenert, the homebrew competition coordinator, said. “The winning ones make you go ‘Wow, what did this guy do?’”
The week is more than an excuse to go on a weeklong bender; it provides a rare opportunity to educate people about booze.
This year, the festival will launch the weekend before with a Happy Hours Reception at the Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center featuring a craft brew sampling as part of its kickoff event.
Dancing in the street
As the kegs near empty and the special taps run low, Court Street does not slow down. On the final day of Brew Week, a crowd files into the street to celebrate Athens’ sixth annual warm weather music festival, Boogie on the Bricks.
The street celebration was created to draw people into Uptown businesses during the slow summer season. While about 500 people attended the event in its first year, this summer’s turnout is expected to exceed 6,000.
Most grab a cold beer from Brew Week and make their way north to the stage, where The Royales, Elemental Grove Theory and five other bands will rock into the night.
“Boogie on the Bricks is intended for people to come outside and enjoy the quirky culture we love so much,”Paige Alost, executive director of the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said. “We can’t explain it, but we can feel it.”
Lows, sows & automobiles
The first full week of August is the summer’s grand finale: The Athens County Fair. At any other time of year, the sight of a farm animal in the middle of downtown would cause panic amongst the city folk. During fair time, however, it would be odd not to cross such a sight.
Summer isn’t complete without an elephant ear and a go on the Tilt-A-Whirl. A smorgasbord of fair food and carnival rides can be found atop the hill along with Athens’ biggest pumpkin and tastiest apple pie.
Decorated cakes and award-winning veggies are on display en route to the livestock pens, near the grandstand. tractor pulls, country music concerts and mower derbies are some of the week’s main attractions.
Thursday night’s Demolition Derby, though, is one of Athens’ biggest social gatherings of the year. People wait in traffic for hours to claim a good seat. After filing into the grandstand and setting up their lawn chairs around the muddy pit, derby-goers cheer on a flock of battered junkyard cars as they make their way into the center of the fairgrounds.
Local participants in the unusual motorsport spend months fixing up their tattered cars with junkyard parts and spray paint. The county fair and its star attraction is a must-see Athens tradition that tops off summer break, like the cherry on a Larry’s Dawg House banana split.
Get ouside
For Outdoor Adventures visit Old Man’s Cave, Stroud’s Run or Burr Oak or hike the trails at any of the nearby state parks.
For more things to do over the summer, visit www.thepost.ohiou.edu and read more about the summer happenings in Athens.
oy311909@ohio.edu
@ThePostCulture
