The 2006 BIA Parade of Homes began today in Central Ohio.

The BIA websites have a list of earlier Parade of Homes.  I love showing former Parade of Homes houses, sometimes they are caught in a time warp.  Sometimes the decorating is so extreme and it looks so great at the parade and ten years later is so dated but 25 plus years later it is retro.   

History - BIA Parade of Homes

1950s

1955  Brookside Estates
1958  Adjacent to the Moores and Dales Plat.

1960s

1961  Laurel Canyon
1962  Gahanna area
1963  Northwest area, Forest Park West
1964  Ravenwood
1965  Walnut Hill Park
1966  Worthington Hills
1967  Northern Upper Arlington Area
1968  Annehurst Village, Westerville
1969  Northeast area, Forest Park East

1970s

1970  Gables South
1971  Greentree, Reynoldsburg
1972  Foxboro, Gahanna
1973  No Parade
1974  The Glen #2, Dublin
1975  Woodlake Colony, Westerville
1976  Glen Crest, Reynoldsburg
1977  Freedom Colony II, Westerville
1978  Olde Mill, Westerville
1979  Bent Tree Woods,  Westerville

1980s

  
1980  Scioto Trace, Hilliard
1981  The Glade of Little Turtle
1982  Brookside Colony, Worthington
1983  Concord Village, Upper Arlington
1984  Olde Sawmill, Worthington
1985  Olentangy Ridge (Phase 1), Powell
1986  Earlington Village,  Dublin
1987  Olentangy Ridge (Phase 2), Powell
1988  Scioto Run, Hilliard
1989  The Crossing at McKenna Creek, Gahanna

1990s

1990  Villages at Rocky Fork, Gahanna
1991  New Albany Country Club
1992  Planters Grove & Fenway, New Albany
1993  Wedgewood, Powell
1994  Highland Lakes, Genoa Township
1995  Heritage Lakes, Hilliard
1996  Academy Ridge, Gahanna
1997  Scioto Point, Upper Arlington & Heron Bay, Buckeye Lake
1998  Hawk’s Nest, Dublin
1999  Tiverton Community, New Albany

This decade... what are we going to call it? 

2000  Tartan Fields, Dublin
2001  Stepping Stone, Blacklick
2002  Ballentrae, Dublin
2003  Shawnee Crossing, Pickerington
2004  Sherman Lakes, Delaware County
2005  Glenross, Delaware City

There are a couple I don't recognize.....in the 60's and 70's.  There are more in the 50's and 60's but they were sometimes scattered sites.  

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe

I learned a new acronym today.  PICNIC.  IT people think we (normal people... not IT people ) are PICNICs.   I love picnics.  Foget about work, it's a long weekend, those computer problems will be there on Tuesday....

Central Ohio in the summer means:

Picnic with the Pops

Schiller Park - Picnicing w/ Actors' Theatre

Ohio State Parks including nearby Alum Creek

Metro Parks

City Parks - Columbus

City Parks - Dublin

City Parks - Hilliard

City Parks - Gahanna

City Parks - Grove City

City Parks - New Albany

City Parks - Powell

City Parks - Upper Arlington

City Parks - Westerville

City Parks - Worthington

Liberty Township Parks

Orange Township Parks

Some communities websites say more about picnicing than others.

Worthington:

"Picnic tables are provided for family outings" in Indianola Park..... I am sure other Worthington parks have picnic tables too.

Dublin:

"Picnic areas are available on a first-come, first-served. Reservations are not accepted."

Info about 'PICNIC's'  shared by Greg Cremia of Re/Max Ocean Realty on a real estate forum.  I bet they have great places to picnic in the "outer banks" in North Carolina. 

No mountains, no oceans but we have cows in Columbus.   

P.S. I am working today... Old Worthington Open House  bring your picnic...

and remember Worthington's Memorial Day Parade.   10 AM Monday.   E. Dublin Granville and South on High Street.

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe

The Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce website has a bullseye diagram showing commute times from downtown to some Columbus suburbs (they call the suburbs neighborhoods.) 

10 minute commute suburbs include:

Bexley

Gahanna

Upper Arlington

15 minute commute suburbs include:

Hilliard

Worthington

Reynoldsburg

Grove City

20 minute commute suburbs include: 

Dublin

Westerville

New Albany

30 minute commute suburbs include:  

Powell

Marysville 

Granville 

Personally I think of Gahanna as further from downtown than 10 minutes and Powell closer to downtown than 30 minutes.  I must have a distorted view from where I sit in Worthington.  Each location on the bullseye (and others) have a PDF with more community information for example: Gahanna .