June Preview

Summer is in full swing and the county is celebrating by hosting a variety of performances, athletic competitions, and festivals. The BC loves the hustle and bustle of all of the exciting events happening in June.

There’s more to do and see this month than there has been all year. We guarantee that there is an event or festival happening every weekend that you and your family are sure to enjoy.

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up in The BC:

June 6: The 87th Annual Old-Fashioned Strawberry Festival in Shandon. The festival features an antique tractor show, arts and crafts, traditional Welsh harp music, and all things strawberry. Admission and parking are free!

June 16: Grab a brewski! Enjoy imported, craft, and domestic’s at Jungle Jim’s International Beer Fest.

June 22: World-renowned Ronan Tynan sings with the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra. The set list will include songs from the opera and Ireland as well as many Broadway hits.

June 23: Participate in the Amateur Radio Field Day event at Smith Park. This nationwide emergency communication exercise will feature portable radio equipment and antennas in the park that will establish communication with other groups across the country!

June 25: Celebrate our service men and women with the American Celebration! EnterTRAINment Junction salutes the nation’s service men and women with free admission all month long for active military personnel with a current military ID

June 29: It’s finally summer and that means that the pools are finally open. Celebrate this small victory by watching the eSyncro Age Group Championships. This synchronized swimming championship event is a unique aquatic adventure.

With an event happening in nearly every BC community, there’s no excuse not to enjoy the nice weather and company of your family at one of these great Butler County events.

Buzz The BC Bumblebee

Meet Buzz! He’s the BCVB’s newest family member! Buzz loves to travel and he can’t wait to explore all that Butler County has to offer. Most of all, he’s excited to explore The BC with you! The BCVB is celebrating Buzz’s arrival with a fun new contest that will reward The BC’s biggest fans.

In celebration of National Tourism week May, 7-13 and the arrival of summer, The BCVB’s Where’s Buzz? contest gives visitors and residents the chance to win ways to explore The BC for free and a chance to be entered into a grand prize drawing for a chance to win a $500 gas card.

The Where’s Buzz? contest gives you and your family an excuse to explore The BC for free on behalf of Buzz The BC Bumblebee. All you have to do is find Buzz! To help you out, we’ll give you a clue: Buzz is hiding somewhere on our website. Head on over to our website, click around, and see if you can find Buzz. If you find him, be sure to click on him and fill out the entry form for your chance to win great BC prizes. The Where’s Buzz? contest runs from May 7^th through June 29th. 

Here’s how it works:

Once you find Buzz on our website and fill out the entry form, you and anyone else who found Buzz that week, will be entered into a weekly drawing. One name from that week’s entries will be chosen. The weekly winner will win free BC swag. This could be free admissions tickets to a BC attraction or park, BC gear, or other great prizes.

There’s more! Each weekly winner AND everyone who has found Buzz during any of the eight weeks will be thrown into a pool for their chance to win the ultimate Grand Prize, a $500 gas card, to help you explore The BC this summer. You can find Buzz one time each week for eight weeks totaling up to eight entries for the grand prize.

This means that there will be eight weekly winners who will win great BC swag and one person out of everyone who entered will win the $500 gas card Grand Prize!

Go bee hunting! Get over to our website and start searching for Buzz! Find him and be entered for your chance to explore The BC for free. Good luck!

Dayton Lane Promenade Home Tour

With the many museums, monuments, memorials, and mansions in Butler County, it’s no wonder that The BC has a rich historical presence. Butler County is one of the earliest settlements in Ohio history and has a diverse array of historical preservation sites.

The community of Hamilton celebrates their extensive architectural history with the bi-annual May Dayton Lane Promenade Home Tour. This year, the event commences on May 20.

The Dayton Lane Promenade celebrates the historic homes built between the 1800’s and 1920’s. The tour features 210 homes built in over 14 architectural styles including Gothic, French, Colonial Revival, and Second Empire.

The Dayton Lane area saw significant growth from the 1870’s through the 1890’s during Hamilton’s industrial revolution following the end of the Civil War.

Hamilton quickly became a hot spot for prominent industrialists during the turn of the century. Dayton Street, in particular, was a coveted location for factory owners and managers to reside and the street quickly became knows as where the “Captains of Industry” lived.

These beautiful restored homes boast stunning Victorian architecture and the district is listed on the National Registry of Historical Places.

Tour the historical Dayton Lane district during the May Promenade Home Tour on May 20 from 1pm-5pm. The Promenade will also feature music, food vendors, and art.

Tickets:

Presale: $15

Day-of: $20

Presale tickets are available through Vision Source Hamilton, or online here.

Ticks can be picked up at will-call at the Wolfe Gazebo on Campbell Ave. or outside of the Dayton Lane Gardens.

To preview some of the beautiful homes part of the tour, visit our Flickr page and Pinterest board.

For more information about the Dayton Lane Promenade visit their website or Facebook page.

The Great Outdoors

The BC is home to many great parks and outdoor recreation areas that provide the perfect opportunity for you to get out and explore the great outdoors with your family. This month, MetroParks of Butler County presents fun and educational outdoor programs geared toward both kids and adults.

If you’ve got a little one who loves snakes and lizards, we’ve got a program for you! Your little naturalist will love Discovery Kids: Reptiles and Amphibians held at Rentschler Forest and Voice of America Park. The program, geared toward children ages three to five, explore the wonders of the natural world through stories, crafts, songs, snacks, and fun and hands-on activities. This Discovery Kids program is an educational opportunity for kids to learn about the scaly and slimy critters and maybe even get the chance to get up close and personal with a few!

The fun doesn’t have to stop after the program ends! Spend some quality time with little naturalists creating a fly-catching frog of their very own. All you need is a bit of green craft foam, those fun googly eyes, glue, and a giggle inducing party blower. This craft idea from Disney Family Fun, is quick and easy and is sure to put a smile on your little one’s face for the rest of the day.

The great outdoors isn’t just for kids. MetroParks of Butler County also hosts outdoor hiking adventures for adults. Walking Sticks is a free exploratory hiking program designed for active adults. Explore the beautiful scenery of nature and get some much-deserved fresh air. Grab your hiking boots and get to The BC for an adventure filled hike.

If you enjoy hiking but can’t bear to leave your family behind, consider taking a self-guided hike with your family on of the many BC hiking trails. Seventeen BC parks offer public hiking trails including Bull’s Run Arboretum, Hueston Woods State Park, Sebald Park, and Voice of America Park.

Hiking can be one of the best things you can do with your family, but be sure to observe proper safety when taking your little tikes out on the trail with you. Observe these smart hiking with kids tips written by Born to Explore TV host, Richard Wiese, to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable family hike.

With these, and more outdoor adventures, now is a better time than ever to get out and explore the great outdoors in The BC.

For more information about family friendly BC events, parks, and hiking trails, visit www.gettothebc.com.

Celebrate Mom

Celebrate the most important woman in your life, your Mom! Mother’s Day is May 13, and this year, don’t forget to go all out for Mom.

Have a Mom whose got everything? Don’t know what to get this year? The BC is the perfect place to honor your Mom. Don’t give her something, take her somewhere!

We’ve created the perfect Mother’s Day celebration weekend itinerary so you don’t have to do the thinking.

• Start the day off by picking her up with a beautiful floral bouquet from the Oxford Flower & Sorority Gift Shop.
• Set out on a day packed full of boutique shopping at some of the BC’s most unique shopping spots such as Art Off Symmes.
• Don’t make Mom cook! Enjoy a classic and delicious dinner at The Brandywine Inn.
• Treat Mom to a night away from the chaos with a cozy overnight stay at the Cascade Lakes Bed & Breakfast.
• Melt Mom’s stress away with a massage, facial, and mani-pedi from Bajon Salon and Spa.
• Finish off your celebration weekend with a quick trip to Servatii’s to grab a delicious pastry to satisfy Mom’s sweet tooth. 

Make sure you include the littlest people in Mom’s life in her Mother’s Day celebration. Help little hands create adorable personalized crafts to give to mom. Craft homemade cards, necklaces, and paper flowers! Here’s a list of our favorite Mother’s Day craft ideas for kids from Parents.com 13 ideas for Mother's Day.

• May Flower Cards: Craft mom a personalized card with beautiful spring blossoms.
• Colorful Coasters: This project gives Mom a fun coaster for her morning coffee.
• Perfect Photo Book Marks: Take a few goofy pictures of the family and craft an adorable bookmark for Mom.
• Cupcake Carnations: Give Mom homemade flowers! Create a bountiful flower bouquet out of cupcake liners. 

Give Mom the weekend getaway she deserves. Celebrate Mom in The BC.

For more information about BC bed and breakfasts, shopping, dining, and more, visit www.GetToTheBC.com