Ohio Day Trip- Tiffin Music & Arts Festival

Ohio Day Trip- Tiffin Music & Arts Festival
Tiffin, Ohio
June 8, 2013

When my friend Steven moved across the state last fall, I lost my go-to guy to do whatever.  Steven was always up to hike, bike, paddle, see a band or partake in some sort of cultural event.  Plus, anytime we do something our plans always go a little off course.  I mean, we once went hiking and ended up singing French furtrapper songs and eating pea soup while paddling a giant canoe.  But anyway, Megan and I decided to visit Steven in his new home of Tiffin, Ohio and thought the perfect time to do so would be the weekend of the Tiffin Music & Art Festival.

Megan and I loaded up our bikes and headed out on Saturday morning.  It was a nice drive out to Tiffin taking State Route 224 West the whole way.  We met up with Steven at his apartment, toured his place, then followed him to the trailhead of the North Coast Inland Bike Path.  We biked about twenty miles along a flat, paved, easy trail through country side and small communities between Norwalk and Bellevue, Ohio. 

We were pretty hungry after our ride so Steven suggested we try a little bakery he frequented, Phat Cakes & Café (46 Clay Street, Tiffin, Ohio), for lunch.  We chose items from a menu that lists paninis, wraps and salads, all of which sounded just delectable.  When I asked about getting two glasses of wine, they suggested I purchase the whole bottle for just a few dollars more so Steven, Megan and I ended up enjoying a bottle of sparking Moscato with our lunch which made it all the more delightful.  Before leaving we all chose some sweet baked treats from the case of gourmet cupcakes and cookies to take home with us.

In the short time I was in Tiffin I noticed how important artistic endeavors and cultural activities are to the people of that community.  Murals were painted on many of the downtown buildings.  Small artscapes and interesting sculptures were placed around the city.  Steven said they have a morning yoga class in the town square.  Tiffin is obviously a thriving college town.

After lunch we headed to the Tiffin Music & Arts Festival, arriving in the early afternoon.  We all walked around viewing the arts and craft booths, talking to the Ohio Music Scene and Norml representatives and checking out a lot of local music.  Along the way we met many of the day and evening’s performers, the organizer of the event and a lot of really interesting and fun people to chat with.  Megan and I decided to lay on a blanket in the grass and take a nap under the shade of a tree in the park for a bit, then got up to enjoy some dinner from one of the local food trucks.  My dinner of mexidog, loaded nachos in a bag and a lime-a-rita was spot on!  We watched bands into the evening.  As night fell, the firedancers started doing their thing.  We were fairly exhausted when we pulled away during the last set of the night.  Spending the day with Steven was a total blast because it was a mix of all the things we love to do together and I can’t wait to visit again.