It's Great 'n Dayton

Dayton's New Community Calendar

No sooner had I written a post about Dayton's online presence (see the last article) and I got a response from the folks at Dayton Most Metro who just happened to be re-vamping their site and also added a calendar! Ironically the work was happening well before the UpDayton Summit where it was expressed that people want one place to go for information about cool news and events in Dayton.

Dayton Most Metro and Dayton's other bloggers (see my blogroll) are usually chattering about cool things happening in the community that never make it into the regular press. We sometimes scoop the press if we print something first and we always give the press credit when we reprint their stories. If you want blood and drugs, and shootings, go to the media. If you're looking for interesting (and intelligent) thoughts about the city, blogs/forums are the place to go. With regular reader comments and regular forum participation the blogs/forums also create a sense of community. You won't find that at the Dayton Daily News, ActiveDayton.com, or at the Dayton City Paper.

So check out the DaytonMostMetro Calendar. You can check out events and you can post events for free. It's a community calendar! Use it! As the newest feature at MostMetro it needs to get populated. If you know of something happening and it's not listed, add it!! Enjoy discovering things that you never knew were happening!!

Adventure Summit

 

Yes, in Dayton, OH! Well, technically Fairborn, but I think it's great that it's even happening - drawing attention to all the locals who love the outdoors, like physical activity, and even lean to the extreme! And alot of activities happen right here in the Miami Valley!

I'm talking about the Adventure Summit sponsored by Five Rivers Metroparks and Wright State University. It's this weekend, Feb 20-21. There are photos and videos from prior years online as well as more information about the event and about registering.

Come out and meet other local enthusiasts, listen to lectures, witness demonstrations, and visit with vendors and members of various local clubs and associations.

Dayton Outdoor Recreation

Local companies join to create website for outdoor recreation

By Ken McCall
Staff Writer
Friday, February 06, 2009

Six locally owned outdoor specialty shops have joined to launch a slick Web site to help people find ways to get out.

The group of businesses, who will be familiar to outdoor gearheads, have formed the Dayton Outdoor Recreation Retailers Association, and put up go4theoutdoors.com that is a resource for many of the groups and activities in the region.

The initial six members cover most of the outdoor recreation bases:

• Great Miami Outfitters: backpacking, canoeing and kayaking.

• K&G Bike Center: bicycling.

• Up and Running: running, walking, triathlons.

• Urban Krag: climbing.

• Valleywood Ski and Snowboard Shop: snow sports.

• Whitewater Warehouse: paddlesport equipment and rentals.

The site was designed by Dan Schlegel, owner of Schlegel Creative Resources and the group's acting spokesman. It features links to the six founding members, many outdoor associations and clubs and a calendar of events open to any local outdoor recreation group.

Schlegel, who in 2007 opened Great Miami Outfitters in Miamisburg with his son Andrew, said the owners had met informally and started talking about pooling resources to get their message out.

"Each one of us as separate retailers have our own events or programming that probably a lot of people don't know about," Schlegel said. "So if you're interested in bicycling or climbing or skiing or backpacking or paddling, you'd be able to go to one place and see what is happening, in our stores as well as in other clubs."

The group's main message: Buy local.

All the local independent specialty retailers are competing against big box and online stores, Schlegel said, and the group wants people to realize they get more from their stores.

Schlegel said he and his son often see people who come into Great Miami Outfitters aiming to get info and buy online, but discover the prices are competitive and the gear and service is better.

For example, his store has an oven to custom mold backpacks. And they help customers get the correct fit for shoes and gear you can't get online.

"What we're really trying to promote is buy local, because of what that does from an economic standpoint," he said. "You know, we live here. We pay taxes here. We hire local people."

Susie Stein, owner of Up and Running in Washington Twp., said she hopes people get the message.

"All of this is about building the community," said Stein, who is expanding her store in Washington Square Plaza. "We're going to help our community, and we want our community to help us and know we're the experts in our business and come to us for that."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2393 or kmccall@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Outdoor Adventures

The greater Dayton area has so many wonderful things to do outdoors that there's a festival to celebrate it!!

The annual Five Rivers MetroParks GearFest is coming up Oct. 4 - and it's moved from the Second St Market to Eastwood MetroPark so the event could be expanded, including more outdoor gear vendors, 2 music stages, river float trips, and free overnight camping for the weekend. It should be a true regional celebration of the outdoors!

Check it out at http://www.metroparks.org/gearfest/