Year in Review - August 2025
August 2025 in Westerville: Your Guide to Concerts, Festivals & Community Events - August 1, 2025
A packed August events schedule highlighted live music at Alum Creek Park, Uptown Friday Nights, and weekly performances at Java Central, along with community favorites such as the Saturday Farmers Market and National Night Out at Huber Village Park. Key festival dates included the Aug. 9 Uptown Untapped craft beer celebration and the Aug. 22 Fourth Friday street festival expected to draw more than 10,000 visitors. Cultural offerings ranged from the Whiskey Wars program at Hanby House to a vermicomposting workshop at the library, culminating in a citywide ReUse-A-Palooza.
The Westerville Reader: Reading List for Sultry Ohio Days And Auditions for Immersive Scrooge and Uptown Ghosts - August 2, 2025
A late-summer reading list highlighted Ohio authors and settings that match the season’s heat, including “The Summer That Melted Everything,” “The Devil All the Time,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Eligible,” “The Book of Joe,” “At the Edge of the Orchard,” “Winesburg, Ohio,” and selections from Kim Harrison and Toni Blake, with all titles available through the Westerville Public Library. Good Medicine Productions also opened auditions for its Uptown Ghost Story Tour and Uptown Scrooge: Abridged!, with registration due Aug. 15 and auditions set for Aug. 24 for paid roles that emphasize improvisation and interactive performance.
Eating My Way through The Saturday Farmers Market (EMWTTSFM) And Grapes - August 4, 2025
A Farmers Market meal review focused on simple seasonal staples, including pork chops, green beans, corn, and tomatoes, wrapped in a personal story about childhood dinner table manners. The latest Grape Report compared two clamshells of California green grapes from Market District, finding inconsistent flavor but one standout stem measuring 17% sugar, prompting the question of whether corn—tested at 21.4% sugar—might be the sweeter pick this week.
National Night Out. East of Africa Update - August 5, 2025
National Night Out returns to Huber Village Park with food, music, and police-community engagement. Underground utility work progressed at the East of Africa site along Africa Road, while asbestos removal at the former Starkey home neared completion ahead of demolition for a future road connection to Westar Boulevard.
National Night Out. ProMusica at Alum Amphitheater - August 6, 2025
Families and police shared games, prizes, and a spirited water-balloon battle during National Night Out at Huber Village Park, with officers signing autographs and therapy dog Chloe attracting a steady line of young visitors. Earlier in the day, parkgoers were treated to an informal outdoor rehearsal by ProMusica Chamber Orchestra ahead of its evening performance at Alum Creek Park.
Touch A Truck on Friday. Volleyball Pickup Match Photo Gallery - August 6, 2025
Touch A Truck brings families to the Sports Complex Friday morning for a hands-on look at city vehicles with a sensory-friendly hour starting at 9 a.m., and a spontaneous volleyball gathering at Alum Creek Park turned a hot August day into an informal community match with players setting up makeshift courts, rotating teams, and keeping the games going with water, snacks, and music..
Library To Get New Look. Begin’s Sandwich Board Disapproved. Uptown Untapped On Saturday. State Street Fire Slows Traffic - August 8, 2025
The Uptown Review Board approved major landscape and accessibility upgrades for the Westerville Public Library’s front lawn and gave Begin Café a one-year pass to keep its non-compliant plastic sandwich-board sign, Uptown Untapped returns Saturday with Ohio breweries and live music backed by 150 volunteers and new recycling stations, and a small divider fire slowed southbound State Street traffic Thursday before firefighters quickly extinguished it.
Touching Trucks. Trucks Working. Uptown Music. Sunday Concert With Linda Ronstadt - August 9, 2025
Children explored fire trucks and police vehicles during the annual Touch A Truck event at the Westerville Sports Complex, where a sensory-friendly hour opened the morning before crews on Ladder 111 were twice dispatched for calls. Musicians played along State Street for Uptown Friday Nights. Weekend activities included the Farmers Market, Uptown Untapped craft beer festival, live music at Java Central, and a Sunday Sounds of Summer concert featuring Heatwave performing the music of Linda Ronstadt.
Corn Salsa-Two Styles and The Grape Report. Plus Concert Sunset. - August 11, 2025
A Farmers Market meal centered on sweet corn led to two versions of salsa—one using a High Point kit and another with charred Rhoad’s corn and feta—while the weekly Green Grape Report found larger, sweeter grapes at Kroger, though prices continue to climb across stores.
East of Africa Update and City School Year Begins - August 12, 2025
Storm sewer, utility, and road work on the 88-acre East of Africa development remain on schedule, with paving expected before winter shutdowns. Westerville City Schools begin a staggered return this week, with all students in class by Aug. 18. Drivers are reminded to watch for buses and school zones.
Westerville’s Top Privately Owned Companies Business Data - August 13, 2025
Storm sewer, utility, and road work on the 88-acre East of Africa development remains on schedule, with paving anticipated before asphalt plants shut down for winter. Westerville City Schools begin a staggered return this week, with all students in class by Aug. 18, and officials are urging drivers to watch for buses and posted school-zone limits.
Town Hall Meeting Finds Problems With Few Easy Solutions - August 14, 2025
Residents raised concerns about taxes, development, environmental impacts and communication with officials during a town hall moderated by 10TV’s Tracy Townsend, with worries voiced about the East of Africa project, drinking water quality, industrial emissions, safety in parts of the city and a rat problem in Uptown, while council members up for election attended and spoke.
ICE Detainee Escapes Custody. Westerville Police On Scene But No Pursuit - August 15, 2025
Westerville police helped secure the area around St. Ann’s Hospital after an ICE detainee escaped custody Wednesday but stepped back once officers confirmed the man was wanted only on a civil immigration matter, leaving ICE agents to continue the search while helicopter support was canceled and no arrest was reported.
Market Cornucopia, Concerts To End Soon, and Car Crash Ends Up Upside Down - August 16, 2025
Saturday’s farmers market on South State Street offered peak-season tomatoes and late-season sweet corn. Sunday brings the final two concerts of summer at Alum Creek Amphitheater, featuring the Westerville Community Band this week and the Symphony next week. A two-car crash at Africa Road and Polaris Parkway sent one person to the hospital and left another vehicle overturned after hitting electric boxes near Sycamore Park.
Saturday’s Sweet Corn Satisfies Like Never Before. - August 18, 2025
Saturday’s farmers market offered peak-season sweet corn that made a rich creamed corn dish the highlight of the week, paired with fresh tomatoes, pickles, and smoked sausage. The Green Grape Report found strong pricing and high sweetness at $1.77 per pound for California grapes now entering their prime.
East of Africa Dirt Piles Update and Sunbury Road Closure Photo Gallery - August 19, 2025
Large earth moving stockpiles change the project’s shape. Road closures nearby shift traffic patterns.
Father and Daughter Share A Calling — And A Hallway. Coffee Shop Arrives On Trailers - August 20, 2025
A father-daughter teaching duo is now working just two classrooms apart at Wilder Elementary, and a new Biggby Coffee shop arrived in modular sections by flatbed trailer and is being assembled outside Meijer on Polaris Parkway.
Wendell’s Pub Closing This Sunday. Parks and Recreation Projects Public Meeting. Yellow Rose Ceremony At North. - August 21, 2025
A well known restaurant prepares to close after 24 years. The update also includes upcoming public engagement opportunities.
Westerville Races for Council and School Board Take Shape for November Election. Parks Presentation Not Well Attended. - August 22, 2025
The November election lineup is set with nine candidates seeking four City Council seats and five candidates competing for three school board positions, while a Parks and Recreation open house on upcoming improvements saw low turnout despite plans for major upgrades at playgrounds, wetlands, shelters, and Everal Barn.
Smash Park Ribbon Cutting Begins New Eatertainment Complex for Westar - August 23, 2025
Smash Park marked its arrival at Westar with a ribbon-cutting ahead of its Aug. 26 public opening, bringing pickleball, dining, and other entertainment features to the 50,000-square-foot venue, and the Westerville Symphony announced its rescheduled Sounds of Freedom concert Sunday with a guest conductor chosen through a community fundraiser.
EMWTTSFM With Pies and The Grape Report - August 25, 2025
A pecan pie from Ohio Pies earned high praise as the best yet in the latest market review, and the Green Grape Report found good quality and strong pricing at $1.99 per pound for California fruit, though with slight differences in sweetness and texture across stems.
East of Africa Update. New Free Little Library - August 26, 2025
Stormwater installation continued at the 88-acre East of Africa project as crews placed large drainage pipes and precast structures to support future roads and development, and a new Free Little Library built on East Schrock Road is already being stocked to share books with neighbors.
Crews Clear Utilities at Former Starkey Home Ahead of Demolition. Westerville Symphony Photo Gallery - August 27, 2025
Utility crews cleared the former Starkey home ahead of fire-training exercises and demolition for the Westar Boulevard extension, and Lori Kay Harvey earned the chance to conduct the Westerville Symphony after helping raise more than $18,000 for the orchestra.
South Brings “One Day More” Rehearsal To Life - August 28, 2025
Westerville South High School students rehearsed “Les Misérables” under the guidance of director Matt Wolfe and choreographers Cindy Straub and Emily Lawless, who are helping the cast shape a complex staging of “One Day More” ahead of the school’s fall production, blending professional experience with student enthusiasm as work continues toward the October opening.
One Person’s Trash is Another’s Treasure and Vintage Baseball - This Weekend - August 29, 2025
Residents prepared for Reuseapalooza, a citywide curbside giveaway running Aug. 30, while the Ohio Cup Vintage Base Ball Festival returned to the Westerville Sports Complex the same weekend with 1860s-style games, family activities, and free admission.
Saturday Market Can Be A Sacramental Experience. Cell Tower Removal On 3C - August 30, 2025
A Saturday morning at the Westerville Farmers Market became a reflection on community, connection, and seasonal abundance, framed as a ritual gathering in its temporary home while City Hall construction continues. The edition also noted the removal of an aging cell tower along 3C Highway.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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