MasonBuzz.com

The Mason Community Center will soon host Weight Watcher meetings.

The meetings will be held from 5-6 p.m. on Mondays and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Fridays.

Informational meetings will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 2 and at 5 p.m. Monday, March 5.

The meetings are free and open to the public, but registration is requested by calling the Mason Community Center at 513-229-8555 or register online at www.imaginemason.org (activity code 186202).

The Mason Community Center is at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Posted in: Events, Health & Fitness |

Tags: Tags: city of mason, free, mason, mason community center, meetings, weight watchers

Warren County Master Gardener Cindy DeSerna will give a presentation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29 at the Mason Community Center.

DeSerna’s hands-on workshop, “A, B, Seeds of Gardening,” will discuss good planting techniques.  The event is free and open to the community.

The program is sponsored by the Mason Community Garden.  The City of Mason has designated an are on Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Road across from the Mason Sports Park as a community garden.  Applications are accepted from individuals and groups interested in a 10 by 15-foot plot.  For more information on the garden program, go to www.imaginemason.org.

The workshop will be offered in the Senior Center of the Community Center at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: cindy deserna, free, garden, gardening, mason community center, mason community garden, master gardener, warren county, workshop

Sue Kiesewetter reports:

Mason will host two American Legion National High School Oratorical Scholarship Program competitions Feb. 25-26.

The competition for Warren County students begins at 1 p.m., Saturday, and will be held at the Mason Municipal Building, 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road. The district competition follows at 1 p.m., Sunday, also at the municipal building.

Winners from Warren County, along with those from Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Brown and Clinton counties will compete Sunday, in the District 4 competition, beginning at 1 p.m., also at the municipal building.

Winners from the district competition will move on to the state competition, which will be held March 18 at Old Dominion College in Columbus. Students will compete there for more than $5,000 in scholarships.

The Ohio winner will advance to the national competition, which will be held April 13-15 in Indianapolis. There, students will be vying for scholarships ranging from $14,000 to $18,000.

The subject in the prepared oration portion of the contest would emphasize the duties and obligations of citizens to the United States government per the constitution. Each presentation will be 8-10 minutes long.

There is no admission charge for either event in Mason.

Posted in: Community, Events, Events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: american legion, city of mason, district 4 competition, mason, mason municipal building, oratorical competition, students, warren county

"No More Bed Hog" by Jamie Morath. Photo provided

The Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance (MDAA) will feature the artwork of local artist Jamie Morath at Kidd Coffee, 6360 Tylersville Road, Mason.

The exhibition, which runs now through March 30, is part of the organization’s Office Art Program.  Launched in 2006, the program gives artists an opportunity to display their work in an office environment and to enhance employees’ workplace with art.

Morath says she draws inspiration from her husband, four sons, two cats and two dogs in her acrylic and ink on water color paper depictions of everyday life.

The Loveland artist recently completed two large paintings of nearly 100 four-legged “clients” of Banfield Pet Clinic at the Mason Petsmart.

“Jamie’s work just brings a smile to your face,” said MDAA executive director Meredith Raffel. “You can see yourself and the people you love within her paintings.”

Morath’s work will be available to purchase at the coffeehouse.  For more information about the artist, go to www.jamiemorath.com.  For more information about the exhibit, call MDAA at  513-309-8585 or go to www.masonarts.org.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Events |

Tags: Tags: artist, exhibit, jamie morath, kidd coffee, loveland, mason-deerfield arts alliance, mdaa, office art program

Cuisine from China, Ireland, Greece and Mexico make up just some of the offerings at the Taste of Mason this evening.

Now in its fifth year, the festival, sponsored by Mason Schools and its diversity council, takes place from 5-8 p.m. in the high school commons, 6100 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Geared towards families with children of all ages, local restaurants will sell samples of ethnic foods from around the world. Admission is free.

A sampling of vendors include: Aponte’s, bd’s Mongolian Grill, Brazenhead Irish Pub, Chan’s Asian Wok, Mason Grill, Cafe Bella, Cazadores Mexican, Banana Leaf Modern Thai, Oleg’s German Family Restaurant, Rotbart’s Deli and Soho Japanese Bistro.

Entertainment includes Indian dancing, global art and musical selections from across the world by band, orchestra and choral groups. Here’s the evening’s lineup:

Performance Times
5 p.m. Pianist—Vidita Kannikeswaran
5:15 p.m. MHS Choral Performance—Santos
5:30 p.m.  MHS Jazz Performance—Jackson
6 p.m.  Cincinnayi Baila! – Mexican Folkloric

Dance
6:15 p.m. MHS Percussion Ensemble and Drumline
6:45 p.m. I.K. Kim Ja Be Ruy Tae Kwon Do
6:55 p.m. Marathi Melody—Indian Dancing
7 p.m. Chinese School Performance—Feng
7:15 p.m. Nigerian Solo Drum Performance—Baoku Moses
7:30 p.m. Bollywood—Indian Dancing Prabhakar and Karanam
7:35 p.m. Chinese School—Dancing Ducklings
7:45 p.m. Colombia Viva

Information: 513-398-5025

Posted in: Community, Events, Events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: art, diversity council, entertainment, ethnic, food, free, mason high school, mason schools, restaurant, taste of mason

Essence magazine editor Mikki Taylor spoke to students at Mason High School Feb. 7 as part of the district's Black History Month lecture series. Photo provided

Mason Schools is planning a series of events in February to celebrate Black History Month.

Essence magazine editor Mikki Taylor kicked off the district’s Black History Month lecture series Feb. 7 by speaking to students about the importance of character, values and self-confidence.

The series is organized each year by Mason High School’s African-American Students for Change (MAASC) and sponsored by the school’s student government, Mason Schools Foundation and local businesses.

Other free events scheduled this month:

• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,
  Mason Lecture series, featuring local community members, parents and business owners.

• Tuesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m.
  Night of Expression/Spoken Word Night: Students from Mason and Princeton will compete and perform spoken poetry.

• Tuesday, Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m.
  The Grammy-nominated Central State University Chorus will perform along with Mason’s Honors Concert Choir.

All events are held at Mason High School, 6100 Mason-Montgomery Road, and are open to the community. For more information, call the high school at 513-398-5025.

Posted in: Community, Events, Events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: african-american students for change, black history month, central state university chorus, editor, essence magazine, free, lecture, lecture series, mason high school, mason honors concert choir, mason school district, mason schools, mikki taylor, poetry, princeton, written word

The Warren County Career Center will offer free basic computer training classes in Mason.

The classes, scheduled to begin in May at the Mason Public Library, are offered in partnership with Connect Ohio’s statewide Every Citizen Online broadband training project.  Registration opens for the Mason classes on April 16.

More than 16,000 adults have participated in the training program since its launch in December 2010.  The goal is to train 200,000 Ohioans by the program’s completion in late 2012.

The program includes a basic introduction to computers and the internet and the benefits of using both.

In addition to Mason, classes are also being offered at the Warren County Career Center in Lebanon (February), the Salem Township Library in Morrow (March) and the Franklin Public Library in Franklin (April).

To register or for more information, call 513-398-2711.

Posted in: Community, Events, Library events |

Tags: Tags: basic computer training, broadband training project, classes, connect ohio, every citizen online, free, internet, mason, mason public library, warren county career center

Carl Weiser reports:

In addition to hitting the Brown County annual GOP dinner, former Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum will visit Warren County’s Republican dinner Friday night (at the Manor House in Mason).

It will be Santorum’s first stop in Ohio on the campaign trail for the Republican presidential nomination.

“We are excited to have a presidential candidate attend our Lincoln Reagan event.” said Jeff Monroe, Warren County Republican Party Chairman, in a news release. “Warren County plays a pivotal role in Ohio politics and we look forward to hearing from Sen. Santorum”.

According to the release, the general reception begins at 6:00 p.m. and continues until 7:00 p.m. Sen. Santorum will be attending and making remarks during the general reception. The dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. with Gov. Bob McDonnell as the keynote speaker.

Tickets are available for the event by visiting wcrp.ticketleap.com or calling Mary Jo Kubicki at 513.649.7167. Cost is $60 per ticket. Tables of 10 can be reserved for $600.

A special private reception with Governor McDonnell is available for an additional $40 per person.

More than 500 people attended last year’s event, which featured newly-elected Governor John Kasich, according to Monroe. He expects about the same number of people this year.

Posted in: Events, Political events |

Tags: Tags: bob mcdonnell, gop, gov. bob mcdonnell, jeff monroe, lincoln-reagan dinner, manor house, mason, ohio, politics, presidential nominee, republican, rick santorum, sen. santorum, warren county republican party

My Furry Valentine will feature hundreds of pets for adoption Saturday at locations throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, including a satellite location in Mason.

While the main adoption event takes place in West Chester, more than 40 satellite adoption events are also scheduled to take place, including an event at the Mason Petsmart store.

HART (Homeless Animal Rescue Team) and Purrfect Friends Cat Rescue will be at the Mason Petsmart store from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  The two groups will feature several dogs and cats available for adoption.

“By hosting this event, we’re making it easy, fun and convenient for people to meet-and-greet adoptable pets who need and deserve loving homes,” said Carolyn Evans, event organizer.

The Mason Petsmart store is at 8175 Arbor Square Drive.  The main adoption event is being held at Flexi Distribution Center, 8494 Firebird Drive, in West Chester.  Event hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at all locations.

For more information or to see a gallery of adoptable pets, go to  www.myfurryvalentine.com.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: adoption, cats, dogs, flexi distribution center, hart, homeless animal rescue team, mason, my furry valentine, pets, petsmart, purrfect friends cat rescue, rescue, west chester

The Warren County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau will award one creative Facebook user with free passes to some of Mason’s most popular attractions.

To celebrate Leap Year, the WCCVB has asked its Facebook fans to capture creative photographs of the number “29″ and upload the images to its Facebook page.  Fans will then vote from Feb. 20-29 on their favorite representation of the number “29.”

The photo with the most votes at midnight on Feb. 29 will receive an “Extra Day to Play” getaway package.  The prize package includes four tickets to The Beach Waterpark, four passes to Lazer Kraze and a one-night stay at the Hyatt Place Cincinnati Northeast in Mason.

The Facebook promotion is intended to drive tourism, said Sally Derrick, WCCVB marketing director.  She points to a recent survey by Destination Analysts, Inc., that shows 49 percent of leisure travelers rely on user-generated content and 26 percent use social media to plan vacations.

“Facebook promotions are a great way to create new fans of this destination and showcase Warren County tourism partners and getaways,” she said.

Photo entries are accepted now through Feb. 19.  Enter online at the WCCVB Facebook page.  The winning photograph will be announced on Feb. 29.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Community, Events, The Beach Waterpark |

Tags: Tags: contest, deerfield township, extra day of play, facebook, hyatt place cincinnati northeast, lazer kraze, leap year, mason, photos, the beach waterpark, warren county, warren county convention & visitor's bureau, wccvb