💎 Games, Trains, and A Cappella (Issue #10)

Good morning,

And welcome to the 75 new subscribers that have joined us since last week! Every week, we share events and news curated for those who call the Miami Valley home. Somehow it’s already November which means…

Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov. 7th and polls are open from 6:30am to 7:30pm. With already high early-voting turnout—it’s looking to be a big one. Given the major issues on the ballot, we would not be surprised if this sets records for off-year turnout. If you would like to vote early in-person, you still can up through 5pm this Sunday.

If you’re planning to go to the polls instead, you can use this link to find your polling place. First, you’ll choose the county you’re registered in and then you’ll be taken to a search page in that county. From there, you’ll enter the address you’re registered at which will show your polling place. Do note that the “Street Name” search seems to work best when you enter abbreviations like “St”, “Ave”, etc. to the end of your street name.

Now that those civic updates are out of the way, we have a quick update on the newsletter itself. The goal of this newsletter is to help keep you informed and be your weekend planner. Given that we’re only 10 weeks old, our format is continually evolving in pursuit of that goal. Striving to find the right balance between the most value and an optimal length.

So, with the addition of the “Live Shows” section, we will no longer be including a "Local Spotlight” story. We still plan to write these on occasion, but they’ll live elsewhere. Primarily on our website as their own standalone posts for the foreseeable future. With this change, I feel like we’re getting closer to a format that works for everyone. But, as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have any, please do share them. Thanks!

In today’s issue we’ll be covering:

• Events for a wide variety of enthusiasts (owls, bluegrass, wine, trains, whiskey, and more)

• Local live shows you can catch this weekend

• A Kettering-based company leading the way in battery tech

• A charitable finale to the Dayton Flyers preseason

• Resharing Dayton Daily’s local candidate voter guide to help you make your picks

• City Barbeque’s newest smoky additions

Let’s get to it!

— Max

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⚡ WEEKEND WEATHER

Friday

42° 🌡️ 57° | ⛅ | ☔ 0% | 💨 15 mph

Saturday

45° 🌡️ 60° | ⛅ | ☔ 10% | 💨 10 mph

Sunday

46° 🌡️ 60° | ⛅ | ☔ 10% | 💨 10 mph

 🎲 Acadecon 2023

📅 Friday & Saturday: 9-11pm | Sunday: 9-5:30pm
📍 Dayton Convention Center, Downtown Dayton
💰 Attendance Badges: $15-$50

Gather your gaming gang and dive into a weekend full of tabletop fun. This convention—marking its 11th anniversary—is a realm where gamers of all stripes come together under the motto: "Gaming with friends, old and new!”. Hosted by The RPG Academy, it's a celebration of gaming culture filled with lots of laughs and even more games. Get your badges.

🦉 Owl Fest

📅 Friday: 7-9pm | Saturday: 3-9pm
📍 Caesar Creek Lake, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
💰 Free

Swoop into this owl-centric two day event, co-hosted by several local organizations at Caesar Creek State Park. Friday will feature live owl flights and discussions on owl conservation. On Saturday, you can study owl pellets, make owl-themed crafts, construct owl boxes at the Owl Box workshop ($35/kit), and hear the story of the Owl Moon. Both nights will end with bird-banding and stargazing. Don’t have a telescope of your own? Don’t worry. You can use theirs! Learn more.

🔵 The Blue Circle Run

📅 Saturday: 8am
📍 Daniel J. Curran Place, Downtown Dayton
💰 5k: $35 | 10k: $40 | Kids Fun Run (8 & under): Free

Rally and race with the Miami Valley community to support Diabetes Dayton. They’re offering a 5k, 10k, and fun run for the little ones. All proceeds raised will go to benefit individuals affected by diabetes. Flaunt any blue circle (the universal symbol for Diabetes) accessories/attire you have to support Diabetes awareness while you run for a reason. Online registration only, register here.

🎁 Handmade Holiday Craft Show

📅 Saturday: 9-3pm
📍 Bellbrook High School, Bellbrook
💰 Free

Begin your holiday shopping spree at Bellbrook’s 2nd annual holiday craft show. With nearly 80 local vendors to choose from, you’ll find lots of handmade goods to gift this holiday season. And if all that browsing works up your appetite, there’ll be food trucks available with yummy delights. Learn more.

🚂 Dayton Train Show

📅 Saturday: 11-5pm | Sunday: 11-4pm
📍 Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Downtown Dayton
💰 Adults: $8 | Kids 12 & Under: Free

All aboard to Dayton’s 47th train show! Revel in over 20 model railroad displays and memorabilia. Experience hands-on demos guided by some of the nation’s best modelers. More than a show, this event is a vibrant marketplace filled with vendors selling models, tools, and even custom modeling services for the biggest of enthusiasts. Learn more.

🥃 Distillery Tour & Cocktail Class Combo

📅 Saturday: 3-5pm
📍 Dayton Barrel Works, Downtown Dayton
💰 $30

Explore the art of crafting cocktails with Dayton Barrel Work’s mixologists and get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of their distillery. The tour and the cocktail class can be purchased separately, but why have a single when you could get a double? This class is the first in their series of cocktail classes over the next six months, each built around a specific type of liquor and its accompanying cocktail. This weekend, they’ll be kicking off the season with whiskey and its classic drink, the old-fashioned. Get tickets.

🍷 Wine Tasting (21+)

📅 Wednesday, Nov. 8th: 6:30-8:30pm
📍 Hidden Valley Orchards, Lebanon
💰 $60

Sip fine wines and savor your own personal charcuterie board with your fellow adult grape juice enthusiasts. Set in HVO’s rustic barn, it sounds like a cozy night with some delightful folks. Get tickets.

🪕 Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival

📅 Thursday, Nov. 9th: 4-10pm | Friday, Nov. 10th: 10-11pm | Saturday, Nov. 11th: 10-10pm
📍 Roberts Centre, Wilmington
💰 $30+

Experience a three-day celebration of roots music featuring industry giants like Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. Dive into a diverse musical journey through bluegrass, country, and gospel in a smoke and alcohol-free environment. With an array of vendors, an open food court, and a full-service restaurant, they promise top-notch entertainment and family fun. Get tickets.

🎤 Kettering National A Cappella Festival

📅 Friday, Nov. 10th: 7:30pm | Saturday, Nov. 11th: 7pm
📍 Trent Arena, Kettering
💰 General Admission: $15 Friday, $25 Saturday | Reserved: $20 Friday, $30 Saturday

Join in a celebration of the vocal prowess and musical talent of a cappella. Friday features an academic showcase of 6-8 talented school groups, crowned by a performance from the headliner, Radius. The excitement continues Saturday, with Kettering's own award-winning groups, Fusion and Eleventh Hour, opening for another sensational hour-long performance by Radius. Get tickets.

🎩 Steampunk Soiree (21+)

📅 Saturday, Nov. 18th: 6pm
📍 Air Force Museum, Dayton
💰 $40 (with cash bar)

Embark on a fantastical journey where Victorian elegance meets futuristic innovation. Explore a world of mystery and wonder, with immersive activities like virtual welding, trivia, and a special steampunk exhibit. Throw on your finest attire—with gears and googles of course! A nice evening filled with crafted cocktails, hot hors d'oeuvres, and open aircraft explorations for you to enjoy. Get tickets.

🧑‍🍳 Cinnamon Roll Workshop

📅 Wednesday, Nov. 22nd: 6:30pm
📍 Hidden Valley Orchards, Lebanon
💰 $60

Add baking ever-so yummy cinnamon rolls to your repertoire with hands-on expert guidance. By the end, you’ll have a whole pan to take home and share… though no one would blame you if you didn’t! Through the event you’ll be able to indulge in HVO’s cinnamon rolls, accompanied with beverages (alcoholic and non) of your choice available at the bar for purchase. If this is how you roll, get your tickets while you still can. We’re including this one so early because the Ravioli workshop (before this one) sold out before we could even share it. Get tickets.

Events marked with an asterisk (*) in the “featured” section have been sponsored by our advertising or affiliate partners. Have an event you’d like to promote? Reply and let us know.

🎤 LIVE SHOWS 

Friday

🎶 Mr. Boro's Tavern | White Knuckle Weekend | 7pm | Free

🎶 Schuster Center | David Foster & Katharine McPhee | 7:30pm | $57

😂 Dayton Funny Bone | Faizon Love | 7:30pm & 10pm | $30

😂 Wileys Comedy Club | Sharief Johnson | 8pm | $15

🎶 Mr. Boro's Tavern | Velvet Crush Unpluggged | 8pm | Free

🎭 PNC Arts Annex | Misery | 8pm | $34

🎭 The Loft Theatre | Angry, Raucous, And Shamelessly Gorgeous | 8pm | $23

💬 Black Box Improv Theatre | Writer's Retreat | 8pm | $15

🎶 Yellow Cab Tavern | Black Signal (Synthwave) | 8pm | $7 advance, $10 door

🎶 Hidden Gem Music Club | Source, Far From Eden, & Law of One | 8pm | $10

🎶 Blind Bob's | FBS & Voltagehawk | 8pm | $10

🎶 Knollwood Tavern | SugRRock | 9pm | Free

Saturday

🎭 PNC Arts Annex | Misery | 2pm & 8pm | $34

😂 Dayton Funny Bone | Jason Nash | 4pm | $37 - $60

🎶 Little Fish Dayton Station | Lemongrass | 7pm | Free

🎶 Yellow Cab Tavern | Life In Idle | 7pm | $12 advance, $15 door

😂 Schuster Center | Fortune Feimster | 7pm | $36

😂 Dayton Funny Bone | Faizon Love | 7pm & 9:45pm | $30

😂 Wileys Comedy Club | Sharief Johnson | 7:15pm & 9:30pm | $15

🎭 The Loft Theatre | Angry, Raucous, And Shamelessly Gorgeous | 8pm | $23

💬 Black Box Improv Theatre | Strictly Platonic | 8pm | $15

🎶 Bleachers Sports Bar and Grill | Summer Highway Band | 8pm | $5

🎶 Dublin Pub | Weston Papp | 9pm | Free

🎶 Katz Lounge | Liars for Hire | 9pm | Free

🎶 Blind Bob's | Green Dayton & Kings of Pain | 9pm | $10

Sunday

🎭 La Comedia | Miracle on 34th Street | 12:30pm & 7:30pm | $39+ kids, $70+ adults

🎭 The Loft Theatre | Angry, Raucous, And Shamelessly Gorgeous | 2pm & 7pm | $23

🎶 Hidden Gem Music Club | The Blue Wisp Big Bad | 7pm | $10

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🗞️ LOCAL NEWS

🔋 Xerion Wins $1M for Innovative Battery Tech

Xerion Advanced Battery Corp., based in Kettering, just won $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to commercialize their newest innovation. They created a technology to extract lithium from geothermal brine (hot, mineral-rich water underground). And it gets the job done for up to 90% less energy than the current methods. Making extracting lithium much cheaper, safer, and more sustainable.

Currently, China owns much of the global supply of lithium. Xerion’s low-cost, high-efficiency lithium extraction could change that by enabling domestic sourcing. Opening up the U.S.’s lithium-rich brine deposits, like California’s Salton Sea, for extraction. That site alone could have enough lithium to meet all of the U.S.’s projected demand and 40% of global demand. Removing our dependence on China, and allowing us to compete with them in this giant (and growing) market.

Xerion is leading the way in sustainable battery production at home. Literally, given their plans to build their first full-scale production plant by the Dayton Airport in 2024. They accomplished this together with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the institution they were spun out of in 2016. [Dayton Business Journal]

🏀 Flyers Preseason Finale

This last Saturday (Oct. 28th), the Flyers ended their preseason with a final exhibition game win against Cedarville (75-40). Offensively, DaRon Holmes II led the charge, scoring 18 points and scooping up 12 rebounds. Defensively, UD dominated. Holding Cedarville to an 11% three-point percentage and overall shooting percentage of 26%. Freshman Makai Grant—son of UD’s head coach, Anthony Grant—made his first appearance on the court wearing No. 33, the same number his dad rocked. [WDTN]

This win followed the previous weekend’s sold-out charity exhibition game versus OSU. While the Flyers lost the game by 8 points (78-70), the event raised $500k for mental health charities. Former Flyer turned pro, Obi Toppin, made a $20k donation to Jay’s Light. A foundation founded in the memory of Anthony Grant’s daughter, Jayda, whom the family tragically lost to suicide. CareSource also made two $50k donations to mental health support organizations. [WDTN]

It’s amazing to see our community’s love for Flyer basketball channeled towards such an important cause. UD will tip off their regular season with a home game against SIUE next Monday (Nov. 6th).

🗳️ Reshare: Dayton Daily News’ Voter Guide

With the election less than a week away, we wanted to reshare this great resource from Dayton Daily. Using this guide, you can find candidates’ unedited responses to questions about their goals, vision, and priorities. This is a great way to research your local options for mayor, city council, commission, school board, etc. While this year’s ballot initiatives will get most of our attention, it’s important to remember that these local offices—and who holds them—matter too. [Dayton Daily News]

🍗 Smoked & Fried Wings Now At City BBQ

City Barbeque, Best of Dayton's "Best BBQ" winner, is expanding what's for dinner. After years of patrons asking, they're now serving smoked & fried wings. The wings are brined, seasoned with BBQ rub, smoked over local hickory, and fried for a crisp finish. They also seem to have caught a case of Brisket fever. Given they're re-introducing: Brisket Chili, Brisket Chili Cheese Fries, and Brisket Chili Loaded Mac & Cheese. But just like a cold, those Brisket dishes will only be around for a limited time. I know what we're getting this weekend... [Dayton.com]

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Hope you have a great weekend, and we look forward to seeing you next Thursday!