💎 Sweater Weather Weekend (Issue #6)

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Last week, we hoped sweater weather was right around the corner. By the looks of this weekend’s weather, we got our wish! To celebrate this first chilly weekend of the fall, we are dubbing it “Sweater Weather Weekend”.

Before we dive into today’s issue, we just wanted to remind you that next Tuesday, October 10th, is the last day to either register to vote or update your voter registration in Ohio. You can learn more about how to update your registration or register to vote online, in-person, or by mail here.

Now that we’ve done our civic duty, here’s what we’ll be covering today:

• Upcoming fun fall events, plus a rare chance to tour the Masonic Center

• The city of Dayton is exploring selling biogas from its wastewater treatment site

• Baby and child items, like diapers, are now tax-free across Ohio

• New voter ID rules you should know ahead of November’s election

• The Dayton Dragons crushing attendance numbers this season, again

• A local spotlight on Oakwood’s sweetest treat - Ashley’s Pastry Shop

Let’s get to it!

— Max

⚡ WEEKEND WEATHER

Friday

41° 🌡️ 70° | ⛅ | ☔ 20% | 💨 14 mph

Saturday

38 °🌡️ 56° | ⛅ | ☔ 20% | 💨 17 mph

Sunday

42° 🌡️ 57° | ⛅ | ☔ 0% | 💨 15 mph

📅 EVENTS

🍜 Dayton Noodle Fest

📅 Friday: 5-9pm
📍 Yellow Cab Tavern, Downtown Dayton
💰 Free entry

Dive into a world of flavors, from traditional ramen to innovative noodle dishes, brought to you by local chefs and food trucks. Whether you're a fan of spicy, savory, or sweet, there will be a noodle dish for you. Alongside the food, enjoy a vibrant atmosphere with live entertainment and music. It promises an evening full of savoring and slurping the best noodle dishes Dayton has to offer. Learn more.

🤣 Chris Kattan (21+)

📅 Friday: 6:30pm | Saturday: 6pm
📍 Dayton Funny Bone at The Greene, Beavercreek
💰 $32 - $42 per person

Experience the comedic brilliance of SNL icon, Chris Kattan, who served on the cast there from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. Renowned for his unforgettable "Mango" character and the iconic "Night At The Roxbury" sketch-turned-movie, Kattan has since showcased his humor in films like "Corky Romano" and more recently, "Hotel Transylvania" and "The Ridiculous 6". You can catch him live as he brings his nationwide comedy tour to the Miami Valley. Get tickets.

🚀 Rocket Day

📅 Saturday: 10-3pm
📍 Air Force Museum, Dayton
💰 Free entry

Fuel your kids' curiosity for the cosmos at Rocket Day! They can craft and set off their very own model rockets with the help of the Wright Stuff Rocketeers. Dive deeper into the world of rocketry with captivating presentations in the National Aviation Hall of Fame, and marvel at an authentic lunar rover from the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. A galactic adventure awaits! Discover more.

🎃 WPAFB Pumpkin Chuck

📅 Saturday: 11-3:30pm
📍 WPAFB, Riverside (Spinning Gate Road entrance)
💰 Free entry

Want to watch some pumpkins get launched after your kids’ rockets? You’d be in the right place because that same Saturday the 18th Annual Pumpkin Chuck will also be at the base. This is a STEM spectacle where teams showcase their ingenuity by launching pumpkins using hand-made devices, from catapults to trebuchets. And in the cases of the “human powered chuckers”, their own hands! Watch safely from the Spectator Zone, or have the kids play in the STEM Zone with activities like face painting and pumpkin decorating, and savor treats from various food trucks. Don't miss this pumpkin-packed day of family fun and excitement! Learn more.

🍂 Harvest Gathering

📅 Saturday: 5-8pm
📍 SunWatch Indian Village, Dayton
💰 $75 per person

Experience a night of history, gratitude, and community at SunWatch’s 3rd annual Harvest Gathering. Pay homage to the harvest season, while dining like Ohio’s early settlers on a bountiful dinner prepared by Amber Rose. Get guided tours of the village and engage up close with museum artifacts. Learn about SunWatch Village’s significance from curator Jill Krieg, and have the rare experience of placing cedar markers within the post holes of the Cedar Lodge house-pattern. Wrap up the night by saying goodbye to their old center pole, and hello to SunWatch’s second reconstructed pole. Get tickets.

🍷🍴🧁 Sips, Savories & Sweets

📅 Saturday: 7-10pm
📍 Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, Centerville
💰 $95 per person

Join Hospice of Dayton for an evening of charity and culinary delight! Relish in gourmet dishes from Dayton’s renowned restaurants, food trucks, and bakeries. Enjoy live entertainment while partaking and observing a silent auction. All net proceeds will benefit Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton patient care and services. It appears you can still buy tickets online. Tickets will also be sold at the event, until they are sold out. Learn more.

🍁 Oakwood Family Fall Festival

📅 Sunday: 2-5pm
📍 Shafor Park, Oakwood
💰 Free entry

Join the Oakwood community for the 17th annual fall celebration. An afternoon filled with fun games, scrumptious food, pumpkin painting, and activities for the whole family. Take a free scenic hayride along Shafor Boulevard and marvel at the Scarecrow Row. Kids can wear their favorite costumes and partake in the “Costume Parade” around the park. A perfect family outing to celebrate the autumn spirit! Learn more.

🎸 Phish

📅 Tuesday, Oct. 10th: 7:30pm | Wednesday, Oct. 11th: 7:30pm
📍 WSU Nutter Center, Fairborn
💰 $91+

Rock out with the timeless and undisputed kings of the jam-band movement - Phish. With a unique blend of rock, jazz, funk, folk, and country, their music has captivated audiences for decades and across generations. Known for their dynamic concerts, combining improvisation and iconic tunes to create a magical performance that evolves in real-time. Join the legion of dedicated Phish Heads and witness the magic of Phish in concert this October. Get tickets.

🎪 Yellow Springs Fall Street Fair

📅 Saturday, Oct. 14th: 9-5pm
📍 Downtown Yellow Springs
💰 Free entry

Take a little trip out for one of Yellow Spring’s signature street fairs. Browse through 250+ unique vendors, many of whom are Yellow Spring’s own local store owners and artisans showing off their wares. Grab a bite from a wide range of 30 food trucks, and get something to sip from their beer garden. Enjoy live music throughout the day across two stages. It’s a day of community, culture, and commerce you won’t want to miss!

🏛️ Dayton Masonic Center Guided Tour

📅 Sunday, Oct. 15th: 4-6pm
📍 Dayton Masonic Center, Downtown Dayton
💰 Non-members: $30 | Members: $20

The Dayton Masonic Center is one of the Miami Valley’s architectural gems. The scale, attention to detail, and craftmanship is awesome and inspiring. I’m very grateful that I have a family friend who is a Mason, so I’ve been able to tour there multiple times. Given that outside access is rare, this is a great opportunity to get an exclusive guided tour. Tours will be begin every 30 minutes and are limited to 20 guests. A cash bar and appetizers will be available after the tour. If you appreciate architecture, craftsmanship, and history, I highly suggest you check it out. Get your tickets here.

Have an upcoming event you’re attending or hosting? Tell us about it here, if it’s a good fit for our community, we may share it.

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🗞️ LOCAL NEWS

🌱 Dayton Looking To Sell Biogas

The city of Dayton is considering selling biogas from its wastewater treatment plant to Pinnacle Gas Producers, an energy company based in Moraine. Under the proposed 20-year contract, the city would receive $1.3 million in royalties each year, totaling up to about $26 million in revenue. Currently, this biogas is being burned off - wasted - in a process known as “flaring”. By selling this biogas, instead of flaring it, the city says it would reduce that facility’s emissions by 50%.

Biogas is an inevitable byproduct of waste treatment coming from the decay of processed organic materials. While both biogas and natural gas are methane, using biogas is more sustainable. The carbon emitted from burning natural gas was absorbed from the atmosphere millions of years ago. Whereas the carbon released from biogas was recently absorbed. So it's essentially getting "recycled". Using biogas for power beats wasting it through flaring or risking methane leaks. It’s great to see this developing in the Miami Valley, as partnerships like these are critical to our transition to cleaner energy. [Dayton Daily News]

👶 Key Baby/Child Items Now Tax-Free In Ohio

As of Oct. 1st, several key baby and child items are now tax exempt in Ohio. These tax-free items include diapers, therapeutic and preventative creams/wipes, child restraints and booster seats, cribs, and strollers. The exemption isn’t limited by value or amount and applies to purchases made in Ohio, even if from out-of-state companies. If sales tax is wrongly charged, customers can seek a refund by completing a ST AR form and providing payment proof. Given how expensive and frequent these purchases can be, a ~7% savings is a little relief that can go a long way for parents/caregivers. [WDTN]

🗳️ New Voter ID Rules

These new rules went into effect this year, but if you haven’t voted yet you might be unaware of them. Using alternative proof of residence, like utility bills or paystubs, is no longer accepted. You must have a valid, non-expired, government-issued photo ID to vote. Acceptable forms of ID include an Ohio driver’s license, an Ohio state ID, a U.S. passport, or a military ID. Ohioans 17 or older without a valid driver’s license can now get a free state ID from the BMV. [Dayton 24/7 Now]

⚾ Hitting Attendance Out Of The Park

This season, the Dayton Dragons attracted an average attendance of 7,885 spectators. Totaling up to over 520,000 fans over 66 home games. This turnout put them in second place for average attendance in all of Minor League Baseball. Without a doubt this is helped by them continuing their sellout streak for the 23rd year in a row. The Miami Valley sure to seems to love its Dayton Dragons! [WYSO]

🔦 LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

Serving Sweets Since 1982

Did you know that yesterday, October 4th, was Cinnamon Roll Day? Well, it was news to me. But once I found out, I knew exactly where to go to celebrate - Ashley’s Pastry Shop.

Ashley’s has been serving up sweet treats at 21 Park Ave. in Oakwood since 1982. The owners, Greg and Theresa Hammons, named it after their oldest daughter - who Theresa was apparently eight-and-a-half months pregnant with when they opened!

Over 40 years later, Ashley’s is still going strong under the couple’s leadership. They’ve won Best Bakery in Dayton.com’s “Best of Dayton” multiple times and just got 3rd place this year.

Even though I grew up down the street in Kettering, I didn’t really experience Ashley’s until I was an adult. I found them when I was looking for a bakery that also had gluten-free options for my wife. Walking into their quaint shop, I felt like a kid in a candy store. They had cannolis, eclairs, baklava, donuts, and so much more.

Most important, their gluten-free coffee cake looked and felt like an actual cake. So I loaded up and went home to enjoy everything over coffee with the lady. The pastries just melted in my mouth, and she loved their cake. We’ve since introduced that coffee cake to our other gluten-free family members, with high-praise.

So when I learned about Cinnamon Roll Day yesterday afternoon, I knew I had to pay Ashley’s a visit. Unfortunately though, by the time I got there they were all sold out of cinnamon rolls. They went pretty quick that morning.

But that didn’t stop me from grabbing two Persian rolls as cinnamon roll substitutes. I also had to get a piece of baklava and, of course, gluten-free coffee cake. Delicious sweets plus brownie points with the missus? I’ll take that every day. As always, everything was perfect.

Whether you're looking to make this weekend extra sweet, grab some fresh bread, or order a custom cake for a special event, Ashley’s Pastry Shop has got you covered. Check them out and share your sweet experiences with us!

Do you know an awesome local business or organization that deserves the spotlight? Tell us all about them here.

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