Loveland, Ohio – It’s so important to stay connected with your community and the local businesses surrounding your community! In just two days you will have the opportunity to see what local businesses and organizations have in store for 2022 at the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance (LMRCA) Business Expo!
On Thursday, March 10th from 4-7 p.m. at the Little Miami Brewing Event Center the LMRCA will be hosting the Annual Business Expo where members of the community and local businesses will be able to come together to interact and make new connections! The expo is completely open to the public and free for those who would like to attend. The 2022 Business Expo will include opportunities to:
network with many local businesses and entrepreneurs
establish new contacts
interact with top local businesses and industry leaders
acquire qualified and targeted sales leads
HAVE A LOT OF FUN!
If you happen to be one of the first 50 people to attend the Business Expo you will be rewarded with a free beer tasting and will be entered into a raffle!
Local businesses or entrepreneurs who want to be a part of the LMRCA Business Expo can sign up to grab a booth, which includes a table and 2 chairs, for $200. If your business is a member of the LMRCA the booth fee is $150. The LMRCA is offering Premium Booth Placement for only an additional $50. Booth spaces are very limited so if you are interested in joining one of the best networking events of the year please contact Meredith Taylor or scan the QR code at the bottom of the page to register as soon as possible!
The LMRCA 2022 Business Expo is not only a great place to showcase your business but it is also the perfect event to build your business and gain new customers! Be sure to put the Business Expo in your calendars as you don’t want to miss out on this fun networking event!
Here is Your EXPO Passport with all the Participating Businesses
Loveland, Ohio – Are you ready to see what your local businesses have in store for 2022? Look no further as the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance (LMRCA) Business Expo is nearly here!
On Thursday, March 10th from 4-7 p.m. at the Little Miami Brewing Event Center the LMRCA will be hosting the Annual Business Expo where members of the community and local businesses will be able to come together to interact and make new connections! The expo is completely open to the public and free for those who would like to attend. The 2022 Business Expo will include opportunities to:
network with many local businesses and entrepreneurs
establish new contacts
interact with top local businesses and industry leaders
acquire qualified and targeted sales leads
HAVE A LOT OF FUN!
If you happen to be one of the first 50 people to attend the Business Expo you will be rewarded with a free beer tasting and will be entered into a raffle!
Local businesses or entrepreneurs who want to be a part of the LMRCA Business Expo can sign up to grab a booth, which includes a table and 2 chairs, for $200. If your business is a member of the LMRCA the booth fee is $150. The LMRCA is offering Premium Booth Placement for only an additional $50. Booth spaces are very limited so if you are interested in joining one of the best networking events of the year please contact Meredith Taylor or scan the QR code at the bottom of the page to register as soon as possible!
The LMRCA 2022 Business Expo is not only a great place to showcase your business but it is also the perfect event to build your business and gain new customers! Be sure to put the Business Expo in your calendars as you don’t want to miss out on this fun networking event!
The LMRCA is still looking for sponsors for the 2022 Business Expo so if your business or organization is interested please contact Meredith Taylor.
For the latest LMRCA Business Expo event details stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia!
Loveland, Ohio- Valentine’s Day 2022 couldn’t have been better in the Sweetheart of Ohio! Loveland hosted its first Hearts Afire Weekend February 11th-13th in the heart of the Downtown Historic District. People from all over the Cincinnati area grabbed their friends and family for the historical event so that they could get a first look at all the Valentine’s Day fun!
Loveland’s Hearts Afire Weekend included a plethora of Valentine-themed activities, treats, music, dancing, ice sculptures, and decorations that many members of the community and local businesses helped organize making the weekend that much more special.
I got the opportunity to be a part of the event committee for Hearts Afire Weekend and wow was it rewarding to see how many people came downtown to celebrate love! I of course wanted to take in as much Valentine fun as possible so I grabbed my boyfriend and my dogs and made it my mission to get as much footage as I could of all the things Hearts Afire Weekend offered.
I kicked off my Loveland Hearts Afire experience with a Tarot Card reading from Francine Haydon, a highly talented woman who does intuitive readings, energy work, and classes. I was astonished at how much information and advice Francine was able to give me based on what each card I pulled out showed! Each card represented a month of the year and would display several different images or objects that Francine would then explain. After the reading, I felt as though I was fully prepared for what 2022 had in store for me!
After my Tarot Card Reading, I ventured out to the Loveland Stage Company where there was a beautifully decorated Kitty Kissing Booth and several kittens that you could adopt on the spot. Needless to say, I wanted to take home all the kittens they had along with the 20-pound rabbit that they had sitting peacefully in a baby stroller. Next, I went to Eads Fencing and the Loveland Hardware store where I participated in an impromptu photoshoot in their Puppy Kissing Booth with my dogs Dean and Nala! I also got the pleasure of meeting volunteers from the Furgotten Dog Rescue organization along with some little buddies who were up for adoption. If I was able to facilitate a small zoo I would have taken all the puppies too!
I was sure to stop in Mile42 Coffee on my way out as they always decorate for holidays and events with such style. The coffee shop was decorated gorgeously displaying sparkling red and pink Valentine hearts, streamers, and balloons. Parked right near Mile42 Coffee was Dolph’s Dogs and of course, Dolph was serving up only the most quality hot dogs! Owners of Mile42 Katie and Tim Butler couldn’t resist grabbing one of Dolph’s Dogs, which I thought was just another beautiful example of Loveland’s local businesses supporting one another!
Next, I took a stroll down the Loveland Bike Trail where pristine ice sculptures were displayed everywhere! One of my favorite ice sculptures was Trailside Provision’s as it was a gourmet popcorn box with ice cubes acting as the popcorn kernels. Trailside Provisions is known for its delicious homemade popcorn and treats so after seeing the ice sculpture I had to check out their decked-out Valentine’s Day shop. Not only did the shop go all out with the Valentine’s Day decor, but they also intricately made each product in the shop to in some way represent Valentine’s Day. From the homemade Valentine’s cards made for the Loveland Healthcare residents to the sprinkle and chocolate-covered pretzels, marshmallows, and caramels to the Valentine gift boxes filled with goodies, Trailside Provisions truly embodied the meaning of Hearts Afire Weekend!
Shortly after getting my sweet tooth fix, I visited Alley Boutique which also had beautiful Valentine’s Day decorations throughout the store. Inside the shop were caramel chocolate samples, a heartfelt gift basket raffle, and an endless amount of perfect Valentine’s Day gifts. As I left Alley Boutique I began to see more ice sculptures on display in front of each local business which really made for some excellent photo opportunities!
After capturing each ice sculpture in a photo I took a tour of Eskimo Kisses Village which was located on the Fountain Greene. Wow was it incredible! The entire area was decorated with signs that lit up saying things such as “Marry Me,” “I Love You,” and “Love.” In addition to the love-themed signs, there was an LED Putt-Putt station with 9 holes, a game similar to whack a mole called “Penguin Escape,” corn hole, “ice” skee ball, and a ring toss completely made out of ice! There, of course, were more photo opportunities including a Loveland Hearts Afire ice sculpture in which you could insert your face into the carved-out head and take a photo keepsake. Once it became dark outside the entire Eskimo Kisses Village was decked out in LED’s creating quite the ambiance as The ShamRocker entertained the community with music. One of the best moments during my time in Eskimo Kisses Village was when Premier Dance and Tumbling began a Flash Mob in the middle of Downtown Loveland’s main road to L-O-V-E! It was the epitome of love seeing the community sing and dance with the talented group of ladies from Premier Dance.
After enjoying the Flash Mob, I stopped by Loveland Sweets. The window display was awesome as it displayed heart-shaped boxes filled with homemade truffles on one side and hot chocolate sitting on top of marshmallows on the other side! Loveland Sweets’ ice sculpture that sat right in front of the store really brought on the nostalgia as it was sculpted into candy hearts all saying “sweet nothings.” Everything inside the shop was prepped and ready for Valentine’s Day. Not only were there boxes filled with gourmet chocolates decorated with big bright red bows, but there were also decorated Oreos, chocolate bark, and Valentine’s themed candies such as “Gummy Hugs and Kisses,” “Cherry Sweethearts,” and “Valentine Gummy Bears.” One of the treats that caught my eye was the “Donut Pretzels,” which were chocolate-covered pretzel rings!
After visiting my second Valentine’s treat shop, I decided to wander around and take photos of Loveland’s local business’s decor. Along my journey, I of course saw more ice sculptures but I also was able to see what activity each business had planned for the weekend. Hometown Cafe put on a delicious Hot Cocoa Bar accompanied by Loaded Sweet Potato Chips, The Works Pizza decked out their historical train car for “Single in the City” Speed Dating, Cappy’s Wine and Spirits held a Valentine’s Day-themed Charity Date Auction, and Loveland City Hall opened up their building to feature the “Heartland Market,” which included several local vendors all offering homemade gifts to give to your Valentine! I must say the atmosphere in Heartland Market was one for the books as each vendor had their products festively displayed while purple and pink strobe lights covered the walls.
Hearts Afire Weekend also featured many other local businesses and food trucks throughout downtown that I stopped by just to see what they had in store for the big event. The Chili Hut food truck served up its homemade Cincinnati Style Chili for dinner while The Cheesecakery offered one-of-kind cheesecakes to those who wanted to skip dinner and go straight to dessert! Parked right in front of Alley Boutique was Old School Pix, a vintage truck perfect for any photoshoot. Old School Pix had a lovely Valentine’s Day set-up for those who wanted to hop in the truck’s bed and have their photo taken with their loved ones. I decided to take full advantage of the photoshoot opportunity with my boyfriend and my two furbabies and wow did the photo turn out great! It was a perfect keepsake to remember how fantastic Loveland’s first Hearts Afire Weekend was!
The Hearts Afire Saturday “night-time” activities featured a live ice sculpting demonstration, fire performers, vow renewals, and fireworks. What a way to end the night with a bang!
It’s safe to say that Loveland’s Hearts Afire Weekend was a success. Seeing the community celebrate Valentine’s Day the Loveland way with those they love the most is exactly why Loveland will forever be the Sweetheart of Ohio!
If you couldn’t make it to Loveland’s Hearts Afire Weekend or would like to simply reminisce on all the fun festivities, check out the Loveland Magazine TV “Hearts Afire All-Access Pass” below!
We hope you enjoyed your All-Access Pass to Loveland’s Hearts Afire Weekend! This event has definitely become a new Valentine’s Day tradition! To all those who attended, we hope you had an absolute blast, and for those that didn’t get to attend, we want to see you in your best Valentine’s attire next year!
Stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia for the latest local event updates!
Loveland, Ohio – With Halloween just around the corner and Fall weather officially here scary movie marathons are in full swing! There is nothing better than a good scare to get you in the mood for the 31st! So you’re not sure what scary movies to add to your Halloween movie marathon? Well, you have come to the right place! Here is PART 2 of my guide to the Top 10 Best Halloween movies!
5. Lights Out, 2016, directed by David F. Sandberg and produced by James Wan, Lawrence Grey, and Eric Heisserer
The title of this film is spooky in itself because during the season of Halloween who honestly likes the “lights out?” The film Lights Out is based on an evil entity in the form of a girl named Diana. Diana meets Sophie, played by Maria Bello when Sophie is a young girl and eventually Diana dies for reasons I don’t want to give away! Diana then attaches her insidious spirit to Sophie and makes it her sole mission to have Sophie all to herself…FOREVER! Sophie’s evil conduit (a demonic spirit that attaches itself to a person or object) then begins to haunt Sophie’s daughter Rebecca, played by Teresa Palmer, and Sophie’s son Martin, played by Gabriel Bateman. The most horrifying part of this film is that Diana can only be seen or cause harm when the lights are out! This supernatural horror film is of course produced by my FAVORITE, the legendary James Wan, which means this film definitely includes some terrifying scenes that will leave you keeping the lights on long after the film’s over! Lights Out is a film that is bound to make you jump out of your seat so don’t forget to secure your popcorn!
4. It, 1990 (original), based on the Stephen King novel, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and written by Tommy Lee Wallace and Lawrence D. Cohen, It: Chapter 1, 2017 (adaptation), directed by Andy Muschietti and produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti
I honestly don’t even know where to start when it comes to this film! Let’s just address now that It was responsible for most of the nightmares I had as a kid so when it was re-released in 2017 I was definitely excited to see the film, but not excited for the nightmares to start up again! The film It, which was based on a novel written by the infamous Stephen King, begins its terrifying tale in Derry, Maine in the 1960s where an evil murderous clown named Pennywise, begins to kidnap and kill the children of Derry. When Pennywise takes a young child named Georgie, he finds himself being challenged by 7 outcast kids, one of the kids being Georgie’s brother Billy, that vow to do whatever they can to take Pennywise down for good. If being a murderous clown isn’t scary enough Pennywise can also transform himself into his “victim’s” worst fear causing the victim to succumb to Pennywise’s “light” (the film will explain what the light is) allowing Pennywise to take and keep the victim’s soul forever. This film has so many scenes that will not only make you close your eyes but also close your ears because of Pennywise’s chilling voice! The original It was the film I was first introduced to Pennywise, played by Tim Curry, and I can definitely say with confidence that I have never experienced a scarier clown in a film until It: Chapter 1, an adaptation of the original, was released in 2017. Bill Skarsgard was selected to play the role of Pennywise and to my pleasant surprise scared me just as much as Curry did in the original! The 2017 cast was also selected in a way that I thought worked just as well as the original cast. Fan favorites Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things, Sophia Lillis from Sharp Objects and Jeremy Ray Taylor from Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween all play roles in It: Chapter 1. A highly anticipated follow up to It: Chapter 1 was released in September of this year. I visited the theaters as soon as It: Chapter 2 was released and I must say director Andy Muschietti did a fantastic job transitioning the kid characters into adult characters. With Halloween just right around the corner, I don’t think there’s any better way to celebrate than by watching the entire It collection! You’ll float too….
3. Insidious, 2010, directed by James Wan, produced by Jason Blum, Steven Schneider, Oren Peli and written by Leigh Whannell
If you haven’t seen this supernatural horror film you are definitely missing out! Insidious does not follow the typical scary movie mold as it actually introduces another dimension to the viewer called “The Further.” In the film married couple Josh and Renai, played by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, move into a new home with their young sons Dalton and Foster. Shortly after moving in their son Dalton falls into a mysterious coma that no one can figure out the cause of until demonologist Elise Rainier comes into the picture! After Renai starts to experience some of the most terrifying paranormal activity, including seeing a red-face demon hovering over Dalton, she realizes there is more to what’s happening to her son then meets the eye! This film packs in so many scares that going to bed right after watching I’ll admit probably isn’t the best idea considering Insidious primarily focuses on the idea of astral projection, which many believe is something that people have experienced in dream-like states. Though Insidious is now a film franchise as the film itself has been followed by Insidious: Chapter 2, Insidious: Chapter 3, and Insidious: The Last Key the magic of the very first film of the series cannot be denied! One of my favorite film directors, James Wan, and one of my favorite producers, Jason Blum, teamed up to create this film and if you know anything about either one of these talented individuals you know that they are experts when it comes to giving viewers scares. Again this film isn’t necessarily based on Halloween but it is definitely a fantastic post trick or treating film choice!
2. The Conjuring, 2013, directed by James Wan, produced by Tony DeRosa-Grund, Peter Safran and Rob Cowan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes
If you were able to handle all the movies on my list so far without any nightmares congratulations I am very happy you have made it this far! The film I am about to suggest you watch is by far one of the scariest supernatural horror movies I have ever seen. The Conjuring is based on a real paranormal case that the legendary paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren took on in Rhode Island in 1971. There’s nothing that makes a film more appealing, especially in the horror movie genre than sharing with the viewer that what they are watching is based on a true story, and The Conjuring is just that! The real Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are now passed, took on over 10,000 paranormal cases over their very long careers as paranormal investigators. The Conjuring film follows Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, as they get pulled into the mysterious demonic occurrences that are happening, according to the Perroni family, in their Rhode Island farmhouse. What Lorraine ends up finding to be attached to the family and farmhouse is beyond what she ever expected! This film literally has it all; great acting, great story development, great visionary moments and the scare tactics well they are off the charts! I will warn you that this movie may not be for children as it is rated R and has quite a few REALLY scary moments! Adults beware you are definitely in for a scare with The Conjuring!
Hereditary, 2018, directed and written by Ari Aster, and produced by Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, and Buddy Patrick
You know the feeling when you see a film for the first time and after it has finished all you can do is sit there in utter shock and silence? That’s exactly how I felt after I saw Hereditary for the first time. This supernatural psychological horror-drama takes place in Utah where Annie and her husband Peter, played by Toni Collette and Gabriel Bryne, along with their kids Steve and Charlie, played by Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro, discover that a demon by the name of Paimon is haunting them due to Annie’s estranged mother’s death. Though the film’s plot seems quite typical the film itself is anything but typical! I will attest that some of the scenes in this film are quite horrifying and will probably stick with you in your dreams, but hey isn’t that what enjoying a great horror film is all about?! Finding this film maybe a little difficult as it was originally released at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival as somewhat of an “underground indie horror film,” but of course I did my research and I found that you can purchase this film at most stores, amazon prime video, google play and YouTube. Hereditary is number 1 on my list for a reason and that’s mainly because out of all the millions of horror movies I’ve seen not many scenes can compare to the visual horror that is displayed in this film! This horror movie is one that should be saved for Halloween night after the kids go to bed!
Thank you Loveland Magazine readers for tuning in to my Top 10 Best Halloween Movies Part 1 and Part 2! We hope everyone has a spooky yet safe HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Scare ya later!
Read Part 1 of my Guide to the Top 10 Best Halloween Movies!