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The Forge does have a full bar and kitchen. There is no cover charge but they do request all attendees to purchase a minimum of ~20 per person. Soft drink refills are 1 each. Please support our hosts so we can continue to provide great events for the group! The Forge has a large library of games available for us to enjoy. Hosts and regulars will also provide numerous popular games but please bring any games you would like to teach and/or play. Doors open at 6, and we expect gaming to be rolling by around 630. Please promptly end your games and clear out the space at 10pm when the bar closes. We encourage socializing but do not permit disruptive behavior of any kind. Thank you for your continued commitment to providing a fun and welcoming space to veteran, newbie, and rookie gamers in the Columbus area. Parking can sometimes fill esrly. There is additional parking lot behind the neighboring Mexican restaurant that is free and easy to walk from but it's a bit hidden.

**Let’s have lunch and have some extra fun! Bring your favorite game! 🥳**

The emotional pain from past bad experiences easily lingers in the present, making it hard to enjoy life and create your future. Even when you think you've moved on, the negative emotions can be triggered, sending you back into the pain of that experience. And we are talking about pain; emotions such as grief, depression, anxiety, fear (or terror), boiling anger, simmering resentment, feelings of shame, blaming and regret can leave you incapacitated to a greater or lesser degree. In this local event we will be discussing the reasons why these past bad experiences have the power to affect you long after they occurred. We'll go over why the emotional pain can be so strong. We'll also discuss some simple solutions to overcome your emotional pain and be free to fully enjoy your life again. Examples of painful experiences include: * A broken relationship or divorce. * Death or loss of a loved one. * Death of a pet. * A sudden shock or bad news. * A betrayal. * Being part of an abusive relationship. * A bad injustice. * Loss of a job, position or business. * A grave illness or injury. The negative emotions from these experiences don't just go away on their own. But the good news is there is a way to clear them out of your way. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is sponsored the Dianetics & Scientology Self-Improvement Center.

Most people use AI like a search box: they type one sentence, hope for the best, and get frustrated when the answer is generic, wrong, or useless. But getting better results from tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI systems is not about memorizing magic prompts. It is about learning how to give the AI better context. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll break down how to make AI dramatically more useful by improving the way you communicate with it. You’ll learn how to give clearer instructions, provide examples, set constraints, ask for better output formats, and use follow-up questions to turn a mediocre answer into a genuinely useful one. We’ll cover practical techniques you can use immediately for work, learning, writing, coding, planning, research, and everyday problem solving. We’ll also touch on why these same ideas show up in more advanced AI systems, including RAG, agents, evaluations, and AI workflows. No technical background required. Bring your curiosity, your questions, and maybe one real task you wish AI was better at helping you with. **What you’ll learn:** * Why “better prompting” is really about better context * How to structure requests so AI gives more useful answers * How to use examples, constraints, and output formats * How to iterate when the first answer is not good enough * How these skills connect to more advanced AI workflows This meetup is for anyone who wants to move beyond basic ChatGPT usage and start getting more practical value out of AI. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.

**✅ Salsa Wednesdays with Todd Smith!** **👉 Beginner Salsa Class** **$15 In Advance / $20 At the Door** 7:00 pm – 7:15 pm … Registration 7:15 pm – 8:15 pm … Beginner Class **👉 Intermediate Salsa Class** **= $15 In Advance / $20 At the Door** 8:15 pm – 8:30 pm Registration 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm Intermediate Class **👉 If You Take Both Salsa Classes** **= $25 In Advance / $35 At the Door** **👉 Buy Advance Tickets Now at:** https://columbussalsadancing.com/salsa-wednesdays-dance-class-tickets/ **👉 Questions? Text Todd @ (614) 774-8146**

Let’s meet and wander the galleries! General admission on Sundays is free.

Who else is ready to sit outside? Join us for a casual chat over coffee & tea at Grandview Grind! Come out and meet some new people, enjoy your favorite drink, and make some new friends!

Community Backyards Workshop .Community Backyards Workshop - Westerville Join us for the Westerville Community Backyards workshop! This is a FREE class on how you can protect our waterways and environment with small changes in your gardening habits. We will discuss rain barrels, rain gardens, composting, and native plants. This workshop is presented by Friends of Alum Creek. By attending, any participating community resident can receive a voucher for a rain barrel, compost bin, or native plants for attending. Vouchers are limited to one per household per year. Registration in advance is encouraged but not required. * Location: Westerville Community Center, 350 N Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43082 * Date and time: Sat, May 30, 2026 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM * Organizer: Community Backyards Program, (614) 486-9613, communitybackyards@franklinswcd.org (Free Workshop Registration: Registration is free. Registering in advance provides your information to Franklin Soil and Water ahead of time, so when you come to the workshop, we will have your voucher ready for you when you arrive) https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/h2w5ms8 **FAQs** **Our Community Backyards workshops are FREE and a great way to participate in the rebate program. Our workshops are typically 1 to 1 and a half hours long and held in-person. Our workshops cover the same content as the online course, but they are more detailed and allow the chance to ask questions and have discussions with the presenters and other residents. We occassionally have "advanced topics" classes where you dive deeper into one topic of Community Backyards such as invasive vs. native plants or rain gardens.** **Registration is encouraged but not required.** You can register in advance to receive your voucher at the workshop. If you don't register in advance, that's okay - you can still show up (unless otherwise noted - which is very rare) and sign up for a voucher at the class, and we will send you one via email or mail within a few business days after the workshop. **"Do I have to be a resident of that community to attend that workshop?"** Nope! Our workshops are open to everyone (unless otherwise noted - which is extremely rare). You can attend a workshop that best suits your schedule even if it is in a different community than your own. **"Why is registration closed?** Can I just show up?" Yes, you can show up without registering! We close registration typically 1-2 days before the workshop to give the vouchers and materials to the presenters. However, you are always welcome to just show up and fill out a short form to request a voucher at the workshop. If eligible, we will send one to you within 1-2 business days after the workshop. **Voucher note**: Classes are free for everyone but vouchers are for residents of Franklin county or participating community (list here: https://www.communitybackyards.org/participate) 2026 Participating Vendors: City Folk's Farm Shop, Fisher's Gardens, Leaves for Wildlife, Scioto Gardens, Hoover Gardens & Gift Center, and the FSWCD/SWACO Compost Bin Sale. *when redeeming your voucher at a vendor, Please bring a physical copy of your voucher to receive an immediate discount on your purchase. Additionally, to keep up with number of vouchers that are given out, we have changed the expiration date on the vouchers to 30 days

Thanks for being a part of the CABS Meetup Group! We meet @ the COFFEE UNDERGROUND on Indianola Avenue. We play many different games @ CABS - bring your own or play one of the OVER 2222 in our library. What are your favorite games? What was the last game you played? Hope to see and game with you soon! Check us out on Facebook! Doors open early on Saturday Mornings at 10am and around 4pm on Fridays if you are interested in learning new / simpler games ... or new to the hobby or just want to check us out come in early just after noon and we will show you around before the crowd grows. Stay for a game or two, an hour or two or for the day! Your first visit is free and after that it's $5 a meeting or you can join for the year! It's Your Move

Couldn't make Knowledge? Or want to debrief the dancing robots or Autonomous Workforce? Join us for a Knowledge '26 recap, insights sharing, a couple rounds of golf, and fun at Topgolf. As always, drinks and food will be provided. More details to come — mark your calendar, RSVP, and save your spot today!

Our monthly PHP meetup. A virtual shindig courtesy of Zoom. Check back here for the details around 6:15 pm

Who’s up for a pizza night at the highly requested Pizza House? 🍕🍻 Join us at for great pizza, good laughs, and even better company! Come hungry and ready for a cheesy good time.

**History** The [Franklin Park Conservatory](https://www.fpconservatory.org/)’s roots trace back to 1852 when the Franklin County Agricultural Society purchased 88 acres of land to host the Ohio State Fair. After the fair moved to its permanent home, the city of Columbus transformed the grounds into Franklin Park in 1884. This transition shifted the space from a temporary event site to a dedicated public green space for the growing community. The park became a central hub for outdoor recreation and early civic gatherings in the neighborhood. In 1895, the landmark Victorian-style Palm House opened its doors, drawing heavy inspiration from the Glass Palace of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This iron and glass structure became an immediate icon, housing exotic plants that residents would otherwise never see in the Midwest. It remains the oldest part of the facility and serves as a primary link to the conservatory’s 19th-century origins. For decades, it stood as a singular testament to grand horticultural architecture in Central Ohio. A major turning point arrived in 1992 when Columbus hosted AmeriFlora '92, an international horticultural exhibition. This massive event prompted a $16 million renovation and expansion, adding significantly more greenhouse space and the Dorothy M. Davis Showhouse. The festival put the conservatory on the international map and fundamentally changed its scale and ambition. Following the event, the facility transitioned from a city-run park to a private, non-profit organization. In 2003, the conservatory’s identity was further defined through a long-term partnership with world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. After a successful exhibition, the Friends of the Conservatory purchased most of the glass installations, creating the largest permanent collection of Chihuly’s work in a botanical setting. These vibrant glass sculptures are now woven throughout the biomes, blending art with nature. This addition helped cement the conservatory as a premier cultural destination rather than just a botanical garden. Recent years have seen the site expand beyond the glass walls to emphasize community engagement and outdoor education. The 2018 opening of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden added two acres of interactive landscape designed for hands-on learning. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus also provides local residents with space to grow their own food and learn sustainable practices. Today, the conservatory balances its historic Victorian charm with modern commitments to local ecology and the Columbus community. **Maps of the Conservatory** Here is the [main map](https://www.fpconservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/franklin-park-zones-scaled.jpg) of the Conservatory grounds. Here's a [map of the areas](https://www.fpconservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ConstructionMap-2026.jpg) in which the Conservatory has ongoing construction (see below). **Summary** For this event, we'll explore Columbus's highly-rated and very popular Conservatory. As mentioned above, the Conservatory is doing renovations on parts of the facility. These renovations are scheduled to be ongoing until the Fall of next year. Basically, no matter when you go to the Conservatory over the next 18 months, you're going to see some metaphorical orange barrels. So let's just go now. **Tickets and pricing** On the first Sunday of every month, the Conservatory is free for residents of Franklin County and the city of Columbus. You must bring an ID to receive this discount. (Yes, they do check.) Otherwise, tickets are $25.20. Members of the Columbus Zoo (of which I am one) do get a discount on tickets, though I have never actually bought a ticket to the Conservatory (I've always gone on free days). I believe the discount is $4. Parking is always free. If you have additional questions about pricing or whether and for what you qualify, you can reach the Conservatory at 614-715-8000. **Where we'll meet** We will meet just outside the main entrance. I guarantee there's going to be a line. The Conservatory is always popular on free days, and especially in nice weather. **Your GPS is stupid!** Be careful simply typing "Franklin Park Conservatory" in your GPS and going where it tells you. The only way to access the parking lot to the Conservatory is off of Broad Street. Unfortunately, since Google Maps is unable to find its way out of a wet paper bag, it has a tendency to want to take people to a mythical, non-existent Conservatory entrance on Nelson Road. If your GPS does this, just drive to the north side of the Conservatory along Broad Street. Your GPS should then redirect you to the main Conservatory entrance. If your GPS doesn't, then throw your phone away\* and look for the big Conservatory sign on the south side of Broad Street between Nelson Road and Franklin Park West. You also should be able to use the map pin I've provided, below, and it should properly direct you to where you need to drive. \* Don't really do this. **After the event** After stopping to smell the roses, for those that are interested, we'll head to the nearby [Columbus Brewing Company Beer Hall](https://columbusbrewing.com/location/beer-hall/) for [drinks](https://columbusbrewing.com/location/beer-hall/#draft-list) and [lunch](https://columbusbrewing.com/location/beer-hall/#food-menu). The Beer Hall's actual address is [200 Kelton Ave, Columbus, OH 43205](https://www.google.com/maps/place/200+Kelton+Ave,+Columbus,+OH+43205/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x883889a94ac4acad:0xadb2e60240dbc38b?sa=X&ved=1t:242&ictx=111) (it's literally just on the south side of the Conservatory). Be sure this is where your GPS is taking you when you use it, as the Brewing Company has a taproom on Harrison Avenue that is *not* what you want for this event. We should be at the Beer Hall by 1 if you can't make the Conservatory and just want to join us for drinks.

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

Topic to be announced. **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com