Downtown visitors will soon be able to sip wine or taste a beer while strolling the Scioto Mile and Capitol Square.

Driving the news: A new Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) is about to be active in downtown Columbus and Franklinton.

Why it matters: The Center City DORA is meant to encourage more people to visit downtown in the evenings and on weekends.

• Local leaders want to significantly increase the downtown population and make it a more pedestrian-friendly destination.

State of play: Columbus City Council approved the DORA last month, saying no public money will be needed to operate the program.

• It joins over a dozen other DORAs throughout the region, including the Arena District, Bexley and Dublin.
• This is part of a statewide program allowing people to openly carry alcoholic beverages with restrictions.

How it works: Licensed restaurants and bars inside a DORA boundary can serve alcohol in specially marked cups of up to 20 ounces.

• Patrons can then leave and drink on sidewalks, in parks and in other public areas within the boundary, which is marked.
• Drinkers have to dispose of their cups before entering another bar.
• DORA rules are in effect from 11am-10pm, seven days a week.

Between the lines: Downtown Columbus Inc., a private development nonprofit that will manage the local program, had previously announced today as a DORA start date.

• But the state's approval was confirmed only yesterday, meaning there's still some last-minute preparation needed.
• "We are in the final stages of distributing materials to participating businesses, happening in the next week," the Downtown Columbus website states.

Zoom in: A list of participating DORA establishments is also not yet available. The application to the state noted that 80 licensed businesses would qualify to serve.

The big picture: The DORA boundary closely resembles a $100 million "urban pathway" project that will eventually loop around the area.

⛲ Take a run through the new Scioto Mile Fountain during the two-day Fountain Fest in Bicentennial Park.

• Noon-7pm today; 11am-7pm Saturday, 233 Civic Center Dr. Free!

🎉 Celebrate warmer weather with Whitehall's Big Summer Kickoff at John Bishop Park.

• 5-8pm tonight, 4862 Etna Rd. Free!

🐘 Catch the final weekend of the Columbus Zoo's nighttime light show, "Unextinct."

• 8-10:30pm tonight (adults only), Saturday and Sunday, 4850 W. Powell Rd. $19-39, does not include zoo admission.

🔮 Go back in time at the Ohio Village's opening day exposition, featuring vintage baseball, a petting zoo and a 19th-century magic show.

• 10am-5pm Saturday, 800 E. 17th Ave. $10-16, kids under 4 free!

🥋 See traditional martial arts, dances and culture at the Asian Festival held at Franklin Park.

• 10am-8pm Saturday, 10am-6pm Sunday, 1755 E. Broad St. Free!

🍦 Grab a cold scoop at Jeni's Strawberry Jam at Land-Grant Brewing.

• 11am Saturday and Sunday, 424 W. Town St. Free!

🎤 The Ohio Black Expo Riverfront Culture Fest showcases over 100 Black-owned vendors, performers and family activities at Genoa Park.

• 11am Saturday, noon Sunday, Genoa Park. $20-35, children under 11 free!

🏊‍♀️ Take a swim at the Dodge, Driving Park, Glenwood and Tuttle pools, opening for the season this weekend.

• Noon-6pm Saturday, noon-5pm Sunday, locations vary. $1.

Here's even more evidence we're cutting the cord in favor of TV alternatives: Midwesterners are spending $580 per year on streaming services.

The big picture: We spend less than some other American regions, according to The Harris Poll on behalf of Tubi, a free, ad-supported streaming service.

• Ohioans are saving around $105 annually compared to people in the Northeast, who spend the most at nearly $685 per year, or $57 a month.

👋 Tyler here. I'm a longtime "The Office" obsessive who spent years working for various Ohio newspapers.

• That makes me cautiously excited about the show's new version, which will be set at a small Midwestern newspaper.

The intrigue: If the writing team needs any inspiration, I have loads of material to offer.

🦃 I once covered our town's Wild Turkey Festival alongside a Danish reporter who had been imprisoned for publishing military secrets.

🧑‍⚖️ An Ohio Supreme Court candidate walked into the newsroom unannounced one day, and more or less demanded to be interviewed.

🔥 One of my newsrooms shared a wall with a restaurant kitchen. I was alarmed to hear a kitchen fire reported on the police scanner.

• "It's just a grease fire, you're good," a firefighter told me as I snapped photos from our doorstep.

🤣 And my personal favorite: A reader complained about a "Blondie" comic strip that coincidentally featured a side character with her exact first and last name.

• She seriously believed she inspired the character and described feeling extremely embarrassed by it.
• I explained it's a syndicated comic drawn somewhere else.
• She insisted: "I know it's me. I have blonde hair too!"

The bottom line: Here's hoping "The Office" doesn't try a series on hyperlocal digital newsletters.

📆 Upcoming events around the city.

Columbus Chicken & Beer Festival at Dodge Park and Recreation Center on June 1: Featuring some of the best local food trucks, breweries, artists, and merchants in Columbus. The festival will also be raising funds for Use Your Ears, a local nonprofit organization that connects greater Columbus area youth with a network of music-related resources, workshops, and opportunities.

Hosting an event? Email [email protected] for 50% off your first event feature!

Ohio firefighters are reckoning with a type of firefighting foam laced with chemicals linked to cancer. (CBS News)

🏗 Three buildings still standing could be used in future Westland Mall site redevelopment plans. (Columbus Underground)

😬 Columbus apparently led the nation last summer in sign-ups to the adultery website Ashley Madison. (Dispatch)

A fourth former Columbus Zoo & Aquarium employee, the zoo's director of purchasing, faces criminal charges in connection with an alleged theft of $2.3 million. (WCMH-TV)

🍺 You can now enjoy Elvis Juice and Hazy Jane IPAs at the BrewDog bar at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. (Columbus Underground)