Cities across Central Ohio are discovering new treasures. Art crawls, art walks and gallery hops are popping up in business districts hungry to attract new customers. They may be getting inspiration from the granddaddy of them all, the wildly-successful Short North Gallery Hop near downtown Columbus.

With close to 300 consecutive Hops under its belt, the High Street extravaganza is the standard others aspire to. On the first Saturday of every month, the Short North district clogs with visitors taking in this unique experience. Numerous galleries open their doors from 4 to 10 p.m. to display works by the famous and the aspiring. Restaurants, hair salons and clothing boutiques also provide space for artists.

But the Short North is no longer the only place to discover such treasures every month. Grandview Heights hopes to bring that same energy to its main business corridor through the Grandview Hop. Fifty-three businesses dot Grandview Avenue between 1st and 5th Avenues. Restaurants, art galleries, hair salons, florists, even a shop that makes handmade pet treats have become Art Hop business partners. The Grandview Hop runs on the last Saturday in the month from April to November.

“It seemed like a natural thing to pull all the businesses together through art,” says Pat Meyer, branch manager of Arlington Bank at 1460 Grandview Ave. “There are a lot of things going on here and we’re getting more merchants who want to come onboard.”

Much like the Short North, Grandview Avenue is known for its mix of restaurants, boutiques and other businesses.

“Consistency is the key,” Meyer adds. “You may not always have a big turnout, but you need to stick with it to make it succeed.”

The way Meyer sees it, if a merchant gets just one new person to visit their store during the Hop, that’s success. The Grandview Hop is in its second year and hopes to expand hours in the spring.

Art lovers in Clintonville are trying to turn a stretch of Indianola Avenue, north of Weber Road, into an art magnet, too. It’s called the Studio 35 Corridor in recognition of the theater by the same name, which has anchored the neighborhood for decades. Bridgette Turner, an art gallery operator on Indianola, started the Clintonville Art Crawl last year by inviting artists to paint pictures of ravines found in Clintonville.

“We showed 50 pieces our first time out,” Turner says. Between 200 and 250 people showed up. Businesses along Indianola are happy about the attention they’re getting because of it.

Bexley has hosted three art walks since September, and promoters have booked dates through spring. The Bexley Art Walk happens monthly on a designated Friday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. It draws between 250 and 300 visitors.

“With four galleries in Bexley, we’ve become a small arts district,” says Cassandra Tellier, director of the Schumacher Gallery at Capital University. Art Access, Bryan Gallery, Hammond-Harkins Gallery and the Schumacher represent a talented core that should keep the Bexley Art Walk drawing crowds.

“We’re putting together a themed-art walk for Jan. 30 called ‘¡Carnaval!,’” Tellier says. “It’ll be based on Mardi Gras, looking at pre-Lenten celebrations from eight areas around the world including Venice, Spain, the Caribbean, Rio (de Janeiro), Bolivia and others.”

Other communities have explored similar arts events, including: First Fridays in Delaware, Zanesville and Mount Vernon; Historic Downtown Chillicothe’s Gallery Stroll; Gallery Walk Gahanna; Late Night Logan; Westerville’s Fourth Fridays; and Newark’s Art Walk.

Perhaps we can look for even more suburbs to begin their own art-centered events in the near future. One thing is clear: art inspires; art enriches; and, by using it as a vehicle for commerce, art is also good business.

Watch Jerry Revish on the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. editions of 10TV News HD.