Hope your schedule is flexible from March 6-8, because you’ll want to be part of this: The Arnold Sports Festival 2009 will be taking place all over Columbus, with events at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Nationwide Arena and The Ohio Expo Center’s Lausche Building.

This year’s schedule is the biggest in the 21 years of the Arnold. There are 37 events, including 11 Olympic sports, and three new events: the Arnold Racewalk (5K), the Arnold Fencing Classic fie Satellite World Cup and the Arnold Party with the Pros. More than 17,000 athletes and 165,000 fitness enthusiasts from around the world will participate and demonstrate all weekend in everything from gymnastics, dance and cheerleading to table tennis, archery and martial arts.

But you don’t have to be a fitness enthusiast, an Olympic-caliber athlete or a bodybuilder to find something at the Festival to pique your interest. The EXPO will boast 700 exhibitors offering information on sports nutrition, apparel and equipment. There are also plenty of opportunities for youth and family participation in a wide variety of sports, a fitness fashion show, training seminars and the Party with the Pros, which features fitness celebrities and live entertainment.

The full schedule packed into one weekend is part of what makes this Festival special for a consistently growing crowd. The history is what makes it intriguing. Director Jim Lorimer originally teamed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1976, shortly after the then-Mr. Universe retired from competitive bodybuilding. The two met in Columbus in 1970 at a competition Lorimer was directing and Schwarzenegger was competing in.

“(Schwarzenegger) told me it was the best event he had ever competed at and that when he was retired from competing, he wanted to come back to Columbus and work together to promote and professionalize the sport,” Lorimer says. “Following his last competition in South Africa in 1975, Arnold stopped in Columbus and we formed our partnership. It was all based on a handshake. He is a tremendously loyal man of his word.”

What began in the late ‘70s as a bodybuilding contest has grown beyond Lorimer’s wildest expectations. New sports and activities have been added each year and, in the early 1990s, the concept was expanded into an entire weekend of multisport events. The Arnold has continued adding new sports, including racewalking this year.

Anyone who continues to think of the Arnold Sports Festival as just a bodybuilding competition is surely missing out on the bevy of activities.

“There are 17,000 to 18,000 athletes participating throughout the weekend and maybe 100 of them are bodybuilders. It is an attractive part of the weekend and has its own culture. But this is a huge multisport festival that has something for everyone. There are Olympians and Olympic sports, there are dancers who are 6 years-old through college, there is entertainment and there is a huge expo. The confluence of everything is what makes it attractive and fun,” Lorimer says.

Because of this “something for everyone” idea, Lorimer estimates an increase from last year’s total attendance of 160,000-plus people throughout the weekend. The EXPO booth vendors have also grown sharply from last year, from 650 to 700.

The bustling weekend entails plenty of objectives. Lorimer would like to continue to see growth in both sports and attendance, “to make it bigger and better every year.” There is a sizeable influx of hospitality dollars from the event benefitting the city: Experience Columbus estimates the weekend brings in about $41 million. And there is incomparable sports/fitness exposure with the potential of Olympic development.

“Everyone has a different body type and size and mental inclination. One of the joyful experiences of life is to find an event that appeals specifically to you. This event gives people that opportunity to find it’s not necessarily the strongest person who wins or the quickest, but what fits that person best,” Lorimer says.

Finding a niche won’t break the bank, either. Admission to the Arnold is $10. A new feature this year, Arnold’s Party with the Pros, will be held Saturday evening, March 7 within Veterans Memorial’s North Hall. Admission to this late night soiree is $25 and includes entertainment and the chance to mingle with celebrities and internationally recognized professional athletes.

“The cost for this festival atmosphere is very family-friendly – especially to enjoy an entire day of entertainment and the widest possible range of fitness activity,” Lorimer says. “If you want to have a lot of fun watching a lot of different events, there is something here for you. This will remind you that sports and fitness are fun.”

For tickets, information, lodging and shuttle schedules, visit www.arnoldsportsfestival.com.

Alicia Kelso is editor of CityScene.