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Wine Over Water on the Purple People Bridge – 9/19

Looking for an opportunity to enjoy some fabulous wine while supporting a good cause and doing all on top of the Ohio River? Well then Wine Over Water is for you as the wine tasting event will be held on the Purple People Bridge on Saturday, September 19 from 7pm to 10pm and will raise money to repaint the pedestrian/event bridge hosting the event.

The Newport Citizens Advisory Council is hosting the event and says that in addition to raising money to repaint Cincinnati’s second oldest existing river span, it will also raise money for the ECHO Soup Kitchen.

Event organizers say that participants will be sampling a selection of international wines and a variety of offerings from Cincinnati’s best wineries. Many of the local wineries present will also have bottles of wine for sale at the event if you taste one you particularly enjoy. There will also be hors d’oeuvres, live music, and a commemorative tasting glass all for just $20 in advance ($25 at the door). Tickets can be purchased in person at Kentucky Haus (10th & Monroe in Newport) or online here. A valid ID (must be 21 years of age) is required to be admitted to the event.

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Oktoberfest Kommt

Of course, you can’t expect UrbanCincy to skip over one of the biggest parties of the year can you? Oktoberfest is upon us as six blocks of downtown Cincinnati will be transformed into the largest German party this side of Munich on Saturday & Sunday. Reminding our readers to find their way down would be very simple, but hopefully you’ve come to expect a little more than that from us here.

First off, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, as it officially called, has received large amounts of critical acclaim through the years. In the past both USA Today and AskMen.com have ranked our version of this German party as one of the best festivals in the country, and this year DigitalCity says we are number one! While DigitalCity may not be the most mainstream outlet out there, isn’t awfully nice to know that yet again Cincinnati is garnering the respect and attention it deserves?

Think Oktoberfest is just a time to come down and wander through the streets while sipping a cold one? Think again! There are all kinds of activities planned for the weekend including a few lead up events on Fountain Square both Thursday and Friday over the lunch hour. Additionally this year there is the HYPE Haus Party, which does cost a bit of money for entry but looks to be a great time as it includes both a beer sampling, and a light buffet among other things.

So now you know the critical acclaim, as well as all the other activities that go along with Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, but what is probably most important is that this weekend 500,000 people will descend on what we know is an urban city center that is supremely different than it was even a year or two ago. For all of the positive press that Cincinnati has received, and all the work that has been done, this should really be a time to show off and have a great time with half a million of our closest friends! Those of us that are strong and vocal advocates for all that has been happening should make sure that we get the story out and help everyone else see all the great things going on around outside the mini-Munich on Fifth Street that will be there for two days.

What else do you need to know? Well, make sure you bring an appetite as tons of food will be served and more than a few beers will be poured so don’t forget to come thirsty too. And oh yeah, keep an eye out for native son Jim Koch of Sam Adams fame, TV’s biggest beer man, from Cheers it’s George Wendt, and some guy named Homer will be around too. Prost!

Oktoberfest photo by Jayson Gomes of Cincy Images.

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GC Independent Week – Now thru Sept 20

This week marks the fall version of Greater Cincinnati Independents Restaurant Week. This semi-annual event held by GCI gives diners a chance to get out and try out locally owned restaurants for the very reasonable price of $26.09. What’s $26.09 get you? Most places have set up a prix fixe menu that features three courses, though some of the more casual places offer up dinner for two for $26.09.

Borrowing the idea from other cities such as New York & San Francisco, thirty-three locally owned Greater Cincinnati restaurants are giving you the opportunity to get out and try something new this week. At such a reasonable price, this affords all of us the chance to go support a locally owned spot that we may not have had a chance to yet. Many of the places on the list give you at least a few choices for all three courses, so even though it is prix fixe there is some flexibility in what you order. Additionally, the full menu is available as well, but you will have to pay full price.

Aside from the news & menus for this week, the GCI site does a wonderful job letting you know why it is important to support your local establishment and also offers a discounted gift certificate program in case you can’t find your way out this week (or more likely, can’t get to all the spots you want to). So, to all foodies & non-foodies alike, get out between now and September 20 to eat some good food and support your neighbors that help to give the Greater Cincinnati area “smart culinary options.”

Lavomatic Cafe photo by 5chw4r7z.

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Making the most of Cincinnati’s boulevards and parkways

City Parks points us to the efforts underway in New York City to make better use of the boulevards and parkways there. Cincinnati knows a thing or two about boulevards and parkways as it is cris-crossed with beautiful and relaxing drives through the city, but how wonderful are these boulevards and parkways for bicyclists and pedestrians?

In New York City, the transportation department there is working aggressively to add separated bike lanes along central medians. These dedicated lanes offer two separate lanes – one for each direction of bicycle traffic. At the same time public officials are looking to plant more trees and install additional benches and garden areas within those median spaces.

Locally a great example for this would be Central Parkway. Central Parkway is one of the beautiful routes through the city and is a delight to use as a motorist with the established trees, soft curves, and romantic lighting schemes. Many bicyclists see Central Parkway as a great route for bicyclists looking to avoid the hilly landscape between the Uptown neighborhoods and Downtown-area neighborhoods in the basin.

LEFT: Pike Street in NYC being equipped with bicycle lanes, plaza spaces, and has preserved its trees (Photo from StreetsBlog). RIGHT: Central Parkway in Cincinnati’s downtown was recently redone with new trees, wider medians, planters, new lighting, and plenty of grass to go around (Photo from Queen City Survey).

There is a problem though. City transportation officials have cited the parkway design standards that are in place as a hurdle towards incorporating dedicated bike lanes than are physically separated from vehicular traffic. The current standards along Central Parkway call for a double row of trees along the parkway to maintain that beautiful tree cover. These standards did not apply to the recent improvements made along Central Parkway through Downtown – a project that could have easily included these dedicated lanes in addition to the trees, lighting, and other landscaping that was incorporated there.

While avoiding getting into the dirty engineering requirements for roadway design, more needs to be done to work with bicyclists and pedestrians in creating more hospitable public thoroughfares for more than just automobiles. In this case the trees probably could be preserved while also creating physically separated bike lanes. In one of the most densely populated and space-cramped cities in the world, New York City is not only providing physically separated bike lanes for each direction of bike traffic, but they’re planting more trees, adding more benches and making better use of their space.

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Watch the Bengals take on the Broncos live from Fountain Square

The Bengals will kick off the new season in a few hours when they take on the Denver Broncos downtown at Paul Brown Stadium. If you don’t have tickets and are looking for a great way to watch the game Fountain Square LED Video Board will be showing the game live.

The Hudy Tailgate on the Square will take place every Sunday in September and October, except for Oktoberfest weekend, according to the Fountain Square Management Group. This Sunday’s festivities will include live music from 11am to 1pm by Cover Model with the game at 1pm.

The Fountain Square Parking Garage offers convenient parking directly underneath the square. Fountain Square is also well-served by virtually all Queen City Metro bus routes at the Government Square bus hub located across the street from the eastern edge of Fountain Square. To see which route is most convenient for you, and to plan your trip now, use Metro’s Trip Planner.

Photo from Genius of Water on Flickr.