Category: News

Original stories from the UrbanCincy team.

Categories
Business News

18 entities join to form 8th Street Design District, kick off month-long concert series

It has long been a work in progress, but the 8th Street corridor through northeast downtown Cincinnati has evolved into a vibrant district. A district made up of trendy loft living inside former warehouses; diverse establishments like the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, Silverglades, and University Galleries; and an ever-growing collection of design-related businesses.

The progression has been steady and thorough over the past two decades when much of the district was vacant or rundown. But now, a large group of businesses in the district, the City of Cincinnati, and Downtown Cincinnati Inc. have officially formed the 8th Street Design District.

“We began looking around and realized that this area is rich with people and businesses who are passionate about their creative product, whether it’s package design, architecture, music or other related support services,” explained Ken Neiheisel, Chief Creative Officer of Marsh, Inc. and spokesperson for the 8th St. Design District.

Design firms include GBBN Architects, Marsh, KZF Design, Glaserworks, KGB Advertising, and Brandstetter Carroll along with 12 other entities that help make up the district. According to Neiheisel, the firms intend to come together with the goal of creating an inspiring, vibrant area that will aid in increasing the value of their work to the city while also attracting new talent. He also hopes that district branding will help attract other similar companies to the 8th Street Design District.

“There is strength in numbers and we felt that as a group, we could have an impact not only on each other, but on the creative class and economic development in Downtown Cincinnati.”

In order to celebrate the formation of the new 8th Street Design District, and bring the downtown community together, the group has organized a month-long music mini-series on Friday, September 10, 17, and 24. The concerts will take place from 12pm to 1:30pm at the corner of 8th and Broadway. The Faux Frenchmen are scheduled to perform first, with Mix Machine and Rattlesnakin’ Daddies to follow. Those who would like to help the newly formed group, or get more information about the September music mini-series, are instructed to contact Ken Neiheisel at (513) 386-6101.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Kathy Wade to kick off Mercantile Library’s free Noon Music series

The Mercantile Library will kick off its 2010 season of Noon Music with a performance by Kathy Wade this Friday, September 3 at 12pm. The music series is designed to highlight American music from the library’s 175 years, and will include five total performances running through mid-December.

Event organizers say that this Friday’s event will be a mixture of lecture and performance comprised of “indelible impressions from the sounds of jazz.” Vocalist Kathy Wade will be joined by popular Cincinnati jazz pianist Ed Moss. Wade has been nominated for multiple Emmys for her work on children’s educational programs and jazz entertainment. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s prestigious College-Conservatory of Music, and has become popular locally at Playhouse in the Park.

Wade’s performance on Friday is entitled ‘A Black Anthology of Music: The Journey of Jazz’ and is expected to offer a historical exploration of the origins of jazz.

According to organizers, the 2010 season of Noon Music is free and open to the public thanks to a grant from the Elise Eaton Allen Performing Arts Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. The Mercantile Library is located on the 11th Floor of 414 Walnut Street. Future performances will include Cliff Adams, Nancy James, the Walnut Hills High School Senior Ensemble, and a Holiday Concert scheduled for December 17.

Categories
Business Development News

The Yoga Bar to serve up strong sense of community downtown

The Yoga Bar of Cincinnati
Yogis at the Yoga Bar

Rachel Roberts was tired of traveling, and as a well-known and beloved yoga teacher in the Cincinnati area, she was splitting her time between several different studios, none of which were near her home in downtown Cincinnati. As a result, Cincinnati’s newest yoga studio called The Yoga Bar was born.

“I am committed to a walkable lifestyle, and I wanted all my energy to be in one place,” said Roberts about her previously demanding travel schedule. “I want to give where I live.”

Furthering this commitment to place, Roberts says that Sangha, the Sanskrit word for community, illustrates the desire to connect those living in the downtown area. The idea, she says, is to create a welcoming, non-intimidating activity where people can learn more about each other and grow closer.

“Where else can you learn more about others’ lives than at a bar?,” she asked.

Yes, there is a bar inside to yoga studio located about the newly opened Rice Rocket Asian Grill at 825 Main Street. The space once home to a piano bar and discothèque called Club Crush, had been abandoned for some time. Now that the space has been re-imagined as a yoga studio, patrons are encouraged to come early, stay late, and congregate in the space as they get to know the people with whom they practice as they enjoy items like coconut water and kombucha at the bar.

In addition to the bar offerings and pristine white space for practice, The Yoga Bar will also boast a small retail selection. Roberts expects the space to be such a hit that she plans to offer the studio up on weekends for community members to rent for other activities.

The Yoga Bar (map) will officially open on Friday, October 2, and will be celebrating its grand opening with a Yogini-tini Martini Party as a way to introduce the community to the space. Roberts also says that there will be a ganesha puja brahmin to come and bless the new space before practice gets underway.

Once open, The Yoga Bar will offer daily classes Monday through Friday. Prices will range from $15 per class to $108 for a monthly membership. Those interested can stay connected to grand opening plans and more by following The Yoga Bar on Twitter @TheYogaBar, or by becoming a fan of the studio on Facebook.

Categories
News Transportation

Queen City Bike wins $10k grant to implement Bicycle Friendly Destinations Program

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to Queen City Bike to develop a Bicycle Friendly Destinations Program. Once in place, the new program is expected to help grow the number of bicyclists locally by creating a registry of bike friendly employers, retailers, government agencies, and cultural organizations.

Program administrators will reportedly work with area businesses and institutions to make it easier for people to access and use their respective facilities by bicycle. The hope is that by improving the overall environment and bicycle culture, that more people will take to the streets on their bikes.

According to Queen City Bike president Gary Wright, the new program fits perfectly into the non-profit organization whose mission is to promote bicycling as a safe and healthy means of transportation and recreation in the Cincinnati region.

“Getting more people to use bicycles for everyday transportation benefits everyone,” Wright said. “It reduces pollution, cuts down on traffic and parking congestion, and is good for your health.”

The grant money will kick off the new program just as the City of Cincinnati has been implementing a variety of new measures from bicycle parking requirements, new safety laws for motorists, and additional bike lanes and sharrows. Many of the new changes have been sparked by a recently adopted Bicycle Transportation Plan that, in part, calls for 445 miles of on- and off-street bicycle facilities to be installed by 2025, and double the number of people using bicycles for everyday transportation within the next five years.

According to Wright, the idea for the program originally came from a project lead by Brad Hunkler in the Leadership Cincinnati Class 33. In that project Hunkler identified the program as a “key priority” for local employers looking to attract and retain talented professionals.

“The city is committed to making our streets more bicycle friendly, and we hope that many area businesses and organizations will match that commitment by participating in the Bicycle Friendly Destinations Program, “ Wright said. “More and more cities are realizing that supporting bicycles is important for their future, and I am proud to say that Cincinnati is one of the places that gets it.”

Queen City Bike will publicly recognize those that succeed at earning the Bike Friendly Designation in May 2011.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Six@Six Lecture Series to offer engaging public forums on six unique topics

The inaugural Six@Six Lecture Series presented by Northern Kentucky University (NKU) will begin this Wednesday, September 1. The gatherings will focus on a variety of topics, and take place at three of the more interesting historic and cultural venues in Cincinnati’s urban core.

The format is simple: six very different speakers, six different topics, all starting at 6pm, with a cost of $6.00 per lecture for adults (students free with valid ID). The Mercantile Library in downtown, Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park, and the Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center in Covington will serve as the three venues being used over the course of the lecture series.

Five of the six speakers are full-time NKU faculty members with the sixth being a part of the NKU Military History Lecture Series program. The Six@Six Lecture Series will include a 60-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute question and answer period. The series will run through April 2011.

To get things started, one of NKU’s most celebrated professors, James Ramage, will give a lecture on Abraham Lincoln as a public speaker. The Regents Professor out of NKU’s Department of History & Geography says that while history has shown Lincoln to be one of the most prolific and respected speakers in United States history, he did not always fit the part and did not carry the physical presence that most of our celebrated leaders do today.  Later lectures will include topics on:

  • ‘The Art of the Quilt: Stitched [Hist]stories’ by Dr. Kimberly Allen-Kattus – 10/21/2010
  • ‘Covering the World in a Dangerous Age’ by  John Daniszewski – 11/11/2010
  • ‘Amazing Caves, Amazing Microbes: The Geomicrobiology of Caves’ by Dr. Hazel Barton – 12/7/2010
  • ‘Simple Gifts’ from Our Past: Frontier Shakers in the Ohio River Valley’ by Dr. Carol Medlicott – 3/31/2011
  • ‘The Marriage of Music & Word: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Fearless Carousel’ by Dr. Mark Hardy – 4/13/2011

Dr. Ramage’s lecture on Abraham Lincoln’s public prowess will take place on Wednesday, September 1 from 6pm to 8pm at the Mercantile Library (map). On- and off-street automobile parking is available in the immediate area for cash rates. Meanwhile, free bicycle parking is also available in the immediate area and virtually all Metro bus routes (plan your trip) serve this location via the Government Square Transit Hub.