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Arts & Entertainment News

Roll on down the BIG RIVER with Carnegie’s newest production

The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center will honor and celebrate one of America’s most beloved authors with its season opener of BIG RIVER | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain may have infamously described Cincinnati as 20 years behind the times, but the Carnegie is both timely and appropriate with its revival of the 1983 musical adaptation of Twain’s most famous novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

A quick review of high school English reminds us that Huck Finn tells the tale of an irrepressible young boy living the dream on the riverboats of the mighty Mississippi River, helping his slave friend Jim escape to freedom, and having quite the adventure along the way.

The musical version, scored by legendary country music writer Roger Miller, stays true to the original story, and the Carnegie’s cast showcases some of Cincinnati’s brightest young talent. There are 11 actors under the age of 22 in this show, and the young man playing the title role is recent Sycamore High School grad and incoming Wright State University freshman Zack Steele, recognized as the “Outstanding Supporting Actor” at the 2009-10 Cappies Awards (honoring local high school theatre) and winner of the city-wide Overture Awards scholarship for college-bound musical theatre students.

Local actor Bill Harnett plays Mark Twain, reprising this character from his run on the Showboat Majestic in “Mark Twain Tonight!” The cast and crew are directed by sensational duo Dee Ann Bryll and Ed Cohen, who have won many awards regionally for their talent and directing skills.

“We feel privileged to be working at The Carnegie with BIG RIVER and a super cast that combines some of the area’s best local talent with six of CCM’s students. To us, BIG RIVER is the quintessential American summertime musical, and we’re excited to bring this unique version of Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” to The Carnegie’s audience,” the team said.

During the season there will be performances that are accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing through closed captioning and interpretation services offered by the theater free of charge. This is made possible through a collaboration between The Carnegie and the Sign Language Interpreting & Deaf Studies programs at the University of Cincinnati. Captioning has been offered for major theatrical performances at The Carnegie since 2006 thanks to the support of volunteers.

The interpretative performances of BIG RIVER will take place on Saturday, August 21 and August 28.

BIG RIVER opens this Friday, August 21 and runs weekends (Friday Saturday and Sunday) through September 4th. Friday and Saturday evening performances will take place at 7:30pm, and Sunday matinees will start at 3:00pm. Tickets cost $26 for adults; $23 for Carnegie members, Enjoy the Arts members, or WVXU Perks Card members; $21 for groups of 10 or more; and $19 for students. Those looking to take part in a particularly interesting social outing can take part in the tweetup scheduled for the performance on Friday, August 20.

The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center is located at 1028 Scott Boulevard in Covington, Kentucky. Tickets can be purchased online, or by calling the center’s box office at (859) 491-2030.

“All of us contain music and truth, but most of us can’t get it out” – Mark Twain

Categories
News Transportation

Metro bus service restored to Lower Price Hill neighborhood

Metro is restoring service to the #31 route that had been previously eliminated as part of an effort in December 2009 to balance the transit authority’s budget that resulted in a 12 percent service reduction to Metro’s bus operations. The adjustments, to the route, will provide service along W. 8th Street to the Western Hills Viaduct along State Avenue.

Metro officials say that the addition of 14 trips each direction daily on weekdays, and eight trips each direction on weekends was made to provide greater access to the Kroger manufacturing plant and Lower Price Hill neighborhood. It is estimated that the restored service along this segment will provide 5,000 rides annually, with most of those trips related to employment at the Kroger plant.

“Thanks to the difficult decisions we made last year and effective management of our resources, Metro’s budget now appears to have stabilized,” said Marilyn Shazor, Metro’s CEO. “We are cautiously optimistic and will begin to restore some service as we can afford to do so. We plan to seek the community’s input to help us decide which service to add and in what order.”

The restored service to the #31 route took effect on Sunday, August 15 along with several other service changes to routes #3X, #3, #24, #71X, and #72. New bus schedules are available on Metro’s website, and across the street from the Government Square transit hub inside the Mercantile Building (map) on weekdays from 7:30am to 5pm. More information can be retrieved by calling (513) 621-4455 between 6:30am and 6pm Monday through Friday.

Categories
Development News

Ground broken on $1.2M sustainable learning facility in Avondale

Construction work has begun on the Civic Garden Center’s $1.2 million Green Learning Station at 2175 Reading Road in Avondale. The facility is the first of its kind in the Cincinnati region, and is described as an interactive, state-of-the-art learning laboratory for applying sustainable practices into gardens and the systems that support them.

“The Green Learning Station will be a field trip destination for people of all ages, open to the public for tours, workshops and classes related to green living in the city,” said Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Program Manager.

“Classes who visit the Green Learning Station will be challenged to conduct experiments and solve problems as they learn about urban environmental problems. Back in their schools, students will assess some aspect of their school’s environmental impact and develop a plan to make it more sustainable, whether by starting a compost system, a vegetable garden or capturing rainwater.”

Situated on a former SOHIO gas station, the project will include a variety of green features like pervious paving, rainwater harvesting units, bioswales, green roof systems, energy efficient utilities, and showcase sustainable gardens.

“The Board of the Civic Garden Center identified the need for the Green Learning Station more than two years ago,” explained Betsy Townsend, a volunteer and chair of the Green Learning Station committee for the Civic Garden Center. “Since then we have been diligently working to bring the project to fruition. The start of construction has been made possible by countless volunteer hours and generous gifts from local foundations, individuals and corporations.”

The Green Learning Station was designed by SFA Architects and Martin Koepke Design, and is expected to achieve LEED-Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Cincinnati-based HGC Construction is expected to complete work on the Green Learning Station in spring 2011.

Once complete, home builders, developers, and public officials will be able to use the Green Learning Station as a demonstration site on how to incorporate green technology into residences, businesses, and public spaces.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

7/79 video takes viewers on unique visual tour of Cincinnati’s center city

Cincinnati’s majestic hillsides, mighty river, and dramatic city skyline provide powerful vistas and scenery that make the Queen City unique. Many Cincinnatians and visitors from out-of-town know of the dramatic view from the Cut-in-the-Hill in Northern Kentucky, the many hilltop parks, or the streetscapes throughout the center city, but most have not seen the city from the air and water.

Seven/Seventy-Nine produced a two-and-a-half minute video for Soapbox Cincinnati that explores both of these. The video Seeing Cincinnati takes viewers into a helicopter tour offered by Stratus Helicopters and a boat ride from Ride the Ducks, both of which operate out of Newport on the Levee.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Randy Simes to appear on 95.7 FM’s Queen City Awesome radio show – 8/18

On Wednesday, August 18 you will be able to listen to yours truly on the radio from 5pm to 6pm on WVQC, 95.7 FM. I will be the featured guest on the weekly Queen City Awesome radio show hosted by Pat Feghali. During the show, Pat and I will be discussing a variety of topics including sustainable transport, green design, and even urban gardening.

Like other Queen City Awesome broadcasts, Pat and I will also discuss some music, and I will share a brief selection of some of my favorite Cincinnati-area artists including The National, Lions Rampant, Wussy, The Seedy Seeds, and Hi-Tek (sample below).

WVQC has recently returned to the 95.7 FM airwaves after an antenna problem that briefly kept the station to Internet only broadcasts on WVQC.org. Launched in early 2010, WVQC is run by Media Bridges which also operates four of the city’s public access television channels and the Internet radio station for WVQC called The Bridge.

Due to the low-power frequency, WVQC can only be heard on 95.7 FM within three to five miles of the station’s Over-the-Rhine location at Race Street and Central Parkway. Those outside the immediate listening area are encouraged to tune in online.

The show will air live on Wednesday, August 18 from 5pm to 6pm, and will air again on Thursday, August 19 at noon. Stay up-to-speed on the Queen City Awesome radio show by following its Twitter account @QueenCtyAwesome, or by becoming a fan on Facebook.