Tag: Cincinnati

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Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati Beer Festival on Fountain Square – 9/11

The Cincinnati Beer Festival takes place this Friday, September 11 at 5pm and will last though the night in the heart of Downtown on Fountain Square. The festival will bring a variety of local distributors and brewers for a beer tasting and sampling event perfect for any beer connoisseur.

Event organizers say that you will be able to drink all of your favorite national and local brews, while also being introduced to some you probably have never heard of (always a fun treat). For those lesser known beers there will be staff on hand to help guests learn about the beers they’re tasting. Food will be provided by Abuelo’s and Washington Platform; and live, “low-key,” music will start at 5pm with the last band taking the stage at 9:40pm.

Guests can purchase tickets for 3-oz tastes in batches of 10 for $10. If you really enjoy one of the beers you taste then you can purchase a full 12-oz pour for 4 tickets.

Music Lineup
5:00pm | Wonky Tonk
6:20pm | The Atriums
7:50pm | Mike Fair & the Adventure Seekers
9:40pm | Straw Boss
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News

The Waterfront Wednesday Mystery

On the final Wednesday of August, I took a road trip down to Waterfront Wednesday in Louisville. Waterfront Wednesday is put on by 91.9FM WFPK and is a free show that occurs on the last Wednesday of each month from April to September on a little piece of Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville. Each month the show features three national touring bands playing from an hour to an hour and a half a piece. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

Canada’s Great Lake Swimmers, singer-songwriter Will Hoge, and alt-country legends, Cracker all graced Louisville’s stage last month with the Ohio River as its backdrop. While the tunes were great and ran for four hours (starting at 6pm) this post is not a concert review by any stretch. This my friends is more of an open letter to you, the UrbanCincy reader, to get a discussion going around why Louisville can pull something like this off while we here in Cincy get cover band after cover band on our waterfront on Wednesday nights.

Waterfront Wednesday crowd gathers along the Ohio River

This is my biggest beef these days with our town and something I’d love to change, but the task sometimes seems so great that it is not worth tackling. Then I look closer (like I know most of us do, and we challenge our friends to do so too) and I see that things are starting to really cook! Midpoint is quickly approaching with a lot of great bands with bands from our same zip code, as well as bands from as far away as Paris, France. That group also did a great job lining up bands through the summer on Fountain Square, but I have to say that all of that seems to be the polar opposite of “name that cover band.” I think there is a middle ground, and I think Louisville has found it.

Louisville is doing a lot of things right with their concert series and they are bringing a good amount of people into town for it. Their mix of artists on any given Waterfront Wednesday is very diverse and don’t necessarily cross over, but people come for one and stay for all three. Will Great Lake Swimmers open for an entire tour for Cracker? Heck no, but for a night it seems to work! Oh, and because it’s free, people bring other people along with them. I have noticed in my two trips there this summer that most of the people that show up fall more under the “curious observer” label than “diehard fan”. People bring their kids along and there are people around that would be eligible for the Golden Buckeye if only they lived in Ohio. It’s a wonderful and diverse combination of music lovers that come to enjoy their evening. Outside. For free. Along the river. Shocking, I know.

So, to you the reader of UrbanCincy, I ask this… why not us? And just as (if not more) important, how can we do something like this? I have asked this question of people around town in conversations over the last six weeks and have received many different answers. Louisville has about 1.2M people in the metro area and we have 2.1M people, so you can’t say they have a wider base from which to draw. We both have universities and we are both river towns. Provide your rationale and provide your solutions in your comments, and if you are willing to try to find a way to make it happen say that too.

For those curious, the September 30 show headliner is BellX1 with supporting acts to be announced. I have to say, the drive is pretty easy and for what you get, it’s well worth the trip.

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News

Attendance at Fountain Square concert series more than doubles since 2008

Fountain Square has long been the gathering and rallying point for Cincinnatians while it has also served as the center point for the 2+ million person metropolitan region, and it’s great to report that the heart of Cincinnati is strong.

According to 3CDC, estimated attendance through August 25 on Fountain Square for this summer’s PNC Summer Music Series is well over 100,000 – more than double the attendance figures for last year’s summer music series. Like last year, the 2009 PNC Summer Music Series featured seven live concerts and one open mic night per week on Fountain Square. And much like last year, “Indie Summer” nights on Friday, and “Salsa on the Square” nights on Thursday were by far the most popular.

There has been much more than music packing the Square throughout the summer as a weekly farmers market, movie nights, family days, cooking demonstrations and other various events have added to summer crowds. With these events an estimated 165,000 people have visited Cincinnati’s primary gathering space for programmed events alone.

“The quality of our programming, including some very well know bands like Bad Veins, The Fiery Furnaces and the Wrens made this year’s PNC Summer Music Series really stand out,” said Bill Donabedian, managing director of Fountain Square.

Labor Day weekend marks the end of this year’s music series, and many of other summer events will be ending soon too, and make way for fall events like the Oyster Festival, Oktoberfest and much more.

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News

2nd Annual Guinness Oyster Festival – 9/5

Cincinnati’s second annual Guinness Oyster Festival will take place on Saturday, September 5 on Fountain Square. The festival will kick off at noon and run through the evening with live music, Celtic merchandise, oysters and more.

Organizers say that the all day event will “celebrate Irish heritage with an aphrodisiac cuisine.” Downtown seafood restaurant McCormick & Schmick’s will offer a variety of raw and cooked oyster dishes and will also host a Shucking/Eating Contest. Baru’s will also have a “Bloody Mary bar” for those looking to quench their thirst throughout the day.

Entertainment Line Up:
12 pm | Mia Carruthers & the Retros from MTV’s Taking the Stage
1:30 pm | Philosopher’s Stone
3:30pm | Buckra
5pm | The Kreellers
7pm | Cover Model
9pm | Jerry King & the Rivertown Ramblers

Oyster photo by Gary Sharp on Flickr
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News Politics

Contact the White House on the behalf of Cincinnati

A few weeks back, I wrote about the newly formed White House Office of Urban Affairs (OUA), which seeks to be more mindful of the impact federal policies have on metropolitan areas. As a way to better our metropolitan areas, the director of OUA has begin a several month-long tour of American cities.

Director Carrion’s focus recently has centered on cities’ efficiencies and therefore their natural ability to serve as the catalyst for a new, environmentally conscious economy. Director Carrion spent Tuesday in Kansas City meeting with “Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy Derek Douglas, Special Adviser for Green Jobs Van Jones, … HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari [and] … local elected officials, stakeholders, and community members to discuss the development of the Green Impact Zone, an initiative which is using federal and local resources to invest in components of sustainable living and to create jobs in one of the city’s most challenged communities.”

The Director will be touring the nation holding similar meeting and seeking input to shape his policies. The fact that his first of such meetings focused on the potential for cities to act as an incubator for the green economy demonstrates Carrion’s willingness to research new, innovative ideas. As a result, the director’s policies will favor those cities that best implement best practices and innovative techniques.

Cincinnati needs to be on this list of innovative cities. There is no reason that our manufacturing past cannot resurrect itself to be the leader in inventive technology. One way to ensure that Cincinnati stands up and is counted among the cities that does not want to be left behind is to send a loud, clear message that we want to be involved. The White House encourages Americans to request that Director Carrion stop in their city to discuss their issues with him.

We ought to take the White House up on this offer. Please send a clear message to the Obama Administration that Cincinnati is a force to be reckoned with by emailing urbanaffairs@who.eop.gov. When you do, respectfully request that Director Carrion come to Cincinnati, and mention whatever urban issues you think are most pressing. When I wrote I motioned that Cincinnati’s once-booming manufacturing infrastructure currently lays under-utilized, so we need policies to encourage business development in the US. I also said that the gorgeous and historic architecture of this city is undervalued and under-appreciated, which accelerates its demise, so we need policy that encourages restoration and infill as opposed to demolition and new building. Finally, I praised the administration for taking a firm stance on high speed rail, and pled for a set of comprehensive, fair and practical transportation policies that encourage competition instead of an auto-centric monopoly.

If you have a moment, please write a few sentences on why Cincinnati needs to host the Director of Urban Affairs, and send it to urbanaffairs@who.eop.gov. It is vital for the future of this city that the voices of Cincinnatians be heard as they are crafting policy.