Even with President Obama's "stimulus" plan and package, there's still much to be desired in terms of arts funding. But there's some good news as well: The Contemporary Dance Theater has landed a respectable sum from the NEA Arts Recovery and Recruitment grant program. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Ballet gears up for a stellar and diversified season.

The state of Cincinnati's literary scene is as strong and diverse as ever. Things will only heat up as the weather turns chillier, with big-name authors at Joseph-Beth, the Mercantile Library's annual Neihoff Lecture and Books by the Banks.

The landscape of Cincinnati theater has changed since a year ago. As the season starts this week, New Stage Collective is gone and the leaders of Know Theatre of Cincinnati have left, it's Playhouse in the Park's 50th anniversary, ETC has a fresh line-up and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues to stage excellent classic material.

Expect a jam-packed fall season with a variety of colorful shows from the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum of Art, the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery, Carl Solway Gallery, Country Club, Manifest Creative Research Gallery and the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center.

The relatively mild summer is giving way to what could well be a mild fall, so maybe the only excitement we'll see this season will be the Classical music offerings. As always, Maestro Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offer a wide array of talent for the CSO's 115th season, including the Sept. 17 one-night-only appearance of piano superstar Lang Lang.