Labor Day weekend is upon us, and even though the weather may stay hot through October, it represents our kiss goodbye to summer. Fire up the grill, bust out the margaritas and find your prime spot to watch Sunday’s WEBN fireworks because no matter which side of the river you’re cheering from, there are tons of events to cram in this long weekend. Swing by Washington Park sometime Friday-Sunday to check out the AVP Cincinnati Open. Pro beach volleyball players straight from the London Olympics compete daily to qualify for the 2012 AVP Championships in Santa Barbara, Calif. Tickets run $15-20. The MidPoint Indie Summer Series wraps up Friday night with Wussy, R. Ring and The Guitars playing Fountain Square, 7-11 p.m. We’re officially four weeks away from the main event: MPMF Sept. 27-29. Do you have your wristband yet? You should get on that. Enjoy Friday’s blue moon with a group ride organized by The Urban Basin Bicycle Club. Meet at outside Know Theater by 8:30 p.m. and enjoy a short, flat ride around Over-the-Rhine and Downtown. Deck yourself and your ride out with battery-powered lights, sparkles and other shiny materials to keep this ride fun and safe for everyone. Final Friday means OTR’s galleries, bars, restaurants and shops will be a-buzz all night. After you’ve gotten your arts and drinks fix, be sure to check out the Night Owl Market at the parking lot at Main Street and Central Parkway. Food vendors will be serving up tasty goodness from 10 p.m.-3 a.m., in addition to shopping and more late-night fun. Read more about the new monthly market here. Has it been a while since you made the voyage north to Harveysburg for the Ohio Renaissance Festival? The epic old-timey fair returns this weekend, and it’s way more than what you probably remembered as a kid. The 30-acre, re-created 16th century English village is chock-full of jousting, mud fights and fire-breathers, games, rides and shopping, plus more food and booze than you can shake a giant turkey leg at! The fest is open 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Monday and weekends through Oct. 21. Huzzah! While, apparently, many find the Ren Fest to be a romantic outing, maybe you're looking for a different suggestion for date night. Fountain Square hosts the Guinness Oyster Fest Saturday. What, oyster speed-eating contests don’t rev your engine? Well, the slippery mollusks are known to be an aphrodisiac. So chow down on raw and cooked oyster dishes from area restaurants and enjoy plenty of Guinness and live music from 5-10 p.m. The lovely little town of Rabbit Hash in Burlington celebrates its 33rd annual Old Timer’s Day Saturday. The “center of the universe” promises a day of live music, yummy grub, a “barnival” for kids and endless river views. Leave the coolers at home — the General Store is stocked with all the snacks, pop and beer you’ll need (plus countless rustic knick knacks you’ll want to take home). Visit the mayor (Lucy Lou, a border collie) and walk through the picturesque community 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Tonight's free, all-ages MidPoint Indie Summer concert on Fountain Square is certainly one of the most eclectic ever … and may turn out to be one of the best ever. Exhibit A: Openers Sidewalk Chalk at 7 p.m.Chicago's Sidewalk Chalk have opened for De La Soul and ?uestlove, and Lupe Fiasco majorly shouted-them-out on his Twitter and Facebook pages. The band is described as "a hip-hop, soul, jazz octet that consists of a singer, emcee, drummer, bass, trombone, trumpet, keys player, and a tap dancer."Here's the music video for Sidewalk Chalk's "Water Song" from the group's album Corner Store.  Exhibit B: Middle-slot performers Kansas Bible Company at 8:15 p.m. From nearby Goshen, Ind. (currently working out of Nashville), KBC has wowed Cincy crowds a few times in the past year or so. The dynamic Soul/Jazz/Rock band trumps Sidewalk Chalk's mere eight-person membership, featuring "a five-man horn line, three guitars, two percussionists and one bass."Dig this video for the great KBC tune "How to Build A Planet" from their album Ad Astra Per Aspera (rough translation: A rough road leads to the stars).Exhibit C: Headliners A Place to Bury Strangers at 9:30 p.m. Another frequent visitor to Cincy, the NYC-based APTBS are like a more abrasive, modern update of Jesus & Mary Chain's Psychocandy album. Guitar nuts can also bathe in some cool guitar sounds courtesy of the band's own line of effect pedals. (Read Reyan Ali's interview with the band for CityBeat from this past March here.)Here is a video from A Place to Bury Strangers' recently released Worship album, "You Are The One." (Mildly NSFW clip.)

It’s T-Shirt time, and I’m not talking about juiced a-holes in Jersey. Cincy Apparel’s T-Shirt Market is in full effect on Fountain Square until 11 p.m. Friday night. Stock up on tees made by local designers, and plenty emblazoned with Cincinnati inside jokes, landmarks and product logos. Park + Vine, Donkey Tees and Cinci Shirts are just a few vendors hawking tees. And while you’re on the square, hang around for MidPoint Indie Summer (7-11 p.m.) with Orgone, The Cliftones and Eclipse Movement. After all that shoppin’ and dancin’ and drinkin’, you’re going to need some fourth meal action. Head over to the inaugural Night Owl Market, at the corner of Main Street and Central Parkway, for a late-night food fest. The Final Friday event, appropriately abbreviated ”NOM,” will feature food trucks and booths serving tasty local eats from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. Three a.m.! Get your fill from Café de Wheels, C’est Cheese, Fireside Pizza, Cincy Bag Ladies and plenty more. There will also be artists, retail vendors and live music from The Pinstripes. Macy’s Music Festival celebrates 50 years of bringing R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop and Soul music to the Tri-State. Tom Joyner, Zay Foggs, Monica, The O’Jays and many others will perform at Paul Brown Stadium Friday and Saturday. Outside the concert, on Freedom Way between Elm and Vine streets, Festival513 keeps the good times comin’ with lots of food, street vendors, art and more, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday. Tickets to Macy’s Music Festival are still available for $48-$88. UC DAAP professor Henry Navarro and a group of the college’s students and grads have been working on a fashion-art project at Bromwell’s Gallery downtown. Influenced by the city — architecture, culture, landscape and local residents — the team has created a Cincy-centric line of wearable art. Grey Cincinnati debuts Saturday night at Prairie Gallery in Northside. Check out fashions designed to inspire and empower Cincinnatians across demographics. The fashion show kicks off at 9 p.m. Chris Colfer, known best to many as Kurt from Glee, will be in town Sunday to promote his new children’s book, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. The 22-year-old Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner found time between takes on the Fox hit to write a modern-day fairy tale, aimed at kids ages 8 and older. He will sign the book at 3:30 p.m. at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion. Check out our To Do page for more suggestions on arts, events, concerts and theater shows to check out.

Tomorrow evening on Fountain Square will be dry! I promise, or I'll personally refund your ticket money. This week's installment of the free MidPoint Indie Summer concert series on the Square features another solid bill. Joining in on the fun Friday is rootsy Indie Rock crew and Bloodshot recording artists Ha Ha Tonka, the eclectic Izzy and the Catastrophics (read more here) and our pals from great Athens, Ohio-born Indie Chamber Folk group, The Ridges. The Ridges (MPMF vets) usually add a great personal touch to their area gigs by making cool little commercials for the event (which we've featured several times in the past). Tomorrow's show is no different. Check their latest "ad" and then click here to listen to more tunes from The Ridges. Friday's MidPoint Indie Summer show starts at 7 p.m. Here's a taste of Ha Ha Tonka, via the music video for the group's "Lonely Fortunes" from last year's Death of a Decade.And here's a wild video from Izzy and Co. for the song "Mi Bailarina."

The newly remodeled, freshly reopened Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine is shaping up to be one of the hottest music venues in the city. Last evening, the every-Wednesday "Bandstand Bluegrass" series kicked off with Jake Speed and the Freddies; tonight is the debut of the park's every-Thursday "Jazz in the Park" series (7 p.m., with Chris Comer and Napoleon Maddox of IsWhat?!); and tomorrow marks the debut of the R&B/Soul "Friday Flow" concerts, which will take place each Friday and begin with an appearance by fantastic Neo Soul singer Dwele (Selectas Choice DJs Rare Groove, Apryl Reign and DJ Pillo, as well as Under New Orders and Darris Sneed & The Pulse also perform at the 7 p.m. event).And today it was announced that three of the biggest acts announced for September's MidPoint Music Festival will perform at Washington Park's new MPMF stage. A total of four acts will perform each night at the Park stage. The Washington Park shows will be accessible to those with MPMF All Music Access Passes or VIP Passes, or with "a la carte" individual tickets, which are on sale now. Andrew Bird headlines the Washington Park stage on Thursday, Sept. 27. Tickets for that show only are $25. Grizzly Bear is the main MPMF act on the stage for Friday, Sept. 28 (single tickets: $30) and Sleigh Bells headlines the stage Saturday, Sept. 29 ($30). Click here for your ticketing options. Early Bird All Music Access and Loyalty Presale tickets are sold out. A limited number of All Music Access Passes ($69) and VIP Passes presented by CVG ($169) are still available.

Several local acts have been notified in recent weeks that they have been chosen to perform at this fall’s MidPoint Music Festival. Organizers today revealed its second wave of national acts that will join them at the Sept. 27-29 fest — Andrew Bird, Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys (revealed a couple of weeks ago at a MidPoint Indie Summer concert), The Walkmen, The Antlers, Hospitality, Rich Aucion, Stepdad, Eternal Summers, White Arrows, Dirty Bourbon River Show, Hume, Sidewalk Chalk, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Kitten, F. Strokes, Wooden Wand, Hundred Waters, Golden Boy, Tim Easton and Army Navy. Keep up to date with the latest MPMF news at mpmf.com and this here music blog at citybeat.com. Early Bird All Music Access and Loyalty Presale passes are sold out. A limited number of All Music Access Passes ($69) and VIP Passes presented by CVG ($169) now on sale. Washington Park Day Tripper passes will be available soon. Get your tickets now at CincyTicket.com.Check out news songs from The Antlers and (previously announced MPMF band) Grizzly Bear at NPR here.Here's the latest music video from The Walkmen, for their tune "Heaven."And here's a recent CNN piece on Andrew Bird.

Whether you’re celebrating your dad, the end of slavery, a local pork product or just a welcome break from work, there are tons of events in store this weekend. Buckle up! As always, the Midpoint Indie Summer Series is a superb way to kick things off. Tonight The Seedy Seeds, Wymond Miles and Belle Histoire take over Fountain Square starting at 7 p.m. Grab a beer, something to eat and if you haven’t already secured your MPMF wristbands, be sure to purchase those tonight as well. Early bird tickets save you $10 — and they’re almost sold out! You can also buy tickets and check out the full Indie Summer schedule and initial MPMF band announcements here. Barbeque may be the widely-recognized seasonal meat dish of choice, but locals know better — Cincy celebrates goetta with multiple festivals each summer. The first of which, MainStrasse Village “Original” Goettafest, begins tonight in Covington. Enjoy live music, vendors, booze and all the goetta dogs, burgers, reubens, chili and pizza your heart desires (or fears) though Sunday night. If sampling pork dishes isn’t your thing, why not sample the best of local and regional dancers? Contemporary Dance Theater presents its annual Area Choreographers Festival Friday and Saturday at the Aronoff Center. The program features six performances from established companies and up-and-coming choreographers. Find ticket information and a full lineup here. Many associate the end of slavery in the United States with Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on Sept. 22, 1862 (and went into effect Jan. 1, 1863), but just a small fraction of  slaves actually benefited from this order. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger and federal troops arrived at Galveston, Tex., it is said, to enforce the abolition of slaves there. This date represents a true end of slavery, called Juneteenth, and is recognized by 41 states. Celebrate this weekend at Eden Park with cultural music and dancing, performances, traditional storytelling, ethnic food and vendors Saturday and Sunday. This year marks the 25th annual Juneteenth Festival in Cincinnati, predicted to be one of the largest local celebrations yet. From a historical holiday to a fictional one, Bloomsday is also celebrated this weekend. In James Joyce’s classic epic Ulysses, Leopold Bloom embarked on his Dublin journey on June 16, 1904. Though purely a literary creation, June 16 has become a day to honor Irish heritage and culture (you don’t have to wait until March!). The Irish Heritage Center presents an evening full of traditional Irish songs, readings, performances and more Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. The Cincinnati Opera opened its 2012 season this week, and celebrates with Pride Night Saturday. Experience the tragic passion of Pagliacci and the humorous charm of Gianni Schicchi in a classical doubleheader, followed by a circus-themed bash at Music Hall. Enjoy a talent-packed performance, support the LGBT community and party it up in one night? Yeah, it’s a can’t-miss.