Cincinnati’s arts and culture scene took some unexpected turns in 2025, and CityBeat was there for all of it — the rise of a beloved local clown, viral greeting cards, exotic pet owners and even the race to host Sundance. Here’s a look back at the stories that defined the city’s arts and culture scene in 2025.
Getting to Know Softmaxplus, the Clown about Town
Cincinnati is home to a famous clown. Beginning in the summer of 2023, author Michael Sawan, aka Softmaxplus, began wearing clown makeup and donning a suit to promote his books. Over two years later, Softmaxplus has racked up tens of thousands of social media followers who love watching him interview Cincinnatians of all varieties with a heavy dose of humor. In January, CityBeat writer Nadya Ellerhorst followed Softmaxplus along on his hilarious adventures to get a sense of what the life of a modern-day clown is truly like.
Greater Cincinnati Greeting Card Maker Brings Laughter With Trump-Themed Grief Cards
For those grieving the re-election of President Donald Trump in January, local greeting card maker and paper goods company Colette Paperie was there to lighten the mood with Trump-themed grief cards. One of the Trump grief cards, a Christmas-themed one, went viral on Threads. “Merry Christmas, I guess…let’s enjoy the last few weeks before the apocalypse,” reads the card. “Welp, time to disassociate for the next four years,” reads another.
CityBeat Brought Back Personal Ads in Time for Valentine’s Day
In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, CityBeat had its own personals section, titled “CINgles,” located in the classified ads portion of CityBeat’s print issue, laid out next to relationship editorials from contributors like Erma P. Sanders and her “Dating Diva” column, and Dan Savage’s “Savage Love” column. Personal ads were great, novel ways to find love — or perhaps something else — until the Internet came along with newer dating alternatives and personal ads became less popular. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we decided to resuscitate this vintage matchmaking tool for those disillusioned with modern dating practices and ready to try something new. Singles from all over Greater Cincinnati crafted heartfelt personal ads and detailed their missed connections for CityBeat’s Feb. 5 issue.
Documentary Explores Legacy of King Records
A new documentary released in March explored the impact and legacy of record label King Records, one of the most famous Cincinnati contributions to the history of music. The documentary, King of Them All, retells the story of King Records with archival footage and audio, in addition to interviews with King session drummer Philip Paul, singer Otis Williams and James Brown tour manager Alan Leeds. (Brown’s foundational career was built at King Records.) Director Yemi Oyediran also set out to highlight the unique diversity of talent at King Records. In the 1940s and ‘50s, when most workplaces were still segregated, the record label championed work from Black, white and poor people — all working in the same space to create early iterations of rock and roll and country music. “I wanted poor kids in Appalachia, urban kids and suburban kids in Arizona to see reflections of themselves and what they can create. King Records’ story is about possibility — it’s about people who built something incredible with very little,” Oyediran told CityBeat.
Boulder Beats Out Cincinnati to Host the Sundance Film Festival
In March, after months of campaigning for the honor of hosting the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, Cincinnatians found out that Boulder, Colorado, beat out the Queen City to become the new home for the festival starting in 2027. It was first revealed in July of 2024 that Cincinnati was a finalist in the contest to take over hosting duties from Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. In the intervening months, Mayor Aftab Pureval, Film Cincinnati and what felt like the entire city were advocating for Cincinnati’s film scene to finally get the recognition it deserves. Despite losing out on the opportunity to host the film festival, Kristen Schlotman of Film Cincinnati said that she’s still incredibly proud of Cincinnati’s film scene. “While Cincinnati was not selected to host the Sundance Film Festival, we are proud of how our city demonstrated its dynamic role within the film industry. Our proposal focused on long-term sustainability, growth, equity, accessibility, and aimed to deliver a unique and elevated festival experience — all qualities that mirror the evolving priorities of film festivals worldwide,” she said.
The Weird, Wild and Misunderstood Pets Living in Greater Cincinnati
This year, CityBeat tried something a little bit different for our annual Pet Issue — we put a spotlight on the stranger side of pet ownership in Greater Cincinnati. CityBeat writer Sarah Walsh interviewed local owners of exotic and atypical pets — from skunks and cockroaches to Savannah cats and bobwhite quails — to better understand what drew them to their nontraditional pet friends and how daily life is just a bit different for them.
Joe Burrow Stars in Quarterback Netflix Series
At long last, fans champing at the bit for a more intimate look at Joe Burrow’s life got their wish when the Bengals quarterback starred in the second season of the Netflix show Quarterback. The show followed Burrow — and fellow quarterbacks Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins — as he faced ups and downs during his 2024-25 NFL season. Fans were given behind-the-scenes access to the personal struggles Burrow faced throughout the season, including the publicized burglary of his home in Cincinnati.
Kings Island Revives Phantom Theater Ride
In August, Kings Island announced that it would be closing Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, a family-friendly, arcade-style ride that first opened in 2010 as a reimagining of the Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle ride. A few weeks later, the theme park revealed what would be replacing the beloved family-friendly game — and it played on fans’ early 2000s nostalgia. Beginning next year, the once-popular Phantom Theater ride will return from a 20-year hiatus, equipped with modern technology to help it appeal to an uninitiated audience. The Phantom Theater will be located in Boo Blasters’ old location. The ride will be called Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare and it will make its debut in the spring.
Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Returns to Historic Emery Theater
For the first time since 1969, the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) returned to the historic Emery Theater in Over-the-Rhine in October. In 1912, the Emery Theater first opened as a new home for the then-17-year-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. TCT, America’s oldest professional theater for young audiences, staged its shows at the Emery from 1949 through 1969, ultimately leaving in 1970 to stage their shows at Taft Theatre. In the ’90s, the space fell into disrepair until developers Dave Neyer and Chris Frutkin saw its hidden potential and facilitated the facelift that made it possible for TCT’s homecoming in October.
America’s River Roots Festival Brings Music and Riverboat Fun to the Ohio Riverfront
In May of 2024, Greater Cincinnati leaders revealed that a brand new event would be taking over the riverfront the following year, and it sounded very similar to the once-beloved Tall Stacks event that ended in 2006. America’s River Roots took over Greater Cincinnati riverfronts in October with live music, riverboat cruises, exhibitions, vendors, food, booze and more to show off the area’s river culture. At the time, leaders estimated that around one million people would flock to the riverfronts to take part in the America’s River Roots festivities — though only hundreds of thousands of visitors inevitably attended the four-day festival. This might be because of a series of last-minute changes (or setbacks, some might say), such as the decision to cancel the headlining performances from Weezer, Maren Morris, Mt. Joy and Janelle Monae, led to some confusion about the event just weeks before it was slated to take place.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Dec. 24 print edition.
This article appears in Dec. 24-Jan. 6.