WEDNESDAY 29 FILM: The Mummy at Washington Park The Summer Cinema series at Washington Park is back with weekly, family-friendly blockbusters. Grab some lawn chairs, lay down a blanket or sprawl out on the grass as Brendan Fraser fends off an ancient foe in the inaugural flick The Mummy (1999). Concessions will be available onsite, offering light snacks and refreshments, including beer, wine and spirits. Next Wednesday, it’s The Secret Life of Pets. 9-11 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the Rhine, washingtonpark.org. Photo: 3CDC
THURSDAY 30 COMEDY: Greg Hahn Comedian and South Florida native Greg Hahn had a pretty normal childhood. Catholic school led to Rollins College in Central Florida where he was on the basketball team. “I had a sweet spot on the bench,” he says. After graduation, he got a good-paying job with Lockheed. It was while there he became interested in stand-up. “Why make $200 a day when I can be a comedian and make that in a week?” he says. Unfortunately, the Orlando area wasn’t a hotbed of comedy at the time, so Hahn found other comedy-adjacent work including a job in a stunt show at Universal Studios. “I was also emcee of the lumberjack show,” he adds. He eventually wound up doing stand-up full-time and today is a much sought-after comedian for corporate and private events. A regular on the Bob & Tom radio show, appearing at Go Bananas gives him a chance to let loose a little. 8 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 8 p.m. Sunday. $10-$18. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy.com. Photo: greghahn.com
FRIDAY 31 MUSIC: Bunbury Music Festival Founded by veteran Cincinnati promoter Bill Donabedian, the Bunbury Music Festival began drawing thousands of music fans from across the region in 2012 with early lineups that included bands like Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie and The National. In 2014, Columbus, Ohio’s PromoWest Productions took over, helping further cement the riverfront festival’s status as one of the region’s marquee Alternative-to-mainstream music events with bookings like The Black Keys, The Killers, Muse, Jack White, The Avett Brothers, Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg and Post Malone. Returning to Cincinnati’s riverfront May 31-June 2, this year’s Bunbury is the first since PromoWest was acquired by huge global promotions company AEG and the first since PromoWest announced it would be building a new concert facility across the Ohio River in Newport. Bunbury 2019 will feature headlining acts like Fall Out Boy (who also performed at 2014’s fest), The 1975 (which played a sold-out Cincinnati show at PNC Pavilion earlier in May), Greta Van Fleet, Girl Talk and Run the Jewels. There is also a pair of popular ’90s bands who’ve carried on after losing their lead singers to accidental drug overdoses — Stone Temple Pilots and Sublime with Rome. Undercard options include Clutch, Joywave, Flora Cash, Jukebox the Ghost, Great Good Fine OK, Tropidelic and Reignwolf. Representing the Cincinnati music scene at this year’s Bunbury are Trauma Illinois, Young Heirlooms, Jack Burton Overdrive and Hip Hop ensemble Triiibe. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 1:30 p.m. $79 (for single day); $189 (for three-day passes); VIP packages also available. Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown, bunburyfestival.com. Photo: Brittany Thornton
FRIDAY 31 EVENT: Art After Dark: On the Fringe Art After Dark at the Cincinnati Art Museum gets a twist as it doubles as the kick-off party for the annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, the local two-week kinda weird theater and arts fest produced by Know Theatre. There will be live music from Largemouth Brass Band, preview performances from Cincy Fringe acts and food for purchase from Eli’s BBQ, Dewey’s Pizza and Graeter’s Ice Cream. In addition, guests will be able to explore the entire museum free of charge, including limited-time exhibition No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man. 5-10 p.m. Friday. Free. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. Photo: Cincinnati Art Museum
FRIDAY 31 EVENT: Wildman Days Wildman Days is a family-friendly celebration of all things Sasquatch held in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky the weekend of May 31. The fest features live music, contests and even a marathon that snakes through Bigfoot territory. Just under a two-hour drive from Cincinnati, it also makes for quirky road trip. May 31-June 2. Lawrenceburg, Indiana, wildmandays.com Photo: Top Vector Studio
FRIDAY 31 EVENT: CincItalia Get a taste of the old country at the 10th-annual CincItalia Festival — a celebration of Italian cuisine, wine, music and culture. Things kick off with an adults-only carnevale on Friday with live music from The Rusty Griswolds and assorted games of chance. Things get family-friendly the rest of the weekend with rides and games, Italian cooking demos, Italian trivia contests and live music from acts including Italian tenor Elio Scaccio. It wouldn’t be an Italian fest without food, and there will be plenty — lasagna, spiedini, arrosticini, bruschetta, fried ravioli, stromboli, cavatelli, sausage, gelato, tiramisu, limoncello cake, cannoli (homemade by the La Societa Fuscaldese Femminile) and cookies. Visit the wine garden for Bolla wines. 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 3-11 p.m. Saturday; 1-9 p.m. Sunday. Free. Harvest Home Park, 391 North Bend Road, Cheviot, cincitalia.org. Photo: Provided by CincItalia
FRIDAY 31 EVENT: Summerfair Cincinnati More than 300 artists will travel to Coney Island from across the country to display and sell their works at one of the nation’s oldest continuous art fairs. The exhibits will be accompanied by live performances and plenty of fair food, with all proceeds supporting scholarships and exposure opportunities for student and professional artists. Come Saturday morning (9-11 a.m.) for Brunch in the Gardens, with food from chef Renee Schuler of Eat Well Celebrations and Feasts and music from The Amy McFarland Trio. 2-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $10; $40 brunch. Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., California, summerfair.org. Photo: Provided by Summerfair
FRIDAY 31 EVENT: Cincinnati Garlic Festival Arnold’s Bar & Grill isn’t afraid to get smelly with their food: Introducing the Cincinnati Garlic Festival 2019. On Friday and Saturday, Cincinnatians can consume all the garlic they want via an assortment of specially prepared local food and beer at the downtown bar: Listermann, Fifty West and Rhinegeist will bring garlic beers; Madisono’s will have garlic gelato; Wunderbar! will have garlic pretzels; Avril-Bleh butchers will provide assorted garlic sausages; Arnold’s will have a slew of garlic cocktails, appetizers, entr?es and desserts from chef Kayla Robison; and more. In 1998, Jim Tarbell hosted the original Cincinnati Garlic Festival in the Grammer’s parking lot in Over-the-Rhine. Arnold’s got Tarbell’s blessing and reinvented the Queen City tradition. In addition to food, there will be live music from Root Cellar Xtract and The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs, plus Garlic Festival merch. 5-11 p.m. Friday; all day Saturday. Free admission. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, 210 E. Eighth St., Downtown, facebook.com/arnoldsbar. Art: We Have Become Vikings
SATURDAY 01 EVENT: Pinups at the Zoo OH! Pinups is bringing vintage styles and sass to the Cincinnati Zoo for a family-friendly day of fashion and fun. Sport your favorite pinup look all day and meet other lovers of 1950s styles. OH! Pinups is a social group centered around “vintage and retro culture, from cars to clothes, music, dance and everything in between.” Members of the group will be out and about posing for photos and classing up the joint with Victory Rolls and wiggle dresses. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. $18 adult admission, $10 kid admission. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. 3400 Vine St., Avondale. cincinnatizoo.org. Photo: Scott St. Martin Nebuleux LTD
SATURDAY 1 MUSIC: George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic Clinton’s ‘One Nation Under a Groove Tour’ is coming to Riverfront Live for an epic night of Funk that will also feature special guests Galactic, Fishbone and Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf. 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $40. Riverfront Live, 4343 Kellogg Ave., East End. Photo: JMSCHNEID (CC-BY-3.0)
SATURDAY 01 EVENT: Pride Community Night at Great American Ball Park Take yourself out to ballgame and celebrate Cincinnati Pride’s second annual Pride Community Night at the ballpark as the Reds take on the Washington Nationals. Festivities include a Pride hat ticket package and a pregame ceremony honoring the 2019 Community Advocate Award winner presented by TriHealth. All are welcome to congregate in the Machine Room before and during the game. 4:10-7:10 p.m. Saturday. $65 for infield box; $35 for mezzanine; $15 for view level. Each package includes an exclusive 2019 Pride hat. Great American Ball Park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown, cincinnatipride.org. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
SATURDAY 01 EVENT: Bike Prom Cycle through cyberspace at this year’s “lowlife, high-tech bike ride and afterparty.” Deck out your bike and yourself with anything and everything tech- or space-inspired for a “The Fifth Element meets Total Recall meets Mars Attacks meets Matrix” theme, then ride around the city before heading to the party at Chase Public in Camp Washington. Bike Prom will have door prizes, raffles, DJs and, of course, a Prom King and Queen vote. The party is BYOB. 7:30 p.m. bike ride; 10 p.m. afterparty Saturday. $5 suggested donation. 2868 Colerain Ave., Camp Washington, facebook.com/cincinnatihardcourt. Photo: Michael Providenti
SATURDAY 01 EVENT: 1000 Lights Water Lantern Festival On Saturday, hundreds of Cincinnatians will gather in Eden Park to cast self-decorated lanterns onto a body of water (the event doesn’t specify Mirror Lake or Twin Lakes) for the 1000 Lights Water Lantern Festival, a traveling one-night-only gathering of love, light and community. Eastern cultures have been performing similar water lantern rituals for centuries. Originating from a traditional Buddhist and Taoist “Ghost Festival,” communities across Asia would set countless lanterns down a river to help guide lost ghosts and spirits to the festival meant to honor them. Every ticket for the fest comes with a complimentary lantern and decoration kit and extra lanterns can be purchased for $10 a pop. The event begins at 6 p.m., but lanterns will not be cast onto the water until 9 p.m., giving everyone ample time to personally connect with their fellow lantern decorators and hit up various food trucks, live entertainment and games like high-stakes bingo while they wait for a beautiful orange and violet sunset to provide the perfect backdrop for their lantern launch. 6-10 p.m. Saturday. $25 adult; $35 VIP; $13 ages 9-13; free under 9. Eden Park, 950 Eden Park Drive, 1000lights.com/cincinnati. Photo: Facebook.com/1000lightsfestival
SATURDAY 01 ONSTAGE: Rob Lowe: Stories I Only Tell My Friends Live! Rob Lowe — infamous Brat Packer, acclaimed author, comedian and handsome person — takes the stage at the Aronoff Center to perform his one-man show, Stories I Only Tell My Friends Live! Consisting of tales from his best-selling memoirs, Lowe gives one-of-a-kind insights into fatherhood, Hollywood, fame and more. 8 p.m. Saturday. $27-$250 VIP; VIP includes a post-show meet and greet and professional photo with Lowe plus a signed copy of his book. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. Photo: Provided by Cincinnati Arts Association
SUNDAY 02 EVENT: White Whale Flash Tattoo Day These days, a person can do almost anything to raise money for charity, including getting some new ink. Walnut Hills’ White Whale Tattoo will be at the 21c Museum Hotel downtown for their annual “flash day,” offering a selection of predesigned and discounted tattoos, with all proceeds benefiting charities in Guatemala City. Tattoos during flash day are priced on average around $104, which is lower than the normal hourly rate for any of the White Whale artists present at this event. Last year’s flash day raised over $12,000 for Guatemala. This year could potentially raise much more as the event space at the 21c will allow for nine tattoo artists to provide some ink instead of the four to five artists from last year. The featured tattooers will be creating around 20 custom flash sheets including some inspired by the 21c’s building and culture. Guests will be tattooed on a first-come, first-served basis. Leave your phone number at check-in and then get an approximate wait time. Guests can receive up to two tattoos. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. Prices vary. 21c Museum Hotel, 609 Walnut St., Downtown, whitewhaletattoo.com. Photo: Provided by White Whale Tattoo
SUNDAY 02 COMEDY: Celeste Barber Comedian, actor, social-media star and author Celeste Barber — who has amassed a huge Instagram following thanks to posts in which she recreates sexy celebrity social media photos and videos in a more realistic style — is bringing her Celeste Barber is Back tour to Bogart’s. Barber, who has been called “the funniest woman on Instagram,” became well-known thanks to her parody posts of famous models, actors and singers. Usually posted back-to-back (if it’s a video) or side-by-side (if it’s a photo) with the celebrity images, Barber’s parodies twist the staged glamour into hilariously awkward shots and poses, flipping the script in a way that spotlights how the unrealistic originals are actually far more awkward. What can you expect from Barber’s live show? According to a press release, “Celeste explains the story behind some of her most famous images, her new relationship with famous people, and the stalkers, fans and comments that get under her skin” and she “explains some of the pitfalls of being married to someone so much hotter than her (shoutout to #hothusband) and what it’s like to be an anti-Influencer.” You can also expect her to touch on her new book, Celeste Barber: Challenge Accepted! 6 p.m. doors Sunday. $35-$75. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville, bogarts.com. Photo via Instagram.com/CelesteBarber