FRIDAY 05
EVENT: Wellness Your Way Festival
A new wave of wellness is taking over the Duke Energy Convention Center. With three days covering everything fitness- and wellness-related, the festival aims to be everything your inner wellness warrior needs. With an emphasis on the “your way,” this festival is meant to inspire guests to seek out their own definition of wellness. You can work-out with celebrity fitness experts, learn new ways of healthy cooking from world-renowned chefs, get inspired from guest speakers and learn new tips and tricks from a variety of other health professionals. Celebrity guests include chef Michael Symon, nutritionist Joy Bauer and musicians Gavin DeGraw (who performs 8 p.m. Thursday), Nick Lachey (who performs 8 p.m. Friday) and Jewel (who performs 8 p.m. Saturday). 1-10 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday. $15-$125. Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown, wellnessyourwayfestival.com.
COMEDY: Steve-O
As a comedian, activist, TV host and stunt performer, Steve-O (aka Stephen Gilchrist Glover) wears many hats. Indeed, he once wore a jellyfish sombrero for bit on his YouTube channel that has since captured over 25 million views. “I was just such an attention whore by the time I was born,” he says, “I had little recourse other than to pursue a career in show business.” He cites spending his formative years in England as an influence. “When I was 9, I had the freedoms (there) that a 16-year-old would have here. I was cruising all over London on the Tube and the busses; even on my bike I’d go all over the city. I’m really grateful for that.” He was always a prankster as well. “I’d unscrew salt shakers and consume all the salt. It was pretty impressive, but it didn’t make people like me any better.” 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday. $25-$50. Funny Bone Liberty, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township, liberty.funnybone.com.
EVENT: Rhythm Brew Art and Music Festival
Wooden Cask Brewing Company is coming at you with the beer-filled, live-music-bursting festival Rhythm Brew Art and Music Festival. Spend your weekend with more than 30 local and touring bands along with a selection of over 30 craft beers. Local art vendors will be there to fulfill the other half of the festival title. And, of course, there will also be lots of food. Despite it being at a brewery, all ages are welcome and kids under 12 are free. With two stages set up for the performances, expect non-stop entertainment all weekend. 5 p.m.-midnight Friday; noon-midnight Saturday; noon-11 p.m. Sunday. $15-$30. Wooden Cask Brewing Company, 629 York St., Newport, Ky., woodencask.com.
CLASSICAL: The Dharma at Big Sur
Tracy Silverman’s nonconforming approach to his music is an integral part of his psyche. He rejected a career as a classical violinist, switched to the electric violin and stopped listening to its two biggest exemplars, Stéphane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty — turning to Rock and Soul giants Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Aretha Franklin for inspiration. Silverman will make his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut this weekend performing The Dharma at Big Sur, a work that he says, “never ceases to affect me.” Dharma was inspired by composer John Adams’ first encounter with the spectacular California coastal landmark and by his friendship with West Coast composers Lou Harrison and Terry Riley. Adams creates a brilliant fusion of Eastern and Western musical forms using the electric violin’s meditations and ecstatic dancing phrases. Violinist Tracy Silverman performs The Dharma at Big Sur with the CSO Oct. 5 and 6 at Music Hall. Tickets: cincinnatisymphony.org.
VISUAL ART: FotoFocus Biennial 2018 Kick-Off
The 2018 FotoFocus Biennial theme of “Open Archive” speaks to the desire to organize and make sense of a growing visual catalog, but artistic director Kevin Moore appreciates some fluidity, too. In choosing this year’s theme, he wasn’t concentrating on photographs stashed in boxes, but the free-use images that we access every day on the internet and keep on our smartphones. A prompt like “open archive” conveniently opens up infinite questions. Who decides what is worth documenting and preserving? How do artists draw upon the past? Are the memories that we hold in our hearts truer than the pictures we hold in our hands? Can we trust everything we see, particularly in the digital age? With more than 90 exhibits and events across Greater Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, the fourth FotoFocus Biennial explores photography’s historical and contemporary archives from multiple angles. Though some shows opened weeks ago, programming this weekend officially kicks off a packed month, and some exhibits continue into 2019. The lineup’s biggest names include filmmaker/artist/writer Miranda July, late photographers Berenice Abbott and Eugène Atget, and British artist and Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing. “A Conversation with Artist Miranda July” takes place 5-7 p.m. Sunday at the Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine. Find more info and tickets at fotofocusbiennial.org.
ONSTAGE: The Government Inspector
This weekend at CCM his production of the hilarious show, working with a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, should evoke gales of laughter. The show, which satirizes bad behavior in a 19th-century Russian province, offers not one admirable character; everyone is corrupt. Fundamentally, the story is one of mistaken identity: The self-serving officials of a small town learn that an undercover inspector will soon visit. They are convulsed with panic when Ivan Hlestakov shows up, who is a well-dressed, clueless and foolish visitor from St. Petersburg. Quickly, they become convinced that he is the official sent to detect what’s going on in the town. Ivan is in desperate straits, both out of money and far from home. He is about to shoot himself (while admiring his image in a mirror) when the town’s mayor shows up with a load of rubles. Ivan is so dimwitted that he quickly abandons his dire decision and willingly accepts all attempts to bribe and banquet him. The Government Inspector, presented by CCM, continues through Sunday. More info: ccm.uc.edu.
SATURDAY 06
EVENT: Gorman Heritage Farm Sunflower Festival
If you follow ‘hip’ folks on Instagram, they probably post an annual #candid of themselves in a field of sunflowers. And most likely, it was taken at Gorman Heritage Farm’s Sunflower Festival. Honestly: totally worth it for the cute pics alone. This autumnal celebration will put you in the seasonal spirit — crisp, early October weather; harvest hues of red, orange and yellow; cozy hayrides (bonus: snag some hot cocoa beforehand); and, duh, sunflowers. As the sweet fall ruffles your sweater, sway to live music or munch on grub from a selection of food trucks and vendors. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $1 per sunflower stem or 12 for $10. $8 admission; $5 kids 3-17 and seniors; free 3 and under. Gorman Heritage Farm, 10052 Reading Road, Evandale, gormanfarm.org.
EVENT: HallZOOween
Get spooky with some wild animals at the Cincinnati Zoo’s HallZOOween event. Promised to be “so much fun, it’s scary,” the event will offer family-friendly events all day long like trick-or-treat stations and special animal encounters. Families will also have a chance to attend the Beauty Shop of Horrors or Phil Dalton’s Theater of Illusion Shows. For an additional charge, the kids can dare to ride the Hogwarts Express Train Ride or a Scare-ousel. Noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays in October. Event is included with zoo admission ($19 adult; $12 children/seniors). Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.
MUSIC: Erika Wennerstrom
Though she moved her critically acclaimed Rock band Heartless Bastards from Cincinnati to Austin, Texas years ago, Erika Wennerstrom has continued to bring her music projects back to the Queen City on a regular basis. That has included tour dates in support of her fantastic debut solo album, Sweet Unknown, which was released this spring on Partisan Records and showcased a different side of the singer/songwriter’s musical personality. The solo effort is simultaneously rootsier and more expansive and textural than Wennerstrom’s work with the Bastards, reminiscent of the unique ethereality Daniel Lanois helps conjure when working with Americana-oriented artists (a Wennerstrom/Lanois collaboration would be beyond spellbinding). Sweet Unknown, has received a wide array of great press since its release, including from Rolling Stone, which called it “a spacious, starlit collection that showcases her wail over sprawling Americana.” 8:30 p.m. Saturday. $15. Ludlow Garage, 342 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, ludlowgaragecincinnati.com.
EVENT: Weekend of Fire
Can you handle the heat? Jungle Jim's Weekend of Fire fest features all the hot sauces, spicy mustards, rubs, jerky and salsas you can handle. This year's fest has a special twist: It's the "Weekend of Fire Fiesta Style" highlighting the spiciest foods from Mexico. There will be hundreds of foods to sample as well as an Arena of Fire competition to see who can eat the spiciest creations. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. $10.65 per day. Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim's, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, junglejims.com.
EVENT: CliftonFest
It’s CliftonFest time once again. The free, annual arts fest takes over the Ludlow Avenue business district this Friday and Saturday for another great weekend of art, music and other fun. Enjoy the spirit of the neighborhood with live art drawings on the sidewalk, light installations (designed and placed by DAAP students), performances from local bands and artisan shopping. You can start checking out the neighborhood, vendors and artist wares and installations beginning Friday at 5 p.m. Saturday is a full day of fun that starts at 9 a.m. (The fest goes until 11 p.m. both nights). For more info, visit cliftonfest.com.
SUNDAY 07
ONSTAGE: The Roommate
“It’s Iowa!” is a phrase often uttered by Margaret Daly, the actress portraying Sharon in The Playhouse’s production of Jen Silverman’s The Roommate, which follows a woman who has recently opened her home to a new roommate — in the hopes of staving off an aggressive case of empty-nest syndrome. Sharon is a timid but curious woman in her mid-50s searching for new meaning and excitement in the wake of her recent divorce. This excitement, she hopes, might be found in her new roommate, Robyn, a provocative and enthralling woman from the Bronx. Played energetically by Mary Jo Mecca, Robyn is an insouciant and mysterious new arrival to Iowa. What begins as a formal and uncertain relationship between the women quickly becomes an unexpected and exhilarating adventure as Sharon adapts to her new roommate’s unconventional lifestyle. Through Oct. 21. $35.40–$96.40. Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circle, Mount Adams, cincyplay.com.
