17 Things To Do in Cincinnati This Week (May 8-14)

THURSDAY 09

EVENT: House Party at the Taft Museum of Art
Make yourself at home in the art museum: The Taft is hosting a house party with food, drinks, live music and art all themed around bourbon, barbecue and Bluegrass. Eli’s BBQ will be serving cocktails and light bites for you to enjoy while you listen to Jake Speed & The Freddies in the garden. Play a giant lawn game while sipping on some bourbon or take a tour of the galleries and make your own scrape painting. 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Free admission. Taft Museum of Art, 316 Pike St., Downtown, facebook.com/taftmuseum.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

THURSDAY 09

ART: No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man
This immersive and museum-wide exhibit brings the phantasmagoric artworks of the Black Rock Desert playa to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Read full cover story here.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

THURSDAY 09

EVENT: Professor Lorenzo’s Carnival of Mysteries
It’s part circus, part escape room and part interactive art installation. Sound mysterious? It’s supposed to be. It’s Professor Lorenzo’s Carnival of Mysteries. Throughout May, this enigmatic carnival at the People’s Liberty Globefront Gallery will be offering a variety of puzzles, an old-timey hi-striker, an augmented reality scavenger hunt in Findlay Market and free popcorn to fuel all your hard work. Spending an afternoon solving puzzles and deciphering clues may eventually lead to heated inter-group arguments, but it could all be worth it for the elusive rewards in the end. For all ages. Thursday-Sunday through May 26. Free admission. People’s Liberty Globefront Gallery, 1805 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, carnivalofmysteries.com.
Photo via Facebook.com/CincyCarnivalofMysteries

THURSDAY 09

CLASSICAL: Opera is a Drag
Two centuries-old performances of extravagance collide for a repeat of last year’s sold-out “Opera is a Drag” show at Below Zero Lounge. With the pointed cone-shaped bras, boisterous singing and outlandish costumes bigger than a queen’s personality, the world of opera harmonizes beautifully with the marvelously exaggerated jush of the drag stage. This drag show, produced with Cincinnati Opera Center Stage, promises to parody the German opera Ariadne auf Naxos — thematically about the competition for public attention between high and low art — and the soundtrack will be a resoundingly vivacious mix of Opera and Pop music. The space is a mix of standing room and seating. 7-9:30 p.m. Thursday. $15. Below Zero Lounge, 1120 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook.com/cincinnatiopera.
Photo: Provided

FRIDAY 10

MUSIC: Edward David Anderson
Backyard Tire Fire’s Edward David Anderson supports his latest solo effort, Chasing Butterflies, at the Southgate House Revival. Basics for the album’s 10 tracks came about quickly, captured over just a few days in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at the studio of Grammy Award-winning producer Jimmy Nutt (The SteelDrivers). “I’ve always wanted to make a record in Muscle Shoals. But it needed to be the right batch of songs with the right people,” Anderson says. “I don’t think I could have written these tunes when I was 25. Everything I’ve done, the people I’ve met, all the places I’ve been, have brought me to this moment.” 9:30 p.m. Friday. Free. Southgate House Revival, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport, southgatehouse.com.
Photo: Kim Anderson

FRIDAY 10-SUNDAY 12

EVENT: Appalachian Festival
The 50th-annual Appalachian Festival celebrates the culture and heritage of Appalachia during a three-day fest held over Mother’s Day weekend. Experience music, homestyle food, arts and crafts, dancing and other authentic experiences in a mock pioneer village. One of Cincinnati’s most popular annual festivals, it brings around 10,000 people to Coney Island to see more than 100 crafters, historic reenactors, farm animals, storytellers, blacksmiths, weavers, Native American drummers and dozens of entertainers spread across three stages, from The Tillers and Rabbit Hash String Band to the Cincinnati Highland Dancers and Kentucky Bluegrass Cloggers. The fest goes on rain or shine. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Friday: $5 adults; $2 seniors; $1 children; ; free 4 and under. Saturday/Sunday: $10 adults; $5 seniors; $2 children; free 4 and under. Coney Island Amusement Park, 6201 Kellogg Ave., California, appalachianfestival.org.
Photo: Provided

FRIDAY 10

MUSIC: Tauk
Long Island-based quartet Tauk brings a sci-fi-inspired mix of Progressive Rock, Hip Hop and Jazz to the Madison Theater. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $15. Madison Theater, 730 Madison Ave., Covington, madisontheateronline.com.
Photo: Soul Vision

FRIDAY 10

MUSIC: Insane Clown Posse
In support of their latest album, Fearless Fred Fury (which is, obviously, the “fourth Joker Card in the second Deck of the Dark Carnival”), Insane Clown Posse will be pulling through Cincinnati this week. The infamous Rap duo of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J will be joined by Rittz, Mushroomhead, Mac Lethal and Kissing Candice for the show. ICP had a run of packed, Faygo-soaked shows at Bogart’s over the past couple of decades and local fans should mark their calendars beyond this week’s tour stop — 2019’s Gathering of the Juggalos is coming up this summer and it’s taking place only about a three-hour car ride from Cincinnati. The 20th-annual GotJ is set for Lawrence County Recreational Park near Bloomington, Indiana July 31-Aug. 3. 5:45 p.m. Friday. $35; $40 day of show. Riverfront Live, 4343 Kellogg Ave., Columbia Tusculum, riverfrontlivecincy.com.
Photo: Provided

FRIDAY 10

EVENT: Cincinnati SneakerBall
Local nonprofit Bigger Than Sneakers, from the team behind Corporate sneaker boutique, is hosting its second annual SneakerBall; guests are invited to dress in black-tie attire complemented by their favorite pair of kicks. This gala will feature live music, art, a silent auction and connect guests with local professionals, influencers and sports figures including celebrity ambassador Matt Kemp, a new player for the Cincinnati Reds. Proceeds from this event will go toward the Children’s Hospital Charitable Care Fund which helps families dealing with overwhelming medical costs. Tickets include a drink and hors d’oeuvres. 8 p.m.- midnight Friday. $75. Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate, 2019cincysb.eventbrite.com.
Photo: Facebook.com/BiggerThanSneakers

FRIDAY 10-SUNDAY 12

COMEDY: Adam Ray
“I was a fat kid growing up,” says comedian Adam Ray, “and I think that’s where a lot of my comedy came from. I was known as the little chub that wore sweatpants to class and said something funny when he raised his hand to answer a question, so I thought, ‘OK. I’m going to try and make people laugh all the time.’ ” From there he began impersonating friends, relatives and teachers. He brought his friends into the act, as it were, in junior high by making funny videos. “Instead of getting drunk or fucked up, we’d make these little movies and entertain ourselves.” In high school, Ray and his buddies completely took over the high school news program. “We turned it into a sketch comedy show,” he says. 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. $12-$45. Funny Bone Liberty, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township, liberty.funnybone.com.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 11-SUNDAY 12

EVENT: Asian Food Fest
Pad Thai, banh mi, chow mein, sushi, curry… Listing every exquisite Asian dish might be impossible, but the ninth annual Asian Food Fest will let you savor all the best Eastern cuisine in the Queen City. For one weekend, 34 restaurants and food trucks representing over 10 different countries — from Cambodia to China and India to Taiwan — will sell small samples of their best dishes for between $2 and $6. A “secret menu” booth will also offer a transitory series of homemade fare from local amateur chefs like Sichuan cold noodles on Saturday and veggie Vietnamese fried spring rolls on Sunday. There will also be performances from dancers, DJs and martial artists. Noon-10 p.m. Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Freedom Way at The Banks, between Walnut and Elm streets, Downtown, asianfoodfest.org.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 11

EVENT: Crafty Supermarket
Crafty Supermarket celebrates a double-digit milestone this Mother’s Day weekend: The market will be taking over Music Hall’s ballroom for its 20th event. The juried show will bring more than 100 vendors to Over-the-Rhine — everything from fine artists to jewelry makers and craft culinary creatives to woodworkers, apothecary artisans, clothing designers and more. The indie craft show will also feature food for sale from locals Dojo Gelato, Adesso Coffee, Eli’s BBQ, Macaron Bar and Quite Frankly. The first 100 shoppers in the door will get a free swag bag; more than 3,000 shoppers are expected to attend. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Free admission. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, craftysupermarket.com.
Photo: Provided

SATURDAY 11

EVENT: Cincinnati Preservation Association: One Great House Tour
The Cincinnati Preservation Association, a nonprofit that helps (as the name suggests) preserve historic cultural resources through education, advocacy and support, is hosting a tour of the Lloyd Taft House. The 7,000-square-foot Lloyd Taft House, located on a wooded estate in Indian Hill, is one of the area’s best-known late-20th-century Modern homes. Built in 1978 for the grandson of President William Howard Taft, it is the only local residential work of New York architect Charles Gwathmey and earned the American Institute of Architects’ National Honor Award in 1984. Tickets include a tour and access to speakers throughout the day who will be covering topics including Modernism in Cincinnati, Cincinnati’s Terrace Plaza Hotel and Saving the Rauh House. Tours will be given on the half hour; select your tour time when you purchase tickets. 1-5 p.m. Saturday. $35 non-member; $30 members advance; $35 day-of members. Park at the Armstrong Chapel, 5125 Drake Road, Indian Hill, cincinnatipreservation.org.
Photo: CPA

SATURDAY 11

EVENT: The O.F.F. Market
Head to MadTree’s Barrel Warehouse for an afternoon of shopping. The O.F.F. Market brings together local “artists, bakers, chefs, scavengers, mobile boutiques and everything in between” for an indoor indie market. Shop local while you sip local on any variety of MadTree’s beer offerings. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Free admission. MadTree, 3301 Madison Road, Oakley, facebook.com/theoffmarket.
Photo: Provided by Oakley Fancy Flea

SATURDAY 11

EVENT: Late Night Date Night
The Cincinnati Observatory will open after hours on Saturday to give grown-ups a sneak peek into the planets and stars of the next celestial season. Take a guided tour of the observatory and get an up close and personal viewing of the skies through the oldest telescope in the United States, weather permitting. Take that special someone out for a night under the stars. Adults only. 10:30 p.m.-midnight Saturday. $25. Cincinnati Observatory, 3489 Observatory Place, Mount Lookout, cincinnatiobservatory.org.
Photo: Brittany Thornton

SUNDAY 12

EVENT: Mother’s Day at the Cincinnati Zoo
Come out to celebrate Mother’s Day at the Cincinnati Zoo, recently named the best zoo in the country by readers of USA Today. All mothers get in free on their special day, plus the entire month of May is an homage to mom at the zoo during Zoo Babies. Hunt for 6-foot-tall stork statues throughout the park to lead you to the newest and cutest zoo additions, like Maximus, the 6-month-old colobus monkey; a quiver of spitting cobras hatched last June; Mani, the 6-month-old tamandua; and seven penguin chicks — all hatched between December and March — with names like Pierogi, Linguini, Toast and Jam. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday. $15 adult; $9 child/senior (online); free for moms. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.
Photo: Kathy Newton

MONDAY 13

MUSIC: Buke and Gase, Ben Sloan and Intermedio
On May 13 at Northside’s Hoffner Lodge, three 37d03d affiliates team up for an 8 p.m. showcase that includes members of Cincinnati’s own arts collaborative, Intermedio, a music-based collective that experiments with and expands on the concept of concert performance; brilliant Cincinnati percussionist Ben Sloan, a member of the local band A Delicate Motor; and Buke and Gase, a fantastic Art Pop duo from Brooklyn that has garnered widespread acclaim and worked with the likes of Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, Animal Collective and The National. 8 p.m. Monday. Hoffner Lodge, 4120 Hamilton Ave., Northside, facebook.com/bukeandgase.
Photo: Provided