FRIDAY 04
ONSTAGE: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
How to raise your spirits when you’re feeling blue? A musical-theater lover might listen to a favorite cast recording. That’s what a “Man in a Chair” does in this send-up of a jaunty, made-up Jazz Age musical. As he listens, the show comes to life around him with a madcap story of an impending wedding, complicated by gangsters, a Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone. Delightful song-and-dance numbers make this fine summer entertainment. As the man, Van Ackerman reprises a role he was born to play, one he knocked out of the park for another company three years ago. Through Aug. 27. $29 adults; $26 students/seniors. Warsaw Federal Incline Theatre, 801 Matson Place, East Price Hill, cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.
EVENT: GLIER’S GOETTAFEST
Where there’s goetta, Cincinnatians are sure to gather. Made with pinhead oats, pork and beef scraps and formed into a patty, this sizzling favorite is rooted both in German ancestry and Queen City history. Since 2001, Newport on the Levee’s Festival Park has transformed into a maze of goetta variants: goetta pizza, goetta egg rolls, goetta burgers, goetta donuts, goetta grilled cheese and even a goetta vending machine (perfect for a quirky photo-op). Aside from food, the festival boasts live music, a mechanical bull, a kids’ zone, face painting and more. 5-11 p.m. Friday; noon-11 p.m. Saturday; noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Festival Park, Riverboat Row, Newport, Ky., goettafest.com.
EVENT: PRICE HILL CREATIVE COMMUNITY FESTIVAL
As the free Price Hill Creative Community Festival returns this Friday and Saturday for a second year, its scope has broadened. It will again be hosted by Price Hill’s MYCincinnati youth orchestra, but this year the festival occurs in partnership with the Contemporary Arts Center and will feature performances by MYCincinnati’s five artists-in-residence, who work with the student musicians. The festival’s core goals of embracing inclusivity and showcasing the talents of MYCincinnati musicians remain, according to MYCincinnati director and festival creator Eddy Kwon. “The idea of the festival is that if we can embody an empathetic community within performance, we can open up the walls of the community to embrace everyone in that space,” he says. “Those core values can radiate.” Read more about the event here. The Price Hill Creative Community Festival occurs 5 p.m.-midnight Friday and 4 p.m.-midnight Saturday. More information: creativecommunityfestival.org.
EVENT: WORLD’S LONGEST YARD SALE
Shop the most impressive yard sale of the year! Covering more than 690 miles from Addison, Mich. to Gadsden, Ala. along Highway 127, this is truly the world’s longest yard sale. Locally, the sale has a hub in Covington’s MainStrasse, but see more vendors along Hamilton Avenue in Northside and at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in North College Hill. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Free. Sixth Street Promenade, Covington, Ky., mainstrasse.org, 127sale.com.
EVENT: ROCK N’ ROLL AGAINST DIRTY COAL LIVE BAND KARAOKE CHALLENGE
Friday night, watch 13 performers sing their hearts out at Northside Tavern’s Rock N’ Roll Against Dirty Coal karaoke challenge with band Sexy Time (from the bar’s infamous Sexy Time Live Band Karaoke nights). This contest pits singers against each other to raise funds and votes via a crowdrise.com fundraising page. Winners — based on monetary sponsorships and karaoke performance — receive bragging rights and a homemade trophy. Proceeds from all votes/donations will benefit Ohio Citizen Action’s campaign to break Ohio’s dependence on coal plants and promote clean, efficient and renewable energy usage. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday. $20 donation; $10 to karaoke bewteen competitors. Northside Tavern, 4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, northsidetav.com.
EVENT: DELHI SKIRT GAME
Feast on brats, metts, hamburgers, hot dogs or LaRosa’s Pizza and wash your food down with a cold beer while raising money for families with special needs in Delhi Township. In its 40th year, the charity softball game — this year’s theme is “What was old is now new again” — is played by men comfortable enough in their masculinity to don a wig, put on some lipstick, slip on a dress and head to the ballpark for charitable fun. Take yourself out to the ballgame and see some drag. Oh, and stick around for killer fireworks. 5-11 p.m. Friday. Free. Delhi Park, 5125 Foley Road, Delhi, delhiskirtgame.org.
SATURDAY 05
CLASSICAL MUSIC: SUMMERMUSIK
Last October, shortly after the conclusion of its popular Summermusik programming, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra announced the appointment of Eckart Preu as its fifth music director. Days later, Preu (pronounced “proy”) began planning for the CCO’s third year of Summermusik, which offers Classical music with a contemporary twist. The results of that effort begin Saturday and continue through Aug. 26. This year’s lineup reflects Preu’s eclectic approach, featuring the familiar and the unexpected performed at venues large and small. “Unpredictability is really important to me,” he says, speaking by phone from his home in Spokane, Wash. “You know you’ll be hearing something off the beaten path when you come to us.” Read more about the program here. Summermusik 2017 runs Saturday through Aug. 26 at multiple locations. Tickets/more information: ccocincinnati.org.
MUSIC: HARBOUR
Harbour’s new album HEATWAVE, set to release Saturday, “is going to be like a soundtrack of summer,” member Matt Starcher says. “It’s something you’d listen to while driving… I could just envision being in a convertible, driving past a beach with all the people I care about the most.” To celebrate HEATWAVE’s release, Harbour is hosting Sunfest, a music festival featuring seven other local bands at both Madison Theater and Madison Live in Covington, Ky. this Saturday. Performances from CLUBHOUSE, Northbound, Pluto Revolts and others will lead up to Harbour’s set, featuring all of the tracks on HEATWAVE, plus a few from their previous EPs. Read more about the band here. Harbour headlines Sunfest this Saturday at Madison Theater and Madison Live. Tickets/more info: madisontheateronline.com.
MUSIC: NAPPY ROOTS
There has been some talk recently about how the concept of a “group” in Hip Hop is a thing of the past, with the most successful artists of the genre today being solo performers. Someone forgot to tell Nappy Roots, which formed in Bowling Green, Ky. in the late ’90s and hasn’t stopped. Nappy Roots’ Southern-flavored sound earned them a Platinum debut album in 2002 with Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, and though they haven’t experienced the same mainstream success of early singles like “Po’ Folks,” the group has made the most of its independent status. Another 40 Akerz, the group’s latest, shows not only a lyrical maturity, but also continues the crew’s growth as a musical unit, dropping elements of modern Electronic music into the mix. 9:30 p.m. Saturday. $15; $18 day of show. Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, woodwardtheater.com.
EVENT: MILFORD STREET EATS
Milford is the place to be Saturday when midday hunger hits. Join the city for its fifth-annual food truck rally. This time around, nearly two dozen trucks will make their way to downtown Milford. Grab gourmet grilled cheese, gumbo, cupcakes, crepes and so much more. Local favorites in attendance include C’est Cheese, Chicken Mac Truck, Texas Joe, Kimmer’s Italianette, SugarSnap! and LeCreParis. Old Firehouse Brewery, Mt. Carmel Brewing Company and MadTree will bring the brews. 3-10 p.m. Saturday. Free Admission. 701 Chamber Drive, Milford, milfordstreeteats.com.
EVENT: OTR COMMUNITY FESTIVAL
Celebrate Over-the-Rhine’s diversity of residents, community organizations and businesses at the 32nd-annual OTR Community Festival. Enjoy food, drinks, games, free entertainment and each other’s company as you build friendships and relationships with your fellow OTR neighbors. Get there by 3 p.m. to watch the talent contest, which will feature acts by kids ages 4 to 18. Noon-6 p.m. Saturday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, washingtonpark.org.
ART: WORKING SURFACE AT THE CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER’S UNMUSEUM
Matt Lynch, associate professor of sculpture at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, and Curtis Goldstein, a Columbus-based painter, sculptor and muralist, joined forces to create more than a dozen large-scale murals out of Formica laminate inspired by Winold Reiss’ iconic heroes of industry murals from the 1930s (formerly installed at Union Terminal and now on view at the convention center) but with a contemporary approach. For this installation at the CAC’s UnMuseum, the artists created figures and objects that attach to the scene via magnets to encourage visitors to create their own “industrial drama.” Moveable pieces include a mop and bucket, a worker in a hazmat suit, a box of donuts and even some small fires.Opening reception 1-2 p.m. Saturday. Free. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org.
EVENT: OHIO RIVER PADDLEFEST
Last year, more than 1,800 paddlers took to the Ohio River for the annual Paddlefest. Be a part of the new record and bring a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddleboard of your own. The 9-mile course leads from the East End’s Schmidt Recreation Complex to Gilday Riverside Park on the West Side. Register and stage your boat at Schmidt Friday, then stick around for an all-night camping party and take off the next morning. When you make it to Covington Landing, you’re halfway there with a Half Way Celebration complete with music, refreshments and porta potties. When you’ve had your fill of that fun, get back in your boat. The Finish Line Festival promises more live music, food, beer, refreshments and vendors. 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Registration $15-$45. Schmidt Recreation Complex, 2944 Humbert Ave., East End, ohioriverpaddlefest.org.