12 Things To Do in Cincinnati This Weekend (July 29-31)

Friday, July 29

Glier's Goettafest
If you gotta get your goetta, you now have two full weekends to indulge in the Queen City's favorite meaty mixture at this year's Glier's Goettafest. Held July 28-31 and Aug. 4-7 at Newport's Festival Park, this annual celebration of all things goetta features eight full days of insane eats, cold beer, live music, kid-friendly games and the world's only goetta vending machine. Gorge on more than 50 different sweet and savory goetta-infused dishes ranging from goetta nachos and deep-fried goetta cheese coneys to goetta brownies and a goetta donut sandwich. 5-11 p.m. July 29; noon-11 p.m. July 30; noon-9 p.m. July 31. Additional dates Aug. 4-7. Free admission. Newport's Festival Park, Newport on the Levee, goettafest.com. Read CityBeat's story for everything you can eat at Goettafest.

Art After Dark: Meet Me at the Speakeasy at the Cincinnati Art Museum
In the Cincinnati Art Museum's new exhibit,Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom , guests can explore the "fully conserved and installed" 1929 room of an affluent Chicago teenager, created by architect and scenic designer Joseph Urban. See the ticketed display for free during Friday's Art After Dark, which plays on a 1920s speakeasy theme. AfroChine will provide the jazz music while guests enjoy food and drink for purchase. The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Candice Handy will also be offering a performance inspired by playwright August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Roaring '20s costumes encouraged. 5-9 p.m. July 29. Free admission. 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiartmuseum.org. Read CityBeat's story about Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom.

SMOY Fest
St. Margaret of York's annual SMOY Fest features rides, entertainment and games, plus plenty of beer, wine and spirits. Local music acts including Second Wind, 3 Piece Revival and Colleen McKenna will take the stage throughout the weekend.  Compete in a chicken wing-eating contest on Saturday and an ice cream-eating contest on Sunday. Unlimited ride bracelets are available ($25). 6-11:30 p.m. July 29; 5-11:30 p.m. July 30; 3-8 p.m. July 31.  Free admission. 9483 Columbia Road, Loveland, smoyfest.org. Read CityBeat's story about more church festivals happening this summer.

Butler County Fair
The Butler County Fair's grandstand events include an antique tractor pull, broken horn rodeo and several demolition derbies. There will also be a dog agility show, cake auction and men's bake off, with awards handed out for everything from best pickles and cross stitch to yeast bread and homemade wine. July 24-30. $9; $4 ages 6-12 with paying adult; $35 seven-day pass; $25 four-day pass. Butler County Fairgrounds, 1715 Fairgrove Ave., Hamilton, butlercountyohfair.org. Read CityBeat's story about more upcoming county and state fairs.

Clermont County Fair
Experience everything from bicycle races and a cornhole tournament to a pie auction and a roaming "Monkey Man" with a capuchin monkey. Grandstand events include a demolition derby, rodeo and truck and tractor pulls.  There will also be live music from Craig Morgan (ticketed separately), Dozzi, Marsha Brady and more. July 24-30. $10. Clermont County Fairgrounds, 1000 Locust St., Owensville, clermontcountyfair.com. Read CityBeat's story about more upcoming county and state fairs.

Saturday, July 30

Danger Wheel
The seventh installment of Cincinnati’s action-packed Big Wheel race for adults, Danger Wheel, is taking over the streets of Pendleton. Sixty-four three-person teams will compete in the race on Saturday, careening through downhill courses that will change throughout the day of the competition. The title of “Danger Champion” will be awarded to the fastest of the bunch. There will also be local beer and food trucks. Braxton Brewing Co.'s Pendleton taproom will be hosting a 1990s-themed Danger Wheel afterparty. Races start at 2 p.m. July 30. $125 per team; free to watch. 12th and Broadway streets, Pendleton, dangerwheel.com. See CityBeat's photos of a previous Danger Wheel race.

Greta Van Fleet at Heritage Bank Center
Michigan-spawned, Nashville-based retro rockers Greta Van Fleet are bringing their "Dreams in Gold" Tour to the Heritage Bank Center. The jaunt is in support of the band's sophomore album, The Battle at Garden's Gate, which took the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Rock Album chart, No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Album chart, No. 1 on the Billboard Vinyl Album chart, No. 2 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart and hit in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The show was originally slated for March, but was postponed while Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka recovered from pneumonia. 5 p.m. doors and 7 p.m. showtime July 30. Tickets start at $39.50. 100 Broadway St., Downtown, heritagebankcenter.com.

Outlaw Music Festival
Country outlaw Willie Nelson is on the road again and he's bringing along ZZ Top, Gov't Mule and Larkin Poe to join the Outlaw Music Festival show in Cincinnati. Catch the entire tour lineup at Riverbend Music Center on July 30. “The Outlaw Music Festival Tour has always been about family and friends coming together for a great day of music and fun. This year promises to be our most special Outlaw Tour to date,” says Nelson in a press release. 4 p.m. doors and 4:25 p.m. showtime July 30. Tickets start at $35. Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave., California, riverbend.org.

Northside Block Party
Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood is hosting the last of its summer block parties. The Northside Community Council and Action Tank have banded together to present a party where visitors can indulge in some free gelato, free drinks and live music. There will also be a kid-friendly bouncy house, games and someone making balloon animals. Nonprofits will be on hand with info on how to get engaged with local causes. 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. July 30. Free admission. Lambston Street, between Chase Avenue and Carlin/Washburn Street, Northside, facebook.com.

Sunday, July 31

Shakespeare in the Park at Washington Park
The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is bringing its super popular, free Shakespeare in the Park series to public spots across the Tri-State, with productions from Over-the-Rhine to West Chester and beyond. This summer, the traveling troupe is only performing one show: Twelfth Night. The CSC describes the show as a “lively rom-com on an island where everyone is in love with someone — and the wrong person loves them back.” Bring a blanket or chair and settle in for some outdoor theater. 6 p.m. July 31. Free admission. 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, cincyshakes.com. Read CityBeat's story about Shakespeare in the Park.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
The popular large-scale digital art exhibit Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience has taken over the former Gidding-Jenny department store downtown. The historical building, constructed in 1860, serves as a spacious backdrop to more than 400 of Vincent van Gogh's drawings, sketches and paintings, displayed in digital projections that stretch from the floor to the ceiling. In addition to projections of van Gogh's work, a separate virtual reality experience will take visitors on a 10-minute journey on "a day in the life of the artist." 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. weekends and holidays. $34.90 adults; $19.90  children. 18 W. Fourth St., Downtown, vangoghexpo.com. Read CityBeat's story about the immersive van Gogh show.

Fiona's Sundae Funday at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
This evening event at the zoo blends two of Cincinnati's favorite things: Fiona the hippo and Graeter's ice cream. The fundraiser features ice cream samples spread across the zoo, with flavors including mint chocolate chip, black raspberry chocolate chip, dark chocolate brownie, Midnight Snack and the plant-based black cherry chip. Grab a Graeter's passport to guide you to all six sampling stations. And check out special animal enrichment activities for meerkats, red pandas, elephants and more. Attendees will also get a Fiona-themed fanny pack. 6-8 p.m. July 31. $30 non-member; $25 members. 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.

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