Jul 4-11, 2018
Cincinnati’s 1888 World’s Fair: The Fourth of July marks the 130th anniversary of the city’s stunning Centennial Exhibition
The Burlington Antique Show takes over the Boone County Fairgrounds third Sundays through October
As the Midwest’s premier antique market, the Burlington Antique Show is celebrating more than three decades of bringing the best antiques and vintage collectibles to the Boone County Fairgrounds. More than 200 dealers converge the third Sunday of the month (through October) to exhibit and sell their authentic wares — Midcentury Modern, Art Deco, pre-war, Industrial…
‘Let It Grow’ Exhibit at Camp Washington’s Wave Pool is Perfect for Plant Ladies
Calling all crazy plant ladies: Wave Pool in Camp Washington has an exhibition just for you. Let It Grow plays on the “contemporary fixation on houseplants” by examining the relationship between human and plant. Why do we remove these self-sustaining organisms from their natural habitat and place them in pots in our homes? What does…
Cincy Shakes to Perform ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in Taft Museum’s Outdoor Sculpture
The Taft Museum of Art is throwing an after-hours party for anyone interested in spending a night at the museum. Dean’s Mediterranean Imports and Horchata will be supplying the snacks for a spicy spread of Mexican and Mediterranean. If you’ve been meaning to catch a free showing of Shakespeare in the Park, now’s your chance:…
Cincinnati Opera commissions new work from ‘Fellow Travelers’ composer Gregory Spears and U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith
Cincinnati Opera today announced that for its centennial year in 2020 it has commissioned a new opera from Fellow Travelers composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K. Smith, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet laureate of the United States. The opera, Castor and Patience, will premiere in July, 2020 at Corbett Theater in the School for Creative and Performing Arts.…
Artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s Work is Back on Display in Cincinnati
New York’s Aicon Gallery is hosting a pop-up exhibition of South Asian artists at Pendleton’s Marta Hewett Gallery through Sunday. Called Delicate Bond of Steel, the goal of the exhibit is to explore the “historic cultural and artistic ties that continue to bind South Asian nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, despite…
New Riff Hosts ‘World’s Biggest Bourbon Toast’ and Early Bottle Release on July 31
New Riff Distilling has announced a release date for its first batch of bourbon: Fall 2018. But before the spirit is officially in stores, you can get your hands on a bottle as early as July 31. New Riff is hosting the “World’s Biggest Bourbon Toast” to launch its Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey at 5:30…
Keystone and The Mac Shack Celebrate National Mac and Cheese Day
National Mac & Cheese Day is July 14 and Keystone Bar & Grill and Mac Shack are celebrating by offering specialty macs and the chance to win free mac and cheese for a year. Keystone Bar & Grill locations in Covington (313 Greenup St.), Hyde Park (3384 Erie Ave.) and Clifton (249 Calhoun St.) will…
Macaron Bar Makes Mini Dessert Hamburgers for Cincinnati Burger Week
Cincinnati Burger Week launches July 16, offering seven days of $5 specialty burgers at bars and restaurants across the Tri-State (get more info on participating eateries and their burger offerings here). One of the sweetest — and cutest! — returning specialities is Macaron Bar's mini hamburger macaron, a thankfully meatless concoction that replicates one of…
Cincinnati Burger Week Kicks Off at Braxton Brewing Co.
Cincinnati Burger Week officially kicks off on July 16, offering $5 specialty patties at participating restaurants across the Tri-State (see here for more details). But before the burgers hit the grill, head to Braxton Brewing Co. in Covington for the official kick-off party, featuring a sneak peek of various burger options, live music from The…
26 Super Summer Reading Recommendations from Cincinnati Literary Authorities, Book Nerds and CityBeat Staffers
Remember in high school when you spent your summers procrastinating, avoiding the soul-sucking drudgery of required summer reading lists in favor of swimming pools and TV? One of the good things about growing up is that the magic of reading returns. As an adult, spending time absorbed in a new book becomes a delicious luxury…
‘Silicon Valley’ Actor/Comedian T.J. Miller Coming to Liberty Township’s Funny Bone
Sometimes controversial comedian and actor T.J. Miller takes the stage Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 at the Funny Bone in Liberty Township. A headlining comedian for years, he is perhaps better known as an actor thanks to his run on the hit TV series Silicon Valley. He left that show after two seasons…
Recommended Concerts in Greater Cincinnati (July 11-17)
WEDNESDAY 11 FOUNTAIN SQUARE – Reggae Wednesdays with The Ark Band. 7 p.m. Reggae. Free. RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER – Kesha and Macklemore with Wes Period. 7 p.m. Pop/Hip Hop. $30.50-$112.50. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY) – The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts. 7 p.m. Rock. $20, $25 day of show. THURSDAY 12 BOGART'S…
Felix Coffee Co. — Cincinnati’s Third-Wave Craft Coffee Pop-Up — Celebrates its First Anniversary
Dozens of coffee shops have made names for themselves with individual visions and aesthetics in various Queen City neighborhoods. One of the newer kids on the block has a burning passion for serving the perfect cup of black coffee and making their customers feel like family. Felix Coffee Co. is a pop-up that surfaces at…
Ryan Murphy’s ‘Pose’ Looks at LGBT Community’s Ball Culture of the Late 1980s
Fresh out of Pride month, queer culture seems to be at a crossroads. Visibility and acceptance is at an all-time high. Marriage equality has been upheld by the Supreme Court. LGBTQ people and allies flock en masse to all-encompassing Pride festivals and parades. RuPaul’s Drag Race is as mainstream as just about any other reality…
Cincinnati City Manager calls for plans to address downtown camp created by people experiencing homelessness; more news
Hello, Cincy. It’s news rundown time. Let’s do it. You can now pay your Hamilton County speeding tickets, moving violations and court fees online — a big change from the county’s previous practices of requiring in-person or mail-in payments. Cuyahoga and Franklin counties already have the online payment options, and Hamilton County is just now…
Downtown’s Crown Republic Gastropub Focuses on Flavor and Freshness, with a Mediterranean Twist
Family is the name of the game for the newly opened Crown Republic Gastropub in Cincinnati’s Central Business District. Located on the first level of the same building as Encore Apartments, Crown Republic is the culinary child of a three-member ownership team consisting of Anthony Sitek, Haley Nutter-Sitek and Mike Casari. The trio of friends…
What a Week!: July 4-10
Independence Day fell on a Wednesday this year, meaning you either had a really long holiday weekend or you didn’t and you’re still bitter about the people who did. Lucky for all of us, there was enough #America news to carry us into this week. Stamp of Disapproval From the right angle, Las Vegas can…
This Week in Questionable Decisions: July 4-11
This Week in Questionable Decisions… 1. Scarlett Johansson, who was criticized for portraying an Asian character in the film Ghost in the Shell, is facing more backlash after being cast as a transgender man in mob movie Rub & Tug. 2. An Ontario man listed a 6-year-old McDonald’s cheeseburger and fries on eBay for $29.99.…
Members of Cincinnati band Honeyspiders and fellow Ohio rockers form Cool Life, tease new video for first single “Waves” featuring Eric Nally
A new band project called Cool Life is set to unveil the music video for its first single, “Waves,” which was released late last year. The track and video feature special guest Eric Nally, the Cincinnati-area native, sidekick of Macklemore and frontman for the on-hiatus Foxy Shazam who’s first solo singles/videos were released last year…
Thunder-Sky, Inc.’s breakthrough ‘Jim Bowsher and the Temple of Tolerance’ exhibits odd historical ephemera and a glimpse into Bowsher’s expansive land art
The exhibition now at Northside’s Thunder-Sky, Inc. gallery through Aug. 3 is different from shows I’ve seen there recently. Indeed, it’s different from what I’ve usually seen here at our smaller, nonprofit alternative galleries — I think it’s a breakthrough. The exhibit’s full name is Jim Bowsher and the Temple of Tolerance. I’m not sure…
Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Illustrated Man’ transforms into Rock Opera ‘The Bradbury Tattoos’
There’s so much more to Ray Bradbury than Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. Over the course of a career spanning nearly 70 years, the astonishingly prolific author — who died in 2012 — wrote hundreds of short stories, screenplays, teleplays, essays, poetry and novels that imagined a future uncomfortably reflecting present-day realities. Bradbury’s use…
Recommended Concerts: Red Wanting Blue on Fountain Square (July 13)
Formed in the mid-’90s at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and eventually settling into the Columbus, Ohio music scene, Rock band Red Wanting Blue built up its national profile with constant touring and a steady stream of acclaimed DIY releases. Led by singer/songwriter Scott Terry (now based in Brooklyn), the band’s loyal grassroots following allowed…
Recommended Concerts: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at PNC Pavilion (July 18)
Jason Isbell’s most recent record, 2017’s The Nashville Sound, might be the best thing the Alabama-bred singer/songwriter has ever done, the culmination of a two-decade career that keeps getting richer by the year. In fact, for those who still care about such things, The Nashville Sound placed fifth in the Village Voice’s annual Pazz and…
Two new shows at Contemporary Arts Center look at identity from different angles
Two exhibitions on display at the Contemporary Arts Center through Aug. 19 offer a pair of identity-probing perspectives from artists Alison Crocetta and Firelei Báez. This is the first solo museum exhibition for Crocetta, a hybrid performative and sculptural artist based in Columbus, Ohio, and the first Ohio exhibition for the Dominican Republic-born, Brooklyn-based Báez. “I don’t…
Cincinnati Indie Pop quartet The Ophelias go national with their debut for Joyful Noise Recordings
Ask Spencer Peppet about her influences, and you can trace a clear lineage to the Chamber Folk boom of the mid-2000s: the immersive, lightly orchestral fingerprints of acts like Wye Oak, Joanna Newsom and Andrew Bird freckle her work as guitarist and songwriter for The Ophelias, the Cincinnati-based band whose sophomore LP, Almost, is being…
Recommended Concerts: Sleepspent at The Comet (July 14)
If all you know about El Paso is that it’s a city in a Texas and a 1959 Country hit by Marty Robbins, you should get out more. Then you’d know that it’s also the hometown of Sleepspent, a crazy cool Indie Rock trio with an obvious love of ’90s Shoegaze and Dreampop, with an…
Recommended Concerts: Zigtebra at Urban Artifact (July 12)
Zigtebra’s origin story reads like the synopsis of a critically-acclaimed epic novel — a cross-country tour de force that reveals the gravitational powers of familial bonds and Synth Pop. The Chicagoan duo takes its name from the portmanteau of its members’ respective spirit animals. Emily Rose (Zebra) and Joseph Dummitt (Tiger) are half-siblings who reportedly…
Minimum Gauge: Elton John attendance records trigger spastic POTUS response
HOT: Elton Triggers POTUS The State Department denied a report that President Trump signed an Elton John CD featuring “Rocket Man” for Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo to give to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on a recent visit, a callback to the “Little Rocket Man” nickname that almost got us all killed. But it’s…
New York Times praises current art exhibition at University of Cincinnati
The New York Times has written a strong, positive review of the current exhibition at University of Cincinnati’s DAAP Galleries: Philip M. Meyers Jr. Gallery — The Persistence of Vision: Early and Late Works by Artists with Macular Degeneration. The exhibit features 50 works by eight artists affected by the retinal disease, which results in…
Starbucks Announces Plans to Globally Eliminate Plastic Straws by 2020
There's been a lot of passionate buzz around the subject of plastic single-use straws lately. Activists and companies are taking their stance and pledging to "go strawless" for the sake of our environment. The people have spoken and Starbucks was listening. Starbucks will eliminate their use of plastic straws by the year 2020, according to…
Trump to announce SCOTUS pick tonight, and a Cincinnati judge is a finalist; more news
Hello all. Hope your weekend was grand. Let’s do a brief news rundown, shall we? Airbnb is a popular service in Cincinnati, but there are potential downsides to the short-term room rental website. Three properties in Mount Adams, for example, have drawn more than 20 complaints from neighbors in the past year around loud parties,…
A Cincinnati Parrothead’s Guide for How to Properly Party at Jimmy Buffett
Like most of Cincinnati, CityBeat staffers feel two distinct ways toward the annual arrival of Jimmy Buffett in our fair city (Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band return to Riverbend Music Center on July 18). In our internal Buffett wars, his pilgrimage either signals that it’s time to break out the Hawaiian print and get…
This Study Put Cincinnati Near the Bottom of the List for Well-Run Cities
Cincinnati is near the bottom of the list when it comes to well-run cities, according to research by financial website WalletHub that crunched a number of data points to rank 150 major U.S. municipalities. Does that mean Cincinnati is terribly managed? Not so fast. While the numbers WalletHub pulls highlight a number of clear issues,…
Liza Mundy will discuss her groundbreaking book ‘Code Girls’ at Mercantile Library
Liza Mundy has a burning desire to tell stories. More specifically, the longtime journalist is interested in shedding light on topics that, for one reason or another, have been in the shadows for far too long — stories that often focus on women and their place in society. A former staff writer at The Washington…
‘It’s Time for Another Tea Dance’ Hosts Monthly LGBTQ Gatherings
The group It’s Time for Another Tea Dance hosts a Sunday afternoon dance spectacular at The Phoenix to celebrate and strengthen the local LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Held in the top-floor ballroom, the event features music from DJ Thaddeus and tasty cocktails. Afternoon Tea Dances became an important part of LGBTQ+ culture in the…
Fifty West’s Punch Out: Round Three Pits Brewery Against Brewery
Breweries and boxing: What could go wrong? Fifty West Brewing Company is hosting their third-annual Punch Out, where local breweries go full on Rocky in amateur boxing matches that display the city’s bravest brewery employees fighting each other for their brewery’s honor. Watch eight brewery-on-brewery matches while listening to live music and enjoying a selection…
That Jimmy Buffett concerts are but a blip on Cincinnati’s cultural radar is a symbol of how far our city has come
Jimmy Buffett has been a running joke at CityBeat since our inception 24 years ago. It’s nothing personal against Mr. Buffett or even his fans. “Jimmy Buffett sucks” is like an unspoken mantra representing the struggle against rote, mainstreamed narratives. To me, it’s emblematic of what an altweekly has traditionally stood for — exposing things…
Ohio drug law reform effort hits milestone; more news
Hello all. Here’s a quick news rundown to take you into the weekend. Months after a lawsuit against five Democrats on Cincinnati City Council alleged that the group illegally engaged in non-public discussions about council business via text messages, a similar suit is targeting other council members. Mark Miller, a Cincinnati resident outspoken on conservative…
Findlay Market’s Mainwood Pastry Hosts Secret Monday Night Pizza Parties
Every Monday evening this summer, Mainwood Pastry in Findlay Market converts into a pizzeria serving some of the best Sicilian-style slices in the city. Mainwood Pastry has already gained a reputation for stellar croissants, cakes and other bready goodness found in some the best coffee shops around Cincinnati, so it’s no surprise that owner Dave…
Big Red Machine, the musical project of Cincinnati native Aaron Dessner of The National and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, comes to Spotify and Apple Music
Last month, four songs from Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon's Big Red Machine collaboration appeared on the new PEOPLE music collective's website, which made a variety of the twosome's (and their varied cohorts') projects available for free streaming, including a cache of instrumental "sketches" from Dessner's The National and other works featuring the likes of…
Study: Greater Cincinnati Still Near the Bottom for Jobs Accessible by Public Transit, but Improving
When it comes to getting to work via public transit, Cincinnati started from the bottom, now we’re… a little ways up from the bottom. The Cincinnati metropolitan area was 10th in the nation for increasing accessibility to workplaces via public transit last year, a recent study found — but the region still lags far behind…
Study: Cincinnati in Top 20 for Home Price Increases Last Year
Cincinnati is one of the top 20 cities in the country when it comes to increasing home prices, a report released in June found. Despite that spike, the region is still one of the more affordable in the country for homeownership. Home prices in the Queen City jumped 19 percent between March 2017 and March…
Ohio to Get Brand New $2 Billion ‘Planet Oasis’ Theme Park
If you don't like the word "experiential," stop reading now. Planet Oasis — a $2 billion, 350-acre theme park off I-71 in Delaware County, Ohio (near Columbus and a Tanger Outlet mall) — just released plans for its "entertainment venue of the future," slated to open a first phase in 2019. "Planet Oasis is located…
WATCH: Siri Imani of Cincinnati music and activism collective Triiibe “shemixes” “Plug Walk”
In a just-released new track and music video, MC Siri Imani of the Cincinnati Hip Hop/Soul/activism collective Triiibe rewires the Rap hit “Plug Walk,” giving it new lyrics, energy and meaning in the first of a series of “shemixes." Imani — joined on the track by Triiibe vocalist Aziza Love — says “Plug Walk Shemix”…
OSU attorneys say U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan was contacted about abuse at university; more news
Hello all. I’m back after a couple days off for the Fourth of July. I hope yours was wonderful and you avoided heatstroke/sunburn/fireworks injuries. Let’s get back in the swing of this two-day work week and talk news real quick. The Holocaust & Humanity Center broke ground on its future home at Union Terminal today.…
Holocaust & Humanity Center Breaks Ground on New Home at Union Terminal
Steve Boymel was not quite 3 years old the day in May 1949 when his parents walked him through Union Terminal’s concourse as they arrived in Cincinnati. The family of Russian Jews had been fleeing the horrors of the Nazis since 1942 and the aftermath of that devastation for years afterward. Today, Boymel, now a…
Southwest Ohio’s Cedar Trails Nudist Retreat is the Only Local Place to Celebrate International Nude Day
Saturday, July 14 is Bastille Day, celebrating the French Revolution. However, people around the world will be celebrating a different kind of Independence Day as it’s International Nude Day, too, which caps off International Nude Week. The only place left to celebrate safely and legally in Southwest Ohio is Cedar Trails Nudist Retreat in Adams…
