Year: 2010

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

The Yoga Bar to celebrate grand opening this weekend

The Yoga Bar will host a weekend of events this weekend to celebrate the grand opening of downtown Cincinnati’s newest yoga studio.

There will be a Yogini-Tini Opening Gala tonight from 7pm to 10pm that will include beer, wine, and specialty crafted drinks. Those who show up will also be able to meet owner Rachel Roberts in person, talk to the instructors, and tour the studio located on Main Street. Roberts also says that there will be live music from Quincy Live early in the evening, with dance music by DJ Sinceer during the latter part of the night. Cocktail attire is recommended for those attending.

The interesting thing about The Yoga Bar is the bar that remains from the former discothèque called Club Crush that previously occupied the space.

“Where else can you learn more about others’ lives than at a bar?,” Roberts asked UrbanCincy in early September 2010. The bar will now be used to cater to yoga students by providing a selection of healthful, rejuvenating non-alcoholic drinks like coconut water and Kumbucha tea.

Roberts says that on Sunday the yoga studio will be blessed with a traditional Hindu Ganesha Puja to honor its new beginning. This traditionally Indian ceremony is also open to the public.

Regular classes will begin on Monday, October 4 with morning classes at 7am, lunch hour classes, and 6pm offerings. Classes will cost $15 for drop-ins or $108 for unlimited monthly memberships.

Roberts also plans on using the 2,300-square-foot space for community events. Those interested in hosting weekend events can contact her at (970) 274-4402, YogaBarCincy@gmail.com, or by dropping by the studio (map).  Stay connected by following The Yoga Bar on Twitter @TheYogaBar, or by becoming a fan of the studio on Facebook.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Celebrate German-American Heritage Month with GACL this October

[This op-ed was written for UrbanCincy.com by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, President, German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati.  If you would like to sound off about something for UrbanCincy’s weekly op-ed column, please submit your ideas to urbancincy@gmail.com.]

October is German-American Heritage Month, and this year marks its 21st anniversary. Proclamations have been issued in the past by the governors of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana and it has been recognized by the Ohio historical organizations as well. And since 1989, I am proud to say that the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati has sponsored the month in the Greater Cincinnati area.

German-American Heritage Month takes place in October as it is centered on German-American Day, the 6th of October, the date on which the first German settlement was established in America at Germantown, Pennsylvania. It was officially declared German-American Day in 1987 by President Reagan.

Feeling that one day was not enough to cover German contributions to the Cincinnati region, the German-American Citizens League founded German-American Heritage Month in 1989 and has encouraged its celebration elsewhere. Since that time, other places have followed suit. For example, this year, New York City celebrated the month as well.

We hope that other cities and states with a strong German heritage will also join in celebrating German-American Heritage Month.

This year programs will be sponsored by Northern Kentucky University, Kenton County Library, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Hamilton County Genealogical Society, and the German Heritage Museum.

Just think what the Greater Cincinnati area would be like without its German heritage. Without the German heritage, the area would be an entirely different place and look quite different – no Over-the-Rhine, no German brewing heritage, no goetta, no Oktoberfest, no MainStrasse Village in Covington, etc. Many things we accept as part of everyday life in the Greater Cincinnati area would not be here.

Cincinnati’s first Mayor was Major David Ziegler, a veteran of the American Revolution and during the Civil War, German regiments were formed for the Union Army. These and many other facts will be explored during German-American Heritage Month.

German-Americans helped build and make the area what it is today. German-American Heritage Month is the time to not only celebrate this history, but also learn more about it.  A full list of the events taking place during German-American Heritage Month can be found on the German-American Citizens League’s website.

Categories
Month in Review

Month in Review – September 2010

During the month of September, UrbanCincy’s top stories covered two new businesses downtown, the formation of the Eight Street Design District, the loss of a popular Cincinnati blog, and the creation of UrbanCincy’s own Urban Kickball League.

Our top 5 most popular articles for the month of September were:

  1. The Yoga Bar to serve up strong sense of community downtown
    Rachel Roberts was tired of traveling, and as a well-known and beloved yoga teacher in the Cincinnati area, she was splitting her time between several different studios, none of which were near her home in downtown Cincinnati. As a result, Cincinnati’s newest yoga studio called The Yoga Bar was born.
  2. Join the first-ever OTR Urban Kickball League now!
    The league is open to all age levels and anyone interested in participating. The fall 2010 season will be the first-ever and will feature a variety of special treats and benefits for those participating outside of the kickball fun.
  3. With another Cincinnati blog possibly ending, how do we stop the bleeding?
    On Tuesday, the Cincinnati blogosphere learned that it would possibly lose one of its most well-respected and popular blogs. Kevin LeMaster, Editor and Publisher of Building Cincinnati, informed his readership that, “the Building Cincinnati experiment is likely to end,” and that he was almost certain it would end on that same day.
  4. 18 entities join to form 8th Street Design District, kick off month-long concert series
    It has long been a work in progress, but the 8th Street corridor through northeast downtown Cincinnati has evolved into a vibrant district. A district made up of trendy loft living inside former warehouses; diverse establishments like the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, Silverglades, and University Galleries; and an ever-growing collection of design-related businesses.
  5. Chef Josh Campbell to open first micro-grocery in downtown Cincinnati
    Already owner of successful ventures World Food Bar, a gourmet prepared food stand at Findlay Market, and Mayberry, a mid-range restaurant on Vine Street, Campbell (pictured, right) is expanding his food empire to include the Central Business District’s first grocery – a micro-market located at 7th and Main.
Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati arts organization gathers community to paint entire city street

Paint the Street 2010

This past Sunday, September 26, over 1,000 people from all over Cincinnati converged roughly five blocks of Over-the-Rhine to participate in the newly branded ArtsWave’s Paint the Street event.

Students from the Art Academy designed and chalked out over 50 ten-foot squares into a mural that amassed 12th Street from Central Parkway to Main Street. Brightly colored abstract shapes illustrated some of Cincinnati’s pride and joy, with text saying “City of Choice” and “World’s Biggest Small Town.”

Being there in person, the highlight of the event was the enthusiasm and joy painting a mural on the street brought to participants and observers alike. The street was shut down to vehicle traffic for the day, and crowds of Cincinnatians walked slowly in the street, taking in the colors and working together.

Old and young, black and white, Cincinnati was brought together in one of its oldest and most historically significant neighborhoods – Over-the-Rhine – to show, as one citizen put it, that “12th street is a testament…OTR has a heart and is alive.”

Categories
Business Development News

Cincinnati wins economic development award for $24M Corryville Crossings project

The City of Cincinnati has received an Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for a $24 million mixed-use development uptown. The award specifically recognized the City for its public-private partnership on the project.

“We recognize the City of Cincinnati for providing successful strategies to promote new paradigms in economic development in this period of global recovery,” said William Best, IEDC chair. “Cincinnati is showing that they are at the forefront of the economic development profession and are using innovative and effective practices that can be replicated in other communities.”

Officials learned of the IEDC award on Tuesday at the council’s annual conference being held in Columbus, OH. IEDC officials say that the awards program is geared to, “recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders.”

The Corryville Crossings development has been under construction for more than a year. Once completed the development is expected to create 200 permanent jobs, include a 132-room hotel, retail space, a 219-space public parking garage, and spark additional investment in the Short Vine business district.

The City has partnered with the Uptown Consortium and local developers to help move the project from the drawing boards to reality. Project officials also say that creative financing tools like Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and New Market Tax Credits were necessary to advance the development.

A Starbucks coffee shop and IHOP restaurant were originally planned for the retail portions of the development before changes in the market that drove both national chains away from the project.  The new Hampton Inn and public parking garage portions of the development are expected to be completed later this fall.