Year: 2010

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Business News

FUEL Cincinnati to provide technical assistance and funding for creative young professionals

On Thursday, September 16, Give Back Cincinnati will host an event to showcase Cincinnati’s newest young professional retention tool called FUEL Cincinnati. FUEL provides technical assistance, volunteers, capital funds, and directional assistance to individuals who are looking for the means to start a new business in Cincinnati.

FUEL is a program of Give Back Cincinnati, which uses a diverse set of resources to enhance neighborhoods through the use of volunteers and leadership development. They are the region’s largest young professional organization.

Thursday’s event lasts from 6pm to 8pm at Northside Tavern, and is free and open to the public.  Reservations are appreciated due to limited space and can be made online. The event will discuss new ideas for the region, will describe the types of programs that FUEL seeks to fund, and will provide insight about how to apply. The event will also feature the opportunity to submit ideas for a $1,000 grant. Free appetizers and drink specials will be available.

Northside Tavern (map) is located in the highly accessible Northside neighborhood. Plenty of on- and off-street parking is available. Northside is served by several bus lines (plan your trip), and was the first neighborhood in the city to install free, on-street bicycle parking in addition to the many bicycle racks found along the neighborhood’s sidewalks.

Read more about FUEL Cincinnati in this week’s issue of Soapbox.

Categories
News Transportation

Metro announces winners of “Tell Your Story” contest

Metro officials have announced the winners of their Tell Your Story contest that asked Metro riders to share their stories about how transit benefits their lives and their community in terms of jobs, the environment, energy independence, and overall quality of life. The transit agency narrowed down the many entries to five finalists for the written and video entries, then opened the contest to public voting which determined the winners of each category.

After hundreds of votes were cast, Teresa Roush of Wilmington and Travis Theiss of Hamilton respectively won the written and video contests. According to Metro officials, both individuals won a year of free rides on Metro and will be featured in the transit agency’s advertising this fall.

Roush’s written entry described her five-day-a-week commute on the 71X from Kings Island to downtown Cincinnati and back. In her story Roush highlighted how she is able to use her time effectively by knitting afghans that she donates to a children’s charity in Clinton County.

Meanwhile, in Theiss’ video entry filmed at the Taste of Cincinnati he described how he uses Metro as an opportunity to catch up on sleep, and he explained how his Metro bus route provides him with easy access to work while also providing a time to take a nap.

“I just gave it a shot and thought it would hopefully entertain people, and I was glad I could share my feelings that Metro is a great option for transportation,” said Theiss of his video entry.

Metro also awarded 96-year-old William Kenny a year of free rides on Metro for his written story on August 21. In his entry Kenny described how he uses Metro to get to and from the Over-the-Rhine soup kitchen where he volunteers five days a week. It is also believed that Kenny is Metro’s oldest regular rider.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

2010 Mt. Adams Oktoberfest keeps season of Bavarian festivals brewing

Oktoberfest season is in full swing in Cincinnati. Last weekend MainStrasse Village celebrated its popular annual Oktoberfest celebration, and a slew of additional events and celebrations are scheduled to take place over the next two weeks including the world’s largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Munich which takes place this weekend in downtown Cincinnati.

Before Oktoberfest Zinzinnati takes place this weekend, German food and beer lovers can celebrate in Mt. Adams Wednesday evening as that neighborhood celebrates the season in grand fashion.

The 2010 Mt. Adams Oktoberfest will include authentic Bavarian music, dancing, food, and beer. The free outdoor street festival will take place Pavillion Street (map) which will be closed to traffic. The festival is being presented by Moerlein Lagers & Ales who will be proudly serving their seasonal Fifth & Vine Oktoberfest Marzen.

Eight nearby bars including Aliveone, Blind Lemon, Crowley’s, Longworth’s, Monk’s Cove, Mt. Adams Pavilion, Tavern on the Hill, and Yesterday’s Old Time Saloon will be participating in the Oktoberfest celebration.

The event will take place from 6pm to 10pm on Wednesday, September 15 in Cincinnati’s historic hilltop Mt. Adams neighborhood. Automobile parking will be available at nearby garages and lots, but availability is expected to be limited. As a result, event organizers are encouraging those willing to take Metro bus service (plan your trip) or take avantage of free bicycle parking available.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

MPMF partnering with public library to bring family-friendly programming to this year’s festival

The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County is teaming up with the MidPoint Music Festival to offer family-friendly daytime programming during this year’s music fest.  Organizers have planned a trifecta of media offerings based around Cincinnati’s music scene that will be available during all three days of MidPoint, September 23-25.

“We’re geared for nightlife, but we hear from folks wanting to experience the festival during the daytime,” said Dan McCabe, the festival’s executive producer. “The library has done a great job creating compelling programs we’re lucky enough to offer for free. Anyone can enjoy this, but especially parents who don’t normally get out to see live bands…this is your chance to bring your kids out, hear some music, and not be in a late-night bar.”

The Downtown branch of The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, located at 800 Vine Street, will host music performances by local bands on the outdoor terrace at 12pm and 4pm each day of the festival.  Thursday will include performances by Magnolia Mountain and The Bears of Blue River, Friday will have The Young Republic w/Adrein & The Fine Print and Tobie Milford, while The Coppertone and The Trouble With Boys will close things out on Saturday.

The Library is also offering a photography exhibition in the main atrium of the South Building. Where the Kids are Goin’ Tonight: Music Photography by John Curley, David Garza, and Michael Wilson is a showing of three photographers from Cincinnati who have turned their focus toward musicians – including locals like Magnolia Mountain, Wussy and Greenhorne, as well as out of town visitors like Lyle Lovett.

On Wednesday, September 15, Mr. Rhythm Man from 89.7FM WNKU will host the exhibition opening that is open to the public. Curley, Garza, and Wilson should be on hand to talk about their work and there will be giveaways, including a chance to win passes to MidPoint Music Festival. The exhibition will be on view through October 8.

Finally, in addition to the music on Saturday, the Library’s Real to Reel documentary series will be highlighting stories from Cincinnati’s musical past with three films.

The series kicks off at 1:30pm with Midsummer Rock, a 1970 WLWT-produced documentary of the Cincinnati Summer Pop Festival featuring some of the first filmed performances of Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Grand Funk, as well as rare footage of Steve Winwood’s Traffic. Then at 3pm Philip Paul: Keeping the Beat honors the career of the former house drummer at King Records, who still plays weekly at age 85. Next at 3:30pm take a closer look at The Historic Southgate House, one of the region’s storied music venues. And finally at 4pm follow one of Cincinnati’s best-known bands on their 1993 European tour in Ladies and Gentlemen: The Afghan Whigs. The filmmakers will be on hand to introduce each work in the Library’s tower room.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

Cincinnati-area cultural sites to take part in Museum Day on Fountain Square

More than 60 museums and historic sites throughout the Cincinnati region will be open to the public on Museum Day on September 15.

Locally, Museums & Historic Sites of Greater Cincinnati is organizing the efforts to get residents and visitors out to the many cultural attractions including destinations like the American Sign Museum, Betts House, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Observatory, Contemporary Arts Center, Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati, and the William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

On Wednesday, September 15 from 10:30am to 2:30pm, organizers say that more than two dozen of these destinations will be on Fountain Square to showcase their programs with costume interpreters, objects from their collections, and other hands-on activities. Organizers hope that the event will allow for more people to see a large collection of the cultural attractions from around the region in one convenient, central location.

The Fountain Square (map) event is free and open to the public. Those interested can find off-street automobile parking available in the underground parking garage located beneath the square, and in other nearby on- and off-street parking locations. Free bicycle parking is available outside on Fountain Square, or inside the underground parking garage near the Vine Street entrance. Metro bus service also provides convenient access to the area via the Government Square Transit Hub (plan your trip).