Year: 2010

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Arts & Entertainment News

Venue 222 to host free showing of Casablanca – 5/16

Venue 222 will be hosting a unique neighborhood event in historic Over-the-Rhine this Sunday, May 16 from 6:30pm to 10pm complete with a classic movie, food and more.

The event space will be showing the 1942 movie classic Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Directed by Michael Curtiz, this all-time great is the story of Rick Blaine who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of World War II. Over time, the film has been praised for including all types of stereotypes in early 1940s pop culture while mixing in romance and intrigue.

Event organizers state that the event is BYOBB – bring your own blanket and booze. Food will be available for purchase by Cafe de Wheels which will be serving up their famous burgers and other great sandwiches. In a recent CityBeat article, Cafe de Wheels was featured as “The Best Thing I Ever Ate in Cincinnati” by downtown resident Bob Schwartz.

The event at Venue 222 (map) is free and open to the public. There is bicycle parking available nearby, free on- and off-street automobile parking, and Metro bus service is also available (plan your trip).

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News Transportation

Gearing Up for Bike to Work Week

Monday marks the beginning of the League of American Bicyclists‘ Bike to Work Week 2010. From Monday, May 17 through Friday, May 21, Cincinnatians are encouraged to get behind their trusty two-wheelers instead of the wheel of their car. Local bike group Queen City Bike is helping to make the transition easier by setting up “commuter stations” throughout the city to reach out to bicyclists and encourage those who might otherwise be having second thoughts to get out and ride.

Riding a bike instead of driving to work next week is a great way to experience commuting via bicycle for those who may not have tried it before. Biking helps reduce carbon emissions – every mile biked is one pound of carbon saved – and is great exercise as well. Not only that, but biking is free (after the cost of the bike) and saves money on buying gas.

There is a small but strong biking community in the Cincinnati area, and veteran bikers are excited to help spread the bike love to others. Queen City Bike’s commuter stations are designed to educate and inform cyclists in the region who want to learn more.

“If you are not sure you are ready to try commuting just yet, but want to learn more about where you can bike in the region, please stop by and see us at one of our Commuter Stations,” said Gary Wright, President of Queen City Bike. “We will have maps that you can take with you that will help you find the best streets for riding in your neighborhood.”

The stations will be set up in various parts of town and have free coffee, swag, as well as a free tune up for your bicycle if you stop by. Monday’s station is located at the Hyde Park Coffee Emporium (3316 Eerie Avenue) and Elements Cycles will be around to look at bikes. Queen City Bike has posted a full list of the rest of the commuter stations to be set up around town the rest of the week.

Another perk of Bike to Work Week can be found at local green general store Park+Vine. During the month of May, shoppers who visit the store via bike can get 10% off on their food purchases, and 15% off other merchandise.

It is important that new and experience riders remember to be safe out on the roads (do not ride on the sidewalk). If you are interested in refreshing your knowledge about bicycling rules of the road, the If you are not familiar with the bike rules of the road, the Ohio Bicycle Federation has an quick and easy-to-use guide on Ohio bike law. Remember: please ride on the street. With traffic. Wearing a helmet.

Happy riding, Cincinnati!

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati Museum Center to develop exchange program with Kenyan museum

The Cincinnati Museum Center has been awarded $150,000 through Museum & Community Collaboration Abroad (MCCA) that will support a cultural exchange program with the National Museums of Kenya Lamu Museums in eastern Africa.

The National Museums of Kenya was established in 1910 by the then East Africa & Uganda Natural History Society that set out to preserve artifacts of the area’s colonial settlers and naturalists. Over time the organization has experienced a wide variety of changes, which most recently was sparked by their “Museum in Change” program funding in part by the European Union. This program has led the organization on a mission to open itself up and become a “custodian of heritage” for the area while representing five key values of being authentic, reliable, unifying, caring and authoritative.

“This announcement is great news for the Cincinnati Museum Center,” U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH) said in a press release. “The Museum Center is one of our community’s greatest assets, and an important part of our local heritage and history. This award will allow the Museum Center to share that heritage across cultures, while bringing a broader understanding of other cultures into our community.”

The $150,000 grant was awarded by MCCA which is administered by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and funded by the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. The funding is reportedly scheduled to continue through 2011.

Categories
Development News Politics Transportation

OKI approves $4M for Cincinnati Streetcar project

The good news for the Cincinnati Streetcar keeps rolling the day after Cincinnati City Council approved $64 million in bonds to build the modern streetcar system. The Executive Committee for the OKI Regional Council of Governments announced earlier today that $4 million will be distributed to the Cincinnati Streetcar project through the Federal government’s Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) program.

“The thing about the Cincinnati Streetcar is that it is more than a transportation project; it’s an economic development project which will open up development opportunities with a fixed transportation project,” described OKI Deputy Executive Director Bob Koehler.

The announcement means that there has now been $86.5 million in funding announced for the Cincinnati Streetcar which is projected to cost $128 million to build six miles of track connecting Cincinnati’s riverfront with its downtown, historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and Uptown communities surrounding the University of Cincinnati.

“The Cincinnati Streetcar will help circulate residents, employees and visitors in Cincinnati’s urban core,” said Brad Thomas, Founder, CincyStreetcar.com. “The streetcar will also connect over half the jobs in the city with nearly 1 in 5 residents, and attractions that are visited by 12 million people each year.”

The urban circulator project received the highest ranking of the 14 total projects to receive funding through the CMAQ funds which will benefit roadways, transit and freight projects throughout the region. OKI’s Executive Committee also allocated more than $60 million from the federal Surface Transportation Program (STP).

The CMAQ projects were subjected to a rating system that was able to fund almost all of the requests made by OKI. The $4 million for the Cincinnati Streetcar will officially be authorized next spring, but were approved today to give project teams a jump start on the 2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Plan developed and overseen by OKI.

“The projects approved today are critical to continuing our efforts to provide our citizens with a variety of commuting options that will save them time and money while alleviating stress that comes from traveling on congested roadways,” OKI Executive Director Mark Plicinski explained. “OKI continues to move multi-modal projects forward which benefit our commuting population, environment and economy.”

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

‘Nancy James Sings Big Band Jazz’ at the Carnegie – 5/13

Vocalist Colleen Sharp, comedian Michael Flannery and performer Nancy James will join the Madcap Puppets and the Sound Body Jazz Orchestra at the Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center on Thursday, May 13 at 7:30pm for “an eclectic evening of music, humor and entertainment.”

The concert will be headlined by Nancy James who will entertain the audience with her vocal jazz standards such as “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “My Funny Valentine.” James is an Emmy Award winner, and has been on the Cincinnati entertainment and music circuit for more than 30 years.

Organizers note that the third annual Carnegie in Concert series “strives to break the mold of chamber music offerings from yesteryear; and challenges established programming norms by blending traditional string quartets, wind ensembles and solo piano performances with gospel, jazz, musical theatre, Dixieland and other musical styles.”

‘Nancy James Sings Big Band Jazz’ is the final event of the six-part Carnegie in Concert series. Tickets range from $15 to $18 and can be purchased online or by calling (859) 957-1940. You can also purchase tickets in person at the Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center (map) Tuesday through Friday, from 12pm to 5pm.