Category: Arts & Entertainment

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Make your plans now for Bockfest 2010

There are many things to get excited about when it comes to Bockfest that go beyond the wonderful, oh so wonderful, beer. Some of that excitement should revolve around the many great events and features of the celebration this weekend. While Bockfest truly does not start until Friday evening, things get an early start today. Take a look a UrbanCincy’s Bockfest celebration picks below to start planning out your Bockfest lineup.

Mecklenberg Gardens – Tonight, March 3, Cincinnati landmark Mecklenburg Gardens will be hosting the tapping of Hudepohl Bock & Schoenling Bock starting at 5PM. The event is free and open to the public as some lucky folks will be able to get the first few drinks of Hudepohl Bock, the 2009 Bockfest homebrew winner, and Schoenling Bock which returns after nearly a 25 year absence.

Bockfest Parade – The annual Bockfest Parade rolls through the streets of Downtown and historic Over-the-Rhine on Friday evening to officially kick off the weekend’s festivities. The parade will start in front of Arnold’s Bar & Grill at 5:30pm and will head north along Main Street through OTR. You can either watch the parade from along the route or join in as it requires no advance sign up.

Bock Beer – Bock Beer is a centuries old tradition dating back to 14th Century monks that brewed it during Lent while they fasted. It is always a sign of the coming spring and does pack a potent punch. There will be no shortage of Bock beers to try over the weekend including many offerings from Greg Hardman and our friends at Christian Moerlein.

Bockfest Hall – Every year Bockfest Hall is the cornerstone of the festival and this year is no exception. The one thing that is different this year though is that Bockfest Hall is part of what was the historic Kauffmann Brewery near Vine & Liberty streets (map) in Over-the-Rhine. Be a part of history and have a beer in an old Cincinnati brewery that is also rumored for “big” news in the near future.

Arnold’s – Cincinnati’s oldest continually operating tavern, Arnold’s, will be playing host to entertainment through the weekend, has a special Bockfest menu that is definitely worth checking out, and will feature six Bock beers on tap, the most of any Bockfest establishment.

Free Shuttle – Bockfest Hall & Arnolds are only two of the participating venues at Bockfest, and all weekend a free shuttle (see map above) will run between all of the participating Bockfest establishments. Not only is this beneficial because it gives you access to many venues around the area, but it works great as you can park near any establishment and hop on the shuttle for the night (sounds a little familiar to something else being proposed).

Great Local Music – Great music occurs all weekend long at the participating Bockfest venues, but the one can’t miss act has to be local favorite Jake Speed & the Freddies who will be playing their Cincinnati flavored tunes at Bockfest Hall on Friday evening. Here are the rest of the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday events and bands that can be found at any one of the 13 participating venues.

Great Cincinnati Food – While the 14th Century monks may have brewed Bock beer because they were fasting during lent, you won’t have to. Food can be had at the many fine establishments as well as Bockfest Hall which will feature German food from Mecklenburg Gardens and waffles from Taste of Belgium.

Hudy Bock & the Homebrew Contest – This event, brings together home brewers from around the city to compete in a contest to see who makes the best Bock beer. While many varieties will be judged, the winner of the Traditional Bock category will be honored by Christian Moerlein who will use the recipe for the 2011 version of Hudepohl Bock. The competition starts at noon on Saturday at Bockfest Hall.

The annual Bockfest Parade kicks off the weekend of festivities Friday at 5:30pm – photo by SlimWhitman.

“Little Kings” Sausage Queen Finals – To be held at Bockfest Hall on Saturday evening at 8pm this event is not to be missed as the Sausage Queen of the festival will be crowned. The road to becoming the Sausage Queen includes making it through preliminary rounds that have been held over the last few weeks and is a high honor for whomever is wins the crown. The contest has become legendary and is always lots of fun.

Historic Church Tour – New to Bockfest this year is the Sunday afternoon Historic Church Tour of six of Cincinnati’s most historic churches located in Over-the-Rhine. The tour starts at 2pm and is scheduled to last for two hours. The price of admission to the tour is $20 and includes drink tickets for Bockfest Hall.

Regardless of how much time you spend at Bockfest, it looks to be a great weekend. Temperatures look to be in the mid to upper 40’s with clear skies. There will always be something happening, and with the free shuttle getting from place to place should be very easy. So take the time to come have some fun and support Cincinnati’s rich brewing history and the time old tradition of the coming of spring with Bockfest 2010.

Photo of Tom Hartman at Mecklenberg Gardens from BuyCincy.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Bockfest is about beer, history and so much more

This weekend marks the 2010 version of Bockfest in historic Over-the-Rhine and downtown Cincinnati. The annual festival celebrates the arrival of bock beer which is traditionally a Lenten brew originally produced by European monks in the 14th Century. And while the festival derives its name from the beer and it takes place in Cincinnati’s richest of brewing neighborhoods, it truly is about so much more than the beer.

Prior to prohibition, Over-the-Rhine was a densely populated neighborhood home to many of Cincinnati’s beer barons including Christian Moerlein among others. The mixed-use neighborhood featured breweries, bottling plants, lagering cellars, residences and businesses for all those who worked there. Much of this history is featured on the annual Prohibton Resistance Tour (sold-out) which will take over 600 visitors through some of the old buildings, cellars, and tunnels in the neighborhood.

Another way to get to know the neighborhood is through the Historic Church Tour which occurs on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Many of the churches on the tour are over 150 years old and are home to some of the most stunning architecture in the city. In addition to the six churches on the walking tour, each tour-goer will receive drink tickets good at Bockfest Hall located at the historic Kauffman Brewery (map).

Proceeds of both tours, and the entire weekend, go right back to the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation. The proceeds will go to help maintain Over-the-Rhine’s historic character and keep its brewing heritage alive. There is also a raffle being held for a one week vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with tickets on sale all weekend and through the Over-the-Rhine Foundation.

And of course, there is the beer. At this year’s Bockfest there will be the annual favorites like the Christian Moerlein Emmancipator Dopplebock and Hudy Bock brewed with a special recipe this year brought to us by Michael Carver of Northern Kentucky. The highlight of this year’s Bockfest might very well be the return of longtime Cincinnati brew Shoenling Bock which hasn’t been produced in over 25 years.

While there are many activities leading up to the Bockfest festivities, the official start is the parade on Friday evening originating at Arnold’s at 5:30pm. Keep an eye on UrbanCincy for an article later in the week detailing the specifics of the weekend!

Bockfest Parade photo by chiswick.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

Fountain Square Ice Rink has record breaking season

Just over a week ago the U.S. Bank Ice Rink at Fountain Square closed down after a record breaking season. While the rink closure is always a sign of the spring to come, this one was especially meaningful in quite a few ways.

First off, the 2009-2010 was a record breaking season for the rink as it welcomed more visitors than ever before. In total, just over 49,000 skaters found their way to Fountain Square to take part in what has quickly become a winter tradition in downtown Cincinnati. This season the rink saw a 22% increase in the number of visitors over last season and the growth is nearly exponential when compared to the times prior to the renovation of the Square. Before 2006 the rink averaged about 50 skaters a day, but this season saw that number balloon to an average of 591 skaters each day.

Clearly some days are busier than others, and this year was no exception. This season, the rink was able to host many events which featured discounted or free skating for families and students which served as a great way to bring people into the central business district. Without question, this past season of ice skating which started on Thanksgiving Day was the most successful the rink has seen to date and it only bodes well for the future.

In addition to ice skating, the rink is also home to the HGC Broomball League which was played during the first six weeks of 2010. In total, forty teams participated including The Little Kings & Queens of Cincinnati which featured two UrbanCincy writers. While the season was not the most successful on the ice, it was a resounding success off. Our one win, and many losses, were well documented by our number one fan 5chw4r7z. Playing alongside Jenny & Dave of UrbanCincy were many other folks passionate about the heart of our city including Brad Thomas of CincyStreetcar and Gordon Bombay of Queen City Discovery.

The broomball league is one of the more popular activities that Fountain Square produces all year and it fills up quickly each year. This season included games played during the week as well as the first ever Saturday league, which will likely be continued next season when the rink opens again. Here are some “official” pictures of the championship games which brought the season to a close during on February 17.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Mural hunting in Cincinnati

I can assure you that this will be the last of the Shepard Fairey-related content on UrbanCincy for some time. You went to the opening night party, you read the controversial review, and now you can plot out your mural hunting adventure of Fairey’s murals around town.

Leading up to his first museum retrospective, Fairey installed seven murals around town (2 in Northside, 2 Downtown, 2 in Over-the-Rhine, and 1 in Pendleton) that reflect some of his work that can be seen inside the walls of the Contemporary Arts Center. These murals vary in size, meaning and placement, and until now, those looking to find the murals were largely on a hunt trying to find the mysteriously placed seven murals.

The mural journey is a fun way to spend an afternoon without spending a single cent (transportation costs aside). And while the mural locations may no longer be a mystery, it is still fun to try to find the little messages left behind by the Fairey crew near each of their designated mural locations.

Beyond the murals themselves it is interesting to see how they react with the surrounding urban environment. The E. 14th Street mural is placed next to graffiti in the adjacent alley which presents an interesting dichotomy. The mural on the side of Arnold’s Bar & Grill, on the other hand, peeks around the corner of the alley onto 8th Street as if it’s trying to get your attention and draw you nearer for its message.

Also of interest is how people react to the often provocative murals. Many seem to be going mural hunting and specifically seeking out the art installations, while others are simply passing by and are surprised by the unexpected display. Most stop and pause, others look more closely, but all seem to be interested in the new element interjected into their neighborhood, place of work, or destination. And in the end no matter what you think about Fairey or his work, isn’t this what we look for in art?

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Tie-Dye Ball This Friday

Looking for something a little different to do this Friday evening? Look no further than The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout Square for the Tie-Dye Ball which features two of Cincinnati’s longest running bands dedicated to playing the music of the 1960s. Not only should this evening be a step back in time, but it also benefits a great cause which is the Cincinnati organization, Play it Forward.

Play it Forward was founded by Gary Burbank, known famously for his stint on 700 WLW as the afternoon drive time host. Gary has many more passions in this world, one of which is music and so he helped found Play it Forward back in 2008. This organization attempts to help musicians in need by getting their story to the media as well manage an investment fund that will give them assistance in times of catastrophic need.

Doors open at 8pm this Friday night, with The Spookfloaters taking the stage at 9pm. Following at 11pm is Jerry’s Little Band. Both bands feature music from the likes of The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan and to fit with the theme of the evening party goers are encouraged to wear their best tie-dye shirts as well as beads and their best dancing shoes.

In addition to the music Play it Forward will have some of their items for sale including the piece of Cincinnati history that is The Ludlow Garage Project Volume One CD, Ludlow Garage T-shirts, and the Play it Forward compilation CD. Additionally, there will be a raffle featuring many items donated by local businesses.

So, if you’d like to relive your past, or just take a step back in time, pony up $10 and check it out. With a portion of the proceeds benefiting such a great cause it’s hard not to want to crash the gates like they did back in 1969 at Woodstock.