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2nd Annual Cinciditarod Race (register now)

The first Saturday in March marks the beginning of the annual Iditarod race through Alaska, and for the second year in a row, it marks the beginning of the Cinciditarod race.

There are some slight twists in the Cincinnati version though. Instead of 1,100+ miles through the Alaskan wilderness, it is nearly 5 miles through the urban core of Cincinnati (Downtown, OTR, Newport, Covington). Instead of dogs, it’s people. And instead of sleds, shopping carts are used to navigate the course. Teams will pick up items on a grocery list and have 5 mandatory checkpoints along the way.

The registration deadline, for the March 7th race, is this Friday, February 27th by 5pm. Each team consists of 5 members and all participants must be 18 years of age and sign a waiver form with their registration ($25 team registration fee).

Similar events are found throughout the country in cities like San Francisco, Portland, New York and Chicago. All grocery items collected, during the Cincinnati race, go to benefit the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank.


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Book clubs at the Merc

If you enjoy reading and are looking for an outlet to meet new people, engage in intelligent discourse, and do it all in the heart of Downtown, then the First Wednesday Book Discussion Group at the Mercantile Library may be for you.

Held on the first Wednesday of every month, the group meets from Noon-1pm at the Mercantile Library (GoogleMap). The monthly discussions cover a book of the leader’s choice of whom varies by month. The discussions are free for Mercantile Library members, and cost only $5 for nonmembers. Boxed lunches are also available through advanced reservations for $8.

So far in 2009 the group has covered The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter (January) and The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan (February). The March 4th discussion is going to cover Out of Stealing Horses by Per Petterson.

There is also a Graphic Novel Group that meets on the second Saturday of every month at 1pm. This group is free for anyone who wants to participate and is one of the few of its kind in the nation. The book for the March 14th discussion is Watchman by Alan Moore.

If you’re interested in participating in either of these discussion groups contact the Mercantile Library at (513) 621-0717 or by email at mercantileinfo[at]mercantilelibrary[dot]com.

The Mercantile Library is a non-profit membership library. First organized in 1835, the library is Cincinnati’s “senior” library and one of the oldest cultural institutions in the Midwest. If you’re interested in more Mercantile news, reviews and information check out the library’s blog – Stacked.

Additional Reading:
Cincinnati Mercantile Library – UrbanCincy

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PechaKucha debuts in Cincinnati

Cincinnati will be joining the global PechaKucha craze on Friday, February 13th at the Contemporary Arts Center (GoogleMap) downtown. There are currently 168 cities worldwide that have their own regular PechaKucha events typically on a quarterly basis.

The Cincinnati events are being organized by a collection of designers led by Greg Lewis. Like the other chapters, Cincinnati is planning four events for 2009 including the one on Friday. The events are known as being part social, part art, and part ideas. At the first PechaKucha Night Cincinnati you will see presentations by designers, artists, architects, professors, and others.

The dozen presentations or so will begin at 8pm and last until roughly 10pm. Prior to that, guests are invited to tour the CAC galleries, grab a cocktail, and check out the latest exhibits from Tara Donovan and Donald Sultan starting at 6:30pm. After the presentations conclude there will be a DJ to keep the party going right there at the CAC.

Tickets cost $10 for CAC members and $15 for non-members. It is recommended that you bring your ID as there will not be any physical tickets for the event – they will be cross-checking the orders with your ID. Both members and non-members, to the CAC, can order their tickets through the PechaKucha Cincinnati website.

Background:
PechaKucha (pronounced Peh-Chak-Cha) is a forum for creative people to informally share their work in public. The name comes from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (chit-chat). The idea is to give creative individuals a public forum to share their ideas. The presentations are meant to be visually telling, informative, and to the point. PechaKucha uses as 20×20 format – 20 images, 20 seconds each. The result is 6 minutes and 40 seconds of “exquisitely matched words and images that transforms presentations into a compelling beat-the-clock performance art.”

UPDATE:
Pecha Kucha – the chit-chat, low-down on Cincinnati’s hottest designers – Soapbox Media

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Getting to know Cincinnati’s stimulus projects

If you’re not already familiar with Cincinnati’s stimulus projects then I suggest you get familiar. Cities from around the country have submitted their “shovel ready” projects to be considered for stimulus money. Cincinnati’s list has 48 projects* totaling $434,916,420.

Projects big and small fill out the list. You will find Cincinnati’s proposed streetcar system, streetscape improvement projects, RecycleBank, green roof projects, street grid for The Banks, stabilization/control of the Ohio River for the new Central Riverfront Park (CRP), forest carbon sequestration, and much more.

A new site – Stimulus Watch – allows you to look through the submitted items from cities all across the nation. The website allows you to vote on each of the submitted items. You can select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as to whether you feel that particular project is critical and worthy of stimulus money. The site then categorizes these projects nationally by the Most and Least Critical, Most Expensive, and Most Active (by votes).

So far Cincinnati’s projects are faring quite well with the streetcar project leading nationally as the Most Critical project according to voters. Also high on the list is the street grid project for The Banks development, bank stabilization for the CRP, and streetscape improvements throughout Over-the-Rhine.

Visit the CINCINNATI PAGE to view all of Cincinnati’s included projects, and give your input on what you would and would not like to see the stimulus money go towards locally.

*DISCLAIMER – These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.

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Melting into downtown

Like many small businesses, Cincinnati’s favorite eclectic deli has aspirations to expand beyond its current location in Northside. Melt Eclectic Deli has been consistently rated one of Cincinnati’s best vegetarian and sandwich options, and is a staple in the diverse and vibrant Northside neighborhood business district.

In July 2008, popular green general store, Park + Vine, started offering sandwiches, noodles and other vegan fare from Melt. The offerings have been a popular addition to the Park + Vine food and drink collection. Park + Vine owner, Dan Korman, goes on to say that the two businesses have a very similar base of supporters. “We routinely hear people say they’re on their way to Melt or that they just came from there,” Korman says, “and that’s saying a lot considering our two businesses are five miles apart.”

Melt Eclectic Deli – Scott Beseler (Soapbox Media)

The kinship between the two stores has grown beyond the food offering at Park + Vine (GoogleMap). The two stores are now offering a cross-coupon promotion good through March 31st: when you buy one menu item at Melt greater than $6, present the Melt coupon and receive $2 off a second menu item of equal or lesser value. While you’re there, pick up a Park + Vine coupon for $10 off a purchase of $40 or more.

Melt has more plans though beyond the cross-coupon promotion and select product offerings at Park + Vine. Lisa Kagen, owner and business manager of Melt Eclectic Deli (GoogleMap), has told UrbanCincy that she is interested, and currently speaking with several property owners, about the possibility of a new store in either Downtown or Over-the-Rhine.

The popularity of Melt’s products at Park + Vine has led to speculation about a possible Melt location somewhere in the Gateway Quarter. Kagen says, “There is a lot at stake and many details still need to be worked out,” but she hopes to come to a conclusion by the end of the year.