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Morning Glory Ride 2008

On Sunday, August 3rd the 27th Morning Glory Ride will take place with starts at 4:30am and 5:30am. This morning bike ride starts at Sawyer Point and is a 25-mile ride if you do the “classic” ride.

At the end of the ride, back at Sawyer Point, there will be a catered Sunrise Breakfast awaiting you (only if you register online by midnight 8/1). You can also register on Saturday from Noon-4pm at Sawyer Point…or if you’re a real procrastinator you can register the day of the ride at Sawyer Point between 3am-5am.

There are some registration costs, but it is definitely worth its weight in gold. This year will even have a portion of the ride blocked off to traffic along Columbia Parkway. The ride offers the scenic ride along Columbia Parkway, takes you through Eden Park, through portions of Downtown, across the Ohio River, into Nky, up into Devou Park, and eventually back to Sawyer Point.

The ride is part of a growing trend of these rides across the nation (especially the car-free portion). Dan Korman, owner of Park + Vine (which is also a sponsor of this year’s event), suggests that the ride should become a weekly Sunday morning event. He also points to Chicago’s ride as something that Cincinnati’s ride should/could become.

View a map of the full course (Nky and all) here!!!

View a full listing of the street closures here (156kb PDF)

Image from PhotoDivergence.com

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Be a part of a film shoot on Fountain Square

Still waiting on your 5 minutes of fame? Wait no longer…you’ve got a great opportunity to be a part of a film shoot Wednesday (7/30) on Fountain Square. Foxalpha Films/J8DED Pictures will be shooting a “very long scene on the Square.”

3CDC reports that this is going to be a part of a pilot for a nation-wide television program. The shoot will be taking place from 6pm-11pm* on Fountain Square, but it is encouraged that you get there at 5pm to sign in if you would like to be a part of the filming. 3CDC also reports that the Cincinnati Police, businesses around the Square, and the local media will all be participating.

If you like news like this and would like to receive weekly newsletters about what’s happening on Fountain Square simply email Kelly Leon at KLeon@3cdc.org and asked to be placed on their weekly newsletter distribution list.

*Vine Street (between 5th & 6th) will be closed down during this time as a result.
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Looking for some Summer fun?

Two fun/new things to do are coming to Cincinnati soon. Ride the Ducks tour(s) in Cincinnati will mark the companies 8th location nationwide (Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, etc). These tours are a combined land and water tour and are popular among tourists and locals alike. The Cincinnati tour will begin in Newport (near the Newport Aquarium) and will go between both Cincinnati and Nky.

Ride the Ducks tour boat (left) and cable wakeboarding (right)

The other new attraction will be a Wake Nation theme park in the Fairfield area. The company specializes in ‘cable wakeboarding’ (GoogleVideo) and describes the theme park as a “watersports complex designed for wakeboarding, wakeskating, water skiing and knee boarding.” This news, as originally reported by Cincinnati Living Online, states that they plan to break ground in August 2008 (with a planned opening in Spring/Summer ’09) and that the park is on an eight acre lake and has a cable system suspended 30 feet above the lake.

Both sound like very fun and very unique/new attractions for the region. I personally can’t wait for both as the Duck tours will provide for great photo ops and a chance to get out on the Ohio River…and the Wake Nation complex just sounds awesome in every sense of the word.

Read more about the Ride the Ducks tours in this week’s Soapbox Cincinnati issue.

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Flagship urban Kroger at The Banks?

Local NBC affiliate, WLWT Channel 5, reported last week that the developers of The Banks are planning to release names of tenants later this year. Three tenants in particular that they did mention that they are in negotiations with are an ESPN Zone, Margaritaville, and Kroger.

ESPN Zone and Margaritaville don’t surprise me all that much…Kroger on the other hand is a pleasant surprise and gets my thoughts stirring about what they could do with an urban store in a newly constructed building in the very city they call home.

What I expect is for Kroger to step up and do something truly special. Something that incorporates all of their best store features and incorporates them into an urban model. A store that could become their flagship urban grocery store – an area in which Kroger doesn’t seem to venture too often, but one that they might want to start considering (see gas prices).

I’m thinking of a store that has lots of international foods, organic products, and generally fits with an “urban lifestyle” for those who may be buying in smaller quantities but at greater frequencies. Could there be a better location, time, and/or opportunity? I don’t think so.

Urban Kroger location (GoogleMap) in Atlanta, GA – Photos by Randy Simes
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Get involved on Fountain Square

With the regular programming of events, on Fountain Square, there is a need for volunteers to help staff these events. This has been all well and good…and more than likely you’ve seen these volunteers serving up beer, soda, treats, and ushering people around for various events.

The Square has really been coming into its own and the surrounding area has also been improving with new restaurants, stores, and entertainment. Add in some of the typical big Summer events and you have a slammed Fountain Square almost all the time.

This is creating the need for more volunteers to keep all these events functioning as best they can. This Sunday alone they are expecting around 6,000 people to come out and enjoy the weekly Smooth Sunday concert on the Square. On top of that you know it’s going to be packed for Saturday Night at the Movies (this week featuring Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius & Batman Begins).

If you’re looking for some service hours at school, a unique social experience, maybe some cash (I made some good tips serving beer before a Reds game in a matter of 2.5 hours), or even the excuse to just hang out on the Square with some great entertainment then this is for you. You can sign up to be a Fountain Square Volunteer, or you can offer your time for immediate needs at events like the Sunday evening concerts.

Genius of Water – Image from MyFountainSquare.com