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Business News Transportation

ArtWorks looking to secure sponsors for final nine Queen City Art Racks

After installing the first Queen City Art Rack in May 2010, ArtWorks is in the process of securing sponsors for the remaining 14 artist-designed bike racks they hope to have installed around Cincinnati by May 2011 to coincide with National Bike Month and ArtWorks’ 15th Anniversary.

ArtWorks executive director Tamara Harkavy said that the non-profit organization has now secured enough sponsors to fund six of those remaining bike racks which cost approximately $7,500 each. The additional money came through sponsorships by Kroger, the Duke Energy Convention Center, Truepoint Financial, Pantene, and Clairol.

The organization plans to install these recently funded bike racks in Northside, Price Hill and Hyde Park Kroger stores, and two locations in downtown Cincinnati. All of the rack locations are being determined based on the needs identified in the city-wide Bicycle Master Plan.

“We are excited about the early support of the Queen City Art Racks program,” said Harkavy. “We have at least nine more funding opportunities along with a number of creative proposals from artists, and we are now looking to close the funding phase and move to the creation phase of the project.”

Project officials at ArtWorks say that the designs for these bike racks will not be developed until December 2010 when they have finalized all fund raising efforts with potential sponsors.

In May, the first Queen City Art Rack was celebrated outside of Coffee Emporium in Over-the-Rhine where it was installed. Named Tours de Cincy, the first rack was designed by Pam Kravetz, Carla Lamb, and Karen Sanders. It was fabricated by Cincinnati-based Vulkane Industrial Arts, and sponsored by the NLT Foundation.

Those interested in sponsoring one of the additional nine racks needing funding can contact Michael Stout at ArtWorks by phone at (513) 333-0388 or email at Michael@ArtWorksCincinnati.org. All sponsorships must be submitted by Thursday, September 30.

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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.

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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).

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Development News Transportation

Cincinnati officials select Vine Street route for uptown streetcar connection

City officials have announced that Vine Street has been chosen as the path for the Cincinnati Streetcar to reach the uptown area. The decision comes after a comprehensive study was conducted to determine which route would best connect downtown with uptown, while also best managing the steep hillsides there.

“Our direction from city council has always been to ‘connect the dots,’ but to do so in a way that was fiscally responsible,” stated Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney in a prepared release. “The Vine Street route accomplishes that.”

The Vine Street route is estimated to cost $20 million less in capital costs, offer $250,000 in savings annually in operations, pose fewer engineering challenges, and also offer greater options for future expansions than the West Clifton Avenue alternative. According to City officials, Vine Street and West Clifton Avenue stakeholders have been meeting to discuss the alternatives for months, and that the group had been informed of the final decision yesterday.

One of the primary objectives of the study was to determine how to best navigate the steep hillside leading to and from the uptown area. In this case, Vine Street’s maximum 6.7 percent grade scored much better than West Clifton Avenue’s maximum 8.9 percent grade. The project team said that while United Streetcar/Oregon Iron Works, Siemens, Inekon, Kinkisharyo, and Bombardier all could build modern streetcars to handle such grades, the preference was for engineering simplicity.

In addition to the engineering aspects, many streetcar supporters believe the selected route to get uptown will present greater opportunities long-term.

“The Vine Street route will offer the fastest service between Cincinnati’s two largest employment centers,” said Brad Thomas, Founder, CincyStreetcar.com. “The route also presents the greatest opportunity for future expansions including extensions west to Clifton Heights, north to Avondale and Corryville, or east to Walnut Hills.”

To date, the city has secured $114.5 million out of the total $128 million to build the entire first phase running from Cincinnati’s central riverfront to its uptown neighborhoods. The modern streetcar system will be the first of its kind in the Midwest and one of only three like systems in the United States. The first construction is expected to begin fall 2010 with the first passengers riding in early 2013.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Brewery District to host three new Oktoberfest tours next weekend

What does September mean in Cincinnati? Oktoberfest of course! One of the area’s favorite festivals, in all of its German heritage, food and beer splendor, returns downtown September 18-19. In addition to the traditional consumption of bratwurst, märzen lagers, and chicken dances, the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District is teaming, once again, with the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company to host a series of tours focusing on Cincinnati’s rich brewing history. The three separate, but intermingling, tours will be offered at various times on both Saturday and Sunday and all three will begin and end at the future home of Christian Moerlein brewing operations (located at 1621 Moore Street in OTR).

The first is the popular Prohibition Resistance Tour which is run by the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District every year during Bockfest in March, and now during Oktoberfest as well. This two-and-a-half hour tour begins with a historical overview of the brewing in Cincinnati, followed by stops at six different breweries including descending 30 feet underground into abandoned lagering cellars for an authentic glimpse of Cincinnati’s brewing past. This particular tour has typically sold out quickly and OTR Brewery District executive director Steve Hampton says that tickets have been selling just as fast this time around. The tour includes a beer ticket and costs just $30, so make your reservations soon.

A second tour will highlight the release of Mike Morgan’s new book entitled Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King. This new tour will take participants along the length of Vine Street through Over-the-Rhine, allowing them to travel through both the Crown and Kauffman breweries while also learning about OTR’s early history and politics from the author himself. Tour organizers say that Morgan’s tour will only be offered at two times this weekend: Saturday at 3:10pm and Sunday at 3:20pm. Each tour will last approximately two-and-a-half hours and include the requisite beer ticket. Tickets cost $35, however $45 gets you a ticket for the tour as well as a signed copy of Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King.

The third and final tour is much more informal, free, and included in both of the aforementioned tours. Throughout the weekend people are encouraged to stop by the former Husman Potato Chip plant to check out the future home of Christian Moerlein brewing operations and get a look at the the planned brewery layout, future equipment placement, and renderings of the new Christian Moerlein Lager House taking shape on Cincinnati’s central riverfront. The tour will be offered approximately every 40 minutes.

As a special early kick-off for these tours, please join the OTR Brewery District this coming Thursday, September 9 at 10am, as volunteers Reconnect the Kauffman. During this “open to the public” event a wall, sealed during prohibition and blocking an underground tunnel, will be ceremoniously torn down to reconnect 2 buildings of the Kauffman Brewery, which at its height was the 4th largest in the city.

For those interested in being more involved with the Brewery Districts efforts, or just more involved with beer in general, volunteers are still needed both for the tours, and for serving beer through out the weekend at the future Christian Moerlein Brewery in OTR. Get your tickets soon and please sign up to be part of this great Cincinnati weekend. Cheers!