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Business News

One of world’s most beautiful campuses welcomes UC’s largest student enrollment ever

The University of Cincinnati is welcoming more than new and returning 41,000 students for the 2010-2011 school – its highest enrollment ever – today. Many of those tens of thousands of students will get to enjoy one of the world’s most beautiful campuses, and one of the nation’s most unique urban universities.

UC’s largely car-free campus has virtually no surface parking lots, and in turn boasts award-winning green spaces, architecture, and recreational facilities. It is a campus unlike hardly any other. Buildings twist and turn, almost fighting for space on campus.

One such example is Nippert Stadium where the scoreboard is situated atop the Campus Recreation Center, the Lindner Athletic Center basically cantilevers over the northeast corner of the stadium, a CCM structure forms the southern end to the concourse area, and Tangeman University Center rubs elbows with the stadium’s press boxes.

UC’s internationally acclaimed campus is most known for its blend of historic architecture and stunning new architectural prize pieces. Works by Henry Cobb, Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, George Hargreaves, Thom Mayne, Bernard Tschumi, Buzz Yudell, and more regularly impress crowded tour groups of prospective students and architecture buffs alike.

As a UC alumnus I am proud of my university, and am happy to welcome students back to the university’s Uptown campuses and those throughout the region. Go Bearcats!

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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 News

Six@Six Lecture Series to offer engaging public forums on six unique topics

The inaugural Six@Six Lecture Series presented by Northern Kentucky University (NKU) will begin this Wednesday, September 1. The gatherings will focus on a variety of topics, and take place at three of the more interesting historic and cultural venues in Cincinnati’s urban core.

The format is simple: six very different speakers, six different topics, all starting at 6pm, with a cost of $6.00 per lecture for adults (students free with valid ID). The Mercantile Library in downtown, Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park, and the Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center in Covington will serve as the three venues being used over the course of the lecture series.

Five of the six speakers are full-time NKU faculty members with the sixth being a part of the NKU Military History Lecture Series program. The Six@Six Lecture Series will include a 60-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute question and answer period. The series will run through April 2011.

To get things started, one of NKU’s most celebrated professors, James Ramage, will give a lecture on Abraham Lincoln as a public speaker. The Regents Professor out of NKU’s Department of History & Geography says that while history has shown Lincoln to be one of the most prolific and respected speakers in United States history, he did not always fit the part and did not carry the physical presence that most of our celebrated leaders do today.  Later lectures will include topics on:

  • ‘The Art of the Quilt: Stitched [Hist]stories’ by Dr. Kimberly Allen-Kattus – 10/21/2010
  • ‘Covering the World in a Dangerous Age’ by  John Daniszewski – 11/11/2010
  • ‘Amazing Caves, Amazing Microbes: The Geomicrobiology of Caves’ by Dr. Hazel Barton – 12/7/2010
  • ‘Simple Gifts’ from Our Past: Frontier Shakers in the Ohio River Valley’ by Dr. Carol Medlicott – 3/31/2011
  • ‘The Marriage of Music & Word: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Fearless Carousel’ by Dr. Mark Hardy – 4/13/2011

Dr. Ramage’s lecture on Abraham Lincoln’s public prowess will take place on Wednesday, September 1 from 6pm to 8pm at the Mercantile Library (map). On- and off-street automobile parking is available in the immediate area for cash rates. Meanwhile, free bicycle parking is also available in the immediate area and virtually all Metro bus routes (plan your trip) serve this location via the Government Square Transit Hub.

Categories
News Politics

Public forum to answer commonly asked questions about city budget

Plan Cincinnati is hosting a a learning forum about the city’s budget on Wednesday, August 18 in downtown Cincinnati. The forum is designed to answer many of the questions posed by citizens at working group meetings, for the evolving comprehensive plan, over the past year.

The forum will include Cincinnati Budget Director Lea Eriksen, and will answer many commonly asked questions like:

  • Where does our City’s revenue come from?
  • What are our operating expenses?
  • What is the difference between the capital budget and operating budget?
  • How much money do we receive from the Federal Government and the State of Ohio?
  • How much does the City get from property tax or income tax?

The Budget Learning Forum will take place on Wednesday, August 18 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm in the J. Martin Griesel Room (7th Floor) of Centennial Plaza II (map) in downtown Cincinnati. The event is free and open to the public. On- and off-street automobile parking, free bicycle parking, and Metro bus service (plan your trip) is available for this event.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

2010 Cincy Blues Fest to entertain crowds at Sawyer Point this weekend

This weekend Sawyer Point will have a bluesy vibe as the Cincy Blues Fest returns for 2010 starting Friday night at 5pm. The event will bring top-notch blues talent to the Cincinnati central riverfront for two consecutive nights, and raise money for a local music education program.

Hosted by the Cincy Blues Society, this festival has been an annual event for many years now and offers Cincinnatians and visitors a chance to experience some great blues music for a low price all in one place. Blues lovers and music enthusiasts can purchase tickets for $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday which has more than two hours of music starting at 2:30pm and going until midnight.

More than 40 national and local acts will take to four stages over the two day event. The Budweiser Main Stage will feature national acts both nights, as well as, a special performance by Blues Society’s Blues in the Schools program. Blues in the Schools brings accomplished area musicians into local schools to educate students about the history and significance of blues music, and is the main benefactor of the festival.

On Friday, Cincy Blues Fest will partner with the Gulf Restoration Network to raise awareness and funds for Gulf Coast and wetlands restoration efforts in a New Orleans-themed night called Pardi Gras. Saturday’s special performance features a tribute to one of the founders of Jazz music, Jell Roll Morton, with special Boogie-Woogie performances all day long. Additionally, the local blues scene will be featured on the St. Vincent de Paul stage all weekend long. Beer, wine, barbecue, and Cajun cuisine will also reportedly be available for purchase.

Festival organizers state that close to 400 volunteers help make the event possible each year. Those interested in signing up to volunteer can sign up online, or do so by contacting Tammy Reams at (513) 405-5868 or cincybluesvolunteers@gmail.com. A volunteer orientation party is scheduled for Thursday, August 5 at 7pm under the arches at Sawyer Point.

The 2010 Cincy Blues Fest will take place at Sawyer Point (map) in downtown Cincinnati. Limited automobile parking is available nearby. Lots of free off-street bicycle parking is available, and the event is accessible by Metro bus service (plan your trip). Refer to the festival’s website for discounted ticket information for children and Blues Society members.