Tag: parks

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Arts & Entertainment News

Riverfront Fusion to bring first live music to new Cincinnati Riverfront Park

Update: Due to potential severe weather, the Riverfront Fusion concert has been postponed.

The first public concert will be held at the Cincinnati Riverfront Park (CRP) Schmidlapp Event Lawn on Thursday, May 26. The Riverfront Fusion event will follow the Women’s Committee of Cincinnati Riverfront Park fifth annual ‘Hats Off’ Luncheon which will also be held on the event lawn.

Riverfront Fusion will run from 5:30pm to 9pm and include four live bands from the Cincinnati region, and feature a variety of musical styles including Jazz, R&B, Rock and Salsa. Event organizers say Riverfront Fusion will be the first of many similar cultural events for which the CRP was designed to feature.

“The impact of this park to drive tourism, business, real estate values and regional health cannot be understated,” Debbie Oliver and Helen Heekin, co-founders of the Women’s Committee, said in a prepared release. “As more features in the park are completed over the next months, it will be clear that this park will become our city’s new front door.”

Organizers say that food and drink will be available for purchase from Montgomery Inn, and that music will be provided by Acapulco, Groove Doctor, Triage and Second Wind.

Categories
Development News

First phase of Cincinnati Riverfront Park quickly becoming reality

The first phase of The Banks has made dramatic progress in 2011, and has even welcomed its first residents and businesses over the past one to two months. Meanwhile, the new $120 million Cincinnati Riverfront Park (CRP) has also seen significant progress made on its first phase of work.

Project manager Dave Prather gives another visual tour of the construction progress at the CRP, and specifically highlights the rise of the Moerlein Lager House, demolition of the old Mehring Way, Jacob G. Schmidlapp Stage & Event Lawn, Women’s Committee Garden and the Walnut Street Fountain & Steps.

Most noteworth, Prather says that the first elements of the park will be completed by the next video update, and that the event lawn will be recognizable within two weeks. The event lawn will host its first public concert on Thursday, May 26 from 5:30pm to 9pm during Riverfront Fusion.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

OTR Urban Kickball League gears up for second season

After a successful first season, the Over-the-Rhine Urban Kickball League is back for round two. The league, established by UrbanCincy in fall 2010 and run with help of community members, aims to create a relaxed, fun atmosphere where neighbors and friends get to know each other better and integrate into the community, making the neighborhood safer through play.

The new season will have up to 16 teams with up to 15 players each playing four nights a week. The past season saw 12 teams go head-to-head in friendly competition that often involved kids from the neighborhood participating in the games.

This year’s league play will run from June 6 through August, with playoffs beginning near the end of August. Teams will take turns to referee opposing teams, with play Monday through Thursday, games at 6pm and 7pm, located at Cutter Playground behind the former School of Creative & Performing Arts building (map) on Sycamore Street.

While some aspects of the league will change, the core remains the same: having fun and improving the neighborhood. If you are interested in forming a team this season, please Like the League page on Facebook and download the sign up form today.

Teams must fill out all forms, including liability waivers, and submit them along with admission fee ($5 per person) to The Famous Neons Unplugged between now and May 15.

Fall 2010 OTR Urban Kickball League photo by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati kicks off Earth Day celebrations this Saturday

Cincinnati will begin celebrating the 41st annual Earth Day this Saturday. This year’s event will once again be hosted by the Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition at Sawyer Point in downtown Cincinnati. The official Earth Day takes place on April 22, but as always, Cincinnatians will come together to celebrate the environment throughout the week leading up to the big day.

“The theme this year is ‘One Earth, One Chance’ and the celebration gives families a great opportunity to see first-hand the many innovative ways they can help protect the earth while still having a good time,” said Standish Fortin, President of Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition. “We hope the community will come out to enjoy themselves, learn about earth friendly products and to recognize those who’s efforts make Cincinnatia beautiful place to live.”

Organizers say that there will be lots of family friendly events throughout the day, which run from noon to 5:30pm, including earth friendly vendors, as well as exhibitors from environmental groups, government agencies, local businesses and citizens demonstrating their contributions to the beauty andenvironmental quality of our region.

Additionally, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will be on hand to present environmental awards to five local recipients who have made a positive impact on the environmental community around them.

At Earth Day 2011, bicyclists are treated to free parking and Metro bus service also provides convenient access to the park. Those attending will also be able to drop off any used batteries, cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and camcorders for recycling courtesy of KPMG.

2010 Cincinnati Earth Day photograph by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

Categories
Business News Politics

Cincinnati Park Board implements innovative budget-saving measures to spare cuts

City governments across the United States have been struggling with budget deficits for years as the economy has struggled. Those struggles will more than likely worsen for Cincinnati, and other cities in Ohio, as they deal with a 50 percent reduction in state support.

Parks are one of those locally impacted items. For 2011, the Cincinnati Park Board saw a 34 percent cut to its general fund as city officials looked to close a budget deficit. Fortunately, park officials were able to avoid closing any parks and maintain its current number of employees through a variety of innovative measures.

“A 34 percent cut in the park board’s budget is fairly typical for what we are seeing around the country – perhaps even worse than average,” stated Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence with the Trust for Public Land.

One of the innovative measures employed by the Cincinnati Park Board is a new program that is utilizing student labor from the University of Cincinnati. The 75 students, park officials say, are able to gain career-related experience while the park board maintains its service levels. The students’ wages are 75 percent paid through a federal grant, while the park board picks up the remaining amount.

“Substituting partially-federally-subsidized student workers for traditional park workers is certainly a creative approach to a very bad problem,” Harnik said.

The director of the Center for City Park Excellence also expressed concern that the 75 student positions might be replacing higher-paid, and potentially, family-supporting workers.

“Nevertheless, from the parks’ perspective, it’s a very good solution, and the agency’s creativity and can-do attitude is to be applauded.”

To help deal with budget cuts the park board is also implementing new trash collection policies, implementing the national Leave No Trace program, and reducing operations at some parks throughout the city.

Piatt Park photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.