Happy Recovery-from-Independence Day! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…enjoy the second half of summer. Below are a few options for the relatively quiet week ahead.
CULTURAL EXHIBITS
Heritage Village Museum | 11450 Lebanon Rd., Sharon Woods. 513-563-9484
- Saturday-Sunday, July 8-9. “Civil War Weekend”
OK, history buffs, time to muster your troops and march on Sharonville. Give the kids a taste of what war was like more than 150 years ago, including battle re-enactments, hands-on activities and building tours. While you’re there, check out the current exhibits at this little-known gem of a museum: “First Ladies of Fashion,” replicas of gowns worn by first ladies, and “Exiled: Ohio’s Indian Removal,” about the legal, organized and sometimes violent extraction of Ohio’s native people.
FAIRS/FESTIVALS
Second Sunday on Main | Main Street, Over-the-Rhine
- Sunday, July 9, noon-5 p.m. Eclectic street festival
While Vine St. and Washington Park have been the early focus in the reinvigoration of Over-the-Rhine, so far, things on Main St. are really beginning to heat up. This is a great chance to hang out and get a feel for the many changes happening now, and those just around the corner, including the new Ziegler Park and pool just to the east. Bring your suit. Take a dip!
FILM
The Mini Microcinema | 1329 Main St., Over-the-Rhine
- Friday, July 7-Aug. 17. “Seven Weeks of Cinema”
And speaking of Main St., no need to wait for Sunday to go and explore. This Friday kicks off a summer season of adventurous cinema, with 26 evenings of movies before Labor Day. Tired of Hollywood summer blockbusters? Plan your visit now…
MUSIC
Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra | Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-280-8181
- Friday, July 7, 7:30 p.m. “We Gotta Shout!”
In 1963, the Dukes of Dixieland jazz band joined forces with Clara Ward and Her Gospel Singers for a landmark recording. This will be the first live performance of these songs, performed by the CCJO and vocalists representing church choirs from around the Tri-State. Leading the ensemble will be Adrian Cunningham, minister of music at New Jerusalem Baptist Church. Something tells me The MEMO will be rockin’ in ways it has not yet experienced. Come add your voice to the chorus.
Cincinnati Symphony | Mayerson JCC, 8485 Ridge Rd., Amberley Village. 513-381-3300
- Tuesday, July 11, 7:30 p.m. “Chamber Music at The J”
This free program in the auditorium at “The J” features some of the very best CSO chamber players in music by Jewish composers. Here’s the program:
Bruch: “Kol Nidrei,” Adagio on Hebrew Melodies, op. 47
Mahler: Piano Quartet in A Minor
Schnittke: Piano Quartet in A Minor (after Mahler)
Schulhoff: Five Etudes de Jazz
Schulhoff: Concertino for Flute, Viola and Double Bass
And here are the players: Henrik Heide/flute, Michael Chertock/piano, Eric Bates/violin, Rebecca Barnes/viola, Ilya Finkelshteyn/cello and Owen Lee/double bass.
Kentucky Symphony Orchestra | 859-431-6216
- Friday, July 7, 7:30 p.m. Summer Series: “Let Freedom Sing!” (at Cottell Park, Deerfield Twp.)
- Saturday, July 8, 7:30 p.m. Summer Series: “Let Freedom Sing!” (at Devou Park, Covington)
Did you miss out on your patriotic fix for the Fourth of July? Here are a couple of chances this weekend to re-capture your mid-summer mojo, as KSO conductor J.R. Cassidy welcomes two of the region’s favorite vocalists, Rob Reider and Nancy James.
THEATER
Commonwealth Theater Company | NKU Stauss Theater. Nunn Drive, Highland Heights. 859-572-6160
- Wednesday, July 5-23. “Burger Town”
This is both a revival and refresh of the 2004 musical created by now-Northern Kentucky University School of the Arts director, Ken Jones, his wife – lyricist Christine Jones – and composer Jamey Strawn. The original show, a restaurant parody, went on to successful runs in other cities has joined the standard repertoire for high schools and colleges around the country.
Mariemont Players | Walton Creek Theater, 4101 Walton Creek Rd., Mariemont. 513-684-1236
- Friday, July 7-23. “Godspell”
The first big hit for this master songwriter remains charming and poignant thanks to the timelessness of the Biblical story and the quality of Schwartz’s music. And this company remains one of the best among Cincinnati’s broad spectrum of community theaters, so grab a bite in Mariemont Square or a beer at 50 West and then enjoy this nostalgic tuneful trip.
VISUAL ART
BasketShop Gallery | 3105 Harrison Ave., Westwood
- Saturday, July 8, 6-9 p.m. “How to Make Enemies Friends”
Ryder Richards: “Birds of a Feather… are stupid together” acrylic, graphite on paper_ 30″x22″
The visual art landscape continues to expand with the opening of this new gallery in Westwood. This premiere exhibit features drawings and sculptures by Dallas-based Ryder Richards. Runs through Aug. 12
Row House Gallery | 211 Main St., Milford. 513-831-7230
- Saturday, July 8, 5-7:30 p.m. “Steeling Cincinnati,” steel prints by Robert Coomer
Coomer creates an original interpretation of the 1848 Cincinnati daguerreotype panorama by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter – the first time this classic view of the historic Queen City has been printed on steel. Exhibit runs through July.