By Thomas Consolo
Yes, fall is technically a week away, but the crisp air can mean only one thing: fall festivals. They can range from a region-wide downtown extravaganza to afternoons in the park. Get outside and enjoy one this weekend. Also, the area’s dance season is kicking off with some new works, and it’s a good weekend for jazz. Here are a few suggestions.
FESTIVALS
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati | Downtown
- Friday-Sunday, Sept. 15-17
The biggest Oktoberfest celebration outside of the original in Munich is back on Second and Third streets between Elm and Walnut. Celebrate Cincinnati’s German heritage with several hundred thousand of your close friends, some craft beer, a brat (a mett also is acceptable) and a cream puff.
City Flea | Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Cincinnati,OH 45202
- Saturday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monthly curated, urban flea market
Shop, sip and sup in Over-the-Rhine’s outdoor living room – arts and crafts and much more.
IshFestival | Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Sunday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Jewish and Israeli arts and cultural festival
Enjoy food and entertainment ranging from Bach & Boombox to belly dancing, courtesy of groups from Greater Cincinnati and across the country.
CINEMA
The Mini Microcinema | 1329 Main St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Thursday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m. “The Other Thing”
- Saturday, Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. “Columbus”
- Sunday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. “Get Out”
This nonprofit, experimental film showcase hosts its own mini-festival to kick off its 2017-18 season. Each night is presented with a partner: the Carnegie (Thursday), Miami University’s Department of Media, Journalism and Film (Saturday) and Black Folks Make Movies (Sunday). Also see Visual Art.
DANCE
Cincinnati Ballet | Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-5282
- Thursday, Sept. 14-Sept. 24. The Kaplan New Works Series
This year’s annual showcase of modern choreographers (and the versatility of Cincinnati Ballet’s dancers) features four world premieres and choreography from Emmy Award-winner Travis Wall of “So You Think You Can Dance” fame.
Contemporary Arts Center | 44 E. Sixth St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-345-8400
- Friday-Saturday, Sept. 16-17. “Corbeaux”
Created for the 2014 Marrakech Biennale of Contemporary Art, “Corbeaux” (“Crows”) is art-dance by Moroccan choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen. Compagnie O, which premiered the work, will be joined by Cincinnati women for three performances: at the CAC’s Rosenthal Center (3 p.m. Saturday), Findlay Market farmshed (7 p.m. Saturday) and beneath the Purple People Bridge in Yeatman’s Cove Park (7 p.m. Sunday).
MUSIC
Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra | 536 Linton St., Cincinnati, OH 45219. 513-556-6638
- Sunday, Sept. 17, 2 p.m. First Unitarian Church. Jazz@First
Vibist Rusty Burge, a longtime Percussion Group Cincinnati and CCM faculty member, joins the Phil DeGreg Trio to explore the wide-ranging music of Chick Corea.
Xavier University Jazz Series | Gallagher Theater. 3800 Victory Pkwy., Cincinnati, OH 45207. 513-745-3000
- Sunday, Sept. 17, 3 p.m. Dominick Farinacci Group
Farinacci was one of 18 musicians admitted to the inaugural class of the Juilliard School’s jazz studies program. Now 28, he’s touring to showcase his second U.S. album, “Dawn of Goodbye” – and kicking off XU’s series in style.
Chamber Music Cincinnati | Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-2787
- Monday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. Marc-André Hamelin, piano
With the long-awaited renovation of Memorial Hall at last completed, Chamber Music Cincinnati is splitting its season between it and the Aronoff’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. Hamelin, known for performing rarities of the 19th century to the present, starts the season with a program featuring works by Liszt, Debussy, Godowsky and Feinberg.
THEATER
Middletown Lyric Theater | 1530 Central Ave., Middletown, OH 45044. 513-425-7140
- Friday, Sept. 15-Sept. 23. “Lost in Yonkers”
If you’re north of town in the next two weekends, consider this community production of the classic Neil Simon’s comedy, the first of six shows in MLT’s 39th season.
Queen City Theater | The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY 41011; 859-957-1940
- Saturday, Sept. 16-Oct. 8, “Typhoid Mary”
As the poster says, before ebola, before zika, there was Typhoid Mary. One of the first confirmed asymptomatic carriers of the deadly strain of salmonella that causes typhoid fever, Mary Mallon, a cook, was dubbed “the most dangerous woman in America” and was quarantined for 20 years. The script by Tom Horan raises questions about personal liberty and class bias.
VISUAL ARTS
The Carnegie | 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY 41011. 859-957-1940
- Friday, Sept. 15, 5:30-9 p.m. “The Other Thing” and “text & subtext & big deal”
“The Other Thing,” organized with painter Michael Stillion, highlights artists who move between disciplines. See drawings disguised as sculptures, quilts that appear to be paintings, paintings as video.
The accompanying exhibition documents the last collaboration between visual artist Diana Duncan Holmes and the late poet, Timothy Riordan, before Riordan’s death in 2015. Based on Riordan’s poem “simulacrum,” Duncan Holmes, Wendy Collin Sorin and Casey Riordan Millard have reimagined and rearranged the 60-page poem into 120 artworks and an audio recording accompanied by a reading of the poem.
Exhibits run through Nov. 19. (Also see Cinema.)
Marta Hewett Gallery | 1310 Pendleton St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-281-2780
- Saturday, Sept. 16, 5-8 p.m. “ Anima and Animus Illustrated”
“Speak Thou Vast and Venerable Head,” by Julia Oldham
A special opening on a Saturday. These works are presented in a variety of mediums: drawing, painting, scratch board and digital prints. Artists Casey Riordan Millard and Julia Oldham use their unique mediums to create emotional narratives that borrow from legend, myth, folklore and fairy-tale.
Exhibit runs through Nov. 11.