We warned you last week that summer wasn’t done with us. With the return of 90-degree days, though, comes a late summer harvest of refreshing events ripe for your picking. Let’s check the baskets, shall we?
DANCE
New Works
Opens Thursday, Sept. 12 | Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
Cincinnati Ballet kicks off the area’s dance season with its annual showcase of new works. And we really mean new, as in six world premieres. Three of the pieces are by company dancers: Taylor Carrasco’s “Neat,” Melissa Gelfin’s “Clockwise” and David Morse’s “As I Stare at the Dust.” The music is as varied as the choreography, ranging from Brahms to Alison Krauss to original composition. Eleven performances through Sept. 22. Tickets and more information at 513-621-5282 or cballet.org
FAIRS
City Flea
Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
You know the drill by now: Head out to the park; see, sample and buy creative wares made by (mostly) local artisans; sip a craft beer and have a bite – and a great time. The worst of the heat wave should have passed by the weekend, so why not spend the afternoon bidding farewell to summer in Over-the-Rhine’s front yard with a few thousand friends? (We won’t chide them for listing this as a “fall” flea.) thecityflea.com
FILM
Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati
Through Saturday, Sept. 14 | Multiple venues, including Esquire Theater, 320 Ludlow Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45220
The dizzying variety of shorts and features covering the varied cultures of India (and Indians around the world) continues for a second week. Many showings are at the Esquire (hence the address above), but there are showings at the Mariemont Theatre (6906 Wooster Pike, Mariemont, OH 45227) and the Freedom Center (50 E. Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202), too. Check the lineup page of the website for specifics about titles, times, venues and online ticket purchase.
‘Paris: The Luminous Years’
Thursday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. | The Barn, 6980 Cambridge Ave., Mariemont, OH 45227
The Woman’s Art Club shines the spotlight on Paris through the autumn. An eight-week, Sunday afternoon lecture series (already started) introduces attendees to “Art, Architecture and History of Legendary Paris.” Riding those coattails is a showing this week of “Paris: The Luminous Years,” a 2010 PBS documentary that investigates how, for about the first third of the 20th century, France’s capital also became the world’s art capital. It’s the first installment of the Barn’s monthly ArtFlix film series. 513-272-3700 or artatthebarn.org
‘Spies of Mississippi’
Sunday, Sept. 15, 3 p.m. | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
The Freedom Center’s Freedom 55 celebration, a series of events to celebrate the 1964 voting rights effort, continues with a screening of “Spies of Mississippi.” You know that state police agencies in the South became ruthless troops dedicated to the preservation of segregation. Mississippi (are you surprised?) went further: The state created its own secret police force to maintain “the Mississippi way of life” – i.e., white supremacy. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission spied on more than 87,000 citizens in its decade of operation. Find out more about it and its role in landmark events of the time through this 2014 documentary by Dawn Porter. Watch this space next week for a companion event. 513-333-7500 or freedomcenter.org
Lights! Camera! Action! Cincinnati has already enjoyed a handful of film festivals, and more are on the way in the coming weeks. Read more about them in M&M.
LITERARY
Taft Day
Thursday, Sept. 12, 3 p.m. | Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
Before he inspired a craft brewery, Cincinnati son and one-time newspaper court reporter William Howard Taft became the only American ever to serve as both president and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (he far preferred the later). The Mercantile Library marks his birthday (a few days early) with “William Howard Taft: Architect of the Modern U.S. Judiciary,” a lecture by Justin Crowe. Crowe is a political science professor at Williams College. 513-621-0717 or mercantilelibrary.com
MUSIC
Cincinnati Pops with Renée Elise Goldsberry
Friday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m. | Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
There’s a full moon Friday, and it’s Friday the 13th, but the Pops expects nothing but good luck when Ms. Goldsberry, the original Angelica Schuyler in “Hamilton,” joins John Morris Russell and the gang for a program of Broadway hits (think “Rent” and “The Lion King” in addition to “Hamilton”), and pop songs by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Bob Dylan. Repeats 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. 513-381-3300 or cincinnatisymphony.org
THEATER
‘The Absentee’
Opens Friday, Sept. 13 | Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
How important is your vote? In 2088, pretty important. When an explosion in space leaves a hyperspace Beacon operator stranded, one person who does reach her – repeatedly – is a canvasser asking her to file her absentee ballot. Through Oct. 5. 513-300-5669 or knowtheatre.com
‘Alias Grace’
Opens Saturday, Sept. 14 | Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circle, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Margaret Atwood is back in the headlines as readers eagerly awaited yesterday’s official arrival of “The Testaments,” a sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Those are hardly her only works, though. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park gets the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre season started with Jennifer Blackmer’s adaptation of “Alias Grace,” Atwood’s 1996 historical novel. It’s part true crime story, part psychological drama (no pun intended). Grace Marks, then 15, was a housekeeper near Toronto in 1843, when her employer and his housekeeper (and lover) were murdered. She and another servant were tried and convicted in the case … but was she really involved in the deaths? Runs through Oct. 27. 513-421-3888 or cincyplay.com
VISUAL ART
‘Emanate’
Opens Friday, Sept. 13 | Weston Art Gallery, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.
You may have heard of Blink, the art festival that brings downtown buildings to life and traffic to death with impressive animated light displays. (This year’s runs Oct. 10-13.) The Weston’s “Emanate” is a group exhibition designed to coincide with the larger festival. The artists here (several from the Cincinnati region) are contributing works that include phosphorescent painting, neon sculpture, illuminated photography, video, and projection. Runs through Nov. 17. 513-977-4165 or cincinnatiarts.org
‘AutoUpdate’
Opens Saturday, Sept. 14 | The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY 41011
There may be a biennial peak to FotoFocus, but as attentive readers of these recommendations know by now, our regional celebration of photography is a bit of an ongoing process. Case in point: ‘AutoUpdate.’ It’s FotoFocus’ first juried exhibition and a showcase for how digital technology has transformed photographic and video art – and our perception of it. The artists, from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, all work at this “post-truth” intersection of photography and new media. The exhibition culminates in a symposium Oct. 4 and 5 at the Carnegie on “Photography in the Electronic Age.” Exhibition runs through Nov. 16. 859-491-2030 or fotofocus.org
‘Advice for Future Homemakers’
Opens Friday, Sept. 13 | People’s Liberty, 1805 Elm. St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
The folks at Wave Pool are celebrating their five years of community impact in this tasty collaboration with People’s Liberty. The lynchpin of the exhibition is baker – yes, baker – Christian Schmit, founder of Tall’s Bread. The “Advice for Future Homemakers” installation will include the work of multiple artists, bakers, poets and puppeteers, all curated by Wave Pool. The effort includes pretzel making on Friday and Saturday mornings. Opening reception … and pretzel tasting is 6 p.m. Saturday. Yum. Runs through Nov. 10. wavepoolgallery.org
Last chances
Even with all of this week’s openings, we’d be remiss not to warn you of the imminent closures of exhibitions at the Cincinnati Art Museum (“Kimono: Refashioning Contemporary Style”), Kennedy Heights Arts Center (“Tiger Lily Press 40th Anniversary”), Manifest (“11th Annual Nude”), and Taft Museum (“L’Affichomania”). See ’em while you can.