If you can find a more diverse set of event recommendations for this week ahead, well … we do our best. And more importantly, kudos to those presenters putting these options in front of you. Truly impressive.
Wednesday, Oct. 13
Mercantile Library, Modern Novel Lecture | 6 p.m. 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-0717. DETAILS: This lecture invites novelists at the top of their form and whose work in literary fiction frequently becomes a part of popular culture. Tayari Jones is the author of “American Marriage.”
Thursday, Oct. 14
Art Academy of Cincinnati, Red Door Project | 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cincinnati Observatory, 3489 Observatory Pl., Cincinnati, OH 45208. 513-562-6262. DETAILS: At “ObservARTory Nights,” original artwork will be sold in a silent auction format. Artists receive 75% of any sale, and 25% goes towards AAC’s scholarship fund for non-traditional students. Stay after the event to stargaze!
The Barn, ArtFlix | 7p.m. 6980 Cambridge Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45227. 513-272-3700. DETAILS: “Packed in a Trunk” is a story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1924 and never heard from again. When Edith’s great-niece discovers her paintings in their old dusty attic, she begins a decades-long journey to uncover the mysteries of Edith’s life that was forgotten. Tickets: $5.
https://thebarn.regfox.com/octoberartflix
College-Conservatory of Music, Student Choreographers’ Showcase | 7:30 p.m. Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Live dance returns to CCM as dance majors present dynamic and diverse works from classical ballet to contemporary dance. Repeats Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Northern Kentucky University, “Noises Off” | 7:30 p.m. NKU Corbett Theatre, 100 Nunn Dr., Highland Heights, KY 41099. 859-572-5464. DETAILS: This is, no joke, one of the silliest – in the best possible use of the word – plays ever written. If you haven’t seen it, thank me later. It’s hilarious. If you have, you know what I mean. Repeats Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m., and also Oct. 20-23, 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 24, 2 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 15
American Legacy Tours, Newport is Haunted Tour | 7 p.m. 18 E. 5th St. Newport, KY 41071. DETAILS: It’s October, so that means haunted everything. Head to Newport to enjoy a spooky good time exploring the streets of Northern Kentucky. Your tour guides will enthrall you with tales of death throughout the city. You will learn the horrifying tales of Bobby Mackey’s wicked haunting and discover the details of some of Newport’s most infamous unsolved crimes. Tour begins outside Gangsters Dueling Piano Bar.
The Barn, “The Art We Make” | 5-7:30 p.m. 6980 Cambridge Ave. DETAILS: The Woman’s Art Club’s 2021 All-Member Exhibition & Sale opens with a public reception. Participate in deciding the winners of four People’s Choice Awards, which will be presented at the opening. The Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati is the oldest existing women’s art club operating without interruption in the US, founded in 1892 by 19 women artists in response to the Cincinnati Art Club’s refusal to be gender inclusive. The exhibition continues through Oct. 31.
Great Parks Forever, Root Ball | 6:30-8:30 p.m. Rhinegeist Event Center, 1910 Elm St. DETAILS: Honorary chairs: Eric Mueller and wife, Keri. Trade your best black tie for your community blue sky over cocktails, courses and conversation. Attire is rustic chic.
https://greatparksforever.org/rootball
Guiding Light Mentoring, Annual Igniting Future Leaders Gala | 6 p.m. The Phoenix, 812 Race St. DETAILS: Keynote speaker, actress Kiandra “Kiki” Layne (Coming to America 2/Old Guard); emcee, Courtis Fuller (WLWT-TV Anchor/ Reporter), honorary chair, Gwen Robinson (Former CEO of CAA), live music from local R&B group Natural Progression. VIP reception, dinner, silent auction, awards. Tickets $75.
www.guidinglightmentoring.org/annual-gala
Saturday, Oct. 16
ArtsWave, Enjoy the Arts @ Parks Series | 1-5 p.m. Winton Woods. DETAILS: Performances by Elementz, Lauren Eylise and more close out this year’s parks series. Savor the end of the season.
College-Conservatory of Music, “American Voices” | 7:30 p.m. Corbett Auditorium, CCM. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Mark Gibson leads the CCM Philharmonia honoring American composers from different traditions with music influenced by rock, folk and European styles.
TORKE: “Ecstatic Orange”
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 80
DAWSON: “Negro Folk Symphony”
Findlay Market, Fall Food Festival | 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1801 Race St. Cincinnati, OH 45202. Sample fall dishes from merchants, vendors and farmers at the market. Each ticket is good for one sample from one business and must be purchased in advance. In addition to the delicious food, there will be special drinks and music all weekend long. Tickets are 5 for $10 or 12 for $20. Each ticket will get you one merchant sample.
Icon Music Center, Elvis Costello & The Imposters | 8 p.m. 25 Race St. Cincinnati, OH 45202. DETAILS: Amazingly, tickets remain for one of the most creative and classy acts in all of music. I suggest you take advantage of the situation and go hear Diana Krall’s husband in concert.
Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, “The New Bs” | 7:30 p.m. Drees Auditorium, St. Henry High School, 3755 Scheben Dr, Erlanger, KY 41018. 859-431-6216. DETAILS: Music director JR Cassidy is rethinking the classics once again. Instead of “The Three Bs,” – Bach, Beethoven and Brahms – he is introducing a new set from the 20th and 21st centuries: music by Peter Boyer, Mason Bates and that relative old master Bèla Bartok.
Mercantile Library, “Rock and Read” | 10:30 a.m. 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-0717. DETAILS: This group is full of avid readers and music lovers alike. From memoirs to biographies to novels that feature music this group covers it all. Steven Rosen is the group’s organizer and co-founder of Cincinnati Vinyl Club. For more information, contact Steven directly via email. This is a recurring event.
StudioKroner, Jeff Bell | 2-5 p.m. 130 W. Court St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. DETAILS: designer, writer, director, producer, TV showrunner, and now artist, Jeff Bell, for the first-ever show of his drawings and illustrations. Runs through Nov. 20.
Sunday, Oct. 17
Chamber Music Cincinnati, Harlem Quartet | 4 p.m. Corinthian Baptist Church. 513-342-6870. DETAILS: The legendary quartet brings pianist Aldo Gavilan to the party as CMC kicks off its radical (?) new program of working with major local black churches to present a wide range of chamber music. In this case, that means music by Robert Schumann, Billy Strayhorn and more. Most concerts repeat the following Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Hall in OTR. Check out the rest of the season in a David Lyman feature from our October magazine.
University of Cincinnati Brain Tumor Center, Annual Walk Ahead for a Brain Tumor Cure | 8 a.m., Sawyer Point. DETAILS: Honoring the memory of Gary Thompson. The 5K run/walk and 2K walk begin at 9 a.m.; after-party with food, music and family fun begins at 10 a.m. Registration offered for in-person or virtual.
Monday, Oct. 18
Northern Kentucky University, Aaron Diehl | 8 p.m. Greaves Concert Hall, 100 Nunn Dr., Highland Heights, KY 41099. 859-572-5464. DETAILS: The prodigious and diversely talented pianist Aaron Diehl brings his talents to NKU and that means you can experience his artistry with just a short jaunt across the Ohio.
Tuesday, Oct. 19
Broadway Across America, “Pretty Woman” | 7:30p.m. Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-721-3344. DETAILS: It’s great to have live theater again at the Aronoff. If you were a big fan of the movie, you may like this musical version. Multiple times available thru Oct. 31.
https://cincinnati.broadway.com/shows/pretty-woman/
Cincinnati Pops, America, Come | 7:30 p.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: John Morris Russell leads the Pops in a special Tuesday performance by this highly lauded songstress. Inspired by the lives, letters and speeches of the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association Carrie Chapman Catt and United States President Woodrow Wilson during the summer of 1920, Grammy Award-winning songwriter Aoife O’Donovan joins the Pops for her musical exploration of voting rights for women.