We’re beginning to see all the traditional, familiar signs of fall in Cincinnati: The days become shorter than the nights, the Reds miss the playoffs, the Bengals spot the rest of the league three games . . . Still, it’s warm enough to enjoy various outdoor arts and culture events, and this week’s schedule is packed with them.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Ziegler Park Summer Cinema, “Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban” | 8 p.m. Ziegler Park, 1322 Sycamore St., Pendleton. DETAILS: Ziegler Park closes its free, family-friendly summer movie series with this Harry Potter classic from 2004. It’s your last chance to, as series organizers say, “dust off those lawn chairs, grab a picnic basket and join us for a fun, relaxing evening.” NOTE: This movie will be shown on the park’s Play Green just outside Ziegler Pool instead of on its Great Lawn.
Public Library: Stern Lecture Series, author David Grann | 7 p.m. Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center, downtown. 513-369-6900. DETAILS: The fifth annual Mary S. Stern Lecture will be given by David Grann, author of the acclaimed 2017 true-crime bestseller “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which explores a series of murders in the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma after the discovery of oil on tribal lands. The book was the basis for last year’s Martin Scorsese film by the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Rober De Niro and Lily Gladstone. Previous lecturers for the Stern series: Bryan Stevenson (“Just Mercy”), 2019; Doris Kearns Goodwin (“Leadership in Turbulent Times”), 2021; Walter Isaacson (“The Code Breaker”), 2022; Isabel Wilkerson (“The Warmth of Other Suns”), 2023.
Thursday, Sept. 26
2024 FotoFocus Biennial, “backstories” | Opening weekend Sept. 26-28, multiple locations. 513-400-4027. DETAILS: This is big. Really big. FotoFocus’ sprawling, ambitious Biennial, a regional, month-long exploration of lens-based art, consists of 107 projects shown at 86 venues throughout Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Northern Kentucky. The opening weekend starts things off with a bang – including the FotoFocus symposium – but exhibits and special programming continue through October. Just two examples of the FotoFocus exhibits opening this weekend: Solway Gallery, 424 Findlay St., West End (513-621-0069) has “Pathways to Freedom: Uncovering the Past” by John E. Dowell, with a reception 5-8 p.m. Sept. 26, including an artist talk at 6 p.m. Manifest Gallery, 2727 Woodburn Ave., East Walnut Hills (513-861-3638), celebrates its 500th exhibition in 21 years with five new exhibits, among them “Corpus: The Photograph as Object.”
Other institutions with FotoFocus exhibit opening this weekend include the Art Academy of Cincinnati, ArtWorks, Behringer-Crawford Museum, Contemporary Arts Center, Northern Kentucky University, Off Ludlow Gallery, Visionaries & Voices, Xavier University Art Gallery and many more.
One Off Productions, “Happy Birthday, Wanda June” | 7:30 p.m. Gabriel’s Corner, 1425 Sycamore Street, Over-the-Rhine. DETAILS: This new, experimental theater initiative by Rupert Spraul and Hannah Gregory, takes on the great Kurt Vonnegut’s first play, the bizarre, biting “Happy Birthday, Wanda June” (1970), whose opening line is “This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don’t.” O-kay. Movie buffs may recall that the 1971 film version starred Rod Steiger and Susannah York. Continues through Oct. 5.
Salsa on the Square, Latin Beat Project | 7 p.m. Fountain Square, downtown. 513-621-4400. DETAILS: This is your last chance to shake it on the square this year. The ever-popular Thursday-night Salsa on the Square winds up with live music by the Latin Beat Project, plus an extra: an 8 p.m. salsa competition hosted by various Procter & Gamble brands – with cash prizes of $1,500 for first place and $500 for second provided by Modelo.
Friday, Sept. 27
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Symphony No. 1 | 11 a.m., Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-3300. DETAILS: What a fascinating program. Ukranian-Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska, a rising star who is chief conductor of Lahti Symphony and principal guest conductor of BBC Symphony (and who just released an album called “Dalia’s Mixtape”), leads the CSO in Gustav Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony No. 1. Pianist Bruce Liu – who in 2021 joined such luminaries as Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Garrick Ohlsson and Krystian Zimerman as winners of the quadrennial International Chopin Competition – is soloist in Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 3, which (appropriately) figured prominently in the 1980 Richard Dreyfuss film “The Competition.” And if Alberto Ginastera’s “Malambo” (from the ballet “Estancia”) doesn’t get you going in a syncopated 6/8, nothing will. Repeats 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Kroger Wellness Festival | 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Fifth Street between Main Street and Columbia Parkway, downtown. DETAILS: This yearly festival dedicated to fitness, nutrition and healthy lifestyles moves to a new location near Procter & Gamble headquarters. The free, two-day event features more than 200 wellness-oriented experiences, plus musical performances and appearances by such celebrities as Bobby Flay, Alex Rodriguez and Chrissy Teigen. Also 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 28.
Magic Carpet Family Shows, Singing Zoologist Lucas Miller | 7 p.m. Oxford Community Arts Center, 10 S. College Ave., Oxford. 513-524-8506. DETAILS: Singing Zoologist Lucas Miller, not to be confused with dancing quantum physicist Krister Shalm, performs at theaters, festivals and schools nationwide, aiming to make science fun for K-8 kids and their families. He’s appearing on Oxford’s family-friendly “Magic Carpet” series.
Northern Kentucky University Theatre, “When Pigs Fly” | 7:30 p.m. Fifth Third Bank Theater, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., downtown. 513-621-2787. DETAILS: Here’s a show with a concept near and dear to Cincinnatians’ hearts: flying pigs. The plot centers on Howard Crabtree (the show’s actual costume designer), who’s moved from Missouri to New York to put on musicals, only to have just about everything possible go wrong. Somewhere in the mix is his high school guidance counselor, who told him he’d succeed in theater only when – you guessed it – pigs fly. This show won several major prizes after it came out in 1996, including the Drama Desk Award for best musical revue and an Obie Award.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Pyramid Hill Art Fair | 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, 1763 Hamilton-Cleves Road, State Route 128, Hamilton. 513-868-1234. DETAILS: This annual two-day outdoor art fair features booths with paintings, ceramics, jewelry, woodwork, glass and other work from more than 60 artists, plus food trucks, art demonstrations and activities, and performances by several musical groups. Of particular note: The Butler Philharmonic‘s annual appearance has become so popular that the festival decided to feature the ensemble as the only performers on Sunday at 1 p.m., the festival’s second day (open 11 a.m.-4 p.m.).
DownTowne Listening Room, Kerry Patrick Clark | 7 p.m. Madeira Silverwood Presbyterian Church, 8000 Miami Ave., Madeira. 484-686-8087. DETAILS: This unique music series – focused on folk, pop and Americana performers in more quiet, intimate “house concert” settings – presents singer, songwriter and storyteller Kerry Patrick Clark, a former member of the New Christy Minstrels who’s been called a “musical Norman Rockwell.” Yes, he has. DTLR is an invitation-based series. Go online and request an invitation. Free snacks and soft drinks are provided, and the suggested donation goes entirely to the performers.
Sunday, Sept. 29
Findlay Market, Fall Food Fest | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Findlay Market, 1801 Race St, Over-the-Rhine. 513-665-4839. DETAILS: Cincinnati’s historic market house celebrates the harvest season with offerings by dozens of vendors, plus entertainment, seasonal décor and fundraising games and activities. There are arepas, pierogis, chili, dips and spreads, pies, breads. teas and much more. Tastings of the featured foods require tickets, sold in bundles of eight for $20 or 18 for $40.
Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, “Vespers” | 5 p.m. St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 100 Miami Ave., Terrace Park. 513-831-2052. DETAILS: Ensemble-in-residence at St. Thomas, the Bach Ensemble is well known for its concert series focused on cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. The ensemble’s orchestra and chorale open the 2024-25 season with “Abendlied” (“Evening Song”), a mid-19th century motet by Josef Rheinberger, plus Bach’s early cantata “Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis” (“I had much grief”), BWV 21.
Collegium Cincinnati, Baroque Chamber Music | 3:30 p.m. Knox Presbyterian Church, 3400 Michigan Ave., Hyde Park. 513-428-2224. DETAILS: Violinist Manami White, the Collegium’s associate artistic director, and harpsichordist Michael Unger are featured in this program of music by Baroque composers. This is a rescheduled event from last year’s series. A post-concert picnic courtesy of Knox Church starts around 5 p.m.
Chamber Music Yellow Springs, Trio Zimbalist | 4 p.m. Antioch University Midwest, 900 Dayton St., Yellow Springs. 937-374-8800. DETAILS: The Yellow Springs music series opens with a terrific young chamber group whose origins reside in Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Violinist Josef Špaček, cellist Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin and pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu all are graduates of Curtis, and their name pays tribute to the great violinist Efrem Zimbalist (father of the famous TV actor), who taught at and directed Curtis for many years. No word on what the trio’s program will be, but the ensemble recently released its first album, with trios by Mieczysław Weinberg, Lera Auerbach and Antonin Dvořák.
Monday, Sept. 30
Woodward Cinema, “Boom: A Film About The Sonics” | 7:30 p.m. Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 513-345-7981. DETAILS: A 1960s garage band from Spokane, Washington, The Sonics have become known as one of the most influential bands in rock history. This documentary features the band’s five original members in exploring how its music helped shape rock for decades to come.
Jazz at the Park, Jordan Pollard Trio | 6-9 p.m. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. DETAILS: Jazz pianist Jordan Pollard, a native Minnesotan who settled in Cincinnati 12 years ago and got a master’s degree at CCM, is well-known at area jazz clubs. She brings her trio to Washington Park’s Monday-night outdoor concert series, which continues through October.
Tuesday, Oct. 1
Jazz at the Square, Kelly Mackenzie-Thurley and Ben Tweedt | 5-8 p.m. Fountain Square, downtown. 513-621-4400. DETAILS: Another popular summer outdoor music series is winding up. The season’s next-to-last Jazz at the Square features two fine Cincinnati-area musicians: jazz vocalist Kelly MacKenzie-Thurley and pianist-composer-arranger Ben Tweedt. Grab something to eat and drink, and enjoy the sounds and scenes at the square.
Music Live@Lunch, Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass | 12:10 p.m. Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St., downtown. 513-621-1817. DETAILS: Vernon McIntyre is a veteran and something of a legend in the bluegrass music world. The five-member Appalachian Grass is a Cincinnati-based bluegrass band noted for its energetic instrumental rhythms, close-knit harmonies and humorous gimmicks. Their ferocious fiddling and picking might just raise the roof at Christ Church. Bring your lunch and hang onto your seat.
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