The days are growing shorter, and the hummingbirds are heading south, so fall is on the way despite the persistent 90s. Our cultural organizations have already got their seasons in full gear. Up this week: a festival of films, new ballet works, a Tuesday chamber music showdown … and the chicken dance. Prost!
Wednesday, Sept. 16
“Take Me Home” is the main feature on Cindependent’s opening gala night at the Mariemont Theatre.
Cindependent Film Festival | 5 p.m. Mariemont Theatre, Mariemont. 513-272-2002. DETAILS: Remember a year or so ago when people who knew nothing about Cincinnati guffawed when the Sundance Film Festival named the city as a finalist for its new location? This weekend shows one reason the Sundance folks thought differently. The Cindependent Film Festival has built a national reputation as a showcase for independent films and filmmakers. This year’s event is bolstered by Cindependent’s merger with LADD’s Over-the-Rhine Film Festival and the paint-barely-dry renovation of the Mariemont Theatre as its new home. The festivities kick off with a gala, followed by an official ribbon-cutting and the festival’s first two films, including Sundance winner “Take Me Home.”
Thursday through Saturday, the festival moves to Memorial Hall in Over-the-Rhine for full days of films (more than 80 features and shorts), workshops, readings, master classes, speakers and parties, then returns Sunday to Mariemont to wrap it all up. Several ticket options, large and small, are available.
Thursday, Sept. 17
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati | 4-10 p.m. Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove, downtown. DETAILS: You can’t swing a schnitzel ’round these parts in late summer without hitting an Oktoberfest celebration. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati isn’t the oldest of them, but it is the biggest and, like our Labor Day fireworks, it’s marking a milestone – its 50th anniversary. Toast the occasion with beers from 21 brewers, from local favorites to German mainstays, fetch some wursts and take in live entertainment from polka to punk across five stages. The usual events – the Gemütlichkeit Games, stein hoisting competition, 14K and 7K races, the running of the wieners and, yes, the world’s largest chicken dance – are spread through the weekend. Best of all, the riverfront location means no street closures. Repeats 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
Friday, Sept. 18
Market Grün | 6-9 p.m. Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Clifton. 513-497-2860. DETAILS: Market Grün – Green Market – is a quarterly showcase for regional sustainable businesses, nature-inspired artists, nonprofits and related small businesses. It’s hosted once again at the CCAC.
Caffè Vivace, Joe Alterman Trio | 7 & 9 p.m. Caffè Vivace, Walnut Hills. 513-601-9897. DETAILS: Caffè Vivace pays tribute to the memory of one of its most devoted supporters, James Clark, with the jazz music he loved. The first memorial birthday concert in his honor features the Joe Alterman Trio. Alterman, a pianist who blends swing, soul and blues, has eight albums to his name and has performed at big-name venues like the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland and the Blue Note.
Cincinnati Ballet, New Works | 7:30 p.m. Jarson-Kaplan Theater, Aronoff Center, downtown; 513-621-5282. DETAILS: Cincinnati Ballet once again proves it’s possible to make new art old hat with its annual Kaplan New Works Series. This year’s overarching theme is the influence of visual art with choreography by Robert Bondara, Anne Jung, Mthuthuzeli November and Melody Walsh. November’s and Walsh’s original works were inspired by the work of Cincinnati artists Gee Horton and Michael Stillion. Seven additional performances through Sept. 26.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Norwood International Art Show | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Forest Avenue between Washington Avenue and Smith Road, Norwood. DETAILS: Norwood Together organizes this annual juried art show as part of Welcoming Week, a nationwide effort that builds community connections and affirms the importance of welcoming places in achieving collective prosperity. Now in its fifth year, the Norwood International Art Show is expanding to include hands-on activities and wine tasting.
City Flea | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine. DETAILS: It’s the last Flea of the summer, skating in four days before the equinox, and the second to last in Washington Park this year. As usual, you’ll find plenty of crafty goodness available.
Freedom Center, “Lest We Forget” | 2 p.m. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, downtown. 513-333-7500. DETAILS: The Freedom Center puts the spotlight on developmental disabilities with a screening of “Lest We Forget: Silent Voices” followed by a panel discussion with local experts and advocates for the developmentally disabled. The film examines the history of institutionalization in the U.S. and shares firsthand accounts from individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, advocates and professionals.
Caffè Vivace, Ann Hampton Callaway | 7 & 9 p.m. Caffè Vivace, 975 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills. 513-601-9897. DETAILS: You’d think one strong act would be enough for a club’s weekend, but not for Caffè Vivace. On Saturday, it welcomes singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer Ann Hampton Callaway. Callaway’s work has earned her a heap of honors for her own songs – she’s been inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame – and a heap of praise for her interpretations of the Great American Songbook.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
CSO Chamber Players | 7 p.m. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine; 513-381-3300. DETAILS: The Cincinnati Symphony kicks off its 2026-27 Winstead Chamber Series with an eclectic program of generally sunny music: “El Ajiaco” by Alyssa Mercedes Mena, who’s still in her 20s; “Umoja” by Valerie Coleman; Carl Nielsen’s “Serenata in vano;” Keeril Makan’s “2;” and Brahms’s String Sextet No. 1. More than a dozen CSO players perform.
“Blueprint” by Caroline Shaw was written as a 2016 commission.
Ariel Quartet | 7:30 p.m. Werner Recital Hall, CCM, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: The school year is well under way at the College-Conservatory of Music, and the Ariel, the school’s faculty quartet-in-residence, has its first program teed up. It’s dubbed “Blueprints,” a nod to the central work, “Blueprint” by Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning Caroline Shaw. That 2016 piece is framed by Haydn’s Op. 33 quartet “The Bird” and the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. CCM faculty pianist Liza Stepanova joins the group for that.
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