This Place Matters 2011 - Vote OTR!

In case you've missed this, OTR is in the running for a major grant from the National Trust. We're currently in FIRST PLACE but we need your help to stay there!

From the OverTheRhine blog:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s This Place Matters 2011 Community Challenge kicked off June 1 at 8am and will end at 11:59pm, June 30. 100 local preservation organizations nationwide were selected to compete. First, second and third places will win $25,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. The Over-the-Rhine Foundation is fortunate enough to be one of the 100 candidates nationwide and one of only three from the state of Ohio.

If you haven't already, VOTE!  

For more information visit the National Trust website - http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/this-place-matters/community-challenge/places/over-the-rhine.html

Poke Journal! Please submit!

I've been meaning to write about my new project all month! We keep busy over here. :)

Besides exploring the wonders of Cincinnati, another huge passion of mine is art (and specifically poetry, my major in college). I'm now trying to see if I can bridge these two passions with a handmade, Cincinnati-based literary journal called Poke.

All the details for Poke are on the journal's Facebook page, but the gist is this: to take part, all an artist has to do is hand-make 10 copies of his/her work.

That's it!

There will only be 10 copies of any issue. Proceeds from sales of the journal will go toward a local cause or institution, determined by the community.

But I really really need your help, because without submissions this project tanks. MiCA 12/v has been an incredible partner in this project, so I'd love to create a fantastic inaugural issue to make OTR proud!

Submissions for this issue are due at Final Friday, and you do not have to live anywhere near OTR/Cincinnati to submit (though you do have to get down to MiCA to drop them off). See alllll the glorious deets here: http://www.facebook.com/PokeJournal?sk=info

Please let me know if you have questions, and spread the word! That first deadline is comin' up fast!  :D

Was messing around yesterday on our roof and took this panoramic.

Click through to view the full size image on Flickr!

CityKin: Riot Recollection

CityKin: Riot Recollection

I wanted to share this post from CityKin - if you don't read his blog I highly suggest it, as he's been in OTR for quite some time and I appreciate the thought and perspective he puts into his posts.

a ride through the city

We post this on Twitter and Facebook the other day, but I figured I'd post it here for anyone who missed it. Another experiment with our GoPro camera, this time mounted to the roof of the car while we made a pad thai run up to Teak.

Casino construction

While I was out on my bike Saturday I rode along the edge of the new casino site and took a few pictures on my phone. They're certainly moving along with excavation and the removal of buildings.

Still unsure what I think about the casino project in general, but its well underway so I'll just hope it brings something positive to the area.

Views from a Commute, part 2

Hi Mike!

When parading around with my camera, Mike made the mistake of leaving the door to Mica 12/v propped open. :) (He permitted me to take a photo, fear not.) I love this guy, and I love walking by his and his wife's gorgeous shop in OTR!

Do I need to tell you how anxious I am for more of this photo-friendly weather?

Views from a Commute, part 1

Remember when the weather was startlingly gorgeous? Lasted about 15 minutes? Well, I managed to grab the camera during that infinitesimal window and snap a few pictures of my walk around OTR.

Look for a few more tomorrow, to tide us over until the sun pops out for a bit longer.

Bockfest 2011

This weekend was Bockfest in OTR, a yearly event that celebrates the brewing heritage of OTR and (hopefully) the beginnings of Spring. From the sounds of it the celebration of the brewing heritage was in full swing, but the weather wasn't so kind.

We had a rather jam packed weekend so we didn't make it to much of Bockfest, however we did make it for the parade and managed to take a few shots on my phone (wasn't about to drag our DSLR out in the pouring rain).

Time Lapse

A 2 hour time lapse of the life outside our window last night

sunny blue skies

A scene we haven't seen too often since winter set in a few months back.

Verdin Bell Event Centre

Our New Year's Day was every bit as gorgeous as our New Year's Eve, as we attended the wedding of my friend Alisa to her awesome husband, Adam.

This first photo is from St. Teresa Avila, in the west side. The rest are from Verdin Bell Event Centre, a stone's throw from our home in Over-the-Rhine.

I use words like "gorgeous" and "beautiful" too often, but that's part of what falling in love with Cincinnati is about. Alisa was a jaw-dropping bride, and her choice of church and reception hall were spot-on... what phenomenal locations!

Verdin Bell Event Centre: http://www.belleventcentre.com/asp/index.asp

An American in Paris Ball: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Happy New Year! We're back!

Ahhhh. Dan and I needed a long holiday. Plus, throughout most of December, we weren't doing much of anything worth blogging about, so what better time to take a breather?

On New Year's Eve, we attended the American in Paris Ball at Music Hall.

We wanted to do something just for ourselves, as we'd spent the better part of December with family and friends. (Absolutely a blessing, but an exhausting one!) We thought it'd be lovely to walk through our backyard (er, Washington Park) to Music Hall to ring in the new year.

The night began with a fantastic concert of Gershwin pieces, including "Rhapsody in Blue" with Michael Chertock as pianist. Fantastic! There were also some vocal cameos by two CCM students-- an awesome addition to the Broadway pieces.

Afterwards we shuffled into the ballroom for a seated dinner, open bar, dancing and champagne toast. We made great new friends at our table, including Cincinnati's own Marilyn Harris. How great to meet her and chat all evening! Our entire table was full of gregarious, fun people.

I can only hope that all of 2011 looks this beautiful.

I do have to throw one small wrench in the gear: Dan and I were the youngest people there by ~40 years. ...Okay, there were a few other people our age, but we were definitely in the minority. :) Didn't bother me at all, but something to note for the future!

We closed Music Hall down. An incredible event at a gorgeous venue. Happy New Year, everyone!

An American in Paris Ball: http://cincinnatisymphony.org/Content.php?id=55

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: http://cincinnatisymphony.org/Home.php

SnowTR

Are you enjoying the first real peek at winter in Cincinnati?





I can't believe that there aren't any results when you Google "Snowver-the-Rhine." C'mon guys, we're missing a prime opportunity here!

Suders Art Store

I needed to visit an art supply store for a couple of the more hands-on Christmas presents I'm working on. Dan thought this would be a great opportunity to visit Suders, which is directly in our backyard (er, parking lot).

What a fantastic store! Suders is packed wall-to-wall with a rich variety of art supplies. Dan, as a student of Miami U's art program, has seen the inside of plenty of art stores in his career, and he seemed truly impressed by the little shop.

I say "little" but this shop is actually quite expansive. The main supply room seems small because it's so full of materials, but there is another room full of easels and the like, as well as a massive back room with work space.

The only problem we had came down to using one of the Gateway Quarter gift cards. These things have been a pain in my arse, if I do say so myself. The problem lies in how infrequently people use them-- ours was the first card that Suders had seen in nine months, so they had trouble activating it. This is not the first time we've run into this inconvenience: Senate does not take them "yet," and Little Mahatma doesn't accept them at all.

But that's hardly Suders' fault. The cashier managed to get it to work finally, and we were in no hurry. I still walked out with an armful of high quality art supplies and a high hope to return soon.

Suders Art Store: http://www.sudersartstore.com/

Vote!

A little over two hours until polls close!

Incredulity Improv

I was involved with improvisational comedy throughout my time at college, and for a few years afterward. That eventually tapered off because there's a very, very sparse improv scene in Cincinnati.

However, the Queen City is fortunate to have Incredulity. Incredulity has been around for a few years and has performed at the Fringe Festival; they currently have an ongoing gig at Grammer's in Over-the-Rhine.

Incredulity has a rotating cast, including two very talented friends of mine: Alison Strickland and Dave Powell.

I do not say this lightly: no member of their cast was carrying the show, and no member was clearly struggling to keep up. As a veteran improviser I can tell you it's almost always the case that there are chinks in the armor as well as stage hogs, but Incredulity comes off as a team with a strong bond, a sense of trust, and the ability to share a stage.

The only real disappointment in the performance was the audience turnout. As a city full of art nuts, we need to be showing more love to the improv side of theater. Improvisers rarely make much money (and Incredulity's shows are free)-- they live on laughter, applause and attention.

Keep up with Incredulity's show listings (mostly at Grammer's) on their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=113157735370717

Queen City is Haunted

This past Saturday night, Dan and I embarked upon the "Queen City is Haunted" tour, by the same team who runs the Civil War tour, Newport Gangster tour, etc.

To tell you the unfortunate truth, I didn't love this tour. It ended up taking 2hrs, and I felt that only maybe half an hour of that was actually telling ghost stories. There were many conversations about how they found the stories or how they didn't believe the stories, about the paranormal teams and psychics that they teamed up with... but when they got right down to it I found there to be very little substance on this tour.


One moment that particularly frustrated me: the tour guides explained that after excavation began on Washington Park, the crew was forced to stop because they started finding dead bodies. I am fairly confident that this was actually a planned stage of the park renovation, as it was well known that the Washington Park was once a cemetery. If that's the case, then a large chunk of the tour was very misleading.


Other stories began but never really concluded. There was a large amount of setup about the cholera epidemics that once swept Cincinnati, and while the guides insisted that would play a role in later stories, we never heard about it again. There was a good portion of time spent talking about the hospital, asylum and medical college that operated in Over-the-Rhine, but there never ended up being any stories about related spirits or hauntings. Murders, yes! Ghosts, no.

I think Dan and I would have been better off taking the "Newport is Haunted" tour, because at least we would have learned something new about an area of town we know significantly less about. Because we'd already done the "Queen City Underground" tour, we'd seen the spaces and buildings that this tour touched on, and there was very little to keep us interested other than a view of Music Hall at night.


NOTE: This coming weekend, the tour is actually going to go into Music Hall at night, which -- dangit!-- would be a sight worth paying for if you ask me! Even if you don't spot any specters, I'd consider taking the tour on Halloween weekend!

DOUBLE NOTE: Overall I really enjoy these tours and the Queen City Underground team. I think the attention they're bringing to this part of town is incredible. If you haven't taken any of their tours I highly recommend it, but this one wasn't for me. I think their real forte is the history lessons, not the spook-outs, and I'd recommend you stick with those.

Queen City is Haunted: http://queencityishaunted.com/
Queen City Underground: http://www.queencityunderground.com/