CINCINNATI - Looking for something to do this weekend? 9 News teamed up with CityBeat to give you the top nine picks!
1. The City Flea
Before June 2011, the concept of a true “urban flea market” — one not defined by moth-ridden attic flotsam and worn furniture — was one foreign to Cincinnatians, even amidst a bubbling arts and culture scene.
Now in its second year, The City Flea has changed all that, anchoring creatives of all varieties from across the city with a curated urban market teeming with life, color and artistic verve.
Get details on the event here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/event-the-city-flea) .
2. Covedale Arts and Crafts Fair
Soak up the last few days of summer scoring deals and to-die-for pieces at Covedale Center for the Performing Arts’ 11th Annual Summer Arts and Crafts Fair. The outdoor crafts sale features jewelry, visual art, photography, ceramics, pottery, enamel-painted iron tiles and just about every type of art or craft a human could possibly think of.
Using 60 local artists who keep the proceeds from the day, the fair is an excellent way to support others in the community.
FInd out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/covedale-center-for-the-performing-arts-11th-annual-summer-arts-and-crafts-fair) .
3. Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion
Sometimes being family doesn’t mean you have to share the same last name; the 24th annual Midwest Black Family Reunion celebrates shared cultural traditions, historic strengths and long-standing values among the African-American community.
Enjoy Gospel and R&B performances, guest speakers, a parade, targeted job fair, children’s activities and ethnic food vendors
Click here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/event-midwest-regional-black-family-reunion-celebration) for more information.
4. Sunday Funday at the Taft Museum of Art
No! Wild animals from the Cincinnati Zoo at the Taft Museum of Art? Yes indeed, on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., the Museum’s Third Sunday Funday for youth and families kicks off with a self-guided tour to find animals in the art on view. The “Art Cart” will be fitted with materials replicating the texture of different animal skins with the opportunity to not only make a funny animal puppet but also to partake in face painting — if you want to look like an animal yourself! At 2 p.m. actual live animals from the Cincinnati Zoo arrive with their handlers.
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/sunday-funday-at-the-taft-museum-of-art) .
5. Cincinnati Belly Dance Convention in Sharonville
Conventions are typically more suitable for a business kind of crowd. They’re usually pretty boring, the only real (fleeting) enjoyment being the free samples and plastic Frisbees you get. By the end of it all, you’re just more pregnant with the many prophecies of businesses you’ve never heard of. The Cincinnati Belly Dance Convention is different, though, as you can probably imagine.
The Sharonville Convention Center will come alive with the colorful influences of belly dancing culture. The weekend-long convention will feature two shows, a competition and many different workshops put on by the best in the biz, catering to all levels of belly dancing ability.
Get more details here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/cincinnati-belly-dance-convention) .
6. Chicken Lays an EGG fashion show
If you’ve never seen a Chicken Lays an EGG fashion show, consider yourself deprived. This Saturday, the ladies of the Northside-based thrift/consignment store will host another one of their seasonal gender-bending festive fashion spectacles in the Northside Tavern’s back room as part of the neighborhood’s annual Pride Festival, which happens only blocks away at Hoffner Park on Hamilton Avenue.
Using non-traditional “oddball freaks and uniquely styled models,” the Chicken ladies demonstrate the diversity of their clientele with cat-walking characters of every size, age and gender affiliation.
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/event-northside-pride-festival-chicken-lays-an-egg-fashion-show) .
7. Bonnie Raitt and Mavin Staples in Kettering
Head up to Kettering’s outdoor “mini-shed” Fraze Pavilion this weekend for a very rare chance to catch two of the most influential female musical artists of our times. Both Rock and Roll of Famers, Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples represent an impressive range of American Blues/Rock/R&B history.
Raitt’s probably the most known to the mainstream for her string of hit albums, singles and Grammys, and, while Staples has been reintroduced to a wider audience thanks to recent recordings like her acclaimed Jeff Tweedy-produced 2010 album You Are Not Alone on her current label home (the hip Anti Records), her contributions with Staples Singers were crucial.
Though it's a bit of a trek for most, it'll be worth the drive. Click here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/music-bonnie-raitt-and-mavis-staples) for more information.
8. "Nothing" returns to the Tri-State
Although there’s typically nothing to write about theatrically speaking this time of year, "Nothing" is something worth seeing. It’s back for another round of performances at the Clifton Performance Theatre, opening on Friday. Ben, a teenager with autism, is the subject of this solo work, featuring Jon Kovach. Struggling through bullying at school, he retreats into technology, but eventually builds up enough courage to venture out of his comfort zone — although it also puts him in danger. The show has had award-winning productions in Europe, and it received a League of Cincinnati Theatres award for video, sound and computer effects during the Fringe.
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/onstage-nothing) .
9. Kevin Brennan at Go Bananas
Comedian Kevin Brennan is a little anti-establishment. It’s only during the past few years, though, that Brennan has looked to politics and current events for some of his jokes.
“Ten years ago I thought I looked too young to have any kind of opinion. When you look young and start talking about politics, people are like ‘talk about cartoons,’ or ‘do jokes about getting drunk.’ Now I think I look old enough to joke about politics.”
He performs this weekend at Go Bananas in Montgomery. Get more information here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/comedy-kevin-brennan) .
Other things to do in the Tri-State:
Silver Ladle, the latest venture of Tim Lambrinides, great-grandson of Skyline Chili founder Nicholas Lambrinides, is a hearty “fast casual” restaurant serving up sandwiches, soups, salads and, of course, its own unique twist on Cincinnati-style chili and coneys.
Read CityBeat's review here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/silver-ladle-doles-out-a-family-legacy) .
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