Red Door Project
It has been two years since the Red Door Project, a pop-up art gallery, issued its first call for submissions. The premise: Ask people, both artists and amateurs, to create and submit work around a new theme each month, then display and sell the work at rotating locations. The Contemporary Arts Center will host the pop-up gallery’s anniversary show Thursday, and there will be free cake for guests.
6-9 p.m. Thursday. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown. Free admission. For more details, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Happy National Chili Day!
Starting at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, WCPO.com staffers Mike Canan, Brian Mains and myself, Tasha Stewart, along with illustrator/cartoonist Kevin Necessary, are embarking on the Cincinnati Chili Trail in honor of National Chili Day. We’re starting at the Empress Chili in Alexandria, Kentucky, and ending at Blue Ash Chili. Check out the full route and join us on the trail! (Or simply visit your favorite chili parlor for your own celebration.) Here’s Julie Niesen Gosdin’s list of the top 9 chili parlors if you need some inspiration.
Art After Dark
It’s Final Friday and you know what that means: It’s time for the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Art After Dark! This month’s edition, “Romance, Revival & Rumba,” will feature Midwest Latino, with music by DJ AB and dance performances by Atrevidos Dance Company and Salsaires, and tours of new exhibition “The Etching Revival.”
5-9 p.m. Friday. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive. Free admission. For details, go to the event’s Facebook page.
Happy birthday, Ensemble Theatre!
Ensemble Theatre is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a celebration Friday featuring dinner by the bite, a performance by the cast of “The Marvelous Wonderettes” and --- drumroll, please -- a concert by Cincinnati’s own Over the Rhine! It’s a bit expensive, but if you can splurge, it would definitely be worth it.
7 p.m. Friday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $125 per person. www.ensemblecincinnati.org
Jungle Jim’s Whiskey Trail
The whiskey will be a-flowing on Jungle Jim’s Whiskey Trail this weekend. A “passport” includes eight samples and a custom cocktail, whiskey-themed foods (drool) and access to master distillers. There also will be “Whiskey 101” classes so you can learn more about the spirit, as well as other classes to learn more. Time to drink up!
7-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Jungle Jim’s, the Oscar Event Center, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield. General admission, $50 per day; VIP (only available for Friday), $100; non-drinker, $20 per day. http://junglejims.com/whiskeytrail
Shawn Wayans
Confession: I’ve loved Shawn Wayans since the days of “In Living Color,” when he was the hot DJ SW-1. Then he transitioned to acting and I realized that, just like everyone else in the Wayans family, he was funny, too. (“White Chicks” is still my secret guilty pleasure movie!) Wayans is bringing his stand-up act to the Funny Bone in Liberty Center this weekend.
7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. Funny Bone Comedy Club, Liberty Center, 7100 Foundry Row, Liberty Township. $30. http://liberty.funnybone.com
Wussy Comes Home
Cincinnati band Wussy has received a lot of love from critics, mainstream music outlets and -- of course -- its own hometown. Now it’s poised to break out on the indie rock scene with its upcoming release, “Forever Sounds,” due out March 4. (Read more about it here.) The band will play a homecoming pre-release show Saturday at the Woodward Theater.
9 p.m. Saturday. Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. $15 advance, $20 day of show. www.woodwardtheater.com
Arts Sampler = Free Arts for All
This weekend is your chance to indulge yourself in the region’s fabulous arts scene. The Macy’s Arts Sampler,presented by ArtsWave, is bringing a slew of free arts performances and hands-on activities to various venues around Greater Cincinnati. Yes, FREE. The activities range from events such as a sneak peek of the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater’s production of “Avenue Q” to a concert by the Rabbit Hash String Band at Behringer-Crawford Museum to belly dancing at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Here are our top 9 Arts Sampler picks for the weekend.
Saturday-Sunday. Multiple venues. Get the whole Arts Sampler schedule at www.theartswave.org/sampler or download the 2016 Sampler app.
Oscar Night
It’s time for the Oscars! The biggest night of the film awards season is on Sunday. (Shameless plug: You can watch on ABC starting at 7 p.m.) Cincinnati will be watching closely to see if “Carol,” the movie shot in the Queen City starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, takes home gold. There are multiple parties around town if you would rather not watch the Oscars alone. The Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission is hosting a party at the Esquire Theatre in Clifton, and the Cincinnati Film Society and OutReels Cincinnati are hosting a party at Tillie’s Lounge in Northside. (People Watching Cooperatively’s annual officially sanctioned Hometown Hollywood 2016 Oscar party is unfortunately sold out.)
- The Big Show: 7 p.m. Sunday. Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. Presented by Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission. $12. www.esquiretheatre.com
- Oscar Party: 6 p.m. Sunday. Tillie’s Lounge, 4042 Hamilton Ave., Northside. Presented by the Cincinnati Film Society and OutReels Cincinnati. Free admission. For details, visit the event’s Facebook page.
