Green Corner to be new Kennedy Heights ‘third place’
A nondescript former gas station at the corner of Montgomery Road and Tyne Avenue will soon become the Green Corner Studios and Marketplace, Kennedy Heights’ newest “third place”. Over the […]
Arts + Culture
Latest in Arts + Culture
Japanese community remembers 2008, toasts to 2009 at Japan America Society’s annual bonenkai
The Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati (JASGC) knows how to throw a good party.On December 8, at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati’s Japanese and American business communities remembered the good of 2008, forgot the bad, and looked forward to 2009 at JASGC’s annual bonenkai.A bonenkai – literally “a party to forget the year’s troubles” in Japanese – is de rigueur for organizations in Japan. JASGC first introduced this yearly cultural rite of passage to Cincinnati 20 years ago, and it’s still enjoyed today.Building on the successes of 2008, in 2009 JASGC hopes “to reach a broader group of people in the community,” says Carrie Bogner, JASGC (position).This year’s bonenkai hosted over 140 guests, featured entertainment by award-winning, local violinist Kaori Matsui, who has been on NPR’s podcast From the Top over 100 times; and the Sakura Ladies Chorus, who have performed at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Asian Cultural Festival and the Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund’s Art Sampler Weekend. JASGC’s 2008 bonenkai was sponsored by All Nippon Airways, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Cincinnati Symphony, Fifth Third Bank and Pioneer Automotive Technologies, among others.More information on JASGC and its exciting cross-cultural and business opportunities can be found here.Writer: Jonathan DeHartSource: The Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati
Video The HYPE about moving to Cincinnati
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's HYPE (Harnessing Young Professional Energy) Initiative uses the power of social media to create a compelling case for living, working and playing in Cincinnati. Even in a strained economy, creative talent is choosing location over jobs in determining where to live. Here, HYPE demonstrates why Cincinnati can deliver both careers and quality of life.
The Rusty Griswolds belt out tunes from the 80s at the first Rusty Ball
The Rusty Griswolds are a wildly popular local 80s cover band with a big heart.On November 22, The Griswolds rocked out for an energetic crowd at the first Rusty Ball, held in the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. And this show did more than bring back big hair (which none of The Griswolds actually have). The Rusty Ball was a charity event, staged by The Griswolds themselves, who even footed much of the bill to put it on. With their talent and a decade’s worth of music to draw on, The Griswolds raised money for nearly 60 charities, from ticket sales, corporate donations and auctions held during the show. Attendees could choose which charities their money went to. After the success of the first Rusty Ball, “members of the band have already been approached by many local companies who are pledging donations for next year's event,” says Brian Keenan, Co-Founder of Openfield Creative, who designed the website and consulted with The Griswolds with creatively marketing the event.“We were looking for a creative project of our own,” Keenan says. “When we heard this idea float by, we jumped on it.”The Rusty Ball benefited from additional support from Give Back Cincinnati, Duke Energy, Derf Magazine and Frost Brown Todd, LLC, among others.
Soapicks December 2-8
Mark your calendars! The Soapbox crew is hosting the first annual Bubbles and Holly Holiday Spectacular on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at the downtown Cincinnati Athletic Club located at 111 Shillito Pl. The party starts after work at 6:00pm and all Soapbox readers, writers and well wishers are invited. Music and videos will be provided by Soapbox’s own Mix Master, Casey Coston. December is here and you all know what that means: letters to Santa, crowded mall parking lots and a collection of unique winter activities. This week enjoy CCM dancers shakin' it, a Winter Yoo-Hoo of gifts, Santa rappelling and a NVISION fashion show! Oh and a reminder to all you artists out there, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival is now accepting submissions!!
Downtown library busiest in country
For the fourth straight year, the Main branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has been ranked as the busiest library building in the nation by the Public Library Association.The branch circulated more than 4 million items, receiving nearly 10 percent of that total from user holds for materials such as books, CDs, and DVDs.With recent improvements such as the technology center and teen spot, circulation is on pace to reach 4.7 million this year.The Public Library Association compared nearly 1,000 public libraries from the United States using 2007 circulation statistics.Read the full article here.
Honoring King Records includes future, past
Local music institution King Records was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a ceremony and historical marker unveiling in front of its former headquarters at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Evanston.Launched by Syd Nathan in 1943 as a country label, King eventually got in on the ground floor of the burgeoning rhythm and blues market.The company soon grew into the nation's sixth-largest label, and was ahead of its time in putting African Americans into positions of leadership in recording, pressing, designing, warehousing and shipping – all of which was done on site.Following last summer's display of King Records: A Cincinnati Legacy, a collection of King Records artifacts and memorabilia exhibited at the Main Library, Evanston Community Council president Anzora Adkins and Liz Blume, director of the Community Building Institute, discussed the idea of starting a museum.A site on Montgomery Road, near the Flavor of Arts Studio, was chosen as a more feasible location than the old building, which is landlocked and privately owned.Designed by SHP Leading Design, the new building will combine the arts education programming of Flavor of Arts with a memorial space that can be used by the community and a recording studio that will provide apprenticeship opportunities to neighborhood youth.Cincinnati city councilmember John Cranley helped lead the effort to recognize King Records.Cranley says that the new marker, and the words upon it, validate the company's importance to national music history."It is a great tragedy that most Cincinnatians don't know about the great history that happened here," he says. "That has to change. We're going to honor our history."At last week's council meeting, a motion was adopted directing the Cincinnati Historic Preservation Office to execute a local designation landmark study on the old company property, which could eventually make it a local historic landmark and protect it from demolition."Our work will not be complete until we get this building back," Cranley says. "This building is holy, sacred ground."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Xavier University Photography by Scott Beseler
Board hopes event spurs interest in Emery Theatre
After a decade of dormancy, the board of the Emery Center Corp. hopes that the November 23 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards spurs interest in raising the $3 million needed to make the historic theater functional.Built in 1911 by Samuel Hannaford and Sons and owned by the University of Cincinnati, the Emery Center board has been busy preparing renovation cost estimates, performing valuation studies, demolishing and removing debris, and generally freshening up the space.With parking available in the nearby Gateway garage and the thriving surrounding arts scene, many see a need for a 1,600-seat theater like the Emery.It's still unclear if the city will have money in the budget to support the project, or if a proposed theater at Fifth and Race will materialize.Read the full article here.
CPA honors excellence in education, renovation
Over 100 members and guests were in attendance as the Cincinnati Preservation Association presented its 2008 Preservation Awards at its annual meeting on November 9.Chuck Lohre and Janet Groeber of Clifton were honored with the CPA Education Award for sharing their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian home, the Boulter House, and for raising awareness of preserving Cincinnati's Modern architecture legacy.Lohre is also a co-founder and co-chair of Cincinnati Form Follows Function (cf3), a non-profit Modern design forum.Winners of the Rehabilitation Awards included: Bishop's Place, Clifton: A Chateauesque-style house completely restored. Ken Hughes of Decorative Restorations, Steve Lichtenberg of Lichtenberg Landscaping, Jason Reinhold of Land & Stone, and Kimball Derrick.Cincinnati Observatory Center, Mount Lookout: The completion of an eight-year restoration of the National Historic Landmark. Craig Niemi of the Cincinnati Observatory Center and Gus Thierry of ICS Construction.Dillon House, Madeira: A mid-century Modern house that was saved from the teardown trend and restored. Vernon's Corner, Over-the-Rhine: A five-year renovation project that has resulted in new apartments and an art gallery. Vernon Rader and Mark Bernhardt, Don Beck of Beck Architecture, and Mark Brunner.Verona Historic Residences, Walnut Hills: Renovation of historic apartment house into 76 luxury condominiums. Ed Horgan of Campus Management and Denis L. Back of Denis L. Back & Associaties. At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a special Design Excellence Award was presented to architect Natalie de Blois.As the lead designer of the Terrace Plaza Hotel, widely considered Cincinnati's greatest mid-century Modern building, de Blois was recognized for her significant contribution to design during a time of blatant discrimination against women architects.De Blois was involved in approximately 48 projects at the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designing such notable structures as New York City's Union Carbide and Pepsi Cola buildings, the Connecticut General Life Insurance Building in Bloomfield Hills, CT, and a Hilton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Margo Warminski, preservation director, Cincinnati Preservation Association
Japanese community remembers 2008, toasts to 2009 at Japan America Society’s annual bonenkai
The Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati (JASGC) knows how to throw a good party.On December 8, at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati’s Japanese and American business communities remembered the good of 2008, forgot the bad, and looked forward to 2009 at JASGC’s annual bonenkai.A bonenkai – literally “a party to forget the year’s troubles” in Japanese – is de rigueur for organizations in Japan. JASGC first introduced this yearly cultural rite of passage to Cincinnati 20 years ago, and it’s still enjoyed today.Building on the successes of 2008, in 2009 JASGC hopes “to reach a broader group of people in the community,” says Carrie Bogner, JASGC (position).This year’s bonenkai hosted over 140 guests, featured entertainment by award-winning, local violinist Kaori Matsui, who has been on NPR’s podcast From the Top over 100 times; and the Sakura Ladies Chorus, who have performed at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Asian Cultural Festival and the Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund’s Art Sampler Weekend. JASGC’s 2008 bonenkai was sponsored by All Nippon Airways, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Cincinnati Symphony, Fifth Third Bank and Pioneer Automotive Technologies, among others.More information on JASGC and its exciting cross-cultural and business opportunities can be found here.Writer: Jonathan DeHartSource: The Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati
Video The HYPE about moving to Cincinnati
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's HYPE (Harnessing Young Professional Energy) Initiative uses the power of social media to create a compelling case for living, working and playing in Cincinnati. Even in a strained economy, creative talent is choosing location over jobs in determining where to live. Here, HYPE demonstrates why Cincinnati can deliver both careers and quality of life.
The Rusty Griswolds belt out tunes from the 80s at the first Rusty Ball
The Rusty Griswolds are a wildly popular local 80s cover band with a big heart.On November 22, The Griswolds rocked out for an energetic crowd at the first Rusty Ball, held in the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. And this show did more than bring back big hair (which none of The Griswolds actually have). The Rusty Ball was a charity event, staged by The Griswolds themselves, who even footed much of the bill to put it on. With their talent and a decade’s worth of music to draw on, The Griswolds raised money for nearly 60 charities, from ticket sales, corporate donations and auctions held during the show. Attendees could choose which charities their money went to. After the success of the first Rusty Ball, “members of the band have already been approached by many local companies who are pledging donations for next year's event,” says Brian Keenan, Co-Founder of Openfield Creative, who designed the website and consulted with The Griswolds with creatively marketing the event.“We were looking for a creative project of our own,” Keenan says. “When we heard this idea float by, we jumped on it.”The Rusty Ball benefited from additional support from Give Back Cincinnati, Duke Energy, Derf Magazine and Frost Brown Todd, LLC, among others.
Soapicks December 2-8
Mark your calendars! The Soapbox crew is hosting the first annual Bubbles and Holly Holiday Spectacular on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at the downtown Cincinnati Athletic Club located at 111 Shillito Pl. The party starts after work at 6:00pm and all Soapbox readers, writers and well wishers are invited. Music and videos will be provided by Soapbox’s own Mix Master, Casey Coston. December is here and you all know what that means: letters to Santa, crowded mall parking lots and a collection of unique winter activities. This week enjoy CCM dancers shakin' it, a Winter Yoo-Hoo of gifts, Santa rappelling and a NVISION fashion show! Oh and a reminder to all you artists out there, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival is now accepting submissions!!
Downtown library busiest in country
For the fourth straight year, the Main branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has been ranked as the busiest library building in the nation by the Public Library Association.The branch circulated more than 4 million items, receiving nearly 10 percent of that total from user holds for materials such as books, CDs, and DVDs.With recent improvements such as the technology center and teen spot, circulation is on pace to reach 4.7 million this year.The Public Library Association compared nearly 1,000 public libraries from the United States using 2007 circulation statistics.Read the full article here.
Honoring King Records includes future, past
Local music institution King Records was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a ceremony and historical marker unveiling in front of its former headquarters at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Evanston.Launched by Syd Nathan in 1943 as a country label, King eventually got in on the ground floor of the burgeoning rhythm and blues market.The company soon grew into the nation's sixth-largest label, and was ahead of its time in putting African Americans into positions of leadership in recording, pressing, designing, warehousing and shipping – all of which was done on site.Following last summer's display of King Records: A Cincinnati Legacy, a collection of King Records artifacts and memorabilia exhibited at the Main Library, Evanston Community Council president Anzora Adkins and Liz Blume, director of the Community Building Institute, discussed the idea of starting a museum.A site on Montgomery Road, near the Flavor of Arts Studio, was chosen as a more feasible location than the old building, which is landlocked and privately owned.Designed by SHP Leading Design, the new building will combine the arts education programming of Flavor of Arts with a memorial space that can be used by the community and a recording studio that will provide apprenticeship opportunities to neighborhood youth.Cincinnati city councilmember John Cranley helped lead the effort to recognize King Records.Cranley says that the new marker, and the words upon it, validate the company's importance to national music history."It is a great tragedy that most Cincinnatians don't know about the great history that happened here," he says. "That has to change. We're going to honor our history."At last week's council meeting, a motion was adopted directing the Cincinnati Historic Preservation Office to execute a local designation landmark study on the old company property, which could eventually make it a local historic landmark and protect it from demolition."Our work will not be complete until we get this building back," Cranley says. "This building is holy, sacred ground."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Xavier University Photography by Scott Beseler
Board hopes event spurs interest in Emery Theatre
After a decade of dormancy, the board of the Emery Center Corp. hopes that the November 23 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards spurs interest in raising the $3 million needed to make the historic theater functional.Built in 1911 by Samuel Hannaford and Sons and owned by the University of Cincinnati, the Emery Center board has been busy preparing renovation cost estimates, performing valuation studies, demolishing and removing debris, and generally freshening up the space.With parking available in the nearby Gateway garage and the thriving surrounding arts scene, many see a need for a 1,600-seat theater like the Emery.It's still unclear if the city will have money in the budget to support the project, or if a proposed theater at Fifth and Race will materialize.Read the full article here.
CPA honors excellence in education, renovation
Over 100 members and guests were in attendance as the Cincinnati Preservation Association presented its 2008 Preservation Awards at its annual meeting on November 9.Chuck Lohre and Janet Groeber of Clifton were honored with the CPA Education Award for sharing their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian home, the Boulter House, and for raising awareness of preserving Cincinnati's Modern architecture legacy.Lohre is also a co-founder and co-chair of Cincinnati Form Follows Function (cf3), a non-profit Modern design forum.Winners of the Rehabilitation Awards included: Bishop's Place, Clifton: A Chateauesque-style house completely restored. Ken Hughes of Decorative Restorations, Steve Lichtenberg of Lichtenberg Landscaping, Jason Reinhold of Land & Stone, and Kimball Derrick.Cincinnati Observatory Center, Mount Lookout: The completion of an eight-year restoration of the National Historic Landmark. Craig Niemi of the Cincinnati Observatory Center and Gus Thierry of ICS Construction.Dillon House, Madeira: A mid-century Modern house that was saved from the teardown trend and restored. Vernon's Corner, Over-the-Rhine: A five-year renovation project that has resulted in new apartments and an art gallery. Vernon Rader and Mark Bernhardt, Don Beck of Beck Architecture, and Mark Brunner.Verona Historic Residences, Walnut Hills: Renovation of historic apartment house into 76 luxury condominiums. Ed Horgan of Campus Management and Denis L. Back of Denis L. Back & Associaties. At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a special Design Excellence Award was presented to architect Natalie de Blois.As the lead designer of the Terrace Plaza Hotel, widely considered Cincinnati's greatest mid-century Modern building, de Blois was recognized for her significant contribution to design during a time of blatant discrimination against women architects.De Blois was involved in approximately 48 projects at the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designing such notable structures as New York City's Union Carbide and Pepsi Cola buildings, the Connecticut General Life Insurance Building in Bloomfield Hills, CT, and a Hilton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Margo Warminski, preservation director, Cincinnati Preservation Association
