Digital Artist Stacey Catanzaro creates unique pieces of Cincinnati blended with the styles of…read moregreat artists. My eye caught her print of the Queen City's skyline and Roebling Bridge painted in the style of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." It is a gorgeous spin on a classic, plus something wonderfully local. She also has works featuring Findlay Market, Great American Ball Park, and other Cincinnati icons. Portraits of Stacey's work are somewhat pricey, ranging to upwards of several hundred dollars. She does offer smaller sized postcards for $3.00 or $5.00, if you're looking to share a print with someone back home. Stacey Cat can be found at local pop-up markets and her weekend booth at Findlay Market.

We arrived on Wed 5/19/21 during regular business hours and no one was…read more there to help us. We struggled to finally find a parking space around the block.We also tried calling the phone number listed on the board at the entrance to no avail ,window shades were drawn. If they were possibly closed due to Covid there was no indication of notice. It was a great disappointment ,especially with the hassel of finally parking. Hopefully not to many people have to go thru what we did!!

The Betts House is a small museum tucked away in the West End, just off of Central Avenue. Clark…read moreStreet looks like it is miles away from Downtown Cincinnati, with its Italianate houses and gigantic canopy of oak trees. This part of town looks like it's straight out of a New England movie, with historic houses to boot. The Betts House is the oldest house in Cincinnati and Ohio, erected in 1804, just one year after Ohio became a state. The Betts family originally owned several blocks of land on the West End, but as generations passed, Cincinnati expanded and plots of land were split. Surprisingly, when the Betts lived here, the West End was considered rural. Just two stories tall and consisting of eight rooms, the house chronicles the history of the Betts family and the evolution of the West End in the permanent upstairs exhibit. Downstairs features a rotating exhibit, currently which is about the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811. The earthquake was felt here in Cincinnati and caused extensive damage to the Betts' kitchen. Sounds pretty cool, so why only three stars? During my visit, a mother brought her toddler to visit one of the docents. Their conversation could be heard loudly throughout the house, even when I was on the second floor and they were downstairs. The toddler was screaming and crawling all over the place. The docent didn't seem to mind that she was getting weird looks from myself and a few of the other guests. That being said, please do not bring children to the Betts House. It's a museum for adults or mature youth. Most of the exhibit features text and diagrams which are much too complex for anyone under age 10. Also, since there is a lot of reading, excessive noise and talking disturbs other patrons. Lastly, when I went upstairs to view the Betts Family exhibit, the room featured a few posterboards propped up on the floor. They weren't on stands or affixed to the wall like a normal museum. I actually had to kneel to read the end of the paragraphs. As a historical landmark, the Betts House is worth a look. The presentation at the museum, on the other hand, I could go either way. Cost per person: $2.00 Viewing Time: 1 hour Tips: - Ample, free street parking - Not handicapped accessible, as it is preserved as a historic house. - Check out the neighboring house with a placard, where the Gamble Family once resided.

In a spur-of-the-moment decision, my husband and I decided to make the drive from Louisville to go…read moreto the Boone County Fair with our kids. We grew up in Boone County, and our family, who still lives there, met up with us. And we had such a lovely night, making new memories while also thinking about past ones. We started by entering the kids rock race with some round rocks we had found while on vacation. I love how wholesome the fair contests are, especially for the kids. And this is pretty much like it sounds; the kids raced rocks down a track, and the rock that rolled the farthest won. This ended up being both of my kids, who won in their age groups. There was lots of food to choose from. The donuts and popcorn were my kids' favorites. We checked out the demolition derby and the 4H competitions with the livestock. Then we took in some rides. The $15 per person admission is a bit steep but seems more doable when you consider it includes all rides. I have a soft spot for local fairs and festivals, which perhaps started my attending this one when I was little.

LIGHT UP THE FAIR: this Christmas display is located at the Boone County Fairgrounds. I was out…read morethat way for a Christmas party and it was recommended to check out this drive-through light display for Christmas. I was debating whether to check out Florence's huge light display just down the road, but this specific drive-through was open an hour later and did not close until 10 PM. This worked so much better with my schedule! I was really impressed with how long the drive through the lights were. I loved how all the lights were synchronized with music that we could access with our car radio. It was pretty cheap compared to how long the display lasted. I'm so glad a local recommended this to me! Perfect holiday activity--especially for families.

We chose CCAC for our wedding reception because it was in the same neighborhood as the church where…read morewe got married. When we started planning, Raine was the event coordinator. She was immediately buffaloed by straight-forward questions, and she just would not stay organized or save/file any documents we supplied at her request, so I ended up having to make a packet of all of her info so she could keep track better. I really felt like I was her secretary, but she was supposed to be working for us! A few weeks before the wedding she was letting us know when to have our vendors come drop off our orders, but she would change the timeframe day to day, which led to me having to keep updating our florist, caterer and table rental people. Working with her added so much work on my end since I had to keep updating the vendors on when they could come drop off our order when Raine shifted the timeline and then sending the same information over and over since Raine didn't save it the first time she requested it. Luckily for us, Raine was replaced by Liz about 2 weeks before the wedding, and our experience immediately improved! Liz seems to be someone who is on top of things and cares about her clients. Liz was great about anticipating our needs beyond what we had already considered. As far as the space itself, the CCAC ballroom is a little bare, but we were really happy with how it looked with our decorations. They have a great lighting system, so we were able to program the lights on different modes for dinner versus dancing. Our guests had the chance to go around to the art gallery and onto the roof where there are a few firepits, so it was excellent for our guests who weren't big dancers. I think having other spaces for everyone to go gave everyone the chance to stay through to the end of the night. I was really happy nobody left early! For the price (about $4500), I thought the plastic folding chairs that come with the rental were a little flimsy and uncomfortable, so I splurged on banquet chairs from an outside vendor. My main selling point with CCAC was that it was walkable from our church, so I really didn't consider anywhere else. If I had worked with Liz from the start, and if CCAC offered better chairs or a little lower price I think I would easily give CCAC 5*!

Cultural gem with thoughtful programs. Most events free to the public!! Stylish new building.read more

Held at the Cincinnati Art Museum on the first Wednesday of the month (from October through May),…read moreOne World Wednesday introduces visitors to various cultures from around the world. During the 2007-08 season, the event circumnavigated the globe, touching down in Italy, the Caribbean, Canada, and Scandinavia. For only $8 (members attend the event for free), visitors receive three alcoholic tasting coupons, two food tasting vouchers, and access to a number of entertainment options, including the spectacular Cincinnati Art Museum. During our travails to Scandinavia, we tried various pastries, Swedish meatballs with ligonberry sauce, and Finnish vodka. Entertainment was provided by the Cincinnati Ballet. Word of wisdom for all of the single men of Cincinnati: This has to be one of the best places ever to meet chicks. The girls to guy ratio is high--and the women that attend these events are cultured. Much better option than Party in the Park.

We stumbled across this place when our original hiking plans were changed due to the park being…read moreclosed (Boone Cliffs). Luckily, we brought along our 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles from Cincinnati and this place was right down the road. Despite growing up 30 minutes away, neither of us had ever heard of this place. Seems like we must have missed out on a school field trip opportunity for sure. The grounds are really cool, we did not go into the main house (COVID-19), but looked in all the open buildings. A really cool step back in time. We did the hiking trail, up past the wine house to the cemetery, very cool- yet straight uphill. The trail itself has recently been marked again so there were plently of markers to follow but it's still pretty rough. We had to climb over large tree trunks a few times and part of the trail is basically straight uphill. The walk is a loop and took about an hour, but we were moving quickly trying to beat the sunset. The best part, we only saw two other people the entire time we were here. A great place to escape the hustle and bustle, yet close to Florence and Rabbit Hash.

This interesting 19th century property belonged to five generations of Dinsmores, a well-connected,…read morewell-educated, and well-traveled family that mingled with the likes of American president Theodore Roosevelt. Completed in 1842, the house is open for tours from April through December. Adults are $5, seniors $3, and students $2. The house contains an enormous amount of family literature, over 90,000 pages of letters, journals, and business records which offer an intimate portrayal of the Dinsmore family life. On the thirty acre grounds, hiking trails allow visitors to enjoy pristine Kentucky backwoods. Educational outreach is an important part of the mission of Dinsmore Homestead. Community classes include school programs, such as "Children's Live 150 Years Ago" and "Environmental Practices Past and Present," and adult programs like "Mountain Dulcimer Making" and "Heirloom Plant Workshop." The most enjoyable time to visit Dinsmore Homestead has to be during the Annual Harvest Festival, held at the end of September. Experts in period costumes give tours of the home and lands, bluegrass musicians entertain the crowd, while country cooks serve tasty country ham sandwiches. A must-see event for history buffs and those who cherish a more simple time.

An amazing rotating collection that spans the history of ventriloquism. My first visit and I will…read morebe back again to see what has been added. A very nice building and knowledgeable docent/curator. The building only accommodates small groups in each room, but there are plenty of opportunities to take pictures and ask questions. I would have preferred that some of the commentaries were not so biased with personal philosophies. Other than that, it was an enjoyable afternoon viewing this vast collection.

What??? You don't know about this place? Okay, it's off the beaten path, but apparently it's the…read moreonly museum for ventriloquists' dummies in the U.S. Over 900 dummies were collected by the now-passed owner. Now a curated selection is displayed and lovingly tended by a small and devoted following. Some people are creeped out by dummies, but we found it fascinating. Well worth it!

Delicious cocktails. Service was attentive. Look the garage atmosphere. Really cool place to go and…read morejust have fun. Plus, the seating is really comfortable. Sit down on a couch, eat some pizza from downstairs, and relax.

Second visit to SSOM. This time during the winter market with a more compact list of vendors…read moreoffering unique holiday gifts. This will be the last SSOC until spring time, but what a great reason to checkout the local shops not just on main but in OTR in general. The event is intended on taking place rain or shine so the organizers were well prepared for percipitation with covered tents. This included a furnished and carpeted tent that offered warm festival beverages from Revel wine bar.