Northside: Factory Square Fine Arts Festival Happens This Weekend, Needs Volunteers!

Oct 21, 2011 by GeekJames

Northside: Cincinnatians either love it or they don’t. If they don’t love it they just don’t know. That’s my opinion anyway.

Diverse. Eclectic. Artsy. Green. Activist. Locally-owned businesses. Food. Music venues. Farmers Market. Organic. Fun. Community.

All good words to describe Northside. The Cincinnati neighborhood’s undergone several near-renaissances over the years, but one eyesore remained, the American Can Factory, right in the center of the business district and across the street from Hoffner Park, Northside’s town square. The building is a hulk of an industrial space, built in 1920, empty since 1973, and, as the tallest building in the neighborhood, it’s visible from many angles throughout the area.

The old Can Factory needed someone to show it some love. It took several years, but Bloomfield/Schon + Partners have managed to create an outstanding example of good design using sustainable building practices and community engagement. These are all things we like in Northside. The American Can Lofts‘ 110 apartments range in size from a studio to a big 3BR, beautifully finished. Tenants have been moving in since September, with more moving in each month. The building is about 80% leased. There’s life where there was no life before.

Life needs art. That’s where ParProjects comes in. The American Can Factory sits on several acres in Northside, and the parcel in front on the Hamilton Avenue side of it is owned by the city. So ParProjects proposed an art center for that front parcel. An art center made from shipping containers. Again, the words “good design using sustainable building practices and community engagement” immediately spring to mind. ParProjects’ immediate goal is to build a community-centered art center, made from shipping containers all stacked and arranged as one. These are good goals in Northside.

Life needs parties. So, this weekend, there’s going to be a party in Northside. The Factory Square Fine Arts Festival happens Saturday, October 22nd from noon until midnight, & Sunday, October 23rd, from noon until 8pm. There will be shipping containers with art installations, and most amazing sculpture garden pieces installed in the lot. There will be art installations inside of the American Can Factory factory bays. There will be a Prairie Gallery installation in the American Can Factory Lofts’ lobby.  There will be music. There will be beer.

And there will be City Flea! The Flea is holding a one-time satellite market at the American Can Lofts in the big high bay, on Saturday, as part of the Factory Square Fine Arts Festival. This is one of the most fun flea markets ever. And did I mention there’s beer?

Would you like to help? Volunteers are truly needed, can you help? As much or as little time you can give is appreciated. Click here to volunteer, or contact the volunteer coordinator Jeni Jenkins at 513-885-0504. Or just show up and you’ll be put you to work. The Festival can use volunteers at any time, but they especially need volunteers for the start up or knockdown periods of the day.

That’s what we do in Northside. 

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Cincinnati stars in Ides of March

Oct 10, 2011 by SpaethC

Back in February Cincinnati was abuzz with Clooney fever as he was in town filming “Ides of March”. Ides is a political thriller directed and co-written by George Clooney which stars Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marissa Tomei and Jeffrey Wright. The city of Cincinnati also stars amongst these Hollywood heavyweights. Ides of March is the 21st major motion picture filmed in Cincinnati and could join Rain Man and Traffic as Academy Award winners.

Of those movies filmed in Cincinnati, Ides of March features the city most prominently. It’s neat how they used the actual names of the locations they shot at. Head First Sports Café, Millenium Hotel, Miami University and Xavier University are just some of the locations shot at and referred to by name. Throughout the film you see all of the local news stations. When you first meet Evan Rachel Wood’s character she is asked “Are you a Bearcat?…a Cincinnati Bearcat?”. There are times you might find yourself distracted taking in the city sights on the big screen. Most of the film takes place in Cincinnati, so I’m not exactly sure how they forgot to include listing Cincinnati in the end credits.

Of course there is more than just our hometown to enjoy, the movie itself is really well done. Ides of March is the fictional story of Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris’ (played by Clooney) bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Even though it’s fictional, at times it feels very real. Across the board the acting is superb which should be of no surprise with this all-star cast. While Clooney got a lot of the attention locally, it is really Ryan Gosling’s (who plays one of Morris’ top aides) movie. He capped off an excellent 2011 with is performance in Ides. The script, score and cinematography are all top-notch as well.

While I don’t think Ides will win multiple Academy Awards like Rain Man and Traffic, it is a really enjoyable movie and should get some Oscar nominations. I’d recommend this film to all movie goers and especially to Cincinnatians.

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GeekBeat: Cincinnati Comic Expo Part 1

Sep 27, 2011 by Loki

I must say, for an event that is only in it’s second year Cincinnati’s Comic Expo was quite impressive. Not only did everything seem to run very smoothly, but the array of talent presented was top notch. You can sum a lot of it up in two words: Jim Steranko.

You would not guess from his small frame that this is one of the living legends of the graphic medium. While his hair has gone almost white, it only takes a moment for you to notice the twinkle in his eye. Best of all he was really engaging and honestly interested in the works of other artists trying to get a start.

It was close to five when I approached his table, and they were obviously packing up to leave. One of the guys with him told me they were done for the day, but another one must have seen my disappointment.

“Hey Jim, do you mind dong one more?” I heard him ask. Mr. Steranko looked over and said okay. Then I stood there for fifteen minutes seeing something wonderful. The man who introduced pop art and op art into comics was talking to a pair of budding artists. Not feigned, obligated and stiff but rather really offering comment on just what he like about each piece. Mentoring.

This is a role model for all creators out there, no matter their medium of choice. An open hand extended to the next generation to give them a hand up on their dreams. I must confess it made my afternoon.

I spent a sizable part of the day connecting with some of the amazing talent that was there from the local area and have an extensive array of profiles and interviews set up for future posts. Additionally I’ll be interviewing Andrew Satterfield and Matt Bredestege, the super heroes behind the Expo once they’ve had a chance to recover.

In the meantime here is a slideshow of pics I shot while I was there. The kid in the Nightcrawler costume is my favorite, what’s yours?

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CSO’s Opening Concert—for the Plebians

Sep 12, 2011 by jennjolley

I heard Itzhak Perlman was in town with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra a few weeks back—he hasn’t visited Cincinnati since 1995. No kidding. When I heard of this, I wanted to go, but I didn’t think I’d be able to snag tickets to this fancy event. So I planned on not going.

However, the day before the concert, I found out via Facebook that the CSO was issuing student tickets—for $25 each, two per student ID—between 6–8 p.m. the day of the concert.

What?! This could work; I could make this. Yes, I would have to stand outside the box office and wait two to three hours prior to obtain my tickets, but I would do this for Mr. Perlman.

But it turns out I had to wait for an incoming CCM student coming in from Azerbaijan that evening (yes, really), so I went to the Newport on the Levee Live Screening instead.

At first I wasn’t exactly sure where this venue was located: I knew the live simulcast was probably somewhere in the mall area, but I wasn’t sure where exactly it would be. I assumed the opening concert would be screened in one of the AMC theaters, but this wasn’t the case—it was in the main lobby.

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Classical Revolution Cincinnati, Two Years Later

Aug 26, 2011 by jennjolley

(Laura Sabo, clarinet and Kathleen Moniaci, bassoon)

Northside Tavern might be the best place to listen to classical music. The people there are chill, the ambience is laid back, and the acoustics aren’t that bad, really. You can also go up to the bar and order whatever’s on tap, and you don’t have to dress up to hear chamber music. In fact, you can come and go as you please.

Classical Revolution Cincinnati, our local spinoff of the movement Charith Premawardhana started five years ago, is still going strong two years later. Initially run by Vince Scacchetti, it was run by Kathleen Moniaci, Laura Sabo and Eric Damashek. However, Kathleen and Eric will be leaving town, and the previous Classical Revolution hang on August 14th was Kathleen’s last night.

Because Kathleen was leaving town the next day, the concert was a tribute of sorts to Kathleen—there were many last opportunities for Kathleen to perform her bassoon since she would not be back in Cincinnati for some time. There were bassoon duets (with Kathleen and Lauren Piccirillo, performances from two bassoon quartets, arrangements of baroque dances for bassoon and guitar (played by Kathleen and Alexander Morgan), and a few last bassoon and clarinet duets (with Kathleen and Laura Sabo).

The evening wasn’t completely filled with bassoon music: the Ohio River Brass Quartet made an appearance (minus one person), and a violinist played some solo pieces.

What I like about the come-and-jam-with-us atmosphere is that the selection of music can be quite serious but also whimsical. You can juxtapose baroque Gabrielli trios with tunes by Henry Mancini and The Beatles, and it all works.

Classical Revolutions Cincinnati will be held again the second Sunday of September at Northside Tavern.

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2011 Cincy Blues Fest

Aug 26, 2011 by Bryan

For my first official assignment I got to go the Cincy Blues Fest. This was the 19th year, and I am sad to say, the first time I have gone. I do like the Blues. And not because I’ve seen the Bues Brothers. I know who Robert Johnson is, and I own his complete recordings. But I don’t have a lot of Blues, nor am I familiar with the local talent. The only reason this was on my radar is that Crazy Joe and the Mad River Outlaws were scheduled to perform. They are a Rockabilly band from Enon, OH (north of Dayton) and I was excited to see them play here.

So here I was, first-time at the Cincy Blues Fest, on a Friday night. First thing I did was go exploring.

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