Rick Pender’s book, "100 Things to Do in Cincinnati Before You Die," is a bucket list of entertaining and informative activities and destinations that’s great for lifelong Cincinnatians, new residents and occasional visitors. And it can be yours today when you donate to WVXU.
From family adventures to adult attractions, Pender's book will keep you busy for months on end. You’ll never be bored! Its sections encompass food and drink, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, culture and history, and shopping and fashion.
Read excerpts below, and donate to WVXU now to get a copy of your very own!
No. 35: Get Weird During the Cincinnati Fringe Festival at Know Theatre
For 12 days every summer, kicking off right after Memorial Day, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival presents 40+ experimental theater and dance productions — a total of nearly 200 performances annually in a dozen theaters, bars, churches, coffee shops and storefronts through the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Local creators, national touring artists and even international performers put on shows and entertainments. Productions tend to be bare bones, but they’re always entertaining — some serious, some hilarious, some just plain weird. Take a chance and you’re sure to see something memorable.
Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-300-5669, cincyfringe.com
Tip: After each evening’s Fringe performances, there are post-show special events in the Underground Bar, at Know Theatre, the festival’s organizer — everything from Fringe Olympics, Fringe-a-Oke and even a Fringe Prom. It’s a chance to meet and mingle with performers.
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No. 62: Feel the Reality of Slavery at the Freedom Center
At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center you can stand inside a slave pen, built in the early 1800s to temporarily hold enslaved people in chains before they were moved farther south for sale. It’s deeply moving, a reminder of our nation’s troubled past. The Underground Railroad wasn’t really underground or a railroad — it was a network of circumspect routes followed by people seeking freedom. For many of them, crossing the Ohio River was their goal, and the Freedom Center (opened in 2004), situated on the river’s bank south of Downtown Cincinnati, celebrates freedom’s heroes from the 19th century to the present. More than 100,000 visitors come annually for exhibits and dialogue about freedom and human rights.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202; 513-333-7500 (877-648-4838), www.freedomcenter.org
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Experience Sculpture in the Great Outdoors at Pyramid Hill
Oversized sculptures are typically the stuff of museums, city plazas or historical destinations. But Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum is a 265-acre sculpture park in a rural setting where you can see more than 50 monumental works thoughtfully placed in natural outdoor locations. It’s a beautiful, serene place to visit for a drive in your car or via “Art Cart” (aka golf carts available for rental). You can also walk from site to site around the grounds. The park is also home to the Ancient Sculpture Museum, with a collection of Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian sculptures dating to 1550 B.C. featuring an Egyptian sarcophagus, terra cotta sculptures and ancient coins. A smaller gallery features local and regional artists in rotating monthly exhibitions.
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, 1763 Hamilton-Cleves Rd., Hamilton OH 45013, 513-868-8336. www.pyramidhill.org