Looking for something fun to do this weekend? 9 News and CityBeat have teamed up to give you the top nine picks.
1. Mount Healthy Haunted Hall
Dive into a Halloween experience straight out of the 1970s with the Mount Healthy Haunted Hall. Handmade props and sets, a tough-to-escape blackout maze with moving walls and inventive costumes (the schoolhouse from Hell is great fun) make this a tasty, spooky treat.
The Hall is a charity haunt, too, so you can feel good about supporting them. Funds raised go to the Knights of Columbus and many of the actors are Boy Scouts.
Get more details here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/mount-healthy-haunted-hall) .
2. Day of the Dead celebration at Bakersfield
Bakersfield is joining in all the Cincinnati Halloween festivities this year, hosting its very own Halloween party, El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) this coming Saturday. The event runs all day and will be held in the parking lot adjacent to the bar.
Those in attendance can expect a wide range of live music including guest DJs, as well as Cincinnati bred, self-proclaimed, raw and unrelenting musician Dallas Moore.
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/dia-de-los-muertos-at-bakersfield) .
3. Carnevil Fotofocus Halloween Party
Meet a young girl in a blue dress with matted hair and no eyes as she carries a round object. Have a close encounter with a young boy carrying a leather ball. Feel the touch and tug of other spirits and the mysterious cold spots throughout the 200-year-old building. These spirits that have been investigated and confirmed by ghost-hunters including Project Paranormal don’t want to leave the four-story brick mansion in Newport known as the Thompson House.
With a performance by local indie band DAAP Girls, a Cin City Burlesque performance by Cara Mello, Dante’s Gypsy Circus, Self-Diploma’s DJ ETrayn, fortune tellers, a Framestar Photo Booth, costume contests and a self-guided tour of the mansion on Saturday evening, you won’t want to leave either.
Click here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/carnevil-fotofocus-haunted-halloween-party) for more information on the event.
4. Pit Bull Awareness Day in West Chester
Pit Bull Awareness Day is an annual event that takes place nation-wide during the month of October, which supports the initiative dedicated to changing and restoring the image of the American pit bull terrier.
The Voice of America Park in West Chester is holding a free ‘Bark Bash' this weekend to promote awareness and provide education aimed at changing stereotypes and negative perceptions about pit bull’s and their owners.
The list of fun activities ranges from special appearances by the Cincinnati Roller Girls and the Ben-Gal cheerleaders to having adorable adoptable pets all day. All dogs (and humans) are welcome to join in the fun!
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/pit-bull-awareness-day-celebrating-in-west-chester) .
5. Comedian Steve Trevino at Funny Bone
Steve Trevino has never really held a day job. The closest he came to having one was when he worked at the Dallas Improv as a doorman. Of course, he was also performing there. His career took a turn upward when Carlos Mencia came to town. “I begged to open for him and he said yes,” says Trevino.
Shortly after moving to California, he toured with Freddie Soto and Pablo Francisco on the Three Amigos Comedy Tour where he gained further attention. He performs at the Funny Bone this weekend.
Get more information on his performances here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/comedy-steve-trevino-at-funny-bone) .
6. 'Titus Andronicus' at Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival
Even the greatest playwright in the English language could bow to the commercial appeal of scaring and shocking audiences. That’s what Shakespeare did with his gruesome tale of "Titus Andronicus", one of his bloodiest works, full of revenge, murder, betrayal and atrocious crimes.
It’s Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s annual Halloween season creep-out show, this time the tale of a vengeful Roman general battling his mortal enemy, Tamora, Queen the Goths, staged through the filter of a “Steampunk world.” (That concept, conceived in the 1980s, is a retro-future mash-up of the steam-powered visions of Victorian sci-fi writers Jules Verne and H. G. Wells with the world of modern technology.)
Find out more on the show here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/titus-andronicus-at-cincinnati-shakespeare-company) .
7. Last chance to see the Blue Man Group
When most people get the blues, they end up feeling glum, but most who get the blues this week or next — in the form of the Blue Man Group — will leave the Aronoff Center in downtown Cincinnati with a smile on his or her face. In fact, publicity for this first-time touring production promises that you’ll be in “a blissful, euphoric state.” This unusual entertainment combines comedy, music and technology — and absolutely no spoken language.
For more than two decades, three guys in blue latex makeup have been astonishing and delighting audiences with rhythmic percussion, visual gags, audience participation and a stage full of tomfoolery. If you’ve never seen Blue Man, well, you need to.
Find out more here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/blue-man-group-performs-at-the-aronoff) .
8. Cincinnati Ballet presents "Alice in Wonderland"
Halloween is all about the costumes, and Cincinnati Ballet is going all out in that department for its "Alice (in wonderland)" this weekend at Music Hall. Known for elaborate and highly imaginative costumes designed for the likes of Cirque du Soleil, celebrated Costume Designer Liz Vandal’s wild creations really bring characters to life. The dancers are having fun dressing up and getting into character for some fresh new twists on Lewis Carroll’s classic tales.
And with lively choreography from Cuban-born Septime Webre of The Washington Ballet — who previously lent his talents for the company’s popular Peter Pan production — the dancing promises to soar and capture the imagination of adults and children alike.
Get details on the show here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/dance-cincinnati-ballet-presents-alice-in-wonderland) .
9. 'Come Follow Me' Exhibit at CAC
With Halloween right around the corner, Casey Riordan Millard’s upcoming UnMuseum installation at the Contemporary Arts Center, Come Follow Me, is the perfect way to inspire creativity in your favorite ghouls and goblins. Millard — best known for her sculptural installations, drawings and paintings of recurring childlike protagonist, Shark Girl — has received recent commissions from both the CAC and the Cincinnati Art Museum and was one of only seven local artists chosen to receive the newly created $6,000 Cincinnati Arts Ambassador Fellowship grant from the city.
To celebrate the opening of her multimedia commission in the CAC’s child-focused gallery/art-making space, the artist will be leading an art-making activity for families and children ages 5-10 as part of the museum’s regular Family Saturday programming.
Click here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/art-come-follow-me) for details.
Other things to do this weekend:
Marty Weldishofer runs Marty’s Hops & Vines, a wine and beer emporium in College Hill with a newly-expanded food menu. Read CityBeat's review here (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/entertainment/citybeat/martys-hops--vines-offers-beer-and-wine-expertise-tastings-and-expanded-menu) .
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