CINCINNATI — This weekend is a family affair featuring food trucks in Greenhills, multiple music events, a funky arm-wrestling competition in Blue Ash, Shakespeare in Delhi Park, stargazing at Summit Park, Celtic fun at The Banks and Black Family Reunion at Sawyer Point Park.
FOOD & DRINK
CFTA Local Food Truck Tour Greenhills: 4-9 p.m. Thursday. Village of Greenhills, 1100 Winton Road, Greenhills. Some of the Queen City’s best food trucks will roll into Greenhills for a unique pop-up event that also will feature music and beer. A portion of beer sales from the event will be donated to Our Lady of the Rosary. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Over the Top Fest: 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; noon-midnight Saturday. Fretboard Brewing Co., 5800 Creek Road, Blue Ash. Fretboard Brewing Co. has partnered with area first responders and Cincinnati music icon Bootsy Collins for this weekend’s funkiest festival. The Over the Top Festival will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday when Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Collins taps Bootsy Brewski, a Brut IPA that Fretboard brewed in his honor. Click here to read what Collins had to say about the beer.
Funk band The Fritz also will perform. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Bootsy Brewski will be donated to the nonprofit Bootsy Collins Foundation, and the funk will continue Saturday when area first responders go elbow to elbow during the inaugural Over the Top arm-wrestling competition from 1-5 p.m. After the friendly show of brawn to raise money for Operation Give Back, there will be more live music from bands such as Subterranean, The Spookfloaters and Kung Fu. Sammy’s Craft Burgers and Beers will sling food both days. fretboardbrewing.com
THE ARTS
Shakespeare in the Park's "A Midsummer Night’s Dream": 7-9 p.m. Thursday. Delhi Park, 5125 Foley Road, Delhi. Free. The Cincinnati Shakespeare Co. will bring its free production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to Delhi. The SEA Cuisine food truck will sell food at the park as well. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Fitton Center for Creative Arts Season Launch: 5-9 p.m. Friday. Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. Free. Season Launch is open to the community and will offer the chance to explore the Fitton Center's galleries, classrooms and studios, as well as performance, rehearsal and event spaces. Guests also will enjoy dinner by the bite and a cash bar while the Sunburners band performs on the Riverview Terrace. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
“Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.”: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Downtown. $10 with general admission; $5 for members. "Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.” will open to the public this weekend and remain at the Freedom Center through Dec. 1. This touring exhibit developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service profiles the revolutionary men—including Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, W.E.B Du Bois, and Kendrick Lamar—whose journeys altered the history and culture of the United States. freedomcenter.org
MUSIC & COMEDY
Birds of a Feather: 7 p.m.-3 a.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-3 a.m. Saturday. Thornhill Dragstrip, 14200 Kenton Station Road, Morning View, Kentucky. $65 advance or $70 at gate for Thursday-Sunday passes; $60 advance or $65 at gate Friday-Sunday passes; $55 advance or $60 at gate Saturday and Sunday passes; $55 advance or $60 at gate day pass. The fourth annual Birds of a Feather Music and Arts Festival will rock Thornhill Farm & Dragstrip in southern Kenton County. Headliners for this year’s festival include Goose, Rumple Mountain Boys, The Aquaducks and Dizgo. Dogs are permitted on festival grounds for $40 and must be kept on a leash at all times. Designated car camping area is an additional $20 and RV parking costs between $50-$250. www.birdsofafeatherfest.com
Iron Maiden: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati. $35-$125. Don’t get whiplash while banging your head when Iron Maiden rolls into Riverbend with special guest The Raven Age. The classic heavy metal band's “Legacy of the Beast” tour promises to deliver some high-octane fun. www.riverbend.org
DJ Diamond: 7-11 p.m. Friday. Fountain Square, 520 Vine St., Downtown. Free. DJ Diamond will perform a free show as part of 3CDC’s Fifth & Vine Live series at Fountain Square. (And don’t miss Meli’sa Morgan, who will perform 7-11 p.m. Saturday as part of the series, too.) For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Toby Keith "That's Country Bro Tour”: 7:30 p.m. Friday. BB&T Arena, 500 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights. $26.50-$106. Country music star Toby Keith is bringing his “That’s Country Bro!” tour to the campus of Northern Kentucky University. Nashville singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny will join Keith during his local stop. www.thebbtarena.com
Skillet and Sevendust: 6:45 p.m. Friday. PNC Pavilion, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati. $23.50-$42.50. Skillet and Sevendust will co-headline their "Victorious War” tour with special guests Pop Evil and Devour the Day. Everyone ages 21 and older who purchased tickets is invited to a pre-show craft beer tasting featuring Sam Adams, Great Lakes, Sierra Nevada, Taft’s, Christian Moerlein, Deschutes, Victory and Rogue brews. www.riverbend.org
Lil G from Silk: 7-10 p.m. Friday. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. Free. Gary “Lil G” Jenkins, lead singer of R&B group Silk, will perform a free concert as part of Friday Flow in Washington Park. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Whimmydiddle Country Music Festival: 5:30-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Riversedge Amphitheater, 116 Dayton St., Hamilton. $25 day pass; $40 two-day pass; $75 two-day VIP pass. The Whimmydiddle Country Music Festival will return this weekend to downtown Hamilton. Friday’s lineup includes the Del McCoury Band, Billy Strings, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers and Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound. On Saturday, Shooter Jennings, The Steel Woods, Jaime Wyatt and a to-be-announced special guest will perform. www.whimmydiddle.com
"Ring of Fire": 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $28-$42. "Ring of Fire” is a spectacular ensemble of actors and musicians celebrating the music of Johnny Cash. The show will feature some of Cash’s most famous tunes, such as "Folsom Prison Blues,” "A Boy Named Sue,” "I Walk The Line" and, of course, "Ring of Fire.” www.memorialhallotr.com
Joey Bada$$ and Flatbush Zombies: 7 p.m. Saturday. PNC Pavilion, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati. $23.50-$50.50. Beast Coast, the New York City hip-hop collective comprised of Flatbush Zombies, Pro Era (featuring Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, CJ Fly, and Powers Pleasant) and The Underachievers, is bringing its "Escape From New York” tour to PNC Pavilion. Tickets include a pre-show cookout featuring brats, metts, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad and chips. www.riverbend.org
KoRn and Alice In Chains: 6 p.m. Sunday. Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati. $29.50-$125. Hard-rock legends KoRn and Alice in Chains will co-headline their Cincinnati tour stop with special guests Underoath and FEVER 333. www.riverbend.org
COMMUNITY
Stargazing with the Cincinnati Observatory: 8:30-10 p.m. Thursday. Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash. Free. The Cincinnati Observatory will bring telescopes and meteorites to Summit Park so everyone can take a closer look at stars, planets and extraterrestrial bodies. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
My Black Family Reunion: 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday; 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; noon-9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Sawyer Point Park, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Downtown. Free. The Black Family Reunion Celebration, one of Cincinnati's largest family-focused events, will start a day earlier this year. Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated members of the Central Park Five, will speak 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday at Corinthian Baptist Church, 1920 Tennessee Ave. in Bond Hill. The 31st anniversary reunion will continue at 8:30 a.m. Friday with a heritage breakfast in Forest Park, followed by a job fair at the Ramada Inn in Sharonville and an amateur boxing tournament for boys and girls at Sawyer Point Park. On Saturday, the annual Black Family Reunion Parade will start from the Avondale Town Center on Reading Road starting at 10 a.m., followed by the Black Family Reunion Celebration at Sawyer Point. The celebration will feature a kids’ fun zone, spirituality pavilion, young adult stage, seniors’ pavilion and health pavilion, along with American heritage and food vendors, nonprofit organizations and a jazz alley. R&B legends Tony Toni Tone will also perform a free concert in the park from 6-8 p.m. Festivities will continue Sunday with a church service and gospel headliner Ricky Dillard and the New Generation Chorale. www.myblackfamilyreunion.org
Nicholson’s Cincinnati Celtic Fest: 5-11 p.m. Friday; noon-11 p.m. Saturday; noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Cincinnati Celtic Fest, East Freedom Way, Downtown. Free admission. This year’s Cincinnati Celtic Festival has moved. The three-day fest featuring Celtic food, music, drink and culture will take place on East Freedom Way between Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium at the Banks. www.cincycelticfest.com
Grateful Dead Night: 7-10 p.m. Friday. Great American Ball Park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Downtown. Dance your way into Great American Ball Park to celebrate the Grateful Dead. Join the Cincinnati Reds for a night of baseball and music with a special package that includes an exclusive Dancing Bear bobblehead and a ticket to the game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. After the game enjoy a fireworks show set to a Grateful Dead-themed soundtrack. www.mlb.com
August City Flea + Kids Market: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. Come out and support local vendors and crafty kid artists during this month’s City Flea in Washington Park. The park’s beer pavilion and food vendors will be there as well. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Ludlow Garage 50th Reunion: Noon-9 p.m. Saturday. Seasongood Pavilion, 950 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams. Free. While technically a free outdoor concert, the Ludlow Garage 50th Reunion in Eden Park is also a celebration of community for those who remember the original Ludlow Garage in Clifton. Some of the Ludlow Garage’s original performers, including Rick Derringer, Tracy Nelson, The Bluebirds, Haymarket Riot, Sonny Moorman, Warsaw Falcons, Robin Lacy, Rob Fetter and Sandy Nassan, will play at Seasongood Pavilion. The reunion also will feature food and drink vendors, as well as an art fair around Mirror Lake. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Wave Pool Pool Party: 4-8 p.m. Sunday. Wave Pool, 2940 Colerain Ave., Camp Washington. Wave Pool, a contemporary art fulfillment center, plans to make a big splash during its fifth anniversary pool party in Camp Washington. The center will block off nearby Rachel Street for a fun afternoon of free food, funky miniature golf, mobile nail painting, T-shirt printings, basketball and live music. The day will culminate with the reveal of results from the Wave Pool drawing marathon taking place 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday inside the gallery. www.wavepoolgallery.org
