CINCINNATI — Get your motor running at the annual KOI Cavalcade of Customs, laugh it up with comedian Jeff Dunham and shake your hips with a plethora of Elvis impersonators this weekend.
Food & Drink
House Party: 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Taft Museum of Art, 316 Pike St., Downtown. Free. Brush up on your Scrabble skills for this month's house party at the Taft Museum of Art. The Play Library will be on hand with classic board games to play. There will also be a "What Do You Meme" gallery tour, music by DJ Nill, Last Call Trivia from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and bead making station. Fire On High Organic food truck will also be selling light bites and serving adult hot chocolates. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Wine Tasting - The Best of 2018: 5-7 p.m. Friday. The Wine Merchant, 3972 Edwards Road, Oakley. $10. Celebrate the new year with some of the best wines from last year. This event will feature a tasting of the six top selling white and red wines of 2018 at the Wine Merchant. There will also be a menu of small plate food options available for purchase. Pre-paid reservations are required for this event. www.winemerchantcincinnati.com
Hugo Arnold's Bathtub Gin Launch Party: 5-11 p.m. Saturday. Arnold's Bar & Grill, 210 E. Eighth St., Downtown. Free. Come celebrate the release of Hugo Arnold's Bathtub Gin this Saturday at the Queen City's longest operating bar. Crafted by Woodstone Creek Distillery's master distiller Donald Outerson, the gin is an homage to Arnold's Bar & Grill's former Prohibition-era owner Hugo Arnold and the second-floor bathtub where he proportedly made his own spirits. After the kick-off event, the gin will be available in 14 Greater Cincinnati liquor stores and select bars and restaurants. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Community
KOI Cavalcade Of Customs: 3-10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown. $19 general admission;$7 children 6-12; free for children five and under. The 59th annual KOI Cavalcade of Customs will bring a little heat to Downtown with its display of 550 of the coolest custom hot rods in the country. The cavalcade will also feature motorcycles, trucks, special guests and celebrities throughout the Duke Energy Convention Center. www.koiautoparts.com
Music & More
Night of Stars- King Records Benefit Concert: 7:30-11:30 p.m. Friday. The Woodward Theater, 1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. $15 general admission; $50 VIP. 18 and older. You'll be helping support our local music heritage when you attend the Night of Stars concert at the Woodward Theater. Money raised from the evening will help the ongoing King Records preservation efforts. The event will feature performances by Ben Levin, Bob Margolin, Philip Paul, Bob Corritore, Johnny Fink, Ricky Nye & Bekah Williams, Jake Speed, Jimmy D. Rogers and more. VIP admission includes a poster signed by the musicians and a meet-and-greet before the show. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Vivald's "Four Seasons": 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $29-$115. Conductor Richard Egarr will lead the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from behind his keyboard for this special performance of Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 4" and "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5," along with Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." Violinist Benjamin Beilman will also perform. cincinnatisymphony.org
Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular: 8 p.m. Saturday. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. $22.75-$78.75. Get ready to shake your hips and curl your upper lip during the Elvis Tribute concert this weekend at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. A full lineup of Elvis impersonators will take the stage to performs the King of Rock 'n Roll's hits from the beginning of his career to the end. www.cincinnatiarts.org
Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland at the Freedom Center: 3-4 p.m. Sunday. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Downtown. Free with general admission to the museum. Come and take in a "Moment in the Museum" as members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and composer-in-residence Johnathan Bailey Holland perform. Holland will curate a one-hour chamber music performance inspired by the Freedom Center. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Jeff Dunham – "Passively Aggressive": 3 p.m. Sunday. BB&T Arena, 500 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights. $45.50. End your weekend with a laugh when ventriloquist Jeff Dunham performs at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University this Sunday. Dunham is a comedy superstar who also holds a Guinness World Record holder for “Most Tickets Sold for a Stand-up Comedy Tour.” He has also had hit comedy specials on Comedy Central, NBC and his latest, "Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster" on Netflix. www.thebbtarena.com
