CINCINNATI — Believe it or not, there's more going on this weekend other than Reds Opening Day (but there is a lot related to that happening too).
Reds Opening Day
There are so many parties and community events centered around Reds Opening Day this Thursday it would be silly to list them all here. So, I created a comprehensive rundown of those events in a separate guide you can see by clicking here.Remember, the 100th Findlay Market Opening Day Parade begins at noon, followed by the Reds playing the Pittsburgh Pirates starting at 4:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park.
FOOD & DRINK
Art After Dark: Passport to Paris: 5-9 p.m. Friday. Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams. Free. Escape to 1900 Paris without leaving the Queen City this Friday. The Cincinnati Art Museum is opening its doors with free admission to its special Parisian exhibition. The evening will include live music from the Faux Frenchmen, dance performances from Madame Gigi's Outrageous French Cancan Dancers, food for purchase from Urban Stead Cheese, the Macaron Bar and the Terrace Cafe. There will also be specialty wine from The Skeleton Root and docent-led tours with Playhouse in the Park. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
S23 Pale Ale Beer Release: 6 p.m.-midnight Friday. Fretboard Brewing, 5800 Creek Road, Blue Ash. Free. Join the folks of Fretboard Brewing as they celebrate the release of their reformulated S23 Pale Ale. Proceeds from taproom sales of the beer will be donated to Behind the Badge, a nonprofit group that supports local police, fire and military personnel. Yacht Rock America will also perform live. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
Lonely Pine Steakhouse Grand Opening: 5:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday. 6085 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge. The creative minds behind such places as the Overlook Lodge, Video Archive and Tokyo Kitty will hold a grand opening for their latest creative venture, Lonely Pine Steakhouse this Saturday. Owner Jacob Travino describes the steakhouse as a throwback to the mom-and-pop places he remembers eating at as a child while growing up in Texas. For more information visit the Lonely Pine's Facebook page.
COMMUNITY
Butterflies of Ecuador: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through June 16. Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams. $10 adults; $7 youth 5-17; Free children 4 and under. Spring has sprung and that means the butterflies are back at Krohn Conservatory. Surround yourself with 12,000 butterflies from different climate zones including Amazons, Andes, Coast and the Galapagos Islands. www.cincinnatiparks.com
199C: 6-11 p.m. Friday. BLDG, 30 W. Pike St., Covington. Free. Design firm BLDG will host its sixth annual Reds Opening Day art exhibit Friday in Covington. This year’s show will honor "the glorious years from 1869 to the present and pay homage to the Cincinnati Reds and its 150 year baseball legacy." More than 50 artists will display their baseball-inspired work at BLDG from March 29 through April 12. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
International Steampunk Symposium 2019: Beings 4 p.m. Friday; ends 5 p.m. Sunday. Holiday Inn Eastgate, 4501 Eastgate Blvd., Eastgate. $65-$25 weekend passes; $40-$5 day passes. Add a little steam to your weekend by visiting the 2019 International Steampunk Symposium. The annual event invites folks to attend in their finest steampunk attire while enjoying games, discussions with authors and round table events. steampunksymposium.com
Kids Opening Day: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Joe Nuxhall Way and Freedom Way, Downtown. Take the kids down to the Banks for a fun-filled day of baseball oriented activities designed just for them. Festivities begin with a free block party starting at 10 a.m. in front of Great American Ball Park. There will then be a mascot parade at 10:50 a.m., followed by Reds players on the red carpet at 11:30 a.m. and a host of activities before the Reds play the Pittsburgh Pirates starting at 2:10 p.m. All children 14-years-old and younger will receive a Reds baseball cap as well. www.mlb.com
MUSIC & MORE
"A Culture of Silence:" 7 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday. Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. $10 minimum donation. The Esquire Theatre is hosting two premiere screenings of "A Culture of Silence," a documentary about being LGBTQ in Catholic schools from GLSEN Greater Cincinnati. For more information visit the event Facebook page.
"The Public" Cincinnati Premiere: 7 p.m. Friday. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown. $40-$100. Be one of the first people to see Cincinnati-made-and-starring "The Public" this Friday evening during a special screening of the movie at the Taft Theatre. Emilio Estevez wrote, directed, produced and stars in the movie he shot here in 2017. Estevez will be on hand after the screening with actor Che Rhymefest Smith for a question and answer session moderated by Kristen Schlotman, executive director of Film Cincinnati. tafttheatre.org
Comedian Shane Torres: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. Liberty Funny Bone, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township. 21 and older. $17-$47. Laugh it up with comedian Shane Torres at the Liberty Funny Bone this weekend. Torres has appeared on "Last Comic Standing" and IFC's "Comedy Bang Bang." liberty.funnybone.com
"Brooklyn, A Real Time for Change:" 8 p.m. Saturday Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. $30. "Brooklyn, Real Time for Change" is a play that tells the story of a young girl overcoming barriers in her journey to be elected the first female President of the United State. The theatrical performance will take place in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater. www.cincinnatiarts.org
Comedian Chris D'Elia: 8 p.m. Saturday. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown. $29-$79. Comedian Chris D'Elia has appeared on the sitcom "Undateable" and most recently his latest standup special, "Man on Fire" began streaming on Netflix. You're guaranteed to laugh when D'Elia takes the state at the Taft Theatre. tafttheatre.org
Beethoven Bliss: 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $14-$130. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by music director Louis Langrée with special guest Esther Yoo on violin will perform "Halcyon Sun," Prokofiev's "Violin Concerto No. 2" and Bethoven's "Symphony No. 2." www.cincinnatisymphony.org
"Aladdin:" 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday; 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. $20-$48. The Cincinnati Ballet will transport your family to a whole new world when they perform "Aladdin" as part of its Family Series. www.cballet.org
