Roll into the weekend with the return of one of the biggest pinball machine conventions in the Midwest. Then fill yourself with tacos at Condado Taco in Oakley before taking in the holiday cheer at Kings Island's Winterfest.
FOOD & DRINK
Cincinnati Black Restaurant Week: Thursday-Sunday. Multiple participating locations. We might be heading into the weekend, but there is still plenty of time to savor Cincinnati Black Restaurant Week. Twenty-four black-owned restaurants are offering special deals on some of their best dishes. Some of those participating places include Conscious Kitchen, Davis Cookie Co., Jazzy Sweets and K&J Seafood Co. For more information visit the Facebook event page.
Condado Oakley Grand Opening: 11 a.m. Thursday. Condado Tacos, 3329 Vandercar Way, Oakley. Columbus-based Condado Taco will open its second Cincinnati location by giving $25 gift cards to its first 100 customers, one free taco to every visitor and selling half-price margaritas throughout the day. And just like Condado’s location at The Banks, the Oakley restaurant's menu will feature multiple ingredient options to build your own tacos. For more information visit the Facebook event page.
INKED: Noon-10 p.m. Saturday. Rhinegeist Brewery, 1910 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. Free. Rhinegeist will give its annual limited-edition INK Imperial Stout tapping and bottle release party a colorful twist this weekend. INKED will pair special variants of its imperial stout with live tattooing. Yep, you read correctly. Artists from White Whale, Get Up Tattoo Society, Black Fern, Got Ink? and Handcraft Tattoo will ink pre-selected flash art onto human flesh as Rhinegeist pours Café Ink, Molé Ink, Coconut, Cacao & Almond Ink, BA Ink, BA Café Ink, BA Coconut & Cacao Ink, BA Sappy Ink, BA Rye Ink and Ink Float. rhinegeist.com
Taste of Lebanon Indoor Fall Festival: Noon-7 p.m. Sunday. St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Church, 2530 Victory Parkway, East Walnut Hills. Yum! The annual Taste of Lebanon food festival will serve delicious Mediterranean cuisine such as kibbee, tabbouleh, baklava, grape leaves and falafel. www.thetasteoflebanon.com
COMMUNITY
Pincinnati: 2 p.m.-midnight Friday; 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Holiday Inn Hotel, 4501 Eastgate Blvd., Eastgate. $25 single day; $60 weekend. Attention, all pinball wizards: Greater Cincinnati's second annual pinball show, which will feature more than 120 machines from local collections, returns this weekend. All machines will be set for free play, no quarters needed. There also will be pinball competitions during the event. pincinnati.com
Winterfest 2019: 5-10 p.m. Friday; 4-10 p.m. Saturday; 5-10 p.m. Sunday. Kings Island Amusement Park, 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason. Starting at $27.99. Kings Island will transform into a winter wonderland when Winterfest returns to the amusement park this weekend. Holiday festivities will include ice skating on International Street’s frozen Royal Fountain, shopping, shows, millions of lights and holiday characters spreading good cheer. www.visitkingsisland.com
The Christmas Ranch: 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday. The Christmas Ranch, 3205 S. Waynesville Road, Morrow. $20 per carload. The Christmas Ranch will open for the holiday season this Friday! This remarkable drive-thru display of Christmas lights in Morrow has been featured on HGTV and "Good Morning America." www.thechristmasranch.com
Holiday Shopping Expo: 2-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Lawrenceburg Event Center, 91 Walnut St., Lawrenceburg. $6 single-day admission; children ages 12 and under free. Find the perfect holiday home decor or a gift for that special someone during the annual Holiday Shopping Expo this weekend in Indiana. The expo will include multiple local vendors, pictures with Santa, live entertainment, a wine tasting and door prizes. holiday-shopping-expo.myshopify.com
Light Up the Levee: 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday. Newport on the Levee, 1 Levee Way. Free. Help Newport on the Levee get lit during the 11th annual Light Up the Levee tree lighting celebration. This year’s event will include Santa Claus’ grand helicopter arrival, family activities and the lighting of a 50-foot-tall tree with 1.4 million lights. For more information visit the Facebook event page.
The O.F.F. Market: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. MadTree Brewing, 3301 Madison Road, Oakley. Free. 'Tis the season ... for the monthly O.F.F. Market to migrate from Oakley Square to inside MadTree. This month’s market is a special two-day affair featuring an assortment of local vendors. MadTree beer and Catch A Fire food. For more information visit the Facebook event page.
MUSIC & COMEDY
Lil Duval: “Living My Best Life Tour”: 6:30 p.m. Friday. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $49.50-$65. Comedian and recording artist Lil Duval will deliver the laughs during his all-ages show at Bogart’s. For more information visit the Facebook event page.
Old Dominion “Make It Sweet Tour”: 7 p.m. Friday. BB&T Arena, 500 Louie B. Nunn Drive, Highland Heights. $38-$68. Country sensation Old Dominion will perform on the campus of Northern Kentucky University with special guests Scotty McCreery and Ryan Hurd. The concert is part of the band’s latest tour promoting its hit single “Make It Sweet.” www.thebbtarena.com
Carly Pearce: 8 p.m. Saturday. Rising Star Casino Resort, 777 Rising Star Drive, Rising Sun. Free. Ages 21 and older. Taylor Mill native and rising country singer Carly Pearce will perform at the Rising Star Grand Theatre. Pearce landed at the top of Billboard’s country music chart with “Every Little Thing.” In order to attend the free show, guests must be casino rewards card members to claim a ticket. risingstarcasino.com
Straight No Chaser: 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown. $39.50-$79.50. Straight No Chaser is unlike most male a cappella groups. The group incorporates humor and style to create extraordinary music that has made it a national sensation. tafttheatre.org
THE ARTS
Theresa Caputo Live: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. $45.50-$93.50. TLC star Theresa Caputo will share with audiences glimpses into the paranormal powers she displays on the show “Long Island Medium.” She also will talk about her personal life and deliver a healing message to those suffering from the loss of a loved one. www.cincinnatiarts.org
Secret ArtWorks Under the Stars: 6:30-10 p.m. Friday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $125 single general admission; $175 general admission for two. The cat is out of the bag. ArtWorks Cincinnati’s biggest annual fundraiser will take place in Music Hall's ballroom. Secret ArtWorks mixes mystery and whimsy by allowing guests to select a piece of art before learning who created it. The evening will feature the big artists reveal, dinner, drinks, dancing, a silent auction, live painting, a candy store station and bourbon and wine toss. artworkscincinnati.org
CAC Exhibit Opening Celebration: 7-11 p.m. Friday. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown. Free. Celebrate the opening of three new exhibitions with other art aficionados. The exhibits include "Confinement: Politics of Space and Bodies," Lauren Henkin's "Props" and Tom Schiff's "Surrounded by Art." The evening will begin at 7 p.m. with an artist talk with Franck Apertet, Krista Franklin, Nicolas Daubanes and Stephen Foster, followed by poetry reading by Franklin. The celebration will continue in the Kaplan Hall Lobby starting at 8 p.m. www.contemporaryartscenter.org
C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters”: 8 p.m. Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. $49-$99. C.S. Lewis’ satirical story centered on the eternal battle between Heaven and Hell will be brought to life in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater. “The Screwtape Letters” follows a senior tempter in Hell as he schemes to capture the soul of an unsuspecting human. www.cincinnatiarts.org
CSO Proof: American Perspective: 7:30 p.m. Friday. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $35. Join composer Timo Andres and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as they explore the identity of American music. Andres co-created this American Perspective program that will explore ragtime, Cuban-American modernism and the vibrant tradition of sacred harp singing. www.cincinnatisymphony.org
