Holiday cheer

As we move into the last full week before Xmas, there is an abundance of ways to get in the holiday spirit! Below are just a few:

• 2009 Holiday Floral Show November 21st through January 3rd
  Krohn Conservatory
  Theme "Lucia's Garden"
  This year, beloved Swedish holiday traditions inspire our holiday floral show. Come learn and enjoy some of those traditions while strolling among drifts of red poinsettias, cyclamen and amaryllis. Our natural holiday tree features hundreds of ornaments handmade by park volunteers, and attractions include an outdoor live nativity scene. We have many special events going on throughout the show - call (513) 352-4080 for more info.
  Holiday Hours:
  Extended Krohn Hours - December 19th-30th, 10am-8pm Outdoor Nativity Scene open from 9am-9pm
  Please note: The Krohn Conservatory will close at 5pm on Friday, December 25th. I heard that on Sunday from 1-3, Santa will be taking time off of his very busy pre-sleigh schedule to visit the show, so if you have kiddos, stop by! Also, the sale of the flowers from this show will take place on Jan 5th, with doors opening @ 10am.
• Shopping and Caroling in the Gateway Quarter - I'm having trouble finding solid info on this, but according to the downtown calendar, there will be extended hours for the Gateway Quarter shops this evening, and members from the Cincinnati Men's Chorus will be serenading shoppers while they scurry about. I believe this goes until 8pm.
• If you miss that, there's always the Sweet Peace Holiday Bake Sale @ Park + Vine - Sweet Peace Bakery will be having a bake sale in Park + Vine on Sat, from 11-4pm. Stop by and have some sweets while you peruse the goods in the store or down the street!
• The Cincinnati Men's Chorus will be busy this weekend, as Saturday and Sunday they will be putting on what sounds to be a really fun chorale concert to get you toe-tapping to holiday tunes. Glorious: Simply stunning holiday music plus - a new mini-musical featuring beloved songs from holiday specials, created as a joint project by Cincinnati Men's Chorus, Turtle Creek Chorale, Heartland Men's Chorus, Seattle Men's Chorus, and the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC. and two new songs from Melissa Etheridge: "Glorious" and "Ring the Bells," accompanied by harp and handbells. Where Harriet Tubman Theater-National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
  Contact 513.542.2626. Tickets are 20$ in advance, 25$ at the door, but if you don't want to spend the dough, you can volunteer and get in free!
• If you are looking for a more traditional holiday chorale setting, on Sunday @ 5pm, Christ Church Cathedral on 4th will be hosting "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols". While I'm not sure what the "festival of nine lessons" is, I'm always down with holiday tunes in a church where acoustics are usually very good. I wish the website gave more info on what they will be singing, but I'm sure it will be beautiful nonetheless. Where: Christ Church Cathedral 318 E. Fourth St.Cincinnati, OH 45202

If you have kiddos to entertain (or if you are just a kid at heart), here are a few things not to be missed:

1. Just on 4th street you will find the Duke Holiday Train Display featuring 1,000 feet of track and 300 miniature train cars. Theme: Dreaming of Sugar Plums, Lollipops and Gingerbread on 4th. Its on the 1st floor, you can see it from the outside, and its really pretty neat. They spend months putting this thing together, so its the real deal. Best part, its free! From Duke "Train display featuring 1,000 feet of track and 300 miniature train cars. Theme: Dreaming of Sugar Plums, Lollipops and Gingerbread."
2. Walk one block over to Fountain Square, and you are smack dab in the heart of all the holiday events downtown. You have ice skating (Santa will be out there Sat 12-1 and Sun 1-2 if the kids want to put in another plug for their holiday gifts.) Skate rental is $2.50, and there are warming tents and hot drinks available. Friday and Saturday nights there are some fireworks, and between 6-7 Santa rappels down the side of the 5/3 Building, but not before you get some holiday choir music at 6. I think Santa is not allowed to appear unless the crowd is singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", so be ready to belt it out! You can also hop on the "Holiday Jolly Trolley" (10am-6pm) outside of the Westin Hotel, ride around downtown and it stops at all the major holiday attractions. The paid carriage rides will also be available if its too crowded or if you want a more intimate ride.
3. Giant Gingerbread display in the lobby of the Hilton Netherland Plaza. After you get good n chilly from doing Fountain Square activities, grab a quick cup of hot chocolate or coffee @ Tazza Mia then walk up to the BEAUTIFUL lobby of this old hotel and enjoy the Gingerbread artistry on display. On a side note, as previously noted, the restaurant in the lobby, Orchids Palm Court has a GREAT happy hour if you are able to go have a drink. If you are looking for a quieter locale, you can also head over to the Hyatt to see a holiday gingerbread display AND train display in one place. Its free.

- If you'd rather not be out in the cold at all, there are still plenty of good options to get in the holiday spirit.

1. Don't forget the Newport Aquarium has Scuba Santa (he hangs with the sharks!) daily - not sure on the times of Santa's appearance, but I'm sure squealing of children will alert you to his appearance. Admission is 20$ for adults, 13$ for kids 2-12.
2. The Museum Center has a toy exhibit that is free (!) and is open 7 days a week, so you can go there, be wowed first by the rotunda and then check out their "Toys Thru Time" exhibit where they will have toys from the 1800s to present. Will a Furbie make it in? Go and find out! Parking will cost you, but I'd say its probably worth it. Now open through January 3, 2010 John A. Ruthven Exhibit Gallery
3. There is also a holiday pj party on Sunday (12/20) if you can get your info to them in time: North Pole Pajama Party December 20 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
   We are throwing a North Pole Pajama Party and you're invited! Wear your favorite PJS and drink hot chocolate, decorate sugar cookies, create fun crafts, enjoy holiday inspired performances and an elfin DJ spinning holiday tunes. Get out on the dance floor with the elves and Mr. and Mrs. Claus! Make your reservation by December 17 by calling (513) 287-7021. $20 member child, $25 non-member child, $10 adult

Finally, don't forget about all the great holiday season shows or shows that are just plain fun!

• Miracle on 34th St - Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 19$-21$. 241-6550
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Know Theatre, 15$ for adults, 12$ in advance. 300-5669
• The Santaland Diaries (for adults), Columbia Performance Center, 12-20$. 888-588-0137
• A Christmas Carol, Playhouse in the Park, 25$-67$, 421-3888
• Once Upon a Mattress, Aronoff Center 20-25$, 621-2787
• The Taming of the Shrew, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 20$-26$. 381-2273

New Busken Bakery Downtown

Hopefully this place will eventually have weekend hours - I'm still going to prefer Shadau Breads to Busken, but its still good to see another business open downtown. The 9th street location was TERRIBLE.
From the Cincinnati Business Courier:

Busken opened a new downtown location today at Walnut and Seventh in a space owned by the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
This marks the fifth time the bakery has opened a store downtown.
“If we could survive the downtown business climate following the 2001 riots, I knew things couldn’t get much worse,” said Vice President Brian Busken in a news release. “It would be foolish to leave now, there is too much positive momentum and our city center is slowly but surely becoming a destination.”
The store, which has access to the Aronoff Center’s commercial kitchen, will focus on growing the bakery’s breakfast and lunch catering business. The catering, which is available to any downtown business 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, was previously operated out of Busken’s Ninth and Central location, which closed in preparation for the opening of the new store.

Main Street Holiday Stroll & Shop + more!

I'm out of town this weekend, so I'm going to miss out on a lot of great stuff to get me in the holiday mood, but hopefully the turn out will be great to all these events. If i get back early, I'm definitely checking out some of these Sunday holiday arts sales!
- Main Street Holiday Stroll & Shop, 12/5 (11-7) + 12/6 (12-5): Main Street in OTR keeps the foot traffic high during the summers with the "Second Sunday on Main" events, but this is a new one for the holidays. All of the stores and galleries will be open during these times, and will be happy to sell their goods or just get the foot traffic up in their stores. Be sure to stop by Iris Bookcafe and have a hot cup of something to ward off the chills!
- Here's to Our Health Happy Hour, 12/3 (tonite!) 5:30-8:00 PM @ ART BEYOND BOUNDARIES GALLERY, 1410 MAIN STREET in OTR. This is a partnering between Community Shares and YP Cincy, so there should be a great mixture of folks there. Basically its an event to raise awareness about the healthcare groups that Community Shares supports in the area. There is a 5$ suggested donation @ the door for wine and snacks. Here's a little blurb on what each of these organizations does: Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati is a partnership of 27 local nonprofit organizations building social and economic equity and a healthy environment in Greater Cincinnati. YPShares is for young professionals and others who strive to engage and inspire the next generation of community supporters to become passionately committed to causes that promote social and economic equity and a healthy environment.
- 7th Annual St Nick Day Sale 12/5 10-2 @ Peaslee Neighborhood Center (215 E. 14th St Cincinnati, OH ). There will be Syracuse Cultural Worker items, Equal Exchange coffee, tea, hot cocoa; Divine Chocolate; international art and crafts from Ecuador, Ghana, Madagascar, El Salvador and more; local artist Mary Ann Lederer’s art, local authors and more. This sale benefits the IJPC(Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center) - more info on them can be found at: http://www.ijpc-cincinnati.org/
- Gifts That Make a Difference Sarah Center, 1600 Vine St., OTR 8am-6pm, 12/3-12/5 - Shop for jewelry, bags, wall hangings, quilts, and tableware, and support a great cause. The Sarah Center is an outreach ministry of St. Francis Seraph that teaches women how to sew, quilt, paint, enamel and make jewelry. Its across the street from St Fracis Seraph church.