Great Weekend!

This week was the kickoff for the annual celebration and community campaign for the arts --- our city's music, dance, galleries, museums, and festivals. For the first time ever, the Fine Arts Fund - which organizes the celebration - sponsored surprise art that popped up outside Macy's downtown and in the Carew Tower arcade, as well as on buses running from downtown to Northern Kentucky and out to Anderson. Hundreds of people were amazed to see mobile galleries and dancing on buses and in unexpected downtown spots on the lunch hour.

Over the weekend, our city was filled with thousands of people visiting over 50 venues like theaters, museums, community art centers, libraries, schools, and other places, for shows and hands-on activities throughout the entire Cincinnati region. Creative things -- music, dance, storytelling, theatre, painting, and much more -- happened all over the place, from the center of the city to the suburbs.

Sampler Weekend included past favorites - Gospel Brunches, Arte Latino, and Get Smart About Art - and many new creative things. You can find a complete listing of the 130 performances, exhibits, and vibrant activities here.

On Saturday night, hundreds of people came to the Art Alive party at the CAC to celebrate the beginning of the annual community campaign. They saw the Shepard Fairey and other exhibits and were treated to several performances, including a surprise dance, the famous Splash Dance of YouTube fame.