MidPoint Indie Summer On the Square

The Midpoint Music Festival is teaming up with Fountain Square for the Indie Summer Music Series and CityBeat has announced the initial list. Highlights for me are

June 5th - Lions Rampant at 9PM
July 10th - Pomegranates at 9PM
July 17th - Wussy at 10 PM
July 24th - Bad Veins at 10 PM for their CD Release Show.

This music series is one of the best things on the Square and I personally look forward to nearly every Friday walking down to the square for a few beers and some great local music.

Keep your eyes on www.myfountainsquare.com/indiesummer or their MySpace Page for updates.

Cincinnati Tea Party Harkens Back To Eighteenth Century

In 1773, American colonists led by Samuel Adams gathered at Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act, a law passed by the British Parliament.  The parliament had exempted Britain's East India Company from duties on teas that colonial merchants were required to pay.  The Act was particularly galling in that the Americans were not represented in Parliament.  Disguised as Native Americans, they rushed aboard ships laden with the tea and dumped the tea into the harbor.

Earlier today, scores of Cincinnatians gathered at Fountain Square for a protest in the best tradition of the Boston Tea Party.  The parallels between today and 1773 are striking.

After all, who would not be incensed by the massive taxes just imposed by our Congress?

Oh--what?  Congress didn't raise taxes, but instead lowered them?  That's all right.  The laws passed passed by our government are still onerous.  Just as in 1773, the citizens of this continent are subject to laws passed by a legislature in which they have no elected representatives and by a king whose power to rule is derived from God, rather than the people.

Oh, dear.  You say that's not right either?  We just elected the entire House of Representatives?  And the two senators that represent each state are directly elected by the people of that state every six years?  Wow....not even the Framers believed in direct election of the members of the Senate; that required the 17th Amendment.  And...we have no king?  Just a president who was elected by a majority of voters just four months ago?  Geesh.

Well...the parallels are still obvious.  After all, the Cincinnati Tea Party was near water.  And the people there want to sell tea at lower prices.  I think.

OK.  Maybe there are no parallels between the tea parties across the country and the Boston Tea Party.  Maybe calling the gatherings "tea parties" is really just a clever marketing gimmick thought up by those who are disappointed that their candidates lost in November.

I suspect the mood of the Cincinnati Tea Party crowd is accurately captured in this Enquirer picture.  Note the clever sign near the front of the crowd reading "Nobama's Bin Lyin'."  Now there's some intelligent public discourse for you.  

Thanks to DF--you know who you are--for inspiring this post.

Downtown: Quick Bites

Three tidbits of downtown news:

First, the Fountain Square Chipotle is now open during the same hours as are most of the Chipotle restaurants: 11 am until 10 pm, seven days per week. (When the restaurant opened, its closing time was 8:00, with plans to be open only on "special event" weekends.)

Second, the building that previously housed the troubled Phoenix Cafe (Walnut between Sixth and Seventh) has new life: it will host the Righteous Room, an upscale bar to be opened by the spring. The new bar will be owned by the same folks who own the Pavilion and aliveOne in Mt. Adams. (The building is owned by 3CDC.) Also planned are three condos in the space above the bar, priced at around $220,000.

Finally, Wah Mee (on Elm between Fourth and Fifth) will close by the end of the year. The owners cite the high rent as the reason for the closure. It's a tough location (in a basement, on a block without a lot of foot traffic). No word on a successor in that space (or in the space previously occupied by a florist at Elm and Fifth).

It's Snowing!!!

I awoke this morning to a wondrous sight: snow!

I walked home from Grammer's last night well after 1 AM and it was cold, but not snowing. To awake to a surprise of snow is an uplift. It allows for a little bit of youth to return when the flakes fall on your face. It puts you in the mood for the holiday. I've not been ice skating on the square yet, but it may be a good time. The faint hearted can't take the weather, so the rink shouldn't be too crowded.

Fountain Square Broomball FAQ

The Fountain Square Broomball League sign-ups began yesterday, here are the details:


WHAT: Team registration for the 2009 Fountain Square Broomball League (FSBL), the third season for Broomball on Fountain Square.

WHEN: Sign ups begin Monday October 27 and close Friday November 14 at 5 pm

WHERE: Go to www.myfountainsquare.com to download the registration form. Registration forms will not be available until Oct. 27.

WHO CAN PLAY: Anyone over 18! The 2009 FSBL will include 32 teams: 16 Advanced and 16 Beginner. Teams can include up to 12 players. Six players are on the ice at a time and at least three must be women. The 32 teams will be selected by lottery and announced before Thanksgiving.

HOW LONG IS THE SEASON: Six weeks starting January 5. Games are played on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Championship games will be played for both Advanced and Beginner leagues on Wednesday, February 18.

WHAT IS BROOMBALL ANYWAY: Broomball combines elements of soccer and hockey. Players wear gym shoes, not skates, and use sticks with a small, broom-shaped head to pass the ball and score goals.

CAN I WATCH INSTEAD OF PLAY: Of course. It's free to watch the games, and adult beverages are available. Live announcers call each game and the Fountain Square video board becomes a giant TV with a scoreboard, time clock and live camera coverage.

Holiday Weekend, Cincinnati Style

My parents (who presently reside near Tampa, Florida) were in town visiting over the long weekend. So we decided to enjoy ourselves, Cincinnati-style. Highlights of the weekend:

Ice cream (well, a chocolate soda for Dad) at the Fountain Square Graeter's;
A Reds game (Saturday's game, which the Reds won in more dramatic fashion than they should have);
A meal at Mitchell's Fish Market in Newport (all right, maybe that's too chain-y to be a Cincinnati meal);
Watching the fireworks from a Queen City riverboat;
Sunday brunch at the Greyhound Tavern in Ft. Mitchell (Julie: if you haven't been, you ought to give it a try);
An afternoon at the Contemporary Arts Center; and
(Without me) a meal at First Watch and some book-shopping at Joseph-Beth.

What did y'all do with your weekend? Feel free to critique my failures as a host (but remember, the folks have been to Cincinnati plenty of times, so we've done lots of other stuff previously).

"North of the Border" Info

In addition to the event Brian has posted below, the Obama campaign will be hosting a "watch party" for the senator's acceptance speech to the DNC convention on Fountain Square this Thursday, August 28, 2008, beginning at 9:00 pm.

The gathering on the Square for hiss address to the NAACP convention was a blast, and I expect a similarly festive atmosphere on Thursday.

Steak with Black Beans, Hot Salsa, Sour Cream, and Cheese

Yes, most of Cincinnati is talking about the news that Ken Griffey, Jr. has been traded to the White Sox.

Whatever. I like watching him play, but it's not going to have an impact on my life. Or yours.

The bigger news of the day--the exciting news, the news that made me giggle with glee as soon as I read it--is about two of my favorite places: Fountain Square and Chipotle. And now they're going to be together. At last. I feel like the first person to taste peanut butter and chocolate together in the same bite. Can you imagine: sitting on the Square, eating a Chipotle burrito on a glorious spring day?

There are those who hate the encroachment by national chains into downtown. I wish I had comforting words of wisdom for them. I don't. I like Chipotle, and I'm not ashamed of it. I'm glad they're coming downtown. Now I can get a burrito, follow it up with a Graeter's ice cream cone, and wash it all down with a beer from Rock Bottom.

I might never leave downtown again . . .

SoapDish Lathers Up in the Fountain

Casey Coston sings praise for Fountain Square in a Soapbox Column.

Fountain Square Magic

Last night, something pretty special happened on Fountain Square: two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet became engaged to be married, all while being watched by people they knew, and some bemused onlookers who were no doubt surprised by the mini-drama.

Both the groom-to-be (the GTB) and the bride-to-be (the BTB) are friends of mine. I'm leaving their names off the post, so they can tell their friends and colleagues who weren't lucky enough to be on the Square Saturday night in their own time and in their own way. I've known the BTB for several years. She's one of the nicest (yep, said it again!), most intelligent, hardest-working people I've ever known. I've not known the GTB for nearly as long. But along with the BTB's other friends, I was happy for her when she got involved with the GTB--finally, a man who is worthy of her.

About a week ago, the GTB sent out an email to the couple's friends, informing us of his intention to propose. He invited us to sneak into Rock Bottom Brewery ahead of time (with warnings to be on-time, lest his subterfuge be foiled). He put together a video montage of their life as a couple, which concluded with his proposal, that was played on the Jumbotron. The camera operator then, in real time ("live") , zoomed in on the couple, as their body language made clear that the BTB had happily accepted. (We had snuck out of Rock Bottom to the far eastern edge of the Square, where we were able to watch without the BTB seeing us.) Both the GTB's and the BTB's families were present, as well. Most of the women present teared up.

It was a really nice moment on Fountain Square, and hopefully was a little bit of fun even for those who were just enjoying their weekend and had no idea what was about to unfold. And the men in the gathering were nice enough not to beat the snot out of the GTB, who has now raised the bar way too high for the rest of us single guys. (How do you top that? Get a marching band to spell out a proposal at half-time of the OSU-Michigan game?)

This certainly can't be the first wedding proposal in the history of Fountain Square, but does anyone know: is this the first time the Jumbotron has been used for that purpose?

And it's another sign of how much a part of Cincinnati's life, culture, and community the "new" Fountain square has become.

A Great Downtown Video

Soapbox Cincinnati has produced a great video of Summer in Downtown Cincinnati.

Obama a Hit on the Square

For the thousands that were on Fountain Square to see Barak Obama speak to the NAACP Convention it was an electric event. I have never been on the square with a bigger crowd, so if you have pictures from above, please post them on line and share the links.

The most entertaining part of the event was hear the WLWT announcers astonishment at how big of a crowd was on Fountain Square for the speech. They thought maybe a few hundred would show up. Instead it was a few thousand.

John McCain speaks tomorrow and I will be surprised if he gets this type of crowd, especially since he is speaking in the morning vs. the evening.

I was greatly impressed with the speech. It wasn't full of a lot of details, which needs to change when he gets to the Democratic Convention. The way the crowd was really interested in what he said was refreshing. People far too often seem uninterested.

As I walked to the Square last night, I was confident that Obama would carry Hamilton County. Afterwards, I am certain Obama will carry Hamilton County.

Chime in if you were there.

Fountain Square in the Morning