Weekly roundup · Sept 21–27
Hey neighbors — here's the week
Kings Island flips the switch on Halloween Haunt Friday night, and Restaurant Week is in its final days — book a table before Sunday. Also inside: the Columbia Tusculum brewery throwing itself a 10th birthday party, 15 things to do from Loveland to North Bend, and five deals worth the drive. (Heads up: Reds, Bengals and FC Cincinnati are all on the road this weekend.)
Business Highlight
Ten years of beer on Eastern Avenue
Streetside Brewery turns ten this week, and the whole thing is still a family operation. The Hickeys — Brian, Kathie, and brewer Garrett — opened a little taproom at 4003 Eastern Ave in Columbia Tusculum in 2016 planning to "make some decent beer." A decade later, Raspberry Beret and Demogorgon have racked up awards, distribution covers the tri-state, and the family still shows up nearly every day. It holds 4.7 stars across 589 Google reviews — the neighbors have spoken.
The 10th anniversary party runs Friday and Saturday: new releases, updated favorites, and live music Saturday with Twin Sons (2–5pm) and DJ Cat Scratch (6–9pm).
Mon 3–10pm · Tue–Thu 11am–10pm · Fri 11am–11pm · Sat 10am–11pm · Sun 10am–9pm
"The idea was to open a little taproom in the neighborhood and make some decent beer."
Got a business to nominate?
Things to do this weekend
15 for your Friday through Sunday
From Loveland to North Bend, Clifton to Newport — everything below happens Sept 25–27, inside about 50 miles of downtown. Every name links to the official page.
Kings Island Halloween Haunt
Opens Fri 6pm–midnight · Kings Island, Mason · select nights through Oct 31
Scare mazes, fog, and night rides. Not recommended for under-13s.CliftonFest
Sat 12–11pm · Ludlow Ave, Clifton Gaslight District · free
20 local bands, 40+ makers, and 25 chalk artists turning the street into a gallery.Hofbräuhaus Newport Oktoberfest
Fri–Sun · Newport KY · final weekend
Last call for liter steins and live brass — Bavaria done properly.2026 Cincinnati Moon Festival
Sat 2–7pm · Fountain Square · free
Mooncake and tea tastings, lion dances and cultural performances from Asianati.Fall Food Fest
Sun 10am–4pm · Findlay Market, OTR · tasting tickets in bundles
Merchants go all-in on fall small bites. Pre-buy tickets — they go fast.Art After Dark: Japan
Fri 5–9pm · Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park · free
J-pop DJs, taiko drumming, Japanese tea tastings, and koi painting bound for BLINK's Night Market.Final Friday
Fri 5–9pm · Pendleton Art Center & across OTR · free
200+ artists in one building, now expanded across OTR from Pendleton to Vine.Whispering Beard Folk Festival
Through Sun · Carriage House Farm, North Bend
Folk, story and community on a working farm. The Tillers headline.Loveland Oktoberfest
Fri–Sat · Nisbet Park, downtown Loveland · free
Beer and brats along the bike trail; $5 kids-zone wristband.Fairy Tale Festival
Sat 9am–3pm · Glenwood Gardens, Woodlawn · advance online tickets
Rapunzel, real-life fairies, face painting. Made for the under-10 crowd.RIDE Cincinnati
Sat morning, starts 8–10am · Sawyer Point
Ride 4 to 60 miles for cancer research, then hit the finish-line party.Ohio Renaissance Festival: Highland Weekend
Sat–Sun 10:30am–7pm · Renaissance Park, Harveysburg
Kilts, cabers and turkey legs, 40 minutes up SR-73. Heads up: Saturday is sold out — Sunday tickets remain.The Great Gatsby
Final weekend, through Sun · Aronoff Center, downtown · from $48
The Tony-winning Broadway tour pours its last champagne Sunday.REC Fest
Sun 12–6pm · Sawyer Point · free
16 niche sports to watch and try, from bike polo to quidditch, plus food trucks.Kings Island Tricks and Treats
Opens Sun · Kings Island, Mason · included with admission
The family-friendly, daylight side of Halloween: trick-or-treat trails and costume contests. Weekends through Nov 1.
Local events
Ten more before the weekend even starts — Monday the 21st through Thursday the 24th — plus the big ones on the horizon.
Monday 9/21
Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Week begins — runs through Sunday at nearly 60 restaurants. Details in the deals block.
Jazz at the Park: Noisepolice — Washington Park, OTR, 6–9pm. Ease into the week.
Tuesday 9/22
The Great Gatsby — Aronoff Center, evening show. Runs through Sunday; tickets from $48.
Wednesday 9/23
Beer for Humans: UpSpring — Rhinegeist, OTR, 5–8pm. A pint that helps kids experiencing homelessness.
$5 Burger Wednesday — Arnold's Bar & Grill, downtown, with live bluegrass in the courtyard.
Thursday 9/24
Pop Up Planetarium — MadTree Taproom, Oakley, 6–9pm, $10. Cincinnati Observatory brings the inflatable dome and trivia.
10th Annual Brews for Brains — Braxton Covington rooftop, 6:30–9pm. Craft beer for dementia support programs.
Salsa on the Square — Fountain Square, 7–10pm. The Latin Beat Project live, with dance instruction.
Oktoberfest at Braxton Factory 52 — Thu–Sun · Norwood · free. Food, games and festbier at the Factory 52 taproom.
YELP! Fall into Cincy — ArtsConnect, Springfield Twp, 6:30–9:30pm · suggested donation. 30+ vendors and BLINK-inspired Charley Harper projections.
Looking ahead
Cincinnati Design Week — Sept 28–Oct 2. Talks, workshops and panels across the city.
13th Annual Slice Night — Wed Sept 30, 5:30–8:30pm, Yeatman's Cove. Unlimited pizza from 10 local pizzerias on the riverfront.
BLINK — Oct 8–11. Thirty blocks of light art and projection mapping, downtown through OTR, 7–11pm nightly. Free. Findlay Market runs BLINK Tasting Tours the same weekend.
Best deals around town
Worth your money this week
$26 gets you three courses — final days. Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Week wraps Sunday, September 27. Set menus at $26, $36, $46 and $56 at nearly 60 restaurants across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, with a dollar from every meal going to Cincinnati Children's. Book now — the good tables go first.
Half-price apps all weekend. Wings & Rings (Finneytown and Beckett Ridge) runs football specials: half-price appetizers Friday from 3pm and Sat–Sun 12–8pm, kids eat free Friday, and a weekly NFL raffle every Sunday.
$5 burgers and free bluegrass. Arnold's Bar & Grill — Cincinnati's oldest tavern — does $5 burgers every Wednesday with live bluegrass from 6 to 8pm.
Half-price wine bottles, Thursday nights. Governor's House Wine Bar & Italian Kitchen, 314 Greenup St in Covington. Every Thursday.
$5 pints, Tuesday–Thursday. Dead Low Brewing, 5959 Kellogg Ave on the East Side, 4–6pm. Tuesday adds $1.25 wings.
New openings & closings
Doors open, doors closed
Doors open
The Bagelry — Montgomery — 11013 Montgomery Road. The OTR bagel favorite opens its third location (after OTR and Oakley) with a grand opening Friday, September 25.
Last call
The Great Gatsby closes at the Aronoff Sunday, September 27, and Cincinnati Ballet's Kaplan New Works Series dances its final performances Saturday the 26th. Two chances to say you saw it.
That's it for this week.
Happy 10th to the Hickey family and everyone at Streetside. If we missed something worth knowing about, reply to this email — we read every one.
— The Formed In Cincinnati team 🐷
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