Discover Downtown Cincinnati

Christkindlmarkt

The Banks

Address: 1115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati OH 45202

Handel’s Messiah

Central Business District

December 1 and 2| Various Times Handel's Masterwork conducted by Collegium Artistic Director, Matthew Phelps

Address: Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati OH 45202

Phone: 513-428-2224

Redsfest

Central Business District

December 1 and 2 | Various Times Redsfest is the official annual winter warm-up of the Cincinnati Reds. Traditionally held in early December at the Duke Energy Convention Center, this event features games and activities for kids of all ages, including interaction with past. current, and future stars of the Cincinnati Reds.

Address: Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati OH 45202

Phone: 513) 419-7300

The Nutcracker

Over-the-Rhine

Dec 14 -24 | Various Times The Nutcracker presented by Sheakley Family returns in December, celebrating a favorite holiday tradition. With spectacular choreography by Victoria Morgan, grand sets and costumes, and a beloved story, The Nutcracker also presents a remarkable cast of characters such as the Snow Queen and King, Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier, mischievous mice, brave toy soldiers, chicks and Minnie the Poodle. The narrative follows a girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker on Christmas Eve. Her dreams take her on a great adventure to the amazing Land of Sweets. Accompanying this winter fantasy is the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s melodic score. Dozens of local young performers join Cincinnati Ballet onstage for these performances. It’s a spectacular holiday treat for the entire family!

Address: Music Hall, Cincinnati OH 45202

Phone: 513-744-3344

Winter Ball at Music Hall

Over-the-Rhine

December 2 | 8:00PM Come dance the night away at the Tri-State's biggest ballroom dance social event of the year!

• Attire: Formal or Semi-Formal
• Snacks/Drinks: No food or drinks will be allowed to be brought to the event. They will be available for purchase at the venue.
• Seating: This event is GENERAL SEATING. If you have purchased tickets and have a group of 8 or more and would like to reserve a table, email Justin or Brenda at usadance2006@gmail.com.
• Doors: Doors will open at 7:30 PM
• Questions: Contact Justin Chiou or Brenda Karr at usadance2006@gmail.com

Address: Music Hall Ballroom, Cincinnati OH 45202

Phone: (513) 621-2787

Holiday Junction at Cincinnati Museum Center

The West End

  November 10 - Jan 8, 2024 | Union Terminal | Various Times From the child with their eyes peeled for visitors from the North Pole to the teen counting every LEGO brick to the grandparent watching model trains zip through a mini metropolis, our signature holiday experience brings families together in ageless joy. And this year our beloved Duke Energy Holiday Trains are celebrating their 77th season. The Duke Energy Holiday Trains have been a Cincinnati holiday staple since 1946, delighting generations since they first debuted downtown in 1946. Track-level views reveal intricate details of the display, where over 300 rail cars and 60 locomotives steam past anxious passengers waiting to board while cars sit with snow to their hubcaps and the perfect trees strapped to their roofs. Holiday Junction features bursts of winter whimsy that greet you as soon as you enter the door. The Northern Lights display serves as the perfect backdrop for family photos as wispy green lights dance behind you and snow-rimmed trees surround you. The history of the Duke Energy Holiday Trains is also told through an interactive storybook filled with photos of the iconic trains over the decades. The Holiday Scavenger Hunt features hidden objects in the garden railway layout begging you to walk around, peel your eyes and scour every detail tucked away in the snowy hills. Returning once again is Brickopolis, a blizzard of LEGO bricks crafted into fantastical scenes from the magical worlds of Star Wars, a winter holiday wonderland, amusement park, medieval village and local landmarks. The whimsical display is another seek and find treat surrounding a stunning LEGO metropolis complete with running trains, active seashores and hijinks by the local residents. Of course, no holiday is complete without a visit to Santa. Santa makes his grand arrival by helicopter courtesy of UC Health on Friday, November 24. You can visit the jolly elf by his fireplace on the Mezzanine in the Ruthven Gallery. Also returning this year is the OMNIMAX^® film Rocky Mountain Express, where you can immerse yourself in the rugged beauty of the Canadian Rockies aboard a historic steam locomotive. Holiday Junction is free for Members and $10 for non-Members or just $5 with any other Museum admission

Address: Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati OH 45203

Phone: (513) 287-7000

A Permanent Nostalgia for Departure

Central Business District

September 22 - January 28 | Various Times In 2011 Etel Adnan wrote in an ode to Zaha Hadid, “to discover, in this woman who built a solid rock, a permanent nostalgia for departure. Everything she made seems to always be the day before a departure, a permanent invitation to the imagination, and to the imaginary.” Referring to Baudelaire’s “Invitation to the Voyage,” Adnan's poetic words proposed an understanding of Hadid's oeuvre as an invitation to take a trip. In such a way, this exhibition expands on Adnan's prompt and proposes a take on Zaha Hadid's legacy—not as a conclusive overview, but rather as a point of departure full of possibilities and reflections. The exhibition reflects on what legacy means. It asks what are the possibilities of actively engaging with the outcome of a creative action? A drawing, a painting, a building, a text, or an idea, once emancipated from the author, opens a range of constantly evolving questions, meanings, and concepts that continue to generate an ecosystem of knowledge. This exhibition is a take on architectural legacy that transcends a monolithic approach. Rather, it wants to actively use Hadid's architectural thinking as a starting point, as a source of knowledge that can be activated, transferred and evolved. Through site-specific and all-new commissioned works, the show reflects upon the idea of distance in time, history, cultural background, and landscapes, and how a legacy can become a passageway for it. The participating artists are creating new, site-specific works ranging in a diverse set of media that crosses sculpture, installation, textiles, sound, video, or performance and with multiple cultural backgrounds and practices. The list of participating artists includes Rand Abdul Jabbar (b. Baghdad, 1990, currently lives and works in Abu Dhabi), Khyam Allami (b. Damascus, 1981, currently lives and works in Berlin), Emii Alrai (b. Blackpool, 1993, currently lives and works in Leeds), Hera Büyüktaşcıyan (b. Istanbul, 1984), Andrea Canepa (b. Lima, 1980, currently lives and works in Berlin), Zaha Hadid (b. Baghdad, 1950 – d. Miami, 2016), Dima Srouji (b. Nazareth, 1990, currently lives and works in London) and Hamed Bukhamseen (b. Kuwait City, 1991) and Ali Ismail Karimi (b. Manama, 1989) as founders of Civil Architecture Studio. The exhibition also brings a selection of paintings and ephemera by Zaha Hadid that depict the unique aesthetic regime the architect created. These selections highlight the early stages of Hadid’s process, bringing back a vocabulary that—far from any built project—preserves full potentiality to keep expanding. This exhibition itself is a key part of the celebration of 20th anniversary of the construction of the Zaha Hadid-designed Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art.

Address: Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati OH 45202

Phone: (513) 345-8400