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    Glier's Goettafest

    3.6 (19 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Glier's Goettafest Photos

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    Kathy M.

    I have always wanted to go and I finally made it. It was almost a four hour drive and it was worth it. There was so many options of food that I did not leave hungry. It was great to see all the different was geotta was incorporated in food. It was awesome to see a geotta vending machine. I was able to stock up for a great price. There where two different bands. One at each end of the festival. This is a must to visit.

    Moerlein goetta beer!
    Stephanie O.

    The problem with festivals is that even if you're interested in the theme and what it has to offer, there's only so many things you can do before you're bored. You'll become full eventually, and I'm not to into the cover bands and water dunking of local children. However, goettafest still receives 4 stars from me. Why? I. LOVE. GOETTA. Love it. So much. I choose where I'm eating breakfast based off whether they offer goetta or not. Goetta is a constant in my fridge and is eaten daily. (In small doses y'all, I'm not about the high cholesterol life!) Therefore, an entire festival, however large or small, dedicated to my favorite breakfast meat is instantly put at the top of the list. Goettafest is similarly sized to other food fests placed on Newport Levee's riverfront. Parking is easy because you can park at the Levee for $5 and work your way down to the festival. I suppose you can park down in the adjacent river parking designated for the area as well, but it doesn't seem as conveniently placed to me. Plus, if you decide to do something else on the Levee, you can head back up and do what you please afterwards. The booths are actually pretty creative with their goetta filled offerings. I shall list the things I've had: - Goetta Big Mac: very large, and surprisingly overrun with goetta. A very good deal for $6 that will fill you up. - Deep Fried Goetta Cheese Coney: pass. Being deep fried made the item as a whole weirdly soggy, the chili was a homemade Cincinnati style type and not tasty, and the goetta was lost in the hot mess of it all. A sad miss. - Goetta Pizza: Very inconsistent. I've had great slices of goetta pizza that were overloaded with goetta bites, and sad last piece of the pie slices that looked like the Italianette $2 slices that came from Catholic elementary school cafeterias. Only worth it if you get a good slice. - Goetta calzone - in theory, AWESOME. A garlic buttery piece of dough stuffed to the brim with goetta and cheese? Sign me up. Execution was poor. There were large dough pockets with no goetta or cheese. While the dough was well made, I paid for goetta. Gimme all of it. Plus, it's rather filling and may stop you from eating other goetta goodies. - Goetta Southwestern Sliders - Basically a normal goetta slider with cheese sauce and jalapeños added. The cheese sauce is unnecessary. I'd rather just have a normal slider with mustard tbh. - Goetta Rangon: small but delicious. The goetta and cream cheese actually blend together well, and it's the perfect snack size so you can keep noshing on other things. - Goetta Balls: the stars of the show, in my opinion. They're always hot and fried perfectly. I've been known to take down a few orders in one sitting. (The jury's still out on whether or not I'm proud of that so I'll just let it be for right now.) I love them whole heartedly. So simple yet so tasty - with some Düsseldorf or spicy brown mustard, they're the perfect treat. Here's the thing about goettafest - you have to really like goetta like me to enjoy it. You can't casually be a fan and find this exciting. I mean, I guess if you enjoy live Beatles covers you might find other fun things to enjoy. But this, just as many other festivals, can only be properly done if you like the theme at hand. Believe me, you will not see me at Cannoli fair or Apple cider fest anytime soon. If you are a casual fan, please be festive somewhere else and leave me alllll the goetta. *For the record, I am unaware if there is a cannoli or Apple cider themed festival around. If there is, I hope you enjoy it.

    Enjoying Goetta Fest
    Kelly M.

    This year the event lasted two weeks. I attended Friday night 8/2/19 and there was a nice crowd of all ages. A good band playing on both ends of the strip and an array of ways to try Goetta. I would argue that the best way to enjoy Goetta is to fry it by itself, Goetta Fest gives you the opportunity to think about new ways to cook with it. Also it's cool that this is mostly a Cincinnati/Northern KY thing. A beautiful night with a spectacular landscape of Cincinnati, made it a wonderful experience.

    Brad B.

    We drove from Charlotte to Cincinnati just to attend this Festival and it was worth it. I discovered Goetta only 4-months ago. I bought a ton of the frown variety at Kroger's while passing through Cincy and was just running out when we found out that they have a festival dedicated to all things Goetta! Love the Newport Levee area. Lots of parking and what a great location. This event has something for everybody. Food, fun, entertainment, swag. Wow! We bought lots of different Goetta items to eat, used the Goetta Vending Machine, got shirts, listened to music, took pics, and learned all about Goetta. Major family friendly fun and very inexpensive. Kudos to the organizers and to Glier's for making me a Goetta addict.

    Mr. Goetta welcomes you to Goettafest!
    Paige M.

    Since 2001, the first weekend of August has belonged to Goettafest. Known as Cincinnati's caviar, goetta is a sausage-like meat made of pork, beef, steel cut oats, and spices. The origin of goetta is of German-American heritage. It began as a peasant dish in the 1800s meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to save money. Glier's is the flagship goetta producer in Greater Cincinnati, manufacturing around 450 tons of goetta annually, 99% of which is consumed in the Queen City. While primarily a breakfast meat, Goettafest gives local restaurants an opportunity to show off their creative non-breakfast goetta dishes. Combined with carnival games, live concerts, local beer, frozen drinks, and a scenic view of Cincinnati, this is one festival you don't want to miss. Some of the unique dishes include: - Goetta Nachos: topped with onions, green peppers, and a homemade mild cheddar cheese sauce over warmed tortilla chips - Goetta Hot Brown: turkey, goetta, homegrown tomatoes, Virginia baked ham, over toast and smothered in a mild cheddar cheese sauce topped with two strips of bacon - Goetta Hash: Browned crumbled goetta, potatoes, green peppers, onions, jazzed up with a spicy sauce. - Goetta Wrap: cream cheese, cheddar, and goetta wrapped in a flour tortilla and lightly grilled. - Goetta Sushi Roll: with cucumber, carrot, and wasabi - Goetta Fried Rice - Goetta Pizza - Goetta Goobers: donut holes sprinkled with goetta - Goetta Brownie - Goetta Eggroll - Goetta Hoagie - Goetta Chilito - Goetta Chili Cheese Coney - Goetta Philly - Goetta Reuben - Goetta Mac & Cheese - Goetta Bun Link (it's like a mettwurst or bratwurst) That certainly whet your appetite! New to the festival this year is Glier's Cooling Tent: an air conditioned tent with tables and chairs to seat up to 400 people at a comfortable 75º. Another favorite of mine includes Snowie, the make-your-own flavor sno cone booth. The nerd in me enjoyed the Glier's Goetta History Tent with the story behind the meat, and the giant map where guests can stick a pin on the location of where they are visiting from. You may also spot a Goetta Vending Machine where you can purchase a goetta log for wholesale price: $3.50 instead of $5.00 at the grocery. Be sure to keep an eye out for Mr. Goetta, a giant plush cartoon goetta character walking around the festival. He's so adorable, you'll want to run up and hug him. Goettafest is a festival unique to Cincinnati, earning its title amongst the ranks of The Flying Pig Marathon and the Opening Day Parade. Running Thursday through Sunday below Newport On The Levee, find time to come check out some hometown heritage. Admission: FREE Food price: $3.00 - $5.00 each BRING CASH!

    Enjoying purple hair at this festival!!
    Cindy W.

    I was downtown for a charity event that finished early, so I popped over to the goetta festival with friends. Even just walking around the festival was enjoyable. They had a great band playing (and even two bandstands set up at both ends of the park). Every option of food was available. You name it or crave it..and it was there. Not into goetta? No worries, there was even pizza. Don't forget to bring your lawn chairs if you want to enjoy the concert. People did stand in the back, but a chair would be more comfortable. Great atmosphere for a summer activity!!

    Goetta vending machine

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    Review Highlights - Glier's Goettafest

    Their menu items are always so creative and involve generous portions of goetta.

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    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest

    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest

    3.6
    (5 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    While I understand that Braxton Brewery is the one sponsoring this event, and the Mainstrauss…read moresociety association has shut its doors, I feel like this festival fell flat. It was only on one street really and in the park. Growing up I remember there being rides, games, more vendors, and more German Beer. Where was the German Beer??? The whole reason why I come to these events is for the delicious beer like Hefweizen, Weiss Beer, and Dunkels. It was all lame Braxton beers and a handful of overpriced cocktail vendors. They also had country music playing which REALLY didn't make it feel German at all. Cmon Braxton! Get it together, you call this a German Festival?? It felt rushed, and Hodgepodge. Also, why is it only on one street! Mainstrauss is huge and used to have vendors and shops and food all the way down to the fountain. I give it 2 stars. Maybe it'll grow, but this should be a way bigger event with rides and more games and activities for families and kids, like it used to be in the 90s and 2000s. I recommend expanding into more than just a few shops selling the same candle, jewelry, and incense merch as well.

    Kicking off the Greater Cincinnati's festival season, Covington's Maifest celebrates the area's…read moreGermanic tradition of heralding the arrival of spring wines. However, I think Maifest is little more about beer and brats, but fun nonetheless. The 2008 event kicks off Friday, May 16th and runs until Sunday, May 18th. If the weather is nice, Maifest will be packed as tightly as Northern German sardines. Good luck trying to navigate with a stroller or wheelchair. Yet, given Cincinnati's unpredictable spring weather, chances are pretty good that there will at least be scattered showers, scaring away half of the crowd to a number that's manageable. Drinkers, your best bet is to purchase a collectors mug, which can be refilled at vendors' booths for a discount over individual beer price. And you're making Mother Nature proud. The beer selection is mostly domestic (unfortunately), but Warsteiner's there to keep things semi-authentic. For families, there are tons of food booths and artisans selling their wares, even "gypsies" reading your palms or tarot cards. Kiddies will love the carnival rides and games set up in the 5th street parking lot. Oompa bands and men in Lederhosen rock the crowd Bavarian style, but if that's not your style you can pop into any of the MainStrasse bars for more contemporary jams. There will invariably be someone who can't hold their liquor and will embarrass themselves terribly in front of a crowd of 150,000. But you'll walk away with a renewed sense of Schadenfreude. Prost!

    Photos
    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest
    Photo from website

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    Photo from website
    Newport Italianfest

    Newport Italianfest

    3.4
    (8 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    This is always a fun festival which celebrates my heritage Italian. There is rides for the kids, a…read morebooth of local Italian families pictures and many food and drink booths. Alfios Pompillios just to name a couple of restaurants serving their delicious Italian fare. Also cannolis, Italian beer and music all day. Even if you are not Italian you can pretend at the festival

    Italianfest is simply ok in my book. I definitely think it has potential to be something much more,…read moreso hopefully it can raise the bar to compete with other culturally focused festivals in the area (Panegyri, Oktoberfest, etc). This year had plenty of food vendors but the offerings were not that appealing after our walk through. We fortunately split some great pasta (vendor currently doesn't have a brick&mortar location) and each of us ate a tasty cannoli since festival calories do not count at all :) If you are seeking simple, often from scratch food, you will be in luck and should find something to devour. To any vendors reading this, please have a legible menu posted high above the crowd so that passersby can read it. Lines tended to be long and most vendors were *LISTEN UP: Ca$h Only. I actually had cash on me but the long lines at the portable ATM signified that many others lacked such an important item. The crowd was very thick at times and props to those with strollers that attempt to swim upstream against everyone. ha ha Parking is probably best had at the nearby Newport on the Levee garage or surrounding lots. Much of the surrounding neighborhood is for residents only.

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    Newport Italianfest
    Newport Italianfest
    Outside

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    Outside
    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

    2.8
    (24 reviews)
    3.8 mi

    This was actually the first thing we did when we moved to Cincinnati. Quite literally. We pulled…read moreinto the Queen City, saw a billboard advertising that it was happening that day, and decided to check it out. What was a crazy mass of people grabbing for as many chocolate treats as possible has only gotten crazier. Our first visit saw a fighting chance. Now, talking to vendors to learn about them, and their craft is nearly impossible. The stream of people keeps pushing forward, and one gets swept away from the booths. As the event has grow, this has continued to be the case. (All pre COVID, not sure how this will be safely handled in the future.) While we have tried some amazing treats, thus introducing us to some amazing local businesses, it is hard to truly enjoy the experience. Chocolate should be savored. It is hard to do that here. The only exception is the children's play area. This is consistently a ghost town. My children have enjoyed playing the games, gettibg balloons, or whatever else has been offered. The area is kind of like a section of an elementary school carnival.

    I attended this event with my sister in 2014. There is a whole lot of chocolate here. Yum! You…read morestart out with tickets for tastings at the different vendors and there is the opportunity to purchase additional tickets at the event. There were A LOT of different vendors and a lot of chocolaty things to see. I recommend walking through at least once so that you can decide what samples you are most interested in tasting. My only complaint is that the later it gets in the day the more congested the event is. We arrived right when it opened and that was a VERY wise decision. We were kind of crammed together with loads of other pushy people right before we left and that was not ideal. We also upgraded to tickets that included the Bella Luna lounge and wine tasting. This was a great value. Bella Luna provided small bites of (not chocolate) food like pasta and bruchetta. There were 5 wine tastings included in the price and they were very generous pours. I would attend again.

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    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival
    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival
    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

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    Brew Ha-Ha

    Brew Ha-Ha

    4.0
    (15 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    This is a fun event where you can laugh all night being entertained by comedians and also enjoy…read morebeers so many beers. Lagers shandys sweet beers and IPAS. I tasted a lime shandy so so good and a beer called little buns. Very refreshing. There are food trucks with food such as steak sandwiches empanadas bbq sandwiches. I ordered the potato and eggplant empanada and it was very delicious. It's a a night for of laughter and beer. Life is good.

    While I'm not a partaker of alcohol of any kind, I am a connoisseur of stand-up comedy - and this…read moreevent allows for an overdose of laughs from a variety of different comics. With four different stages set up, there's a little something for everyone. Observational humor, hilarious stories, and sometimes just plain weird stuff - it's all at Brew Ha-Ha. I did sample a few of the food trucks including a Burger truck and a BBQ truck, which I'll review separately. Soft drinks were only available at one specific stand, which I guess makes sense given this is a beer festival but it did make things inconvenient for a non-drinker like me. My favorite comedian, Chad Daniels, flew in to town from Minneapolis for this event and destroyed the stage under the tunnel. I didn't catch Preacher Lawson's set on the main stage, but he was on last year's America's Got Talent and did well there so I'm sure he was fun to watch. Many of my favorite local comedians took to the various stages and I was able to enjoy sets from some of them like Ran Barnaclo, Anna Mazza, Lee Kimbrell, Grant Stiles, and many more. The weather was perfect, the comedy was funny, and the crowds seemed to be having a great time. It was about as perfect an event as you could ask for!

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    Anna Mazza
    Anna Mazza
    Chad Daniels
    Chad Daniels
    Stone Schneider

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    Stone Schneider
    Lumenocity

    Lumenocity

    4.6
    (8 reviews)
    1.5 mi

    Lumenocity 2016 was held at the Taft Theatre this year. What sets this year different from other…read moreyears is that the light show was indoors this year. And, since it was indoors, they were able to offer more tickets for everyone to come and see the event. In addition to that, there were about three-four shows for each day the event occurred, (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Getting to Taft Theatre was pretty easy, and since there wasn't a game going on that weekend it wasn't super crowded in downtown Cincinnati. Parking lots were easy to find. Once you parked, the block party they had in front of Taft Theatre was easy to get to. There were about five or six food trucks, and lots of activities for kids. There was even police presence throughout the festival. This year, you were able to get a wristband ahead of time once they scanned your ticket to expedite getting into the Theatre. But really, it was pretty easy to get in even without getting a wristband ahead of time. They did a great job at handling the crowd before the show. Once inside, it was easy to find your seat. The show started on time which was great! And, it was only 45 minutes which is long enough to be able to enjoy the music, but short enough that all the kids in the audience would not get bored. Seeing the light show indoors was nice, because the lights came out more vibrant compared to watching it outside projected onto a wall. And, you had assigned seating, so you didn't have to worry about saving your seat ahead of time. If you didn't want to pay to see the show, they also broadcasted it outside where the block party was. Overall this year's event was enjoyable. They had some technical difficulties leading up to the event, but it was solved by the time the event started. (The company they used to email the etickets to everyone somehow had their emails come up as spam so a majority of people did not get their tickets by the Monday it was promised. They updated their website letting people know that they were working with finding a new company to send out everyone's etickets. The tickets were delivered on Thursday night).

    Amazed I'm the first to (create/review) this absolutely amazing event. This is the second year for…read moreLumenocity, and it was Fantastic!! I was out of town last year at Lollapalooza, sleeping on a boat, when the inogural Lumenocity happened, but luckily I have a friend that was so impressed that he got Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season tickets JUST to be eligible for the tix to Lumenocity 2014! The event 2014 had food/beer(Rhinegeist) trucks down Race Street, all kinds of vendors, food and Cincy local craft artists in the treed part of the park. This part was open to people without tix to the actual event, and it was food/art festival that was more attended than anything I've seen in Washington park, and I'm there weekly. The show: The show was spectacular. YouTube it. If you haven't been, YouTube the hell out of Lumenocity, and share it. Make it viral. One of the best symphonies in the world, synchronized to amazing digital graphics, using one of Cincinnati's best landmarks(Cincinnati Music Hall) as a canvas. It is amazing, emotional, and one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.

    Photos
    Lumenocity
    Lumenocity
    Charley Harper tribute

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    Charley Harper tribute
    Crafty Supermarket

    Crafty Supermarket

    4.3
    (22 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    It was a great way to kick off the holiday season. I love that there was an outdoor craft show at…read moreWashington Park at the same time, so I got a "two-fer." I shopped there for the traditional arts and crafts gifts, then went into the side door of Music Hall (yes, at you're looking at it, the fair can only be accessed through the left-hand side door of music hall) for unique artist-made crafts. I didn't buy much -- just a silk-screened t-shirt and some tasty Jalapeno jelly -- it was the perusing itself, and talking directly to the artists that was the joy of the season. And I had some great, animated conversations with the artists themselves, who were helpful and excited to talk about their work. Yes, these are hand-made specialty items, so the price was high. But it is going directly to the artists, so it is worth it.

    My first time attending the Crafty Supermarket, and it did not dissapoint. The space is beautiful…read moreand uplifting - warm, inviting, roomy, and festive. The booths were very high-end, offering great design and well-made products. Eli's BBQ was there, along with a bar, coffee stand, and gelto. It wasn't very crowded when we went, so take that for what it is. YMMV. Be prepared to spend some serious cash, also. I didn't buy many things, but the bill was high. I like supporting artists and designers, so I don't mind, but it certainly isn't a budget shopping experience.

    Photos
    One of the creatures at the 2013 Crafty Supermarket holiday show.
    One of the creatures at the 2013 Crafty Supermarket holiday show.
    Crafty Supermarket
    Crafty Supermarket

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    Midpoint Music Festival

    Midpoint Music Festival

    4.6
    (12 reviews)
    1.1 mi

    MidPoint Music festival in late September is the best time of the year in Cincinnati. Close to 300…read morebands play all over the OTR and select Downtown locations (CAC, Arnolds, Blue Wisp, Main Event) from Thursday to Sunday, I love being able to walk to venue to venue discovering new music. If you don't like a band, just walk next door or around the corner to the another venue. Last year the MidPoint Midway 12th & Jackson was added featuring Artworks Art trucks, food trucks and beer truck this is a great meeting space to catch up with friends during the festival.

    I finally got a chance to attend Midpoint as part of working a booth in the Midway area. I was very…read moreimpressed with the set up, ease of obtaining info, venue layout, people and sense of community, and of course the artists. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to non-mainstream music but MPMF makes it pretty easy to find some kind of music you'll like, instead of making you feel out of the loop. Washington Park makes for the perfect main stage location. Having all the restaurants and bars in close proximity is great for taking mini-breaks or for stopping in before or after heading to a venue. I thought the bike valet was a nice touch too. It's always encouraging to see how bike-friendlier the city is getting. There are ways to enjoy the festival at any price range, whether it be checking out the free Midway, a one or three day pass, VIP ticket, or ticket to a specific venue. Great way to wind down summertime.

    Photos
    One of 4 stages
    One of 4 stages
    Midpoint Music Festival
    Chromeo setup

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    Chromeo setup

    Glier's Goettafest - festivals - Updated June 2026

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