ArtsWave formerly the Fine Arts Fund is the largest arts fund of its kind in the United States. Did…read moreyou know the greater Cincinnati area raises more money for the arts than the largest cities in the country - NYC, LA, San Francisco? Due to the work of ArtsWave, money raised during their annual giving campaign supports more than 100 arts and community organizations in our area from community arts centers, and arts non-profits to the largest arts organizations in town - Symphony, The Ballet, Opera, Cincinnati Art Museum. You can't miss their annual arts sampler weekend where you can check out arts all over town for free. They also have an active YP group, which gets together to enjoy many performances throughout the year Its amazing we're blessed by the arts in our community making Cincinnati a great place to live due to ArtsWave!

The phenomenal work of the Fine Arts Fund has helped the arts community flourish in Greater…read moreCincinnati. The oldest fine arts fund in the United States, the Fine Arts Fund has been serving the cultural needs of this region for over 80 years. The primary responsibilities of this organization are to fund and support local artistic and cultural endeavors, through services such as marketing, fundraising, board development, and other administrative functions. The goals of the Fund are to raise money in the workplace for arts, foster excellence through support of regular programming, and minimize the disparity between ticket/admission price and actual costs of producing programs. Their campaign in 2007 raised over $11.7 million making it the #1 united arts fund in the country. What is so impressive about this number is that over half of the contributions came from individuals in the workplace. Keep up the great work of keeping the arts alive in Cincinnati.

As someone who was literally raised in the arts community in Cincinnati and is now currently a…read moreworking member of it, I had not heard of this organization until recently. I decided to become a member as a recent college grad who still can't afford to attend the arts at full price. This organization is doing a great job at getting the youth in Cincinnati interested in the arts. They have a student membership, and under 30 membership, and an above 30 membership. I fall into the second category and paid about $40 for my membership. The organization is a basically a local non-profit marketing agency for local arts organizations. The organizations sign up with Enjoy the Arts and offer free tickets to their members. Marketing departments use this as a way to get the younger crowd in, or people who wouldn't normally come to the arts in hopes of impressing them enough to get them to come back. Let's hope it works! I'll always go to the arts, just can't afford to! I can't wait to get my packet!

I have been a member since May 2013. I love ETA! It sounds too good to be true, it is it true!…read more The only negative is that free tickets are limited per show so you need to claim fast and ETA does not offer free tickets to all shows (only selected ones). So far, we have been to these theaters through ETA: Music Hall, The Carnegie, The Shakespeare Company, and Know Theather. We did go back to these theaters the second time and definitely more in the future. Prior to joining ETA, we were not exposed to many theaters in Cincy so this is definitely a good program to explore. Highly recommended. You will save a lot of money. Once we got orchestra tickets at Music Hall which would have costed $125 per tickets.

I am totally a fan of the Spanish community, so if you are looking for a place to practice your…read moreSpanish, volunteer with the people, or learn about their culture, as far as I know, this is the place to do it in Cincinnati. I volunteered here for a few months, teaching math to Spanish people trying to earn their GED, and it was awesome. I got to practice my Spanish and meet some very cool people. The folks that run the volunteer program are awesome and very helpful, very flexible, and very understanding. I have also volunteered for a College Goal Sunday event here(where students fill out the FAFSA) and people came in droves to volunteer. It reminded me how rich of a support system it has and how happy people are to be involved with this joint. Even though it has a religious background and I absolutely do not, they accept anyone who is of good nature and you will guaranteed get along with them. If you're looking for a more casual, less official way to meet/converse with Spanish people, they have Sunday brunches in the basement after Sunday mass(from about noon-2). I went here once, because I typically work Sunday from 8-4, but I had a blast. I was hesitant when going, because I knew nobody. When I got downstairs and made it glaringly obvious that I knew nobody, a man motioned for me to sit down(his name was Wenceslao, so cool) and began a conversation. I chatted with him and a few others for about an hour, just getting to know them and practice my Spanish. Although I knew I was rusty, they assured me that I was very good and it built up my confidence. That experience is what Su Casa is all about. It's catered to the Spanish community, but accepts everyone with wide-open arms. I HIGHLY recommend this place as a way to feel like you're part of something.

Cintrifuse is home to two of Cincinnati's best startup accelerator programs (The Brandery and…read moreCincyTech). They have a gorgeous space in the hip Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, where budding entrepreneurs, working professionals and mentors come together to create a great coworking space.

Media Bridges is a local non-profit that provides access and education to the community on…read moretechnology and technology resources. They just recently moved downtown on Race and Central Parkway. The center offers free classes to the community on things such as video production, graphic design, web design, Once someone has taken classes there, they can have access to use the electronics and equipment that Media Bridges owns. They also produce programming on their four local access channels for many local organizations. They pride themselves on being one of the many organizations that have moved into Over the Rhine to help it's revitalization and growth as a booming cultural and arts neighborhood. I am actually looking into taking some classes there soon. I hear that they are somewhat hard to get into as they are free!

Ever wanted to make your own TV show... for FREE?! You can do it here…read more Media Bridges is a non-profit cable station located at Race and Central Parkway. If you are a Cincinnati resident, you can come here to learn how to create your own television show and have it broadcast. How so? 1.) Call up Media Bridges. Ask to signup for their television classes. They also have radio classes if music is more your thing. 2.) Attend the required classes and learn how to use the equipment. Ask questions! 3.) Once you are proficient, you can borrow video cameras, use the station's television studio or radio pod to create your own show. Media Bridges also has several editing suites so that you can put together your show and add graphics and effects. 4.) When you have a completed show, you can burn it to DVD and schedule it for broadcast. Pretty cool, eh? Media Bridges is community centric and promotes freedom of speech. As long as your message is tastefully produced, you can make a show about anything: hobbies, cartoons, talk show, politics, music, religion... your imagination is the limit.

It was August and school was about to start up again in whatever form that it is going to be in…read morethis #covid19 year of 2020. My soon to be four year old grandson was with me this weekend. Happen, Inc was sponsoring the #backtoschool #northsideschoolbackpackgiveaway just a few blocks away from my house on #hoffnerstreet. We arrived just after 10:00 am for the 10 am to 2 pm event. It wasn't busy at all. The main gate entrance to this enclosed garden that I didn't even know existed was the required flow for the parents & children coming here. #Covid19 precautions were being taken. Facemasks and social distancing was promoted. We checked in at the registration table. Emails were asked for so they could keep people informed of future events. Most of their events used to be held at their storefront on #hamiltonavenue until the #covid19 pandemic. The friendly staff directed us to walk through the garden to the next table at the back entrance. My grandson and I got a little bit off of the main path but we made it to the next table. Here my grandson was able to pick out what color backpack he wanted! Green was his choice. He was excited to look inside it and we stopped on the sidewalk just down the street. He sat down and opened it up. To my surprise it was loaded with writing pads, paper, folders, crayons, a ruler and a zippered pouch with a lot of erasers and pencils and a pencil/crayon sharpener. My grandson was so happy! He sat there on the sidewalk sharpening the pencils. I was glad to see that the backpack was made from high quality materials. After this we headed to #jacobhoffnerpark for more fun. It was a great day! Until next time stay healthy & be kind to each other. #happeninc #northside #familytime #weekendfun #grandchildren

This place hosts free crafting events for kids about once every other month, usually around a…read moreholiday. I love taking my kids! Even though my oldest is only three, the atmosphere is perfect for him. It's laid back. You come and go at your convenience - it's nice that he can participate, but doesn't have to stay in a seat longer than he can handle. They provide all the tools and supplies for free!On our most recent visit this past October, they had pumpkin decorating. The pumpkin had already been emptied of it's guts, so all you had to do was draw and then carve your design!

I stumbled upon Granny's Garden school through a Yelp service event we were doing and instantly…read morefell in love. Now Granny's Garden school is actually part of Loveland Elementary school. We looked and looked and could not find it because the place itself does not exist. Granny herself runs this nonprofit as more of an educational giving back kind of initiative. As we were moving piles of mulch to the garden beds we met her in person and wow what a special person! She explained to all of us the history of how she got started and it was basically to teach children early about how to eat healthy and that healthy eating can be fun, and delicious! She also said that each classroom of the school has a plot that they are responsible for growing during the season. The class then harvests the plants and they are used for the school's lunches!!! How cool is that? We had processed patties of who knows what slopped on our trays. She even said that kids will eat raw veggies right out of the garden. And when I say raw, some of the kids just take bites out of tomatoes and eat them whole! What a great cause. I would have never even known about this place, but if you are looking to volunteer or just have fun giving back this is a great great place. There were even some high school kids earning class credit on the day we went.

Amazing amazing amazing. We like to buy the family garden kit in Spring sponsored by local…read morebusinesses. We get free soil, free plants, and free seeds. Great educational program ad their plant sale in the Spring is the best gardening deal in town. Great plants from their own school gardens at the best prices and your money goes to fund the school garden program. Be sure to check out their garden subscriptions for fresh flowers!

What a gorgeous space! Great views from the windows, high tech environment and the art on the walls…read moreis gallery worthy. What I like about this place is that I absolutely have no idea what they actually do here. I've been here dozens of times and they have played host to the continuum of care for homeless service providers in Cincinnati as well as offered community trainings for resources to help veterans, student loan forgiveness for folks working in non-profits along with other things that promote positive change in the community. I've really enjoyed the space they provide here to affect so much change in our area and want to give them the kudos they deserve. Not so humbly submitted, Michael C.