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n a press briefing on Thursday, March 12, Gov. Mike DeWine announced an executive order prohibiting mass gatherings in Ohio with more than 100 people. And on Sunday, March 15, he announced that all restaurants and bars would be closed — except for carry-out and delivery. Gov. Andy Beshear announced a similar order on Monday, March 16. This is all to help curb the spread of COVID-19. (For the latest Ohio updates, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov and for the latest in Kentucky, visit chfs. ky.gov.) So, obviously, many Cincinnati events, concerts, parties and parades have been canceled or rescheduled. Generally this section lists Stuff To Do, but since there isn’t a ton, here’s a list of some of the bigger cancelations or event suspensions, as well as venues offering digital ways to connect.
Fiona was the first featured animal in the zoo’s Facebook Live home safari.
Visit citybeat.com for the most up-to-date news on closings, reschedulings, reopenings and digital things to do.
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DIGITAL THINGS TO DO CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN While the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will be closed to the public until further notice (don’t worry: zookeepers and personnel are there to make sure the animals well taken care of), they are offering special “Home Safari Facebook Live” sessions, which will feature online animal encounters and an activity you can do at home. The zoos first safari featured Fiona the hippo. Safaris will be offered 3 p.m. weekdays. facebook.com/cincinnatizoo. CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM The Cincinnati Art Museum, Taft Museum of Art and Contemporary Arts Center announced in a joint statement that they’d be closing their doors until April 3. The CAM, Taft and CAC said in the release, “While our doors may be closed, we won’t let that keep us from our mission to inspire, challenge and delight you...Please check our website(s) and social media channels for daily updates and additional digital offerings to bring the arts, artists of today and the creative process to you at home or wherever you may be.” Currently, you can view exhibits including Frida Kahlo: Photographic Portraits by Bernard Silberstein, The Art Academy of Cincinnati and World War I and Mementos of Affection, a collection of ornamental hairwork, on the CAM website. cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/ exhibitions/online-exhibitions.
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CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER Like the city’s other two major art museums, the CAC is closed until April 3. Until then, take an “Audio Tour” of the museum, voiced by local artist Britni Bicknaver. You can stream the tour online, which is described as, “Under the guise of an audio guide museums typically employ to present references and objective information to visitors, Bicknaver presents a surreal hybrid that lyrically blends fact and fantasy. In concert with self-composed music, song, meandering meditations, obscure chronicles, mathematical formulae and wordplay, she weaves a surreal map of this center and its colorful history.” contemporaryartscenter.org/ exhibitions/2017/12/audio-tour. TAFT MUSEUM OF ART The Taft has launched a new hashtag — #TaftMusuemDiscovered — to view works from the museum on their social media feeds from the comfort of your own home. You can also check out highlights from their permanent collection on their website. taftmuseum.org. WAVE POOL Camp Washington gallery and contemporary art fulfillment center Wave Pool has created a COVIDeo YouTube channel where they will be hosting and live streaming all major gallery events and exhibit openings. wavepoolgallery.org. DANCEFIX BY HBDC This super popular local dance class/
MARCH 18-31, 2020
workout DANCEFIX is offering select classes streaming online. You can access the workouts through the mindbodyonline.com digital platform and pay with a current class pass or via drop-in rates. “You will however have to stream the video on your computers (phones unfortunately do not work),” says the DANCEFIX Facebook page. “We know this will be a work in progress and there might be a few bumps along the way but we wanted to provide solutions to our current situation ASAP!” Full instructions are available on Facebook page, with helpful hints on how to stream. facebook.com/ dancefixbyhbdc. SOCIAL DISTANCE GALLERY Cincinnati painter and Art Academy adjunct professor Benjamin Cook has launched an online gallery called Social Distance Gallery. The project posts BFA and MFA thesis exhibitions that have been canceled or had public access limited due to COVID-19. Digital exhibitions are available to view on Instagram @socialdistancegallery. And visit socialdistancegall.wixsite.com/ socialdistance for information on how to submit a show/artwork for inclusion. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY Although all 41 public library locations have closed as of Friday, March 13, the closures will be reassessed on a weekly basis. Until then, you can borrow books, audiobooks and
magazines and stream music and TV online at cincinnatilibrary.org/eBranch. That link also offers eLearning connections if you’re perhaps practicing some type of homeschooling at the moment. The library’s digital collection at digital.cincinnatilibrary.org also features links to historical Cincinnati lantern slides, photos from the Ohio River floods, a collection about local brewing history, 19th-century posters from the local Strobridge Lithographing Company and more. cincinnatilibrary.org. FOREVERLAND FARM Though you can’t visit Amelia, Ohio’s Foreverland Farm until further notice, the nonprofit animal sanctuary will post live videos throughout the month of founders Brittney and Leann Kane sharing the story of how Foreverland started and their favorite rescue stories, along with virtual tours of the farm and its adorable inhabitants. Prizes from Kind Style Shop will be given away during the livestreams. foreverlandfarm.org CINCINNATI PARKS Cincinnati Parks has announced that their parks will remain open so you can get outside. They note that “all general rules, including social distancing, apply.” All restrooms are also open (they usually don’t open until April) so people can wash their hands. cincinnatiparks.com.
