Loveland Bike Rentals has teamed up with Cultural Care Au Pairs to recognize Bike Safety Awareness Month and to promote the bike safety demonstration and group ride taking place Sunday May 4^th, 2008 at 10:30am. Cultural Care Au Pairs is a service offered in the greater Cincinnati area for families seeking in home child care.

The Loveland bike trail is part of the 70 mile trail that follows the Miami River and is paved over old railroad tracks. After the safety demonstration, those present will take a group ride and enjoy a picnic lunch. The event is open to the public and will provide participants the opportunity to meet and talk with some Cincinnati families hosting Au Pairs to learn more information about the agency and its programs.

Whether you prefer to live in a single family home, townhouse, or condominium you can find them all in Mt. Lookout conveniently located just east of downtown Cincinnati. This neighborhood is primarily residential with the convenience of commercial business in one central area. Many of the residences in this area are currently part of the tax abatement zone where property taxes are waived for 10 years.

One thing that most people probably do not know that Mt. Lookout also has the privilege of being home to the nation’s oldest fully operational observatory founded in 1842. Mt. Lookout’s website reports that it has one of the highest owner occupancy rates in Cincinnati nearly 80% of the 1,400 units available in the neighborhood and is the home to approximately 3,400 residents.

Mt. Lookout is conveniently located near the 94 acre Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park and the 224 acre Ault Park which is the fourth largest park in Cincinnati. Mt. Lookout has sidewalks running through most of the major streets and neighborhoods and even has a running club where the routes are mapped out, is part of the Cincinnati Public School District, and is nearby the Oakley Community Center.

Mt. Lookout Square is the home of unique shops, coffee shops, a theater, restaurants, and bars. In the warm spring and summer months to come this is the perfect place to walk around and grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants with open air seating. Mt. Lookout is the host of Junefest so look out for a posting as that events nears.

Although it is a cold
and snowy mid-February day, there is plenty to do in the Greater Cincinnati
Area. This community is very spirited about holidays and Valentine’s Day will
be great in Cincinnati
regardless of your relationship status or what you like to do. Some communities
are having daytime events targeted to families with children while others are
focused more on couples and singles who would prefer to celebrate in the
evening. Please read below for the ways that different communities in the city
are celebrating.

Many of the
neighborhoods hosting events can be found here.

The Downtown
Gift Card, a multi merchant prepaid credit card valid at more
than 120 participating downtown merchants. The Downtown Gift Card is available
in any denomination up to a $500 value at the Downtown Cincinnati Inc Website.
Downtown also has a few events to offer for the eve of Valentine’s Day Havana Martini, Boi Na Braza, Jeff Ruby’s, Lodge Bar, The Ensemble
Theater has a special production as well. The other options
available downtown are the Fountain Square Ice Skating Rink, a Carriage ride
through downtown.

Newport on the Levee’s merchants have all
teamed up and have plenty of Valentine’s
Day packages for those of you looking to spend your evening in
Kentucky.

Mt Lookout will be having events at Million’s Cafe as well as local
restaurants will sure to be booked up. Some of those restaurants are Nectar
and Betta’s Italian Cuisine.

The Cincinnati Art Museum hosts One World Wednesdays (OWW). This event is a cocktail hour that takes place on the first Wednesday of the month and features a different world culture through art, music, and wine. This event is free to members of the art museum and costs non-members only $8. OWW is one of the many multicultural and worldly events that Cincinnati has to offer its residents and visitors. This event attracts community groups and individuals alike to celebrate some of the cultures that live together in Cincinnati, as well as provide a social setting for its participants to network with other professionals. The next OWW is scheduled for February 6th and will highlight Japan.

One of the great things about living in Cincinnati is taking the opportunities to volunteer and give back the community. Over the weekend we went and helped to sort food at the Freestore Food Bank in conjunction with the Act Out program.

The Food Bank services dozens of local agencies providing provisions for soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and even in school programs for children. Freestore relies on food donations as much as it relies on volunteer labor hours and monetary donations to pay for transportation of the creates of food and the administrative staff. The operation is so well run that 94% of all financial donations go straight to helping the hungry. Be a good Cincinnati neighbor and volunteer at the Freestore Food Bank.

Team Lachey hot off of their win on the NBC Clash of the Choirs competition is performing tonight, New Year’s Eve on Fountain Square downtown. As part of Nick continuing to give back to his hometown community those who brave the seasonably cold weather will be no doubt treated to some amazing choral arrangements. The $250,000 prize money from the Clash competition is going to support Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Clifton and is sure to bring much needed support to the nationally recognized pediatric center. If you are going downtown tonight pack warm and dry as the weather will be in the high 30’s with a few possible light showers.

Part of living in a city like Cincinnati is that there is such a variety of activities all around. One of the great things that we found is a fantastic community symphony orchestra. The Seven Hills Sinfonietta is an unbelievable collection of the city’s most talented armature musicians. Their musical repertoire is nothing short of professional and they sound as good as any professional symphony I have ever heard. Coming up on March 16th at B’nai Tzedek in Kenwood, they will be performing Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres-midi d’une faune and Ravel’s Scheherazade. Below is a YouTube video of the Ravel so you can appreciate the complexity of music that this group takes on. I hope to see you all there, admission is free.

Fall in Cincinnati is like no other place. There are so many amazing things to do here before we get into the full throws of chilly winter. Outdoor activities abound including Ice Skating and broom ball at Fountain Square Park, fall sports leagues, and unique cultural events like Ethiopian Hip Hop concerts, A Lion In Winter, and Seusical Jr.. Coming up in the next few weeks there are even a few organized runs being put together by Fleet Feet in Blue Ash including an evening run at 6:30 pm December 8th followed by a happy hour, and an early Christmas Eve run at 8:00 AM December 24th.

Although we moved a bit out of Downtown, we did look at a few of the new buildings that are being converted into residences. It is a great trend to see large building space turned into living space. Aside from helping commute traffic volumes it is reducing the amount of gasoline we use. The new residences such as the One River Plaza complex and the redevelopment of the old McAlpin Department store are great examples of new and renovated buildings.We are all very excited to see what things materialize as The Banks multi use project gets underway. Any way we look at it it is an exceptional time to be in Cincinnati and enjoying the crisp weather and great sights and events.

One of the great things about living in Cincinnati is the multitude of fantastic outdoor events. This city is filled with interesting and exciting things to do most of the year. One tradition is the Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day Race, which begins and ends at Paul Brown Stadium. The 10 Kilometer course takes runners up main street, over the river, through Kentucky, and back over the river to the stadium. It is a community tradition that goes off regardless of the weather so if you are a runner this is a perfect opportunity to get a chip time in and enjoy great perspective of the city.