Get Your Arts in Gear

No matter your age, tastes or income, Cincinnati’s fine arts scene has something to offer. One of the best ways to get started is through Enjoy the Arts’ (ETA) START and Passport programs. These programs, which differ slightly depending on your age and whether you are a student, provide members with a generous package of free and highly discounted tickets to many concerts, shows and museums; discounted movie tickets; social events; and a weekly e-newsletter of great local arts happenings.

A yearly membership costs $25 to $40, an amazing value even if you only go out a few times throughout the entire year and a steal if you take advantage of your membership benefits every week. For those who have little pocket money, there are even opportunities to earn your membership through volunteering at ETA events.

  Cincinnati has great, accessible art during any season, but the city has even more opportunities now the Enjoy the Arts 20 Days and 20 Nights program. Every year, ETA showcases loads of local art organizations– over a period of 20 days. This year, from Sept. 26 through Oct. 15, you can catch as many as 75 unique events, many of which are free and others of which are discounted for ETA members. The full schedule is available at the program’s Web site.

ETA partners with 40 established art groups, and the upcoming 20 Days and 20 Nights festival features them, as well as smaller groups that only do on-demand shows and some one-time events available only during the program. The program highlights what these great local arts organizations do year-round, while it pulls out all the stops to put on an amazing show.

“Cincinnati is so rich in its art offerings,” ETA Interim Director Kristen Suess says. “It really takes little effort to get engaged and plugged in.” Suess says that one great resource for this is ETA’s weekly “Hip Tips” newsletter. For a free subscription, the “Hip Tips” give a good overview of the various happenings during the week for all types of art, whether dance, theatre, visual or musical. All arts organizations are interested in being accessible, and once you know what your interests are, you can easily find more newsletters and e-mail lists to subscribe to for updates on your favorite arts organizations, Suess says.

In fact, depending on how hard you decide to look, your social life might undergo a complete makeover. “Once you find out what’s going on,” Suess says, “you may never have a free night again!”

PHOTO CREDITS:
Photo: Neysa Ruhl Photography
Location: The McAlpin
Models (left to right): Carrisa Bailey and Laura Hudson of New View Management Group, Inc.
Makeup Artistry: Chenese Bean Makeup Artistry
Hair Styling: Robin Howard, Ruckus Glamour Studios