If you’ve been following along on this blog for any amount of time then you know that I’m a huge fan of the arts and also feel that it is important to expose my children to the arts, in all forms. The perfect weekend to immerse my family in the arts (for FREE) is during the Macy’s Arts Sampler Weekend, presented by ArtsWave. For the weekend of March 7 & 8 there will be over 100 FREE art events going on all over town that you can check out. My family has attended events on this weekend in years past, and we always get a kick out of exploring new things. This year the list of events is EPIC. There are belly dancers, circus performers, orchestras, African drums, fairy tales, jazz bands, henna body art, hip hop dance classes, local musicians, hands on art projects and SO MUCH MORE! I tried to look at this list and pick a few favorite events to share with you, but there’s just so much to choose from….that I could not pick one or two to share. You really need to look at their lists of events for these two days and see what kinds of things your family would be interested in seeing – and they even have an app you can use to help you plan your two days of artsy fun! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below – have you attended a Macy’s Arts Sampler weekend event before? Tell me about it, or tell me what events you will be attending this year!
Details about the Macy’s Arts Sampler Weekend ::
CINCINNATI (December 15, 2014) — The 2015 Macy’s Arts Sampler Weekend presented by ArtsWave, will be held over one weekend from March 7-8, 2015, and will offer more than 100 events, activities and performances throughout Greater Cincinnati. All events are free and open to the public through the sponsorship of Macy’s.
“Macy’s Arts Sampler gives everyone a chance to discover the wide variety of arts across our region,” said Alicia Kintner, President and CEO of ArtsWave. “It’s a great way to spend a weekend with family and friends and try something new.”
Macy’s Arts Sampler shines a spotlight on arts organizations large and small that are supported by the annual ArtsWave Community Campaign, when people all across our region come together to support the creative things that make Greater Cincinnati an amazing place to live. This year’s Campaign goal will be announced in February 2015.
Highlights of the weekend include:
Saturday, March 7: An Arts Celebration in Community Arts Centers
Two dozen community arts centers, libraries and museums will celebrate Macy’s Arts Sampler with free programming on Saturday, March 7. A few highlights include:
Camp Art Academy, Art Academy of Cincinnati, 1212 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Parents and kids alike can experience a variety of media forms while sampling the Art Academy of Cincinnati’s activities.
Tracy Walker Band, Campbell County Public Library, 901 East Sixth Street, Newport, 1:15 p.m. Music lovers of all ages are invited to enjoy original songs written by award-winning singer/songwriter Tracy Walker.
Madcap Puppets, UC Clermont College, 4200 Clermont College, Batavia, 11 a.m. Madcap Puppets perform “Twain’s Twisted Tales,” in which Mark Twain’s most beloved characters escape from their books.
Visionaries + Voices, 3841 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, noon-4 p.m. Families are invited to participate in hands-on art making activities developed by a Visionary + Voices teaching artist.
Sunday, March 8: Music Hall Open House
All of the performing arts spaces in Music Hall will be filled with free performances and hands-on activities on Sunday, March 8 culminating with a free concert, “Storybook Favorites,” featuring the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet, and May Festival at 3 p.m. in Springer Auditorium. A few highlights from the day include:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Corbett Tower, Music Hall, 11 a.m. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company performs excerpts from Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet and other Shakespeare classics.
MYCincinnati Youth Orchestra, Springer Auditorium, Music Hall, noon. Young musicians from this Price Hill orchestra will perform classical favorites.
Cincinnati Ballet, Ballroom, Music Hall, 12:30 p.m. Dancers from the Cincinnati Ballet will teach dance moves seen during the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert.
My Nose Turns Red Youth Circus, Springer Auditorium, Music Hall, 1:30 p.m. Performance by student jugglers, acrobats, and clowns, plus an opportunity for families to try some circus fun with hoops, juggling and balance balls.
A full schedule of weekend activities will be released at www.theartswave.org in January 2015, and will be available for download through the free Macy’s Arts Sampler app.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, but I promise you, the opinions are 100% my own! This weekend full of artistic fun is not to be missed!
