DIA DE LOS MUERTOS


Ghouls and goblins delight at Dia de los Muertos, hosted by Bakserfield the weekend before Halloween. Could there be a better way to kick off the evening before all those parties? With live western-style music, a costume contest, free bandanas, hot tacos, and margaritas galore, this was a spooktacular finale to October.

5chw4r7z and I clad in Day of the Dead makeup.

Bakersfield was trying out their new taco recipe: hígado and corazón.
Tasted more tender than steak.


Maureen, the crazy cat lady.



Numerous heaters kept the crowd warm.

Costume contest.

Andi spooks up McKayla Maroney.

Flight Attendant.

Bumble Bee, Effie Trinket from Hunger Games, and Tim Burton's Mad Hatter

MUSIC HALL GHOST TOUR

Did you know that Music Hall is one of the most haunted landmarks in America? 



During the 1820s, a hospital and lunatic asylum were located across the street from Music Hall, where the present day CET building resides. Around this time, a cholera epidemic struck Cincinnati resulting in a large number of orphans. The Music Hall property became the Orphan Asylum and a structure used to isolate people with infectious diseases. The land was also used as a paupers' graveyard, to bury those who died in the hospital (or asylums) without any known relatives. As this area was considered to be the outskirts of the city, the deceased were not buried in coffins but instead bundled up and dropped into the ground.

Not sure what I captured here. I was the first in our group to enter the empty ballroom.
Does anyone else see the figure on the left behind the tables?

Hauntings have been recorded as far back as 1876 when the facility served as an Exhibition Hall. Bodies were unearthed during construction of an elevator, which were promptly reburied back underneath the building upon completion of the project. A century later in the 1980s, repairs were being made on the same elevator and the bones were dug up again. The remains of over 63 unidentified people were found beneath the elevator shaft.

Inside the haunted elevator shaft.


Are you spooked? Intrigued? Then you definitely need to take this tour to find out more.

Led by Scott Santangelo, the Music Hall Director of Operations, and Judy, founder of Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies, guests get a tour filled with historical knowledge of Music Hall and stories backed with evidence from ghostly encounters that Judy and her team have experienced.


There are also security guards and retired personnel on hand to tell of their first-hand encounters with the paranormal activity happening after hours.

Security guards have reported seeing an apparition at the top of the north stairwell.
One of these box seats is reported to be haunted by a deceased patron.

From chandeliers crashing, to the sounds of a full-on brawl, to sightings of a dark shrouded mist traveling through the prop room; Cincinnati's classical music venue is easily one of the most frightening places you'll cross at night.


The prop room, where an eerie mist travels through.

Sounds of chandeliers crashing can be heard throughout Music Hall.




View from the balcony, lights on.

Same balcony view, lights off.

FRIDAY NIGHT BLOWS

If your Friday nights are missing some blow-by-blow action, it's time to visit Brazee Street Studios, home to Queen City Glass Arts in Oakley.



Each month, the collective hosts a public demonstration of glass blowing and sculpting. A different theme is selected for their team to design, and is then auctioned off to benefit a charitable organization. The art that is create is a collaborative piece. Past sculptures have included a fire truck for Cincinnati Fire Department, a giant cornucopia for Freestore Foodbank, or a doll for a children's charity.

 


 



As the glass sculptures are made, guests enjoy wine and appetizers, and are encouraged to walk around Brazee to check out their gift shop and other work spaces.








A variety of pre-made glass art is available for purchase. There are also opportunities for the public to take glass blowing classes, which are offered at every skill level.







Back in the main room, the glass sculptures come together in about two hours with blow-by-blow commentary from an announcer.

 
 
 
 
  

Start your Friday night right and get blown away with Queen City Glass Arts.


SEALED FOR FRESHNESS

Prepare yourself for a lid-poppin' good time! Sealed For Freshness, a comedy about Tupperware, runs from October 18 -27 at Newport's Falcon Theatre.


Starring an eclectic cast of ladies, the play takes a light-hearted approach to the personal problems of five women in the 1960s, all taking place in the social circle of a Tupperware party.

 


At first, I thought I'd be watching a show about "Gosh Golly Gee Mary Sues" acting like dainty 60s stereotypes. That all went out the window after the introduction of the character Sinclair, played by Rebecca Wiesman. A boisterous antagonist, Sinclair is like the Roseanne Conner of 2012, with a foul mouth, drinking problem, and could-care-less attitude. I could just picture passing by her in a Wal-Mart with her five children in tow.

 

 

Hilarity ensues as the Tupperware party turns to discussion of criticizing women with a career, husbands having affairs, dissatisfaction with being a stay-at-home mom, and bra-burning hippies.


A fresh, bold comedy, this season opener for Falcon Theatre is anything but plastic.