in partnership with
and heard every Friday on the Weekend Rundown with JonJon and Friends on
Tour de Cincinnati does the research for fun things to do around the city so you don’t have to! Check out the list below for goings on ranging from markets and live music, to brewery fun and food events. Events are subject to change or cancellation. Be sure to click on their respective links for more information.
Categories listed below include:
- Weekend Rundown
- Sporting Events
- New To Do
- Tickets and Registration
- Local news Roundup
You can also listen to the Weekend Rundown with JonJon on Kiss107 every Friday. If you are unable to tune in on the radio, you can listen to Kiss on the iHeartRadio app or you can listen live here.
[If a link is broken, feel free to reach out for information.]
Wednesday
Opening Night: Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Fresh and fun annual tradition that sends up everything from Dickens to Dr. Seuss for 90+ minutes of high octane jollity and frivolity. Through December 28.
Thursday
Lil Sprouts – On the Go: Upcycling Creations
MadTree Parks & Rec, 10–11:30a
Join Civic Garden Center to explore agriculture and conservation. For children ages 3–8.
Free; no registration required
Friday
Grand Opening
Flight Club, 125 W Fifth Street
Food, craft cocktails, and Social Darts®, a multiplayer, tech-enabled experience designed to bring people together.
Customer Appreciation Day
Camp Washington Chili, 11a–5p
Celebrate 85 years of Camp Washington Chili with special chili deals and an 85th anniversary shirt release.
Fifth & Vinyl at Winterhaus
Fountain Square, 5–8p
Festive beats and vintage vibes with a live DJ.
Winterhaus is 21+ (minors are welcome if accompanied by an adult). Be prepared to show your ID at the door.
Black Santa
Heritage Village Museum at Sharon Woods, 6–9p
Holly & Hearth Night. Tickets are $8 to spend time with Santa. Photos not provided.
Creative Cafe
Contemporary Arts Center, 7–10p
Handcrafted goods, networking with local creatives, drawing prompts, performance, and more.
Holidays in Cincinnati 2025
Friday and Saturday
A Christmas Nightmare
The Dent Schoolhouse
Friday–Sunday
Live Music at Festival of Ferns
Krohn Conservatory, 5–7p
Weekends in December (and Christmas Eve) you can enjoy the musical stylings of Mike Sharfe, Dylan Firlie, a local handbell choir, and more. Additional dates: December 19–21, 24, 26–28
Tickets for Festival of Ferns will be sold at the door. This event is free with a general admission ticket.
Holiday Pops
Music Hall
Cincinnati’s beloved holiday tradition returns with music, warmth, laughter, and seasonal inspiration for the entire family. Share unforgettable memories in the grandeur of a Music Hall.
Tickets starting at $26
Saturday
Holiday Makers Market
Benkens, 9a–2p
Celebrating our local creatives.
Free admission
Sip & Slay
Fueled Collective, 10a (morning show), 1p (afternoon show)
Join Queen City Charities for a festive drag brunch that celebrates community, holiday cheer, and the power of giving back. Tickets include brunch, cocktails, and drag performances during one of two shows.
Santacon
The Banks, CBD, OTR, Mt. Adams, Covington, and Newport, 12p
Several area vendors and contests. Official fundraiser for The Cure Starts Now. Plus, the Das Holiday 5K will take place at Moerlein Lager House at 10a, kicking off Santacon.
Winter Mojave Market
Mojave East, December 13, VIP shop 11a–12p, GA shop 12–2p
Creatively curated Cincinnati Holiday Market with food trucks, live music, and drinks.
Tickets
ArtWorks Chroma Print Sale
ArtWorks Creative Campus, 11a–4p
Local printmaker art market with 11 vendors and exclusive prints from the ArtWorks archive.
Free admission
Mt. Adams Reindog Parade
Monastery Event Center, 12:30p
Dogs (and owners) dress in their Holiday Best, and prizes are awarded in a variety of categories. The parade follows a circuit around central Mt Adams streets.
Newtown Winterfest
Newtown, 4–8p
Music, vendors, food trucks, kids activities, and more. 5K fun run at 4 and parade at 4:30.
Free admission
Ugly Christmas Sweater Party with Michael Marcagi
MadTree Taproom, 5–9p
The holiday celebration features an acoustic set, meet & greet, the limited release of “The Midwest Kid” branded beer, exclusive merchandise, and an ugly sweater contest. Proceeds from The Midwest Kid support the Cincinnati Nature Center.
Free admission
Downtown Dazzle
Fountain Square, 6–9p
Cookie and ornament decorating, scavenger hunt, photos with Santa and Buddy the Elf, Santa rappelling from a building, and fireworks show. Remaining date: December 20.
Free admission
Out in the Outdoors: Meteors at the Mound
Woodland Mound, 7p
Watch the Geminid meteors rain down on Earth, warm up by the fire, and eat s’mores. Bring your own blanket.
The Taste of Emo Ugly Sweater Party
Fretboard Factory 52, 8–11p
Wear your holiday best and listen to some of your favorite emo music.
Free; all ages
Saturday and Sunday
ArtisanFest513 Holiday Market
Washington Park, 11a–4p
The finale of the ArtisanFest513 season, complete with fire pits, hot chocolate, vendors, and photos with Santa and the Grinch.
Free and family friendly
Sunday
Holiday Family Funday: Hanukkah
Taft Museum of Art, 10a–3:30p
Free music, art-making, and gallery experiences.
Registration not required but encouraged
Artisan Holiday Market
Hotel Covington, 11a–3p
Over 20 local vendors,
Free and open to the public
Krampus Alley Walk
Northside, 2–5p
Music and mischief to stir up the revelry and cheer for another amazing Krampus Alley walk, which ends at 4222 Hamilton Ave, the Heart of Northside’s auditorium for cider, snacks, and dancing.
Free
Ongoing
Union Terminal Rotunda Tours
Cincinnati Museum Center
Fridays at 1:30p, 2:30p, and 3:30p
Saturdays at 11:30a, 12:30p, and 1:30p
Sundays at 12:30p, 1:30p, and 2:30p
Free admission
Sports
Xavier MBB vs. Missouri State
Cintas Center
Friday at 7p
Watch: truTV; Listen: 700 WLW
UC Bearcats WBB vs. UNLV
Fifth Third Arena
Saturday at 2p
Watch: ESPN+; Listen: Fox 1360
Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens
Paycor Stadium
Sunday at 1p
Watch: CBS; Listen: 700WLW, ESPN 1530, and 102.7 WEBN
Xavier WBB vs. Saint Francis
Cintas Center
Sunday at 1p
Watch: ESPN+
All college sporting events listed are Division I home games only. Events are subject to change or cancellation. Please click on the link for more information.
through December 21
Elf the Musical Jr.
The Emery Theater
One of the company’s most popular productions for the holiday season.
70-minute runtime
through December 26
CAM Nights & Holiday Lights in Partnership with BLINK®
Cincinnati Art Museum, 5–8p
Enjoy extended hours on Thursdays and Fridays in December (closed on Christmas Day), complete with a holiday-themed projection light show outside in the Alice Bimel Courtyard.
Free admission
through December 28
A Christmas Carol
Playhouse in the Park
through December 31
It’s Fritz! A Sequel to Fiona: The Musical
Ensemble Theatre
through January 4, 2026
Recall. Reframe. Respond. The Art of Paul Scott.
Cincinnati Art Museum
Working with new ceramic forms or repurposing antique pieces, Scott breaks, reassembles, erases, and adds details using screenprinting, engraving, and collage processes to create new “historical” patterns. Broadly, his works address updated narratives about art, history and American experiences.
Free admission
through January 11, 2026
Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking
Taft Museum of Art
For thousands of years, people around the world have treasured textiles dyed with indigo. A synthetic version, developed in the 1880s, still colors today’s blue jeans. This exhibition presents twenty quilts created between the early 1800s and 2015.
Tickets (admission to the museum is FREE on Sundays and Mondays)
through March 1, 2026
What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine
Cincinnati Art Museum
The unforgettable art and satire of MAD, from its start in 1952 as a popular humor comic book to its evolution into a beloved magazine.
Tickets
through April 12, 2026
Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.
Cincinnati Museum Center, 10a
An exhibition the world needs you to see. Be a witness.
Through this daunting selection of more than 500 original artifacts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, as well as more than 20 institutions and museums all over the world, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. portrays the complex reality of the notorious camp while sharing firsthand stories from those who survived, and those who perished.
Tickets
New To Do
Ice Rink at Fifty West
Wooster Pike and Deerfield
$10/hour (kids 4 and under free)
Salazar
101 W Fifth Street
Mon–Thurs, 5-10p
Fri–Sat, 4–10p
Sun, closed
2025 Winterhaus
Fountain Square
With the move of the ice rink to Elm Street Plaza, Winterhaus is a cozy, glass-enclosed tented retreat in the heart of the city, complete with daily programming, a full bar, and space for everything from co-working to private events.
Prim
70 W Fifth Street
Tues–Thurs, 4p–midnight
Friday, 4p–2a
Saturday, 2p–2a
Sunday, 4p–midnight
The Barket
Findlay Market
Montclair Street
3134 Harrison Avenue, Westwood
Fresh cut flowers, retail wine, home goods, and gifts.
Open daily, 10a–6p
Now Available: Teddy Lou, Bell Guru
STEM picture book by local author Chris Demeropolis.
Tasty Bird Vintage
2533 Gilbert Avenue (Walnut Hills)
Curated selection of housewares, furniture, and clothes from the ’30s through the ’90s.
Mon, closed
Tues–Thurs, 11a–6p
Fri–Sat, 11a–8p
Sun, 11a–6p
Stumps Lanes and Cinful Eats
5536 Bridgetown Road
Casual bowling alley offering open play and leagues, plus pizza and yard games
Mon, 4–9p
Tues–Thurs, 9a–9p
Fri–Sat, 9a–11p
Sun, 12–9p
Tickets and Registration for Future Events
Family Astronomy Night: Jupiter
Cincinnati Observatory, 7–8:30p
Interactive craft/activity night for families—a cross between Cosmic Kids and Astronomy Evening programs and geared for families with children 5–12 years old. There will be viewing through a telescope (if clear), a quick presentation on the theme for the evening, and a hands-on space activity or craft.
Tickets
A Cozy Night In
Downtown Main Library, January 9, 6:30–9p
Kick off the Library’s Winter Checkout Challenge with A Cozy Night In, an event for adults featuring a panel and signing with authors Abby Collette / Abby Vandiver, Heather Webber, and Kerry Winfrey. Each ticket includes a book of your choice from one of the featured authors and benefits the Library Foundation of Cincinnati.
Tickets
Barb Cooper Shows You How to Eat Your Way Through the City [cincinnatimagazine.com]
Cincinnati Animal CARE Partners With Good Plates Eatery on Holiday Meal Distributions [citybeat.com]
Covington’s Carmelo’s Nominated for Best New Restaurant in America [citybeat.com]
Four Cincinnati Restaurants Land on OpenTable’s ‘Top 100’ List [citybeat.com]
The Hottest New Restaurants and Bars in Greater Cincinnati Right Now [citybeat.com]
Iconic Greater Cincinnati Restaurants & Bars Every Visitor Needs to Try [citybeat.com]
MindPeace is Creating a Culture of Wellness in Local Schools [cincinnatimagazine.com]
Norwood Brewery Northwood Cider Company to Close in December [citybeat.com]
Restaurant Focusing on Small Plates, Wine and Private Events to Open in Former Somm Wine Bar [citybeat.com]
