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.].
November 22–December 5
Crosstown Shootout Blood Drive Challenge
Donate blood at either UC or Xavier’s campus blood drive, or at any of the seven Neighborhood Donor Centers (mention your favorite team!), and receive an exclusive Crosstown Shootout t-shirt. Through December 5.
Wednesday
Boozy Book Fair
Fabled Brew Works, 6–9p
The nostalgic book fairs you love but at a brewery. In collaboration with Blue Marble Books.
21+
Opening Night: It’s Fritz! A Sequel to Fiona: The Musical
Ensemble Theatre
Through December 31
Thursday
Monmouth St. Mercantile
1001 Monmouth Street (Newport), 4–6p
Magic Hour tea blends, light bites, curated gifts, mini tarot readings, and more.
Opening Night: 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. Through December 26.
Free admission
Opening Night: Holidays on the Farm
Parky’s Farm, open nightly, 5–9p
Under the glow of lights there will be wagon rides, pony rides, carolers, crafts, farm animals, food trucks, open fire pits, and so much more. Through December 23.
$17 general admission ($15 when purchased online); $12 kids 3–17 and seniors 65+; free for ages two and under; tickets here
Friday
Opening Day: Elf the Musical Jr.
The Emery Theater
One of the company’s most popular productions for the holiday season. Through December 21.
70-minute runtime
Opening Night: Light in the Forest
Cincinnati Nature Center, 5:30–9p
Illuminated one-mile-long trail, installations by BLINK artists, children’s craft and interactive activities, live music, bonfire, food trucks and drinks, and holiday shopping. Through December 28.
Winterfest
Kennedy Heights Arts Center, 6–9p
Community celebration with live music, art activities, outdoor lights, food, and festive fun for all ages.
Free admission
Holidays in Cincinnati 2025
Friday and Saturday
Essex Studios Art Walk
Essex Studios
Snapdragon Holiday Market
Makers, crafters, and vendors. More details to come.
Friday–Sunday
North Pole Express
LM&M Railroad
Experience the wonder of the holiday season by journeying down the train tracks of Warren County, Ohio. Passengers spend time with Santa and his elves on the one hour and 15 minute festive train ride. Remaining dates: December 11–23
Coach Class seats starting at $30
Pincinnati
Holiday Inn Eastgate
Tickets
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 12–14, 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.
Saturday
15th Annual Clay Alliance Holiday Pottery Fair
Clifton Rec Center, 10a–3p
Featuring more work from than 25 local clay artists.
Free admission and parking
14th Annual Holiday One Stop Shop
Wyoming Civic Center, 10a–3p
Local vendors, holiday music by the Wyoming Civic Winds, and Schmidt’s Sausage food truck.
Free admission
Holly Jolly Jamboree
Vine Street in OTR, 11a–4p
Makers, artists, small businesses, and carolers.
Free admission
Dark Charge Day
Braxton Covington, 11a
Red Dog’s Santa Paws
MadTree, 12–4p
Get a digital photo of your pup with Santa for a $15 suggested donation to League for Animal Welfare (cash or card). There will also be pet vendors and the opportunity to Paw It Forward.
Dad Day
Rhinegeist, 12–6p
Dad beer release, holiday themed cocktails, photo booth, and Find the Pickle.
Free and family friendly
Sticker Trading Hours
The Sticker Shop (Wyoming), 1–3p
First Saturday of every month.
All ages welcome
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. Additional dates: December 13, 20.
Free admission
Light Up College Hill
Patrick’s Park, 6–9p
Lights, music, and holiday cheer.
Free admission
Market Bleu Winter Quarter Market
Contemporary Arts Center, 6–10p
Quarterly event at the CAC where you can enjoy a drink while shopping unique handmade goods from regional artisans and artists.
Free admission
Snowtime Cinema: A Holiday Movie Night for the Family
Memorial Hall, 7p
Saturday and Sunday
Christkindlmarkt
Mainstrasse Village (6th Street Promenade), 10a–4p
Covington’s curated holiday makers market, complete with art, handmade, vintage, food, and drinks. Tree lighting will be at dusk on Saturday.
Holiday Market at Findlay Market
Farmers and outdoor vendors + dozens of full-time merchants selling holiday gifts, food and decor. Bundle up, grab your friends, and support local this holiday season.
Cincinnati Men’s Chorus: Joy!
Memorial Hall, 2p
Sunday
Holiday Family Funday: Classic Christmas
Taft Museum of Art, 10a–3:30p
Free music, art-making, and gallery experiences.
Remaining date: December 14.
Registration not required but encouraged
Holiday Brunch Cruise
BB Riverboats, 12–2p (boarding at 11a)
Two-hour cruise featuring games, entertainment, and lunch buffet.
Black Santa
Freedom Center, 12–4p
Photo with Santa. First come, first served.
Free admission
Holiday Market
Northwood Cider Co, 1–6p
An afternoon of sipping and shopping.
Free admission
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
Crosstown Shootout
Xavier MBB vs. UC MBB
Cintas Center
Friday at 7:30p
Watch: TNT; Listen: 55KRC
Week 14: Cincinnati Bengals @ Buffalo Bills
Sunday at 1p
Watch: FOX; Listen: 700WLW, ESPN 1530, and 102.7 WEBN
Crosstown Shootout
UC WBB vs. Xavier WBB
Fifth Third Arena
Sunday at 2p
Watch: ESPN+; Listen: FOX 1360
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 6
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 7:30p
Click here for the 2025–26 season schedule
through December 28
A Christmas Carol
Playhouse in the Park
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
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
Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Now open seven days a week, 10a–5p
Tokyo Pie
633 Madison Avenue (Covington)
Mon–Wed, 4p–12a
Thurs–Fri, 4p–2a
Sat, 11a–2a
Sun, 11a–12a
Japanese inspired pizzas and nightlife
Tickets and Registration for Future Events
3rd Annual ReMADE 2025
Art Academy of Cincinnati, December 5, 6–9p
Sustainable art event, gallery show, and annual fundraiser; an evening art, music, and community, highlighting the creative talent and original works of Cincinnati’s remarkable artists, as well as Indigo Hippo’s mission to broaden arts accessibility, reduce waste, and inspire possibility through creative reuse.
Tickets include complimentary bites
14 Delicious Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants in Greater Cincinnati [citybeat.com]
Allez Bakery to Open New Location in Madisonville [citybeat.com]
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]
Cincinnati’s Very Own Prophet Predicted the End of the World. Repeatedly. [cincinnatimagazine.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]
New Exhibition Reflects on “MAD” Magazine at the CAM [cincinnatimagazine.com]
The Reading Rooms of Cincinnati [cincinnatimagazine.com]
Restaurant Focusing on Small Plates, Wine and Private Events to Open in Former Somm Wine Bar [citybeat.com]
