New Things to Do in the Cincinnati Region

First time visitor or returning friend, experience memorable moments with these fun new activities.

Blind Injustice

Music Hall (photo: Mark Lyons)

A Cincinnati Opera world premiere, this collaboration with the Ohio Innocence Project and the Young Professionals Choral Collective follows the true stories of six exonerees freed by the Ohio Innocence Project. Showing June 14-19, 2019.

BLINK® | Illuminated by ArtsWave

Blink®

BLINK® is a four-day interactive light and art event spanning Cincinnati's urban core including Downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and, new this year, expanding into Covington, Kentucky! The inaugural event in 2017 featured more than 60 animated light shows projected onto buildings, murals, interactive art sculptures and other light-based displays. Through an immersive, inclusive and magical experience, BLINK® defines Cincinnati as a welcoming, innovative and creative future city. The event returns October 10-13, 2019.

Broadway in Cincinnati

Mathenee Treco, Jordan Donica, Ruben J. Carbajal &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Michael Luwoye - HAMILTON National Tour (c) Joan Marcus.jpg

Mathenee Treco, Jordan Donica, Ruben J. Carbajal &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Michael Luwoye - HAMILTON National Tour (c) Joan Marcus.jpg

Six-time Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is coming to the Aronoff this spring! Dear Evan Hansen follows a young man through the ups and downs of making up a story of friendship to a recently deceased classmate, all in the attempts to get closer to his family and make friends. On stage April 30-May 12, 2019.

Broadway in Cincinnati also brings the smash hit and award-winning show Hamilton to the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Hamilton is the story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now. With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Catch Hamilton Starting February 19 – March 10, 2019.

Cincinnati Art Museum

Marco Cochrane, Truth Is Beauty, 2017. (photo: Ron Blunt) From "No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man."

Preview the KIMONO: REFASHIONED exhibition with Cynthia Amnéus, Chief Curator and Curator of Fashion Arts and Textiles, and enjoy the musical expressions of Tomiko Ford on the koto from the third-floor terrace of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Japanese musical instruments will be out of storage for the evening! Opening event on June 13, and the exhibit will be available for viewing June 28-September 15, 2019.

Coming this Spring, see "No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man" as it takes over the Cincinnati Art Museum. This exhibit has been called "an experience in the collective dreaming" and has a captivating collection of oversized sculptures. The opening will take place April 26, 2019 and have a second installation June 7, 2019, both closing September 2, 2019.

Cincinnati Reds

Join the whole city as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the oldest professional team in baseball, the Cincinnati Reds! Multiple events will be taking place all season long at Great American Ball Park, the Reds Hall of Fame, and more! Events to look out for include 15 throwback uniforms being worn by players at select home games, 15 Mr. Redlegs benches around town in the different uniforms, grand reopening of the Reds Hall of Fame on opening day March 28, 2019, and the Reds Rockin’ 150 Open House Birthday Bash on July 5th.

Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

With the November 2018 reopening of this classic Cincinnati work of art, the Cincinnati Museum Center is ready to explore. See the newly renovated Rotunda, first phase of the Museum of Natural History & Science’s Dinosaur Hall and Cincinnati History Museum’s Public Landing.

Dinosaur Hall includes new displays of six gigantic prehistoric creatures. Explore the late Jurassic period with the help of state-of-the-art interactive elements! Take a look at a vast collection of fossils to study the life and evolution of dinosaur biology. Also new to the Museum of Natural History & Science is the Science Interactives Gallery. In this hands-on STEM-inspired exhibit visitors can engage with pulley systems, watch clouds form, knock down targets with concentrate walls of air and even games of tug-of-war!

Make sure to also stop by The Duke Energy Children’s Museum and the remastered Robert D. Lindner Family OMINMAX Theater, now featuring brand new, next-generation laser technology. Coming in January, Cincinnati in Motion will return, and in the spring, gear up for The Cave exhibit, making a comeback with a full replica limestone cavern. Also in the Spring, keep an eye out for the new Space Exploration Gallery which will be celebrating the Apollo legacy!

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Pregame Team

New this season, FC Cincinnati has been awarded a Major League Soccer expansion to begin play in 2019! With this comes a brand-new stadium slated to be ready for home matches for the 2021 season. Until then, the team will continue to play at Nippert Stadium on the campus of University of Cincinnati.

Kings Island

Kings Island, Eiffel Tower

Joining the newest roller coaster, Mystic Timbers this spring, Kings Island will be bringing back a beloved favorite, the antique car rides. In the new Kings Mills Antique Autos family ride, guests will board replica classic touring cars and take a leisurely drive around a scenic track equipped with a small rail to keep the car on the path. The ride will be comparable to the original Les Taxis antique car ride, combining nostalgia with new enhancements.

Kings Mills Antique Autos will be located in Coney Mall, across from the Juke Box Café and alongside The Racer roller coaster. The ride will be a quarter mile in length and last approximately three minutes. The cars are 2/3 scale replicas of the 1911 Ford Model T; though all-new, they will retain the vintage feel of the original Les Taxis. The ride's name, as well as theming throughout the attraction, is expected to enhance the nostalgic experience for riders.

Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center

Holocaust and Humanity Center (photo: Drew Money)

Located within the walls of historic Union Terminal, the exact station where many Holocaust survivors passed through Cincinnati to begin their new lives, The Holocaust and Humanity Center opens January 27, 2019 and will teach lessons from the past to inspire action for the future in today’s society. Learn through storytelling, interactive experiences, and genuine artifacts the struggle and hardships individuals faced during one of the darkest times of human history, and see how individuals now are taking action to ensure equality and create positive change in our community.

Newport Aquarium

Stingray Hideaway at Newport Aquarium

New this January at the aquarium is Jim Henson’s Splash and Bubbles Reeftown Adventure. Inspired by the TV show by the same name, Reeftown will transform the space and extend the footprint of the area between Frog Bog and Stingray Hideaway.Coming this April, Freshwater Falls which will provide a glimpse into what is within the cascading streams and waterfalls all over the world! Enjoy a flowing stream in the Congo that includes animals like the West African lungfish and the elephantnose fish. Kids can explore Coral Cave and learn about One Big Ocean and the animals that make their home there. Get lost inside this whimsical fun world of ocean exploration!

SkyStar Observation Wheel

Skystar Observation Wheel

Open daily through June 16, 2019, take a ride on SkyStar at The Banks. This 150-foot observation wheel features climate-controlled, enclosed gondolas that give visitors a birds-eye view of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky riverfront areas and the surrounding landscape. After taking a spin on SkyStar, step into The Escape Game and test your wits during a 60-minute escape room adventure in which teams must work together to find clues and solve puzzles.

New Culinary Experiences

The B-Line

Bourbon Haus 1841, part of The B-Line (photo: Samuel Greenhill)

Northern Kentucky’s new bourbon tour is centered around three Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® Distilleries – New Riff Distilling, Boone County Distilling Co., and The Old Pogue Distillery – and also includes five bourbon-centric bars and four amazing restaurants. Visit two of each, get your Line Guide stamped, and then return the guide to claim your free swag.

Brewing Heritage Trail

Prohibition Resistance: Lager Tour

Cincinnati was once a booming brewing center, with a per capita consumption of beer outpacing that of any other U.S. city. The Brewing Heritage Trail is a celebration of that history as an urban walking trail weaving through Cincinnati neighborhoods and past (and into and under) dozens of historic breweries, illustrated along the way with a mix of public art and digital experiences. Download the informative free smartphone app for augmented reality, interactive learning experiences and self-guided tours to further enhance the experience. Guided Cincinnati brewery tours (many beginning and ending in a local bar or brewery tap room) are available year-round. Guided tours include Brunch, Beer & Breweries, Heritage & Hops, and the Cellarmen’s Tour to name a few.