Soapicks May 25-31

Eco-Anniversary
May 28
Here's a mini-lesson in anniversary gifts/themes: 1 year is paper, 2 year is cotton, 3 year is leather, 4 year is fruit and flowers and 5 year is wood-yeah, it really doesn’t get fancy until you've made it past the 10 year mark, which is tin, ironically enough. So, in keeping with tradition, Park + Vine is celebrating their third year of green business by putting a little twist on the traditional "leather" theme, with their Park + Vine Pleather Anniversary. The celebration includes food al fresco from local vegan eateries  Chocolat Latour, Melt, Green Earth Grill and more. Enjoy live music in the atrium by Honneycombs, Dave Kreitzer, Liz Bowater and three other acts-interpreters from American Sign Language will be on hand too. And while you're in the atrium, check out the market wines. Join Joy Lohrer for a tour of her veggie car from 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m,. and learn how to use waste fryer grease to fuel diesel cars. Park + Vine Pleather Anniversary isn't just a party, it's a fundraising event as well. Make a cell phone donation to the Cincinnati Zoo and you'll help the gorilla habitat conservation. Buy yourself something pretty, and ten percent of that purchase will go to Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's community beautification project, Future Blooms. Park + Vine Pleather Anniversary starts at 6:00 p.m. and goes until 10:00 p.m. Come celebrate three years of Park + Vine providing Cincinnati with eco-friendly alternatives and green community initiatives. Pleather attire optional.

Over The Rhine & Through The Streets…
May 28
Keeping with the theme of '3' this week, Ad2 Cincinnati prepares for their 3rd annual downtown scavenger hunt, AdMazing Race. This year's race will be on Saturday, June 5th. Teams consist of three to six people who work together to race all over downtown, solving clues and testing both their geographical skills and Queen City knowledge. The winners will be determined by points earned along the way and finish time-bonus challenges will give teams opportunity to earn or lose additional points. And of course, Cincinnati-themed prizes will be awarded to the winning teams. You may wonder why this event is featured two weeks before it takes place? Well, we didn’t want you missing registration, which happens to end this Friday, May 28 at 5:00 p.m. Cost to register is $15.00 per person for Ad2 and Ad Club members; $20.00 for non-members. Registration fees not only get you entered into the race, they gets you admission into the race after party at Jefferson Hall. Non-racers can also attend the after party for only $6.00. Click here to register your team and read about some of the stops on last year’s adventure through downtown. You could watch The Amazing Race on T.V., or you could live it, by taking part in AdMazing Race. And yes, that's a challenge.

Forging A Magnitude Of Images
May 27 & 28
Final Friday means quit a few exhibit openings downtown. Here is a rundown of a three shows you should take note of. First, there's Forging Beauty: The Sculpture of Brian Russell, opening at Martha Hewitt Gallery. Russell is a Tennessean blacksmith and glass artist who uses crystal made of 45% lead to create a very high refractive quality glass works. His goblets sparkle and his thick cast pieces are extremely translucent. Forging Beauty's opening reception will be Friday from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., with a preview artists book signing Thursday, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Exhibit runs through July 17. Secondly on Friday, Magnitude 7 holds its opening reception at Manifest Gallery, from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Magnitude 7 is the sixth annual exhibit of small works, consisting of 38 works by 24 artists, from across the country and the UK. Exhibit runs through June 25. Third and certainly not least, is Sam Hollingsworth's Images Chasing Titles. The opening reception will be at Collectors Art Group from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Exhibit continues through June 27. It'll be hard to choose just one exhibit to see, so good thing they’re all sticking around a while.

Eat, Drink & Be Cincy
May 29-31
Memorial Day weekend means something different for everyone. For some, it marks the beginning of boating season on the lakes. For others, it means bringing the family together for a backyard barbeque. For everyone, it's a time to commemorate the men and women of the U.S. military who gave their lives serving their country. But for Cincinnatians specifically, it signifies one of the largest street festivals in the nation, Taste of Cincinnati USA, taking over six blocks of downtown for a three-day food extravaganza. The 32nd annual Taste of Cincinnati USA will feature more than 40 restaurant booths, 500,000 attendees, continuous live entertainment in the form of almost 70 musical acts, and new this year, comedy acts on the Government Square Stage. Taste of Cincinnati USA will go from noon until midnight on Saturday and Sunday, and  noon until 9:00 p.m. on Monday. As always, cost is free to attend.  Visit the official Taste website for a full list of participating restaurants and entertainment lineup. Little piece of advice, check out who won the various The Best of Taste categories, and be sure to stop by those booths to purchase a bite. Happy Memorial Day Cincinnati!