Christmas Saengerfest is back! This is the perfect event to get you in the holiday mood. I’ve enjoyed attending this 160 year old tradition over the past few years because the music and venues are absolutely gorgeous! You can read more reasons why to attend Saengerfest here.
Saengerfest is an event that I have looked forward to for the last few years. It’s an event you don’t want to miss that helps kick off the Holiday Season.
American Legacy Tours keeps Cincinnati Singing with Christmas Saengerfest. Working with the churches in Over-The-Rhine and the best choirs in the region the group that started the started the Queen City Underground, hopes that Christmas Saengerfest will showcase Cincinnati’s Great Choral Tradition. Entering its fourth year, Christmas Saengerfest promises to be the largest choir concert in the region, with over 30 musical performances choirs! Several churches in Over-The-Rhine will play host to this amazing 2-day festival.
“The Spirit of Christmas Tour exposed a real need to get the churches in the neighborhood more exposure. We also noticed that churches throughout the city were used as venues during the World Choir Games. So four years ago we thought to ourselves, ‘Why not do this every year, in Over-The-Rhine’?” said Laura Gels, Marketing Director at American Legacy Tours.
The choral festival will feature St. Francis Seraph Church, Over-the-Rhine Community Church, First Lutheran and the Moerlein Tap Room. Choirs have been committed to performing at the event include the Cincinnati Boys Choir, Muse, Kopling Saengerchor, and numerous others.
“Many people don’t realize that Saengerfest has a long tradition in Cincinnati. It was the city’s first major festival and attracted hundreds of thousands of people to Over-The-Rhine. ” said Monica Gels, co-organizer.
1. Saengerfest gives you an opportunity to admire the outside and visit the inside of gorgeous churches and historic buildings.
2. The music at Saengerfest is A-MAZ-ING!
The combination of a beautiful church and incredible voices joined in Christmas music is uplifting and inspiring. There is also a variety of diverse choirs that you will be able to choose from to listen to. It’s like a musical “choose your own adventure.” There are different choirs at different locations each hour.
3. Saengerfest reminds you what community looks and feels like.
You see the churches that have stayed in Over the Rhine as the backbone of the community. They have continued to help serve and meet the needs of the people for generations.
4. Saengerfest is family friendly or makes a great date night.
Kids are exposed to beautiful music and have enough variety offered to help keep their attention spans.
For a date night, Saengerfest feels like something out of a movie as you hear choirs singing and you walk the streets in Over the Rhine.
5. You can also grab a beer at Christian Moerlein’s Brewery during or after the event.
Enjoy 14 choirs at 4 amazing historical venues!
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4
7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 5
7:00 to 11:00
Buy tickets online. Tickets are $25 per day or $50 for both nights!
I’m giving away 4 tickets to each night!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
One ticket allows patrons access into each venue the night of the show.
*Bus transportation is provided during the event and patrons can move freely from place to place. Patrons are recommended to park at the parking garage at Washington Park and check in there.
Disclosure: I was given tickets for review and giveaway purposes. All opinions are my own.
I’m really excited about the American Originals concert presented by the Cincinnati Pops at Music Hall. The line up of incredible artists includes one of my personal favorite bands “Over the Rhine” who are a local favorite. This is truly going to be a historic night with so many talented artists creating a truly unique musical experience.
America’s legendary song-writer Stephen Foster created the first pages of the American Songbook in Cincinnati while working as a book keeper at his brother’s steam-boat shipping company in the mid-1800s. American Originals celebrates the remarkable legacy of Stephen Foster as well as the music of 18th century America that created the foundation of our nation’s musical ethos. These concerts bring together some of the most significant singers in the wave of roots/traditional music that is sweeping across the country, giving their own spin on these classics.
Hometown heroes Over the Rhine, the duo comprised of Karin Berquist and Linford Detweiler and named for the Cincinnati neighborhood that houses Music Hall, add wistful vocals and haunting guitar to Foster’s beloved tunes. “Sometimes when sitting at the piano, we try to imagine Stephen Foster having a musical conversation with another more modern musician. We’ve certainly felt echoes of his writing in several of our songs over the years,” the duo said in an interview.
Molly Wellmann Bourbon Tasting and Pre-Concert Entertainment
Cincinnati’s renowned craft cocktail creator and entrepreneur Molly Wellmann has curated a small-batch Kentucky bourbon tasting, exclusively for fans of the Cincinnati Pops.
You do not want to miss out on this once in a lifetime concert event!
Disclosure: I was given media tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Sleeping Beauty at the Ensemble Theatre is a play that is so fun to watch! The costumes reminded me of the wardrobe from characeters in “The Hunger Games.” They were whimsical and quirky which added to the characters.
Cincinnati has so much history and as a native to the area, it can be easy to take that history for granted. I’ve really enjoyed taking various tours around the city because it’s opened my eyes to all of the details that I’ve overlooked as a local.
Over the Rhine is one of my all time favorite bands. My husband and I have both been listening to them since high school and we look forward to their concerts each year. Now you can enjoy Over the Rhine’s beautiful music even more as you watch the Cincinnati Ballet perform to their music live on April 25-26 at the Aronoff.
My family has been going to Over the Rhine pretty frequently and we had been curious about Venice on Vine for a while. A few weeks ago, I attended a blogger event to find out more about the heart behind Venice on Vine that included sampling a variety of food from their restaurant and catering menu.
(Ken Early* as Phileas Fogg- Michael G. Bath* as Passepartout)
I recently attended the opening night performance of Around the World in 80 Days. I was not familiar with the play but as someone who loves adventure, I was intrigued by the title and knew this would be a fun show to watch. I was not disappointed.
(Company of Around the World in 80 Days.)
It is 1899 and the mysterious, brilliant, mathematically precise Englishman Phileas Fogg has wagered his considerable fortune that the world can now be circumnavigated in a mere 80 days. Will bandits, buffalo, winter storms and even the meddlesome Scotland Yard prevent him and his wily valet, Passepartout, from completing this daunting task? Jumping between trains and steamships, even employing an elephant, this magical family-friendly adventure leads Fogg to discover a wider world as well as his own heart in this swashbuckling musical retelling of Jules Verne’s classic tale.
(Sara Mackie*, Deb G. Girdler,* and Buz Davis* as Company)
The cast did a fantastic job of giving the audience the feeling of traveling around the world. The creative stage design allowed the audience to use their imagination for elements of the play. There were also several funny surprise cameos but I’m not going to give those secrets away.
(Sola Thompson, Andrew Maloney, Jeremy Carlisle Parker and the Company.)
My two favorite characters from the play were Michael G. Bath* as Passepartout and Annie Fitzpatrick* as Inspector Fix. Passepartout was a comical Frenchman, who added so much life to the show. It was also enjoyable to watch Inspector Fix add more mayhem for Phileas Fogg and his travel companions.
It was fun to watch Ken Early as Phileas Fogg, who’s adventures kept on escalating as the trip continued.
Deb G. Girdler* as Company -Ken Early* as Phileas Fogg
All of the actors demonstrated so much talent. Overall, this show was really enjoyable to watch and an interesting way to step back in time.
(Michael G. Bath* as Passepartout – Ken Early* as Phileas Fogg)
(Michael G. Bath* as Passepartout Ken Early* as Phileas Fogg)
Don’t Miss Out!
You can still catch a performance of Around the World in 80 Days.
(Torie Wiggins* as Aouda)
Around the World in 80 Days Runs from December 4, 2013-January 4, 2014
(Annie Fitzpatrick* as Inspector Fix – Michael G. Bath* as Passepartout – Ken Early* as Phileas Fogg- )
Performance Times:
Select Tues-Fri at 7:00 pm; Sat at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm; Sun at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm
Tickets:
Adults, $39-$43; Students, $25; Children (12 and under), $16
Half-Price Rush Tickets:
All remaining tickets for the current day’s performance(s) are available two hours prior to each show time for half-price (discount does not apply to senior or children’s tickets) when purchasing by phone or in person. $15 Student Rush Tickets: Students may purchase up to two $15 student rush tickets two hours prior to show time with valid student I.D. Available in person only.
AAA, ArtsWave Fun Card, Cincinnati Public Radio Perks Card, Military/Educator and ETA discounts available. Group discounts available for 10+. Complete details available at www.ensemblecincinnati.org.
Disclosure: I was given complimentary tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
* All images courtesy of the Ensemble Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is located at 1127 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
I recently joined some other bloggers for a “Spirit of Christmas” tour in historic Over the Rhine in Cincinnati. The tour begins at the Cincy Haus on Vine street in OTR.
