Katie Nzekwu joined us at Crossroads Church with stories to tell, from her grandmother’s favorite piece of advice to the discovery of personal superpowers. Amid the sounds of children playing and entrepreneurs typing on their laptops, free coffee in hand, we heard more about her experiences as founder of the local nonprofit, Villedge, and how she’s learned to look at herself as an equally important project.
Read MoreWhen I was young, my most notable attribute was my wild imagination. Like many other little girls, I spent a lot of time running amok and playing make-believe. My sisters and I dressed up in lavish costumes compiled of knick-knacks and pretended to have magical powers. All children have a bit of magic in them.
So who says adults don’t?
(Plus, Cincinnati's witchiest organizations.)
Read MoreSt. Monica’s Recreation Center in Lincoln Heights is quiet. It’s early on Friday afternoon and school hasn’t let out yet, but in just an hour or so, local kids will be filling the halls, starting games of ping-pong, and climbing on the enormous indoor playground that makes us want to put down our cameras and notebooks and just play. But Yvette Simpson, city councilwoman and candidate for mayor, is here to tell us her story. She opens a soda – a “pick-me-up,” she says, after a long day of meetings running over. I tell her we’re excited to get to know Yvette – the woman, not just the candidate – and she laughs. “You mean you’re interested in me?”
Read MoreLast Friday, Play Library graciously hosted Women of Cincy for a night of games, beer, laughs, '90s snacks, and camaraderie.
Read MoreThe 2017 race for City Council will draw to a close in just two weeks. Twenty-four candidates, including six incumbents, are looking to fill nine seats, and before you visit the ballot box on November 7, we thought you might like to see a personal side of each council hopeful. We asked each candidate: “Tell us about an influential woman in your life and how her influence will affect your approach to government.” Their responses brought us hope.
Read MoreElections are coming up! Here’s a list of three resources to check out before you vote.
Read MoreThis past weekend (October 12-15) was an amazing weekend for the city of Cincinnati. Woman of Cincy, Rachelle Caplan and her team of badass ladies threw a together a killer Ladyfest, and Cincinnati held it's first ever BLINK festival, spanning over 20 blocks of Over-the-Rhine, The Banks, and Downtown.
Read MoreWest Chester and Liberty Townships are north of Cincinnati, but that doesn’t mean things are slow around here. We met Erin Clemons, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty in her office, where things were still bustling at 5:30 in the evening.
Read MoreWe met Dr. Ashley Jordan at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. She gave us a mini tour of the building and its three floors of exhibits. The Freedom Center’s exhibits examine America’s history of slavery, as well as modern day slavery. On the third floor balcony, we paused next to the Freedom Center’s Eternal Flame and looked down at the glistening Ohio River.
Read MoreOn a drizzly Wednesday afternoon, Women of Cincy met up with Rachelle Caplan, founder of Ladyfest Cincinnati, in her “second living room”: Northside’s The Listing Loon (coincidentally, the same location as Women of Cincy’s first-ever happy hour). We grabbed some beers while Rachelle chatted with other regulars. “It’s like the living room everyone wants in their home,” she comments, looking around at the dark but cozy bar with patrons scattered around the tables and stools. “But, there’s usually more people than you would ever want in your own living room. So this works out.”
Read MoreMegan Park is a producer and storyteller. She’s the founder of Little Sprig Productions, the creator of Putting Women In Their Place, and a board member of Women in Film’s Cincinnati chapter. We interviewed her at her home, where she served fresh fruit and homemade tea on her back porch.
Read MoreCincinnatians and music fans from around the Midwest flocked to the 2017 MidPoint Music Festival this past weekend in downtown Cincinnati. This year, the fest moved from the streets of Over-the-Rhine to four stages set up inside the Taft Theatre and Cincinnati Masonic Center, with beer and food trucks, a Shake It Records booth, merch tables, a photo booth, API poster show, and more set up throughout the two buildings.
Read MoreAs we step out of our cars in the front circle of Aiken High School, a young woman on the opposite side is belting out the national anthem. Her peers are astonishingly quiet. We pause, and across the way, Tamaya Dennard, candidate for city council and innovation specialist at Design Impact, does the same, leaning against her car to listen. The anthem draws to a close and, just as we’re about to clap, the girl’s friends break up the silence, laughing and yelling along with her, “the home of the brave.” “Aw, guys!” she yells.
We meet Tamaya – red folding chair in tow – and her communications director, Tara Keesling, at the front of the school. “Man, she was killing it,” she says.
Read MoreIn less than three years, Calcagno Cullen has transformed an old Camp Washington building into an art gallery and a thriving, vibrant corner of the neighborhood.
Read MoreRohs Street Café is busy on a Wednesday afternoon. Some are enjoying their final homework-free days, chatting about the Target that just opened down the street and recalling the parties of the past weekend. Others are bent over laptops and notebooks. We wave as Grace Cunningham – clearly a regular here – walks in, and she greets us with a bright smile.
Read MoreIt takes us a few minutes to find the working entrance to the Ensemble Theatre office; construction warnings and orange cones crowd the scenery up and down the 1100 block of Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. The street is quiet, but behind the door, the air fills with the sounds of a $7 million dream being built. The noise of drilling and hammering is slightly dulled as Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers leads us to a fluorescent breakroom. On the table is a pile of programs for the theater’s new 2017-18 season and a bag of mini M&Ms.
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