Guinness technically isn't an aphrodisiac, but oysters are. With the two combined on top of a few shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey, it's a safe bet that folks who attend the Guinness Oyster Festival on Fountain Square will have an exceptionally hot Saturday night. In celebration of Irish heritage and tradition, local restaurants offer a selection of raw and cooked oyster dishes that attendees can suck down in between tall glasses of black beer.  

Armor clad knights, warhorses, mud wresting, swordfights, mead horns, hatchet throwing, weapon forging, fire juggling and giant turkey legs are just a few things the Ohio Renaissance Festival has to offer. Every fall, the 30-acre fairgrounds in Harveysburg, Ohio is transformed into a 16th century English village teeming with hundreds of costumed performers that treat attendees to over 100 shows on 12 stages, including fan favorites like the Pirate Comedy Stunt Show and Full Armor Joust. Weekends through Oct. 17.  

Friday nights only come around once a week, so selecting the best parties to attend can be a tough decision. Not this week. Presented by PROJECTMILL (the creative minds that spawned Dance_MF at Northside Tavern), Get Down is a curious dance party held in the undergrounds of FB's downtown. The basement of this Alice in Wonderland themed cocktail lounge will become a sea of moving bodies as DJs Yusef Quotah, Kevin Bayer, Bill Rich and Kenneth Wright spin a soundtrack for the madcap evening.  

In celebration of Cincinnati’s Classical radio stations, touring artist Luke Jerram will distribute 35 street pianos throughout Cincinnati and its suburban outskirts in an effort to promote creativity in a public space. In Luke’s words, “The street pianos … provide an interconnected resource, an empty blank canvas, for the public to express themselves and share their creativity.”  

Due to budget constraints, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission decided not to open a few city pools this summer, including the pool in the soon-to-be-renovated Washington Park. The park, located in Over-the-Rhine near Music Hall, is the latest development site for 3CDC and will include a state-of-the-art playground with an interactive water feature, play castle, climbing hill, swing set, dog park, interactive stream and sand pit with water sources nearby.  

They say print is dead. But the editors of 'Milk Money' magazine are out to prove "they" are wrong by putting their mechanical duplicator to good use and providing Cincinnati's creative writers with a quarterly literary journal that features poetry, prose and fiction on paper, in black and white. Volume 7 will be celebrated Friday at U-Turn Art Space.  

Juneteenth Festival in Eden Park Saturday and Sunday is a family event celebrating the end of slavery in America with a slew of eclectic activities, ranging from historical reenactments to drum line performances by local talent. Since Cincinnati's initial Juneteenth celebration in 1988, the festival has blossomed into an event that draws nearly 20,000 people, ranging from young to old.  

The 33rd annual Concours d’ Elegance vintage car show transforms Cincinnati’s historic Ault Park into a showcase lot for more than 200 collector vehicles belonging to over a dozen distinct classes  

Remember those lonely Friday nights when your dog was the only company that kept you from opening a bottle of vodka and turning on a Phil Collins album? Here’s an opportunity to reward your four legged buddy for saving your pride and dignity. Second Sunday in OTR will host “Dog Days in OTR” as a tribute to man’s best friend, welcoming dogs and dog lovers alike to take a stroll together down Main Street.  

A new bipartisan proposal would make it more difficult to place citizen-led initiatives on the Ohio ballot. Under the new requirements, for example, the recent approval for statewide casino gambling wouldn't have passed. Supporters say the new law would that ensure special interests don't dominate at the polls by spending large amounts of cash on advertising. Critics, however, allege it feeds public apathy and the current trend toward low voter turnout.