Start your week off right — perusing food and craft vendors, listening to great music and enjoying an ice-cold beverage. Second Sunday on Main is a hip, eclectic neighborhood event presented by the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Hudepohl Amber Lager. It launched in 2005 and has become an annual tradition. SSOM brings people together to shop, socialize and dine, all while enjoying music, art and the neighborhood.  

Kings Island wants to thank the men and women who serve in the U.S. military. The amusement park will offer free regular admission to any active or retired military personnel on the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, as well as July 4 weekend. Regular admission will allow you to challenge many of the biggest, baddest, longest and fastest rides in the world.  

Celebrate local fashion culture during Cincinnati Fashion Week (CFW). Spring into style Saturday with new collections from Laura Dawson, AmareSinh, Arbitrage, Jonathan Mezibov, Cala Ossidiana, Lindsey Lusignolo and Amanda Valentine. Watch as models snake across a 20,000-square-foot industrial loft (The Edge at 310 Culvert St., Downtown) through pillars of concrete and flashes of photography while wearing the latest trends.  

If you have a thing for feather boas and fetish finds, head to downtown this weekend for the Vogue 4U Gay Fashion Expo, an event showcasing local gay-owned businesses and fabulous fashion. The fun begins Friday with a fashion show at Roxy's Restaurant & Lounge. Saturday, stop by 4U Urban Fashion Boutique for a shopping extravaganza. Roxy's hosts another afterparty Saturday and, if you're still wanting more, a brunch event Sunday.  

Spring is in the air and so is local music as the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens hosts Tunes & Blooms, an event featuring some of the city's finest and most respected musical acts. The free concerts are in the blooming gardens every Thursday in April. This week's lineup features No No Knots and Walk the Moon. NNK will be bringing their danceable Indie sound to the Zoo for a final time before going on hiatus.  

Have you sampled all of the brews that Cin City has to offer? Want to try other states' best beers without leaving your hometown? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions then MOTR Pub has just what you are looking for. MOTR's "Nearly 50 Kegs From Roughly 50 States in Approximately 50 Days Beer Fest" will tap a different beer from a different state daily through May.  

Air out your Reds gear and practice your fake cough, 'cause it is time to celebrate baseball's annual festival. The Queen City honors the unofficial holiday on Thursday as the Cincinnati Reds face the Milwaukee Brewers at 2:10 p.m. at the Great American Ball Park. The baseball season kicks off with 92nd annual Opening Day Parade, beginning at the Race Street entrance of Findlay Market at 10:30 a.m.  

Grab your passport and head to the Cincinnati Museum Center this weekend. Just in time for Saint Patrick's Day, the museum is featuring a glimpse into Celtic culture with a festival dedicated to the Celts. Part of the museum's "Passport to the World" series, this event features a Celtic marketplace with authentic merchandise and goods and a Celtic forest where you will see demonstrations of age-old daily living activities.  

According to the National Institute for Literacy, between 21 and 23 percent of the U.S. adult population can read a little but not well enough to fill out an application or read a food label. Statistics estimate there are more than 280,000 adults who have trouble reading in the Tristate region alone. That’s a bleak picture that the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati is trying to change.  

Like most Westsiders, I don’t venture far from home. Not for a beer anyway. I am not a sports enthusiast but often find myself sitting in friendly neighborhood bars, sipping 16-ounce draft beer specials and cheering whenever it seems necessary. I boast enough knowledge of whatever is on the TV screen to fit in and nod in agreement when discussing high school athletics.