Saturday, May 13, 2000

Events draw big crowds

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Marathon caps busy weekend around Tristate

By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        An hour before the music started Friday night at the Pepsi Jammin' on Main festival, John Kosmides and two friends sat on a Court Street curb, watching crews set up equipment on the main stage.

Fans groove to the sounds of Freakbass (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        It was 6 p.m., and the music wouldn't begin until 7:15 p.m.

        “We're here to see Vertical Horizon,” said Mr. Kosmides, a sophomore at Ohio University. “We've been here since 1 o'clock.”

        Music lovers began streaming into downtown long before the opening bands on Friday night's schedule played their first notes.

        Police began closing streets at 6 p.m. Friday for Jammin' on Main, which takes place around Central Parkway, from Walnut to Main. The closed streets will reopen to traffic by Sunday morning.

        The two-day festival attracted 50,000 people last year.

        The Indigo Girls headline the festivities today, with the opening acts kicking off at 6 p.m.

        But local singer/songwriter Jason Allen Phelps, not a national act, lured Andy Kulesza downtown Friday to Jammin' on Main.

        “I knew him at Sycamore High School, and I listen to him and his band around town all the time,” said Mr. Kulesza, 26, of Hyde Park. Jammin' on Main isn't the only major Greater Cincinnati event taking place this weekend:

Brittany Howell of Fairmount at Coney Island's Appalachian Festival. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        • About 10,000 people attended the 31st annual Appalachian Festival at Coney Island on Friday. The festival runs through Sunday. <

        • The Krohn Conservatory's annual butterfly show attracted about 3,000 people Friday, its opening day. The show, which features about 1,000 butterflies flying freely in the exhibit, runs through June 18.

        • On Sunday, about 6,000 runners will be participating in the second annual Flying Pig Marathon, a 26.2-mile race that begins at 6:45 a.m. and should be finished by 1 p.m.

        On Main Street Friday, police estimated that 8,500 had bought tickets by 10 p.m. for the evening's concerts.

        Robert Elias, executive director of Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc., the producer of the event, said Friday's crowd was comparable to the Friday night crowd last year.

        Ed Koenig, 30, of Silverton, swayed and bounced to a spiraling guitar solo during the Raisins' set. He said he had last heard the group about 10 years ago.

        “They sound pretty good,” he said. “They're having a lot of fun.”

        The crowd erupted into cheers and whoops as Freekbass brought a hard-driving song to a pounding finish.

        “That's a heavy groove they've got going there,” said Nate Mountel, 41, of St. Bernard. “If you can't shake to that, you're dead.”

        Jammin' drew a lot of people who had attended in previous years.

        Wayne Kreidenweis, 50, of Colerain Township, and Diane Kramer, 38, of Delhi Township, attended Jammin' for the first time last year and liked it so much, they came back Friday.

        “Sometimes you feel stressed in a big crowd,” Ms. Kramer said. “Last year, everybody just seemed to be enjoying themselves and not bothering anybody.”

        Mr. Kreidenweis said the festival is a good excuse to shake the winter doldrums once and for all and listen to new music.

        “Being cooped up all winter, you like to get out,” he said.

        Amber Sebastian, 21, of Dayton, was one of the festival's early arrivals Friday. She sat in the first row of the aluminum stands, snapping pictures of the crew setting up the main stage.

        She said she usually comes early to concerts because she's fascinated by the set-up crews as they move equipment into place and perform sound checks.

        “Music's important to me,” Ms. Sebastian said. “It's fun. It's all about having fun.”

Raisins reunion highlights Jammin'
Complete details on Jammin' on Main and the Appalachian Festival
Special Flying Pig Marathon coverage

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