7-DAY SERIES

• Sunday: Songs that get stuck in your head.   • Monday: Amazing vacations   • Tuesday: Top books for summer reading   • Wednesday: Cincinnati secrets and rites of summer   • Thursday: Where to go for an afternoon of leisure.   • Friday: What some kids are doing this summer.   • Saturday: Remodeling stories.

        What rites and rituals and nooks and crannies must a transplant to the Queen City experience before he or she is a “real” Cincinnatian?

        We asked. You answered.

        Graeter's, Covington's Mainstrasse Village, hiking trails and jaunts to White Castle all made the list of Cincinnati's best-kept secrets submitted for this installment of Readers Rule.

        Here are some of your stories:        

Fireflies
       

        Born and raised in Cincinnati, I can fondly share the cheapest summer tradition. Each evening, the tradition of catching lightning bugs (fireflies) occurs. Everyone begins by spotting the bugs as they blink in the evening sky. Soon, the children are running around the yard, with hands out-stretched, hoping to catch the first one.

        Tiny hands can no longer hold the bugs, so out come the “bug jars.” Glass jars have given way to recycled parmesan cheese containers. On the educational side, the game teaches children eye-hand coordination, counting skills, and not to be afraid of bugs.

Alicia (6) and Gretchen (9) Reinersman catch firelies in their Edgewood back yard. (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

        On the practical side, the cost is zero, and any location will do. This is one Cincinnati tradition that can easily pass from generation to generation.
       

Mainstrasse
       

        The best kept secret in Cincinnati isn't in Cincinnati at all. It's across the Ohio River just a few blocks into Covington. Mainstrasse Village's historical settings are perfect for family gatherings. Get an ice cream cone near the Clock Tower or a terrific fish sandwich at Cosmo's near the Goose Girl Fountain, then discover that the man who wrote “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and the woman behind the true story Beloved are both honored here.

        Most Friday nights you can get a balloon animal and a tip or two from a magician entertaining the kids, and it's a great place to shop without the huge mall feel. This area was once used as the recreation site for the circus and then the hub of business for the neighborhood.
       

Cool summer nights
       

Taney Wilkins enjoys a scoop of Graeter's double chocolate chip ice cream. | ZOOM |

        My favorite thing to do on warm summer evenings is walk to Hyde Park Square and buy a Graeter's scoop of double chocolate chip ice cream, walk over to the square, sit by the fountain and enjoy. There are always lots of dogs and kids (both entertaining to observe) and the ice cream is like no other. What a great way to cool off on a summer night.
       

County parks
       

        As often as possible, we take advantage of the many Hamilton County park trails. Our favorite is the Miami Fort Trail at Shawnee Lookout Park.

        The trail begins with a steady climb. The three overlooks offer views of the Great Miami River and the Oxbow wetland, the confluence of the Great Miami and Ohio rivers, a railroad bridge over the Great Miami, the I-275 bridge crossing the Ohio, the Kentucky hills and Lawrenceburg. The view from the third overlook provides an everchanging panorama.
       

Call 'em sliders
       

        While many are reluctant to admit it, we've all made those late-night trips to White Castle at one time or another. Many people, returning from a favorite watering hole, succumb to the neon glow of fast food gratification. Once the bleary-eyed nocturnal noshers are tucked in their beds fast asleep, the early morning shift begins to arrive for a steaming cup of White Castle coffee. It is the caffeinated beverage of choice for the true coffee devotee.

        I've come to the conclusion that both the coffee and the hamburgers must contain some secret ingredient that compels us to go back again and again, despite the wise counsel of our digestive systems.
       

St. Rita's festival
       

        Children run along laughing and excited, followed closely by their stuffed animal-, balloon- , and cotton candy-laden parents. This all adds up to one thing, Cincinnati's rite of summer, the festival, has started. There are very few weekends during the hot and humid Cincinnati summer where there is not at least one festival occurring. A longtime hometown favorite is the three days of merriment accompanying the one at St. Rita's School for the Deaf. This year's festival is Friday-Sunday.
       

Take a tour
       

        During my first spring in the Tristate, a native Cincinnatian gave me the Queen City Tour book and a day in the passenger seat of a car viewing what had become my new hometown.

        Using the guide, we started and finished at Fountain Square and took in some of the best spots in between. Cincinnati, Covington, Mount Adams, Eden Park, the West End, Newport, Mainstrasse Village and the riverfronts.

        The architecture, gardens, history and people of our communities are really what I think, combined, make up Cincinnati's best-kept secrets.
       

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Get to it