BLUE ASH — The hits keep on coming for Blue Ash, the entertainment king of Tristate festivals.

        Of all the hundreds of community festivals, tastes, fairs and holiday galas that mean summer in Greater Cincinnati, none consistently draws the name entertainment that takes the stage at the Taste of Blue Ash.

IF YOU GO

Taste of Blue Ash continues today and Sunday:     • Noon-11 p.m. today with the Kingston Trio at 7:30 and Jerry Lee Lewis at 9:30.     • Noon-9 p.m. Sunday with B.J. Thomas at 7 p.m. and Petula Clark at 8 p.m.     Admission, parking and shuttle bus service are free. Bottles, cans, beverage coolers and pets are prohibited.

        This weekend, Jerry Lee Lewis, Petula Clark and Johnny Rivers will headline the Taste's 16th annual classic rock 'n' roll bill that also includes B.J. Thomas, the Kingston Trio and the Buckinghams.

        “Our event now has a great reputation on the rock 'n' roll circuit as far as the arrangements — where entertainers stay, how the stage and the event are managed,” said Assistant City Manager Bruce Henry, who has coordinated the entertainment since the event's inception. “We talk about our event with the entertainers up front. We have a wide-ranging audience, but it is a family-oriented event and we stress that.”

        Entertainers have spread the word, and Taste's reputation has soared. In past years, such rock 'n' roll greats as Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Leslie Gore, Three Dog Night, The 5th Dimension, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Jan & Dean, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Gary Puckett, Billy Joe Royal and Tommy Roe have appeared.

        Mr. Henry said the involvement of oldies radio station WGRR 103.5 FM as a sponsor, and linking up with Omar Presents of Indianapolis, which books rock 'n' roll entertainment worldwide, have been key.

        The event, co-produced by the city and the Blue Ash Business Association, commands a substantial budget. Mr. Henry said that an upper financial limit is set by the event board, entertainers are offered an opportunity to appear — beginning with the most popular “and we work down from there and we usually end up with a group contract.”

        The combined public and private costs for the event are about $250,000 a year, Mr. Henry said.

        Work on next year's lineup begins next month as a committee meets to review available acts. Preliminary contracts likely will be signed before January 2002.

        City Manager Marvin Thompson said the event has drawn as many as 250,000 people “and the entertainment is the signature draw. We try to get entertainers who have not been in the Cincinnati area for a long time. It has been decades, at least, since Petula Clark has been here.”

        Mr. Thompson said classic rock 'n' roll became the trademark music after the city “looked at area demographics (16 years ago) and most of the parents in our area then grew up with that kind of music. We may review it” as the population changes. “Maybe we'll need to include music from the '70s and '80s someday soon.”
       

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