By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Whatever you do this weekend, don't miss the man at the Hamilton County Fair who wrestles an alligator with his bare hands.
The fair also includes mini-car figure-8 races, a demolition derby, pickup truck tug-of-wars and a petting zoo.
Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. today and Sunday. Admission: $7. Free for seniors with Golden Buckeye Cards and children under 2. Rides: $5.
Information: 761-4224 or www.hamiltoncountyfair.com.
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Celebrate the year of the blues today at the Queen City Blues Fest at Sawyer Point. Start your day at 11 a.m. with a Cincinnati blues history lesson by Frank Lynch, then work on acoustic guitar and harmonica skills at workshops on the Promenade and the Arches Acoustic Stage.
There's music on three stages until 11 p.m. Among the performers: Rick Holmstrom at 6:30 p.m., Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown at 7:45 p.m. and the Campbell Brothers at 9:15 p.m., all on the Main Stage.
Cost: $3 before 6 p.m., $5 after. Children under 12 free with a parent.
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There are more blues in Lebanon at the fifth annual Blues and Barbecue Festival 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today.
Bands include the Back Forty Blues Band, Blue Lou Boil, Willy Kay and the Midnighters and Brown Street Breakdown.
Thirty food booths will provide barbecue to shaved ice and there will be a beer garden.
Artists will offer pottery, paintings, jewelry and other handmade items.
Information: call the Lebanon Optimist Club at 932-4281.
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For those with an appetite for something different, check out the St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Church Lebanese Festival.
Tempt the palate with kibbee - the national dish of Lebanon - cabbage rolls, spinach pie and pastries.
The festival is noon-9 p.m. Sunday, 2524 Victory Parkway, East Walnut Hills. Information: 961-5823.
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Thirty of the country's top balloonists compete for points as they fly over and around Middletown at the Ohio Challenge Hot Air Balloon Festival.
The festival includes food, music, craft shows, a radio-controlled airplane competition, mass balloon launches, rides and children's activities.
It happens 6 a.m.-10:30 p.m. today and 9 a.m. -10 p.m. Sunday at Smith Park in downtown Middletown. Admission is free. Information: 422-4551 or www.ohiochallenge.com.
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The 450-mile Highway 127 Corridor Sale, the "World's Longest Yard Sale," begins at 7 a.m. today at Covington's MainStrasse Village. Antique and bargain hunters flock to the event each year. It happens 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 10.
Information: www.127sale.com or call the MainStrasse Village Association at (859) 491-0458.
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