Cincinnati Antiques Festival

Barbara and Bill Weyand (left to right) join Paula Weinkoop in one of the elaborately decorated antique booths. (Philip Groshong photos)

The 38th annual Cincinnati Antiques Festival, with 44 dealers from 20 states packing the Sharonville Convention Center, kicked off with a preview party that was more than a party. Specifically, it was a chance for serious supporters to pay $100 to get in a day before the public and see - and maybe buy - everything first.

As always, a lot of little red "sold" signs got slapped up that night in between guests munching the shrimp, turkey and beef from the buffet and sipping cocktails. About 450 showed.

Between the gala and the three-day run of the show, the Antiques Festival raised at least $100,000 for Children's Hospital Medical Center, bringing the festival's total to more than $3 million over the years.

Tall Stacks A Night to Remember

John Hayden (left to right), Marty Humes, Tom Humes and Carrie Hayden share a quiet moment at the Tall Stacks gala. The four of them were the event's co-chairs.

They did it up big for Tall Stacks' A Night to Remember, the crown jewel of the bizillion cruises during the five-day heritage and music festival. The gala is the dressiest, priciest ($200 a ticket) and tastiest - six food stations serving barbeque, beef marinated in bourbon, honey-dipped chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, shrimp, crab and ham. Close to 600 swarmed the three decks of the General Jackson for cocktail hour and the 21/2-hour cruise.

Proceeds from the gala - figures are still being tallied - will benefit the Tall Stacks Commission, the non-profit parent organization that produces the festival.

5 Mile Home Run

Channel 5 news anchor Lisa Cooney manned the starter's gun for the walkers

A morning chill and a thick layer of fog was on the ground last weekend when the Park Hills Civic Association threw its second annual 5-mile Home Run benefiting the Children's Home of Northern Kentucky. About 80 runners trotted 5 miles. Sixty walkers, many with their dogs along for the jaunt, hiked 2.3 miles through Devou Park and the streets of Park Hills, delighted that it was just foggy and not pouring rain like last year.

Between entrants' fees ($20-$25) and corporate sponsorships, the event pulled down $6,000, almost double last year's total.