Kudos

Cincinnati in top 10: "New York and other perennial favorites crowd the Top 10, but new, renovated venues help Cincinnati break through" is the headline in the August issue of AmericanStyle magazine.

Cincinnati makes its debut at number five in the annual AmericanStyle round-up of the Top 25 arts destinations in the U.S. Ahead of Cincinnati are New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Buffalo, N.Y.

The new Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, the new wing at Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum of Art renovation shot Cincinnati into the Top 10. The Playhouse in the Park's Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre and the opening of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center should keep the Queen City there in 2005.

— Jackie Demaline

Last minute

New arts center: Kennedy Heights Arts Center celebrates its grand opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday with more than 60 artists featured in three exhibits in the 21-room former mansion at 6546 Montgomery Road.

The exhibitions are Artisans@45213, featuring established artists; CincyTalent, showcasing emerging artists; and heART, work donated by local artists.

Exhibits will run through the summer and culminate in a Grand Finale on Saturday, Aug. 21. For more information, call the center at 631-4278.

— Jackie Demaline

You should know

National Scholastic Honors: Cincinnati and Dayton area Northern Kentucky students have received 2004 National Scholastic Art Awards. The gold medal winners saw their work on display at the Diane Von Furstenberg Studio Gallery in New York and now at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The winners are: Daniel Rowe, sculpture, Mason High School; Martin Borchers, video, Yellow Springs High School; Avery Halter, batik, McAuley High School; Michael Hoeweler, mixed media, School for Creative and Performing Arts; Adrienne McDermott, mixed media, Dayton Christian High School; Kim McGowan, product design, Rapid Run Middle School; and Connie Yeh, drawing, Cincinnati Country Day.

Jonathon Drummond of Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton was awarded a $10,000 cash scholarship for his gold medal win for his portfolio of photographs.

— Marilyn Bauer

Music04 Update: Music04, the festival of new music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, has added the Amernet String Quartet to the 5:30 p.m. program on Friday in Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. The quartet will not be appearing on Saturday. The concert is free. 556-9504 or www.ccm.uc.edu/musicx.

— Janelle Gelfand

Movies Opening Friday

The Terminal
Dodgeball
Valentin
Control Room

Coming Friday in Weekend

'Daughter' Dearest: Laugh a little, cry a little at our sneak peak of the Cincinnati Opera's comic telling of Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment. Hear what star Celena Shafer thinks about this flirty romp.