Cincinnati USA's October Familiarization Tour

The October Fam Tour is, by far, my favorite. Those who love sports would beg to differ, as they would prefer the Spring Fam Tours when the guests of the CVB dine on the Bengals 50 yard line in Paul Brown Stadium, which has a charm of its own. But, the Fine Arts Fam Tour strikes a wonderous chord in its sheer beauty. Let's begin our journey through the day's events.

It always begins at Jean Robert's retaurant, Pigalls, where the guests dine in unpretentious elegance on sumptuous courses, the names of which I cannot begin to pronounce.





After dinner, the group boarded a touring bus and took a ride around downtown. There was a brief stop at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.



This following photo is the eternal flame, seen across the Ohio River from Kentucky, from which slaves were secreted to Ohio to gain their freedom.





After a brief rest from a filling dinner at Pigalls followed by the city tour, the guests gathered at the Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati's primiere convention center, and visited with representatives from local government and the hospitality industry. Of course, the main attraction was the food.







While the guests were being entertained at DEC, I made my way over to Music Hall to get some photos before the guests arrived. When they entered the beautiful Hall, they were amazed at what they saw.









And, behind the curtain an elegant and intimate setting for dining.









Their evening at the Music Hall afforded them an opportunity to feast on a sampling of the arts. The first sample was the ballet. Val Liberatore, Dean of the Otto M. Budig Academy of the Cincinnati Ballet, introduced three wonderful students of the Academy who gave the guests a marvelous and impressive performance (pieces from the Nutcrack,er, if I recall correctly).













(If you want to see some of the other dance photos, just click on one of the photos above to be taken to Flickr.)

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Vince Lee introduced the musicians, both of whom performed with french horns.





The opera was likewise represented. The young man's voice filled the Hall.





This will be an evening these folks will long remember.