Things to Do in Covington

The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra showcases music not commonly performed by large symphony orchestras, so each show is an uncommon musical experience. During Spring 2, the delicately constructed harmonies of Arnold Schoenberg and George Gershwin (two works each) float across Corbett Auditorium and into ears to tickle auditory nerves like pixies riding tiny ponies on eardrums. Two of the four pieces were inspired by literature. Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night was inspired by a Richard Dehmel poem about a shocking confession that affects two lovers, while Gershwin's Porgy and Bess Suite is inspired by DuBose Heyward’s racially charged 1925 novel about the inhabitants of the semi-fictional Catfish Row. Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra, op. 16, is an unsettling work that balances Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue, which is performed by acclaimed solo pianist Michael Chertock.

Step inside the unassuming Victorian walls of Creativities' hands-on studio, where artists of all age levels and skill levels hone their crafting skills across a wide range of mediums. Give yourself or your youngsters some tactile stimulus through projects utilizing beads, clay ($3–$10), metal, wood ($3–$10), paper, textiles, and more. Once you cover the modest studio fee for each artist in your party ($8 per person for two hours), make yourself cozy anywhere in Creativities' comfortable reaches and become an insta-engineer by assembling a wooden train kit ($5), a ribbon expert with a ribbon headband ($10), or another type of expert craftsperson via the crafty items available for purchase in the store. Let your mind relax, and simply see where your hands, brains, and optional monocle take you. If you experience a creative block, or any other block-sensation, the friendly, artistic staffers will be happy to assist. If the muse strikes most at home, pick up a few supplies and relocate to your home kitchen, family room, or crafting dungeon.

Cherry Grove Lanes embraces the changing of the seasons with both indoor and outdoor areas dedicated to group recreation. During the warmer months, the alley raises the nets on seven sand volleyball courts. Primed for nighttime play, the well-lit courts rest beside an open-air lounge that accommodates groups with colorful parasols, shaded tables, and ample room for airborne chest bumps.

Indoors, Cherry Grove Lanes provides solace from summertime sweats and wintertime gusts with 34 synthetic bowling lanes and a pub equipped with dartboards and pool tables. The lanes host fall and summer leagues for adults, seniors, and children, as well as bowling instruction from four-time PBA national titlist Brian Himmler. The staff also fires up sandwiches, appetizers, and pizza to prevent guests from cracking open bowling balls in hopes of reaching the tasty nougat cores.

Tucked away near the banks of the Ohio River stands the other Sin City. Or at least it used to be, during the days when bootlegging formed a powerful underground economy. When a group of teachers and history buffs needed money for school service projects in Central America, they decided to raise funds by starting tours that explored this seamy history, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. A few years and many local accolades later, knowledgeable guides continue expounding upon the town’s rich history of mobsters, gamblers, and ladies of the night.

Tours stroll down Newport blocks littered with buildings once occupied by speakeasies, brothels, and the site of Al Capone’s failed early restaurant career, Al Calzone. Along the way, guides tie the rich past to the rise of the modern-day gaming industry and Newport’s connections to famous crime figures.

Totter's Otterville emulates a friendly village filled with vast exhibits dedicated to educational entertainment. Children can frolic within the train room, which hosts two Thomas the Tank Engine tables and a road-map carpet, or waddle to a live-performance area where staff members present daily shows involving puppets, story time, and tales of the tooth fairy's unhealthy obsession with small-size teeth. Do-it-yourself face painting encourages creative portraiture, and a construction zone encourages playing with giant trucks and a remodeled ball pit and climber area soaks up excess energy and teaches valuable lessons to children with loose car keys. Additionally, a café serves pizzas, wraps, salads, and a variety of healthful snacks.

To program director William Brashear and his team of teachers, yoga is a spiritual journey that begins within while a person is creating a bond with humanity. They inspire students of all ability levels to seek this inner peace in their classes, which cover a variety of styles. Options range from Mysore—a meditation-focused discipline—to power yoga—a vigorous Vinyasa-based course—to gentle yoga—a slower-paced rehabilitative class. To zero in on students' specific areas of concern, they lead one-on-one sessions, helping them master their techniques and learn Sanskrit words such as, "asana" which means "pose," or more commonly, "Can you please help me? My leg is stuck behind my head."

In addition to yoga, the school provides healing services, including Ayurvedic Thai yoga massage, in which a trained practitioner gently pulls arms and legs and twists torsos and shoulders in an effort to loosen the muscles and release stress. It also hosts yoga- and meditation-centric events and organizes calming retreats to locales such as Leeland Valley.