Following 12 weeks of business and community fundraising for the 2019 ArtsWave Campaign, the month of May becomes the start of ArtsWave's next round of investments in the cultural vibrancy of Greater Cincinnati. It's what ArtsWave donors do — they make possible hundreds of cool, inspiring, uplifting and engaging arts experiences every year.

Great upcoming examples include what "isn't your parents' May Festival," as the Enquirer described it, but is actually the longest running choral festival in the Western Hemisphere and leading the U.S. in establishing the connection between ensemble singing and greater civic involvement.

Cincinnati Fringe Festival kicks off at the end of this month. Produced by Know Theater of Cincinnati, Cincy Fringe is one of the largest, fastest growing Fringe festivals in the Midwest with dozens of new plays and theater events to take in from May 31 to June 15.

Another great example is the Street Stage Project by Cincinnati Music Accelerator. Produced by 3CDC and made possible by ArtsWave, this series will bring 30+ sidewalk musical performances by local CMA artists each week to downtown. Look for them over lunch and at the end of the workday, enlivening our city!

Finally, at least two more arts festivals should make your summer schedule. The Cincinnati Opera celebrates its 99th season starting in June and continuing into July. With favorites like the Gershwins' "Porgy and Bess" and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," plus a groundbreaking collaboration with the Ohio Innocence Project and YPCC called "Blind Injustice," the opera bridges past and present and brings our community together. Then in August, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra presents SummerMusik, its signature move-around-town series of arts presentations that includes Chamber Crawl Concerts at restaurants and bars.

Find all this and much more at ArtsWave Guide. And thanks to the thousands of donors to the ArtsWave Campaign for bringing exciting, diverse and innovative cultural events to Cincinnati — it’s what ArtsWave donors do!