| *** 😊Around Town: Things to do in Dayton this weekend The Miami Valley Restaurant Association hosted the Kickin Chicken Wing Fest at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Local restaurants and food trucks participated in the festival. Live music was provided by The Sly Band. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Credit: Tom Gilliam Chicken wings, macaroni and cheese, comedy, a clothing swap and the music of Queen can be found across the region this weekend. For a look at our top events click here. 🎭Theater: Behind the seams: Costume designer manages around 100 outfits for Centerville church’s ‘Shrek: The Musical’ Costume designer Catherine NguyenLu assesses Shrek's shirts. Photo by David Sherman Credit: David Sherman Catherine NguyenLu, a 2017 Alter High School graduate, oversees around 100 costumes for Epiphany Lutheran Church’s production of “Shrek.” Read more about her artistry and the show here. 🚗Worth the Drive: New ‘Superman’ movie coming out this week features Cincinnati Museum Center as Hall of Justice The Cincinnati Museum Center's Union Terminal is the fictional headquarters for the Justice League in the latest "Superman" movie. CONTRIBUTED/ DC COMCS VIA TOYOTA USA There’s a lot riding on the highly anticipated “Superman” film which hopes to become one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters when it’s released Friday. The Cincinnati Museum Center is featured as the Hall of Justice. Read more about it here. 🎤Music: Leftover Salmon and The Infamous Stringdusters bring ‘Rowdy Summer Nights Tour’ to the Rose Leftover Salmon and The Infamous Stringdusters bring their triple stacked jamgrass tour with Kitchen Dwellers to the Rose Music Center on July 16. TOBIN VOGGESSER / CONTRIBUTED Credit: Jesse R. Borrell Progressive bluegrass bands Leftover Salmon and the Infamous Stringdusters will perform July 16 at The Rose Music Center at The Heights. Read more about their artistry here. 🖼️Visual Arts: Museum of Art plans grand finale for popular exhibition The Springfield Museum of Art's exhibition "Aminah Robinson: Journeys Home, A Visual Memoir" will close with a celebration during the monthly Come Find Art event, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 13 with free admission, visiting artists, interactive projects, music and refreshments. Credit: Contributed An exhibition at the Springfield Museum of Art will receive a community-centric grand finale Sunday. “Aminah Robinson: Journeys Home, A Visual Memoir Closing Celebration” will recognize the late artist who vividly chronicled the Black experience. Read more about the exhibit here. ⭐Community Gems: Nominate someone who is making a difference Dayton Daily News Community Gems logo The Dayton Daily News Community Gems initiative highlights people who give their time and effort to improve the lives of their neighbors and community. Do you know someone like this in your community? Follow this link to nominate them. 😋Around Town: Great Dayton Food Truck Rally this weekend will have more than 50 vendors Grainworks Brewing Company in West Chester is teaming up with MamaBears Mac to bring their award-winning Mac and Cheese to brewery customers daily. Credit: James Czar/Grainworks Brewing Company More than 50 food trucks will participate in the Great Dayton Food Truck Rally at Front Street Studios this weekend. This free, family friendly event will also feature a craft beer tent and live music. Click here. ⭐Around Town: History comes alive at Garst Museum: Annie Oakley, pioneer life and more Sharpshooter Annie Oakley is the focus of the Garst Museum in Greenville. CONTRIBUTED The Garst Museum in Greenville is home to the National Annie Oakley Center dedicated to the famous sharpshooter’s personal and professional life. Read more about the museum here. 🖼️Visual Arts: Murals put in place for NATO summit in Dayton face uncertain future Briana Snyder's photographs of DCDC performers celebrates Dayton's role as a hub for the arts. Credit: Ismael David Mujahid The eye-catching murals installed downtown for the recent NATO Parliamentary Assembly are facing an uncertain future. Find out more about these beautiful works here. 🎤Music: Two Ithaca freak folk-techno acts to play free ‘homecoming’ show Park Doing, a Dative native living in Ithaca, New York, is returning to Dayton to play his first solo show in his hometown. The Belmont Billiards will also host the Johnny Dowd Trio. GANESH VAN BOGGELEN / CONTRIBUTED Dayton native Park Doing, an artist whose work bridges freak folk, cowpunk and the avant-garde, will perform his first solo show in his hometown Saturday at Belmont Billiards. He’ll be joined by Johnny Dowd, alt-country frontman of the Johnny Dowd Trio. Read more about him here. 🎭Theater: Saluting Dayton’s 2024-2025 theater season MJ: The Musical" was presented at the Schuster Center courtesy of Dayton Live. CONTRIBUTED Credit: CONTRIBUTED An impressive array of actors, directors, designers and more are among the best of Dayton’s 2024-2025 theater season. For the full list, encompassing professional, collegiate and community theaters, click here. 🎤Music: Weird Al’s ‘Bigger & Weirder Tour’ at The Fraze: He successfully distills what is culturally relevant Weird Al" Yankovic. CONTRIBUTED Credit: CONTRIBUTED Just in case you missed “Weird Al” Yankovic’s July 6 concert at Fraze Pavilion, check out Dayton Daily News music reporter Brandon Berry’s recap of the show here. ⭐A Day in the Life: UD professor and music theorist Daniele Sofer Daniele Sofer began a professorship at the University of Dayton after lecturing in Austria and Ireland. They teach music theory and technology and are a multi-instrumentalist. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Credit: Contributed Daniele Sofer, an assistant professor of Music Theory and Music Technology at the University of Dayton, is the co-founder of a nonprofit for music scholars who are queer or who study queer subjects. Read more about their work and mission here. 🪨Outdoors: Rock climbing is possible right here in Southwest Ohio Jackson Pope works his way up a limestone cliff as he and his friends, from left, Emily Andrews, Mallory Hutton and Michael Barr rock climb at Mad River Gorge Tuesday. BILL LACKEY/STAFF The Mad River Gorge in Springfield is the largest climbing area in all of Ohio. Read more about how you can enjoy your next climb through special events and classes happening soon. Click here. 🏠Timeless Dayton: Historic Fourth Street home was a ‘panel town’ before renovations — and it may have had a cigar-smoking ghost Photos of the inside and outside of 1514 E. Fourth St. in St. Anne's Hill Historic District. CONTRIBUTED The home of Susan and Denny Gray within the St. Anne’s Hill Historic District was once occupied by a “human squirrel.” Read about their major renovation project and love of Porchfest here. 📺TV: ‘All my business is out there:’ Joe Burrow reacts to burglary captured on Netflix’s ‘Quarterbacks’ Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks at a news conference after NFL football practice, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Credit: AP If you’re looking for a new show to watch or stream, I highly recommend the second season of Netflix’s “Quarterbacks” featuring Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals. Sure, watching Joe talk about last year’s problematic season and particularly slow start is tough to digest (will the Bengals ever treat September like it’s December or January?) but the more personal aspects of his life, from his appreciation of fashion and the piano to interactions with his parents and stylist, are very revealing. Click here. 📷Photos: Americana Festival parade, Kettering Go 4th Festival and Fireworks, Chicago performs at Rose Music Center Go 4th!, Ketterings Independence Day celebration, happened on Friday, July 4, 2025 at Delco Park. Hosted by the City of Ketterings Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department, the event featured a DJ pumping music through the park, food trucks, kids fun zones, bounce houses, roaming performers and fireworks. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Credit: Tom Gilliam Centerville’s Americana Festival parade took place Friday, July 4. Go 4th!, Kettering’s Independence Day celebration, happened Friday, July 4. Chicago played a concert at The Rose Music Center at The Heights in Huber Heights on Sunday, July 6. 🎼ICYMI: Dayton native writes song honoring first American pope, performs it at Chicago event Brother David Marshall, a Dayton native and Chaminade Julienne graduate, performs his original song "One of Us" June 14 at Rate Field in Chicago in celebration of Pope Leo. CONTRIBUTED Credit: CONTRIBUTED Brother David Marshall, a Dayton native and Chaminade Julienne graduate, is a friar in the Order of Saint Augustine who was spotlighted as a featured singer during the June 14 celebration for Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago. Read more about him and his original song “One of Us,” which depicts Pope Leo’s humble beginnings from the South Side of Chicago to becoming pope. Click here. CONNECT WITH ME Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter. I encourage you to keep in touch. Share story tips or feedback about this newsletter by emailing me at Russell.Florence@coxinc.com. | 