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Books, big brass & Hot Wheels®

COVINGTON, Ky. – It’s a weekend of big brass sounds, cool tiny cars, quilling, British romance trivia alongside cats, the Love The Cov Music Festival, and books (so many wonderful books).

Prioritize your time and see if you can fit in all the fun this weekend.

Too many books? (Never)

Are the bookshelves in your home overflowing? Does the stack of books on your bedside table cast a long, ominous shadow across the room? What about your vehicle? Are there two or three  dog-eared selections in the back seat, a sign of preparedness if you were to ever have to wait  for a tow?

Know this: A house that’s overflowing with books is not hoarding. It’s a personal home library, a collection. And if it’s the case that your car is filled with books, then it’s a personal bookmobile, a service for many.

You tell yourself “I can’t buy another book until I finish the ones I have at home.” Hogwash. Voracious reader, you can and should, and here’s why: If you see a title that intrigues you and you fail to purchase that book on the spot, you will forget about that book, and a likely wonderful story is lost to you forever. How sad is that?

Right this minute, gather yourself and go to the Kenton County Public Library, where the Friends of KCPL Mini Used Book Sale is happening and runs through Saturday. Purchase a bag for $5 and fill it with books. (Has anything ever sounded more wonderful?)

Rakes and ladies and … cats

Fluff up your fancy wig, get your frilly but tasteful ladies dress ready for the day, pen your daily correspondence, then gather your calling cards and go for an afternoon promenade in the Ton.

Be mindful to avoid the Dark Walk, as a diamond of the first water would never deign a stroll through such quarters, risking scandal and an encounter with a notorious rake. Instead, take a direct route to Purrfect Day Cat Café, where Bridgerton Trivia Night with Kittens awaits you and fellow regal personas tonight. Like a good pall-mall, this trivia game is sure to bring out your competitive side.

Lov The Cov Music Festival

The Love The Cov Music Festival is a two-day festival that kicks off on Friday night with the Love The Cov Music & Art Fest at Arnold’s Pub. You’ll hear from a fantastic lineup of bands and artists like Flat Scallop, Mouth, Phanta, and Computersad, and enjoy some of the bar’s specialty drinks.

Great music and good times continue on Saturday at the Love The Cov Music Festival at Up Over Bar. The day plays out with a lineup of four musical acts (mixed with some surprise fun), arts and wares for sale, poetry, juggling, fire spinning, lots of good food, and plenty of libations.

Rolling papers

Did you know that rolling paper is said to boost creativity and hand-eye coordination, curb stress, and improve concentration? Yes, paper quilling, or paper filigree, a creative technique in which small strips of paper are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create designs, has all range of benefits. (You didn’t think we meant the other definition of rolling papers, did you? Granted, that might have similar benefits.)

Saturday’s Dragonfly Delights: Quilling Card and Wine Tag Workshop at Purple Paisley, Local Artisan Shop, adds “socializing” to quilling’s list of benefits, as you join others in making some cool quilling projects.

Artist Kim Skindzier will guide you through the process of creating a dragonfly greeting card and a wine bottle gift tag. Once you’re finished, go to your favorite wine shop, buy a bottle, tag it with your handiwork and gift it to a friend, along with that lovely card you’ve made.

‘Official’ brass

The “Official Brass Band of Cincinnati,” the Cincinnati Brass Band, is in The Cov on Saturday, and you can catch them at Covington Parks and Recreation’s Concert in the Park at the Devou Park Bandshell.

This summer marks the band’s 31st season of bringing their signature sound, which is in the British brass band tradition, to the region.

And just what is a British brass band? It has a more mellow, richer sound, and features cornets instead of trumpets, E-flat tenor horns instead of French horns and English bore baritone horns. (Any effort to explain beyond that and we’d be getting in way over our grade school recorder musical training.)

Hot set of wheels

Did you know that Hot Wheels®, which was originally launched in 1968 to compete with Matchbox cars, has been among the highest-grossing toys for decades? (It’s also been said that those orange Hot Wheels® plastic race track strips were more threatening than a parent’s belt, but that’s a long overdue conversation for social services instead of a weekend newsletter.)

The brand has more than 20,000 models and, in some instances, a car can command as much as $95,000, which is the case for the RLC Ford GT-40 Gulf. There’s also a Custom Charger Resin Prototype for $20,000, and an Olds 442 for $16,000.

With that in mind, do your homework and keep your eyes open at Sunday’s Hot Wheels® Open Play at Kenton County Public Library, where everyone is invited to bring their favorite car to race … and someone just might bring a swank old Ford GT-40.

Live music

Tonight: Music@BCM Presents Matt Rouch and The Noise Upstairs at Behringer-Crawford Museum … Kyla Mainous and Hillary Hahn at Creative House of Art & Design … Sonny Moorman at Smoke Justis.

Friday: Let it Happen: A Space for Emptiness Record Release Show at Madison Live … Departure Lounge and Cincy Bombsquad Present Joey Beltram at The Rooftop at Madison Theater … Briz – Acoustic at Smoke Justis. … Estrada Do Sol at Juniper’s.

Saturday: Genesis Retouched at Madison Theater … Blender Bash 3 at The Rooftop at Madison Theater … The Bluebirds at Smoke Justis … Chris Comer Trio at Juniper’s.

Miscellaneous

Tonight: Cigar Night at Smoke Justis.

Saturday: Covington Farmers Market at 425 Madison Ave. parking lot … MainStrasse Village Food and Culture TourScarlet Begonia’s Flower Truck Pop-Up at Smoke Justis … Second Saturday Pop Up Market at Smoke Justis … Workshop and Walkthroughs: Facilitating Collective Mystery through Assemblages and Photography at The Carnegie.

Sunday: Yoga + Brunch at Juniper’s … Music Bingo at Frosthaus.

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