Farny Art Park Dedication

Free pizza, friends in period costume, and art. What a way to kick off the weekend!

The new art park dedicated to Henry Farny [(1847-1914, also friend of local Covington, KY artist Frank Duveneck (1848-1919)] took place this afternoon, a half block from our home.

It's great to see the neighborhood coming together to take vacant lots and make something artistic and community oriented out of it, most due to gracious volunteers, and artwork by another up and coming local artist, David Michael Rice, (who we've seen do a show downtown Cincinnati... very cool stuff this guy makes. Very cool.) Seen here above *inside* his latest sculpture.














Just remember, whatever happens, "Don't Break Character!" (Ref.: South Park episode 1207). It appears that Henry F. Farny attended the event as well.















The sculpture which is the centerpiece for the park, by David Michael Rice, is a depiction of Henry Farny's signature character, seen in the bottom right corner of the artwork below, which I believe (and I'm open to correction on this) means "Long Boots" in Sioux.

































There were quite a few 'dignitaries' here to officially open the park, so as for the ribbon cutting ceremony, there were a lot of scissors needed.














Seven, I think.














David did the honors after the ribbon was cut.














Kids were having as much fun as the parents were...



And then again, some were just having fun all by themselves. (You guys are just too cute for words... )
















Then David rested IN his laurels ;-)

Of course, we thought one of the better parts of the park was the clever use of local native arbor species to represent the signature of Farny....














Looks familiar, don't it? (Here's why)

Henry Farney Art Park

The Dedication ceremony is Saturday 6/27/09. 12:00-2:00.

Corner of Banklick and Robbins. Check out the rather neat artwork by David Rice.


Check out the flyer, here.

Be there, or be square.

This Old House Honors Covington

This Old House' honors Covington

By Mike Rutledge
mrutledge@nky.com

COVINGTON - "This Old House," the 30-year-old television program that helped make restoration of older homes more fashionable, has ranked Northern Kentucky's largest city as one of the country's best places to buy an Old House.

"Houses here are beautiful, solid and cheap," touts the television program's Web site. "Covington is a New Urbanist's dream, with shops, groceries, parks, bike trails, and the city of Cincinnati, all within walking distance."

Covington Historic Preservation Officer Beth Johnson prefers the word "affordable" rather than cheap, because the homes - many of them constructed with bricks, and many 100-plus years old - were built to last, with both flair and sturdy craftsmanship.

"You can go down a street and see large amounts of intact historic fabric," Johnson said. "You can go block for block and see another beautiful Italianate, then you see a Queen Anne, then you see a Second Empire."

Another big thing is "the people who fill the houses," Johnson said, and the active neighborhood associations "that automatically make you feel welcome, because they're out there talking to you."

You're not just buying a house, she said: "You're buying a neighborhood, and you're buying a great place to live."

"We have a lot of historic buildings, and I think we're beginning to become more and more recognized for that," said Aaron Wolfe-Bertling, Covington's housing development director. "They are not only very affordable, but located literally in the center of a large metropolitan area that offers all kinds of amenities."

Wolfe-Bertling lives in Covington's Mother of God neighborhood, within walking distance of both the MainStrasse entertainment district and Cincinnati's sports stadiums.

Covington was among 16 Southern places that made the list, joining the Poplar Springs area of Meridian, Miss.; East Durham, N.C.; and the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. It was among 51 places nationwide.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090624/NEWS0103/906250349

And while you're at it, here's a cheap house in Covington.