Urban Nights Photos (May 15, 2009)

The latest of the Urban Nights featured another good time in the Oregon District. This short slideshow features some of the photos I was able to take. Naturally, I had to stick pretty close to the shop. These images feature the Nick Kizirnis Band and various views around the Ware Block. Check the list of links below the slideshow and be sure to look for their blogs and popular social networks. Links to our Picasa photo gallery, Facebook, and MySpace are located in the sidebar.



Downtown Dayton Partnership - URBAN NIGHTS

Loretta Puncer's GALLERY 510 on Fifth

DERAILED HAIR SALON on MySpace

PRACTICE YOGA on Fifth

DOLCESSA GELATO, PANINI, ESPRESSO on Facebook

NICK KIZIRNIS BAND / NICKY KAY

URBAN NIGHTS - Come on out, there's no rain in sight!

The weather's great, the time is right, come downtown for Urban Nights!

OK, it's a little cloudy out, but that would've ruined my rhyme, and it's not raining yet. I think it'll hold off.

Bonus! The Dolcessa Gelato cart has returned for the event. You have to try this stuff! It's outside the Ware Block Building near Bonnett's Books, Practice Yoga, Derailed Salon, and Gallery 510 Fine Art.

Art Galleries, Great Food, Live Performances, City Life Statues, Light Up Dayton Photo-contest Winners, and yes... there's even a Dayton Dragons game tonight! And of course, don't forget to stop in Bonnett's to see the latest arrivals!

Best Urban Nights Yet!

Though Urban Nights officially ends at 10pm there's always plenty to do in the Oregon District on Friday nights... bands, dancing, people watching, etc. We stayed open until midnight this just to let people know we were here and take a look around.

Our new neighbors, "Practice Yoga on Fifth," at 504 E. 5th St., were greeting folks and enjoying the beautiful evening alongside Derailed Hair Salon's temporary display of art and gift cards.

Derailed also has been featuring a selection of art from some of the folks at Catalyst Creative Design Studio (aka C2 or C-squared). Very cool stuff.

Dolcessa made a re-appearance with their gelato cart, and I must say the gelato actually tasted better than I remembered it. The next time you're on Brown near UD & MVH, do yourself a favor and try some of their gelato. They're right across the street from the Burger King over there.

510 Gallery featured some great tunes to accompany the works on display from Loretta Puncer. I didn't get to stick around but there's always something enchanting about the flute that makes you want to stay.

My camera and I couldn't get around much because we had to stick near the shop, but here's a small sampling of what I've described above. Enjoy! :-)

Urban Nights

Spring 2007 Urban Nights*

Urban Nights was a big success in the Oregon District last night. Please leave a comment with your thoughts about related events anywhere in Downtown Dayton.

Many people came out to see all the great things downtown Dayton has to offer. At Bonnett's Book Store we stayed open until 10 p.m., two hours later than usual, to give Urban Nights visitors a chance to see what we offer during regular hours, Noon - 8 p.m., Monday - Saturday (Closed Sundays).

The streets were bustling with visitors from Hamvention at Hara Arena, A World Affair at the Dayton Convention Center, as well as those who came down just for Urban Nights. I hope the "triple threat" crowd didn't put anyone off by making it seem TOO crowded. Street musicians were out in force, some were regulars while others joined in just for Urban Nights. The street scene is always fascinating on East Fifth. You could almost make a second job of crowd-watching down here on weekends.

I can only speak to what went on in our immediate vicinity since we were manning our store, but what we could see was a pleasure. Dolcessa, one of the newest businesses in the historic Oregon District, did a brisk business with their offerings of gelato, espresso, and panini. At times there was a line out the door waiting to order, and I promise, everyone who did so will tell you it's worth the wait. Sterling Studio looked to be quite busy with their offerings of custom jewelry, incense, and gifts. Derailed Hair Salon had a table out front with a bit of a party going on inside. Derailed is known to host the occasional gallery featuring works by local artists. There is a banner in the storefront next to ours proclaiming "Nail Salon Grand Opening July 2007", so that's something that will be new for the next Urban Nights even in the Fall.

All in all there were many smiling faces enjoying some of the one-of-a-kind offerings of downtown Dayton, Ohio. If you couldn't make it out for Urban Nights I recommend coming downtown Saturday visit these places and many more. On Saturday and Sunday you can take in "A World Affair" at the Convention Center. And, through next weekend, you can take a walk to see the lifelike statues scattered throughout downtown, one of which is Marilyn Monroe in her famous skirt blowing pose from "The Seven Year Itch".

Speaking of Marilyn Monroe, I'm looking forward to attending the Marilyn show at the Dayton Art Institute. I believe that show runs into July, but don't wait until the last few weekends or you'll have trouble finding parking due to large "last chance" crowds.

Some great places I visit whenever I can are The Tumbleweed Connection, Feather's Vintage, 5th Street Wine & Deli, The Oregon Emporium, Jay's Seafood, The Oregon Express, Gem City Records, Smokin' BBQ, The Neon Movies, Goodwill, Da Da Gallery, The Dublin Pub, and my favorite lunch spot The Trolley Stop.

There's much more, like Coco's Restaurant, Urban Krag Indoor Climbing, Jasper Wall Studio featuring Boston Stoker Coffee, Glenn Scott's Oregon District Tattoo featuring 'The Tattoo Team' as seen on "Miami Valley Ink", The Nite Owl, Newcom's Tavern, Pacchia aka The Jazz Room, Pearl Night Club in the old Diner, Cafe Boulevard and their pub Le Monde, Wiley's Comedy Club, Ned Pepper's Bar & Grille, The Look, and Sloopy's.

If that's not enough for you there's more on the way... look for John Henry's opening soon where The Blue Moon used to be and a yet-to-be-named nail salon where Just Fishit Aquatics was at 504 E. 5th St. FYI, Just Fishit is still in operation but business became so brisk that maintaining a storefront was actually slowing it down. Check them out at www.fishit.net.

Finally, here are some fun promotional videos for Urban Nights. We hope to see you all again soon. Bring friends. And don't forget that daytime is pretty awesome downtown, too. Enjoy!

*I began adding links to everything mentioned in this article, but there's just too much great stuff in downtown Dayton and the Oregon District. Please use your favorite search engine to learn more about anything mentioned in this article.