This year, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is celebrating its 150th anniversary by ensuring birds of a feather can indeed stick together. Yes, there’s a lot more to this globally known and respected attraction than its holiday lights. Behind the scenes, the zoo’s conservation efforts reign supreme. A medium-sized bird called the sihek — also known as the Guam kingfisher — was declared extinct in the wild after invasive brown tree snakes wiped out its population. But as part of a groundbreaking conservation effort, nine sihek chicks — including three from the Cincinnati Zoo — were relocated to a protected Pacific Ocean preserve to prepare for their historic release back into the wild. This marks the first time in nearly four decades that the species will live outside human care, thanks to a global partnership of zoos and conservationists working to restore the population. The birds will settle into their new home at The Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra Atoll, a predator-free refuge, with hopes that they will one day return to Guam — flying the coop with a fresh start. cincinnatizoo.org.

1. 21c Museum Hotel
2. Art Academy of Cincinnati
3. Clifton Cultural Arts Center

1. Cincinnati Art Museum
2. Contemporary Arts Center
3. Taft Museum of Art

1. “Cincinnati Toy Heritage”
2. “Love Wins”
3. “Fiona and Bibi at the Cincinnati Zoo”
4. “Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon”
5. Charley Harper's “Beguiled by the Wild”
6. “Ezzard Charles: The Cincinnati Cobra”
7. “Democracy!”
8. “Homecoming (Blue Birds)”
9. “Dream Big and Fly High”
10. CROWN Trail Mural

1. Panegyri
2. CincItalia
3. St. Cecilia Family Festival

1. Reds Opening Day Rally on the Square
2. Ice Rink on Fountain Square
3. Art on Vine

1. BLINK
2. Cincinnati Art Museum
3. Findlay Market
4. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
5. Jungle Jim's International Market
6. Smale Riverfront Park
7. Washington Park
8. Tunes & Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
9. Contemporary Arts Center
10. FotoFocus

1. A Pig-ment of Your Imagination at REC, Cincinnati Art Museum
2. The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, Cincinnati Art Museum
3. NUDE: Exploring the Uncovered Human Form, Manifest Gallery

1. Dent Schoolhouse
2. Kings Island Halloween Haunt
3. The USS Nightmare

1. Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo
2. WinterFest at Kings Island
3. Cincinnati Nature Center’s Light in the Forest

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2. Midwestern Lesbian (@midwestern.lesbian)
3. Longbottom Bird Ranch (@longbottombirdranch)

1. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
2. The Children's Museum at the Cincinnati Museum Center
3. Longbottom Bird Ranch
4. Kings Island
5. Newport Aquarium
6. Cincinnati Art Museum
7. Great Parks of Hamilton County
8. Cincinnati Parks
9. Smale Riverfront Park
10. Behringer-Crawford Museum

1. Bob Herzog
2. Eileen Earnest
3. Mark Borison

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3. Anthony “Tank” Mansfield
4. Joshua Stout
5. Technique2012
6. Gee Horton
7. James Billiter
8. Leah Noumoff
9. Kevin Necessary
10. Cedric Michael Cox

1. Emily Henry
2. Curtis Sittenfeld
3. Michael Sawan (softmaxplus)

1. Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
2. Cincinnati Pops
3. MUSE Cincinnati's Women’s Choir

1. Kelly Collette
2. Sweett Biscut
3. Mark Borison

1. Cincinnati Ballet
2. DANCEFIX
3. Cin City Burlesque

1. Four by Three (Chase Crawford)
2. Cincy Stories
3. Virtual Cocktail TIE
4. Mark Borison TIE

1. Improv Cincinnati
2. Alphas Comedy
3. Two Sketchy Dames