Best Of2025

A person preserved in ash after the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Photo: Provided by Cincinnati Museum Center
A person preserved in ash after the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

August 24, 79 A.D. was not a great day to be home in Pompeii, Italy. That’s when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted violently and unexpectedly, smothering the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and more than 20,000 people. The death toll is unknown, but the remains of more than 1,500 people have been unearthed. Pompeii: The Exhibition spent six months (February-July 2024) at the Cincinnati Museum Center displaying 150 preserved artifacts from the volcanic destruction— frescoes, gladiator armor, statues, jewelry and everyday items that recreated everyday life in Pompeii. It was fantastically popular. cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

Arts & Culture

Image: Arts & Culture
Here are the 2025 Best Of Cincinnati® Reader and Staff Pick winners for Arts & Culture.
  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
  1. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (@cincinnatizoo)
  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
  1. Pam Kravetz
  2. Kiwi the Duck
  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