Premier focuses on the essentials: reliability, comfort, convenience, and value. Our in-house network — FBOs, maintenance, experienced crews, operational support — delivers a smooth journey from departure to arrival. Now with an FBO near you at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Visit, chat. Schedule a flight.
The world will tell you that a full calendar is the goal. Packed schedules, optimized weekends, productivity hacks for your downtime. I'll be honest—I've bought into it, too. But a life that leaves no room for wandering isn't a full life. It's just a full schedule.
What I keep coming back to is this: the moments that actually stick—the ones my kids will remember, the ones I'll tell stories about, the laugh until your sides hurt moments—almost none of them were planned.
When I knew I’d be leaving France, I had four young children, aged 6 months to 5 years old. It's easy to lose sight of how much our own backyards have to offer. It was a busy season of life and nothing about gallivanting around with four tiny humans was convenient. But I set my heart on exploring the heck out of our little corner of France for the summer. We’d pick one or two villages a week to visit, wandering everywhere and nowhere, stopping for gelato in the shade of plantain trees and watching transient musicians drum the day away. Wandering endless markets and trails, just for the sheer joy of exploring. There was no agenda or itinerary, we were just living.
I've been watching how my family moves through time together lately. The truth is, we’ve lost a little bit of that spontaneity. “Busy” is trendy and ambling is out. In reality, our best afternoons look a lot like nothing on paper. A new trail we found on a whim. A board game that turned into two hours of laughing at the kitchen table. A random drive through a neighborhood none of us had known existed, ending at a coffee shop someone spotted from the window.
None of it was on the calendar. All of it was the point.
This issue is your permission slip to explore—a spontaneous weekend, a hobby you've been "about to start" for three years, an afternoon hopping between farmers markets, hitting up a street fair on a whim…no agenda, just you, life and the people you love.
Here's to slowing down to savor the everyday magic, right in our own backyards. Happy exploring,
DEBORAH MEKENESE, PUBLISHER
@INDIANHILL.CITYLIFESTYLE
July 2026
PUBLISHER
Deborah Mekenese
Deborah.Mekenese@CityLifestyle.com
EDITOR
Tera Michelson | Tera.Michelson@CityLifestyle.com
PUBLICATION MANAGER
Michelle Numann
COPY EDITOR A.J. Lape
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Clay Brizendine, Sue G. Collins, Bill Furbee, Kasey Johansen, Kali Kasprzyk, A.J. Lape
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
RF Graphics, Janie Jones
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Jenna Crawford
LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler
JULY 2026
1: Four-person teams had a blast racing on an indoor track for nonprofit ChangingGears. 2: Teams at ChangingGears' Grand Prix competed for best costumes, adding to the fun. 3: Abby Fovell & Ted Karras of The Cincy Hat Foundation celebrate the Sword Pull at the FC Cincinnati game. 4: ChangingGears held its annual Grand Prix, a pedal kart relay to raise funds for transportation solutions in Cincinnati. 5: Cincinnati’s residential architecture community gathered to celebrate the AIA Cincinnati CRANawards on The Summit Hotel's terrace. 6: The Specialty North American/Marvin team, presenting sponsors of the 17th annual CRANawards. 7: Sol design + consulting celebrates their Multi-Unit Housing win for Spring Green Homes at the CRANawards.
Dr. Timothy Kremchek, Founding Member of Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, was recently honored with Indian Hill High School’s Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and personal accomplishments in their careers and/or on behalf of the community, highlighting individuals who embody the values of excellence, integrity and community impact. Dr. Kremchek, a 1977 Indian Hill High School graduate, is an orthopedic surgeon and nationally recognized leader in sports medicine. IndianHillSchools.org
The Cincinnati Open is opening its doors early for Community Weekend, a twoday celebration packed with events on August 8–9. The family-friendly weekend of activities will precede tournament match play, which begins Tuesday, August 11. Grounds passes are available for both Saturday and Sunday, with two separately-ticketed events: Red Bull BassLine (Saturday) and the Cincinnati Open 5K (Sunday). Both events require a special ticket which also act as grounds passes for their respective days. CincinnatiOpen.com
Cincinnati Country Day School celebrated the impact of the arts during its 2026 Arts Hall of Fame induction ceremony, recognizing alumni and faculty members for their arts contributions at CCDS and beyond. This year’s inductees include long-time faculty member Lois Poe Rust, artist and educator Jim Taylor `77, musician and songwriter Susan Pepper `95 and clarinetist and educator Rob Patterson `02. Frances Kovach `23 and Ben Stacy `20 received the Young Alumni Recognition Award. Congratulations! CountryDay.net
ARTICLE BY BILL FURBEE
Explore the bounty of farm markets in the area, each with its own unique style and personality. Shop local and directly support farmers while you benefit from peak flavor and nutritional value from the foods they grow. These markets are worth the trip!
5035 Cooper Road PipkinsMarket.com
Pipkin’s Fruit & Vegetable Market is a mustvisit in Greater Cincinnati. The grocery and garden center serves the community yearround, benefiting from close relationships with local farmers and small business owners. Visitors can expect seasonal produce, specialty groceries and a vast selection of annuals, perennials, pottery and hard goods.
Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
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2802 10 Mile Road, Camp Springs, Kentucky LRFCampSprings.com
Located in one of the most picturesque valleys Northern Kentucky offers (which makes it worth the trip alone), Little Rock Farm in Camp Springs—just outside Fort Thomas— boasts 85 years of tradition and experience alongside fresh flowers, farm-raised meat, certified organic produce, jellies and products from local artisans.
Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Dawson Road at Miami Avenue, Madeira MadeiraFarmersMarket.com
Here, local farmers like Lobenstein Farm are set up alongside specialty food artisans like WildBloom Sourdough Bakery; handmade goods like soaps and greeting cards are available as well. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Madeira Farmers Market is dedicated to “connecting consumers to producers of fresh, high-quality local food and goods.”
Thursdays, 4-7 p.m. through October 29
3950 Round Bottom Road
NewtownMarket.com
Newtown Farm Market has grown from pick-your-own berries and fresh corn to a year-round grocery, deli and sandwich shoppe. Find fresh produce, seasonal plants and specialty pantry items at this Cincinnati institution. Don’t miss their dairy bar and growing selection of products from local makers, growers and cultivators.
Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
9609 Montgomery Road
MontgomeryFarmersMarket.org
For 17 years, the Montgomery Farmers’ Market has been bringing its community together with a sustainable food selection provided by local growers. Today, over 40 vendors greet shoppers. Montgomery Farmers’ Market accepts SNAP/EBT, Produce Perks, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers and Produce Prescription Program vouchers. Saturdays through October 31, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
7400 Given Road
TurnerFarm.org
With appetizing selections always in season, The Market at Turner Farm allows visitors to pick up certified organic produce and meats just steps away from where it was carefully and ethically raised. Year-round inventories are stocked with favorites like grass-fed beef and lamb, organic fruit and pastured chicken and eggs. Through regenerative farming practices, they deliver food that prioritizes animal welfare and soil health. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
I ASKED MY EXPAT AND TRAVEL-SAVVY FRIENDS TO RECOMMEND BOOKS TO TAKE ME FAR AWAY. HERE YOU GO!
ARTICLE BY SUE G. COLLINS
BY GERALD DURRELL
Three classic tales of childhood on an island paradise - My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell - are available in a single edition for the first time in The Corfu Trilogy.
BY TONY HORWITZ
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist travels to various parts of the world, following in the footsteps of explorer James Cook.
BY ELIF SHAFAK
It is 1974 on the island of Cyprus. Two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided land, meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The tavern is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet, in secret, hidden beneath the blackened beams from which hang garlands of garlic, chili peppers and wild herbs. This is where one can find the best food in town, the best music, the best wine. But there is something else to the place: it makes one forget, even if for just a few hours, the world outside and its immoderate sorrows.
Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu, where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Through glorious silver-green olive groves and across brilliant-white beaches Gerry pursued his obsession . . . causing hilarity and mayhem in his ever-tolerant family.
BY ABRAHAM VERGHESE
Cutting for Stone is a novel written by Ethiopian-born, IndianAmerican medical doctor and author Abraham Verghese. It is a saga of twin brothers, orphaned by their mother’s death at their births and forsaken by their father.
BY ORHAN PAMUK
The author is a Nobel-laureate Turkish novelist. The book, set in Istanbul between 1975 and 1984, is an account of the love story between the wealthy businessman Kemal and a poorer distant relative of his, Füsun.
"I had Amy and her crew do 4 of my bathrooms recently Her crew was fabulous and did great work. They were very conscientious and considerate of us They understood that we were living through the whole process. I love my bathrooms!!"
- Steph S
ARTICLE BY TERA MICHELSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY RF GRAPHICS
For Ricky Fairrow, every day is an adventure. He is a modern-day explorer, using his naturally artistic eye to discover uncommon angles and find unseen beauty and then share it with the world in images. Ricky has the uncanny ability to help entrepreneurs and business leaders identify, hone and grow their brands. In this Q&A, we turn the focus on his passionate approach to his unique work.
Q: Your photography and videography feel like storytelling tools. When does a visual stop being content and start becoming a story?
A: Right away. For me, the story starts the moment I begin listening to a client talk about their business, their product or what they’re passionate about. As they’re speaking, I’m already visualizing it like a movie in my head. The best projects are when someone is genuinely passionate about what they do, because that energy gives me something real to build from.
Q: There’s an intensity to your work—every frame feels deliberate. What’s going through your mind when you’re behind the camera?
A: There is always a purpose behind every shot. I tell clients and collaborators all the time that we are not just capturing random content and hoping it becomes something later in the edit. Every frame should have intention. For me, every shot has to earn its place. The angle, the movement, the lighting, the expression—it all matters. When everything is captured with purpose, the final piece feels intentional, polished and powerful.
CONTINUED >
Q: You’ve worked with both local businesses and global brands—how does your creative approach shift, or does it?
A: I bring the same energy, strategy and creative process to local businesses that I bring to global brands. Local businesses deserve the same level of quality in their branding, marketing, design and storytelling.
Q: In a world flooded with content, what separates work that performs from work that resonates?
A: A lot of content is created just to keep up. To post something, stay visible, follow a trend or check a box. Sometimes that content may get a few likes or views, but that does not always mean it connected with anyone. To me, the best content sits at the intersection of strategy and emotion. It is created with a business goal in mind, but it is delivered in a way that feels human, meaningful and memorable. That is the difference between content people scroll past and content people actually care about.
“The best content sits at the intersection of strategy and emotion. It is created with a business goal in mind, but it is delivered in a way that feels human, meaningful and memorable. That is the difference between content people scroll past and content people actually care about.” “
Q: What else do you want readers to know about you and your work?
A: After all these years, there is still no better feeling than helping a client become more successful and more confident in what they do. When you get to be part of someone’s growth, when you see them light up because their brand finally looks and feels the way they always hoped it could, that is special. At that point, it does not even feel like work.
RF Graphics | Brand & Growth Strategist | 740.466.9250 | info@ rfgraphics.com | RFGraphics.com
Luke Luther Realtor Partner
Daley Design + Build is a full service design and construction company specializing in new home construction, renovation and addition projects. From initial concept to final touches, we handle every aspect of your project with precision and care. Our skilled team delivers exceptional workmanship, ensuring that every detail meets the highest standards. We also offer open-book pricing so you know exactly where every dollar goes. Trust us to be your partner in creating the home you’ve always envisioned.
+ Uncompromising Quality
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For Kelly Blount, volunteering has never been about checking a box or filling spare time. On any given afternoon, she might be helping a student with homework, planning a fundraiser or connecting families with resources that make life a little easier. That commitment earned Kelly the 2026 Voices of Vision Award from Women100 and Indian Hill City Lifestyle for her leadership and impact across the community.
“Receiving the Voices of Vision Award was an incredible feeling,” she says. “No volunteer gets involved in an organization for any sort of recognition.”
Instead, Kelly views service as a responsibility. She believes strong communities are built when people consistently show up for one another, whether through mentorship, education, food assistance or simply listening without judgment.
Her passion for giving began early. As a child, she remembers wanting to help every person experiencing homelessness she encountered while traveling with her family.
“As I grew older, I learned giving doesn’t always mean money,” she explains.
Over time, that childhood instinct evolved into a broader understanding of what service and support can look like.
After joining the team at General Electric Credit Union (GECU), Kelly found an outlet for that passion through the company’s GECU Cares volunteer initiative. The program introduced her to organizations across Greater Cincinnati and helped her discover causes that felt deeply personal, including Meals on Wheels, Pink Ribbon Good, NEST Community Learning Center and the Ben Morrison Memorial Fund.
Today, she serves as Senior Program Marketing Specialist at GECU, where she oversees financial education programming, scholarship initiatives and community giving efforts.
“I feel so lucky every day that my work aligns with my personal values of intentional connection, shared responsibility and consistent action,” Kelly says.
Her connection to the NEST Community Learning Center became especially meaningful after moving to Loveland. Through her volunteer work, she learned many students in the program lived just down the street from her own neighborhood.
“I could not think of a better way to make an impact than supporting students who are quite literally my neighbors,” she says.
As the youngest serving member of the NEST Community Learning Center Board, Kelly helps plan and execute the organization’s signature “Dancing With the Stars” fundraiser while sometimes volunteering with students through its after-school programming.
“This year, several students graduated out of reading intervention and gained confidence in their abilities,” she says, adding that those changes help students build confidence, enjoy learning and believe in what’s possible for their future.
Kelly also serves in leadership with the Junior League of Cincinnati, where she helps coordinate volunteer opportunities and encourages others to get involved in their communities.
Her most meaningful volunteer moments often come in quiet exchanges: a student gaining confidence, a family finding support during cancer treatment or someone simply saying thank you. Those moments are what stay with her long after the volunteering ends.
“Sometimes people just need a little extra love, support and someone who is there for them on both the bad days and the good,” she says.
For Kelly, that belief guides every hour she gives, every relationship she builds and every community she helps strengthen.
Instagram.com/whatskelupto
“Sometimes people just need a little extra love, support and someone who is there for them on both the bad days and the good.” -Kelly Blount
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
Winnipeg in the winter, and a 17-year-old waits 45 minutes in the cold for Keanu Reeves. Her fingers are numb. She is not there for an autograph. She is there to ask him to appear in her audition tape for MuchMusic, Canada’s MTV. When he finally agrees, she writes her number on a gum wrapper with a borrowed lip liner.
He calls days later.
That 17-year-old was Jen Cohen — fitness expert, host of the Habits & Hustle podcast, and best-selling author. She has built a career on the premise her frostbitten afternoon proved. She calls the practice the 10% Target: 10 attempts at whatever you want most in life.
The premise is simple. Most people never make one attempt. Almost nobody makes two. The math works in favor of the person who keeps going.
The top-rated Habits & Hustle podcast has logged hundreds of conversations with high performers and the people who study what the body does to the mind. Her TEDx talk, The Secret to Getting Anything You Want in Life, has traveled widely inside Fortune 500 sales-training rooms. On the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Cohen sits down to share the working rules that are the foundation of her latest book, Bigger, Better, Bolder.
“You have to be the CEO of your own life.”
FEATURING JEN COHEN
Discover the full 10% Target Mindset framework.
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The door opens, or another door does. The unmade attempt and the refused one leave you in the same place — except one of them teaches you something.
Cohen frames her habits as a wager: How do I stack the deck so I win more than I lose? The workout happens first, and the food decisions follow. The email follow-up gets sent, and the answer arrives. The choices compound in a single direction.
3
No one is born with it. The people who look disciplined are running a routine they have rehearsed long enough that it no longer feels like effort. The reps are the skill. Miss them, and the skill fades, the same as any other.
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Confidence does not arrive by repeating the word. It arrives after the body has done the thing — the workout finished, the cold walk endured, the email sent. The mind takes its cues from what the body proves it can do. Talk follows action, not the other way around.
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The first decision sets the slope of the rest. Skip the Monday workout, and the rest of the week tends to follow. Hold the line on Monday, and the slope tilts the other way.
ARTICLE BY CLAY BRIZENDINE
About the Author
WELLNESS TRAVEL: ADVENTURES NEAR & FAR
Sometimes our wellness needs a jumpstart—a jolt that makes an idea click or a routine stick. One of the most effective ways to create that shift is to change your environment; go somewhere that wakes and excites you in ways your normal routine can’t. Your senses engage, your mindset shifts and the experience sticks. Let’s explore a few ways to do just that.
Start close to home.
Choose new environments where you can easily learn what feels like a fit. Cincinnati offers an abundance of parks to explore how well nature speaks to you. Viewing art has been proven to lower cortisol, blood pressure and heart rate, and you can experience those benefits for free at both the Contemporary Arts Center and Cincinnati Art Museum. A day trip to Lexington can offer both traditional and non-traditional restoration, from a visit to The Kentucky Castle spa to horseback riding at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Get more intentional.
With a better understanding of what restores your balance, weekend trips can take your wellness further. Hocking Hills offers nature therapy, yoga and relaxation experiences, while Kuusi Nordic Spa at Sugar Creek Retreat in Indiana combines sauna, cold plunges and nature immersion with two large parks a walk away. Chicago offers multiple bathhouse options, and if spa-focused wellness is your preference, Kohler Waters Spa in Wisconsin offers a legitimate world-class experience.
Multi-day wellness retreats are fully immersive. Canyon Ranch and Miraval offer structured programs in wellness-focused locations like Arizona and Texas, while destinations like The Ranch in Malibu or New York create personalized experiences designed to restore balance before you even arrive.
Each environment offers something different: the activity, the setting, the timing. The real question is: what works best for you? Exploring is the only way to find out.
Clay Brizendine, a health and wellness coach and personal trainer, roots his work with individuals and organizations in his "Simplify to Amplify" approach: giving extraordinary time and attention to the few truly important things in your life leads to greater fulfillment. He and his family call Madeira home. ClayBrizendine.com | Instagram @OurTrainingLab
JULY 2026
THURSDAYS
Rockin’ the Roebling Summer Concert Series
Schmidlapp Event Lawn & Stage, 124 E. Mehring Way, Cincinnati | 6:00 PM
The Ohio Riverfront comes alive every summer Thursday with live local music, great food and cold drinks for the Rockin’ the Roebling Summer Concert Series, 6-10 p.m. Kick back for relaxing family-friendly evenings on the lawn— even pets are welcome! Admission is free. Parking is available at nearby Central Riverfront Garage and the Public Landing lot. Find details online. Facebook.com/rockingtheroebling
JULY 4TH
Stephan Field, 6475 Drake Road, Indian Hill | 10:00 AM
Village Independence Day celebrations kick-off with the Fourth of July Parade, beginning at Cincinnati Country Day School at 10 a.m. The party continues with fun activities for all ages, live music and food available for purchase at the Festival at Stephan Field immediately following the parade. Fireworks begin at 9:45 p.m. Find parking and traffic details online. IndianHill.gov
JULY 4TH
Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash | 3:30 PM
Celebrate 250 years of independence at the 2026 MadTree Brewing Red, White & Blue Ash event, 3:30-10:30 p.m. Hear opening band Fuel at 6 p.m., followed by headliner Switchfoot at 8:15 p.m. End the evening with a dazzling fireworks display by Arthur Rozzi Pyrotechnics, 10 p.m. Games, rides and food will be available for purchase. BlueAshEvents.com
CONTINUED
JULY 14TH
Shakespeare in the Park: Much Ado About Nothing
Eden Park, Seasongood Pavilion, 1600 Museum Drive, Cincinnati | 7:00 PM
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company brings a unique and timely adaptation of the classic comedy Much Ado About Nothing to Eden Park. Bring a blanket and a friend to enjoy an entertaining evening filled with mistaken identities, overheard conversations and joyful chaos. CincyShakes. com/on-stage/much-ado-park
JULY 18TH
Ohio River Sweep
Fernbank Park, 50 Thornton Avenue, Cincinnati | 9:00 AM
Great Parks’ next Ohio River Sweep is from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on July 18 at Fernbank Park. One of the biggest multi-state litter pickups anywhere, Ohio River Sweep attracts hundreds of volunteers to remove plastic bottles, car tires, food containers and all types of litter and recyclables that end up in the water or on the riverbanks. GreatParks.org
JULY 23RD - 26TH & 30TH - AUGUST 2ND Glier’s Goettafest 2026
Newport Festival Park, 100 Riverboat Row, Newport
Don’t miss this annual two-weekend celebration of all things goetta! Enjoy live music and family fun, including a 90-foot ferris wheel and delicious Glier’s Goetta. Admission is free. Hours vary—find the full schedule online. Goetta.com/GoettaFest
ARTICLE BY KASEY JOHANSEN
Don't just handle the heat—bring the heat! Reach for this summer’s tailored fits, reimagined gingham and Americana stripes, because every woman deserves to shape her own hot-girl summer.
KASEY JOHANSEN
Personal Stylist at KC CONSULTING & CEO/Founder of WOMEN100
Dedicated to empowering women to discover their authentic style and embrace confidence. KCConsultingStyle.com
