On Thursday, Sept. 23, Dr. O’dell Owens will be honored for his lifetime commitment to Greater Cincinnati children during the start of a three-day
CET is ME party.
The VIP event, which will be held just below
The Singing Mural, includes hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine, entertainment by The Cincinnati Boychoir, interaction with PBS characters, and the premier of
The Singing Mural coming to life, thanks to
Brave Berlin, the team that brought
Lumenocity and
BLINK to Cincinnati.
There's also a mural painted in Dr. Owens’ honor, and he has picked the playlist for
The Singing Mural.
The Singing Mural, painted on the side of the CET building, is an ode to Greater Cincinnati's arts and cultural legacy. It was designed by nationally renowned artist and Cincinnati resident C.F. Payne, and represents the community coming together in a celebration of the arts.
Over the two days following the event, Sept. 24 and 25, the celebration will transform into an outdoor neighborhood block party celebrating Dr. Owens, immediate past president of Interact for Health. There will be live entertainment by Soul Pocket and Elementz, food trucks, beer and wine, photo ops, and
The Singing Mural will come alive on a loop throughout the evening.
“The key for us is that we are having a party — three days long — Thursday is the VIP event honoring Dr. Owens, and it is open to the public if people would like to buy a ticket,” says Kellie May, manager of communications and digital initiatives at Public Media Connect – CET and ThinkTV.
“On Friday and Saturday, it morphs into our neighborhood block party,” she continues. “For all three days, we worked with Brave Berlin to do an image-mapping show of
The Singing Mural on the side of our building.”
May adds that, unlike
BLINK and
Lumenocity, this is a one-time event. Tickets to the VIP night are limited.
“Dr. Owens has been a long-time volunteer with CET and obviously plays a huge role in the Greater Cincinnati community,” May says.
The original plan had been to honor him at the annual gala last fall, which was postponed due to COVID-19.
“When we took a step back and started to think about what this event could look like in this new world we live in, we decided to host more of a party, which is really more in line with Dr. Owens’ personality anyway,” she says. “It’ll be a lot fun, he’s really excited, and we’re thrilled to honor him. We can’t wait for everyone to join us. We hope everyone will come and party with us.”
Tickets for the VIP event are limited and cost $100 per person. The neighborhood block party tickets are $20 each. The celebrations will be held outdoors at CET, located at 1223 Central Parkway. Masks are encouraged but not required.
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