Downtown Dayton Partnership

Midwinter Break
2026-02-26 15:10, 2026-02-25 19:30, 2026-02-25 17:15, 2026-02-25 15:10 (America/New_York) | THE NEON, United States
Longtime retired couple Stella and Gerry realize that their relationship has reached a crossroads while on holiday in Amsterdam. After so much time and so many memories, long-held promises and deeply concealed wounds threaten to come to light and force them to confront their future.
A stirring meditation on faith, commitment, and the enduring power of love.
Director
Polly Findlay
Producer
Guy Heeley, Floor Onrust
Cast
Lesley Manville, Julie Lamberton, Ciarán Hinds

Oscar Shorts 2026 Live Action
2026-02-26 14:50, 2026-02-25 14:50 | THE NEON, United States
Overview
All five Oscar nominees for “Best Live Action Short Film” will head to THE NEON starting Feb. 20.
Here are this year’s contenders:
THE SINGERS – Dir. Sam A. Davis | United States | 18min
BUTCHER’S STAIN – Dir. Meyer Levinson-Blount | Israel | 26min
A FRIEND OF DOROTHY – Dir. Lee Knight | United Kingdom | 21min
TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA – Dir. Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata | France, United States | 36min
JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA – Dir. Julia Aks and Steve Pinder | United States | 12min
Some films in this program contain adult language, adult themes, and sensual images. Recommended for persons 17 and up.

Magic Carpet Concerts: Hansel & Gretel
2026-02-26 11:30, 2026-02-25 11:30 | Dayton Masonic Center, 525 W. Riverview Ave., Dayton, OH, 45405-4702, United States
Join Hansel and Gretel as they navigate a magical forest, encountering a delectable gingerbread house and triumphantly defeating a wicked witch in this engaging adaptation of the classic fairy tale. This performance, created specifically for young audiences, blends the orchestral music of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the artistry of the Dayton Opera Artists-in-Residence with narration and dialogue.

Tony Foster, Exploring Time: A Painter’s Perspective
2026-02-26, 2026-02-25 | The Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park N, Dayton, OH, 45405, United States
Tony Foster, Exploring Time: A Painter’s Perspective
February 21–May 17, 2026, Gallery 120
Between 2007 and 2025, Tony Foster embarked on his 19th Journey, building it around a profound and layered theme: time. Across this body of work, he investigates how time shapes the land—from the quick shifts of light and weather, to the slow rhythms of seasons, to the immense scales of biological and geological transformation. As Foster explains, his aim is “to draw attention to the unseen forces that create place.”
Exploring Time brings together a remarkable series of watercolor diaries that capture nature in motion. His paintings reveal signs of change on multiple fronts: geological upheavals, biological cycles and the marks left by human activity. With a discerning eye, Foster records not only nature’s strength and resilience but also its vulnerability, even in landscapes once dominated by industry and later reclaimed.
In a world where environmental change is often conveyed through striking images of global warming, Foster offers a different perspective, one that considers Earth’s continual evolution and the visible traces of time’s passage. Organized into four themes: geological, biological, human and the fleeting, this exhibition invites viewers to engage with time at every scale, from the span of a moment to the stretch of millennia, while reflecting on the enduring impact of human presence.

Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries
2026-02-26, 2026-02-25 | The Contemporary Dayton, 25 W. Fourth St., Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries
February 4 – 28, 2026
Opening Reception: February 4, 6 – 8 pm
Closing Reception: February 28, 4 – 6 pm

Gretchen Durst Jacobs: What the Body Carries features new work from the Dayton-based artist. These encaustic monotypes, which merge painting with printmaking, emanate from the body, using gesture, scale, and repetition to explore how experience is physically and emotionally carried. Her abstract compositions balance intuition and structure, with grids often acting as quiet frameworks that hold movement, memory, and sensation in tension. Each encaustic monotype, created through a process that uses hot wax and pigment transferred onto a surface, is unique, and invites viewers to contemplate how feeling takes shape through mark, color, and rhythm.
Artist Statement
My paintings and prints begin with the body. Rooted in somatic experience and attentive to the inner life, the work explores how feeling is carried, processed, and transformed through physical gesture. I often work at a scale that matches my full reach—fingertip to fingertip—so each mark records movement, presence, and intuition. At times a grid enters the work as a quiet stabilizing force, allowing chaos, memory, and motion to coexist within a shared structure.
Although abstract, the work is grounded in more than twenty-five years of painting from direct observation. What has long drawn me to the landscape is how closely it mirrors human experience—its resilience and adaptation, its tenderness, and its moments of tension. Through color, gesture, and layered marks, I move through lived experience as a continuum, allowing feeling to take shape. Each work is an attempt to reconcile emotion with form, to honor what we carry, and to give shape to what cannot always be spoken.
All artworks in this exhibition are available for purchase. Please visit the reception desk or speak to a Staff member to purchase. Proceeds support both the artist and The Contemporary Dayton’s mission to connect artists and audiences through accessible, engaging contemporary art experiences.

About the Artist

Gretchen Durst Jacobs creates abstract paintings and prints, often utilizing a grid and bold, gestural marks to explore our relationship with the self and the natural world. She received her MFA from the University of Cincinnati in 2008 and her BFA from Wright State University in 2000. She attended the New York Studio School for Drawing and Painting Marathons and Summer Sessions in 2000 and 2003. In 2024, she received the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District Individual Artist Grant.
Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Internationally. Regional exhibitions include the Dayton Museum of Art; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; Dana L. Wiley Gallery, Dayton, OH; University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; the Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, OH; and Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH. Her international exhibitions include the Lambton Heritage Museum, Ontario, Canada; Alten Feuerwache Loschwitz and Grafikwerkstatt, Dresden, Germany; and the Dayton/Kyoto Print Exchange, Kyoto, Japan. She has permanent public art installations on view at the Dayton Metro Library and the Kettering Government Center.
She is represented by the Dana L. Wiley Gallery. Durst Jacobs works full time in her studio in Dayton, Ohio, and also maintains a studio in Ontario, Canada. Since 2017, she has served as the President of the Dayton Printmakers Cooperative.

Sandra Aska, Andy Holliday, & Paul Rienzo Exhibits
2026-02-26, 2026-02-25 | Galleries at Sinclair College, 444 W. Third St., Bldg. 13, Dayton, OH, 45402
The Sinclair Community College Art Department is pleased to present works by Sandra Aska, Andy Holliday, and Paul Rienzo in the Burnell R. Roberts Triangle Gallery and Works on Paper Gallery. Capturing moments of perplexity, quirkiness, thoughtfulness, and beauty, Aska gives clay life through her figurative sculptures. Toolmarks and fingerprints left in the works imbue an expressionistic looseness to the forms. She works intuitively by allowing each form to emerge from the clay and invites the viewer to offer their own interpretation. Holliday’s non-representational prints stem from images that are observed, recorded, and repeatedly reprocessed through systems to alter them. Exploring the idea of attention as a measure of value, he gathers an archive of media to process, builds complexity, and subsequently creates the final work through traditional printmaking techniques. Rienzo’s photorealistic still life paintings explore archetypal themes found across cultures and historical periods. The depicted objects are laden with symbolic power and when combined with others from differing cultures and eras, explore the idea of untold myths and interconnectivity. There will be a virtual artist talk via Zoom on February 20, 2026, at 12pm. Visit www.sinclair.edu/artgalleries for details. The exhibitions will be on display from February 10 – March 13, 2026. Galleries are located on the fourth floor of building 13 (located at West Fifth and Perry Streets). The galleries are free and open to the public from 8am–6pm Monday–Friday and 9am–12pm Saturdays. Free and accessible parking is located in Parking Lot K.

RESILIENCE
2026-02-26 | Edward A. Dixon Gallery, 222 N. St. Clair St., Dayton, OH, 45402
Resilience opens at the Edward A. Dixon Gallery on February 5th featuring several local artists ranging from a University Student to 30 year career artists. This exhibition is the gallery’s response to Black History month and features images that are powerful, regal and positive. Please, mark your calendars for the Opening Reception on Thursday, February 5th from 5pm-8pm. The exhibition dates are February 5th through March 15th.

Ice Skating
2026-02-26, 2026-02-25 | RiverScape MetroPark, 237 E Monument Ave, Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Sheltered under the covered pavilion, the MetroParks Ice Rink sets the scene as a perfect winter wonderland in downtown Dayton. While the rink is open, you can enjoy delicious treats from the concession area, including a cup of hot chocolate. Take advantage of fun skating activities, such as lessons, themed skating nights and more. Visit metroparks.org/ice-rink to learn more, find daily open hours, and see a schedule of events. Admission: $7 daily, ice skate rental: $3 daily. Season passes available. Ages 3 and under are free with a paying adult. 278-2607.

Polar Bear Express
2026-02-26, 2026-02-25 | Downtown Dayton
Book a ride on the abominably decorated Pedal Wagon for a 2-hour pedaling adventure through the fest streets of Dayton and to the best bars and restaurants. Reservations required. pedalwagon.com/dayton

You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine
2026-02-25 19:30 | THE NEON, United States
Overview
Join us for this special concert documentary – celebrating John Prine – featuring Lyle Lovett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brandi Carlile, Bonnie Raitt and many more! “This concert film was shot in October, 2022, over two nights at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. More than 70 artists gathered with family, the Nashville community, and music fans to remember and pay tribute to the life and songs of John Prine.
Prine, widely celebrated as one of history’s greatest songwriters, captivated millions of fans and earned the admiration of icons such as Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, and Bob Weir, amongst many others.”
What was initially supposed to be a one-time event has spurred a handful of encores. Tickets are $12.50 each…get ’em while you can.
Director
Michael John Warren
Producer
Dave Sirulnick, Fiona Whelan Prine, Samantha Mustari
Cast
Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Lyle Lovett

Wu-Tang Wednesdays
2026-02-25 19:00 - 23:00 | The Barrel House, 417 E. Third St., Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
Dayton’s legendary Ike B spins old school hip hop and whateva else he wants.

Live Trivia
2026-02-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E 4th St, Dayton, OH, 45402, United States
We are excited to host live trivia every Wednesday at The Yellow Cab Tavern! Since there are a limited number of indoor tables, so please reserve as soon as possible.
Pepper Sprout Productions will be doing 3 rounds of general trivia from 6:30 – 8:30! Win prizes and gift cards! Watch their page on the day of for a clue about the bonus round theme!
You can enjoy pizza from The Pizza Bandit and beverages from The Yellow Cab Tavern!Pizza Bandit’s standard carryout, delivery, and onsite dining will be available from 4-9pm!

Adult Weekday Classes
2026-02-25 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-02-25 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-02-25 13:00 - 15:00 | K12 Gallery & TEJAS, 341 S. Jefferson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
Tuesday and Wednesday weekday classes: Tuesdays (September-May) Stained Glass Classes: 1:00pm-3:00pm Ceramics/Clay Classes: 3:00pm-5:00pm Glassblowing Classes: 3:30pm-5:30pm Wednesdays (September-May) Still Life Oil Painting Classes: 1:00pm-3:00pm Glassblowing Classes: 2:00pm-4:00pm or 6:00pm-8:00pm. Call for Costs.

Lent Taizé Services of Prayer and Meditation
2026-02-25 18:00 - 18:40 | Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
February 25; March 4, 11, 18, 25 (Wednesdays) – 6:00-6:40 p.m. Taizé Service of Prayer and Meditation – Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N. Wilkinson St., Downtown Dayton – a light supper follows each service.

Wil Haygood – The War Within a War
2026-02-25 17:30 - 18:45 | Roger Glass Center for the Performing Arts, 29 E. Creative Way, Dayton, OH, 45469
We are happy to host a DLPP favorite — Wil Haygood, DLPP’s 2022 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, as he discusses his new book The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home.Moderating the evening’s discussion will be Retired USAF Lt. Gen. Richard V. Reynolds, who was the Vice Commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. During their talk, Wil will explore how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans — fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home — and a powerful lens through which to understand the racial and political divides that continue to shape American life. Hosted by the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation in partnership with The Dayton Metro Library and The University of Dayton. Complimentary Tickets/RSVP: https://www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/get-involved/#events

Oscar Shorts 2026 Animation
2026-02-25 17:20 | THE NEON, United States
We’re delighted to once again bring all the Oscar nominees for “Best Animated Short Film” (plus one additional film that was shortlisted) starting Feb. 20.
Here are this year’s films:
THE THREE SISTERS – Dir. Konstantin Bronzit | Israel, Cyprus | 14min
FOREVERGREEN – Dir. Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears | United States | 13min
THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS – Dir. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski | Canada | 17min
BUTTERFLY – Dir. Florence Miailhe | France | 15min
RETIREMENT PLAN – Dir. John Kelly | Ireland | 7min
ÉIRU **Shortlisted- Dir. Giovanna Ferrari | Ireland | 13min
Some films in this program include some disturbing and mature content and may not be suitable for young children.

Artist in Training (AIT) Program
2026-02-25 15:00 - 18:00 | K12 Gallery & TEJAS, 341 S. Jefferson St., Dayton, OH, 45402
After school Artist in Training program geared for grades 3rd-12th grades. Classes are Monday-Wednesdays from 3:00pm-6:00pm. Open Studio time to explore different types of mediums such as Drawing, Painting, Clay, Digital Art. 20.00 per session for Members/40.00 per session for Non-Members.

Interviewing 101 with Clothes That Work
2026-02-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Dayton Metro Library – Main Library, 215 E. Third Street, Dayton, OH, 45402
Dayton Metro Library, through its Workforce Education Program Initiative, continues its partnership with Clothes That Work to provide valuable career development opportunities.
Resume Rescue with Clothes That Work

Wednesday, January 21, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center
Wednesday, February 18, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center

Learn to create a standout resume by crafting strong summaries, highlighting key skills, optimizing for applicant tracking systems, and marketing effectively. Registration required.
Interviewing 101 with Clothes That Work:

Wednesday, January 28, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center
Thursday, February 12, 12-1 pm, Electra C. Doren Branch
Wednesday, February 25, 10-11 am, Main Library, Opportunity Center

Gain confidence in answering questions, develop a winning elevator pitch, and master online interviews. Registration required.
How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market

Wednesday, February 18, 2-4 pm, West Branch

Learn how to showcase skills, optimize resumes and cover letters, ace interviews, and leverage networking opportunities. Registration required.
Clothes that Work is a grassroots nonprofit organization that provides professional workplace clothing, confidence-building resources, and soft skills training for job seekers in the Miami Valley. Its Workforce Education Initiative curriculum was designed by area professionals specializing in workforce development and education. For additional information about this organization, visit clothesthatwork.org.
For more information about these programs and to register, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org or call the Library’s Ask Me Line at 937.463.2665.
