Cincinnati, OH: Top Things to Know About Storage
A Time for Wine Lovers
Cincinnati hosts multiple events throughout the year that keep the city, and storage facilities, very busy. One major event that takes place in the heart of the city is the Cincinnati International Wine Festival. This festival takes place in the first week of March and is a three-day event. Winemakers from all around the world come to give us a taste of their wine, and they are joined by guests that come from afar as well. The festival has multiple events, including winery dinners, in which different wines are served with food made by the finest chefs in the area. During these dinners, you will learn a lot about the wine that you’re drinking. They also have silent and live auctions in which limited-release bottles, winemaker-signed bottles, and rare wines are sold. To further increase your knowledge about wine, and to have more opportunities to taste some, sign up for wine cellar tours as well. All in all, you will be exposed to more than 700 wines from over 100 wineries!
So what exactly does this have to do with self storage? Well, given how massive this event is, the vendors that are flying in for the event, and the vendors in the area, need to place their wine in storage facilities in the area where the event will take place to have easy access to it. Storing wine can actually be kind of tricky in Cincinnati because of high humidity. First of all, consider all of the climate controlled units in the area to be taken before the beginning of March because wine definitely cannot survive the heat and humidity in the area. Although March is not the hottest month of the year, humidity is very prevalent year round in Cincinnati. Next, be sure to read up on how best to store wine if you’re not planning to store it in a facility that specializes in wine storage. However, given how experienced storage facilities have become over the years in storing wine during this festival, most managers are probably very familiar with the tricks of the trade so don’t be shy to ask.
Bring on the Beer
Wine is not the only thing that takes over Cincinnati at the beginning of March. Bockfest, Cincinnati’s Bock Beer Festival also takes place in downtown and begins on the first full weekend of March. It starts off with a parade on Friday night, and leads into a weekend full of live entertainment, food, historic walking tours, beer tastings, a 5K run, and tons and tons of bock beer. You probably aren’t surprised to hear that storage facilities will be filled with beer by the end of February in order to prepare for this event. You’ll also have trouble with finding bigger units because floats and other things used for the parade, and stages and electronic equipment used to set up for the live music performances will fill up facilities before you know it. Also be wary of road closures and traffic caused by them for this weekend, especially for the parade and the 5K run. Make sure you plan your storage needs and trips to your unit accordingly. If you’re attending this event, do it because you want to, not because you got stuck in traffic on your way to your storage unit.
Celebrating the Irish
Another major event in March is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This is only a one day event that takes place in downtown the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. The parade is made up of floats, marching bands, pipers, and step dancers, which again means a need for storage units. If you’re planning to put away your snow gear during March, consider delaying it for some time so you don’t get caught up in all of the events and the traffic and road closures that come with them. The nice thing is that these events are heavily concentrated in the beginning of the year, so you know exactly when your storage usage will be affected.
Traffic and How to Avoid It
Unfortunately, traffic is one of those horrible things in life that you can never avoid, no matter where you live. Lucky for you, traffic in Cincinnati isn’t too bad. Rush hour lasts from 7AM to 9AM and 4PM to 6:30PM. Compared to other major cities, that’s a joke. However, Cincinnati does make it to #33 on the top 50 list for America’s worst commutes. If you want to save yourself, and the people surrounding you, from a whole lot of road rage, avoid the I-75 northbound. This freeway has crazy traffic, especially on the five mile stretch between US-72/Exit 4 through Paddock Rd/Exit 9. The highway has been under construction since 2008 in an effort to widen it to decrease traffic, but the prolonged construction has had the opposite effect. If you just look out for these areas, getting around Cincinnati shouldn’t be a problem. Either way, you should opt for a storage unit that allows for 24 hour access so you can get to your unit whenever you would like.
