People in Cincinnati may see a bicycle with a torch traveling through their neighborhood Friday and Saturday. It's part of a relay for the opening ceremony Saturday night for the Cincinnati Neighborhood Games.
Residents from many of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods will be competing in backyard games for individual medals. Those include cornhole, a three-legged race, chess and trivia, among others.
Qualifying has been underway for eight weeks in many neighborhoods, but Games founder Henry Frondorf says it may not be too late to participate.
"The intent is that you qualify for your neighborhood," Frondorf said. "But anyone is free to come on down, and if you look at your neighborhood's roster the day of the event, and there's a spot open, you are more than welcome to sign up then and play."
The actual competition starts Sunday and there will be 13 events held July 28 at Yeatman's Cove.
The community with the most individual medal winners is presented with the neighborhood cup. Mayor John Cranley will present it during a July 28 ceremony.
"The whole point of the Neighborhood Games is to build neighborhood pride," Frondorf said. "You might know your nextdoor neighbor, but you probably don't know the person down from you two streets, and you definitely might not know the person in Sedamsville. But bringing people together creates a lot of good memories, a lot of good relationships, and can build a more fun future event."
The Neighborhood Games were first held in 2016 and take place every other year.
