CINCINNATI, Ohio — In the Queen City, tradition is king and Opening Day is one revered by all.

But this year, fans were thrown a curveball when COVID-19 concerns led to the cancellation of the traditional Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, the first cancellation in the market’s 101-year history.

What You Need To Know

  • This year, COVID-19 concerns led to the cancellation of the traditional Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, the first cancellation in the market’s 101-year history

  • Opening Day is considered to be a “city holiday” by locals, as thousands take off work to take part in the tradition

  • At this year's Opening Day, the atmosphere downtown was considered "calm," a word usually not synonymous with Opening Day in Cincinnati

  • Though numbers were smaller, Cincinnatians still came out to Findlay to enjoy the storefronts and stalls decorated to the nines with Reds-centric offerings

Previously held in March, Opening Day is considered to be a “city holiday” by locals, with thousands taking off work to start their day off at the starting location of the parade — Findlay Market in Over-The-Rhine. Then, they’d make their way through the streets of downtown, ending at the foot of the stadium.

But this year, not so much. The atmosphere around Findlay Market on Opening Day was considerably calm this year — a far cry from years past when trying to find a parking space or grab a drink could be an all-day venture.  

“It’s a little different,” said Melanie Osborne, as she strolled along the vendors and merchants at the market. ”Normally, we would take the day off and take the whole day celebrating.”

If you do a simple online search for ‘Opening Day in Cincinnati’, you’ll see pictures from previous years and quickly understand that this is a city that goes all out for baseball — especially on Opening Day.

“My normal Opening Day would be starting out at 9 a.m. at Market Wines with their pierogi breakfast,” said Heather Whitton. “There’s no other tradition like it in Cincinnati.”

“People are just very excited, you can just feel it,” said Tomcia Chavez, the owner of ETC Produce. “They are very enthusiastic about the Reds. We won’t be able to see the players on the field, but we’ll see them on our TVs on the field, so we’re going to finally have our players back and a bit of normalcy back.”

And as we work our way toward normalcy, Cincinnati fans will stay strong because this year, they’re just rolling with the pitches.