It started with just a few people from theater, dance, music, museums, and the Fine Arts Fund staff, and grew to include hundreds of Cincinnati residents.

Even though the initial invitation didn’t say what the participants would be doing, hundreds of people signed on to show their enthusiasm for the arts. We successfully kept the secret for weeks because we all shared the goal of touching others in our community with the unexpectedness of the event.

Dance breaks out on Fountain Square

Just after 12:30 p.m., as the song “Bop ‘Til You Drop” by the Nylons blared from the square’s loud speakers, a few people emerged from the lunchtime crowd and began dancing.

More joined in. Then more, until about 150 people – some wearing suits, some in T-shirts and jeans – were moving to the music in unison on the southern edge of the square.

Then as suddenly as it began, it was over. The song ended. The dancers dispersed. Fountain Square was back to normal.

Read the Enquirer article, and watch the video below.

After a successful 2008 PARK(ing) Day in Cincinnati, it hopes to be even bigger this year!  Mark you calendars.  On Friday, September 18, 2009, creative types from all over the region will descend upon downtown and OTR to reclaim some of the parts of our concrete jungle dedicated to the automobile — at least for a day.

San Francisco art collective REBAR first created “PARK(ing)” in 2005 to re-imagine the potential of the metered parking space. In 2006, it went global.

For details, check out the Cincinnati PARK(ing) Day blog, and follow @CincyPkgDay (Cincy Package Day?) on Twitter.

You can see all pictures from Santacon on Zipscene.

Be ready.