CINCINNATI — A historic Over-the-Rhine church is holding its first outdoor festival this weekend as part of an effort to change perceptions in the surrounding neighborhood.

St. Francis Seraph Church organized the weekend celebration featuring music, food, and community activities. The event comes after WCPO's I-Team reported extensively on problems near the church , including large crowds gathering outside and open-air drug dealing.

"One of the things that we really wanted to do, too, is kind of take back the front of our church," said Brother Tim Sucher, assistant pastor of St. Francis Seraph Church.

"You see this big church building and everything, and people are like, 'Well, we thought that was closed.'"

Since the I-Team's reporting, the church has taken steps to balance compassio

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