Sat 2/18 @ 3PM-1AM
Brite Winter, Cleveland’s free annual arts and music festival, is a bright spot in what can often be a bleak season here in Northeast Ohio.
Now in its eighth year, Brite Winter has spanned three neighborhoods, welcomed thousands of guests, hundreds of bands and artists, and has endured temperatures as low as eight degrees and as high as 66 degrees.
“The first two years were held in Hart Crane Park near what is now Merwin’s Wharf, and featured a single stage with just a handful of bands and activities,” says Brian Horsburgh, Brite Winter executive director. “2012 saw the event head up the hill to the Market District in Ohio City and spread from one stage to eight while seeing significant growth in attendance and attention. We’re now in our second year back on the Flats West Bank, where we’ve been able to expand our creative capabilities, engage in new and unique programming, and serve even more festival goers than ever before.”
“This year brings an expansion of our heated artful experience tents, where different groups from the arts community will build out truly unique experiences within three distinct spaces,” Horsburgh notes. “We’ve also implemented a new music selection process, which saw over 35 members of the local music community help to rate and judge the 40 bands you’ll see at Brite Winter this year.”
The 2017 music lineup includes some of the city’s best local bands, including the Lighthouse and the Whaler, the Modern Electric, Ottawa, Wesley Bright & the Honeytones, Archie Green with Uptowne Buddha, Signals Midwest, Runaway Brother, Morgan Mecaskey, So Long Albatross, Mourning [A] Blkstar, By Light We Loom, Tim Moon, Midnight Passenger and Walker OG.
Dia De Muertos Ohio, Sankofa Fine Arts Plus, Negative Space Gallery, Robin Heinrich, the Fire+Light Performing Arts, Andrew Kaletta, MXLXTXV and RGI Inc. will provide the visual art.
In addition to music and art, Brite Winter will feature six indoor and outdoor stages, fire pits and s’more making, ice carving, and a fire and ice tower, the Dayglo Experience at Mulberry’s, beer and food trucks. Attendees can play in the sand at the Tiki Tundra wintertime beach party, head south without leaving the north at the Frozen Fiesta, and get lost in the Northern KaLightoscope.
Visit www.britewinter.com for event details and band set times.
Prior to the free outdoor festivities on February 18, the first annual Brite Winter Warmer fundraiser took place at the Bop Stop on January 27. That event was emceed by Greg Harris of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and all proceeds went towards supporting the music and arts festival. Shawn and Shelby and Morgan Mecaskey performed. Food was crafted by Alley Cat Allies, Butcher & The Brewer, Lago East Bank, Rivergate Tavern and Tremont TapHouse. Platform Beer Co. brewed a special Spruce Tipped Pale Ale for the event.
[Written by Cynthia Schuster Eakin]
Cleveland, OH 44113