Hopeful 04.26-05.03.2017

04.26-05.03.17
Hopeful

We’re seeing the signs. Not just the approaching spring or sports or the silly sophistry of our politics. We take courage in the actions of our singular superstars who have succeeded in seizing opportunities to make improvements in our locale.

Honoring our legacy as a stop on the Underground Railroad, CPT’s Station Hope addresses social justice and inequality. One of the world’s premier piano contests, the CIPC is back bigger and better than ever.

Evolving our legacy as a meat-and-potatoes town, we focus on vegan/veg/kosher/organic/gluten-free alternatives that are becoming commonplace in the CLE. And we’re highlighting a bowl-a-thon that stands up for women.

Mansfield is hoping for good outcomes from our police, but he’s raising the bar and has announced his candidacy for Cleveland City Council. And that makes us more hopeful than anything. –Thomas Mulready

Subscribe to CoolCleveland here
Download our free mobile apps for Apple and Android
Get help receiving the CoolCleveland e-blast here
Photo by Kelli Finnegan
CoolCleveland is dedicated to George Nemeth

Artists Dance, Sing & Act for Justice

When Station Hope launched in 2014, It was a brand-new concept, based on Cleveland’s role in the Underground Railroad. Now in year 4, more than 250 artists of all types will be doing performances and installations that address issues of justice and inequality not limited to the past, taking place all over the campus of St. John’s Church in Hingetown.

John Benson talks to Raymond Bobgan of sponsoring organization Cleveland Public Theatre to tell us how this free event got started and how it’s evolved. Sat 4/29.

Raise hopes with your online presence Consider CoolCleveland Sponsored Links, Sponsored Features and Sponsored Videos. Info@CoolCleveland.com

SPONSORED: Learn How Climate Change Threatens Plants Plant species are increasingly threatened as habitat loss, invasive species and climate change become even more severe. The Holden Arboretum welcomes Kayri Havens, PhD, Chicago Botanic Garden, who will discuss how organizations are tackling the threats to plants while addressing conservation plans for the future. The lecture is free, but please register if you plan to attend. Fri 4/28 at 7PM. Free registration here.

Master of the Keys

The biennial Cleveland International Piano Competition, which started in 1975, is one of the world’s premier such contests for up-and-coming stars in the classical music world.

One of its traditions is for the winner to return to perform a concert in Cleveland. So the 2016 first-place winner Nikita Mndoyants will be back to perform at the Maltz Performing Arts Center at CWRU. CIPC president/CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen tells us why that’s such a big deal and what CIPC means for Cleveland. Sun 4/30.

GlamJam Shimmers at the Aquarium

Fashion in Cleveland is getting hotter with every season. To celebrate, the people behind Fashion Week Cleveland are throwing the year’s biggest fashion and music festival on the West Bank of the Flats at Windows on the River and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, complete with open bar, apps, a Glam dance party, sizzling fashion shows, and a visual History of Glam by host/MC Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland.

GlamJam explodes with 8 fashion designers, 20 models, Glam highlights & live music by Vanity Crash at the Aquarium on Thu 5/4. Your presence is requested.

No More Just Meat & Potatoes

It used to be that if you weren’t a hamburger/steak/kielbasa person in Cleveland, you were out of luck food-wise. Boy, has that changed! Being a vegetarian has become run-of-the mill and even vegans have become common.

Needless to say, where there’s a demand it it will be met. Reporter Cynthia Schuster Eakin talks to three area food providers – Brian Doyle of all gluten-free Cafe Avaluan Cafe, Terry Thomsen of vegan/kosher/organic Feel Good Dough and Jon & Jen Regan of the vegan Poison Berry Bakery – and shares their stories about catering to special diets.

Stand Up for Women

Ohio has been on the leading edge of shame when it comes to women’s reproductive rights, with attack after attack coming from the Republican, male-dominated state legislature and anti-choice Governor John Kasich.

Think women should be left to make their own decisions about their bodies? Join other activists in Columbus for a lobby day to share your thoughts with state legislators. Don’t worry – they’ll train you and you’ll go in groups! If you can’t get outta town, think about raising some money to cheer on bowlers at Preterm’s Bowl-a-Thon in Lakewood. Wed 5/3.

SPONSORED: Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway Arbor Day is the annual recognition of the role of trees in our lives and promotes tree planting and care. Holden Forests & Gardens is celebrating Arbor Day this Fri 4/26 with free tree seedling giveaways at its two campuses – the Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden – from 10AM to 4PM while supplies last. Details

VIDEO: Gallery of Witchcraft and Magick Grand Opening

CoolCleveland’s Stephan Haluska met up with Steven Intermill and Jillian Slane of the Buckland Gallery of Witchcraft and Magick. The gallery features key pieces from the original Buckland Museum founded in 1966 by noted author Raymond Buckland. The collection consists of artifacts from the beginning of the Wiccan religion and going through the occult explosion of the 1960s and ’70s to pieces that are contemporary today.

You are invited to celebrate the grand opening of the Buckland Gallery Sat 4/29 with a special DJ set of occult ambience by Aaron Dilloway.

A few years ago, Akron’s Brent Wesley started the Akron Honey Company with hives in vacant lots and selling honey. Soon he was inviting fellow Akron entrepreneurs to join him for AHC Market Days. See what it’s all about this Sunday. Sun 4/30.

* Ramps, a relative of the onion, are one of the first new crops of spring. Celebrate them in all types of foods at Ramp Up Peninsula. There’s live music & other activities too. Sat 4/29.

* Pretty soon, you’ll have to hide to escape the food trucks popping up all over town! This week, Cleveland’s biggest weekly food truck event, Walnut Wednesdays at Chester Commons, starts their season. Wed 5/3.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.

SPONSORED: The Kent Stage features Garry Tallent of the E Street Band, Denny Laine of Wings, Amy Helm & the Handsome Strangers, Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett plus Craig Fuller, Justin Townes Earle plus The Sadies, Tom Paxton and The Don Juans, Eric Johnson Electric Band, Scott Stapp – Live and Unplugged, Red Wanting Blue, Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra, Bruce Cockburn, JJ Grey & Mofro, Jonny Lang, X- 40th Anniversary Tour, plus more. TheKentStage.com.

Charlie Mosbrook is linchpin of the local acoustic music scene as an open mic host and prolific artist. His new album pays tribute to his roots in American folk music. He’ll debut it at a Nighttown show and he’s bringing some friends along. Tue 5/2

* Cleveland Opera Theater mounts full-scale production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the Masonic Auditorium. Fri 4/28 & Sun 4/30.

* Apollo’s Fire rolls out four days of Beethoven to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Thu 4/27-Sun 4/30.

* Cleveland buzz band Welshly Arms headlines the Beachland Ballroom. Fri 4/28.

* No Exit New Music Ensemble pays tribute to jazz great Eric Dolphy at Heights Arts. Sat 4/29.

* GlamJam explodes with 8 fashion designers, 20 models, the History of Glam & live music by Vanity Crash at the Aquarium. Thu 5/4.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Cool Events.

WED 4/26
Now heading University Circle Inc, Chris Ronayne used to be Cleveland’s planning director. He’ll talk about urban planning in Cleveland as part of the Music Box Supper Club’s Cleveland Stories series.

* New student play Andy & Me about Warhol and Basquiat’s friendship debuts at Tri-C West.

* The winners of the Maltz Museum’s Stop the Hate contest are announced at a ceremony in University Circle.

* Belgium’s Vox Luminis sings British Renaissance music at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

* Cutting-edge cello player Jeffrey Ziegler performs at the Transformer Station.

* The Escher Quartet comes to Akron for a concert at EJ Thomas Hall and a lunchtime pop-up concert downtown.

* Author Thomas Grace talks about the Kent State shootings at the Lakewood Library.

Click here for more events on Wed 4/26

THU 4/27
The three-day Canton Film Festival is heavy on films on local topics such as last year’s Republican National Convention and the colorful career of Youngstown congressman Jim Traficant. It runs through Saturday.

* Mac Wellman’s Bitter Bierce is back for a weekend at convergence-continuum, through Sat 4/29.

* Malawi’s Peter Mawanga and the Amaravi Movement perform at CVNP’s Happy Days Lodge.

* Support women’s reproductive freedom at Preterm Bowl-a-Thon in Lakewood.

* Zaina Gallery hosts casual, fun benefit for refugees and immigrants in Cleveland.

* It’s four days of fun and pancakes at the Geauga County Maple Festival.

* Savor 2017 at the former Higbee’s Silver Grille raises money for the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.

* Weird authors to appear at Lakewood’s new Thrift Crypt resale shop.

Click here for more events on Thu 4/27

FRI 4/28
Where better to celebrate Arbor Day than Holden Forests & Gardens (formerly Arboretum) where you can get a free tree and hear a lecture on the importance of trees, as well as enjoy acre after acre of them on hiking trails.

* Learn about what’s going on with offshore wind power generation at a City Club panel discussion.

* Film about Cleveland’s legendary Swingos rock & roll hotel screens at Forest City Brewery.

* E Street Band’s Garry Tallent performs at the Kent Stage.

* Film about gerrymandering and elections for sale screens for free at First Unitarian Church tonight and West Shore UU Church tomorrow.

* PlayhouseSquare and Baldwin Wallace revive Lizzie Borden rock musical. Through Sun 4/30.

* Join DigitalC and We Can Code It for a bite of breakfast and a byte of technology.

* Versatile jazz singer Nicole Henry performs at Nighttown.

* Mahall’s presents an eclectic rock show of psych-rock and more.

Click here for more events on Fri 4/28

SAT 4/29
Were you a wallflower who didn’t go to your prom? Valerie Salstrom’s Get Hep Swing to the rescue! The swing dance/balboa expert is presenting the annual Swing Prom at Waterloo’s Slovenian Workmen’s Home, and she can get anyone, even those with two left feet, sashaying around a dance floor in an hour.

* Learn to install at hoop house at Community Greenhouse Partners.

* Pour & Purr fundraiser in Eastlake benefits stray and feral cats.

* Learn about this region’s glorious past at the NE Ohio History Fair in Bedford.

* Get started on your kitchen garden at Vermilion’s Mill Hollow Herb Fair. Also tomorrow.

* Quirky punk rock flea market invades Lorain County Community College.

* Eco fashion show Rock for Water makes waves at Lorain’s Palace Theatre.

* Cleveland Dragon Boat Association prepares for the season with a benefit.

* The Musical Theater Project delves into the story of Annie! at LCCC tonight and Chagrin Falls tomorrow.

* Cle garage rockers Fascinating debut new album at the Happy Dog.

* Groundworks benefit at Cleveland Museum of Art features Dancing With the Stars-style contest.

* Coventry’s In the 216 brings its Cle-themed merchandise to the west side’s Clifton Boulevard.

* High school hack-a-thon asks students to propose idea for Lake Erie water quality.

* String quartet collaborates with visual artist at the Transformer Station.

Click here for more events on Sat 4/29

SUN 4/30
Painter Alex Katz began his career in the 1940s and 50s when his figurative work was often overlooked in the shadow of the flashier work of the abstract expressionists. The Cleveland Museum of Art gives the still-living artist his due in Brand-New & Terrific: Alex Katz in the 1950s.

* Lake View Cemetery tour will show you where all the baseball players are buried.

* Enjoy a Victorian tea at the Beck Center or the Shore Cultural Center.

* Cleveland Classical Guitar Society ends season with Brazil’s Assad Brothers at Plymouth Church.

* Women’s Air & Space Museum honors Painesville-born flying ace Marge Hurlburt in her hometown.

Click here for more events on Sun 4/30

TUE 5/2
The Cleveland Orchestra’s latest opera staging, Debussy’s Pelleas and Melisande, pulls out all the stops with all-new scenery, lighting, video projections, costumes and choreography, as well as the spectacular music, of course. It will have three performances – tonight, Thu 5/4 & Sat 5/6.

* Classical Revolution concludes its spring season at the Euclid Tavern with two CIM string quartets and more.

Click here for more events on Tue 5/2

WED 5/3
John Green’s best-selling young adult novels, such as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, have been made into movies. Now hear him speak at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle.

* Wings’ Denny Laine comes to the Kent Stage with his tribute to 1973 album Band on the Run.

Click here for more events on Wed 5/3

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

My Platform for Ward 7

As a candidate for Cleveland City Council I feel that it’s incumbent upon me to inform my fellow residents where I stand on issues both large and small. This series of articles seeks to accomplish this goal.

* Sometimes the Law Is an Ass In thousands of courtrooms across the United States lies are being told in open court and everyone on hand witnessing the mendacity knows what’s transpiring…

* Hoping for Good Police Outcomes If history hasn’t taught us anything else it has taught us that female and black male cops are less prone to take deadly aim at black suspects and pull the trigger…

Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here