Fri 7/24 & Sat 7/25
Thank goodness the Cuyahoga River is cleaned up. We have come far since the days of oil slicks catching on fire, but there’s more work to do, and there’s no better way to make a difference than to have fun doing it at the Great Lakes Burning River Festival this coming weekend. The Burning River Festival recognizes the importance of the Great Lakes and educates people on environmental issues. This year’s event is expanded to two days, includes Great Lakes Christmas Ale, and features more bands than in the past.
Celebrate the Great Lakes while visiting the eco-exhibitors, eating some good food, drinking some Great Lakes beer, and grooving to some music during the Burning River Festival this Sat 7/24, from 6-11PM and Sun 7/25, from 12-5PM at the historic Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island. Pre-sale tickets are $8 for one day and $15 for two days (https://www.burningriverfest.org/buytickets/index.php), and it’s recommended that people carpool.
The event is presented by The Burning River Foundation, Inc. and Great Lakes Brewing Company, with proceeds benefiting The Burning River Foundation, which seeks to educate and provide resources for environmental protection and conservation, historical preservation, scientific exploration, and a sustainable future for waterways. The theme of the 2010 Burning River Fest is “Good Cheer, Good Cause, Good Beer.” Food is being provided by local restaurants with a focus on natural and whole foods. Over twenty bands will take over the stage in front of the Coast Guard Station during the two days of the event (for a list of performances, go to ). Sponsors include Baldwin Wallace College, PNC Bank, 107.3 FM Cleveland, RPM International Inc., and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
This is the 10th Anniversary of the Festival, which was originally staged at the Great Lakes Brewing Company, co-owned by Pat and Dan Conway and named after the Great Lakes. As the brewery expanded, less space was available for an event as large as the Burning River Festival has become. While last year’s event was scaled back, Great Lakes co-owner Pat Conway says the organizers “hope the Festival hits another level of growth, and the Brewery made a special batch of Christmas Ale just for the Festival.” It’s Christmas in July, in the spirit of giving, with money going to a nonprofit agency, a good cause. Pat’s dream is that the Festival will become the best environmental festival in the country.
The burning of the Cuyahoga River in 1969 spurred the clean water legislation of the 1970s, and today it seems like the whole culture is embracing natural resources. With 20% of the world’s fresh water in the Great Lakes, it makes sense that we should protect and celebrate our natural resource at the northern border of Cleveland. And of course, 90% of beer is water, so Great Lakes Brewing Company, which has always been environmentally conscious, is passionate about the Festival and the opportunity to raise community awareness about the Great Lakes.
During a telephone interview, Conway expressed excitement over the venue of the Festival—the Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island. He’s a member of the committee formed to come up with ideas for the space. He said the latest plan is “for a combo premier banquet facility in the Midwest for symposiums, weddings, and other events. The space can hold 175-200 people.” He also hopes the space can house a small café for people using the Towpath Trail. “The café would be reached by a bridge over the tracks, and people could park their bikes and have a beer and food,” he explained.The event has been on Whiskey Island, where a distillery once stood and immigrants once settled, for several years. Wendy Park (http://wendypark.org) was named for the daughter of Dan and Marge Moore, who walked the Island’s trails and photographed its wilderness and the surrounding industrial views of downtown Cleveland. The abandoned Coast Guard Station at the end of the long pier is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer. The building reminds us that sustainability includes historic preservation.
Celebrate the bounty of the Earth and the worth of the Great Lakes while stopping at vendor booths, eating local food, drinking Christmas Ale, and enjoying outdoor musical performances during the Burning River Festival this Sat 7/24, from 6-11PM and Sun 7/25, from 12-5PM at the historic Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia Taller, whose passion for words has led to creation of the Lakeside Word Lover’s Retreats, an outgrowth of her work with Skyline Writers.
Her favorite foods are red wine, salmon, ice cream, and chocolate. She loves to read, write, tour wineries, ride her bike, ease into yoga, and cook gourmet meals for friends. Find her at http://www.claudiatallermusings.blogspot.com.