Sat 10/17 @ 4PM-midnight
The end of daylight savings time may be a couple of weeks off, but the notion of “spring ahead, fall behind” is being turned upside down with an inaugural event replacing a traditional spring arts festival that could easily become an autumn tradition.
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, in partnership with Cleveland Public Theatre and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, introduces the free Gordon Square Fall Fest, which takes place late afternoon into the evening 10/17 around the intersection of W. 65th and Detroit Ave.
During Gordon Square Fall Fest, which this year is being called “Test Flight,” Cleveland Public Theatre will present a ticketed performance of White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, while the Capitol Theatre hosts a film festival called 12 Hours of Terror and Near West Theatre presents free cabaret shows featuring a series of musical acts.
Also, the Gordon Square area will be teeming with a diverse range of music and performances taking place in retail shops and vacant storefronts. If this motif sounds familiar, it should. One of the creators behind the Gordon Square Arts District is James Levin, who spearheaded the inaugural FireFish Festival last month to help reinvigorate downtown Lorain with a similar nook-and-cranny arts approach.
Cool Cleveland talked to Cleveland Public Theatre’s director of audience engagement and media relations Cathleen O’Malley about the new venture.
First of all, how did the spring pARTy in Gordon Square become the Gordon Square Fall Fest?
For several years, pARTy in Gordon Square came out of partnerships between the three pillar arts organizations here in Detroit Shoreway. After the last pARTy in the Square, June 2014, we came up with the conclusion while it was a fun event and everybody had a good time, we weren’t really making the most of that opportunity as far as showcasing what the neighborhood had to offer. By June, most of our shows had closed. So starting over a year ago, we began thinking about what could this event look like, because so many of us are launching our season in October. It seemed like a great opportunity to really hold the attention and pull the public in to what makes this neighborhood great.
What, if any, comparisons are there between pARTy in Gordon Square and the Gordon Square Fall Fest?
One of the similarities are the players that are involved. Cleveland Public Theatre, along with the Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization, are the two leading producers of the event. The event is being generously funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture as in years past, in addition to other smaller funders. So that organizational structure is almost the same people. It’s happening in Gordon Square and we will be engaging with local merchants being open and offering specials. Those are the similarities. Where the event is completely different is that this year, inspired by the model for our annual benefit Pandemonium, we are infusing the neighborhood with artists. We’ve booked acts and artists who are going to be installed in door fronts, stores, sidewalks, stages and vacant properties. We have a map of the neighborhood for people who can walk through the variety of different stages and see storytelling, poetry and live performance, rock ’n’ roll, Irish classical music, circus performance and vaudeville.
Looking ahead, what kind of growth is expected for Gordon Square Fall Fest?
That has yet to be seen. This is truly an experiment, and we’re really excited to see what comes from it. Our season starts in October so it feels like something that could have a long life. We’re hoping and anticipating that this will become the new look and feel of our annual neighborhood celebration.
Finally, just to confirm, with this year’s event being called “Test Flight,” there won’t be any airplanes buzzing the Gordon Square area?
[laughs] We are not testing airplanes. Test Flight came from the theme of this is our first time and we’re trying something new: innovations and risk.
cptonline.org/gordon-square-fall-fest-test-flight/
Cleveland, OH 44102