01.25-02.01.2017 Growing a Backbone

01.25-02.01.17
Growing a Backbone

Good Morning! It’s your CoolCleveland wake-up call. Whether it’s Mansfield Frazier asking whom can black folks trust, or guest commentator Dr. Donald C. Shingler opining on what the next presidency might look like, or dual PHOTOSTREAMS of the Women’s March in Cleveland, or just an overflowing handful of cool events you might want to check out this week, CoolCleveland is here with this message: get up, get out and let your voices be heard.

So here’s how it works: Feel free to use this weekly issue of CoolCleveland, or download our free mobile apps for Apple and Android to help you find the local cool stuff going on in your CoolNEIGHBORHOOD and beyond. But then we suggest you put down your devices and engage with your neighbors, your community, your extended family.

Maybe you want to be inspired by high school students at the Beachwood Community Center. Maybe you love movies and want to check out the Standing Rock Int’l Film Shorts Festival in Kent. Maybe you want to be blown away by new art at MOCA, or the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s Family Astronomy Night, or the latest episode of the Mechanic Street House Concerts, or a celebration of the inestimable impact the Stokes brothers had on our community, or a discussion with journalists on the media’s role in the new world of “alternative facts” at KSU. We’re confident you’ll grow into it. –Thomas Mulready

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SmartArt Teens

The work of noted California artist Howard Hitchcock is on display at the Beachwood Community Center with a benefit Winter Sunset Art Reception this weekend. What’s astonishing is that both the exhibit and reception were put together by students in a marketing/Junior Achievement program at Beachwood High School, and the proceeds benefit that program.

CoolCleveland’s Kendall Embrescia-Hridel spoke with marketing teacher/program advisor Greg Perry and some of the students to share with us the magnitude of what the teens pulled off. Fri 1/27.

SPONSORED: fyoo zh en 17 Catch the collaborative, original dance/music project, Liars in Fur Coats, at Baldwin Wallace University February 1-4. The latest installment in BW’s annual, fyoo zh en: new music + dance, is inspired by biology professor Karen Munroe’s research on the social and mating habits of squirrels (and those who study them). Original music composed by Sean Ellis Hussey. with choreography by Ashley Haviland, Caroline Guy, Olivia Watson, Gabriella Martinez, Marina Lauff and Sara Whale. Tickets at bw.edu/tickets.

Short Subjects

It seems like every month there’s another film festival in northeast Ohio. The Standing Rock International Film Shorts Festival in Kent has been doing its thing for 14 years, showing everything from documentaries to animation to music videos to cutting-edge experimental films.

CoolCleveland reporter John Benson talked to festival director Cindy Penter, herself a filmmaker, about the festival’s evolution and how it got to be a big enough deal to attract films from around the world. Sat 1/28.

Growing a Backbone

The next set of shows opening at MOCA Cleveland revolves around the human condition, as does much art, looking at who we are, how we live and how we work. For instance, Spine explores different meanings of that term, particularly in relation to labor. Videos and sound installations explore other aspects of what it means to be a person in the world.

MOCA senior curator Andria Hickey gives us a little preview of these shows which open this weekend and run through May. Fri 1/27-Sun 5/14.

Transforming Empty Land

Goodness knows Cleveland has plenty of vacant land. And in the last few years, residents have been turning it into community gardens, urban farms, pocket parks. If you have an idea for a community project that could use some of those empty acres, come to an interactive teach-in that will explain the process of acquiring them and putting them to new use. Wed 2/1.

* Percussionist Bessemer Taylor, whose influence was felt among a wide circle of African and Afro-Cuban musicians in Cleveland, passes away at age 75.

VIDEO: Tri-C JazzFest 2017 Announced

CoolCleveland caught up with Terri Pontremoli, the director of the Tri-C JazzFest, and she ran down the lineup of killer artists who will appear at Playhouse Square from June 22-24, 2017.

Get ready for Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti, Kenny Barron, Ravi Coltrane, Boney James, Norman Brown, Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Alicia Olatuja, Diego Figueiredo, Anat Cohen Choro Ensemble, Kamasi Washington, Boz Scaggs, Catherine Russell and Tri-C artist-in-residence Terence Blanchard, performing his music from the film, The Comedian, and with his groundbreaking E-Collective.

Starry Starry night

Hopefully it will be a clear night when the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s Family Astronomy Night takes place. Depending on your cold tolerance, you can gaze at the skies in their planetarium or outside through at telescope. There’s also cocoa. Fri 1/27.

* Tipping its hat to Groundhog Day, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History dedicates this Saturday to puppetry, crafts, live animal demonstrations and more, addressing this chubby rodent’s mythology – and its actual habits. Sat 1/28.

Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events

Local chefs Tim Bando (Grove Hill), Karen Small (Flying Fig) and Jonathan Bennett (811 Kitchen Bar) came up with a cool idea: they’re hosting monthly “Sunday Suppers” (not all on Sunday), where the host restaurant provides the entree and the other two bring the dessert and appetizer. They kick off this week at Grove Hill in Chagrin Falls. Mon 1/30.

* Gandalf’s Pub in Valley City, Ohio has been named one of the best Irish pubs in Northern Ohio.

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

SPONSORED: Enjoy the Music at The Kent Stage with Doyle Bramhall II with Emily Gimble, Taylor Hicks, Albert Lee, Al DiMeola, Geoff Tate The Whole Story “Ryche” Acoustic Tour, Del McCourey Band, Beth Hart, The Walking Plaid, The Smithereens & The Motels, Norm Pikelny, Morgan James, Richard Thompson, plus more. TheKentStage.com.

Lynn and Joel periodically open their Ohio City home for the Mechanic Street House Concerts. Not wanting to take a chance on their guest musicians being snowed in in Buffalo, they’re hosting local players Tom Evanchuck (pictured) and G.S. Harper. Sat 1/28

* Jazz sax player Bobby Selvaggio revives his Red Rhinoceros band at the BOP STOP. Wed 2/1.

* Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings launch their tour at the Beachland as their new album drops. Thu 1/26.

* New club-like performance space debuts at Oberlin with performance by voice students. Fri 1/27.

* Heights Music Shop hosts intimate concert with local artists Rachel Brown and Ray Flanagan. Thu 1/26.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Cool Events.

VIDEO: Get Happy (Hour) at Melt

Melty, cheesy, delicious sandwiches that you can’t even fit into your mouth. That’s what Melt Bar & Grilled does, and guess what… they have more!

If you come in to your favorite Melt location between the hours of 4-7pm Monday-Friday, you’ll find snacks, appetizers and sandwiches galore for $5, $6 & $7, like the delicious Lasagna Bites, 3 different Mac & Cheese Crocks, the sweet and savory Happy Waffles & Chicken Sandwich, and so much more!

CoolCleveland’s Stephan Haluska spoke with Matt Fish about how their new Happy Hour will be shaking and pouring unique cocktails, craft beer and wine. We familiarized ourselves with these items and let me tell you, you are in for a treat!

WED 1/25
It’s hard to overestimate the impact the Stokes brothers, Carl and Louis, had on northeast Ohio politics and race relations. To kick off a year-long celebration of their lives, Dee Perry and Mayor Frank Jackson will talk at Tri-C East about their influence.

* Tails from the City cat rescue holds Bingo fundraiser in Berea.

* Cleveland baseball historian Scott Longert talks about the Indians’ fortunes during the Depression at the Beachwood library..

* Look back at the golden age of WMMS-FM and Cleveland radio at the Music Box Supper Club.

* Imani Winds’ music embraces a range of styles and cultures at EJ Thomas Hall.

Click here for more events on Wed 1/25

THU 1/26
There’s a good argument to be made that the media’s obsession with “bombshells” and disinterest in issues delivered up the result of the presidential election. A panel of journalists and journalism professors will discuss the media’s role in the world of “alternative facts” at KSU.

* Veteran folksinger John McCutcheon returns to Nighttown.

* Akron author Tracy A. Thomas talks about suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Hudson’s Learned Owl Book Shop.

Click here for more events on Thu 1/26

FRI 1/27
Last October, the recently reconstituted Cleveland Ballet opened its season with a program called A Celebration of Dance and Music. It went over so well, they’re repeating the program with a few changes and additions, including operatic features by a pair of young singers.

* A new production of Phillip Glass’s Songs from Liquid Days will be performed at Oberlin today and tomorrow and at the Rock Hall Sunday.

* Winter Warmer benefit at the BOP STOP helps fund free Brite Winter festival.

* Trilogy of mind-expanding sound-and-light films screen at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Through Sun 1/29.

* Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine is back at the Music Box Supper Club.

* Artists Archives of the Western Reserve opens show of work by late Akron artist Miller Horns.

* The Kwan Family Lion Dances usher in Chinese New Year at Asia Plaza’s Li Wah restaurant. Through Sun 1/29.

* SPACES debuts its first shows in its new facility.

* Singer/songwriter Noon sings songs of lost love at Tremont’s CODA.

* Cleveland Winter Beerfest offers a profusion of craft brews at the Convention Center.

Click here for more events on Fri 1/27

SAT 1/28
The unseasonably warm weather has gotten many people already thinking about planting their gardens. Come to the Cleveland Seed Bank’s annual seed swap at St. John’s in Ohio City to stock up on seeds, learn about how to save seed and chat with other gardeners about their summer plans.

* Berea Animal Rescue holds its annual Soup-R-Bowl fundraiser dinner at Berea High School.

* See an immersive interdisciplnary exhibit at Canopy Collective in Ohio City.

* Take time to smell the hothouse flowers at the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Orchid Mania show. Through Sun 3/5.

* Experimental film shorts screen at Akron’s Rubicon Cinema.

* The High School Rock Off rolls out at the Rock Hall for year 26. Through Sat 2/18.

* Great Lakes Science Center shows a double feature of Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal in its DOME Theater.

* Come meditate to drone music at the Hive Mind in Akron.

* Sandusky takes on the polar bear challenge to benefit the Special Olympics.

* Learn more about President Rutherford B. Hayes, who had the first pet Siamese cat in the U.S., at Mac’s Backs.

Click here for more events on Sat 1/28

SUN 1/29
When sax player Ernie Watts was playing on Marvin Gaye’s Motown albums in the 1970s, Brad Goode was just learning to play trumpet in his native Chicago. Now the two are touring the cross generational Brad Goode Ernie Watts Quintet which comes to BLU Jazz + in Akron tonight.

* Plain Dealer editor will talk about paper’s election coverage and what’s ahead for the paper at First Unitarian Church in Shaker Heights.

* Baldwin Wallace Conservatory students and faculty hold benefit for opioid addiction program.

Click here for more events on Sun 1/29

MON 1/30
With the new president attacking women’s reproductive freedom on his first day at work, women are coming together to fight back. Preterm is hosting “Breaking Our Silence,” an evening of abortion stories, at the Beachland. Come find allies and get involved.

* Local students hold benefit at the Grog Shop to fund “totally hip hop” film.

Click here for more events on Mon 1/30

TUE 1/31
Afro-Italian film director Fred Kuwornu’s 2016 documentary Blaxpolitalian explores the issues that black Italian-speaking actors encounter in finding work in TV and films in Italy. It will screen at CWRU’s Strosacker Auditorium, with Kuwornu leading a discussion following the film.

* Daniel Bachman plays acoustic guitar and lap steel at Tremont’s CODA.

* League of Women Voters hosts panel on Cleveland/East Cleveland merger at CWRU.

Click here for more events on Tue 1/31

WED 2/1
Is there any scientific truth to the Groundhog Day story? Come to the Capitol Theatre to catch the Bill Murray flick Groundhog Day, and afterwards, a scientist from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History will talk about this as part of the Reel Science series.

* Trinity Cathedral’s free weekly Brownbag concerts start their spring season.

Click here for more events on Wed 2/1

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

Whom Can Black Folks Trust?

It was recently announced that “the Secret Service, the federal agency tasked with protecting the president [as well as guarding the currency] agreed to pay $24 million to more than 100 of its black agents who claim that their superiors fostered racism…”

* Up for the Down Stroke Take the word “hustle.” It can mean “to take advantage of someone, to cheat them out of something” as in “I was hustled for a dollar by a person claiming to be homeless.” Or it can mean to work real hard at something…

Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here

What the Next Presidency Might Look Like

With a volatile and contradictory new president installed in the White House, it’s difficult to predict what policies we’ll see him push or what his true agenda is. Dr. Donald C. Shingler gives it a try anyway. Read his thoughts, file them away and see how accurate he is four years from now.