03.25-04.1.09
Catch The Train
In this week’s issue:For a lot of Clevelanders, the train is always leaving the station without them. You hear them whine from the pages of the mainstream media and on most of the local airwaves outside public and college stations. These people always seem to be 15 minutes late and they miss the train. Then it’s up to people like us to clue them in on what they’ve missed, what a blast it was, and suggest that maybe next time they can do themselves a favor and get their butt in gear. So that’s what we’re here for: to help you get on board, reserve your seat and enjoy the ride. This week, I talk with Dan Zanes about his appearance here on Friday, we pick a few cool events each day, and we link you to quintessential family stuff to tide you over until spring. We hear from our Soundbite Laureate who blames the economy on soccer moms, Mansfield prunes his crabapple tree, and we review CC writer Susan Petrone’s new book. We give a listen to roots-rockers Redwater RoJo, and Roldo laments the passing of Tom Haley. Get on board by securing your place at our Future of Cleveland networking party at CSU on 4/22. Whatever you do, don’t miss the train. –Thomas Mulready
What are your ideas for the Future of Cleveland
Networking party with execs-in-residence @ CSU 4/22
What’s your cool idea for the future of Cleveland – in economic development, in housing, in education, in race relations? We want to know – so Cool Cleveland is teaming up with Cleveland State University to present an evening of visionary fun with a career-boosting twist (after all, what are universities for?) on Wed 4/22 from 5:30-8PM. More info here. Enjoy a delicious spread of hors d’oeuvres and open bar with beer & wine in the spectacularly renovated Fenn Tower and meet 8 Executives-In-Residence for an F2F discussion about Cleveland’s (and your own) future: Steven Minter, former director of The Cleveland Foundation; former state senator Grace Drake; David Whitehead, former VP of FirstEnergy; Julian Earls, former director of NASA-Glenn; Barbara Byrd-Bennett, former CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and others. Networking, round-robin discussion (think speed dating with a civic twist!), incorporating your cool ideas, with everything live blogged. Get on the train and check out the full menu and details here. Order your tickets online now for your best value. As with all Cool Cleveland events, this price will rise each week.
Click here for more info & tickets: Newsletter/Csu042209
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HOT New York Times cites Cle Museum of Art as among the institutions providing schools with a “parallel universe for learning.” Museums See Opening in Education
HOT Cleveland is a finalist for the 2014 Gay Games! It’s official! Next up, a bid presentation in Cologne, Germany this September. Only three cities in the running! Read and Read more here.
Terry Egger claims PD will keep publishing or it will be a game-over scenario. You can read about that here
Are you following the Forest City v. MMPI volleying? Pretty interesting politics here
Those proposed (and perhaps by press time approved) new ward boundaries in Cle can be found by clicking here
Watch Gov. Strickland battle CNN’s Lou Dobbs on Ohio in this, spirited video
Strickland’s approval slips, still strong acc. to Quinnipiac Univ Poll. Results
GREEN Hip to the “Good Neighbor Campaign Training Project” at Cle State Univ this weekend? If not, click here
HOT Volunteers: Senior PGA Golf Tournament comes to Cle and they need your help. Find details here
HELP Help to support new, innovative ideas in Northeast Ohio! Join the Cle Collectivo! Learn more
Migration from cities including Cle has slowed down to “a crawl” due to nationwide economic woes according to this WSJ story here
Are you hip to DeliverMeFood.com? If not, we KNOW you’re gonna wanna click here
Musica in Akron is a hot, happenin’ club and you need to check it out. Click
Didn’t score tix for the Rock Hall Inductions? The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Cle Public Hall on Sat 4/4 at 9PM ET/PT will be televised live on the Fuse cable network and available on http://www.Fuse.TV
Speaking of rock, ever wanted to SNOOP around the House of Blues? If so, the Cle Restoration Society has just the thing for you this weekend
Artists: looking for a different way to think about art? Regional artists should submit materials for the experimental project space, SPACELab at SPACES Gallery. Details, application and guidelines here
Did you know that Postsecret is on Twitter? Follow
Actor/comedian Robin Williams visits the Cle Clinic for heart valve surgery. Successful
SPONSORED: Recently, the Ft. Myers/Naples public radio station deep-sixed its classical music programming. Milwaukee has no classical music station. The same is true for San Diego, Grand Rapids and Jacksonville, Florida. But that won’t happen in Cleveland as the classical music you hear over WCLV 104.9 FM is guaranteed by the WCLV Foundation. You can do your part by supporting WCLV’s commercial advertisers and by letting them know you heard about them on WCLV 104.9 FM.
HOT Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions 2009! It’s finally arrived! The Rock Hall’s “Induction Week 2009” slate of events includes numerous activities to engage thousands of NEO music fans, all while creating a marquee event with a significant impact for the region. Don’t have tickets to the actual inductions at Public Hall? NO worries. There are a ton of other things you can do. Check out all the events and details: http://www.RockHall.com/Induction2009/Events.
HOT The Cleveland Int’l Film Festival had a record-breaking first Sunday with attendance of 6,214 at Tower City Cinemas! Events and amazing film screenings run through the weekend, so you’ve still got time to enjoy one of the region’s cultural touchstones! Are you going?. Schedule and details at http://www.ClevelandFilm.org.
Call to video artists! Video artists, animators, and developers: submit your innovative and exciting works for possible inclusion in the first Ingenuity Video Festival, to be shown during the Ingenuity Festival of Art + Technology, July 10-12, 2009. They’re looking for material to screen in an ongoing “video theatre” at PlayhouseSquare. All forms of video art – realism, stop frame, animation, second life, virtual, experimental – are welcomed. Work is sought for a single-channel/single-projector; multi-screen/multi-projector work should be submitted separately to the festival. The work must be created by or after January 1, 2007 and must be submitted. Submissions should be received at the Ingenuity office (Central Medical Arts Building, Suite 103, 2475 East 22nd St.) by Wed 4/1. Details and info: call Ingenuity Director James Levin at 589-9444 or email james@ingenuitycleveland.org.
Cool Cleveland Podcast Weekly roundup of cool events, in an easy-to-digest 3 minute audio format, for playback on your computer or iPod.
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Dan Zanes seems to always be having fun. Whether it’s on his four CD releases, one of which won a Grammy (Catch That Train!), or his live concerts, the exuberance and passion he feels for roots music is palpable to anyone listening. And lately, kids and their parents have put his music into heavy rotation on their iPods.
Listen to Thomas Mulready’s exclusive Cool Cleveland interview with Dan Zanes as they talk about his new record, The Welcome Table: Songs of Inspiration, Mystery & Good Times, and how he gets such a live feel to his recordings. Dan Zanes and Friends will rock the Independence Middle School on Fri 3/27 at 6:30PM for the National Autism Association, Northeast Ohio chapter and their benefit event, which helps individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families access necessary treatments. Listen to the podcast by clicking here, and reserve your tix to see him at the National Autism Association benefit here: http://autismnortheastohio.org/special_events.php
HOT Dan Zanes & Friends Zanes (formerly of influential 80s indie band the Del Fuegos), is a pioneering family musician who makes sophisticated music loved by kids AND adults alike. He performs Fri 3/27 at 6:30PM for an autism benefit at Independence Middle School. Doors at 5:30PM. As seen on the Disney Channel. More info here and here.
Jack Be Nimble @ Hale Farm & Village hits Fri 3/27 at 10AM and 1PM. “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…” kids make a hand dipped candle, then jump over the candlestick! Programs designed for ages 2 to 6 years old. In addition to making a candle, kids will enjoy story time and a snack. Details at http://www.wrhs.org or by calling 330-666-3711 ext. 230.
The Fantastic Flute Part of the Musical Rainbow series put on by the Cleveland Orchestra, this pair of performances (Fri 3/27 and Sat 3/28) is designed for families with children ages 3 to 6 years old. Musical Rainbow Concerts provide an interactive and fun introduction to musical instruments for kids; the concerts are held in Reinberger Chamber Hall (Severance Hall). Visit http://www.ClevelandOrchestra.com or call 231-1111 for details.
I-X Indoor Amusement Park The I-X Center becomes an indoor “summer” wonderland starting Fri 3/27 and continuing through mid-April. Enjoy a taste of summer in the spring at this annual springtime event. This indoor Amusement Park includes rides for big kids and little kids alike. In addition to rides, families will enjoy entertaining shows, games and, of course, food. Visit http://www.IXIndoorAmusementPark.com or call 800-897-3942.
HOT Cuyahoga Heights Schools 6th Annual Fine Arts Festival is on Sat 3/28 from 10AM – 3PM. This family-orientated event features live musical performances, a student art show, battle of the bands, a poetry slam, hands on activities for younger artists (or young at heart), artist vendors, caricaturist Scott Hall and Swifty the Clown with his amazing balloon sculptures. Food will be available in the form of soups and bakery. All proceeds to benefit the CHS Art Club. Call 429-5798 or email ewitschi@cuyhts.k12.oh.us for more info.
Toadally Awesome Amphibians North Chagrin Nature Center/ Cleveland Metroparks wants kiddos to “hop into spring” Sat 3/28 with a special event celebrating the spring arrival of area amphibians. Lots of hands-on learning and fun. Details at http://www.CleMetParks.com.
KidShow They say this event offers “Anything & Everything About Kids” and after scoping out the two days of entertainment, exhibitors, activities and costumed characters scheduled for Sat 3/28 and Sun 3/29, who are we to argue? A Scholastic Book Fair, Face Painting and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest are among the highlights. Great Lakes Mall, 7850 Mentor Ave., Mentor. http://www.UsePromark.com or call 440-974-1198 for details.
Cool Cleveland Kids Podcast Weekly roundup of cool events for kids & families from 13-year-old Cool Cleveland Kids correspondent Max.
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Kids at Loose Ends? Warm Weather is Coming…
Quintessential (and very cool) Fun to Hold You Over Until Spring
If you live in Cleveland, chances are you either love the change of seasons, or perhaps just tolerate them. During the last days of winter and the cool of early spring, you may find yourself at loose ends with the kids spending the weekends watching another movie or having your own karaoke night with another round of kid’s favorites playing on the stereo. Bottom line: It’s time to get out. Need some incentive? Need a reminder that there are plenty of places in town for fun and frolic with kids? Here’s a quick list of essential “Cle w/kids outings” to get you (and me) out there…!Read more from Jeannie Fleming-Gifford here
SPONSORED: White Water Rafting with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History? That’s right. Much of America’s desert southwest is defined by one river: the Colorado. Experience the thrill of white-water rafting on the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon Sun 8/2 – Sun 8/9. [Register by 6/1.] Get a firsthand awareness of developing water issues in the western US. Info: www.cmnh.org/site/ClassesandPrograms/TravelPrograms.aspx
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A hot selection of tech and business news & events from around the region. Got business news? Send it to: EVENTS@CoolCleveland.com
HOT New business for Cleveland in deal with New York moviemakers? Learn more here and here
Merchandise Mart Properties shoots down Tower City site yet again. Read and then learn about the tentative agreement here
An interesting column about “journalism in crisis” can be found with a simple click here
Newspapers: blame yourselves! On PBS NewsHour, Cle-based analyst Lauren Rich Fine says the industry largely has itself to blame for current woes. Read transcript here
State tourism campaign brings in millions and the C-Dis has the scoop
3-C Passenger Rail in Ohio In a late-evening March 17 move by the Ohio Senate Highways and Transportation Committee, legislation was passed giving the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) or the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) the go-ahead to compete for federal stimulus funding for passenger rail. Nevermind the ease of use and access to all of Ohio by its residents… what will implementation of this project mean for business and economic development in NEO and beyond? We think quote a bit. Details.Synergy 2009 Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s upcoming American Recovery Reinvestment Act Outreach Event is aimed at small and minority-owned Cle-area businesses, offering those a chance to preview the many projects requested in the City’s federal American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) package formerly known as the Stimulus Bill. Click here for more information.
Global Biz Forum Hits Cleveland “Design concepts and artistic thinking can accelerate business innovation and can drive profit-even in a recession.” That’s the mantra behind The Second Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit during the June event held at Case Western Reserve University. Companies as diverse as Ford, Cisco, Patagonia, Herman Miller, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, and Dow Chemical will be involved in the action-oriented Global Forum — dubbed “Manage by Designing in an Era of Massive Innovation.” Sounds entirely impressive to us, and well worth scoping out. Registration is already opened; learn more at http://www.GlobalForum2009.org.
Content Strategy: Discipline and Value Defined is latest NEOUPA event today Wed 3/25 at 6:30PM. Details here
GREEN E4S Zero Waste Network Workshop hits on Wed 3/25 Learn how to turn industrial waste into revenue! Click
The new Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) launches with an event TODAY Wed 3/25 from 5:30-8PM at McNulty’s Bier Markt in Ohio City.
Web Analytics: After Hours Looking for ways to increase site conversion and measure web performance? Hit this cool event at CSU Thu 3/26. Learn more and register here
Engineering Leadership Breakfast Series offers Jeffrey L. Dean, CAE, ED and Gen Counsel, Int’l Society of Explosives Engineers Thu 3/26 @ Hilton Garden Inn Cle, 1100 Carnegie Ave.
Jim Paluch, Pres. of JP Horizons, Inc. speaks on how your company can use fundamental practices of Lean Management on Wed 4/8 at 11:30AM at the Lake Metroparks Pine Ridge Country Club, 30601 Ridge Rd (SR 84). RSVP by Thu 4/2 by calling 440-255-8932 or emailing wolfeshirley@yahoo.com
Jim Rokakis: Breakfast Networking Meeting The County Treasurer speaks on how to save Cle/Cuy County Thu 4/2 at this Cuy Valley COC event. Register
Crain’s Cleveland Business Twenty in their 20s Awards ceremony takes place at House of Blues Tue 4/7. Tix onsale now. See what dynamic YPs we have in C-town! Tickets
Navigating Your Nonprofit Through Challenging Times Learn strategies and tools for fiscal planning and decision making Fri 4/17 at 7:30AM at DoubleTree Hotel, Cle South — 6200 Quarry Ln, Independence. Click
Labor Economy Summit for NEO hits Fri 4/24 at CSU Continuing Education Center, E. 30th and Chester. Find out how your org can optimize collaboration, attain peak productivity, and drive innovation and more. Call 330-725-4885 for tix. Details
HOT Tapping the Power of New Social Media, Social Networks & eMarketing Learn how to maximize your biz impact w/ better outreach Fri 5/8 at 9AM. Penton Media Conf Ctr, 1300 East 9th St. Click
Calm Effectiveness: How to Motivate Self & Others During Times of Stress & Change hits Fri 5/15 at 9AM at Penton Media Conf Ctr, 1300 East 9th St. Register
Creating Brand Ambassadors within Your Board & Staff This BVU event hits Fri 6/26 at 9AM at Penton Media Conf Ctr, 1300 East 9th St. Learn more
HOT Get Out of Jail for Free: Top 10 Deadliest Mistakes for Small Businesses comprises latest Global Gateway Series event Fri 3/27 at 11:45AM at the Beachwood COC, 23230 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 900. It’s presented by Prof. Carole Heyward, Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law; includes lunch and lecture. Pre-registration required. Register at http://www.CSUOhio.edu/business/global/gateway.
HOT GREEN ElectroExpo On Wed 4/1 and Thu 4/2 from 3 – 9PM at the Cleveland Convention Center, watch the “green spotlight” shine on over 300 manufacturers displaying the latest power, lighting, datacom and sustainability products and services. If you’re looking to green-up your life or your business, you’ll be in good company — some 5,000 key industry leaders are expected to attend. For info, call 440-333-5040. 500 Lakeside Ave. http://www.City.Cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home. http://www.ElectroExpo.org.
SPONSORED: BIG Contest Alert! Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) is celebrating the 500th member of their Facebook group – the big guy from Frontier Airlines – Grizwald! Chances are you’ve seen the loveable bear spokesanimal in Frontier’s commercials or on the tail of an Airbus 318 at CAK! Welcome him to the group and be entered to win two tickets from Frontier Airlines! And don’t forget, Frontier Airlines offers low fares to Denver and the west!
Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com
HOT PolyCultures: Food Where We Live is a local documentary film and multimedia production project screening at the Cle Int’l Film Fest as a part of the “Local Heroes” film series. It gets its title from the word “polyculture” which describes farm systems that mimic natural systems with diverse and interdependent elements. It screens at the CIFF this Wed 3/25 at 6:45PM and Thu 3/26 at 11:30AM. The March 25th screening will include a film forum. Click here for details.
Autobahn [pictured] This work by Neil LaBute, screenwriter of In the Company of Men and The Shape of Things, has been enjoying a healthy run at Cleveland Play House under the direction of Alan Rosenberg. See today (Wed 3/25) through Sat 3/28. Call 795-7000, ext. #4 or click here for details on the show. East 85th St. and Euclid. http://www.ClevelandPlayHouse.com.HOT Breaking Machines & Making Music The Cleveland State University Center for Public History and Digital Humanities is sponsoring an event at Western Reserve Historical Society on Wed 3/25 entitled Breaking Machines and Making Music: Technology and Creativity in American Popular Music. More details than we can cram into one listing! Learn more here.
Cleveland Clinic eXpressions has a limited exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) that runs now through April 1. GLSC selected 15 pieces from the complete exhibition and displays them, along with the scientific research posters that inspired them, at the entrance to the museum’s BioMedTech Gallery. Get over there to check ’em out! http://www.GreatScience.com.
A Body at Rest Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Petrone’s new novel is kicked off with a celebration/reading at Mac’s Backs books on Coventry in Cleveland Heights Thu 3/26 at 7PM. Her Drinian Press (2009) book explores two characters, Martha and Nina, who are underemployed, overeducated bartenders in Cleveland. In a shared moment of realization, they quit their jobs and embark on a road trip that blurs fantasy and reality: Nina’s trip is guided by Don Quixote, Martha’s by Jane Austen’s Emma. Congrats, Susan! 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Hts. Call 321-2665 or visit http://www.MacsBacks.com.
HOT The Aperture is winding down at Cleveland Public Theatre. The World Premiere stage play by Sean Christopher Lewis is the inaugural winner of the Rosa Parks Playwright Award. It explores America’s “fetishizing of global turbulence, violence and race” through the lens of a a seductive American photographer and her unlikely subject — a former boy soldier from Africa. See the production this weekend (it’s last) at CPT Thu 3/26 — Sat 3/28 at 7:30PM. Cool factor: Two actors play six parts!!! http://www.CPTOnline.org.
The Artist’s Residency Panel Discussion This event Thu 3/26 from 6 – 9PM at SPACES Gallery (2220 Superior Viaduct) promises to be quite interesting. With panelists Sarah Beiderman (Manager, SPACES World Artists Program), ceramic artist Kristen Cliffel and Annie McNally-Dienes of Young Audiences of NEO, and moderator Sally Winter, the group will explore how artists continue to create new work while engaging the community at large — as well as new communities outside of Cleveland. http://www.ArtHouseInc.org. http://www.SPACESGallery.org.
HOT Get LIT with George Bilgere This fundraiser for the LIT (formerly the Poets & Writers League of Greater Cleveland) hits on Fri 3/27 from 5:30-8:30PM at Pizzazz Restaurant, Fairmount Circle. Featuring guest bartender George Bilgere — best known as a poet, JCU prof and host of the spoken word show Wordplay on WJCU-FM 88.7 — with select proceeds to benefit the LIT. There will be pizza & appetizers and Pizzazz is also donating a portion of all beer sales to the cause. http://www.The-Lit.org.
GREEN We’re co-sponsoring a Green Gala put on by Earth Watch Ohio and featuring the sharp actor-activist Ed Begley, Jr. NEXT Fri 4/3 at 7PM at Executive Caterers of Landerhaven. Are you coming? Get cracking, peeps… you only have a week to get those tickets. Ticket info and details are here and our interview with Begley can be heard here.
Combo Boricua This group of local Cle musicians plays classic salsa with a smooth groove and they never miss a beat. Soak up their sunny vibes at this hot Latin dance night out Fri 3/27 as the 8-piece salsa band performs at View Nightclub. Cover includes dance lessons at 9PM. View Nightclub 618 E Prospect. Call 440-263-5842 or visit http://www.TropicalCleveland.com.
Purify the Mic This open forum event encourages attendees to “Speak up… Say Somethin’… and Purify the Mic” Fri 3/27 from 8 – 10PM at the Renee Jones Empowerment Center, 1340 West 65th St. (off of Detroit Rd.). Think poetry that cleanses the soul, mind and spirit — where individuals from all walks of life can express themselves through the arts in a down-to-earth environment. After an open mic, there’s a featured artist ministering gospel using poetry, rap, song, drama and comedy. More info: call 570-6206.
Organ Grinder’s Ball This supercool annual event is “The Fetish Party of the Year” and features four fetish fashion show scenes by OGB models, performances by Lizardman and the Rubber City Bombshells Burlesque and DJ Feima spinning tunes all night long Check it out at Metropolis Niteclub in the Flats this Fri 3/27. 2325 Elm St. http://www.FetishPlayland.com.
Flapper Fannie & the Farmgirl Pinky’s Daily Planner in Tremont is hosting a pretty cool new type of illustration exhibit, with a preview Fri 3/27 with viewings running until (at least) Mother’s Day. Check out original, hand-painted and drawn fashion sketches from a teenage farmgirl in the 1920s – 1930s, in perfect condition, along with some dresses she made herself. Alma Kotrlik (nee Vogler) was born in 1912 in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, the sixth of eight children. While her days were packed with the hard chores and duties of her family farm, her nights were filled with vivid fantasies of a glamorous, contemporary city life. Her items will be viewable on the site in the coming days at http://www.PinkysDailyPlanner.com. Call 402-2536 or email stephanie@pinkysdailyplanner.com for more info.
HELP Joe’s Crohn’s Benefit Join Joe and his friends from Bay Village, Camp Oasis and CCFA for a fun night of bowling to raise awareness about Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, and to raise money for CCFA sponsored research this Fri 3/27 starting at 6:30PM at Bay Lanes, 27229 Wolf Rd., Bay Village. Bay Lanes is like Stuckeybowl and Joe’s a great kid, battling a disease he was diagnosed with at 12 and for which there is no known cure. Pack the place for a great cause and a great kid. http://JoesCrohnsBash.com.
HOT The Fold & the Beautiful SPACES Gallery on the Superior Viaduct and Process Creative Studios sponsors Between the Folds being presented by the Cleveland International Film Festival. They’ll host a discussion (with the film’s director Vanessa Gould) and origami party after the CIFF screening Sat 3/28 fr 4PM. No cost, open to the public. Meet the director, fold your own origami creations and talk about the film! Details and such at http://www.SpacesGallery.org. http://www.ClevelandFilm.org.
March Badness The Burning River Roller Girls’ [pictured] roller derby season opener hits Sat 3/28 at 6PM at the Euclid Sports Plant, 20001 Euclid Ave., Euclid. You’ve never seen anything like it… unless you’ve seen them before. Face it, your “braceketology” is already messed up, so why not check out the fast action live. Call 404-0130 or visit http://www.BurningRiverRollerGirls.com for info. Tickets available here or by calling 800-838-3006.Moondog Coronation Ball The annual celebration of rock history tries to outdo itself with 2009’s stellar lineup: Tommy James & The Shondells (Hanky Panky, Crimson and Clover, I Think We’re Alone Now, Mony, Mony), Three Dog Night (Mama Told Me (Not To Come), One, Celebrate, Joy To The World), Herman’s Hermits (There’s a Kind of Hush (All Over The World), I’m Henry the VIII I Am, Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter), Jerry Butler (For Your Precious Love, He Will Break Your Heart, Only The Strong Survive), and unbelievably, the 76-year-old Little Richard (Lucille, Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up, Slippin’ and Slidin’, Jenny, Jenny, Good Golly Miss Molly). Even if they just play their top hits, this will be an incredible evening. http://www.wmji.com/pages/moondog
GroundWorks in Chagrin Falls The venerable dance troupe performs at the Philomethian Audtorium at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School (77 E. Washington St. this Sat 3/28 at 7:30PM. The program features Unpublished Dialogues by Lynne Taylor-Corbett (based on the life of Virginia Woolf); Major to Minor by GW’s A.D. David Shimotakahara and set to legendary female jazz vocalists, and Allow by Amy Miller. Call 440-247-8955 for tix and info or visit http://www.ChagrinFoundation.org and http://www.GroundWorksDance.org.
New Work: Landscape Paintings by Michael Greenwald River Gallery in Rocky River presents an exhibition of oil paintings of contemporary landscapes by well-known Cle artist Greenwald starting Sat 3/28 from 3 – 7PM with an opening reception. No cost and open to the public, the gallery is also featuring glass vessels by Jonathan Cotterman, 2007 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art. 19046 Old Detroit Rd., Rocky River. For info, call 440-331-8406 or vist 5newwin%http://www.GreenwaldStudio.com.
GREEN Lakewood’s Earth Hour The City of Lakewood will be one of the first communities in Ohio to participate in Earth Hour on Sat 3/28 from 8:30 – 9:30PM. Earth Hour is a global event encouring individuals and businesses to show support for reducing global warming and carbon footprints by turning out lights and unplugging unneeded appliances. You don’t need to live in Lakewood to do it, though — it’s a smart idea anywhere in NEO. Learn more about Earth Hour
HELP Bowling For Babies Two bowling events in one issue? Yeah, it’s a special week for us at Cool Cleveland and you know you haven’t been in a while. The 3rd annual Bowling for Babies event benefits the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital; entry fees include one bowling session, food and a complimentary beverage. Come to bowl, watch or just hang out at the cash bar because… all the proceeds go to the charity! A silent auction and prize giveaways round out the fun. Make this a stop in between everything else you’re into this weekend! Call 221-8558 or visit http://www.BowlingForBabies.com for details. Madison Square Lanes, 1653 Westwood Ave., Lakewood.
Quicksilver George Frideric Handel died in 1759, 250 years ago. So the Chapel, Court & Countryside series at Case Western Reserve University is celebrating his life with the Cleveland concert debut of Quicksilver — a new chamber music ensemble, with familiar faces, playing music by all the great baroque composers. They deliver Sat 3/28 at 7:30PM. Harkness Chapel, 11200 Bellflower Rd., on the CWRU campus. http://Music.CASE.edu/ccc.
Zumba Dance Party Ten Thousand Villages of Cleveland hosts its first-ever Zumba event Sun 3/29 with the creative support of five of Cle’s own Zumba Fitness Instructors and live music performed by local outfit HottStuf. Together, paired with live reggae and calypso sounds, this promises to be a jumping afternoon of fun. Ten Thousand Villages Cleveland at Trinity Commons, 2254 Euclid Ave. (no cost parking in Trinity Church lot at E. 22nd and Prospect Ave.) Call 575-1058 or visit http://Cleveland.TenThousandVillages.com for more info.
Digital Media Student Film Festival The first annual event hits on Wed 3/25 from 5 – 7PM at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (VMCAD). In addition, to showing some of the coolest student works, VMCAD organizers will be conducting tours of their facility and leading folks over to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission’s Media Industry Mixer located across the street from the college at Brother’s Lounge from 6 – 8PM. 11724 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. Call 214-0813 or visit http://www.VMCAD.edu.
Blessed is the Match Siegal College is bringing an amazing documentary film to Cleveland for the first time. Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh will be screened Wed 4/1 at 7PM and the filmmaker Roberta Grossman will be available afterwards for a lively Q&A disucssion. This film, circulating through Jewish film festivals across the country, tells the amazing journey of Hannah Senesh during WWII. No cost, open to the public. Call 464-4050 or email rkronick@siegalcollege.edu for tickets. 26500 Shaker Blvd. http://www.BlessedIsTheMatch.com. http://www.SiegalCollege.edu.
The 8th OddyFest Odd Wednesdays will never be the same. In this eighth installment of Matt Greenfield’s bizarro stage extravaganza, the featured works include The Musicalling by Ian Adler. They’re not ones to give away a plot, but they tell us the keywords are: Romance, hot air balloon, barking dogs and dead-end signs — “all explored in glorious harmonious song” by an ensemble of the best musicallers Cthey could find. Launches Wed 4/1 (repeats Fri 4/3 and Wed 4/15) at 7:30PM. Heights Arts Studio, 2340 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights. Email: oddyfest@gmail.com for more info.
HOT Shakespeare Prison Program Curt Tofteland, the founder and artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Behind Bars program, speaks at the Paul A. Daum Lecture Series at The University of Akron Wed 4/1 at 7PM. His topic is Behind Bard-Wire: Reflection, Responsibility, Forgiveness, and Redemption… The Transformative Power of Art, Theatre, and Shakespeare. Should be a revelation. For more info, call 330-972-7890 or visit http://www.UAkron.edu/dtaa.
HELP Shatter the Silence Help the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center shatter the silence about sexual violence during an outdoor public rally to kick-off Sexual Assault Awareness Month Wed 4/1 from 11:30AM – 1PM at Mall C downtown (Lakeside Ave. between Ontario and E. 6th St.) Get out of your office and enjoy lunch outdoors! Lunch for sale on site or bring your own; music and live entertainment provided. Info: call Teresa at 619-6194 ext. #103. http://www.ClevelandRCC.org.
Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com
Wall Street Bonus Debacle? Blame Soccer Moms!
The day was March 21st, the first glorious Saturday of Spring (which in Ohio means only six more weeks until we can exchange the snow blower for the lawn mower in our garage). For a variety of reasons, I had traded bedrooms with my 12-year-old son the night before, and was thus unprepared for what awaited me at dawns early light. Through a fog of slumber, through a sliver of lattice, a single ray of light pierced this preadolescent bunker, and fixated on a mantle; and there dancing, shimmering, and glimmering in the Vernal Equinox’s finest glow, was an expansive, near endless, array of shiny golden treasures — plundered from 7 years of youth sports programs. And then — like a bag of Scotts “Weed and Feed” Lawn Fertilizer — it hit me…Read more from Soundbite Laureate Douglas O’Bryon here
This week’s most active post on BrewedFreshDaily.com
“Council leadership finally made their move to roll out the redistricting plan for a public presentation and a vote,” says Councilman Brian Cummins. “The memo for this presentation went out only 30 hours in advance. The meeting is being held on a workday morning. The irony of this silent and secretive comedy is that this all comes to a head during Sunshine Week! That’s the week of the year that we should be celebrating sunshine and open records and meetings on our public processes. No joke.”Although it generated the most traffic in the past week, no one so far has commented.
Add your thoughts on the BFD post Alternative Council Redistricting Proposals
“I got a head full of ideas that are drivin’ me insane…”
Mansfield’s missive on urban farming — set to a 1965 Bob Dylan song
Some of my neighbors must have thought that I was insane last year when I began pruning a crabapple tree situated on the tree lawn across the street from my home. Oh, they were accustomed to seeing me, bib overalls and all, working on my own lawn and trees; but watching me take my ladder and pruning shears across the street to public property and begin pruning a tree that belongs to the city must have had them scratching their heads and wondering if I were slipping into my dotage. On that, the jury is still out…Read more from Mansfield B. Frazier here
Links to interesting NEO blogs
The Foundation Center’s recent podcast features a discussion on how non-profits can face the economic downturn.
Some tips for effectively using Facebook and LinkedIn.
Construction begins on the University Lofts downtown.
Two good stories on regionalism in action.
Clevelander Dan Polito of ‘Cicli Polito’ wins ‘Best in Show’ award at the ‘North American Handmade Bicycle Show’.
A Body At Rest
Susan Petrone
Drinian Press
When I read the back cover of Cleveland writer Susan Petrone’s book A Body At Rest and found out it involves two young women going on a road trip after quitting their jobs, I was ready to read it. But when I discovered Nina and Martha were going to be guided by their favorite characters from their favorite books — Don Quixote and Emma respectively — I was intrigued. Then I experienced the witty literary-peppered dialogue between these educated women who’d been working on The Ridge, Cleveland’s “bohemian” neighborhood, and I started looking forward to finding out what they had to say while wandering the streets of Cleveland…Read more from Claudia J. Taller here
The Wait
Redwater RoJo
What is it about Cleveland that produces such great roots-rock outfits? When you combine the Midwestern sensibilities with Rustbelt weariness and good, old-fashioned Northeast Ohio tenacity like Redwater RoJo does, it isn’t any wonder. Led by founders Jason Meyers (vocals/guitars) and Joe Romito (lead guitar), the group’s fondness for roots and blues music combines with those aforementioned traits to great some well-crafted, intuitive rock and roll that really couldn’t have come from anywhere else in the country. They refer to themselves as “eclectic… an unholy cross between the Black Crowes and the Stooges.” I’m not sure that fits necessarily, but leather-jacketed, roadhouse-lovin’ rockers who dig the Crowes and like their tunes “whiskey-soaked” will find plenty to love on their seven-song EP, The Wait. Cuts like “Flip the Switch,” “Boots On” and the so-appropriate anthem “Lit n’ Hollerin'” are like a revelatory ride through the best of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet, with one foot squarely planted in old fashioned R&B and delta blues. With bandmates Joe Wheelock (bass) and Derek Desko (drums) offering a sturdy bottom end to Meyers’ songcraft, RoJo can be introspective and bombastic and “old-fashioned” (in the sense that radio listeners used to experience this kind of rock and roll all the time). If there’s a drawback to The Wait, it’s that it’s too short. With six originals and a “radio edit” of “Flip the Switch” at the end, it’ll leave you hungry. But the first rule of showbiz (and good marketing) is always leave ’em wanting more. Mission accomplished, gents.
Redwater RoJo will perform songs from The Wait EP with headliners Gaslight Anthem this Tuesday, March 31st at the Agora. Score details at http://www.RedwaterRoJo.com.
From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com
Wanna get reviewed? Send your band’s CD (less than 1 year old) to: Cool Cleveland, 14837 Detroit Avenue, #105, Lakewood, OH 44107
Tom Haley: Forgotten Man of Cleveland TV
It’s good that Tom Haley lived a long life. He expressed the fear that he would not. Haley had a scrape with death in the mid 1970s. His doctor suggested he put his “affairs in order.” A friend remembered that nurses at Mt. Sinai Hospital said that they “had never seen anyone as frightened of death.” Haley agreed but couldn’t explain the fear. I guess it was appropriate then that he died on St. Patrick’s Day and lived to the age of 88.
Haley, who became a friend and sometimes lunch companion, loved to be recognized in public years after he had left WKYC-TV. He was the only one known by a waitress at Alvie’s in company with other media people. He had not been to the restaurant in years, favoring the old Pat Joyce’s near the WKYC offices on East 6th Street. He was greeted there as a celebrity.
Haley left WKYC angry with the way he was discarded after long years of service. His job had been saved several times previously by his union. It was the station that lost, not Tom….
Read more from Roldo Bartimole here
Quick reviews of recent events
Submit your own review or commentary to Events@CoolCleveland.com
Friedlander @ Cleveland Museum of Art 3/13 Lee Friedlander shows us the view from his lens, without the polish of tradition and expectation. His view is no less purposed, but much more surprising. He plans what appear to be accidents, such as a pole cutting the subject in half, a reflection on the glass window giving a new meaning to the subject behind the window or a mirror obliterating the subject behind it, but giving us a glimpse backward…Read more from Carol Drummond here
Women of Excellence @ Executive Caterers 3/12 Three professional women were honored at the Executive Caterers’ Women of Excellence event to a packed house. Those honored include Sari Feldman, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library; April Miller Boise, Partner-in-Charge at Thomson Hine, and Tina Hamrick, president of NAWBO-Cleveland…
Read more from T.L. Champion here
Autobahn (CWRU MFA Acting Program) @ Cleveland Play House 3/19 Neil LaBute, the author of Autobahn, now being staged by Case Western Reserve’s MFA Acting Program, is a wordsmith. He once said, “I can sit and watch two people talk forever as long as the talk is good,” Talking good, in this case, is talking about what words mean and how people do and do not understand them…
Read more from Roy Berko here
The Marriage of Figaro @ Severance Hall 3/23 Any opera requires suspension of the audience’s disbelief for the duration. Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart is no exception, even if done in historically accurate costumes and settings. It’s most unusual, however, to observe this quality in one of the leading characters…
Read more from Kelly Ferjutz here
Most clicked
Here are the Top 5 most clicked links from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.
1) Bistro Incognito. Launch party 4/3 is sold out. Can you get on the waiting list?
BistroIncognito.com
2) Statue for Sweeney “Does Cleveland have the leadership it deserves?” by Mansfield Frazier.
CoolCleveland.com
3) Latest silly poll ranks Cleveland #5 most unhappy. Where do they come up with these? Let me guess… someone who doesn’t live here.
BusinessWeek.com
4) The Future of Cleveland networking party at CSU with execs-in-residence on 4/22. Tix available now.
CoolCleveland.com
5) Cleveland, America photo of Lisa Fedor by Herbert Ascherman, Jr. Click for larger image.
CoolCleveland.com.
We’d like to thank our Harc Corps Conductors This week, they include Peter Chakerian, T.L. Champion, George Nemeth, Claudia J. Taller, Kelly Ferjutz, Diane DiPiero, Roy Berko, Mansfield B. Frazier, Roldo Bartimole, Carol Drummond, Jeannie Fleming-Gifford and David Budin this week. Special congrats to Susan Petrone on her first novel! We’re infinitely proud! And lastly, though certainly not least, thanks to our readers and everyone who partners with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: Events@CoolCleveland.com.
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–Thomas Mulready
LettersATCoolCleveland.com
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