02.15-02.22.17
Ethnic
If there’s one thing that defines our region, it’s our ethnic identity and heritage. It’s reflected in our neighborhoods, in our food and in our festivals. The Kurentovanje festival, complete with parade, food, drink, entertainment and activities at the Slovenian National Home on St. Clair, is one of the most recent to bloom, launching in 2013. They’re making Brite Winter Fest, the annual mid-winter blowout featuring bands, bonfires and bonhomie since 2010, seem like a regular tradition, now returning to their roots in the Flats.Honoring their tradition of tackling social issues creatively, CPT tackles Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue, while Hillary Gent tries something entirely new, adding a custom scent to each of the 11 artists she represents. Going against the grain can sometimes attract the haters, but Cassandra Fears of Fear’s Confections has risen above with a GoFundMe campaign and a cash mob, both organized by her supporters. The Galleries at CSU reclaim women’s spirits, Karen Small hosts the Sunday Supper, Akron’s Angie Haze debuts a new DVD project, Vanity Crash hosts a glam punk party in Van Wert, amd the Metroparks are turning kids from frogs into princes and princesses. All worthy traditions to uphold. –Thomas Mulready
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Photo by Elisa Vietri
CoolCleveland is dedicated to George Nemeth
Cleveland’s seen a lot of new things crop in recent years – buildings, neighborhoods, businesses, microbreweries. But there’s also a strong yearning to connect with the city’s ethnic past. In 2013, some local Slovenian-Americans held the first spring-welcoming Kurentovanje Festival, based on a Slovenian tradition.
It really caught on. This year’s festival Sat 2/25, with a parade and an afternoon of food, drink, entertainment and activities at the Slovenian National Home on St. Clair, is just the capper. This year’s there’s also a Slovenian dinner 2/20, an exhibit opening 2/21 and a benefit 2/24. Party all week!
When local artist Anne Kmieck first conceived the germ of her show Riparazione, now on view at the Galleries at CSU, she didn’t think it would take nearly a decade to execute. But the scope of the works, symbolically depicting the lives of 11 historical women who devoted their lives to God, often in opposition to the male church power structure, kept growing, and she went to London to learn to embroider.
The powerful show features 11 christening gowns and objects relating to the women’s live, along with an installation that plays with concepts of gender. Though Sat 2/25.
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SPONSORED: Dark Matter & Dinosaurs Come to the Explorer Series Lecture at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to hear Dr. Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics at Harvard University and one of today’s mostly influential and highly cited theoretical physicists for an exploration of the connections between the mysteries of dark matter, our cosmic environment and the conditions for life on earth, with a little pop culture, politics and sociology thrown in for good measure. Fri 3/3 at 5:30PM. CMNH.org
The Brite Winter festival, now in its 8th year, began modestly. A few friends booked a handful of bands and threw an outdoor winter party down in the Flats. Now Brite Winter has grown to rival some of the big summer festivals. By last year it had outgrown its four-year Ohio City location and took over a swath of the Flats West Bank, with an array of local music, art, food and drink offerings indoors and out, and intriguing participatory activities.
Reporter Cynthia Schuster Eakin tells us what we’ll find down there, once we bundle up and head down. And it’s free! Sat 2/18.
Why Blocking Trump in the Electoral College was Mission Impossible, brings an authority on this mysterious institution to Baldwin Wallace University for a free, Voices of Democracy talk on Wed 2/22. The 2016 presidential election exposed the quirks of the process when, for the second time in the last five elections, the popular vote winner lost in the Electoral College.
Robert Alexander, Ph.D., author of Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination of Lobbying, Wavering Electors, and Campaigns for Faithless Votes, will pay particular attention to the intense lobbying campaign that sought to upend Donald Trump in the Electoral College. Dr. Alexander’s comprehensive research includes surveys of presidential electors from 2000-2016. Free tickets at BW.edu/tickets.
As many have pointed out, heroin addiction didn’t produce handwringing “Whatever shall we do?!” headlines until white people in the suburbs were involved. When it afflicted black people, it was scoffed at as a crime or a personal moral failure.
In its new production, Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue, Cleveland Public Theatre, with its history of tackling social issues creatively, looks at addiction and how it impacts families, alternating scenes of a black and a while family to illustrate how something similar can be viewed differently. John Benson talks with director Beth Wood about this regional premier. Thu 2/16-Sat 3/11.
Hillary Gent, who owns HEDGE Gallery in the 78th Street Studios, came up with an intriguing idea to showcase the 11 artists she represents. She had the local Indigo Perfumery create a scent to match new work by each of the artists, who will have viewing/smelling stations set up around the spacious gallery.
She’s also come up with a creative idea so the gallery doesn’t smell like almost a dozen competing scents (and those allergic to fragrance can also enjoy the art). She shares it with CoolCleveland’s Kendall Embrescia-Hridel. Fri 2/17.
SPONSORED: Orchid Society Show & Sale takes place on Sat 2/18 & Sun 2/19 at the Cleveland Botanical Garden as part of their amazing Orchid Mania exhibit. The Greater Cleveland Orchid Society is the oldest affiliate of the American Orchid Society. Orchid Mania will open for orchid sales beginning at 10AM, and the juried show will be available for viewing by the public at noon. Stop by and be blown away. CBGarden.org.
Choreographer and director of the old Ohio Ballet Heinz Poll left an indelible impact on the Northeast Ohio dance scene. Although he died in 2006, he left traces on companies such as Cleveland’s Verb Ballets.
This week that company will perform a tribute program at the Akron Civic Theatre that includes two of Poll’s own works and two pieces inspired by him. Our dance writers Elsa Johnson & Victor Lucas give us a rundown of what that program will look like and how the Poll influence weaves through the work. Fri 2/17.
When she revived her chocolate “Trump Dumps,” initially created for the RNC, Cassandra Fears of Lakewood’s Fear’s Confections didn’t expect a spate of bad reviews on Yelp! from people who’d never been in her shop, as well as bomb threats. But between a GoFundMe campaign to upgrade her security system and a Cash Mob, both organized by her supporters, her business has gone through the roof. Take that, haters!
No, the President of the U.S. is not a frog who will turn into a prince if you kiss him, alas. But you and the kids can celebrate the President’s Day holiday learning about frogs and other amphibians at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo with special frog activities. Kids are invited to come dressed up as a prince, princess or frog. And their admission is free! Mon 2/20.
Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events
It’s Karen Small’s turn to host the “Sunday Supper” at her Flying Fig restaurant in Ohio City. She and fellow chefs Tim Bando and Jonathan Bennett are taking turns in this three-dinner series where the host provides the entree and the others bring the appetizer and dessert. Sun 2/19.
* Eat your way across downtown during the 10-day Downtown Restaurant “Week,” when participating have lunch and dinner specials. There’s a kickoff party at the Hyatt at the Arcade where you can taste their food and decide where to go for more. Fri 2/17-Sun 2/26.
Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.
SPONSORED: Bring It On at The Kent Stage with 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.
Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Angie Haze seems too exotic to be from Akron – but she is. The colorful, eclectic performer who calls herself a “gypsy” will be debuting a new DVD project tonight at Peninsula’s G.A.R. Hall. Fri 2/17.
Read more picks by Anastasia Pantsios here
Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Cool Events.
WED 2/15
Once upon a time, the Rockefellers and other wealthy families had lovely mansions up and down Euclid Avenue. They’re gone now but you can hear about the time before the Cleveland Clinic swallowed up everything from author/historian Dan Ruminiski at the Music Box’s Cleveland Stories series.
Click here for more events on Wed 2/15
THU 2/16
New York vocal trio Duchess is starting to make a big splash with their harmonizing on standards and obscurities, inspired by the 1930s style of the Boswell Sisters.
Click here for more events on Thu 2/16
FRI 2/17
Cleveland filmmaker Rob Banks has shown his semi-abstract, experimental short films at film festivals across the country. He’s this month’s speaker at Creative Mornings Cleveland at WYSE Advertising, where he’ll address the theme “Moments.”
Click here for more events on Fri 2/17
SAT 2/18
It’s time again for cat lovers to gather to support the Waterloo Alley Cat Project, which spays, neuters and cares for feral cats in North Collinwood. The benefit at the Slovenian Workmen’s Home features food, drinks, music, raffles and lots of cat pictures.
Click here for more events on Sat 2/18
SUN 2/19
The newly revived Puppetry Guild should get a big boost today when it visits Talespinner Children’s Theatre where the theater’s founder Alison Garrigan will show them her puppets and talk about how they incorporate them into their productions.
Click here for more events on Sun 2/19
MON 2/20
“Freedom Caucus” member Jim Jordan is Ohio’s most conservative congressman. Ultra-liberal Oberlin was gerrymandered into his district. Jordan will be chatting with constituents in Marion, Ohio this morning at the Harding Home Presidential Site. Anyone in Oberlin up for a road trip?
Click here for more events on Mon 2/20
TUE 2/21
Northeast Shores’ annual “Taste the Neighborhood” benefit at the Lithuanian Hall celebrates North Collinwood’s slow but steady comeback, its mixture of contemporary and traditional ethnic food, and its community organizers and volunteers.
Click here for more events on Tue 2/21
WED 2/22
Grassroots entrepreneurs and idea generators are the ones making Cleveland rock. The Cleveland Leadership Center’s Accelerate 2017 culled 25 such people from 80 entries to make pitches this evening at the Global Center for Health Innovation. The audience votes on the grand prize winner who walks away with $5,000 for the project.
Click here for more events on Wed 2/22
Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com
The simple fact is, right-wing white dudes spend more time in their basements playing with their guns (lovingly oiling and rubbing them) than they spend in their bedrooms “playing” with their wives. Therefore, the “replacement rate” for whites…
Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here
A look back at the last week
Submit your own review or commentary to Events@CoolCleveland.com
FILM REVIEW: I Am Not Your Negro by Mansfield Frazier
THEATER REVIEW: The King and I at PlayhouseSquare by Laura Kennelly
Read and comment here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog
Most clicked
Here are the Top 5 most clicked links from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.
1) It’s Women Only at Ray’s Indoor Bike Park for Women’s Weekend
2) MANSFIELD: Zack, We Can’t “Police” Our Way Out of It
3) Funeral Set for Beloved Housing Court Judge Ray Pianka Who Died January 21
4) Cleveland’s Sonny Geraci, Vocalist with Hitmakers the Outsiders and Climax, Passes Away
5) Starwood Festival Holds WinterStar Ball at the Beachland to Raise Money for the July Festival
This is your tradition,
–Thomas Mulready
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