While we’re staying inside and keeping ourselves healthy for the next month or so to get a handle of the Omicron pandemic surge — we ARE doing that, aren’t we? — let’s take a look back at a 2021 that was considerably busier than 2020, with many festivals, markets, artworks and other special events coming back.
We started the year pre-vaccine, taking walks to enjoy the wintery scenery. We started by taking in the holiday decorations at Public Square which will be on view this year through Monday January 17. The BOP STOP hosted the annual birthday tribute to David Bowie in January, and we explored the Brecksville Metroparks, the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, the Lakefront Nature Preserve, the Lakewood lakefront and even Beaver Creek State Park in their wintry state. Sadly in early March, the Cleveland music community mourned the passing of Michael Stanley, and the Rock Hall hosted a tribute.
Spring slowly began to dawn and we captured the blossoms at the Fine Arts Garden lagoon with snow and without, and checked out the re-awakening art scene at Walk All Over Waterloo and 78th Street Studios’ Third Friday. As April passed and the weather began to warm, we went to the NFL draft festivities downtown, the opening of the Redline Greenway on the west side, the iris garden at Rockefeller Greenhouse, the opening of the Amanda Wicker exhibit at the Western Reserve historic Society and a celebration of our local music venues reopening, held at the Rock Hall.
Summit arrived with a plethora of activities, most dormant for two years: Room to Let CLE in Slavic Village, the Cain Park Arts Festival, the Cuyahoga River Rally, the Feast in Little Italy. We cut the ribbon on the Tremont section of the Canalway Trail and the new pedestrian/bike bridge at Wendy Park. We went out to Put-in-Bay and East Harbor State Park, and were once again able to gather for our big outdoor summer holidays: The Fourth of July and Labor Day. And a major downtown festival celebrating Juneteenth was added to the schedule.
Sadly we lost another major figure in the local music scene, reggae godfather Dave Smeltz, and his life was celebrated with a show at the Beachland.
Other summer activities included two mural events: one featuring a blitz of new murals by returning Cleveland native WRDSMTH, the other called Cleveland Walls, melding the work of both local and guest artists for a weeklong paint fest. We celebrated One World Day and Mexican Independence Day at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, Fresh Fest at Rid-All Farm in Kinsman and Skunkfest in North Ridgeville – and the next thing we knew it was fall.
That brought us Ingenuity Fest on the lake, the Refugee Response benefit at Ohio City Farm, Did de Muertos in Gordon Square and the Lakewood Witches’ walk. We wrapped up the year by dropping in on some holiday markets and lighting up Lakewood. Come share the past year with us in pictures!
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