So you may as well give in and enjoy. Stay outdoors as much as possible: Pagan Pride on Bedford Square, the Greek Fest in Cle Hts, La Placida Cleveland at 25th & Clark, the Water Lantern Festival on Voinovich Park, the Raccoon County Folk Festival in downtown Burton. Or go big with Put-In-Bay’s Bash on the Bay or the 10th installment of Highland Square’s Porch Rokr. You can even explore some of Akron’s not-so-famous historic homes, guided by CoolCleveland columnist Claudia Taller.If anything is impending, it’s the upcoming election in November. And with all the doom and gloom caused by the gerrymandered and unconstitutional moves by the state legislature, there is this shining beacon of hope: Get registered and vote. Many key races – for Senate, Governor, State Supreme Court – are in play. Get organized now, so our future will look brighter.
It’s finally here. Thirty-two area bands contributed AC/DC covers so the non-profit Cleveland Verses Foundation could raise money to sell streams, CDs and merch to help fight human trafficking in our region. You can help by listening and making a purchase. Read more.
If you’re like us you don’t want to think about February now. But next year’s Brite Winter Fest is scheduled for February 23 on the West Bank of the Flats. And if you’re a musician who’d like to play, applications are already open. Read more
Unsurprisingly, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has announced that its popular Asian Lantern Festival, slated to close this weekend, will be extended through mid-September. The final event, Wild Ride for Wildlife, a bike ride through the exhibit, takes place September 18. Read more
There’s a lot of history in our backyard even in as modest-seeming a metropolis as the Rubber City. Travel writer Claudia Taller spent a day there and discovered some houses with storied pasts.
While many people are familiar with the sprawling Stan Hywet Home & Garden, she uncovered some information you may not know. And she checked out two more modest homes inhabited in the mid-19th century by important local people. She’s offering a roadmap for a nice little day trip to discover their stories. Read more.
As with many things, The Musical Theater Project’s The Song Is You presentations, which use music, storytelling & visuals to share some aspect of musical theater, have been missing in action for the past two years.They return this week with “For Good: The New Generation of Musicals” featuring selections from modern post-Rent musicals such as Fun Home, Caroline, Or Change, Mr. Saturday Night and Moulin Rouge, and narrative about what makes them different. “For Good” is at the BOP STOP Saturday 8/20 and Sunday 8/21, and Saturday 8/28 at French Creek Theatre in Sheffield. Read more.
Every day brings another scandal. This week, Governor DeWine’s text and email messages show he was directly linked to the $60M First Energy bribery scandal. He kowtows to the radical state legislature and signs bills the majority of Ohioans don’t agree with. He needs to be removed from office.Ohio passed redistricting reform, but the state legislature enacted illegal and unconstitutional maps.They’ve passed radical legislation totally out of step with the will of Ohio voters: criminalizing abortion, loosening gun regulations, censoring classroom speech.
But they can’t gerrymander the statewide elections, because everyone gets to vote. So here’s our strategy: Get REGISTERED, then plan to vote for Tim Ryan for senator, Nan Whaley for governor. Jeff Crossman for Ohio attorney general (see CoolCleveland’s endorsement here), Chelsea Clark for secretary of state, Taylor Sappington for auditor and Scott Schertzer for treasurer. Most importantly, if we elect the three women running for State Supreme Court, JusticeJennifer Brunner, JudgeMarilyn Zayas, and Judge Terri Jamison, we will have built a wall of resistance.
MON 8/22 Come & Make Music Singer/songwriter/guitarist Charlie Mosbrook has been hosting open mic nights for years. He’s just launched one every Monday night at the new Coventry Village maker space, Made Cleveland.
TUE 8/23 Eloquent Buildings Cleveland artist Amy Casey has developed a distinctive style of placing realistic urban buildings in improbable or impossible settings. Her work will go on view at the Canton Museum of Art as one of its four new fall shows.