We found ourselves on 77 and drove until it ended, somewhere on the busy streets of Cleveland. It was going to be a warm summer week, and we glanced nervously at each other, wondering how we’d pass the time. We saw that 10 (!) different neighborhoods had organized a Garden Walk, so we strolled the front and backyards. picking up tips for our own little yard back home. We didn’t know there was a national park between Akron & Cleveland, but we cruised through to see a cool poetry installation by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.Of course we hit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and were happy to see that some local bands were serenading visitors like us: Maura Rogers and the Bellows and Charity Evonna. Then we headed along the coast to hear reggae in Fairport Harbor, right on a lake that, I swear, looked as big as an ocean.
In fact, there was music everywhere: someone told us about Middle Bass Island just a few miles west of town that was putting on a family-friendly music festival. Closer to home in Ohio City we caught two eclectic Wednesday concerts: a Mexican electronic/Latin roots artist named Pahua and a week later, Haitian-Canadian musician Wesli, for free at a sweet open air street party. At the other end of the spectrum, the famous Cleveland Orchestra was playing Eastern European music led by a young female conductor from Ukraine. In fact, the whole city felt like a bustling mid-sized European capital with a schizophrenic identity complex. In a good way.
But there was more. We tasted Italian food and culture at Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s Italian Festival, we saw the work of 140 artists at the Cain Park Arts Festival, and we found ourselves back on that massive lakeshore doing yoga. And the place never sleeps: we danced to jazz & funk at the Akron Art Museum’s Downtown @ Dusk concert, then went shopping at the City Goods Night Market in Hingetown. Call us impressed AF, but we were basking in the summer heat and the bizarre thrill of non-stop non-mainstream culture. That interesting statue on the Mall that reaches to the sky haunted us all week. We’re def coming back, but first we’re going home to rest up.
The William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage series returns the Maltz Performing Arts Center this fall with visits from Bridgerton creator Julia Quinn, filmmaker/author Miranda July (All Fours), Dr. Abraham Verghese (The Covenant of Water), Shelby Van Pelt (Remarkably Bright Creatures), Tommy Orange (There, There), Kaveh Akbar (Martyr!) and Erik Larson (Demon of Unrest). Presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and its academic partner Case Western Reserve University. Read more.
If one musician could be said to have captured the spirit of the Lake Erie summer resort island of Put-in-Bay in his music, it was Patrick Huston Dailey, a fixture in the island’s summertime bars for four decades. His songs addressed drinking and partying, fishing and boating, and the sheer joy of being on the water in the summer. He was often dubbed the honorary “Mayor of Put-in-Bay.” He became so addicted to resort life he started spending winters at Key West.
A few years ago, as he approached 80, he retired from his regular summertime grind. But his music created a template that many other singer-songwriters followed when they took up residence at the island’s bars during the season. They keep his legacy alive, as do his many recordings, including several he did with legendary songwriter Shel Silverstein. His voice will always be in the wind that blows off Lake Erie across South Bass Island. Read more.
Does the natural world feel fleeting to you now? People are paying more attention. When we walk on trails, we do a lot more than walk; when we sit on our backyard deck, we do a lot more than sit. We plant native plants and let our lawns fill with dandelions and tall grasses. The more we know, the more environmentally aware we become.
Phone apps help. We don’t just say, “Is that the invasive plant that looks like a dandelion?” We take a photo and, in an amazing recent change in technology, our phones tell us that we need to pull the offending plant. Same thing with the birds — the Merlin app. Before the official Ohio Bird Week, we spotted orange orioles, yellow goldfinches and Cape May warblers, but Merlin heard Magnolia warblers, warbling vireos and American redstarts. Our “normal” birds — cardinals, robins, wrens, sparrows, finches, and bluejays — made a good showing during the migration time. Good thing we had Merlin; the trees had already filled in with leaves. Read more.
A couple of years ago the annual Cleveland Photo Fest hosted a show called Going to the Dogs. Cat lovers hissed and growled until the organizers were forced to announce that this year’s festival, taking place in September, will feature a show called Catography. And yes, your cat can be in it. The deadline for submissions is July 21, so start going through the 10,000 cat photos in your phone and pick the cutest. If you can. Read more.
Youngstown band the Vindys, fronted by dynamic, soulful vocalist Jackie Popovec, have been growing their regional fan base for the last five or six years and opened some shows locally to significant headliners. Now one of those headliners they opened for — Pat Benatar, whom Popover cites as an influence — is taking the band on tour from coast to coast as their opening act. This week, July 10, they’re at the MGM stage here in Northfield. Read more.
MON 7/15 Rock That Mic
This month’s Cleveland Rocks workshop looks at handheld mics and gives musicians a chance to try out different mics. After the talk, four rappers will perform a pair of songs apiece.
TUE 7/16 Open-Air Yoga
The Tuesday evening North Coast Namasté free yoga classes at Voinovich Park offer the chance to shed your tension with some stretching and some fresh lake air.
