We’re exploding on the North Coast this week, from local artisans & live music across from the West Side Market, to Native Plant Bingo or walking the nature trails at Shaker Lakes with your pup, to food & tunes on the CBG terrace to a musical story of Siamese twins at Porthouse to four days of alternative theater at pop-ups around PHS, to Carl Baldassarre’s uncanny rock orchestra lifting classic rock to the heavens.
We honor our independence with fireworks at Blossom, Larry Doby breaking the color barrier, more fireworks at Lock 3 in Akron with burgers & BBQ, the 100th Mount Carmel Italian Festival in Gordon Square, and more fireworks at Geneva-On-The-Lake and Put-In-Bay. CoolCleveland correspondent Bruce Checefsky attends a City of Cleveland arts feedback meeting that left artists scratching their heads and playing with fidget spinners and Post-It Notes.
We spoke with Chris Ronayne on the Detroit Superior Veterans Memorial Bridge, open to the public and open to suggestions about its future, with a nod to Ingenuity Fest that enlivened the lower level some 15 years ago. If you have recollections of the early years of Ingenuity, hit me up at INFO@CoolCleveland.com with your photos & video & memories for an archive project I’m planning for the fall. And join us in Akron & Cleveland for a celebration of David Bowie with Billy Bass, Anastasia Pantsios, Time Cat, Cowboy Princess Brigade and Mourning [A] BLK star. It will be a blast.
-Thomas Mulready