Just when you think you deserve a breather, here comes another summer week with more cool events than one person can even wrap their head around, let alone consider attending. Whether it’s a joyful Juneteenth, Cleveland History Days, Reggae on the Water, Yoga on solstice, Workman’s Circle at Cain Park, touring the underbelly of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, or the return of Wade Oval Wednesdays, you’ll exhaust yourself trying to do it all. And you should.We can’t let it rest. CoolCleveland contributor Bruce Checefsky writes about the long and painful year he has experienced since the passing of his wife, artist Tina Cassara. CoolCleveland CULTURATI columnist Liz Maugansgets it right when she explores how artists in our region, dealing with fear & fragmentation, perpetually find the inspiration to create new stages, salons and movements, even using rest as resistance. Take a deep breath.
One show: two acts at the Tri-C JazzFest, presented by KeyBank, on Sat 6/28 at 2PM, Dominick Farinacci celebrates Cleveland’s saxophone dynasty with Ernie Krivda, Howie Smith and Ken LeeGrand, who have helped shape the sound of the Cleveland music community for more than 50 years. The concert also features the next generation of young artists from Cleveland: bassist Jordan McBride, drummer Gabe Jones and percussionist Patrick Graney.
The second half of the program will pay tribute to the decades-long partnership of Chick Corea and Gary Burton, featuring two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti and Christian Tamburr, an internationally acclaimed vibraphonist, pianist, composer and arranger. Tickets here.
A year ago this week, I wrote a story about my wife’s experience with the healthcare system after falling down the stairs and sustaining a traumatic brain injury. Her injury, and the surgery that followed, proved fatal. Tina Cassara died on June 17, 2024.
I wish, in the year since, that I could forgive the medical system that treats patients with callous care (not every hospital in my experience, but certainly my wife’s situation) and puts money before patients. I received dozens of emails and text messages after CoolCleveland published my articleNightmare Journey Through Cleveland’s “World Class” Healthcare Systemlast year. I can tell you this much: I was not alone. Read more.
We are living in an era of franticness, fear and fragmentation.In this chaos, creatives are reaching inward and outward—trying to understand how their talents, vision, and soulfulness can not only express what’s happening, but disrupt it—while staying healthy. Countless creatives have asked me “How can I do something in this noise?” “How can I stay connected—to others and to myself while all these systems unravel?”
Cleveland’s cultural history—marked by resistance, reinvention and grassroots imagination—has been a vital source of inspiration revealed countless times. Collective creativity has always been a form of care, connection and clarity. From warehouse galleries (Art Without Walls, Summit Artspace) to front-porch concerts (Larchmere Porchfest, Highland Square’s Porchrokr), to cultural street events (Akron Pride, Hessler Street Fair), this region reminds us: when institutions fail, we make our own stages, our own salons and our own movements. Read more.
Once again, Tri-C JazzFest has a packed, diverse lineup of mostly local artists performing on a big outdoor stage, while concerts are going on indoors in the various Playhouse Square theaters. The outdoor stage will be bopping both Fri 6/27 and Sat 6/28, with the same headliners as recent years — why mess with success? — feel-good reggae band Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band on Friday and Sammy DeLeon’s steamy Latin jazz orchestra on Saturday. Both will have the intersection of Euclid and East 14th vibrating with a sea of dancers. Read more.
Neighborhood Pets was founded to provide basic pet care to low-income cat and dog owners so that they wouldn’t be forced to give up their animal friends to make ends meet. Among other things, they offer a pet food pantry, which you can help fill by bringing donations to “stuff the pod” located behind their Slavic Village offices. Read more.
The Cleveland Federal Reserve’s policy summit is a community development conference focused on both policy and practical responses to challenges faced by low- and moderate-income communities, with attendees including experts from across the country. For this year’s 17th summit, the theme is “Building Strong and Sustainable Communities.” It will look at research and strategies being proposed to address housing, the workforce, and economic development. Read more.
THIS WEEK
WED 6/18 Wade Oval Welcome
One of the area’s most enjoyable free outdoor events is the weekly Wade Oval Wednesdays which start this week with soul music from the Stix Band, hip-hop from Free Black! and the mighty Shaw High School Marching Band.* Three diverse writers read their work at Loganberry Books.
MON 6/23 Solstice Stretch
On the longest day of the year, join an outdoor yoga class at Cuyahoga Valley National Park where you can spread your mat within earshot of rustling leaves and soak in a glorious sunset as you stretch.
Residents of Cuyahoga County have probably driven by the office of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner, located on Cedar Avenue at the intersection of University Circle, and wonder what happens there. Or they learn that a body “had to go to the coroner’s office,” and don’t understand why. If you fall into either of these categories, then you are a prime candidate for the Citizens Academy, offered twice yearly by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.
The Citizens Academy is a twelve-week program that meets on consecutive Thursday evenings from 6-8pm at the office of the County Medical Examiner. Participants are selected by the staff, and for the latest class, 368 people applied. I was fortunate enough to be selected. Caveat: This is not an experience for the faint of heart. The first session involved a tour of the receiving room where 8 or 10 newly deceased people were in plain view. If you are one of those people who are “freaked out by dead people,” this is not for you. Read more.
