07.25-08.01.2018 Whipping

07.25-08.01.18
Whipping

Whip your summer good with the recommendations below. Serial entrepreneur Steve Presser moves from Coventry to a new collaborative venture with B.A. Sweetie, and it’s amazing. DEVOtional 2018 honors Akron’s ironic iconic band. OLO takes light opera seriously, and CoolCleveland gets up close and personal with Alice Cooper.

It’s time for Pezmania, Summers@Severance, the Fam Jam, Burger Week Cleveland, Summer in the City, and the return of The O’Jays. There’s a Russian festival in Parma, a Spring Awakening at NWT, an opera in the Italian Garden, a Wizardly World of Harry Potter in Kent, more Rooms To Let in Slavic Village, and huge county fairs in Medina and Lake Counties. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t whip yourself into a frenzy. –Thomas Mulready

Subscribe to CoolCleveland here
Download our free mobile apps for Apple and Android
Get help receiving the CoolCleveland e-blast here
Photo by Anastasia Pantsios
CoolCleveland is dedicated to George Nemeth

Whip your communications into shape Consider CoolCleveland Sponsored Links, Sponsored Features and Sponsored Videos. Info@CoolCleveland.com

Toys and Sweets, the Perfect Kid Combo

Steve Presser, owner of the beloved Coventry Village vintage toy store Big Fun, which closed in June after more than 25 years, always had another trick up his sleeve. While customers were bemoaning Big Fun’s approaching closing, he was making plans for his next act.

It’s now here. He’s joined with Tom Scheiman of B.A. Sweetie Candy Company to open Sweeties Big Fun in the new Pinecrest shopping center in Orange. The candy/popcorn/soda fountain offerings are enhanced with greeting cards, Cleveland memorabilia and gag gifts. So it’s still all about big fun for all ages!

SPONSORED: See 7 musical gems in rep thru 8/11 at The Ohio Light Opera’s Freedlander Theatre at the College of Wooster: Adler and Ross’s The Pajama Game, Rodgers and Hart’s Babes in Arms, Cole Porter’s Fifty Million Frenchmen, Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, Jacques Offenbach’s La Perichole, and Franz Lehar’s Cloclo. Order your tickets today! Call 330-263-2345 or visit OhioLightOpera.org.

Whipping Up the Devo Faithful

The almost-annual DEVOtionals attract Devo fans from all over the country. The conceptual art-punk band, which began more than 45 years ago at Kent State, still has a following that shares its unique outlook and smart, snarky attitude.

Taking place mostly at the Beachland, the event features Devo-inspired bands, a 5K race, videos and Devo co-founder Jerry Casale, who talks to our reporter John Benson about why it means so much to him to attend almost every year and what he’d like to see Devo do in the future. Fri 7/27-Sun 7/29.

SPONSORED: Summer in the City Showcasing exceptional female talent onstage – from punk to alternative and country and every sound in between. For five weeks starting Wed 7/25 featuring FreshProduce with DJ Red-I, all the way through Wed 8/22, head to the Rock Hall plaza on Wednesday nights from 7PM to 9PM. Details.

Sounds of Summer Enhance Holden Arboretum

Join Holden Arboretum for their popular garden concert series and enjoy the music of great local bands surrounded by the beauty of the Arboretum. Guest seating is on the lawn, so bring a blanket or lawn chair. Concerts start at 7PM. Bring a picnic supper or purchase something tasty.

Concerts are free for members. Nonmembers can take advantage of our $5 after 5PM admission on Tuesdays now through Tue 08.07 during the concert series. Enjoy bluegrass from The Next Nolan (pictured) on Tue 7/24, CIM violin & guitar on Tue 7/31 and CIM bassoon with woodwinds on Tue 8/7. Details

Recall Should Not Be an Election Reset

Eight months after TJ Dow was unseated as Ward 7 councilman by Basheer Jones, his supporters are now circulating petitions for a recall election – something there are no grounds for except Dow’s desire to have his old job back.

Our columnist Ellen Connally examines Cleveland’s recall rules and points out ways they could be improved to avoid the sort of frivolous, sour-grapes, time- and resource-wasting challenges Dow’s supporters are mounting.

SPONSORED: Content Marketing World is back for an 8th year! All the coolest marketers, PR and communications practitioners, and journalists from Northeast Ohio and beyond (50+ countries!) will convene in our hometown for the largest content marketing event on the planet. Learn how to attract and retain your customers through epic content marketing. Code COOLCLE saves $100! Register now!

Admitting Work Mistakes

One of the most upsetting experiences on the job is making a mistake, especially one that’s costly in terms of money or client satisfaction. But don’t panic – mistakes don’t usually have to cost you your job or career, and they can be opportunities for growth and learning if handled correctly.

In her latest piece, Alex Sukhoy outlines a plan of action – five specific steps to take upon realizing you’ve screwed up. And despite what you might hear in the news, they don’t involve lying about or denying the mistake or blaming someone else! “Learn from the experience and be better next time,” she reminds us. “Realize that human error is just that: it’s human.”

SPONSORED: Birds Beasts Brats & Beer Join the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for our annual 21+ party in the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden – Presented by KeyBank – to benefit the live animals that call the Museum home. The event on Fri 7/27 from 5:30-10PM features bratwursts grilled hot and refreshingly cold brews from Great Lakes Brewing Company, and stars the Museum’s live animal ambassadors! CMNH.org.

The Whole Family Rocks

The Rock Hall’s Fam Jam has plenty of things for kids and their parents to do, ranging from listening to live music to designing their own album covers to chasing down Dr. UR Awesome’s bubbles to getting a music-themed face paintings they’ll be reluctant to wash off. And it’s all free. Sat 7/28.

* The Maltz Museum tells the story of immigrants through a child’s eyes at its family fun day. Sun 7/29.

Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events

SPONSORED: Enjoy Lakewood Arts Festival on Sat 8/4 from 10AM-6PM featuring over 175 regional and national artists: George Kocar and Brian Jasinski of Grey Cardigan, sculptor Gianni Chesnick, ceramicist Yumiko Goto, metalsmith Heather Smotzer and painter Bethany Crum. Plus music from Punch Drunk Tagalongs, Senegalese drummer Assane M’baye, Luca Mundaca with Alexis Antes, Chris Allen and more. LakewoodArtsFest.org

The humble (and these days often not-so-humble) burger is the backbone of American diner cuisine, and it’s infiltrated into fine dining as well. For a whole week, more than two dozen area restaurants will be offering distinctive takes on the classic during Cleveland Burger Week. Mon 7/30-Sun 8/5.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.

VIDEO: Alice Cooper & Dennis Dunaway at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

As Alice Cooper launches his newest pinball machine, Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle, he visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with bassist and co-writer Dennis Dunaway as part of the Rock Hall’s new exhibit Part of the Machine: Rock and Pinball. Catch our exclusive CoolCleveland video.

Alice and Dennis are also exhibiting their 1971 “electric chair” (made of 2X4’s) from their theatrical rock shows, and a valuable red Andy Warhol silkscreen print of Little Electric Chair from his Disaster Series, that Alice had received as a gift in the 1970’s and had forgotten he owned.

All are on display at the Rock Hall, along with more than a dozen pinball machines from KISS, Dolly Parton, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Elton John, The Who, and more, including the original acoustic guitar that Pete Townsend wrote and recorded Pinball Wizard on.

If you find the drive out to Blossom Music Center daunting, you can once again hear the Cleveland Orchestra in town at Summers@Severance. You’ll hear a Brahms symphony and have the chance to hang out and have drinks and appetizers before and after the concert. Fri 7/27

* The Akron Symphony sets out on a four-week our of local parks, starting with Hardesty Park. Sun 7/29.

* Ohio Light Opera hosts a four-day symposium for those who want to know more about the art form. Tue 7/31-Fri 8/3.

* Apollo’s Fire takes its audience outdoors at the Laurel School for a concert and picnic. Sun 7/29.

* Canton hitmakers the O’Jays bring their 60-year history to Cain Park. Fri 7/27.

WED 7/25
Learn about some of the African-American leaders who are helping to shape Cleveland and build bridges with other communities in a panel discussion tonight at the Maltz Museum.

* Puerto Rican salsa ensemble plays City Stages free concert in the street in Ohio City.

* The Rock Hall’s free Summer in the City concerts start tonight with Cleveland hip-hop duo FreshProduce.

* The Lake County Fair continues through Sun 7/29 with a Demo Derby, drag racing and Jungle Terry.

Click here for more events on Wed 7/25

THU 7/26
There’s always been a certain romantic allure around transportation, the promise of going someplace new. The Akron Art Museum’s Planes Trains and Automobiles, opening today, shows how artists looked the subject.

* The CAN Triennial wraps up with three concerts and its prize announcements. Through Sat 7/28.

* Ex-Clevelander Clarence Bucaro comes to the Beachland with his brand-new album.

* Pez fanatics gather in Independence for Pezamania, the world’s largest Pez convention, through Sat 7/29.

Click here for more events on Thu 7/26

FRI 7/27
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s fundraising party gives adults the chance to hang out with the animals in the Wildlife Center and learn more about them, while enjoying beer, wine and bratwurst.

* The Avon Summer Market offers vintage and handcrafted finds and helps those in need. Also tomorrow.

* Food, drink, dance and music are on tap at the Russian festival in Parma. Through Sun 7/29.

* Near West Theatre tackles difficult issues in Spring Awakening. Through Sun 8/12.

* Otep Shamaya brings her fiery music to the Odeon as she takes on Trump in Kult 45.

* Feel the heat at the Van Aken district’s summer barbecue.

* Fuel Cleveland hosts two-wheel races at the Wolstein Center tonight and an all-day motorcycle expo at the Hamilton Collaborative tomorrow.

Click here for more events on Fri 7/27

SAT 7/28
There’s beauty in decay. For the fifth year, Rooms to Let CLE takes over condemned houses in Cleveland’s Slavic Village and unleashes teams of artists to create temporary works that focus not only on decay but also on the possibilities for revival. Also tomorrow.

* The wizardly world of Kent lures Harry Potter fans.

* Nashville Americana band Wild Ponies returns to Riverdog Barn.

* The Cleveland Orchestra fills the Blossom summer night with Mozart and Brahms.

* Check out a colony of entrepreneurs and artists at the Hildebrandt Building’s Walk the Hill.

* The ladies of black baseball are in a league of their own at the Baseball Heritage Museum.

Click here for more events on Sat 7/28

SUN 7/29
Opera in the Italian Garden has become a huge draw, as people converge on he Rockefeller Park location to spread out the contents of their picnic baskets and listen to professional singers deliver familiar arias and popular tunes.

* See a film about animal abuse at the Cedar Lee and help support local spay-neuter clinic PetFix.

* Four Cleveland artists display their mindful practices at the Beachwood Community Center, through Sat 8/18.

Click here for more events on Sun 7/29

MON 7/30
The Medina County Fair has all the usual stuff: unhealthy food, tractor pulls, demolition derbies, country music, animals, large vegetables. But this year it has something no 4-H kid raised: animatronic dinosaurs. Through Sun 8/5.

* Maple Lanes kicks off the week with experimental noise acts from Oakland, Milwaukee, Akron and Cleveland.

Click here for more events on Mon 7/30

TUE 7/31
Kicking off Lit Cleveland’s annual INKubator is tonight’s book swap party at Ohio City’s Market Garden Brewery. There’ll also be live readings to launch the five-day whirl of literary activities. Through Sat 8/4.

* Cleveland Public Theatre’s STEP program brings teen-created theater to area parks, through Fri 8/10.

Click here for more events on Tue 7/31

WED 8/1
Few baseball legends loom larger than Babe Ruth. Why does he still fascinate us? Author Jerry Amernic shares ideas he explores in his book A Superstar’s Legacy at the Baseball Heritage Museum.

* Nashville’s Bully and Cleveland’s Punch Drunk Tagalongs perform for the Rock Hall’s Summer in the City.

* Watch It Wednesday returns to 78th Street Studios with more creative experiences.

Click here for more events on Wed 8/1

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

A Fake Terrorist

This dude is completely institutionalized; he’d love nothing better than for a judge to give him a life sentence. But this time when he enters prison he’ll be at the top of the pecking order – a bona fide bad-ass terrorist…

Read stories from Mansfield Frazier here