02.06-02.13.19
Truth & Social Justice
We’re all working hard to make this a cooler place to live. Let’s make sure it’s cool for everyone.
Jenna Thomas is our CoolCleveland correspondent and student at CSU who sat down with Chrissy Stonebreaker-Martinez, co-director of the Interreligious Task Force on Central America to talk about the upcoming Social Justice Teach-In: Speaking Truth to Power. The Plain Dealer has laid off half of its unionized workforce, so members of Local No. 1 of the Newspaper Guild are holding their Concert for Truth. Dobama and The Musical Theatre Project explore the impact of Shuffle Along, the first Broadway musical entirely written and performed by African Americans and the first to allow black theatergoers to watch from the orchestra after many years of segregated seating.
The world’s largest tattoo convention returns to Cleveland, and our new PODCAST #19 features an interview with organizer Harrison DeBord of Villain Arts, plus music by Cleveland’s Taylor Lamborn and the Venus Flytraps. Skidmark Garage at the Hamilton Collaborative kicks off the non-profit Motogo bringing classes on motorcycle repair to schools and community centers. moCa celebrates their 50th anniversary with “The New Agency” and turns things over to local creatives and change-makers. It’s the right thing to do. –Thomas Mulready
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The world’s largest tattoo convention tour returns to Cleveland starting Fri 2/8. You can get tattooed by some of the best local, national or international tattoo artists. We’re joined by Harrison DeBord of Villain Arts, the organizer of the tour, and he gives listeners details of the Cleveland Tattoo Arts Convention including how best to arrange getting a tattoo at the show.
Ashley Simons and Marz Rickey of Providence Ink are just two local tattoo artists who will be at the show. We learn how they got involved in tattooing, the rise of tattoos in cosmetic applications, and some of the tattoo styles they steer their clients away from.
And we have music from Cleveland’s Taylor Lamborn and the Venus Flytraps.
Skidmark Garage in the Hamilton Collaborative brought a new idea to Cleveland: a community garage where motorcycle owners could find workspace, tools & friendly advice to work on their rides. But owner Brian Schaffran has even bigger ambitions: he’d like to teach young people to become mechanically savvy. So he’s founded the nonprofit Motogo, which will take classes to schools and community centers.
“If you know how to use your hands to fix and maintain and build,” says Schaffran, “not only do I think it will help the solve the problem of all the disposable items in our society, but just having that confidence to fix the things around you is really an important skill and realization.” There’s a benefit at Skidmark to kickstart the program on Sat 2/9.
When three local art mavens launched what’s now moCa Cleveland 50 years as the New Gallery, their goal was to give art-hungry locals exposure to the work of name artists such as Warhol and Oldenburg. Those were different times indeed. Cleveland now has its own burgeoning art scene, with many area artists getting national exposure and many are places to see art.
So its 50th anniversary celebration “The New Agency,” taking place Sat 2/9, celebrates those local creatives and change-makers, not just in visual art, but in dance, music, poetry, literature, food, entrepreneurialism and even burlesque! There’ll be performances all over the building, and a chance for people to see how the institution had evolved to celebrate what’s coming and not what’s already established.
SPONSORED: {NOW} Fest ’19 features new and world premiere opera, presented by Cleveland Opera Theater, in residence at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Music, February 4 – 10. Includes U.S. orchestral premiere of Jake Heggie’s Newer Every Day and scenes from Griffin Candey’s new opera, House of Bernarda Alba, with acclaimed mezzo-soprano/BW voice professor Nancy Maultsby singing the title role. Free. Info here.
The world is filled with injustice. That’s why the Interreligious Task Force on Central America was founded in 1980, and it’s why their annual Social Justice Teach-In, taking place at Case Western Reserve University, is in its 19th year with no end in sight. This year’s theme is “Speaking Truth to Power,” and involves telling and hearing stories like that of Ansly Damus (pictured), a Haitian refugee who spent two years in the Geauga County jail before being released to live with a couple in Cleveland Heights.
Our reporter Jenna Thomas talks to IRTF co-chair Chrissy Stonebreaker-Martinez to find out about the more than three dozen speakers and workshops people can choose from during this jam-packed day that’s open to all who care about our world and the people in it. Sat 2/9.
People who like to stay informed have watched in dismay over the last few decades at the changes in news delivery, with gossip, celebrity “news” and clickbait supplanting actual reporting, and newspapers shrinking in the face of competition from the Internet. Clevelanders have seen the Plain Dealer downsize, with a newsroom reduced from hundreds to dozens.
Maybe the trajectory is unstoppable, but Plain Dealer Guild members will go down fighting. They’ve put together the Concert for Truth at the Beachland Ballroom Sat 2/9, where artists such as Michael Stanley, Alex Bevan, Diana Chittester, Charlie Mosbrook and many others are getting together to spotlight what’s lost when local news and institutional memory are devalued.
SPONSORED: One of the most accomplished Spanish broadcasters in the U.S., Rafael Hernandez Brito, headlines Baldwin Wallace University’s Tue 2/12 “Conversations in Sport.” The free talk recounts Hernandez Brito’s experience building a personal brand en route to becoming the first broadcaster in the U.S. to call the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. Info here.
The 1921 musical Shuffle Along made Broadway history as the first musical entirely written and performed by African Americans and the first to allow black theatergoers to watch from the orchestra after many years of segregated seating. One of its songwriters was Noble Sissle who graduated from Cleveland’s Central High in 1906.
Karamu has joined with The Musical Theater Project to present a program called “The Impact of Shuffle Along” with Karamu’s Tony Sias and TMTP’s Bill Rudman co-hosting and an all-star cast of local performers including Treva Offutt, Justin Woody, Evelyn Wright, the Joe Hunter Trio and George Foley. Thu 2/7-Sun 2/10.
SPONSORED: The New Agency Celebrate moCa’s 50th anniversary on Sat 2/9 with dozens of the region’s change-makers: artists, DJ’s entrepreneurs, mixologists, writers, educators, filmmakers, ecologists, chefs, activists and technologists. Marjorie Talalay, Nina Sundell and Aggie Gund opened The New Gallery in 1968, which became moCa. Enjoy performances, music, food and drink. Info.
Most of Aesop’s fables featured animals, one of the things that makes them engaging to this day, despite morals that might occasionally induce eyeballing. Akron’s Illusion Factory theater brings some of these fables alive on stage at the Akron Civic Theatre in Aesop’s Animals. Sun 2/10.
Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events
Sandwich Specials: Potato Bacon Bomb, General Tso’s Delicious Manchu Dynasty Melt, Winter Chicken, Maniacal Macaroni & Cheese, plus Chicken Bacon Ranch. Seasonal Sides: Kung Pow Broccoli & Steak House Potatoes. Bread Pudding: CinnaBOMB! Bread Pudding. Beer Feature: 3 Floyds Necron 99. Cocktail Feature: Cupid’s Arrow.
Melt News: Awesome February Beer Features: Jackie O’s Oro Negro on Tue 2/12 at all locations. Melt Bar and Grilled will now refrain from automatically serving a plastic disposable straw with each beverage. Straws will still be available and guests will simply request a straw if they so desire.
There are a lot of us chocoholics out there. Learn the intriguing and complicated history of this delicious treat at a lunch at the Canton Museum of Art, which of course includes chocolate samples. Wed 2/13.
* The film Knife Skills tells the story of EDWINS at Shaker Square and how it trains re-entering felons in upscale food service skills. The film screens at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church with EDWINS’ Brandon Chrostowski on hand to answer questions. Sat 2/9.
* Wine, Cheese & Chocolate, Darling! at the Akron Civic Theatre features 40 wines of all types, paired with chocolates and cheeses. Sat 2/9.
Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.
SPONSORED: Rock Hall Nights: Rock & Roll Valentine From adoration to anger to straight-up stalking (you know who you are), rock songs about relationships can give you and get you through ALL the feels. On Wed 2/13 from 6-9PM, groove to classic slow jams, test your knowledge of rock’s most notorious couples and take on the Love Hurts Scavenger Hunt with your friends. Get tickets here.
Rockabilly trio Lords of the Highway has outlived most Cleveland bands, having formed in 1992. Guitarist/vocalist Dennis A. Bell has led his rocking’ threesome through a series of releases, with the latest, More Rock Than Billy, dropping at the Beachland Tavern Sat 2/9
Read more picks by Anastasia Pantsios here
WED 2/6
Few music legends loom larger than Bob Marley, the king of reggae, born February 6, 1945. Although he died in 1981, his legacy is widely celebrated, with events happening tonight at the Rock Hall (a documentary film screening) and the Grog Shop (live music).
Click here for more events on Wed 2/6
THU 2/7
The newly developed Van Aken District holds its first-ever Winteractive celebration, with interactive outdoor lighting displays and other light-art installations. It kicks off today with live music and family-friendly activities and continues each evening through Sun 2/10.
Click here for more events on Thu 2/7
FRI 2/8
With a “Tribute to Broadway” theme, this year’s Sweetheart Burlesque at the Beachland promises a wide range of show-stopping acts and costumes, from dancing girls to drag queens such as Samantha Echo (pictured).
Click here for more events on Fri 2/8
SAT 2/9
V-Day celebrates the pushback on attacks against women, with performances of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues around the world. The performance at the Magalen in Slavic Village benefits Planned Parenthood which has been under attack in Columbus, with our legislature voting to defund it. Go help them!
Click here for more events on Sat 2/9
SUN 2/10
What could be better on a Sunday than having brunch with other local artists, creative and entrepreneurs? That’s what the Pop Life Brunch at Larchmere Boulevard’s Felice Urban Cafe is all about. There’ll even be art supplies if you want to get creative on the spot.
Click here for more events on Sun 2/10
TUE 2/12
What on earth is a feminist writing coven? It’s a monthly gathering, kicking off this month, of women helping each other to express their feelings, thoughts and experiences in writing. It takes place at Mac’s Backs Books in Coventry Village.
Click here for more events on Tue 2/12
WED 2/13
The Rock Hall Nights series takes on a Valentine theme as visitors get to take a quiz on famous rock & roll couples, go on a Love Hurts scavenger hunt and listen to some of the most romantic slow jams rock has produced.
Click here for more events on Wed 2/13
Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com
For nine years I had dedicated my work life to becoming an outstanding employee of a large public utility. However, in spite of the fact I was training men under me to promote over me, and was told I was far and away the best candidate, I couldn’t be promoted simply because of the color of my skin. No shit! I was told exactly that…
* Northam: Stuck on Stupid Until Northam pulled the old switcheroo and claimed it wasn’t him, I was toying with the notion of forgiving him for his past racist behavior. I admit I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of forgiving a man for something he did in his mid 20s…
* Why I Won’t Be Watching the Super Bowl When football comes up in conversation I usually say that I quit watching the Browns when they traded Paul Warfield, which just goes to show how long I can hold a grudge. But the real reason I boycott the sport…
Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here
A look back at the last week
Submit your own review or commentary to Events@CoolCleveland.com
THEATER REVIEW: Miss Saigon @ Playhouse Square by Laura Kennelly
THEATER REVIEW: Miss Saigon @ Playhouse Square by Roy Berko
THEATER REVIEW: Freaky Friday @ Lakeland Civic Theatre by Roy Berko
Read and comment here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog
Do the right thing,
–Thomas Mulready
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