Winter is no longer a time to hibernate in NEO, so get ready to celebrate local music at Brite Winter Fest this Saturday. If you’re an artist, look into applying to the Lakewood Arts Festival, where proceeds support scholarships and art programs. Screen some short, sweet films in downtown Cleveland, hear a photographer talk about his images of Black childhood in Youngstown, check out seven Oberlin faculty members at a free concert in Rocky River, or jump on the Akron Soul Train. Why is Cleveland still the poorest big city in America, even after decades of investment and programs? Join Cleveland’s new mayor Justin Bibb and other civic leaders in a virtual forum hosted by the Levin School of Urban Affairs and PolicyBridge and explore resetting the table.
Then read CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally’s review of the new book White Lies by A.J. Baime and get up to speed on the history of Walter F. White, who fought against lynching in our country in the 1930s and 40s. And to think, because of Senator Rand Paul, lynching still isn’t a federal crime. You see, there’s time to explore, and then there’s time to take action.
Cleveland’s biggest winter festival, Brite Winter, returns to the West Bank of the Flats this Sat 2/26, where it’s taken place since 2016 after moving from Ohio City. Last year’s pandemic festival was mini, but this year, it’s back to full size, with food, drink, art installations and, for those who don’t like cold, giant bonfires.The centerpiece is the four outdoor stages hosting more than 30 bands—mostly local. There’ve been periodic conversations about how Cleveland needs a big music festival with name bands. But we should appreciate that an almost-all-local lineup offers equally high-quality music. Read More
Most everyone around here has heard that Cleveland now ranks as the country’s poorest big city, despite a couple of decades of initiatives, conferences and task forces talking about the city’s future in rosy, upbeat terms. Now what do we do?On Mon 2/28 the Levin School of Urban Affairs, which educates people to answer that question, joins with PolicyBridge, which addresses African-American issues, to present a virtual forum called “Resetting the Table: Creating an Urban Equity Agenda,” addressing the area’s social and economic challenges. Panelists include Cleveland’s new mayor, Justin Bibb, and other civic leaders. Will they have answers? We’ll see. Read More
Now in the planning stages, University Circle is planning a Jesse Owens Plaza in Rockefeller Park to honor the East Tech grad who won four golds in the 1936 Olympic Games. They’re currently looking for public input, some of which will be incorporated into the project’s public art. Read More
Imagine one little nonprofit being able to save half a million animals from euthanasia! That’s basically what Euclid-based low-cost spay/neuter clinic PetFix, performing its 100,000 surgery this week, does, by preventing the birth of that many surplus puppies and kittens. Read More
The juried Lakewood Arts Festival, which features 170+ artists, returns on Sat 8/6. Applications for a booth space are open now through Tue 3/15. Read More
Cleveland Shops, a group of independent local brick-and-mortar retailers, is offering its first quarter gift certificate sale, starting Thu 2/24. Read More
A. J. Baime tells the story of Walter F. White, the executive secretary of the NAACP from 1929 to 1955. What makes the book unique is Baime’s ability to blend White’s life story with the tragic history of lynching in America.
At the same time, he chronicles the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance and how a man who was one of the most prominent spokespersons for African Americans in the 1930s and 1940s has been seemingly swept into the dustbin of history. Read More
