If you’ve been out of town for the past couple weeks, things have turned upside down. Let’s try to catch you up.BorderLight Theatre Festival is about to kick off four days and nights of indoor and outdoor theatre and fringe performances, the likes of which you probably have never seen. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Dan McCoy has released his 14th album, a Midwest style melange of rock & roll with roots. And like an out-of control tornado, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose may have just purged your name from the voter rolls. But if you act now, you can re-register here. As the national scene spins wildly, we urge you to stay focused on our key local issues and candidates, such as re-electing Senator Sherrod Brown. CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally met with him last week and tells us how much he needs our help, and how important his re-election is.
Violet Edge,a magazine for Cleveland creative arts, throws itself a first birthday party and concert. The annual Greek Festivalat Sts Constantine and Helen Church has some of the best food you’ll ever taste, plus music, dancing and church tours. Cleveland-born Mary Jo Bole has produced a film about her family’s history that will make its Cleveland debut at the Cinematheque. Motorcycle culture is celebrated at Fuel Cleveland. Opera will be heard at the Italian Cultural Garden, polka danced to at the SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, and teens in CPT’s STEP program perform passionately all around the city. It’s enough to make your head swirl.
For one breezy summer day, Detroit Avenue from Belle to Arthur becomes a creative oasis and brings artists together with 15,000 collectors. The juried festival hosts 175 regional and national artisans displaying painting, prints, art glass, ceramics, jewelry and more.
Returning to the festival will be Billy Ritter, featuring handmade ceramics (pictured). Enamellist Emily Joyce creates small sculpture with playfulness and elegance. This year’s stellar jewelry selection includes hand-forged timepieces by Alexander Draven and Mimi Antonetti interpreting variations of European, Persian and Japanese armor styles. Prints and painting include works by George Kocar, Chuck Wimmer and Brian Jasinski. For more information, go to Lakewood ArtsFest.org.
For four days, Playhouse Square will be a mecca for Cleveland theater mavens, as the BorderLight Theatre Festival takes over its indoor and outdoor spaces with four international performances, more than 40 fringe performances, workshops and even a day pf interactive family-friendly activities.
But the word “theater” is little misleading. Don’t expect a bunch of traditional plays. Performances/ events include dance, music, circus acts, poetry, spoken word, storytelling, acrobatics, a film installation, and even “Afghan kite making,” as well as combinations of disciplines. Many deal with serious issues such as LGBTQ and minority rights and mental health; others are strictly entertainment. There’s even a ‘”Peek-a-Booth,” an art vending machine theatergoers can enter to choose the name of an artist and a menu of actions connected to that artist. Read more.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Dan McCoy is well known to local audiences after more than three decades of performing his midwest-style rock & roll with roots influences in area clubs, pubs and other venues. On his newest album, his 14th, called Yellow Creek, he rolls out the mandolin and banjo and finds a more countrified sound that still has that heartland sound. Read more.
As of Monday, July 22, Ohio Secretary of State Frank La Rose has purged over 160,000 Ohio voters from the voting rolls. This may include you if you haven’t voted or requested an absentee ballot or signed a petition in the past four years. Anyone who has been purged can re-register to vote here. Read more.
WED 7/31 Brazilian Beats
Alas, the City Stages global music concerts in Ohio City come to an end this week. But the final performer, Brazil’s Bia Ferreira, should have the street filled with dancers as she unspools music that combines her native beats with contemporary sounds such as hip hop and soul.
Sherrod Brown has served the citizens of Ohio with distinction in the United States Senate since 2007. But this election season, Brown faces the most significant challenge of his long political career. His opponent, Bernie Moreno, is the handpicked choice of former president Donald J. Trump. Moreno made his fortune in the auto industry, first selling GMC vehicles and now Mercedes Benz. He has never served in a political office.
Currently the United States Senate is made up of 49 Republicans, 47 Democrats and four Independents, who usually vote with the Democratic Caucus. The bottom line is that Democrats cannot lose any seats in the Senate. Any loss will turn the control of the Senate over to the Republicans who currently control the House of Representative and the Supreme Court. If former president Trump were to prevail in November’s election, Republicans will control very branch of government. Read more.
