Our hearts go out to those suffering increasingly severe weather disasters, and we look forward to eventually welcoming legions of climate refugees to our relatively mild shores. We will need bold visions, and fortunately we have recently elected strong local leadership to inspire the hard work that will be necessary to rise to the top. In fact, we’re in better shape than we’ve been in a generation to see our region meet its potential. So let’s not blow it.Early voting has begun in Ohio so make a plan to vote early: vote by mail, early in-person, or on Election Day. Now’s the time to follow the example of Michigan and pass Issue 1 (vote YES) to end gerrymandering and to align our state representatives with the will of the people (read the CoolCleveland coverage here). The film Slay The Dragon tells this inspirational story, and is showing for free this week at the West Shore Universalist Unitarian Church. Watch this space for future endorsements and coverage encouraging your support for the amazing Senator Sherrod Brown (here and here), the three Democratic Ohio Supreme Court candidates Donnelly, Stewart & Forbes (here), and YES on Issue 55 for the renewal of the cigarette tax to support arts & culture.
The latest class of stars (rock and otherwise) are headed to Cleveland in about a week for their Rock Hall induction, and the festivities begin now. BOP STOP lights ten candles for their decade of jazz and education (and sometimes David Bowie). Better World Day helps point the way for tech to help, not hurt humanity.
Stepping to the front of the class are some of our brightest: CoolCleveland writer and photographer Bruce Checefsky shows his abstract photography, the CBG helps you heal through nature (not CBD), Kent celebrates their LGBTQIA+ community, CMA shows off Korean Couture, the Riverdog Barn harmonizes with a vocal trio, and the Clean House benefit raises money for men in recovery.
World-class outdoor adventures await: Get ready for ski season at Brandywine’s big fall fest, Holden hosts a Fall Forest Fest, Ashtabula County mounts a covered bridge fest, and Geauga County has built their own full-fledged day-long Wild Maple Music Fest, and all six headlining bands are female-fronted. It’s getting crowded up here at the top.
Join us for the Cleveland Arts Prize 2024 Annual Awards Event, presented by the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thu 10/24, 2024, at Tri-C Eastern Campus for an unforgettable evening of celebration, honoring some of Northeast Ohio’s exceptionally talented artists and most influential cultural leaders:
Amber N. Ford, Photographer; Clint Needham, Ph.D., Music Composer; Barbara Bosworth, Photographer; Shannon Morris, Executive Director and Founder, Artful Cleveland; Dr. Ronald and Eugenia Strauss, Founders, CityMusic Cleveland; Ellen Stirn Mavec, President and Chairman, The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation.
Emceed by Ideastream’s Kabir Bhatia, the evening will also feature performances by world-renowned harpist Yolanda Kondonassis (CAP 2011) and the exhilarating choreography of Heinz Poll (CAP 1995) performed by the Ohio Contemporary Ballet (formerly known as Verb Ballet). The evening will also include a tribute to four CAP winners who have had meaningful careers in the arts — John Ewing (CIA Cinematheque), Charles Fee (Great Lakes Theater) Marcie Goodman (Cleveland International Film Festival), and David Shimotakahara (Groundworks DanceTheater). Tickets here.
Summer’s all wound down and most of the local outdoor music festivals and series are over until next year. But there’s one more you should know about that’s been slowly growing out in Geauga County. It emerged from a small event called Love Fest in Chardon when area folk/bluegrass musician Lea Marra took it over from its retiring founders a decade ago. She’s built it into a full-day, multi-act celebration.
“Our whole basis of the festival is to celebrate original music, to have that shine and to have people experience it,” she says. It features 17 area artists. including her own band Lea Marra & the River Boys, and she proudly boasts that all six of the final bands are female-fronted. In addition to music, the festival features food trucks, vendors, a tie-dye station, yoga, kids’ storytelling and a bubbling show by Dr. U.R. Awesome. Read more.
In the not-too-recent past, Michigan was a state controlled by one political party, thanks to gerrymandered districts which gave it far more power than its percentage of the vote. Thanks to activist Katie Fahey who founded Voters Not Politicians, Michigan now has fairer and more representative government. The film, Slay the Dragon, screening for free Saturday October 12 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, shares her story and hopefully will inspire Ohioans to vote YES on Issue 1 this fall to undo gerrymandering in our state. Read more.
Early voting has started in Ohio. You can now vote at your county’s designated early voting location (in Cuyahoga County it’s the Board of Elections). Before you go you can log onto your BoE website and get a sample ballot so you can research that long list of judges you’ll see when you get there and know what issues are on the ballot. Don’t read the Issue 1 language though — it’s packed with lies to cause you to oppose it. Just vote YES. Read more.
MON 10/14 Free to Read
The new head of the American Library Association will talk about the role of libraries in promoting diversity and community engagement and protecting democracy at the Cleveland Public Library.
TUE 10/15 BOP STOP Birthday
Ten years ago, the original owners of the jazz venue, the BOP STOP, donated the facility to the nonprofit Music Settlement. It’s celebrating the anniversary all week with a variety of shows, starting tonight with monthly improv jazz Outlab.* Better World Day explores ways to use technology with compassion.
