06.07-06.14.17
First Timer
You always remember your first time.We welcome the first-ever family-friendly Put-In-Bay Music Festival, Playhouse Square’s new AHA! Festival, and Lose Your Marbles, a brand-new fringe-style dance festival.
We’re excited to host Dancing Wheels’ Best of Bowie benefit at Nautica, to hear the latest New Ghosts jazz tribute to Cleveland legend Albert Ayler, and to visit the new VNTG Home resale shop at Tyler Village.
And we’ll try to make time this week for the 17th Int’l Guitar Fest, ContempOpera’s new Incubator Series, Uno Lady at Transformer Station, the Sow and Grow Festival, the Hudson Art Hop, Taste of Lakewood, Paws 4 a Cause, Classical Revolution, LaureLive and A Very Hawaiian Death Metal Show. There’s a first time for everything. –Thomas Mulready
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Last summer, Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels, which has earned national acclaim for its blend of “standup” and “sit-down” dancers, was set to debut a new piece titled “Labyrinth: A Tribute,” based on the 1986 film starring David Bowie, at Cain Park. The weather had other plans.
But that offered a great opportunity for the company to roll it out for Clevelanders as part of a Bowie-themed fundraise “The Best of Bowie,” taking place at Nautica’s Jacobs Pavilion. The evening will include several other new Bowie-inspired dances, host and MC Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland and a performance by glam-inspired Cleveland band Vanity Crash. John Benson talks to company founder/director Mary Verdi-Fletcher about how it came together. Steve Sucato gives us more details about the dances. Sat 6/10.
It’s a major week for first-time events in NE Ohio. One of those is the Arts and Humanities Alive (AHA!) Festival, a collaboration of Cleveland State University and PlayhouseSquare. You’ll find everything from an all-day outdoor book festival to speakers such as Isabel Wilkson (The Warmth of Other Suns) and actress/East Cleveland native Yvette Nicole Brown (pictured) who delivers the keynote address to a free public dance lesson from Dancing With the Stars‘ Karina Smirnoff.
John Benson chats with festival director Katie Shames to learn the who, what, where, when, why and how this festival came about. Wed 6/7-Fri 6/9.
The 2017 Tri-C JazzFest is jam-packed from Thu 6/22 through Sat 6/24 with big names, up-and-comers, and legends. The huge outdoor Strassman Insurance Stage will feature local music of all sorts, along with food trucks, arts & crafts, KidBop and amusement alley, plus a new Jazz Talk Tent. Artists include: Terence Blanchard, Kenny Barron, Ravi Coltrane, Boney James, Norman Brown, Alicia Olatuja, Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Anat Cohen Choro Aventuroso, Diego Figueiredo featuring John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, Kamasi Washington, Boz Scaggs, and Catherine Russell.
Listen as CoolCleveland talks with festival director Terri Pontremoli & project manager Mike Shirtz under the chandelier at Playhouse Square as they give us the low down on the 2017 Tri-C JazzFest.
It’s no surprise that Bobby Wesner, artistic director of young northeast Ohio dance company Neos Dance Theatre, is the driving force behind Lose Your Marbles, a brand-new “fringe”-style dance festival. Sat 6/10.
The one-day event, taking place in the Trolley Barn is downtown Akron, spotlights edgy, emerging artists and ensembles (much like Neos itself) from around the country, such as Mansfield native Terk Lewis Waters (pictured) whose “liquidity and muscularity” have earned him national raves, and Chicago’s Lucky Plush ensemble. Nearly 20 artists & groups will perform in the raw, repurposed urban space.
SPONSORED: See 7 musical gems in rep thru 8/12 at The Ohio Light Opera at Freedland Theatre at the College of Wooster: Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Gershwins’ Primrose, Romberg’s The Student Prince, Kalman’s Countess Maritza, and Herbert’s The Lady of the Slipper. Order your tickets today! Call 330-263-2345 or visit OhioLightOpera.org.
Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island has long been known for its weekend party warriors but it’s working hard to make people aware that it has much more to offer than humungous bars and Pat Dailey-like performers singing about getting drunk and screwing. Sat 6/10.
Hence the debut of the free, family-friendly Put-in-Bay Music Festival outdoors at the Perry Peace Memorial. It will feature both young, up-and-coming performers such as Emily Keener and veterans, including a special appearance by the legendary Dailey himself, who has retired from his once-grinding schedule of summer performances on the island. He’ll be keeping it clean for the kids – and the event is in the day so you can escape before the heavy partying starts. Sat 6/10.
May was the cruelest month in the Cleveland arts & music scene, taking three significant figures from us much to soon. Karen St. John-Vincent (pictured), who succumbed at age 62 after a two-year battle with lung cancer, was known for her mysterious, evocative and carefully arranged photo scenarios. Painter/teacher/art /writer Dan Tranberg was only 52 when he lost his battle with cancer after decades of creating his elegant works and advocating for other artists.
And musician Derek Poindeter died at 53 while being assessed for a lung transplant. He was known for playing in a series of bands, including prominent 90s folk rockers the Waynes, as well teaching in the music program at Tri-C.
After 27 years in retail with national chains, Megan Featherston decided it was time to create her own business. Luckily for Clevelanders, the last stop for this well-traveled Texan was in northeast Ohio. That’s where she established VNTG Home, a giant furnishing resale shop spread over a floor of an industrial warehouse space in Tyler Village.
In addition to being cavernous, VNTG Home distinguishes itself by filling a niche between high-end antiques stores and small resale shops, and by offering an array of restoring, repainting and re-upholstering services to turn that “It would be perfect if …” find into your ideal. Check out our PHOTOSTREAM, which only scratches the surface of what’s available. And they are open every day of the year – we visited on Memorial Day!
Talespinner Children’s Theatre is always taking its audiences on a trip to some exotic land, sharing that culture’s folktales, music, costumes and more. Sundiata takes a journey to Mali to share the story of a boy with a grand destiny and his difficult path to attaining it. Sat 6/10-Sun 7/2.
* Dru Christine Fabrics & Design in the Waterloo Arts District is hosting a ‘Just for Kids” shopping event where kids 12 and under can snag an affordable Father’s Day present for dad and make him a card while it’s being gift-wrapped. Sun 6/11.
Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events
Sandwich Special: Old Skool Burger Month; Seasonal Sides: Melt Potato Salad & BBQ Baked Beans; Beer Feature: New Belgium Sunshine; Cocktail Feature: Vanilla Bean Lemonade Cocktail, available virgin.
Melt News: Melt Bar and Grilled Announces 10th location in Avon, Ohio, near the corner of Route 83 and Detroit Road, with grand opening planned for June 12. New Melt location at Cedar Point is now open! New summer cocktail menu, awesome beer events, new Happy Hour menu, plus online ordering, summertime parties & catering. Stop in to your favorite Melt location and celebrate! MeltBarAndGrilled.com.
The month’s Dinner in the Valley at CVNP’s Happy Days Lodge offers a lesson in growing and cooking with herbs, an easy and tasty way to liven up your meals healthfully. It includes a demonstration and talk and a full meal prepared with herbs by Chef Larkin. Thu 6/8.
* Lakewood’s LEAF community gets its farmers market season in high gear with its spring festival, featuring vendors, live music, CSA sign-ups and seed-related crafts for kids, taking place at the Lakewood Public Library. Thu 6/8.
Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.
CoolCleveland’s Stephan Haluska met up with New Ghosts founders Matt Laferty and Andy Auten to talk about how they celebrate the legacy of famed Cleveland free jazz saxophonist, Albert Ayler. New Ghosts organizes concerts of jazz music, bringing bands to Cleveland in his tradition, serving as the living monument to Ayler.
New Ghosts is gearing up for a big one, bringing one of the most revered jazz musicians alive to Beachland Ballroom, German saxophonist and clarinetist Peter Brotzmann. Brotzmann has released more than 50 albums as a band-leader and has appeared on more than 100 albums in total. His 1968 recording Machine Gun is considered one of his many classics of the free jazz tradition. Brotzmann will play a duo show with pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh.
SPONSORED: The Kent Stage welcomes Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, Al Stewart performs “Year of the Cat” & The Empty Pockets, The Quebe Sisters, JJ Grey & Mofro, Jonny Lang, The Gin Blossoms, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester, Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip, The Fixx, Ana Popovic, BoDeans, Rhiannon Giddens, X- 40th Anniversary Tour, Carbon Leaf, Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen & John Jorgenson, plus more. TheKentStage.com.
The 17th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival is a packed weekend of six-string virtuosity, including concerts, master classes and speakers, all taking place at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Fri 6/9-Sun 6/11.
Read more picks by Anastasia Pantsios here
Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Cool Events.
WED 6/7
The Red Line Greenway project has expanded over 40 years, from landscaping around the W. 25th Street Rapid station to developing a three-mile recreational corridor from downtown to W. 65th. Volunteer work days are scheduled all summer long; come down today and learn how you can participate in this project.
Click here for more events on Wed 6/7
THU 6/8
Photographer Angelo Merendino inherited his father’s special chair, the one he acquired in 1951 and observed family life from for decades. Merendino put it in his studio and invited his friends to sit in it and have their pictures taken. He’ll show the results in In Dad’s Chair at the Foothill Gallery in Cleveland Heights, opening this evening.
Click here for more events on Thu 6/8
FRI 6/9
The annual juried Peer Show at the Cleveland Print Room honors the work of some of the most talented local photographers. More than 30 works will be on display when the show opens with a reception tonight, during which awards will be announced.
Click here for more events on Fri 6/9
SAT 6/10
It’s the lucky 13th edition of Art Fur Animals, a fun art party at Masonic Auditorium that benefits Friends of the Cleveland Kennels. Come bid on an array of donated artwork and ceramic cats and dogs decorated by local artists while you eat, drink and make merry for four-legged critters.
Click here for more events on Sat 6/10
SUN 6/11
Few NE Ohio cities boast the concentration of quality eateries that Lakewood does, nor the vast variety reflecting the city’s diverse cultural makeup. That’s why the annual Taste of Lakewood can stock its event with more than two dozen restaurants – all from its own city. Spend the whole afternoon sampling, hanging out, having some drinks and listening to live music at Taste of Lakewood in Madison Park.
Click here for more events on Sun 6/11
MON 6/12
With the current administration’s assault on the climate, it’s a good time to come down to Science Cafe at the Music Box Supper Club to hear a couple of actual scientists with actual facts talk about the synergy of nature and why all its elements need to be protected. The topic is “The hidden forest microbiome and its important role in species conservation.”
Click here for more events on Mon 6/12
TUE 6/13
With some of the most cutting-edge film work now being done for TV, it’s appropriate the NPR has its first full-time television critic, Eric Deggans. He’ll be speaking at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights about “The Future of Television, Media and Journalism.”
Click here for more events on Tue 6/13
WED 6/14
The Global Peace Index measures the level of peacefulness and conflict in countries around the world. Learn more about it and how it can help create peace at a program at the Market Garden Brewery, sponsored by the Cleveland Council of World Affairs.
Click here for more events on Wed 6/14
Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com
It’s a testament to the virulence of racial animus still extant in this country that it has taken over 150 years since the end of the Civil War for some of the offensive statuary to be taken off of their pedestals. Indeed, some backward states, such as Alabama, have passed laws to ensure that the racist symbols…
* Should Bill Maher Be Fired? In addition to being one of the strongest voices taking it to Donald Trump mercilessly, Maher is one of the few white TV hosts that routinely feature articulate blacks on his show. Those on the right that are calling for his head…
Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here
A look back at the last week
Submit your own review or commentary to Events@CoolCleveland.com
PHOTOSTREAM: Pride in the CLE by Anastasia Pantsios
PHOTOSTREAM: Edgewater Beach House by Thomas Mulready
PHOTOSTREAM: Hessler Street Fair by Anastasia Pantsios
PHOTOSTREAM: PlayhouseSquare Summer Kickoff by Anastasia Pantsios
THEATER REVIEW: Really Really @ Beck Center by Laura Kennelly
THEATER REVIEW: Really Really @ Beck Center by Roy Berko
THEATER REVIEW: Massacre (Sing to Your Children) @ convergence-continuum by Roy Berko
Read and comment here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog
There’s nothing like being the first,
–Thomas Mulready
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