It’s been 20 years, and CoolCleveland is still advocating for local individual artists, whether they be musical, visual, culinary, filmic or literary, or if their gift is engaging with the community.Just in time to usher out winter, the Towpath Trail Lantern Parade lights up the banks of the Cuyahoga with your creativity on Saturday: stop by Heights Arts for a free workshop two nights before with Debbie Apple-Presser to help you craft your own upcycled lantern. The Wild & Scenic Film Fest is a much-anticipated screening of nature films “by activists for activists.” Jilly’s Music Room in Akron has a couple of exciting programs this week: The Day Nites, featuring 60s Cleveland soul legend Art Blakey, plus a double CD release with two local bands, Yankee Bravo and the Crowders.
Cleveland Restaurant Week continues through 3/18, featuring the best local culinary talent. Cleveland artist Ann Kmieck hand-creates intricate garments that speak about the lives of women in an era of criminalized gender and reproductive decisions, and her show at Trinity Cathedral is joined by the program and discussion, “Life: Before Roe and After Dobbs.”
For most of her adult life, CoolCleveland columnist and former judge C. Ellen Connally has lived on Shaker Square, and recently, she has some concerns. Writer, photographer and educator Bruce Checefsky has been tracking the funding that Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is distributing, and how much of it is reaching local individual artists, who seem to be at the bottom of the food chain. CoolCleveland’s ongoing coverage of this issue, and Bruce’s recent reporting, is eye-opening. Look up.
Questions continue to swirl around how Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the group designated to receive the arts tax money, isdistributing the money and how much of it ultimately reaches the creators who seem to be at the bottom of the food chain.
While writer Bruce Checefsky tries to figure out where various chunks of funding have gone, CAC strikes back with defensive answers that confuse many people in the community still more. While no one is accusing CAC of malfeasance, their lack of transparency, as well as the bickering between board members and CAC personnel, isn’t inspiring trust. Read more.
Celebrating Cleveland Restaurant Week shows support for our locally owned, independent restaurants while its photoshoots provide a reason for our chefs/restaurateurs to congregate! Grab a sneak peek behind the scenes to witness top chefs supporting each other, and gearing up for Cleveland Restaurant Week, promoting the Cleveland culinary scene.
Get out and take advantage of Cleveland Restaurant Week, March 6-18. For participating restaurants, menus and contact information, visit clevelandrestaurantweek.com. Read more and view the video here.
TheBlazing River Freedom Band, an amateur ensemble of LGBTQ+ and ally musicians, has been a popular presence at local Pride events for 20 years. Just in time for its spring concert, “Choose Joy,” this Saturday in Lakewood, it’s changed its name to the Cleveland Pride Band. Read more.
Last year, NE Ohio lawyer Richard Koloda, who has a musicology degree from CSU, penned the first full-length bio of avant-garde jazz sax pioneer Albert Ayler, also a Cleveland native, who died in 1970. Now that book has earned a 2023 Jazz Journalists book award nomination. Read more.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is pleased to host the 15th annual South Yuba River Citizens League’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival, one of the leading environmental and adventure film festivals in the country. Combining beautiful cinematography with exceptional storytelling, these films inspire a love of nature while bringing unique perspectives to environmental advocacy, justice, and activism.
Beer and wine will be available for purchase at a cash bar before the films begin and during intermission. Food will be available for purchase at the Museum’s new Origins Café. All registrants for the film festival will receive on-demand access for five days after the premiere on Friday, March 10. Read more.
There’s a real value in our elected officials being on hand to personally welcome a large group of visitors such as the regional membership of one of the largest Black Greek-letter groups, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
“The sorority’s gathering was a boost to the city’s economy and a chance to showcase many of the positive assets that Greater Cleveland has to offer,” says Connally. The organization’s presence this weekend provided an excellent opportunity for the region’s political leadership to establish any number of new and valuable networking connections.” One of our top local executive officials was there; the other wasn’t. Read more.
CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally has been a Shaker Square resident for most of her adult life and offers some history and perspective on its thriving and its decline.“Over the past year I’ve been to several neighborhood meetings to discuss new plans for renovation of the Square,” she says. “I never felt like the presenters were listening to the residents. The presenters always seemed to have a plan that they had created in a studio somewhere in California or New York that had little or no relevance for Cleveland, its weather and the demographics of the area.“Read more.
