08.15-08.22.2018 Ripe & Juicy

08.15-08.22.18
Ripe & Juicy

How fresh is this? With our near-perfect weather lately, I can’t help but feel sorry for those unfortunate souls not spending their August in our environs. But for those who are in town, we’ve picked some prime and juicy delicacies you can sink your teeth into this week.

Get fresh with the Cleveland Tomato Festival in Collinwood, the Caterpillar Extravaganza in Geauga County, a chef’s dinner in the CVNP, a look at the American city at Akron’s Harris-Stanton Gallery, and a celebration of the blues, bikes and BBQ at the Rock Hall.

Catch ’em while they’re hot: Brent Kirby at Oberlin’s Riverdog Barn, Eric Seddon’s Hot Club at BOP STOP, Lee Chilcote with Poetry + at Art on Madison, a performance/discussion on LGBT rights at the Maltz, PorchRokr all around Akron’s Highland Square, Yellowcake Shop’s final Hullabaloo party preview, and Liz Maugans addressing Creative Mornings Cle at the Edgewater Beach House.

So, are you registered to vote in the upcoming November midterm elections? Check if you’re registered here, register here if you need to, then read below for how you can help your community get ready for this very important election. We are all ripe for change. –Thomas Mulready

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Get Registered, Get Active

With 84 days until the election, be sure to leave no stone unturned. First, check if you are registered to vote. The recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling states that you could need to register again if you haven’t voted in 2 general elections. Check if you are registered at the official Secretary of State page here.

If you are not registered, then register to vote at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections site here, or at a local voter registration location on that page. In order to vote, you must be registered 30 days before the Tue 11/6 election.

Next, you can get trained to be a volunteer to help your neighbors register to vote. For example, there’s a training session this Sat 8/18 at the Cleveland Heights Public Library from 10AM-11:30AM hosted by the non-profit Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates (NOVA). Other volunteer training sessions can be found on this handy calendar. Get registered, then get active.

Ripe and Juicy

Cavotta’s Garden Center in Collinwood is known for the vast array of heirloom and specialty tomatoes it grows from seed to offer starter plants to local gardeners looking for something different.

While the planting season is long past, you can start planning for next year by attending Cavotta’s annual Cleveland Tomato Festival. There you can sample multiple tomato varieties and note your favorites, as well as enjoy food made with tomatoes by a dozen local chefs. The event also features tomato-based drinks, live music, and the garden center’s beautiful setting, with goats to pet. Sun 8/19.

SPONSORED: Wow! Content Marketing World returns to the shores of Lake Erie for their 8th year. If you’re in marketing, communications or PR, this event is for you. It’s the largest gathering of its kind in the world, drawing over 3,600 attendees from 50+ countries. Register today! Code COOLCLE saves $100.

Still Masking After All These Years

No one would have believed a quarter of a century ago that Mushroomhead, formed as a side project by prominent members of the local metal scene, would still be active today. But those players’ “main bands” are long gone, while Mushroomhead continues to tour and release new material.

While writing its next album, the group has released a DVD Volume III, featuring videos of the tracks on its 2014 The Righteous & the Butterfly. They’ll share it with local fans at a special screening at the Cedar Lee Theatre Wed 8/15 and a meet-and-greet at the Exchange in Parma Thu 8/16.

Cleveland Metroparks Backyard Nature Bash Offers Free Family Fun

Don’t miss this free event Sat 8/18 from noon-4pm at the Watershed Stewardship Center, 2277 West Ridgewood Drive in Parma.

Join naturalists to enjoy interactive nature stations, live music, wagon rides, food trucks, native plan sale nature and more. The Watershed Stewardship Center is open year round to the public Tuesdays-Sundays.

Visit clevelandmetroparks.com for information.

Fuzzy and Fascinating

What’s that fuzzy little thing on that leaf over there? Yup, it’s a caterpillar. And if you want to see more of these critters and learn all about them, come on down to the Caterpillar Extravaganza at Geauga Park District’s West Woods Nature Center. Hold them, photograph them and bring that one from your backyard to be identified. Kids can go home with caterpillars and butterflies painted on their cheeks. Sun 8/19.

* Young people in grades 6-12 can bring a song, story or poem to share at Heights Art’s “Back to the Books” teen open mic night. Fri 8/17.

Click here for more CoolCleveland Kids events

Chef Larkin Rogers’ Dinners in the Valley chef’s dinner at Cuyahoga Valley National Park this month will draw from the array of produce now at peak season on area farms, including those in CVNP. She”ll prepare a “Vegetarian Harvest” meal using all that local bounty. Wed 8/22.

* This past weekend the Coit Road Farmer’s Market buildings were hit by burglars who stole thousands of dollars worth of food and tools. For a nonprofit market in one of the city’s poorest communities, it was a tough blow. It’s peak harvest so this is a great time to stop in and help them by shopping there.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Eats and Drinks.

SPONSORED: Get Your Tickets and Your Inner Artist On at Beck Center An Act of God, featuring Mike Polk Jr., opens Beck Center’s 85th season that includes Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Shrek The Musical, Once, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, King Lear, and Matilda The Musical. Tix on sale now! Fall registration is now open for 140 classes in dance, music, visual arts, theater, and creative arts therapies for early childhood, teens, and adults. BeckCenter.org

Multi-instrumentalist Mark Porostosky is still an active member of busy Cleveland indie band The Lighthouse and The Whaler. But he’s also got his own band Poro, which releases its second EP this week at a Beachland Tavern show. Fri 8/17

* Brent Kirby takes over Oberlin’s Riverdog Barn, accompanied by Ray Flanagan & the Authorities. Fri 8/17.

* Shawn & Shelby’s Living Room Session at the Beachland spotlights debut EP by teen singer/songwriter Olivia Martinez. Thu 8/16.

* Eric Seddon’s Hot Club recorded their latest CD at the BOP STOP, and now they’ll debut the finished product there. Thu 8/16.

* The legendary Phantasy Nite Club complex will soon be history but you can pick up a souvenir at the Phantasy Phlea. Sun 8/19.

Read more of CoolCleveland’s picks for Cool Events.

WED 8/15
The outdoor global dance parties City Stages move to yet another location, Mall C downtown, where Malian musician Cheick Hamala Diabate will play his African/American fusion sounds.

* Austin glam punks A Giant Dog take over the stage at the Rock Hall’s free Summer in the City concert.

* Ken Schneck, author of LGBT Cleveland, will be selling and signing his book at Cle Clothing in Uptown.

Click here for more events on Wed 8/15

THU 8/16
The theme of the current FRONT International Triennial in NE Ohio is “An American City.” Opening tonight at Akron’s Harris-Stanton Gallery, a group of mostly locally based artists will give their take on urban settings in a variety of media.

* SPACES panel addresses how to ensure the safety of marginalized communities.

* Blues, bikes and BBQ take center stage at free outdoor Rock Hall concert.

* Akron’s Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens brings back its LightNights display through Sun 9/16.

Click here for more events on Thu 8/16

FRI 8/17
Artist/Zygote Press co-founder Liz Maugans has probably been the driver of more local art scene activity than any other single individual. She’ll talk about her advocacy for the arts community at the monthly Creative Mornings Cle breakfast program, taking place this month at the Edgewater Beach House.

* New shows at ARTneo, Tregoning and Survival Kit galleries highlight this month’s Third Friday at 78th Street Studios

* Yellowcake Shop hosts a preview party in Ohio City for its final Hullabaloo event.

* Football brain injuries fuel new play co-produced by Dobama and Playwrights Local at Gilmour Academy. Through Sun 9/2.

* Big Splash Raffle benefits the Sandusky Maritime Museum.

* Lake County’s Resonanz Opera stages Mozart’s The Magic Flute, through Sun 8/19.

* The monsters aren’t in your closet but on screen at the Canton Palace Theatre at the Monster Bash. Also tomorrow.

* Immerse yourself in Romanian culture at the St. Mary’s festival in West Park. Through Sun 8/19.

Click here for more events on Fri 8/17

SAT 8/18
Akron PorchRokr returns to the Rubber City’s Highland Square neighborhood with more than 130 acts in a dizzying array of genres from classical to rap to Celtic to metal. Food, vendors, artist displays, yoga and even a silent disco make this festival a major event.

* Visit multiple arts locations via trolley during the Sparx City Hop.

* Open Streets and La Placita join forces to make W. 25th Street a site of car-free fun.

* Celebrate Hungarian culture at St. Emeric Church in Ohio City.

* Barbara Tannenbaum signs her book about photographer Masumi Hayashi at Tregoning & Company Gallery.

* Learn more about the history of street art at Artists Archives program at 78th Street Studios.

* MOCA Cleveland hosts afternoon for artists and art lovers with panel discussion and art swap.

* Go Retro at the Beachland’s monthly rocking’ flea market.

* The Cleveland Orchestra plays Sibelius and Mendelssohn at Blossom Music Center.

* Shaker Arts Council hosts family evening of music and art in the Van Aken District.

* Don’t miss this free Backyard Bash with music, wagon rides and naturalists from the Cle Metroparks.

* Longtime Cleveland favorite Southside Johnny is back at the Rocksino.

Click here for more events on Sat 8/18

SUN 8/19
When NEO Comic Con returns to the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsflex for the fourth year, it’s time to break out the superhero costumes and go down to meet some of the most gifted writers and artists in the field, shop memorabilia vendors and, if your cosplay is a little weak, attend workshops on how to rock the gear.

* Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom pays tribute to the music of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

* Double feaure of documentaries at the Capitol Theatre shows the dangerous side of Cleveland.

* Head out to Marblehead for halupki at the Russian-Carpathian food festival.

* What the Flop? at the BOP STOP features tunes from Broadway musicals that didn’t make it.

Click here for more events on Sun 8/19

MON 8/20
Literary Cleveland founder Lee Chilcote focuses on his own work tonight when he takes the stage at Art on Madison’s monthly Poetry + night where a writer shares his or her work in depth with the audience. Chilcote will be reading from his new chapbook How to Live in the Ruins.

Click here for more events on Mon 8/20

TUE 8/21
Lakewood’s Side Quest Bar is always looking for ways to liven up off nights with events such as its YouTube Bingo on the third Tuesday of the month with a different theme for each edition. This month’s theme should be boffo, considering it’s the Internet’s most popular subject after porn: cats.

Click here for more events on Tue 8/21

WED 8/22
As part of its mission to confront bigotry of all types, the Maltz Museum has joined with the LGBT Center of Cleveland to present “Stolen Moments,” a performance/discussion event addressing the LGBTQ community’s fight for civil fights and inclusion.

* The Rock Hall’s Summer in the City series wraps up with alt-country band Sarah Shook & the Disarmers.

Click here for more events on Wed 8/22

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

A Game Changer

Across the nation over 6.1 million felons are currently disenfranchised. If successful efforts are made to change the law in the nine other states that still bar them from voting it becomes an entirely new national political ballgame….

* Finding a Better Way for Youth The fact we as a society stand by and allow inept parents to raise such stunted offspring is criminal, given that we know how to do better. These boys didn’t do this to themselves…

* A Small Favor, Please I suppose my comfort level around whites stems in part from the fact I know I’m as intelligent as the brightest of them, and also, because, back in 1948, when I started kindergarten…

Read other stories from Mansfield Frazier here