Even if you’re running away,
you’re still walking towards something
So make it something good, something intentional. For over 20 years, CoolCleveland has looked to our local merchants, artists, entrepreneurs and nonprofits to point the way.Studio 117 was founded to leverage the LGBTQ+ energy at the intersection of Lakewood and Cleveland, and they are hosting their Daisy Ball this weekend, a benefit showcasing the work of 25 local designers. Now is the time to stand up for sensible gun laws, and this Saturday, you can help twice: Trinity Cathedral’s Urban Farm will be beating swords into plowshares for Guns to Gardens at 10AM, then Moms Demand Action will be walking Wade Oval at 1PM. Let’s walk with them.
Artists can apply to have their murals plastered all over Cleveland, the Polka Hall of Fame is hosting a dance in Parma, there’s a protest march for gun safety at Wade Oval, the summer season kicks off at Geneva-On-The-Lake, Beck Center in Lakewood announces their new season, their curator explains the newly installed galleries at Akron Art Museum, and an all-Stravinsky concert is headed to the Rocky River Chamber Music Society.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and no one had a more complicated relationship with their mother than David Bowie, from whom he feared he inherited a touch of madness. We explore how he turned that fear into creativity at the Bowie Brunch this Sat 5/13 at noon at JUKEBOX, with brunch option by James Beard nominee Larder Delicatessen & Bakery. Would your mom enjoy the show? She probably wouldn’t run away.
Assembly for the Arts was formed a little over a year ago from the ashes of Arts Cleveland which grew out of Community Partnership for Arts and Culture to advocate for the arts community and its creators in Cuyahoga County. That advocacy and earning the trust of the artists community will be essential to passing a new arts tax when the current one expires in 2027.
So far, the organization is making all the right moves, and there’s a lot of excitement around its first Arts Ball benefit happening Sat 5/13 — everyone seems to be going. While the dinner and awards portion is sold out, the after party should be a great place to mingle and meet like-minded people. Read more
This Saturday, May 13, at noon at JUKEBOX in Ohio City, we’ll explore David Bowie’s relationship with his own mum (no, that’s not her in the Ashes to Ashes video), while you and your guests enjoy an (optional) brunch served by James Beard nominee Larder Delicatessen & Bakery (that’s Larder’s Jeremy Umansky above with the hat).
Your hosts Vanity Crash will regale you with Bowie deep cuts and hits, plus a selection of their own brand new originals in between video interludes where we’ll hear from mental health professionals and from the artist himself, captured in interviews throughout his career (“I think she pretends I’m not hers… We have an understanding,” he responded when asked by Dick Cavett about his mum in 1974). There’s no better way to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend. Read more.
Studio West 117, the new LGBTQ+ complex on the Cleveland/Lakewood border, has only been open since last fall but it’s already a bustling hive of activity, with eateries, bars, athletic facilities and performances going on nonstop.
Now it’s hosting its first annual Daisy Ball on Sat 5/13, a benefit showcasing the work of 25 local designers. They’re calling it “a fashion show chic enough to rival the Met Gala,” only instead of $50,000 a ticket, you can attend for $35-$200. Read more
Starting May 18, live music returns to the Cleveland Metroparks, with concerts at seven locations, among them the popular Edgewater Beach concerts, with Carlos Jones & company playing a sure-to-be-packed show on June 8. They take place every Thursday through August 31. Read more
The Rock Hall has announced a busy summer of local & national concerts and special events taking place outdoors on its plaza from June through September. Read more
Destination Cleveland and Graffiti HeArt are looking for up to six artists/artist teams to create murals based around a series of Destination’s tourism slogans. There’s money involved! Deadline to apply is May 26. Read more
Effie Tsengas, a member of Cleveland Arts Prize’s board of trustees and longtime marketing and communications professional at Kent State, has been named Interim Executive Director of the Cleveland Arts Prize. Read more
