Savor the flavors of our region on Kelley’s Island accompanying CoolCleveland travel correspondent Claudia Taller as she visits Crooked Tree Vineyard and its eight wines. Claudia spent a day on the Island in a golf cart, doing everything from a yoga class to wine tastings.Dig the vibes this week on all the Lake Erie Islands as they celebrate Island Green Week, focused on protecting their biosystems in a series of events. And speaking of our Great Lake, a lead scientist from the World Wildlife Fund is in town speaking about conservation programs and freshwater programs.
Catch four-time James Beard-nominated chef Jeremy Umansky as he talks at the City Club about how being intentional about sourcing our foods can lead to better nutrition. The Beachland will be packed with eight mostly black female singers, headlined by Charity Evonna.
The feel is in our favor this week as LatinUs Theatre presents Tropico Macbeth, jazz soul emanates from Heights Arts, Holden celebrates the first anniversary of its seed bank, and Akron’s Downtown@Dusk series closes with three dance ensembles.
The karma is not looking good for Mike DeWine who continues to work against the best interests of the state of Ohio. And CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally outlines President Biden’s suggestions for overdue reforms to the Supreme Court. And we’re feeling it.
In the middle of a five-acre vineyard is a crooked tree surrounded by neat rows of grapevines.It’s been there for who knows how long, but its survival gave Jan and Steve Weremuth’s Crooked Tree Vineyard its name. The property is on the southeast shore ot Kelley’s Island on Lakeshore Drive.
“Our goal was to make a full-bodied, dry Ohio red wine from the growing of the grapes to the production of the wine,” Jan says. “Based on guest feedback, we have succeeded in that mission. Over the past eight years, we have developed a selection of eight wines, from our bold Cabernet Franc to sweeter selections.”
Our travel and winery writerClaudia Taller spent a day on the island, taking part in a yoga class on the winery patio, exploring the island in a golf cart, discovering the history of wine-making there, learning from Jan what went into the creation of their wines, and of course, doing some tasting. Read more.
Governor Mike DeWine fretted about the current unconstitutional district maps before voting FOR them. Luckily his son is on the state Supreme Court and upheld his dad’s vote. Now DeWine is fretting about something else: the wildly popular Citizens Not Politicians fair districts bill headed toward the November ballot which would remove politicians from the process of drawing their own districts. Despite citizens collecting an almost unprecedented number of signatures over six months, he’s now begging them to vote against it, promising “We’ll bring you something better next year.”
Don’t fall for it. The time to propose “something better” is long past, and if it comes from the team that gave us the lopsided, unrepresentative districts we have now, we should know better than to trust it. When a nonpartisan citizens redistricting commission like the one going on the ballot this year was previously proposed, the Republicans in the legislature substituted their own bill, promising that if we let them stay in charge they’d play nice and follow the rules. They did not. Read more.
GroundWorks DanceTheater’s final performance, at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater Sat 8/8, will be bittersweet. The company will be rolling out three brand new pieces — one by founding artistic director David Shimotakahara, one by artist in residence Antonio Brown, and one by guest choreographer Olivier Wever — demonstrating that the company was still firing on all cylinders when Shimotakahara announced in May that it would be folding after 25 productive years due to the changed funding climate after Covid. Its parting gift to Cleveland’s arts and culture community: the performance is free. Read more.
Once again the Rock Hall will be hosting a home movie night in November, and once again the Rock Hall Library and Archives is looking for submissions from you, the public. Do you have unique and interesting footage of performers, local or national? Share! You can loan it for the program or donate it to the archives which is especially looking for rare footage of local artists. Deadline is September 15. Read more.
MON 8/12 Fly Away the Monday Blues
Have Monday off and you’re bored? Head out to Geneva-on-the-Lake where Lake Erie Canopy Tours will be running its zipline tours seven days a week through late August. Take the half tour that takes you across the inlet for a spectacular view of Lake Erie or the full tour to fly over treetops.* Two local authors host signing event for new novels at Beachland Tavern.
TUE 8/13 Veteran Musicians Rock
Marc Lee Shannon performed for two decades with Michael Stanley’s Resonators. Bill March played with local hitmakers Beau Coup in the 80s. Both are talented singer/songwriters who’ll share the stage at Cain Park’s Alma Theater tonight.
WED 8/14 Over the Rainbow
Wade Oval Wednesday’s final event of the summer will be awash in rainbows as it celebrates LGBTQ+ pride, with Apostle Jones headlining, Grumpy Plum opening, and Pride Zumba in between.
This past week President Biden recommended three proposals that would drastically change the United States Supreme Court. He recommended that justices, who now have lifetime appointments, be limited to a single 18-year term; the adoption of a codified set of ethical standards that would mirror ethical standards that currently exist for all other federal courts; and a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump vs The United States that grants virtually unlimited immunity to the president.
Even though the proposals face uphill battles, they have a positive effect. President Biden recognizes that there is a problem and has put the matter out there for discussion for the good of the country. That is a good thing. Change takes time. But Biden has at least started the discussion. While legal scholars debate the pros and cons of the proposals, Democrats and other alarmed citizens concerned about the direction of the court have a bigger task at hand. They must stay laser focused on the November election. Read more.
