First there’s the steady pulse of established institutions, returning again like a welcome refrain: Wade Oval Wednesdays kicking off once again with Carlos Jones (bring your camp chair), Tri-C’s 44th Annual JazzFest (dig it onstage & on the street), the 13th edition of the musically diverse Larchmere PorchFest (ride your bike), Cleveland History Days celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Crawford Auto Museum and the 8th annual Hoods Up History Day (bring your classic car), the reprise of the Rock Hall’s Fam Jam (bring the kiddies), CMA’s massive annual Solstice party growing even larger this year (wear something extra). Meet on the downbeat.Next we hear the offbeat rhythms of new upstart events like Graffiti HeArt’s first Street Art Tour (on a bus), the Edgewater Neighbor Fest (on Clifton Road), Pride events in unexpected corners like Lorain County and Solon (stay proud), Square Sounds presenting 92 different local acts throughout the summer at noon in the Splash Pad on Public Square (dress appropriately), CVNP’s Family Fun Days (again, bring your camp chair). Rat-a-tat-tat.
We’re banging the drum and asking all our CoolCleveland readers to help us celebrate our 21st year by encouraging all our friends to VOTE NO on Issue 1 on August 8. We need to register to vote by July 10, and early voting starts July 11. You hold the future of democracy in your hands. Drumroll, please.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) and the Conservancy for CVNP welcomes you to Family Fun Days for an afternoon of summer fun featuring art activities, fishing, guided hikes, pond studies, field games, and even a DJ to keep you and your family moving!
Family Fun Days take place from noon – 4PM at Kendall Lake Shelter, 1000 Truxell Road in Peninsula, right in the heart of one of the most visited national parks in the country on the following Saturdays: June 24, July 22, August 26 & September 16. Read more.
Director and all-around theater maven Terrence Spivey came to Cleveland 20 years ago and revived a moribund Karamu Theater from its community-theater level. Since leaving Karamu in 2016 he’s been in demand here and elsewhere as his reputation has spread around the country.
In Mobile, Alabama, leaders of the Clotilda Descendants Association reached out to Spivey to tell their unique story. The result was An Ocean in My Bones, first produced in Mobile in 2022 and expanded in 2023, with plans to grow the play, which explores the lives of 110 Africans brought illegally to Mobile on the ship Clotilda after the slave trade was banned — and just before emancipation. Read more.
We’re going to keep on reminding you about the importance of VOTING NO in the wasteful August 8 special election that Republicans like secretary of state Frank LaRose opposed before they saw it as a tool to block reproductive rights & other policies most Ohioans like but Republican officeholders don’t.
This Thursday, June 22, at their headquarters on Shaker Blvd, service workers union SEIU is hosting a community meeting to share how you can help protect majority rule in Ohio. Registration deadline is July 10 to vote in the August 8 election. Make sure you are registered! Read more.
Graffiti HeArt was founded to promote street art, finding opportunities for artists with scholarships & paid mural gigs. Now it’s launching its first Street HeArt tour, taking the art lover on an hour-long bus tour around town to see off-the-beaten-path art work. Read more.
Well, he would have this Sunday, if he hadn’t been killed by police in 2014 when he was just 12 years old. His mother will lead a celebration at the Tamir Rice Memorial Gazebo in Chicago where it was moved when the city of Cleveland planned to dismantle and scrap it.Read more.
Heart Attack Man isn’t one of the area’s best known bands. But they’ve just returned from a cross-country tour following the release of their new album Freak of Nature. And after a pair of sold-out Mahall’s appearances in early July, they’re headed off to England for a week of shows. Read more.
THU 6/22 Jazzin’ Tri-C JazzFest kicks off tonight, with three nights of ticketed concerts at Playhouse Square theaters and a big free festival out in the street Friday and Saturday.* WRHS’s History on Tap honors LGBTQ+ community.
