Have you done some traveling this summer? What runs through your mind when you return (beyond just “There’s no place like home”)? Maybe the realization that we host world-class events in top-notch venues with first-rate artists and we do it better than most other places in the world, including the iconic cities. Take this week for example.Cleveland’s 10K Movement preserves and teaches street dance (popping, krump, team battle), and this week, for the fifth year, they host the 4-day LoTL (Lord of The Land) with dancers and fans from far and wide. The amazing Cleveland Photo Fest has evolved into Photo Cleveland, with its first exhibition at the Brownhoist in September: if you’re a photographer, the time to apply is now. CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally reviews the shocking new HBO documentary Surviving Ohio State, which implicates NEO congressman Jim Jordan in the two-decades long OSU sexual abuse scandal.
The City Club examines two topics: our exceptional downtown lakefront development opportunities and altruistic entrepreneurialism; Rock & Roll Mercenary Marky Ray shares his epic road stories at Jilly’s; Ohio City holds a 2-day food truck festival; the Women’s Air & Space Museum hosts a dinner focused on women airport workers; and the Cleveland Metroparks presents Bug Bonanza. Meanwhile, Cleveland native Ariel Bittner screens a video of her performance art as she raises funds to travel to Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Around here, there’s no limit.
For one breezy summer day, Detroit Avenue from Belle to Arthur, becomes a creative oasis and brings artists of all disciplines together with 15,000 collectors and art lovers. Join us on Sat 8/2 from 10AM-6PM.
Returning to the festival this year will be Billy Ritter featuring handmade ceramics, crafted from stoneware and porcelain and Yumiko Goto (above) offering one-of-a-kind ceramic vessels, featuring delicate petals, seeds and buds, finished with her custom pastel glazes. Kathy Oda, glass artist from South Carolina, creates large-scale sculptures by layering glass to create glowing multi-dimensional installations. Read more.
For the fifth year, Cleveland’s 10K Movement, an organization dedicated to preserving, teaching and showcasing various types of street dance, is hosting its four-day Lord of the Land (LoTL) event, which attracts dancers and dance enthusiasts from across the country. It features workshops, showcases, open dance cyphers, live DJs, local vendors, parties and a big championship competition.
That championship event takes place, of all places, at Severance Music Center. DJs will take the place of The Cleveland Orchestra as the source of music accompanying competitors in popping and krump styles, as well as a 5×5 open styles team battle tournament. Will Beethoven be rolling over? Come see. Read more.
CoolCleveland columnist C. Ellen Connally recently shared her experience as a member of a recent class of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Citizens Academy. She detailed what this office (formerly the coroner) taught lay citizens about how it handles dead bodies and what can be learned from them. If her description of the classes sounded interesting to you, applications are now open for the fall class. Be advised that it’s very competitive, so start working on your application now! It’s due August 8. Read more.
The Cleveland Photo Fest has pulled the plug after five eventful years, and now one of its co-founders, Jim Szudy, has joined with Cara Caetano to start at new group called Photo Cleveland to offer opportunities to exhibit photography. Its first show, called Ghost Cities: Documenting Decay, takes place at the Brownhoist in September. If you’re interested in submitting (it’s open to both local and national photographers as well as makers of short films), the deadline is August 6. Read more.
Surviving Ohio State is a 2025 documentary directed by Eva Orner in association with George Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures. Currently airing on HBO, it explores the decades-long allegations of sexual abuse of male athletes, primarily wrestlers, at The Ohio State University. The impetus for the film was a 2020 Sports Illustrated article that centered on allegations against Dr. Richard Strauss, who was employed by the university from 1978 to 1998.
In 2018 several lawsuits were filed by former athletes, accusing the university, former head coach Russ Hellickson, and U.S. representative Jim Jordan of having knowledge of the abuse and failing to act. Jordan, who represents Ohio’s 4th district, was a high school & college wrestling champ before serving as an assistant wrestling coach at OSU from 1986-1994. Jordan is questioned several times during the documentary, denying any knowledge of misconduct by Strauss. This is interesting considering a wrestling referee in the documentary who related an incident with Strauss to Hellickson and Jordan, saying they laughed him off. Read more.
