One of the most crucial weeks of the year for local makers, museums and merchants is upon us. Use the suggestions we’ve curated below to grab the bulk of your holiday purchases directly from locals, allowing your dollars to circulate in the region, keeping artists’ dreams alive, and finding high-quality, handmade gifts that just aren’t available online. You don’t have to buy everything local, and you probably can’t. But finding a nice balance and keeping it local can make all the difference.Visit one of the many holiday markets, pop-ups and open houses this week, score some tickets to a local production this month, and safely enjoy the best our region has to offer. And of course, tix to our upcoming David Bowie celebration in January make a great holiday gift.
Mansfield Frazier’s daughter Ashley Smith has started producing video interviews for CoolCleveland, and this week she talks with Walter Patton, founder of Create Art Not Violence, who hosts Ghetto Therapy for those coping with trauma such as the aftermath of gun violence or fatherless homes. And CoolCleveland editor Anastasia Pantsios offers a dark commentary on Ohio’s uncool post-Roe future. But you can help create our future. Right here. Right now.
Don’t miss Winter RiverFest presented by Troy-Bilt at Merwin’s Wharf. Enjoy an authentic ice-skating rink and appearances by Santa (Fridays-Sundays).Experience festive decor, a beer garden and firepits, or make a reservation to dine in the igloo village along the Cuyahoga River in The Flats. Plan your visit at clevelandmetroparks.com/WinterRiverFest.
Walter Patton, the founder of Create Art Not Violence, co-hosts Ghetto Therapy every Wednesday at 7pm at Clubhouse Essentials. As a resident of and a leader in the Central Cleveland neighborhood, Walter saw a need to address various traumas, from coping with the aftermath of gun violence to fatherless homes. In 2018, he created a space for residents to address these and other traumas and heal with Ghetto Therapy.
Clubhouse Essentials, home of Ghetto Therapy, provides resources and programming including yoga, workout classes, health and wellness classes, mentorship, and community gardening. View the video with Patton by CoolCleveland correspondent Ashley Smith, daughter of Mansfield Frazier. Read More
Holiday markets reach peak density this week, with markets ranging from the enormous two-day 120-vendor Cleveland Bazaar at 78th Street Studios, to a pint-sized pop-up at Cleveland Heights’ BottleHouse Brewery. From Willoughby to Parma, you’ll find one around the corner from you; from the LGBT Center’s Queer the Halls to the Grog Shop’s Jungle Bell Rock & Shop, you should be able to find one to suit your taste.If markets are too much for you, we’ve also assembled a list of museum shops and holiday shops at arts organization which you can browse in a more leisurely fashion — many of them online. There’s no excuse for worrying if that toy or game is going to make it here from China in time — local makers have things for all types of people. Read More
While Governor DeWine spends our tax money on billboards in downtown Chicago urging people to move to Ohio & a legislator proposes a tax break for college students who stay in Ohio after graduating, the social climate for women, Black people & LGBTQ+ folks keeps getting more hostile.With the U.S. Supreme Court possibly poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and take away women’s reproductive freedom, Ohio has already stepped up with an extreme ban should the issue be turned back to the states. That’s sure to result in a sicker, poorer, less educated state that’s unattractive to talented, educated young people looking for a place to settle. Read the COMMENTARY by Anastasia Pantsios here
While David Bowie would have turned 75 in January, the world is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark proto-punk, era-defining concept album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.Join Thomas Mulready and Vanity Crash, with interviews from Woody Woodmansey, drummer for the Spiders From Mars, and pianist Mike Garson, who played his first gig with Bowie at the artists’ US debut in Cleveland in 1972 (see photo above by Anastasia Pantsios from that very show).
Hang on to yourself, because we’ve got enough Bowie classics and VC originals to keep you dancing all night long. Tickets make great gifts for that glam god or goddess. He told me: let all the children boogie. Read More
