On Tuesday, over 500 guests gathered at the Victory Center in the Health-Tech Corridor to celebrate the sold-out Vibrant City awards, hosted by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.

CNP President Joel Ratner told the crowd, “The facts are there. Data shows that our region is gaining brains and income, our city schools are making terrific improvements, and Cleveland’s population loss is ending. We are headed into an era of exciting growth.”

City of Cleveland Community Development Director Daryl Rush was honored with the inaugural Morton L.Mandel Leadership in Community Development Award. Other recipients were:

CDC Catalytic Project/Program Award
Fairfax Renaissance Development -- Intergenerational housing

Urban Realtor Award
Keith Brown and Dave Sharkey – Progressive Urban Real Estate

Developer Award
Keith Sutton and Dave Territo, Sutton Builders

Neighborhood Branding & Marketing Award
Downtown Cleveland Alliance – You and Downtown Video

Community Collaboration Award
Gordon Square Arts District (DSCDO, NWT, CPT)

Corporate Partner Award
Third Federal Saving

"Cleveland has become the San Francisco of craft beer with small batch startups dominating the scene. Check out local offerings from Nano, Market Garden and Platform to make the most of your Cleveland stay."

Read the full story here.

For years, the bold and the bearded poured into Portland, Ore., embracing craft spirits, farm-to-table fare and all things artisanal. Is Cleveland next? Local chefs like Michael Symon say yes, taking advantage of low rents and the Midwestern bounty like Iowa prosciutto at casually brilliant restaurants and urban breweries, including Great Lakes Brewing Company and Buckeye Brewing. At Lola Bistro, owner Michael Symon celebrates butcher cuts like calves hearts with preserved lemon. Jonathon Sawyer, whose Greenhouse Tavern is one of Symon’s favorite haunts, recently opened an opulent Italian spot called Trentina, where the bread course includes an edible beef candle (not a typo) made from aged beef tallow.

Read the full story here.

There are great food markets all over America these days, but few are as ingrained in the community (it’s 100+ years old) or as representative of it (some of the same vendors have been there 60 years or more). Cleveland native Phoebe Connell explains in this quote we had to excerpt the bejesus out of because she gave us two pages of loving notes:

“The West Side Market, THE JEWEL OF CLEVELAND. This isn't a farmers market -- it’s a place where everyone's grandmother used to come to get cabbage and a roast for Sunday dinner. Think of it as being in Williamsburg before Williamsburg was fancy: still in the city, but in an actual neighborhood with working class homes."

Read the full story here.

"It's cheap, their museum is on point, and they have excellent taste in beer." So says Buzzfeed.

Check out what other cities made the list. Read the full story here.

"The rust belt city offers some old-fashioned, even old-world, charms. Readers ranked it at No. 5 for its rich food halls, like West Side Market—with spices, baked goods and delis—which dates back to 1912, when it catered primarily to the city’s immigrants."

Read the full story here.

Rooms to Let: Cleveland is returning to Slavic Village on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th this year. 

"Artists will create a temporary art exhibition using vacant homes as their medium," the website states. "The event, free and open to the public, will also include a neighborhood block party with live music, hands-on art activities and local food."

"Led by Slavic Village Development, Rooms to Let: Cleveland seeks to continue the conversation around vacancy and the plight of Cleveland’s historic neighborhoods in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. This year’s event will expand this dialogue to a new group of visual and performance artists to further interpret the evolution of community and recovery."

Click here for more information on how to donate to the project and how to apply to become a Rooms to Let artist. 

"Begin at the Canal Exploration Center in the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a lush woodland few visitors expect to find 10 miles south of Cleveland. The drive follows the twisting Cuyahoga River (crooked river in the local Native American dialect) past stands of towering oak, hickory and maple trees and through rocky ravines carved by glaciers millennia ago. Exhibits at the center explore this watery highway."

Read the full story in Midwest Living here. 

"As chief executive of the City Club of Cleveland—a 102-year-old institution created to foster dialogue about local, national and international issues—I often find myself in the midst of conversations about the city. So when I—a white guy—am in a meeting about policing or witnessing the inability of some white people here to understand why Tamir’s death catalyzed such vocal and visible protests, I remember what a divided city this really is."

Read the full story here.

"The year 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Cleveland Play House, the country’s first professional regional theater. Over the decades, the company has created more than 1,300 productions, seen by more than 12 million people."

Read the full story here.

"Chateau Hough, one of the first American vineyards set on reclaimed urban land, was started in 2010 with a $15,000 grant from the city and about $8,000 of Frazier’s own cash. Frazier’s main objectives were to beautify the lot across from his house (hopefully raising its value) and help out parolees, who often have trouble finding work. But he also wanted to see if Cleveland’s most notorious neighborhood could maybe make a pretty damn good wine."

Read the full story here.

"The 39^th Cleveland International Film Festival, presented by Dollar Bank, is proud to announce its Opening Night film on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 will be I’ll See You in My Dreams," CIFF announced in a recent press release.

"Directed by Brett Haley, the film had its World Premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Blythe Danner as a widow who’s settled into her life and her age, until a series of events propel her into a renewed engagement with the people and the world around her. The film also stars Martin Starr, Sam Elliott, Malin Akerman, June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place. The film was written by Brett Haley and Marc Basch, and produced by Rebecca Green, Laura D. Smith, and Brett Haley."

The closing night film will be Danny Collins, CIFF stated in the release.
 
"Danny Collins was written and directed by Dan Fogelman and produced by Jessie Nelson and Nimitt Mankad. The film stars Al Pacino as Danny Collins, an aging 1970s rocker who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40-year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family, find true love, and begin a second act."

You can purchase tickets at www.clevelandfilm.org.

"Not your average flea market, this pop-up event serves as a business incubator for small businesses and has helped spur development in the neighborhoods where it's held."

Read the full story here.

"The vibrant redevelopment of a corridor linking art, educational and healthcare institutions with surrounding neighborhoods, creating lively outdoor gathering spaces, retail shops and restaurants, student and market-rate housing, and public transit connections," stated the Bruner Foundation its website.

Read the full list of winners here.