FreshWater exclusive: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and
author Connie Schultz captivated a packed audience at the Cuyahoga County
Public Library’s Parma-Snow branch last Saturday with a reading of her first
children’s book, "Lola and the Troll." Schultz talked with
FreshWater's Jess Starr about how her grandchildren inspired her venture into
picture books, and the lessons on kindness and bravery learned.
Loretta Paganini opened her International Culinary Arts and Science Institute 20 years ago to give area culinary students advanced career training. This weekend, local celebrity chefs will help raise scholarship money for the school at the Cleveland's Top Chefs event.
Holden Forests & Gardens will host its only annual fundraiser, Harvest Moon, on Sept. 13 at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. The Friday the 13th event will be an evening where mysticism meets philanthropy among Cleveland's top chefs.
The 78th annual One World Day takes place in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens this Sunday, Aug. 25—offering a family friendly cultural celebration of Cleveland's diversity with music, dancing, and food and drink.
Cleveland Heights City Council and child services agency Bellefaire JCB are leading efforts to improve police interactions with LGBTQ+ youth. The initiative, supported by the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Columbus-based Kaleidoscope Youth Center, focuses on reducing harmful encounters through updated protocols, officer training, and improved youth programs.
Nature is a foreign place to many urban young people who may not have the exposure, money, gear, and guidance to enjoy nature more. Several local groups, like Footpath Foundation, Sankofa Circle International, and Children & Nature Network, introduce Cleveland's urban youth to the wonders of nature.
Holden Forests & Gardens will celebrate the first anniversary of Holden Seed Bank this Thursday, with cocktails and a panel discussion at Holden Arboretum. The new seed exchange program—much like a Little Free Library, except for seeds—and the upcoming tree seedling program will also be celebrated.
Cleveland Heights residents are finally getting a new grocery store with Grocery Outlet moving into the vacant space in the Cedar-Fairmount business district, ending a two-year stretch without a walkable supermarket in the district.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture recently released its Annual Report, showing its impact on securing a strong arts and culture presence in Northeast Ohio. Julia de Burgos, Canalway Partners, and moCa Cleveland are just a few of the 275 nonprofits to receive more than $12 million in grant funding in 2023.
George Zehnder, 74, a retired pastor with St. Mark Lutheran Church, recently won the gold medal in the triathlon during the Pan-American Masters Games in Cleveland. He credits his classes at the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, determination, and his faith for his victory.
In 2015, the City of South Euclid brought Rock The Block music and food festival to the city as a way to bring the community together. A decade later, the popular event hosted by One South Euclid draws thousands of revelers who in August will celebrate with food trucks, activities, vendors, and live music by bands like Carlos Jones and the Plus Band, Apostle Jones, and South Euclid's own Discovery Band.
Greater Cleveland has made progress in bringing minorities and women into the manufacturing industry, according to MAGNET, and about 2,000 people of color have entered the sector in the past two years. Although the region has seen an 80% jump in women and minorities in manufacturing leadership positions, a greater effort is needed to diversify the manufacturing workforce.
A new park on East 60th Street and Prosser Avenue in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood—now home to "Manny" the sea monster—adds community greenspace and gives kids a place to play, thanks to the efforts of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Emmanuel Promise of Hope, Ingenuity Cleveland, and numerous additional community partners and donors.
The BorderLight Theatre Festival returns this Wednesday for its fourth in-person four-day event, with theater, comedy, music, and other performances at various indoor and outdoor venues throughout Playhouse Square.
The work of hundreds of Cleveland gardeners was on full display throughout the city last weekend during GardenWalk Cleveland. Bob Perkoski took a stroll through many of them and captured some of the beauty of the gardens and Cleveland neighborhoods.
Towards Employment recently received more than $4 million in grants from Opportunity@Work and U.S. Department of Labor’s Pathway Home to enhance its mission of economic mobility and workforce equity. The funds will support pre- and post-release employment and education resources for returning citizens, provide skills training, and community connections to ensure smooth transitions from incarceration to meaningful employment.
Driven by strong demand, the City of South Euclid has five major housing projects in the works. Working with One South Euclid, these projects diversify housing options and show the city's commitment to growth and community enrichment by adding single-family homes, townhomes, custom houses, and infill housing for young professionals, families, and empty nesters alike.
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is piloting a 3D-printed affordable housing project to create two homes for those at risk of experiencing homelessness. Cleveland City Council provided $500,000 for the project championed by Council member Stephanie D. Howse-Jones.
Built on 254 acres in Rockefeller Park, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens opened in 1916 with what is today known as the British Cultural Garden. Today, 108 years later, there are 35 gardens that celebrate a world of ethnicities and cultures. As the World on Stage series starts this weekend, and with One World Day in August, contributing editor Grant Segall looks at the history of Cleveland's cultural gem.
The Western Reserve Historical Society recently unveiled composer and educator Dr. Harrison Leslie Adams, Jr. as the seventh notable figure in its African American Art/History Walk in University Circle. The public art installation celebrates the achievements of Black history-makers and artists in Cleveland through a mural with QR links to The HistoryMakers biographies.