With 20 cities in the running, Cleveland’s chances of becoming the next Say Yes to Education chapter—and only the fourth in the country to receive the distinction—were just a paltry five percent. Yet according to Say Yes founder George Weiss, it was no contest.

Ice, ice, baby! As our managing photographer Bob Perkoski puts it, "there's no Cleveland like snow Cleveland," and he set out in the aftermath of Winter Storm Harper to prove just that. Check out this collection of photos of University Circle, downtown, Edgewater Park, and more from Perkoski's frosty lens.

Alex Sheen is many things, but "boring" is not one of them. In the last six years, the Lakewood resident has walked across the state of Ohio in 10 days; learned to bake apple pie; personally delivered Disneyland tickets to 100 children with cancer; and driven overnight to bring disaster relief supplies to Hurricane Sandy victims. Why? Simply because he said he would.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is known by all for his work in the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s through nonviolence and civil disobedience. Many people in Cleveland, however, may not be aware of how often King came through Cleveland in the 1960s—and the lasting influence he had on the city. From civil rights and Christianity to politics and school sit-ins, King was a well-known presence in Cleveland.

After nearly 12 years of vacancy, the former Cleveland Athletic Club (CAC) at 1118 Euclid Ave. will soon come alive again as the Athlon at the Cleveland Athletic Club Building. The building will feature 163 luxury apartments, offices, and commercial retail space—all paying homage to a facility loved by Clevelanders since the CAC first opened its doors in 1911, then abruptly closed in 2007.

For decades, the Brecksville Nature Center has essentially been the “last one standing” of the Cleveland Metroparks' trifecta of original trailside museums, and in 2017, the center delivered programs to almost 30,000 people despite a limited, 1000-square-foot-space. Now, thanks to the recent addition of an auxiliary Trailside Program Center, the popular Nature Center can expand its presence and programming to serve more Clevelanders interested in the great outdoors.
 

The Cleveland Clinic's positive impact is felt far and wide, but how does it affect its immediate neighbors? Its new CEO is committed to finding out. Read on to learn what's in store, and get the scoop on a big FreshWater announcement!

This year, FreshWater Cleveland celebrated eight years of publication—an accomplishment we don’t take lightly in today’s unpredictable media landscape. In honor of eight great years, we’ve compiled the top eight things we’re most proud of for 2018.

The secret is out—Cleveland was recently named among the country's top six places to see Christmas lights, according to Google Trends data compiled by Lawnstarter. Our managing photographer Bob Perkoski set out to capture the magic in Public Square and spotlight Cleveland at the most wonderful time of the year.

Could Believeland become Blockland? A motivated group of movers and shakers is melding manifestation and action to make it so.

If you haven't tuned into the Hamilton Collaborative yet, it's time to find out what's "happening at the Ham."

At 60 years old, Rose has big dreams, but knows the first step towards any of her myriad goals is to get her GED. One of 22 siblings, she dropped out of high school many moons ago when she became pregnant. Raising four boys has understandably dominated the entirety of her life to date, but this summer, on a routine walk to the store in her Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, she looked in the window of Seeds of Literacy and spotted site coordinator Kara Krawiec.

“I could see her bouncing around, and I knew I had to go in to see what was going on in here,” recalls Rose. “I’ve been coming four times a week ever since.”

Refresh Collective has long been hanging out at the intersection of cool, creativity, and community, but now it has an actual brick-and-mortar storefront to call all its own.