Cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer Tara Seibel has been creating collectible posters for the Little Italy Art Walk since 2014. Last December she completed the mural "Happy Feast" in Presti's Bakery and will host several artists in her gallery above the bakery to kick off this year's Art Walk, running May 31 through June 2.

This coming June will mark 100 years since Cleveland hosted the first of three Republican National Conventions—in June 1924, 1936, and 2016. The city has yet to host a Democratic National Convention. FreshWater contributing editor Grant Segall takes a look back at how Cleveland welcomed guests during each of the three historic events.

After 38 years at the helm of Cleveland Cinematheque, co-founder and director John Ewing will step down from his post on June 30, with Bilgesu Sisman taking over. Ewing takes a moment to reflect on nearly five decades of uplifting classic, foreign, and independent films at Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and ultimately at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He is spending his final months at Cinematheque showing some his favorite films in his “Unfinished Business/Parting Glances” and "Movie Crazy" series.

The 2024 Celebration of Preservation, hosted by the Cleveland Restoration Society and the American Institute of Architects Cleveland, will highlight some of the best restoration and historical architecture projects in the past year at the Ariel LaSalle Theater on May 22. The event will honor projects like the West Side Market clock tower, the conversion of the former Henry W. Longfellow Elementary School in Collinwood into affordable senior apartments, and the Ford Hessler Apartments.

The two-day Cleveland Asian Festival gets going later this month in AsiaTown, with plenty of food, music, dancing, demonstrations, and other fun! Festival admission and parking are free, too!

MAGNET's first Manufacturing Blueprint Report Card revealed that Northeast Ohio is making strides as an advanced production hub, illustrated by companies like Midway Swiss Turn, Inc and E.C. Kitzel & Sons. But there is still work to do. For instance, while high-tech adoption grew 80% since 2019, only a small number of companies are currently using Industry 4.0 innovations.

Empowerment was top-of-mind for Cleveland Neighborhood Progress when it recently invested $2.013 million into 17 CDCs, with focus on the residents and needs like home repairs, community engagement, and real estate development.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture this week approved a resolution to Cuyahoga County Council, requesting an increased cigarette tax levy be placed on the November ballot to generate revenue so it can continue to fund nonprofit arts and culture organizations. If approved, CAC will work with Assembly for the Arts and Assembly for Action to gain support for the tax increase.

Last week, CHN Housing Partners and a host of partners opened the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House—a project eight years in the making—to provide parents attending school full time an affordable, safe place to live with wrap-around services. The new residents are just steps away from Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus and Cleveland State University, or a short drive from Lorain County Community College School of Nursing.

Morris Ervin overcame a troubled past to become a passionate educator and advocate for social justice. His memoir, “Reflections of a Troubled Black Man,” recounts his transformation and his ongoing work to foster empathy and inclusivity in challenging environments. Ervin will host a book signing infused with music and meditation at The Yoga Lab, reflecting his journey and mission.

From the Near West Theatre in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood and Chagrin Valley Little Theater in Chagrin Falls, to Akron, Medina, and Ashtabula, "The Prom" musical is flourishing with audiences and actors alike. Ken Schneck, editor of "The Buckeye Flame" and Baldwin Wallace University professor, decided to find out why.

Canalway kicked off its 2024 Towpath Trilogy race series with the Towpath Half and 5 Mile Race last Sunday, with more than 500 runners participating. Bob Perkoski caught the runners and the fans at the Cleveland Metroparks Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.

Experience nearly 160 works of secular and sacred art from across geographies and faiths in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s newest exhibition, Africa & Byzantium, running through Sunday, July 21 in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit explores the great civilizations that created their own unique arts while also building a shared visual culture across the regions linked by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Nile River, and the Sahara Desert.

In early April, the City of Cleveland, Enterprise Community Partners, Cuyahoga Land Bank, CHN Housing Partners, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless united with Rocket Community Fund to unveil the Make It Home Cleveland program. Aiming to address tax foreclosure and improve Black homeownership rates in East Side neighborhoods, the initiative offers renters the chance to become homeowners through financial support and housing stability services.

The thousands of people who descended on downtown Cleveland last weekend for the NCAA Women's Final Four were also treated to two free events: Bounce and Tourney Town, where Bob Perkoski caught all the fun.

In response to Cleveland's 2020 ranking as the worst city in overall outcomes for Black Women, Enlightened Solutions in April initiated Project Noir—a study to assesses local disparities. Now the organization looks at whether things have changed, and how.

The 48th annual Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) lifted the curtain to a packed house last Thursday, April 4 in Playhouse Square's Connor Palace Theatre with the unveiling of the annual CIFF trailer and a screening of the action/comedy “Thelma.” Read about opening night and learn what to catch this week at CIFF.

Planners have been hard at work, creating events, parties, and celebrations for the total solar eclipse over Cleveland today—the first time Cleveland has been in totality since 1808. If you haven't made your viewing plans yet, check out what University Circle, Inc., the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes have going on today!

Jason Toth's 2022 photo of a willow tree at Edgewater Beach sparked a transformative journey as he dealt with his POTS diagnosis. Two years later the former marketing exec has a booming career in Photographic Pop Art with J Toth Art in City Goods, and currently has an exhibit at Kaiser Gallery in Hingetown.

With hundreds of feature and short films to choose from at the upcoming Cleveland International Film Festival, We chose two films with Cleveland ties to highlight: "What's Next?," the story of a 101-year-old physician, and "American Delivery," a documentary on the vital work of nurses in addressing the country's maternal mortality epidemic. The MetroHealth System is featured and Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing worked on the film's advisory team.