Arts + Culture
A group of residents in the Shaker Square-Larchmere community of Cleveland have organized the second Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour to promote the neighborhood's many amenities and raise funds for a legacy project in the community.
The home tour will take place on Saturday, September 17th from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. The event will highlight the neighborhood's varied housing stock, showcasing single-family and two-family homes, luxury condominiums and apartments.
To attract tour-goers to "live, work and play" within the neighborhoods around Shaker Square, event organizers are touting not only the unique homes within the area, but also the art, antique, restaurant and entertainment establishments in the Shaker Square and Larchmere commercial districts.
In a press release, organizers also cite amenities such as a grocery store and cinema in walking distance; mouth-watering restaurants and farmer's market; proximity to the Shaker Square RTA station; and financial incentives towards purchasing a home through the Greater Circle Living Program.
The weekend kicks off Friday, September 16th with "Rooftop Revelry Over the Square," a fundraiser that will take place on two Shaker Square condominium rooftops that feature spectacular city and skyline views.
Organizers say they intend to use the funds raised from both events to make an as-yet-to-be-named "legacy gift" to the Larchmere Boulevard enhancement project. This $700,000 improvement project will redevelop the Larchmere streetscape with new lighting, street trees, decorative crosswalks, sidewalks and other amenities.
Tickets to the Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour cost $15 if purchased online beforehand or $20 on the day of the event. The tour begins at Sergio's Sarava on Shaker Square. Tickets to "Rooftop Revelry" cost $75 and include home tour admission.
Source: Katharyne Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The home tour will take place on Saturday, September 17th from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. The event will highlight the neighborhood's varied housing stock, showcasing single-family and two-family homes, luxury condominiums and apartments.
To attract tour-goers to "live, work and play" within the neighborhoods around Shaker Square, event organizers are touting not only the unique homes within the area, but also the art, antique, restaurant and entertainment establishments in the Shaker Square and Larchmere commercial districts.
In a press release, organizers also cite amenities such as a grocery store and cinema in walking distance; mouth-watering restaurants and farmer's market; proximity to the Shaker Square RTA station; and financial incentives towards purchasing a home through the Greater Circle Living Program.
The weekend kicks off Friday, September 16th with "Rooftop Revelry Over the Square," a fundraiser that will take place on two Shaker Square condominium rooftops that feature spectacular city and skyline views.
Organizers say they intend to use the funds raised from both events to make an as-yet-to-be-named "legacy gift" to the Larchmere Boulevard enhancement project. This $700,000 improvement project will redevelop the Larchmere streetscape with new lighting, street trees, decorative crosswalks, sidewalks and other amenities.
Tickets to the Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour cost $15 if purchased online beforehand or $20 on the day of the event. The tour begins at Sergio's Sarava on Shaker Square. Tickets to "Rooftop Revelry" cost $75 and include home tour admission.
Source: Katharyne Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote
avengers flick to explode onto streets of cleve
"If you're all about 'The Avengers,' then Cleveland is the place to be," says this recent item on MTV's website.
The article reports that the four-week filming schedule is for a pivotal -- and explosive -- scene in the Marvel Comics superhero flick.
"Word is that a big battle will be shot [in Cleveland]. Odds are it will be the biggest battle of the film and appear toward the end."
"A movie like this is guaranteed to have a big battle," the article continues. "But now it seems we can pinpoint it to Cleveland, so it ought to be especially fun to watch filming there. Apparently there will be lots of explosions in the downtown."
Read the rest here.
The article reports that the four-week filming schedule is for a pivotal -- and explosive -- scene in the Marvel Comics superhero flick.
"Word is that a big battle will be shot [in Cleveland]. Odds are it will be the biggest battle of the film and appear toward the end."
"A movie like this is guaranteed to have a big battle," the article continues. "But now it seems we can pinpoint it to Cleveland, so it ought to be especially fun to watch filming there. Apparently there will be lots of explosions in the downtown."
Read the rest here.
chris 'hodge podge' hodgson to land on food network this sunday
This coming Sunday, August 14, food truck impresario Chris Hodgson will make his cable TV debut when Season 2 of the Food Network's "Great Food Truck Race" takes to the airwaves.
Hosted by Tyler Florence, the series features eight top food trucks competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Over the course of seven weeks, the trucks engage in a cross-country battle, with one team being eliminated at each stop. Thanks to omnipresent social media, Hodgson fans in Cleveland know that our favorite lunch-wagon guru makes it clear to the final week with his newly christened second truck, Hodge Podge. What happens next is a well-guarded secret.
Each week, Happy Dog will host hosting a viewing party. Hodgson will have both food trucks parked outside the Detroit Shoreway venue to feed fans. The show will be broadcast on all five of the bar's flat-screen TVs.
Check the schedule here.
Hosted by Tyler Florence, the series features eight top food trucks competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Over the course of seven weeks, the trucks engage in a cross-country battle, with one team being eliminated at each stop. Thanks to omnipresent social media, Hodgson fans in Cleveland know that our favorite lunch-wagon guru makes it clear to the final week with his newly christened second truck, Hodge Podge. What happens next is a well-guarded secret.
Each week, Happy Dog will host hosting a viewing party. Hodgson will have both food trucks parked outside the Detroit Shoreway venue to feed fans. The show will be broadcast on all five of the bar's flat-screen TVs.
Check the schedule here.
port authority lakefront plans in the news
A recent article in Dredging Today titled "Port of Cleveland Unveils Plan for City's Lakefront Development" outlines the Cuyahoga County Port Authority's immediate plans and challenges.
"The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's plan will try to bring jobs to the lakefront while creating recreational development like the kind that once thrived in the Flats," says the article. "Making that happen means shoring up the slowly-sliding Irishtown Bend and finding a suitable home for heavily metallic sediment dredged from the Cuyahoga River and port."
Development has already begun, it continues, mentioning Scott Wolstein and Fairmount Properties' $275-million East Bank project. The article also states that the Port Authority recently purchased a four-story building on West 9th Street for $3.1 million, which will serve as its new home.
Other development, most notably around Cleveland Browns Stadium and the shoring up of Irishtown Bend, are also mentioned.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile, the Port of Cleveland is currently soliciting feedback on its Strategic Action Plan. Review the Strategic Action Plan and give your feedback through the online survey. The Port will review all public comments and the Board will later vote on proposed recommendations.
"The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's plan will try to bring jobs to the lakefront while creating recreational development like the kind that once thrived in the Flats," says the article. "Making that happen means shoring up the slowly-sliding Irishtown Bend and finding a suitable home for heavily metallic sediment dredged from the Cuyahoga River and port."
Development has already begun, it continues, mentioning Scott Wolstein and Fairmount Properties' $275-million East Bank project. The article also states that the Port Authority recently purchased a four-story building on West 9th Street for $3.1 million, which will serve as its new home.
Other development, most notably around Cleveland Browns Stadium and the shoring up of Irishtown Bend, are also mentioned.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile, the Port of Cleveland is currently soliciting feedback on its Strategic Action Plan. Review the Strategic Action Plan and give your feedback through the online survey. The Port will review all public comments and the Board will later vote on proposed recommendations.
film crews add up to $5.3m in economic boost and 41,000 hotel room nights
Movies presently being filmed in Cleveland are translating into millions of dollars and thousands of room nights for area hotels, according to the Ohio Department of Development. The films, most of which are taking advantage of the new Ohio Film Tax Credit, could generate close to $5.3 million in economic activity and more than 41,000 room nights, according to an article in HotelNewsNow.com.
Indeed, those figures might be modest, says Katie Sabatino, public information officer for the state development department. "There are plenty more film and TV projects that come to Ohio and use hotel nights that do not use the tax credit, and since there is no real film permit in Ohio, it is impossible to know exactly how many room nights are used," she is quoted in the article as saying.
"The Avengers," which is filming in Cleveland now, is the largest feature film ever made in Ohio, according to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. That film alone is responsible for gobbling up 27,000 room nights, says the commission's Ivan Schwarz. Six other movies are currently being filmed in Cleveland.
Check out the rest of the screenplay here.
Indeed, those figures might be modest, says Katie Sabatino, public information officer for the state development department. "There are plenty more film and TV projects that come to Ohio and use hotel nights that do not use the tax credit, and since there is no real film permit in Ohio, it is impossible to know exactly how many room nights are used," she is quoted in the article as saying.
"The Avengers," which is filming in Cleveland now, is the largest feature film ever made in Ohio, according to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. That film alone is responsible for gobbling up 27,000 room nights, says the commission's Ivan Schwarz. Six other movies are currently being filmed in Cleveland.
Check out the rest of the screenplay here.
With months-long waiting lists for many downtown apartments, it's clear that Cleveland is attracting plenty of new residents. But some aren't "new" at all. Boomerangs, native Clevelanders who've left and returned, claim a host of reasons for their homecoming. What they often find upon arrival is a city far different from the one they left behind.
January of last year, a natural gas explosion ripped through a vacant house on W. 83rd Street in Cleveland, destroying the home, damaging 57 others, and displacing at least 15 families.
Ultimately, investigators determined that the devastating eruption was caused by a gas main that hadn't been shut off at the street. This prompted neighbors and city officials to wonder if many of Cleveland's vacant and abandoned homes aren't ticking time bombs, waiting to explode under the right conditions.
In the weeks and months following the incident, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) found homes for the displaced families and co-hosted a benefit that raised over $30,000. Yet the hazard of potential gas explosions and arson continue to loom large in Cleveland's neighborhoods.
Next Thursday, July 28th, a new art and architecture installation will be unveiled that is intended to be a creative, healing response to the incident. Dubbing it "urban therapy," area residents Richey Piiparinen and Melissa Daubert will create an art installation at a vacant home on W. 83rd, then deconstruct it and reuse parts of it to create a nearby community park and reading garden.
Piiparinen and Daubert, who have volunteered their time on this project, spent the past year raising funds, gathering neighbors' ideas about what "home" means to them, and tracing residents' silhouettes. During the 10-day installation, these ideas and silhouettes will be projected onto the windows of the home at 2040 W. 83rd, just a few doors down from the lot where the explosion occurred.
"There's a therapy component and an intervention component," explains Piiparinen. "We're transforming the dead symbol of this house into a sign of rebirth, and we're also creating a neighborhood asset inspired by the explosion."
Piiparinen and Daubert led a team of volunteer residents that included designer Jim Fish, architect Robert Donaldson, contractor Chris Shimp and electrician Julie Lindstrom. The new community park was funded by the West End Urbanteers Block Club, DSCDO, the city of Cleveland and Neighborhood Connections.
A public reception for the West 83rd Street Project will be held on July 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Source: Richey Piiparinen
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Ultimately, investigators determined that the devastating eruption was caused by a gas main that hadn't been shut off at the street. This prompted neighbors and city officials to wonder if many of Cleveland's vacant and abandoned homes aren't ticking time bombs, waiting to explode under the right conditions.
In the weeks and months following the incident, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) found homes for the displaced families and co-hosted a benefit that raised over $30,000. Yet the hazard of potential gas explosions and arson continue to loom large in Cleveland's neighborhoods.
Next Thursday, July 28th, a new art and architecture installation will be unveiled that is intended to be a creative, healing response to the incident. Dubbing it "urban therapy," area residents Richey Piiparinen and Melissa Daubert will create an art installation at a vacant home on W. 83rd, then deconstruct it and reuse parts of it to create a nearby community park and reading garden.
Piiparinen and Daubert, who have volunteered their time on this project, spent the past year raising funds, gathering neighbors' ideas about what "home" means to them, and tracing residents' silhouettes. During the 10-day installation, these ideas and silhouettes will be projected onto the windows of the home at 2040 W. 83rd, just a few doors down from the lot where the explosion occurred.
"There's a therapy component and an intervention component," explains Piiparinen. "We're transforming the dead symbol of this house into a sign of rebirth, and we're also creating a neighborhood asset inspired by the explosion."
Piiparinen and Daubert led a team of volunteer residents that included designer Jim Fish, architect Robert Donaldson, contractor Chris Shimp and electrician Julie Lindstrom. The new community park was funded by the West End Urbanteers Block Club, DSCDO, the city of Cleveland and Neighborhood Connections.
A public reception for the West 83rd Street Project will be held on July 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Source: Richey Piiparinen
Writer: Lee Chilcote
It's been several years since I relocated from Florida to Cleveland. And truth is, I was hesitant to claim myself a queer in the Midwest, especially in Ohio, which earned a reputation for its lack of acceptance. What I discovered, however, was a gay oasis on the North Coast. Here, I have the option of frequenting the large variety of LGBT-owned businesses exclusively -- but I don't have to. To me, that's the most accurate meaning of the phrase "queer-friendly."
hollywood is headed to space – in sandusky
Multiple sources are reporting that key scenes in director Joss Whedon's film "The Avengers" will be shot at NASA's Plum Brook Station. The 6,400-acre test facility near Sandusky boasts the Space Power Facility, the world's largest space environment simulation chamber. The massive chamber can simulate a low-earth orbiting environment.
Shooting is scheduled to begin next month and will include Earth-bound stars Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans.
Other principal scenes for the Marvel Comics-based flick are being shot in and around Cleveland throughout the summer. Countless residents have enlisted their services to act as extras in the film in the hopes of snagging a frame of screen time.
Shooting is scheduled to begin next month and will include Earth-bound stars Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans.
Other principal scenes for the Marvel Comics-based flick are being shot in and around Cleveland throughout the summer. Countless residents have enlisted their services to act as extras in the film in the hopes of snagging a frame of screen time.
the always-progressive cleveland public library to offer patrons free music downloads
Cleveland Public Library has partnered with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to offer its patrons free weekly music downloads.
"CPL knows how passionate Clevelanders are about music, and the importance of music in our community, its history, and its future," CPL director Felton Thomas explained. "CPL has a history of providing our patrons with access to music -- starting as far back as sheet music and records and evolving to CDs. In today's digital world, providing free downloads is the logical next step to give our patrons a way to experience their favorite music."
The music download service launched this week. Library patrons access the available music through a new MyTunes page on the library's website. Cardholders can download up to three songs a week and over 150 per year from Sony's entire catalogue. Patrons get to keep the songs they download forever, legally, and at no cost to them.
To learn more about the service click here.
"CPL knows how passionate Clevelanders are about music, and the importance of music in our community, its history, and its future," CPL director Felton Thomas explained. "CPL has a history of providing our patrons with access to music -- starting as far back as sheet music and records and evolving to CDs. In today's digital world, providing free downloads is the logical next step to give our patrons a way to experience their favorite music."
The music download service launched this week. Library patrons access the available music through a new MyTunes page on the library's website. Cardholders can download up to three songs a week and over 150 per year from Sony's entire catalogue. Patrons get to keep the songs they download forever, legally, and at no cost to them.
To learn more about the service click here.
Cleveland Kings and Girls, a six-year-old outfit that performs regularly at Bounce Nightclub, features an eclectic troupe of performers that includes drag kings, drag queens, trans kings and bio-boys and girls. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski takes us on a risk-free sneak peek. Consider your two-drink minimum waived.
Students from St. Martin dePorres High School in Cleveland are sprucing up their neighborhood. Thirty three students created 11 murals based on the cultural background and institutions in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.
The murals were installed on Tuesday into vacant storefronts between East 60th and East 64th Streets as a way to liven up that section of St. Clair Avenue near the school, eliminating blight and creating interest in the corridor.
"It really came together well because the students really learned about the culture of the area, and that is reflected in the art," says Jamar Doyle, project and commercial development director for the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. "We wanted to brighten up the area so it wouldn't look so drab."
The project was organized by St. Martin dePorres service coordinator Mary Grasla and art teacher Michelle Brickner. Funding came from a Cleveland Cityworks grant and support from DayGlo Color, which is based in the neighborhood.
The murals are portable, so they can move from one storefront to another as the vacancies are filled. At least one vacant storefront in the project has already been filled by a sandwich shop. Placement of the murals is up to the building owners.
The project was such a hit, the school is considering making it a yearly thing. "We may continue the project as a learning piece," says Doyle. "It was a lot of fun."
Source: Jamar Doyle
Writer: Karin Connelly
The renewal of an urban core usually involves, at some point, a grand, sweeping plan that calls for huge development projects costing millions, or billions, of dollars: a new convention center, a mass transit system, a comprehensive waterfront plan. But as cities realize the importance of attracting and retaining talent, it's the smaller development projects and neighborhood investment that are driving real and sustainable change.
The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) announced Tuesday that it has selected North Collinwood for its Artists in Residence Program, an effort to use artist-based development to help revitalize one urban neighborhood.
The two-year, $500,000 pilot program will provide a small loan program for artists buying or rehabbing homes in the target area, a small grant program to support artists' work in carrying out community-based projects, and artist home ownership services such as credit counseling and saving programs.
A panel of arts, community development and planning experts selected the target neighborhood through a competitive process. Seth Beattie, Strategic Initiative Director for CPAC, said the panel was impressed by the grassroots, arts-based approach of Northeast Shores Development Corporation, the nonprofit that serves the neighborhood. A total of 13 community development corporations from various Cleveland neighborhoods applied to the program.
"We wanted to work with someone that got it, and Northeast Shores made a compelling case," says Beattie. "They've done a great job of giving artists license to use the neighborhood as their canvas, yet they've followed behind and supported them, resulting in organic, grassroots redevelopment of the neighborhood." He cited the arts-based businesses on Waterloo Road as one example.
Although the details of the program have yet to be worked out, Beattie mentioned several possibilities, including $2,500-$10,000 grants to artists for community-based projects, arts-based community dialogues, and integrating arts-based development into current redevelopment projects in a deeper way.
The program is being funded in part through a $250,000 grant from Leveraging Investments in Creativity's Creative Communities Challenge Grant Program, a one-time competitive grant program made possible through the support of the Kresge Foundation.
CPAC is a nonprofit arts and culture service organization that works to strengthen Greater Cleveland's arts and culture sector. Some of its programs include the Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute, a business training course addressing the needs of working artists, and From Rust Belt to Artist Belt, a conference series that examines the role of artists in the redevelopment of industrial cities.
Source: Seth Beattie
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The two-year, $500,000 pilot program will provide a small loan program for artists buying or rehabbing homes in the target area, a small grant program to support artists' work in carrying out community-based projects, and artist home ownership services such as credit counseling and saving programs.
A panel of arts, community development and planning experts selected the target neighborhood through a competitive process. Seth Beattie, Strategic Initiative Director for CPAC, said the panel was impressed by the grassroots, arts-based approach of Northeast Shores Development Corporation, the nonprofit that serves the neighborhood. A total of 13 community development corporations from various Cleveland neighborhoods applied to the program.
"We wanted to work with someone that got it, and Northeast Shores made a compelling case," says Beattie. "They've done a great job of giving artists license to use the neighborhood as their canvas, yet they've followed behind and supported them, resulting in organic, grassroots redevelopment of the neighborhood." He cited the arts-based businesses on Waterloo Road as one example.
Although the details of the program have yet to be worked out, Beattie mentioned several possibilities, including $2,500-$10,000 grants to artists for community-based projects, arts-based community dialogues, and integrating arts-based development into current redevelopment projects in a deeper way.
The program is being funded in part through a $250,000 grant from Leveraging Investments in Creativity's Creative Communities Challenge Grant Program, a one-time competitive grant program made possible through the support of the Kresge Foundation.
CPAC is a nonprofit arts and culture service organization that works to strengthen Greater Cleveland's arts and culture sector. Some of its programs include the Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute, a business training course addressing the needs of working artists, and From Rust Belt to Artist Belt, a conference series that examines the role of artists in the redevelopment of industrial cities.
Source: Seth Beattie
Writer: Lee Chilcote
As is the case everywhere else on the planet, Cleveland is graced with more than its fair share of bloggers. From politics and sports to dining and social life, nothing here escapes the scrutiny of at least a handful of online scribes. When the traditional media fails to provide that unique perspective on, say, a teenager's long-held crush on Bernie Kosar, to whom will we turn? These bloggers, for a start.
jane scott tributes sing across national media
Groundbreaking Cleveland rock music critic Jane Scott made as many fans as she did cover them for the Plain Dealer. Thus, upon learning of her recent passing to that great Green Room in the sky, a national outpouring of affection bubbled up in the national media.
A New York Times obituary wrote, "At a time when newspapers were famously inhospitable to women, Ms. Scott made her career by tackling a beat that few writers of either sex wanted -- a beat that barely existed when she began writing about rock 'n' roll in the mid-1960s."
"In Cleveland, Ms. Scott could scarcely walk down the street without fans stopping to take her picture. But she was known far beyond the city, profiled in print, on radio and on television throughout the country and abroad."
Clearly. Read the whole obit here.
Writing for The L.A. Times music blog Pop & Hiss, Holly Gleason says, "If Jane Scott leaves a legacy, beyond thousands of stories filed, it's the artists who knew they were somebody because she turned her notebook toward them. As Reed enthused for her 80th birthday, "I love Jane Scott. I always have, I always will. When I was in the Velvet Underground, Jane was one of the only people I can remember who was nice to us. Interested in the music, the styles -- a very smart, guileless lady who loved music and musicians and had unbiased attitudes towards the evolving culture."
"Her writing gave music deeper context for generations in the city hailed as the "Rock & Roll Capitol of the World." She captured the essence of rock coming of age, growing into maturity and finding its way into the 21st century. Her mark will be felt for years to come."
Read the rest here.
A New York Times obituary wrote, "At a time when newspapers were famously inhospitable to women, Ms. Scott made her career by tackling a beat that few writers of either sex wanted -- a beat that barely existed when she began writing about rock 'n' roll in the mid-1960s."
"In Cleveland, Ms. Scott could scarcely walk down the street without fans stopping to take her picture. But she was known far beyond the city, profiled in print, on radio and on television throughout the country and abroad."
Clearly. Read the whole obit here.
Writing for The L.A. Times music blog Pop & Hiss, Holly Gleason says, "If Jane Scott leaves a legacy, beyond thousands of stories filed, it's the artists who knew they were somebody because she turned her notebook toward them. As Reed enthused for her 80th birthday, "I love Jane Scott. I always have, I always will. When I was in the Velvet Underground, Jane was one of the only people I can remember who was nice to us. Interested in the music, the styles -- a very smart, guileless lady who loved music and musicians and had unbiased attitudes towards the evolving culture."
"Her writing gave music deeper context for generations in the city hailed as the "Rock & Roll Capitol of the World." She captured the essence of rock coming of age, growing into maturity and finding its way into the 21st century. Her mark will be felt for years to come."
Read the rest here.
cleveland orchestra invites bloggers backstage for meet and greet
Last weekend, the Cleveland Orchestra opened up Blossom's backstage doors to area bloggers and media types for a casual "meet the musician" panel discussion. With nary a string, reed or drumstick in sight, the cultured quartet performed with understated charm as they chatted about starting out.
"Every Korean kid has to take piano lessons," said Jung-Min Amy Lee. Alas, her teacher reported that she did indeed have musical talent, but it wasn't in piano. Lee considered the cello, but her mother nixed those aspirations. "My mom said, 'No. That thing is so big, I'm going to have to carry it around for her!'" so Lee settled on the infinitely more manageable violin.
She wasn't the only one who struggled. Principal timpanist Paul Yancich detailed his long family history with classical music and how he started out as a bit of a black sheep.
"They could not find an instrument that I liked," said Yancich. His father suggested the French horn. "I had one lesson and that was it." So it went until he saw a pair of drumsticks sticking out of a schoolmate's pocket. Yancich was hypnotized and never looked back.
Principal clarinetist Frank Cohen succinctly explained why he chose the clarinet as a kid. "It was the only instrument I could get a sound out of."
The rocky start-ups notwithstanding, when the musicians joined the rest of the orchestra, their performance of the John Adams Violin Concerto and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 dazzled the audience.
Principal violinist Stephen Rose summed up the orchestral experience thusly:
"You do really feel like one small, small part of this massive, beautiful, round sound. It's a special kind of feeling." Judging from the audience's thunderous applause, that feeling spread throughout Blossom amphitheatre.
The Orchestra's line up for the 2011 season at Blossom features shows from Broadway Classics to the music of Irving Berlin and the Joffrey Ballet. They run every weekend though September 10. With incredibly reasonable ticket pricing from $19 to $53, and books of 10 flexible lawn tickets for $139, everyone can afford to enjoy this staple of cool Cleveland culture.
Writer: Erin O'Brien
"Every Korean kid has to take piano lessons," said Jung-Min Amy Lee. Alas, her teacher reported that she did indeed have musical talent, but it wasn't in piano. Lee considered the cello, but her mother nixed those aspirations. "My mom said, 'No. That thing is so big, I'm going to have to carry it around for her!'" so Lee settled on the infinitely more manageable violin.
She wasn't the only one who struggled. Principal timpanist Paul Yancich detailed his long family history with classical music and how he started out as a bit of a black sheep.
"They could not find an instrument that I liked," said Yancich. His father suggested the French horn. "I had one lesson and that was it." So it went until he saw a pair of drumsticks sticking out of a schoolmate's pocket. Yancich was hypnotized and never looked back.
Principal clarinetist Frank Cohen succinctly explained why he chose the clarinet as a kid. "It was the only instrument I could get a sound out of."
The rocky start-ups notwithstanding, when the musicians joined the rest of the orchestra, their performance of the John Adams Violin Concerto and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 dazzled the audience.
Principal violinist Stephen Rose summed up the orchestral experience thusly:
"You do really feel like one small, small part of this massive, beautiful, round sound. It's a special kind of feeling." Judging from the audience's thunderous applause, that feeling spread throughout Blossom amphitheatre.
The Orchestra's line up for the 2011 season at Blossom features shows from Broadway Classics to the music of Irving Berlin and the Joffrey Ballet. They run every weekend though September 10. With incredibly reasonable ticket pricing from $19 to $53, and books of 10 flexible lawn tickets for $139, everyone can afford to enjoy this staple of cool Cleveland culture.
Writer: Erin O'Brien
ray's mtb park gets nod in wired mag
In an article titled "Go Big, Get Air, Get Fit" in the July 2011 issue of Wired magazine, Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park is included along with other off-beat exercise options.
"Weights. Treadmills. Spin classes. Let's face it," begins the article, "workout innovations just haven't kept pace with advances in TV, iPad, and snack-food technology. That said, a few forward-looking gyms offer activities that might actually compete with our Twitter/Netflix/PizzaRanch fixations."
Writer Steven Nereo calls Ray's the only brand of indoor park in the country built specifically for mountain bikes. "There are separate areas for beginners and experts, with wood ramps and assorted obstacles (like rocks and logs, for example) connected by looping trails. The buildings are closed during the summer months, when Ray's can't compete with Mother Nature's gym."
Ray's will re-open October 1, 2011 -- bigger and better than ever.
"Weights. Treadmills. Spin classes. Let's face it," begins the article, "workout innovations just haven't kept pace with advances in TV, iPad, and snack-food technology. That said, a few forward-looking gyms offer activities that might actually compete with our Twitter/Netflix/PizzaRanch fixations."
Writer Steven Nereo calls Ray's the only brand of indoor park in the country built specifically for mountain bikes. "There are separate areas for beginners and experts, with wood ramps and assorted obstacles (like rocks and logs, for example) connected by looping trails. The buildings are closed during the summer months, when Ray's can't compete with Mother Nature's gym."
Ray's will re-open October 1, 2011 -- bigger and better than ever.