Two new benches adorn Hildana Park on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights’ Moreland District. But aside from providing a place to sit, these benches offer much more to park visitors.

The colorful, solar-powered Soofa Benches, which launched out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab in 2014, offer both a place to sit and a place to recharge phones and other devices and connect to the Internet. 

Learn more about what these smart benches offer here.

While the Port of Cleveland is well known as the fastest route between the Midwest and Northern Europe — bringing 13 million tons of cargo anually through the Cleveland Harbor, which translates into $3.5 billion in annual economic activity and more than 20,000 jobs — last week marked the arrival of a large cruise ship to Cleveland.
 
Victory Cruise Lines’ Victory 1 docked at the Port last Tuesday, June 20 as part of its Great Lakes Grand Discovery tour. The stop was the first of at least eight visits this cruising season, says Jade Davis, vice president of external affairs for the Port of Cleveland.

Find out more about the impact Victory 1 has on the city here.

After much anticipation, the new 12,000-square-foot Edgewater Beach House opened last Friday. The open air, two-story amenity offers stunning views of Lake Erie and a place to kick back and relax with friends. It also serves as a connection point with walking paths leading to the popular green space from surrounding neighborhoods.

Read more about all the beach house has to offer beach goers this summer.

Billed as "Palettes for the Senses: Art + Scent Demystified," HEDGE Gallery's new show may be described any number of ways, but "demystified" probably isn't among them. Instead, the visual and olfactory show evokes things profoundly mystifying.
 
A collection of 11 local and national artists presents works in various media, each of which is paired with a scent carefully curated by Ann Bouterse of Indigo Perfumery.
 
Next to each offering, a glass cloche upon a pedestal houses a vial of perfume. Visitors are invited to lift the dome and inhale deeply of its upturned interior. The scents are immersive to the point of sensuality and beyond. They also impart an unexpected new dimension to the artworks that is surprisingly effective.
 
Try Nikki Woods' Sugar Shack paired with Sulmona by Coquillete Paris, Liz Maugens' Fractured Atlas and funky neon Facts of Life accented by Molecule 02 by Escentric Molecules or Rebecca Cross's Sheild (pink spikes) and Shield (green spikes) floating upon notes of Dupont Circle by monsillage.
 
This author will not attempt the journalistic version of a "dancing about architecture" faux pas and apply awkward descriptions to these transcendent and unique perfumes. Suffice it to say when you leave the show, the quiet and personal experience stays with you like the impression of a lover's gentle lips.
 
Readers are invited to judge for themselves at the opening reception tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. A  when Bouterse of Indigo will be present to discuss the creation of custom fragrances and the complex nature of the scents she curated for the show. This event is free and open to the public.
 
The gallery's regular hours are Tuesday through Friday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every third Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Weekends and evenings by appointment. HEDGE is on the second floor of the 78th Street Studios.
 
"Palettes for the Senses: Art + Scent Demystified" will be on view through March 3.
 

As a small-business owner, Mark D’Agostino knows firsthand the difficulties of staffing a human resources department. All too often, HR employees are overworked, undertrained and unsupported by company leadership, he says.
 
To address these issues, D’Agostino launched ConnectedHR, a professional services firm that provides its 30 clients with experienced HR consultants. ConnectedHR personnel work on-site at companies—albeit off their payroll and benefits programs—diving into the complex realm of workers' compensation claims, employee engagement and other duties beholden to an in-house HR operation.
 
"We go out to organizations and become their HR entity on a part-time basis," says D’Agostino, who started his Independence-based business in 2014. "We have one young woman who works at five different organizations each day of the week."
 
Company "technicians" are spread out to diverse industries such as biotech, childcare and law. Cleveland law firm The Rathbone Group and drug discovery company BioMotiv are among the entities currently hosting a ConnectedHR staff member. Client business models may differ, but human resources basics are similar across industries, D’Agostino notes.
 
"Our technicians have an agenda and structure they follow very closely," he says. "It's streamlined enough that they know what aspects to focus on."
 
Businesses that enlist D’Agostino's services generally don't have an HR strategy in place. The company founder and president understands how that goes, as he didn't have a human resources staff at the business supply distribution company he ran prior to launching ConnectedHR. Visiting other offices at the time revealed HR's dispersal throughout harried personnel groups. From there, a vision for a new employee engagement approach came into being.
 
Since its inception, ConnectedHR has steadily grown its client base and topped $1 million in annual revenue. D’Agostino enjoys working with an established clientele that have reached a stage of growth where a level of HR professionalism is needed.
 
"I'm also excited about my team," D’Agostino says. "There's such an energy and vibrancy with them. They're a very educated, experienced group."
 
Ensuring worker well-being is especially satisfying in a region where small business is an economic driver.
 
"I'm passionate about supporting these organizations, because I'm a small business owner, too," says D’Agostino. "My clients want to be a good employer for their employees." 

"Nice matters" at All City Candy, whether simply greeting customers at the door or creating treat-filled gift baskets for corporate events, owner Elisabeth Sapell says.
 
Kindness as a core value has served the Richmond Heights candy store well over the past three years, during which it's offered up 4,000 tasty items from 100 manufacturers and distributors. All City Candy has grown 25 percent annually since October 2013, when Sapell first opened her colorful, candy-scented 6,000-square-foot space at 746 Richmond Road.
 
Sapell points to the store's atmosphere of joy and nostalgia that keeps sweet-toothed consumers coming back. Wide aisles provide bulging bins of hard-shelled chocolates and jelly beans customers can mix and match themselves, while nearby racks overflow with familiar brands and an assortment of retro taste treats.
 
"We're trying to inspire fun and happiness," says Sapell. "It's like a little wonderland here."
 
All City Candy expanded its line to include the Pretzelicious brand of gourmet chocolate pretzels, which are packaged with chocolate-dipped Oreos and other goodies for corporate getaways. Over the last 12 months, the has store sent upwards of 1,000 treat baskets to its business clients. Weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and birthday parties get bulk orders, too, resulting in steady growth for the megastore.
 
An October 23 third anniversary celebration reflected the fun-loving attitude that's brought All City Candy such success, its owner says. About a thousand visitors enjoyed games and giveaways throughout the day, along with a Halloween-themed candy buffet and chocolate pretzel dipping display. 
 
Community and charity events are another piece of Sapell's business model. In recent months, the store hosted a party pairing wines with different candies. All City Candy also supplied sweet snacks to young patients at University Hospitals during the holiday season.
 
"Our mission is to inspire people to be creative, kind and giving," says Sapell. "What did we do today to make someone happy?"
 
Sapell is glad to bring fun to the retail experience, a state of beings she recalls from working in the family grocery store, Sapell's Bi-Rite in Lakewood. Happiness spreads from customers via social media, or a visitor gleefully calling a friend while walking the aisles and seeing the deliciousness on display.
 
"We looked at our core values, and it's more than just selling candy," says Sapell. "It's about creating a place where people can have a good time and get away from what's stressing them out." 

America's Got Talent invites all singers, dancers, magicians, performers and purveyors of entertainment to come and show them what you've got at an open call audition on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at the Huntington Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Ave. in downtown Cleveland.

Details on registration, creating a Performer Profile and auditioning online for the show's season 12 are available here.

“There’s no show on television that changes lives and discovers stars the way that America’s Got Talent does,” said executive producer Sam Donnelly in a statement. “Each year we continue to find new and amazing acts through our open auditions.  We’re excited to visit each of these cities to discover the best talent they have to offer.”

A no-frills cheat sheet. Click through for more information on all the events. Let's have a great October, Cleveland!

Oct. 1 and 8: Uptown Saturday Nights, University Circle. FREE.
 
Oct. 2: International Cleveland Community Day, Cleveland Art Museum. FREE.
 
Oct. 7: Cleveland Institute of Art's Lunch on Fridays: Michela Picchi. FREE.
 
Oct. 8: Tour Undiscovered E. 40^th Street on Lolly the Trolley. $5.
 
Oct. 12: Concert at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern featuring Dutch Babies, Skim the Reason and Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. FREE.
 
Oct. 15: Sweet Moses presents a boogie - woogie retro event featuring "The Everley Sisters." FREE.
 
Oct. 22 and 23: $1 Family Night, Cedar Lee Theatre. "Wallace and Gromit" The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." $1.
 
Oct. 23: All City Candy's 3^rd Anniversary Extravaganza. FREE.
 
Oct. 23: MOCA: Preschool Play Date: Artsquad Plays! FREE.
 
Oct. 28: Carpe Diem String Quartet performs at Praxis Fiber Gallery. FREE, donations appreciated.
 

How many fresh-cut flowers can fit in a Detroit Shoreway restaurant? Anyone opting to dine at Spice Kitchen and Bar this weekend will have a chance to find out during the popular eatery's "Flower Field Takeover" event on Friday, Sept. 30th, and Saturday, Oct. 1st, from 4 to 10 p.m.

Staff is harvesting the entire half-acre Spice Acres flower field, which is part of a 13-acre sustainable family farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. All of the blooms will be transported to the restaurant in order to offer up a beautiful farewell to summer while visitors explore the fresh tastes of Spice's new fall menu.

While bouquets will be available for sale, there is no additional cost to attend the event. Reservations, however, are recommended. Call 216.961.9637 or go online to reserve your table.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) reopened its doors last Friday after a short hiatus following the wildly successful Myopia exhibit. While completely different in tone from the Mark Mothersbaugh show, the new installations reflect a unique and unexpected study in contrast that stimulates every sense.
 
Visitors are well advised to start at the top, as it were, in MOCA's fourth floor galleries, wherein Wall to Wall: Carpets by Artists unfurls. The contents are aptly described by the title – these are carpets, which sounds mundane at first blush. The content is anything but, with lush and gorgeous images that are beautifully served by the textile medium.
 
A sampling of the 30 works: Faig Ahmed's Oiling (2012) literally melts the concept of a traditional middleeastern rug design while Deep Purple, Red Shoes (Polly Apfelbaum, 2015), invites visitors to walk upon it, provided they remove their shoes. Nautilus shells notwithstanding, Infinite Carpet (Pierre Bismuth, 2008) recalls the golden rectangle. And speaking of arithmetic, Joseph Kosuth's L.W. (Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics), 2015, will have viewers indeed believing that "2 + 2 + 2 are 4."
 
Traveling to the next component of the 2016 show sounds benign enough, but – as regular visitors have come to expect – MOCA's Stair A refracts the experience. While attendees navigate the twisting stairs, Anthony Discenza's audio installation A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats advises them thusly:
 
"Think Suicide Girls meets the Pillsbury Dough Boy."
 
"Think Baywatch meets the Cuban Missile Crisis."
 
"Think Jersey Shore meets Stephen King."
 
The deep resonant voice, which is fitting of any voice-over John Q. Public is fed by media sources at every turn, is so convincing, attendees may indeed be inclined to plop down and listen to every suggestion within the 23-minute installation.
 
"Think art deco meets Jurassic Park."

Continue reading ...

On Friday, Sept. 2, Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President, and Joe DeMare, Green Party candidate for US Senate, will speak at the Natatorium, 2345 4th Street, Cuyahoga Falls. Doors open at 6 p.m. DeMare will speak at 7 p.m. Stein will speak at 8:00 p.m.

During this free event, Jill Stein will discuss her plan to help the American people with the Green New Deal, a stimulus package that will create 20 million new jobs by transitioning to renewable energy by 2030, as well as halting the devastating effects of climate change. Other topics will include her policies such as tuition free higher education, cancelling student debt, healthcare as a human right, $15 minimum wage, and foreign policy based on international law, diplomacy, and human rights.

For more information, visit the Ohio Green Party's page.

Cuyahoga County's population utilizes arts and culture in a variety of ways, from museums and theaters to smaller community festivals and neighborhood events. Recently released findings from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) show just how connected residents are to the region's arts offerings.
 
CAC's 2015 Report from the Community shares stories of county residents impacted by the 210 organizations CAC funded in 2015. Self-reported data from these groups revealed more than $383 million arts-related expenditures county-wide, including upwards of $158 million in salaries to 10,000 employees.
 
Other key statistics from the report include:
 
* 50 percent of CAC-supported programs had free admission in 2015
 
* Nearly 6.9 million people were served by arts programming last year, including 1.5 million children
 
"The report provides good evidence of the story we're telling," says Karen Gahl-Mills, CEO and executive director of CAC. "Arts and culture is having a huge impact on Cuyahoga County."
 
Nor are culture lovers only visiting conventional venues like the ballet or a gallery, notes Gahl-Mills. Nature and science organizations, community gardens and other non-traditional entities are attracting crowds through their own arts-infused efforts.
 
"It's not just big institutions; we're shining a light on smaller organizations," Gahl-Mills says. "There's extraordinary variety."
 
This year's report also relates the experiences of community members impacted by arts and culture. One featured resident is Patty Edmonson, an employee at the Cleveland History Center, who returned to the region to curate the center's 13,000 dresses and 40,000 textile objects.
 
"Residents are the ones who benefit from the dollars we invest," says Gahl-Mills. "We use tax dollars to support the arts, so we need dialogue with the public to understand what work we can do."
 
This summer, CAC has been visiting festivals and events to get further feedback from the community. The undertaking includes "street teams" going out to barbershops and farmer's markets and asking folks what inspires them about the arts. Gahl-Mills says public funding for the arts is a key facet in making Cuyahoga County a vibrant, attractive place to live.
 
"People care about the arts and we need to hear from them," she says. "The more we know, the better grantmaker we can be." 

Social media roundup: there was a lot going on in Cleveland on the first day of the RNC with thousands of visitors, protesters and business people all going about their causes.

30-50 Bikers for Trump members rally in the Flats while office workers report a quiet start to the RNC. 

Yesterday, staff of the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland treated Fresh Water Cleveland to a sneak peek of the most unique pop-up shop around.

Saks Fifth Avenue will operate a temporary boutique in the sixth floor hotel lobby at the Ritz-Carlton in Tower City from July 17 to 21. While the doors aren't open yet, Fresh Water can say with confidence that Republican National Convention visitors - or anyone dropping in - will be treated to the likes of Judith Leiber clutches, KYBOE! watches and Burberry bags for last-minute gift and accessories. The shop will also offer select clothing and toiletry items

Guests staying at hotel will receive a $50 savings certificate valid when making a $300 minimum purchase at the boutique. For after-hours fashion emergencies, special trips to the larger Saks Fifth Avenue store in Cleveland can also be arranged for hotel guests, along with overnight tailoring, measurements for which will be taken at The Ritz-Carlton.

The posh boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

From an army of giant snails invading the Cleveland Public Library's Downtown branch to colorful murals lining RTA's Red Line, the 216 is alive with new eye-popping art to welcome RNC visitors.