The popular Cleveland Asian Festival returns this year from May 21 - 22 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Payne Ave. between East 30th and 27th Streets with a host of activities, vendors and irresistible food choices. This event is free and open to the public, although event organizers ask attendees to leave their pets at home. Payne Avenue is closed to traffic during the festival, which is in its seventh year.
 
This year's event will feature cultural enlightenment, fun and health screenings for all ages. Enjoy wonderful Asian cuisines with more than 10 Asian restaurants offering up home-style authentic dishes. Children may learn about Asian cultures inside the Activities Pavilion, while more than 100 vendors will be available offering information and exotic merchandise.
 
Entertainment will be non-stop on two stages throughout the weekend and will include performances such as a magic show, lion dance and Colors of Asia fashion show. Other activities include a Cosplay 103 competition and the K-Pop Cover Dance competition.
 
The event has grown steadily since its 2010 inception. The inaugural festival saw 10,000 attendees who spent less than $1 million. The 2015 festival, however, garnered 45,000 visitors who lavished more than $3 million in spending at event.
 
Visit the Cleveland Asian Festival page for complete scheduling and attraction details.
 
 

During the Republican National Convention July 18-21, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's (RTA) will operate its current level of service on buses, Paratransit vehicles and trains. Staff will be prepared to increase that level on traditional rail and commuter routes to serve individuals who may not be regular RTA customers, but who may want to be during the Convention week. For added convenience, RTA will sell a $20 special Convention weekly pass for unlimited rides from July 17-23.

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From screamin' sports cars to towering monster trucks, Cleveland is host to unique design stories born on the wings of transportation.

On an average day, Brian Gesler works as a computer programmer at a Cleveland insurance company. But for one weekend last month, he was busy creating jet packs that could one day be used by astronauts on Mars.
 
He crowded around tables in a conference room at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center campus with a team he’d just met. Some sketched prototypes across sheets hung on the walls, others pecked away frantically on laptops. They called themselves Moon Tang Clan.
 
Gesler and his team were one of 17 groups in Cleveland that took part in the 2016 International Space Apps Challenge. Since 2012, the hackathon has brought together coders, artists, and general tinkerers to use open data provided by NASA to spark solutions to many of the aeronautics and space agency’s most pressing hurdles. The event now spreads across 161 locations around the globe.

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Earlier this week Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) honored the 2016 Vibrant City Award winners amid 600 guests gathered at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium. The winners were chosen from a field of 21 finalists.
 
CNP president Joel Ratner honored Cleveland Metroparks with the first-ever Vibrant City Impact Award. The community partner was recognized for its role in managing the city’s lakefront parks, rejuvenating Rivergate Park and bringing back a water taxi service.
 
Ratner also bestowed the Morton L. Mandel Leadership in Community Development Award upon Joe Cimperman.
 
"Joe is a true champion of the city of Cleveland and Cleveland’s neighborhoods," said Ratner. "He truly is a visionary for making Cleveland a fair and equitable place to call home for all city residents."
 
Cimperman recently left Cleveland City Council after 19 years and is now the President of Global Cleveland.
 
Click here to see the seven other Vibrant City Award winners.

Seven Rock Boxes, a public art project featuring giant amplifiers along East 9^th Street, are almost ready to rock downtown Cleveland and connect visitors to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
 
Commissioned in the fall of 2014 by Destination Cleveland and the Rock Hall as a way to promote our town's rock 'n' roll soul and the museum that embodies it, the $500,000 project was designed by Sheffield native and Cleveland Institute of Art graduate Mark Reigelman for LAND studio. Reigelman's been the creative force behind a host of notable area projects such as the "Wrap" planters that dot downtown and "Cold Front" along the West 76th Street underpass.
 
“They were looking for a way to further the connection to downtown because the Rock Hall is a bit isolated being on the [North Coast] Harbor,” explains LAND studio project manager Sarah Siebert. “Destination Cleveland wanted a connective impact for folks downtown. The seven Rock Boxes – all located along E. 9^th Street – will create a “bread crumb effect,” says Siebert, leading to the Rock Hall.
 
Locations include Progressive Field on Bolivar; Medical Mutual on Prospect; The RTA HealthLine stop median at Euclid; Rockwell Park; One Cleveland Center at St. Clair; the RTA North Coast Rapid station; and the Rock Hall.
 
The boxes will sound off in unison about two or three times a day, playing 30- to 90-second sound clips from a list of two selections from each of the Rock Hall inductees. “We want it to have a similar effect as church bells,” says Siebert. “Over time, folks will see a pattern.”
 
LAND studio is still testing the decibel level of the boxes. “We want to make sure they’re heard, but not be overwhelming,” Siebert promises, adding that the songs will have universal appeal. “Folks can relate to it, regardless of age, generation or time.”
 
While an exact date for the installation’s completion has yet to be determined, Siebert expects the Rock Boxes to be complete by the end of June, in time for the Republican National Convention in July.

The Kalman & Pabst Photo Group 2016 Fine Art show takes place at 3907 Perkins Ave. and opens Friday, May 13 from 5 to 10 p.m. with a reception featuring food, drinks and live entertainment. The show will also be open to the public on Saturday, May 14 from 1 – 6 p.m. Both events are free. A portion of the proceeds, as well as raffle ticket sales, will benefit the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.
 
“The Fine Art Show’s history traces back to more than a decade ago when studio co-founders Jan Kalman and Bob Pabst expressed their desire to promote the creativity and talent here in Northeast Ohio,” said co-owner Craig Brown in a statement. “It was Jan and Bob’s gift to honor the staff who work tremendously hard to serve our clients all year long.” Brown added: “The staff are all accomplished artists, outside of their work in the studio, so the Fine Art Show was created as a way to recognize their efforts by displaying their personal work for art-loving audiences.”
 
To RSVP for the Friday event, which is strongly encouraged, or for more information click here.
 

With affordable housing stock, easy access to amenities and a friendly atmosphere for artists and entrepreneurs, the Moreland district in Shaker Heights is a tiny grid of streets that's poised to take off.

The Fixers, a series of short films that will be presented in SPACES next month, offers street-level tours Clevelanders would give RNC delegates if given the chance.

Venture capitalist and Cleveland native Sean Ammirati's new book from St. Martin's Press delves into Facebook's success over Friendster, McDonald's Golden Arches towering over White Castle and how Gmail smashed Hotmail.

Fresh Water updates five major development projects that will prove to conventioneers this July that Cleveland is a city on the move.