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On Friday, June 7, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress will host its fifth annual Vibrant City Awards—where more than 600 people will gather at Euclid Beach Park to recognize 16 community leaders for their devotion and contributions to Cleveland's urban neighborhoods. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and tickets are still available for the lakefront BBQ luncheon provided by Zack Bruell Events.
 

Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland. Check out the June lineup here!

The Cudell and Edgewater neighborhoods—rich in both working-class, industrial history to the south and waterfront estates of the wealthy to the north—are coming together to celebrate all the modern-day area has to offer with Cudell Improvement, Inc.'s first Edgewater Street Fest on Sunday, June 30.
 

They say one never forgets how to ride a bike—and if the freewheeling folks taking part in Silver Spokes are any indication, it’s 100 percent true. 

If she could afford a car, Antaneshia Fletcher could drive to her job at Bloom Bakery in less than 20 minutes. Instead, she rises at 4:30 am every day so she can spend two hours taking the two bus routes necessary to travel from her home in Euclid to the store near the Cleveland State University campus by 6:30 am.

A decade after Ohio City leaders began trying to capitalize on the success of West 25th St. by luring new businesses to Lorain Avenue, local entrepreneurs are moving to this funky west side main street to take advantage of affordable rents and a newly emerging restaurant, retail, and nightlife scene.

Though the 20^th-century heyday of Euclid Beach Park is long gone, vibrant remnants remain—from the carousel at the Cleveland History Center to the rocket cars roaming around Cleveland to the newly opened Humphrey’s Popcorn on E. 185th Street. Today, another ode to Euclid Beach joins their ranks with the official ribbon-cutting of the Euclid Beach Pier.

It’s 20 minutes before showtime, in a small banquet room at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, and Yasin Cuevas is glowingly ecstatic. For one, her first-ever Miss Latina Image fashion show—expanded from “Miss Puerto Rican Image” of years past—has attracted a packed house, more than any other program in the past few years. It’s also a signal of much more: a newer, more diverse Clark-Fulton community, one more gung-ho on the self-education of its youth, as La Villa Hispana grows gradually into the fore.

The children who come through Providence House—a crisis nursery providing free, voluntary emergency shelter to children—have enough going on in their worlds without having a quiet, relaxing place to think, reflect, or just be alone. Last week, Valley City-based landscape tool manufacturer Troy-Bilt sent six gardening experts to Providence House on W. 32nd Street to help revive the facility’s sensory garden as a place where even the youngest clients can take a peaceful time out.

You’ve probably seen the mark of Graffiti HeArt all around Cleveland, whether you realized it or not. The nonprofit coordinates graffiti-style murals in the city’s private and public spaces, like the vibrant piece on the Stockyard Meats building in Detroit Shoreway and the “Welcome to Cleveland” painting that greets visitors to Ohio City. But with the opening of the Graffiti HeArt Gallery on May 31, the organization will welcome guests and artists to a permanent homebase.

“Welcome home,” the crowd cheered as retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Charlie Pepinrivera and his family saw their new home on Canterbury Road in Cleveland Heights for the first time on Saturday, May 18. The four-bedroom, 1,736-square-foot home was purchased and renovated by Citizens Bank, in partnership with Homes 4 Wounded Heroes, then donated to Pepinrivera and his family.

On a recent Thursday in April, Jenice Contreras walked in front of 32 investors, architects, and community development corporation reps to announce some long-awaited news. “It’s a perfect storm,” she announced to the group at the Greater Cleveland Partnership offices downtown. “It took three decades. But we no longer need three decades to make it happen. All the right elements are now in place.”

Cleveland has had its shares of ups and downs in the 223 years since Moses Cleaveland first set up shop, but many of the city’s homes and buildings have remained—largely due to those who have put forth tremendous efforts to preserve and restore the structures that form Cleveland’s unique history.

During a recent afternoon ceremony at the Halle Building, the mood was celebratory and inspiring as five local organizations received $5,000 grants in support of youth-geared initiatives. Even cooler? The benefactors are ambitious, civic-minded high school juniors and seniors who spent nine months serving on United Way of Greater Cleveland's John K. Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee.

For 40 years, the nonprofit One World Shop has partnered with organizations around the globe to give artisans a chance to sell their creations­—at fair trade wages—to Northeast Ohio residents. This week, One World will take its fair trade mission to another level by showcasing more than 300 hand-knotted rugs made by Pakistani artisans at its Fair Trade Rug Event.

A vision 35 years in the making is hitting critical mass as the community of La Villa Hispana takes shape with a renewed sense of community and a flurry of new development. 

If the neighborhood of Tremont were a person, it would make one heck of a dinner party host. One month from today, the area will once again host its annual Tremont Trek on Saturday, June 15. Now 18 years running, the event features an exclusive whirlwind tour of six private homes, along with tastings provided by local restaurants at each stop.