This weekend, attend Positive Vibes at Negative Space Gallery, hear Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony at Severance Hall, learn about maple sugaring with the Metroparks and join a conversation about gender and identity at Waterloo Arts. 

An alliance of local groups are creating one-stop meeting points for refugees and immigrants new to the city.

A few years ago, local arts groups faced declining audiences. Today, many of these organizations have reinvented themselves and begun to thrive -- or at least turned the corner.

This weekend, check out Teatro Publico at CPT, view films by a Swedish master at the Cinematheque, ruminate on Cleveland “then” and “now” at Heights Arts and join the community in brainstorming ways to enhance the Jim Mahon Green in Ohio City. 

"Begin at the Canal Exploration Center in the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a lush woodland few visitors expect to find 10 miles south of Cleveland. The drive follows the twisting Cuyahoga River (crooked river in the local Native American dialect) past stands of towering oak, hickory and maple trees and through rocky ravines carved by glaciers millennia ago. Exhibits at the center explore this watery highway."

Read the full story in Midwest Living here. 

Rooms to Let: Cleveland is returning to Slavic Village on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th this year. 

"Artists will create a temporary art exhibition using vacant homes as their medium," the website states. "The event, free and open to the public, will also include a neighborhood block party with live music, hands-on art activities and local food."

"Led by Slavic Village Development, Rooms to Let: Cleveland seeks to continue the conversation around vacancy and the plight of Cleveland’s historic neighborhoods in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. This year’s event will expand this dialogue to a new group of visual and performance artists to further interpret the evolution of community and recovery."

Click here for more information on how to donate to the project and how to apply to become a Rooms to Let artist. 

Arts education programs that teach mastery have the greatest potential to impact child development, yet many urban youth lack access to them. Learn why these programs work and how we can cultivate them in Cleveland.

Social dancing is a great way to meet new people, get exercise and explore Cleveland. From Brazilian capoeira to contra dancing, here are four local places to get your groove on.

Ohio is no longer flyover country when it comes to attracting venture capital for biotech companies. In 2014, Cleveland had $398 million in investments among 40 companies, ranking second in major Midwest cities behind Minneapolis. Yet access to local capital remains a concern.

"As chief executive of the City Club of Cleveland—a 102-year-old institution created to foster dialogue about local, national and international issues—I often find myself in the midst of conversations about the city. So when I—a white guy—am in a meeting about policing or witnessing the inability of some white people here to understand why Tamir’s death catalyzed such vocal and visible protests, I remember what a divided city this really is."

Read the full story here.

Growing up, Erin Slater was a sticker fanatic “I have fond memories of trading stickers with my neighbor and friend,” she recalls. Little did she know, that childhood passion would turn into a business model as an adult.
 
Earlier this month Slater launched Fayvel, a line of colorful children’s shoes made with a blank canvas. The kids can then attach Frieze Tags –embroidered patches with industrial Velcro backings in a variety of themes. The Frieze Tags can easily be attached to and removed from the shoes and traded with friends. The tags are available in themes, from fairies and superheroes to sports and outer space.
 
“Kids personalize the shoes and it encourages creativity,” says Slater, who has a background in product management and two daughters, aged five and seven. “It’s injecting personality into their shoes.”
 
Slater came up with the idea eight years ago. She spent countless hours researching her idea through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at the Cleveland Public Library. “I spent a lot of time on the seventh floor of the library downtown,” she says. “The librarians are trained and use the same databases as the USPTO to research my idea.”
 
Slater then leased co-working space at LaunchHouse before recently moving to an office in Beachwood. “I wanted to work in shared space,” she says. “They have great internet and white board space, and Dar Caldwell had great advice.”

Slater chose the name “Fayvel,” which means "bright one" in Yiddish because the term resonated with the brand's concept of empowering kids to personalize their shoes and harness their imaginations for creativity. 
 
While the shoes are currently available through the Fayvel site, Slater has talked to major retailers about carrying the brand. The shoes are available in sizes 10 through two and will be available in kids’ sizes three and four in May. The Frieze Tags come in sets out four around 10 different themes, with more on the way.

This week, join Sustainable Cleveland at Old Stone Church for the kickoff of the Hope for the City series, see Booker T. Jones at the Music Box, view three versions of Blade Runner at the Cinematheque, and sample local brews.