Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish will join Cuyahoga Job and Family Services and Polaris Career Center to host over 500 job seekers at the 9th Annual Polaris/Westshore Neighborhood Family Service Center Career Fair tomorrow, Wednesday, March 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at The Polaris Career Center, 7285 Old Oak Blvd., Middleburg Hts.
 
Free and open to the public, the fair is designed to foster the development of a competitive and productive workforce, while providing vital links between employers, job seekers, community organizations, and government agencies.
 
The event will feature over 75 employers including Hilton Downtown Cleveland hiring 300, Quadax Inc. hiring 200, and Swagelok hiring 75 job seekers. Attendees are advised to dress to interview and bring multiple copies of their resume.
 
More information is available here.
 

The Cedar Taylor Development Association (CTDA) would like to commission a permanent art installation for the Cedar Taylor Business District. The budget is $3,000.
 
The art must be installed in the Cleveland Heights portion of the Cedar Taylor business district. Artists are invited to submit any range of concepts, from mural to sculpture. No specific medium is preferred.
 
The CTDA board of directors will vote on the entries to determine three finalists. Those three proposals will be voted on via the CTDA Facebook page over a one-week period. The finalists will be posted separately and the one with the highest number of “likes” will be the winner. 
 
Proposals are due by April 30 and should be submitted via email to the president of the CTDA board of directors, Kevin Smith.
 
Get all the details here.
 

Nine American boxers stepped into the ring on Thursday at the Americas Qualifier in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eight were hoping to exit as United States Olympians, but only four accomplished that feat including 18-year-old Charles Conwell of Cleveland Heights, who is now officially off to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
 
"It feels wonderful," Conwell said. "It’s a dream come true."
 
Get the whole story here.

Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are about to start a fire - on purpose.

Per NASA:

"Understanding how fire spreads in a microgravity environment is critical to the safety of astronauts who live and work in space. And while NASA has conducted studies aboard the space shuttle and International Space Station, risks to the crew have forced these experiments to be limited in size and scope.

Now a new experiment, designed, built and managed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, will ignite an understanding of microgravity fire on a much larger scale. The Spacecraft Fire Experiment, known as Saffire, is a series of experiments to be launched on three different flights beginning (this month)."

The release continues: "As NASA continues to send astronauts to the space station and continues the path toward a human mission to Mars, improving understanding of the structure of spacecraft fires is critical. 'Saffire is all about gaining a better understanding of how fire behaves in space so NASA can develop better materials, technologies and procedures to reduce crew risk and increase space flight safety,' says Gary Ruff, Saffire project manager."

Get all the futuristic fiery details of this experiment here.
 

Fresh Water contributor Nikki Delamotte for Thrillist:

Call it luck, but Cleveland is rich in great Irish bars. From old-school dives to rowdy nights of live Irish music, it's where you don’t have to wear green to drink the night away. While everyone claims to be a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, all you have to do at these watering holes is pour yourself another Guinness. There may be no rolling hills in Cleveland proper, but there is plenty of beer. So hoist a pint to some of Cleveland’s best with our guide to the Irish pubs that will be more than happy to top off your whiskey.

Get her glittering green list of local Irish haunts here.

Fresh Water takes a closer look at CIFF's local offerings and finds a field of sunflowers, two opposite sisters and the man behind Melt's flying grilled cheese sammie.

The Jack and Linda Lissauer Gallery at the Shaker Historical Society (SHS), 16740 South Park Blvd., will display the work of Leslye Arian via her show “Pushing Paint,” which will be on display from March 25 through May 15.
 
The opening reception will be held at SHS on April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Arian will be in attendance. This event is free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to make a reservation by calling 216-921-1201.
 
Arian currently serves on the Cleveland Institute of Art's alumni board and in 2015, she initiated the Pocket Park Public Art Project and the Shaker Community Gallery Project in Shaker Heights.
 
Get more details on Arian and the forthcoming show here.

Experimental theater company convergence-continuum (con-con) has raised 10 percent of the funds needed to buy the Liminis building, 2438 Scranton Rd., its home since 2002.

Con-con's board launched a $200,000 capital campaign in January to purchase the property in the Scranton South Historic District in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood from Clyde Simon, the company's artistic director and a founding member. The building can be had for $130,000, the exact amount Simon needs to pay off mortgage and closing costs. The remaining $70,000 would be placed in reserve for future repair and operation costs.

Simon, 69, will not be making a profit from the sale, he notes. The theater official, along with co-founder Brian Breth, paid $160,000 for the space in 2000, spending another $100,000 for a new lighting system and other improvements. Board voice president Geoffrey Hoffman, a realtor with Howard Hanna, recently estimated the property's market value at $230,000 to $250,000.

"I'm taking a loss from my initial purchase price, plus all I've invested in upgrading the property in its conversion into a theater," says Simon.

Selling below market value is no problem for Simon, who single-handedly manages the 6,000-square-foot building while living in the theater’s backstage apartment. Not only have the duties of ownership become financially untenable, Simon says, using an extension ladder to clean the gutters isn't how he wants to spend his golden years.

"I want the company to stay right where it is," says Simon, who bought out his partner Breth's share of the 150-year-old structure in 2005. "I've been doing less of the artistic stuff to keep it going."

Simon is confidant con-con can raise the needed money before the end of 2016, when he would need to put the theater on the market. Con-con is already receiving cash donations, and will be approaching foundations for funding help in spring. In addition, $200,000 is a fairly modest amount when compared to a capital campaign arts' scene that can run into the tens of millions.

"Our board is working their connections," says Simon. "Their enthusiasm makes me optimistic."

Simon looks forward to being relived of his managerial responsibilities so he can focus his energies on directing, acting and set designing.

"I'm only directing one show this year; before that I was much more active," he says. "I want to be a bigger part of the exciting stuff rather than having to pay the mortgage and fix the roof." 

The members of the Fund for Our Economic Future (the Fund), a philanthropic collaboration, have approved $3 million in funding to advance business development and job creation in Northeast Ohio, with the end goal of growing the regional economy so that all people benefit.

The recipients include:

Team NEO:  a one-year award of up to $650,000 to support the advancement of a shared, regional economic competitiveness strategy, business development and economic research.

BioEnterprise:  a two-year award of up to $800,000 to support its efforts to grow the bioscience cluster.

MAGNET:  a two-year award of up to $900,000 for its PRISM initiative to help mid-size manufacturers with high-growth potential innovate and prosper.

JumpStart:  a two-year award of up to $500,000 for its Scaleup Initiative to support high-growth potential companies; and a one-year award of up to $150,000 to support its startup network. 

Get all the details on this announcement here.

Drink Local Drink Tap's third 4 Miles 4 Water event will be held on Saturday May 7 from 2 to 10 p.m. at the Cleveland Metroparks' Edgewater Reservation. Activities include a one-mile walk, four-mile run, free "All Things Water" festival with concert, and Guinness World Record Attempt. More than 1,500 participants are expected, including more than 500 registered runners and walkers.

Registration fees vary, but all proceeds will go to Drink Local Drink Tap's mission to preserve our fresh water resources and to have a positive impact on the global water crisis by creating more awareness and reconnecting people with the fresh water resources in their own backyards. Here are links to the participant form and the exhibitor form. There are also sponsorship opportunities.

More information is available here.

Ever since Parnell’s Irish Pub opened three years ago in Playhouse Square at 1415 Euclid Ave., it has been a hotspot for the working crowd, serving up perfect pours of Guinness Stout and a selection of 90 whiskeys and bourbons. The pub has been so popular that owner Declan Synnott decided it needed more room, so he bought the vacant restaurant space next door and began building an 800-square-foot addition in January, which is expected to open later this month.

“It turns out business is better than I thought it would be,” Synnott says. “What we really need now is just more space so people can be more comfortable.”

The original Parnell’s Pub opened in Cleveland Heights in 1995 after Synnott moved to the city from his native Dublin, Ireland. He opened his second location in Playhouse Square in March 2013 to take advantage of the area’s nightlife scene. The upcoming extension, Synnott suggests, takes influence from the recent development on Euclid Avenue.

The renovations, which were carried out by Turner Construction, were funded by Synnott and Playhouse Square.His wife, Liz, did the interior design, the majority of which features repurposed items. For example, the extension includes a 250-square-foot private room with an 18-foot-long U-shaped table made from old church pews. Light pendants fashioned from old bourbon-barrel wood and sconces made from the barrel’s aluminum wrap illuminate the space. They also rescued barn doors from an old downtown firefighter training facility, which they are using to section off the room.

Parnell’s is slated to host live bands and folk sessions in the new space by September.

Adding three new employees and space for about 45 additional patrons, Synnott is sure adding the new space was a no-brainer, especially because he estimates as many as 4,000 people on any given night descend on the district’s five block radius.

“It’s nice being shoulder-to-shoulder,” Synnott says, “but I want my patrons to be, first of all, comfortable, you know? That’s the atmosphere we’ve projected since we started [in Cleveland Heights] 19 years ago: a place to go after a hard day’s work.”

While Synnott planned for a St. Patrick’s Day finish, city permit delays – due to construction projects for the RNC – pushed completion to a late March opening, but Synnott, who’s awaiting his second child, isn’t too bothered by missing the St. Patrick’s Day goal.

“Would I like the space done? Yeah, of course,” he says. “But one day ain’t going to make us or break us.”

Vision Yoga and Wellness opened its doors on West 25^th Street in Ohio City in April 2011 – bringing to the neighborhood a source for yoga classes at all levels, workshops, massage therapy and acupuncture. The offerings have been so popular, the 800-square-foot single studio space was busting at the seams and owner Theresa Gorski couldn’t meet the needs of her growing clientele.

So in February, Gorski opened a second location, Vision Underground, in the basement of St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3600 Church Ave. The 2,300-square-foot space will allow Gorski to cater to a broader range of needs. She now offers chair yoga, yoga for children and community-based workshops and certification classes.
 
“I don’t call it an addition, I call it an expansion,” Gorski says of the new space. “When you have only one studio, you have to cater to your clients’ makeup and the majority of the population are able-bodied.”
 
The chair yoga will cater to those who cannot easily get up from or sit down on the floor, Gorski says. The new space also allows Gorski to focus on the wellness aspect of her practice.
 
“There’s a new wave of interest in focusing on wellness and prevention,” she explains, “where people want to take care of themselves.”
 
Gorski hired three additional yoga teachers to help with the 12 additional classes now on the weekly schedule, bringing the staff total for the two spaces to 15.
 
The church itself also has historic significance. Built in the 1800s, St. John’s is the oldest church in Cuyahoga County, Gorski says, and the Vision space was the last stop on the Underground Railroad. The place is also used for Cleveland Public Theatre’s annual Station Hope celebration of the site. Vision Underground will go on hiatus during Station Hope.
 
Vision Yoga hosted Vision Underground’s grand opening on Saturday, March 4 with donation yoga classes taught by Gorski, prizes, discounts on yoga packages and refreshments. Almost 100 people attended the open house and $1,000 was raised through a raffle and donations.

Sustainable Cleveland 2019 invites everyone to be a part of "The Year of Sustainable Transportation" and get involved in some of the organization's 2016 projects on Wednesday, March 16, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Great Lakes Brewing Company, 2701 Carroll Avenue. This free public event will feature networking along with free happy hour appetizers and a cash bar.

Attendees are asked to register for the event here.

Last month, local artist Dana Oldfather completed her second commission for the MGM Resorts International's Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The work consists of two large pieces, Reflexive 1 and 2, which measure roughly 10 ½ by 12 feet each. She completed her previous commission for the hospitality giant in 2013 when she was seven months pregnant.
 
"I'm sure glad it went well because it provided the opportunity to make the largest paintings I have every made," says Oldfather of this second commission. She finished both Reflexive pieces on February 13 then prepared them for shipping by dismantling and rolling them. The works will eventually unfurl in the resort's exclusive Sky Suites Lounge.
 
"It's been a long process," says Oldfather, "about two months of planning, building and ordering, and four months of painting. I am so thankful for my family and all the help they provided so that this project would be possible."
 
Get more details on the artist and her process here.

"That's so gay" is a phrase common in most high-school settings, says Liz O’Donnell, co-founder of Dare2Care, a Cleveland nonprofit aiming to create a harassment-free environment for lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-questioning (LGBTQ) students.

The slur's casual nature, often used alongside words like "fag" or "dyke," typifies the many insidious ways LGTBQ students are bullied, says O'Donnell. According to the Human Rights Campaign, nine out of 10 students who identify as LGTBQ experience harassment and nearly two-thirds feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation.

Dare2Care is shedding light on what group officials believe is a hidden issue by training students as anti-bullying ambassadors. The goal is to inspire these young people to create communities free of harassment and intimidation.

"(LGBTQ) is often a taboo topic among school administrators," says O'Donnell, a mental health professional who launched the organization in 2011 with co-founder Don Wismer. "But students who attempt suicide are far more likely to identify as LGBTQ, or are perceived by their peers that way."

The nonprofit will endeavor to educate Greater Cleveland high school students on the importance of leadership and diversity through a free workshop on March 11 at St. Edward's High School. The workshop, held in partnership with the Global Youth Leadership Institute, will address color, culture and class, with participants encouraged to share their personal stories. About 90 students are expected to attend the program, along with 17 faculty members from representative private and public schools.

"We wanted to invite different schools that normally wouldn’t interact with one another,” says O'Donnell. "In that space, we'll already be creating a level of diversity that requires students to think differently."

Ideally, attendees will leave with an understanding of their personal identities, while recognizing their fellow students without the crutch of harmful stereotypes. The event, the second such program offered by Dare2Care, is reaching people at that critical stage of development where identity is being shaped, O'Donnell says. Those emerging from the workshop, meanwhile, will ostensibly have the tools to confront bullying in a non-punitive manner.

"Kids should be able to understand the impacts their words can have," says O'Donnell. "It's more than anti-bullying: We want to give students skills that allow them to make broader decisions in the larger world."