The Press Club of Cleveland will recognize several FreshWater writers and managing photographer Bob Perkoski for their 2023 stories at its annual All Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards, held at the House of Blues in June.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture this week approved a resolution to Cuyahoga County Council, requesting an increased cigarette tax levy be placed on the November ballot to generate revenue so it can continue to fund nonprofit arts and culture organizations. If approved, CAC will work with Assembly for the Arts and Assembly for Action to gain support for the tax increase.

Today only, the Cuyahoga County Library has a special offer exclusive to FreshWater subscribers: Get $15 off tomorrow's Books & Bites fundraiser with Chefs Rocco DiSpirito and Rocco Whalen, get a free copy of DiSpirito's "Everyday Bites" cookbook, and support the Cuyahoga County Library Foundation!

Almost 40 teams participated in the Health Action Council's Healthy Kids Spring Step It Up Challenge in March and April, and Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Wilbur Wright PreK-8 School in the West Boulevard neighborhood took fifth place—earning $500 for school playground equipment.

Last week, CHN Housing Partners and a host of partners opened the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House—a project eight years in the making—to provide parents attending school full time an affordable, safe place to live with wrap-around services. The new residents are just steps away from Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus and Cleveland State University, or a short drive from Lorain County Community College School of Nursing.

FreshWater managing photographer Bob Perkoski provides a peek into the everyday lives of Clevelanders going about their business in the neighborhoods and on the streets of Cleveland.

In Ralph Horner’s newest series, “How I became a St. James altar boy,” Horner writes about growing up in the 1950s next to St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park and how he got drawn into being an altar boy and, eventually, “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII.”

Now in its seventh year of friendly competition, The Big Clean between volunteers in the City of Euclid and the Collinwood neighborhood spent last Saturday picking up trash and debris in a massive spring cleaning. Read on to find out which community won and how much total trash was collected.

Morris Ervin overcame a troubled past to become a passionate educator and advocate for social justice. His memoir, “Reflections of a Troubled Black Man,” recounts his transformation and his ongoing work to foster empathy and inclusivity in challenging environments. Ervin will host a book signing infused with music and meditation at The Yoga Lab, reflecting his journey and mission.

The Cuyahoga County Public Library will host Books & Bites: A Culinary Literary Affair with Rocco DiSpirito at its Parma-Snow Branch—a culinary literary discussion between celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and Cleveland chef Rocco Whalen on DiSpirito's new book, "Everyday Delicious.” The event is Cuyahoga County Library Foundation's biggest fundraiser of the year for the —allowing CCPL's 27 branches to provide programs and services throughout the region.

The Print Club of Cleveland will host a free Fine Print Fair this weekend at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Shop one of the country's most comprehensive displays of fine prints and learn prints through this benefit for CMA's Print Collection.

CarniVike, Cleveland State University's carnival-like festival that started last year as a way for students to bond and blow off steam before finals, returns to the campus lawn. This year the festival, designed to foster inclusivity and community, is open to the entire Cleveland community.

Local artist and muralist Tessa LeBaron has curated an exhibit, "Art for Earth Day," in which 19 local artists have created works made entirely from trash or upcycled materials. The exhibit opens this Saturday, April 27 at Negative Space Gallery with a free reception, and continues through May 27.

From the Near West Theatre in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood and Chagrin Valley Little Theater in Chagrin Falls, to Akron, Medina, and Ashtabula, "The Prom" musical is flourishing with audiences and actors alike. Ken Schneck, editor of "The Buckeye Flame" and Baldwin Wallace University professor, decided to find out why.

FreshWater managing photographer Bob Perkoski provides a peek into the everyday lives of Clevelanders going about their business in the neighborhoods and on the streets of Cleveland.

After discovering his love for rhythm & blues in the early 50s, Ralph Horner reflects on the transition into doo-wop later in a the decade, and eventually into the Rock & Roll sounds emerging out of California in the 1960s and 70s.

Despite earning praise and a strong following, Proof Barbeque had to overcome bad timing with the COVID-19 pandemic and an inconvenient location before finding the perfect home and atmosphere in Ohio City. Four years after it first opened, then closed, Proof owner Dave Ferrante relaunched last month.

Canalway kicked off its 2024 Towpath Trilogy race series with the Towpath Half and 5 Mile Race last Sunday, with more than 500 runners participating. Bob Perkoski caught the runners and the fans at the Cleveland Metroparks Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.

Experience nearly 160 works of secular and sacred art from across geographies and faiths in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s newest exhibition, Africa & Byzantium, running through Sunday, July 21 in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit explores the great civilizations that created their own unique arts while also building a shared visual culture across the regions linked by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Nile River, and the Sahara Desert.

As part of its ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement, MCPC will be holding its fourth annual E-Recycling event in partnership with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Cleveland Zoological Society this Friday at the Zoo. People can bring their electronics to the event for safe and environmentally-responsible recycling, while also helping the Metroparks Zoo's gorilla conservation fund.