When work began on the five-year action plan for La Villa Hispana in 2015, there was a lot of energy and electricity behind the scenes around transforming the neighborhood into a vibrant “intersection of culture and commerce,” but within the residential community, it barely made a ripple.
You likely know the unelected, unsung leaders in your community. They’re the ones volunteering at local events, spreading the word in online neighborhood groups, leading grassroots initiatives, and giving voice to residents who might not otherwise have one. But what you—and they—might not know is that there’s a free program dedicated to helping them harness their superpowers and make even more of an impact.
The women come from a variety of backgrounds. Some work in factories or grocery chains, others as school lunch ladies, making $8 to $9 an hour. Others are Hurricane Maria refugees who work for Burlington, some for U.S. Cotton, supporting families as they tilt on the poverty line.
All have one thing in common: the dream to one day be registered nurses.
All have one thing in common: the dream to one day be registered nurses.
Right next to the newly christened Euclid Beach Pier, more than 550 community leaders gathered lakeside for the fifth annual Vibrant City Awards—presented by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) and Delta Dental and highlighting the best in local urban revitalization efforts.
These days, every day is a party for Catherine Blubaugh. After all, the owner of the new Oh Pink! Party Shop lives and breathes party supplies while she puts the final touches on her Ohio City storefront to gear up for its June 15th grand opening. But make no mistake—this is not your average strip-mall party shop.
Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland. Check out the June lineup here!
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.
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.
Though the 20th-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.
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.
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.
Proposed cuts in the Ohio House budget means the curtain might fall on Cleveland’s thriving film scene. The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, which gives filmmakers an incentive to bring movie production to Ohio, is on the chopping block to make space in the budget for income tax cuts. But Senate Bill 37 is also in the works, with a goal of raising the tax credit from $40 million to $100 million to pave the way for more growth in the local film industry. It’s a pivotal moment that has the Greater Cleveland Film Commission on edge.
In many homes, Mother's Day means smiling children, fresh flowers, and homemade breakfast-in-bed. But for families facing loss, their mom might be a lifetime away. Yoga to Remember offers a remembrance event on Thursday, May 9, at St. John’s Episcopal Church to honor the memory of mothers—or any loved one—who is missed.
Yet another reason Cleveland "rocks:" Clevelander Michele Gehrmann has created GoRock.com, a free website for people to track painted rocks in public.
Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland. Check out the May lineup here!
Cleveland’s feminist chorus, Windsong, is celebrating an anniversary almost as old as modern-day feminism itself. This little-known cultural gem began 40 years ago with just a few members and has grown into a thriving arts mainstay since becoming official in 2002.
When Lindsay Watson saw how many kids took to the streets to play Pokemon Go, it sparked an idea. In her 13 years working with children with conditions like Down’s Syndrome and cerebral palsy, the pediatric physical therapist often dealt with patients who resisted doing their repetitive and boring physical therapy exercises after leaving her office—but here was a game that inspired kids to ditch the PlayStation for the park without prodding from parents.
I’ll admit it: I’ve never cracked open a Harry Potter book, but I’m definitely a huge fan of the old-school, rabbit-and-hat variety of magic. So when our writer Ken Schneck invited me to test out the new glass wand-making class at Larchmere Fire Works with him, I was in faster than you could say, “Presto!” (After all, we can all use a little more magic in our lives.)
Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland. Check out our special Earth Day edition here!
Today 78th Street Studios is regarded as one of Cleveland’s primary art meccas with more than 60 creative businesses housed in its cavernous 170,000-square-foot complex, but a decade ago, there were less than 15 businesses inside the space. When it opened in April 2009, contemporary art gallery HEDGE Gallery became one of them.