We may as well get a room downtown with the festival activity on the streets of Cleveland this weekend. Wake to the sound of the city coming alive, see trolleys start to move while eating breakfast, hear music play on your morning walk, and see vendors set up their tents in preparation for IngenuityFest.
The Ingenuity isn’t the only thing going on in Cleveland this weekend. Across the river, Tremont’s Arts and Cultural Festival will make Lincoln Park into a cultural collage of various ethnic groups and original art. Down on the Cuyahoga River, folks participating in the Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival will be paddling down the river. If downtown is not a trek you want to make, I found a couple festivals in outlying areas: the Johnny Appleseed Festival and the Wooster Arts and Jazz Festival. All the festivals are free but you may pay for parking at the three Cleveland festivals.
If you’ve never seen a dragon boat or been part of the festival over the last five years, you should make it a priority this year on Sat 9/17. With three major Cleveland festivals in close proximity to each other, it is enticingly easy to go to the Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival. During the energetic competitive races, the Cuyahoga River will be cleared of all other traffic, and spectators can watch six BUK dragon boats compete after the opening 8AM ceremony on the patio deck of The Powerhouse at 2000 Sycamore. The Cuyahoga will be alive with dragon boats from 9AM until 3:30PM when teams will ply the waters of the river. The festival celebrates Cleveland’s Asian culture, and proceeds benefit The Gathering Place, which supports individuals and families touched by cancer. The festival promises to be an exhilarating event and when you see all the paddling opportunities available from Rivergate Park, you’re likely to begin a new recreational activity on the River. The Dragon Boat Festival coincides with the grand opening of Rivergate Park, the new home of the dragon boats and other paddling sports.
Many of us have a special affection for Tremont with its mix of cultures, religions, eclectic galleries, and creative and caring people in an artsy and upbeat community on Cleveland’s near west side. The Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival is the place to be this weekend when Tremont’s churches, cultural societies, artists, craftsmen, and foodies gather at historic Lincoln Park to give you a taste of Tremont. After attending this event, you may want to move to the happy, friendly place where fine restaurants are within walking distance and the gallery owners and artists are always available to talk art. The Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival will transform you from 11AM-6PM on Sat 9/17 and from 12-5PM on Sun 9/18. Find jewelry, sculpture, children’s activities, music and the foods of Poland, Puerto Rico and Greece at Lincoln Park, 1208 Starkweather. The event is organized by Tremont West to celebrate the diversity of Tremont’s arts and cultures.
The event with the most glitz this weekend is the IngenuityFest of Art and Technology. This is where you say “Wow!” One of the best things about this event is its location on the lower level of the Veterans Memorial Bridge which most of us know as the Detroit-Superior Bridge. This 3-day event will transform the bridge into a European-feeling street of visual art, technological innovation, music, live performances, and food. The artistic endeavors at Ingenuity are meant to push the boundaries of what we know as art (ever hear of Squonk Opera?), and you may feel yourself being pulled into the art, and becoming part of an exhibit. In the secret world of the old trolleys, the site of IngenuityFest is the perfect place for a street party where everyone’s trying something new and showing off their stuff. Go to http://IngenuityCleveland.com to really get a feel for what this festival has to offer on Fri 9/16 from 5PM-1AM, Sat 9/17 from 12PM-1AM, and Sun 9/18 from 12-5PM.
Down in the countryside, you will find quieter family events that highlight Ohio’s rich farming communities. Brunswick was once a farming community and maintains its connection with it during the Johnny Appleseed Festival at Mapleside Farms. This annual festival of apples, crafts, wagon rides, a corn maze, and music warms your heart. Mapleside Farms, on Route 42 south of Route 82, kicks off the apple season and shows off the food of its Melrose Grille restaurant, Farm Market & Bakery, and Ice Cream Parlor. The apple butter ribs, apple pie and dumplings, caramel apples, and bushels of apples to take home is all about apples. Enjoy the outdoors and nature’s bounty at the Johnny Appleseed Festival from 10AM-6PM on Sat 9/17 and 10AM-5PM on Sun 9/18.
Further down the state, in Wooster, the Wooster Arts & Jazz Fest on Sat 9/17 from 11AM-5PM features a New Orleans-style parade (with umbrellas raised) at 2:15PM. Children’s art activities, fine arts and crafts, jazz music, and great food round out this festival. Map Liberty and Market Streets in Wooster 44691 to find your way to the historic public square of one of our hometown places. The juried art show features fifty artists from all over the State of Ohio, and 80 artists will exhibit their work. The music begins at 11 AM with Mo’ MoJo in the Gazebo, followed by the River City Dixieland Band at 12PM, Standard Time at 3:30PM, and Akron Big Band at 4:30. The music fades when Ron Busch Quartet finished up at 7PM after roaming the crowds throughout the afternoon. Jazz out in Wooster.
There are so many cool festivals going on in Cleveland and its environs this weekend that garage cleaning will just have to wait another week. You need to be walking the sidewalks in the city or taking a trip to the countryside where the corn stalks still stand tall.
Claudia Taller’s book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries was just released by Arcadia Publishing. Find out more about the book by going to http://OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com and order it through Claudia by sending an e-mail to claudia.taller@yahoo.com.
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