Express Your Love For C-Town with Rust Belt Group Hug
By Joe Baur
“I was sitting in St. Louis’s great new downtown urban sculpture park, Citygarden, on a mercifully beautiful late spring day during my lunch hour,” recalls Rust Belt Group Hug creator Matthew Mourning, describing fellow office workers enjoying the surrounding food trucks and the sound of shrieking children as they run through spray fountains. “I wanted to hug Citygarden for what it gave to my city.” And thus, Rust Belt Group Hug was born.
Fellow Rust Belt advocates Jack Storey (Cleveland) and Rick Stockburger (Akron), of Saving Cities fame, connected with Mourning while filming their upcoming documentary Red, White & Blueprints. The film covers the history of the Rust Belt region, its decline and those who are working tirelessly to forge a new future. “It is the first ever, feature-length documentary to tell the story of the Rust Belt region,” claims Storey. Needless to say, they fell in love with Mourning’s idea and worked tirelessly themselves to bring a Cleveland-iteration to town.
“Saving Cities is doing what we do best, utilizing our expansive network and promoting regional collaboration,” says Stockburger. “From branding and marketing to personally advising the Cleveland event, we are bringing our Saving Cities touch while honoring the roots of Matthew Mourning and City Affair’s original idea in St. Louis.”
From now until Tue 5/15, Clevelanders are encouraged to follow Mourning’s lead by scouring the city in search of your favorite people, places and objects that define our beloved Forest City. Hug them for the camera, submit your photo to Group Hug Cleveland and celebrate your rekindled love for the city we all call “home” at The Old Bank Building on Waterloo Rd. in North Collinwood on Sat 5/26. Judges will determine the top 10 photos beforehand and leave it to the voting public to decide the first recipient of the Cleveland Group Hug Award, sending a lucky Clevelander home with loads of CLE swag (because you never can have too much CLE swag!).
Along with participating in Group Hug Cleveland, folks will have the opportunity to show their support for Saving Cities’ efforts to complete their film through an ongoing Kickstarter campaign. “When we started this project in July of 2010, we had no money, no gear, no contacts, and no way of knowing where we’d end up,” explains Storey. Today, the duo has traversed the Rust Belt twice, shot over 150 hours worth of footage and released a trailer, viewable at http://SavingCities.com.
The idea of the film and Saving Cities was spurred after the release of Forbes’ infamous and undeniably pointless “Most Miserable Cities” list where Cleveland snagged the top spot. “I had no idea what the concept would be capable of accomplishing, or if I was even the right person to be starting something like this. I simply knew that I was fed up with the consistent, misdirected negativity towards my hometown and those that had suffered so much to give to so many. The Rust Belt is home to more patents and innovation than any other place on earth, and that’s not speculation: that’s fact. It was once the lifeblood of this country – of the world.”
Show the rest of the country that the heart of the Rust Belt is still pounding by participating in Group Hug Cleveland and supporting Saving Cities’ efforts. Every moment starts somewhere. Why not with a hug?
Submit photos for Cleveland Group Hug by Tue 5/15 and mark your calendars for the Group Hug Cleveland Award bash on Sat 5/26 @ the Old Bank Building on Waterloo. For more info visit http://SavingCities.com.
Joe Baur is the creator/host of Mildly Relevant News and a freelance writer. When he isn’t writing for the show or MildlyRelevant.com, you can find him traversing the streets of Cleveland for a fried egg on just about anything.Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, OH 44110