Buzz

galleria grower gets nod in the new york times
There once was a time when Cleveland’s Galleria at Erieview was a bustling shopping mall. These days it is closed on the weekends and is down to just a handful of retailers, food vendors, and a couple of businesses according to a recent article in The New York Times.
 
The article lauds efforts by the Galleria's director of marketing, Vicky Poole, to utilize existing unused space to benefit the greater good, planting herbs in retail carts and small plots lettuce, strawberries, basil, and spinach elsewhere, which are in turn sold to visitors and used in the mall’s catering business.
 
"The shift to gardening began with the carts that used to sell jewelry or candles, where Ms. Poole, the director of marketing events, had herbs planted in the disused retail carts inside the mall. She learned how quickly aphids proliferate indoors (solution: release 1,500 ladybugs into the mall)," the article states.
 
Since the mall made these changes in how it operates, there has been an influx of visitors prompting new retailers to open in the mall. “This has been sustaining us throughout these hard years, but now we’re looking at the potential of turning things around,” Ms. Poole is quoted in the piece.
 
Read the full New York Times story here.
melt, a 'restaurant brooklyn is desperately missing'
In a recent article by The L Magazine, a New York publication devoted to all things local, Cleveland's Melt Bar & Grilled gets huge props.
 
In this fun feature titled "Ten Restaurants Brooklyn is Desperately Missing," writer and (I assume) Brooklyn resident Kara Zuaro dreams up a wish list of new establishments for her neighborhood. Plucked from locales near and far, indie hot spots like Cleveland's Melt and Columbus-based Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams make the list.
 
"I’d like to think that Pok Pok is opening a Brooklyn branch because I wished really hard for it," she begins. "So, as I impatiently await the opening of the restaurant I willed into being, I’m making a list of 10 more restaurants -- with original locations across America -- that could be wildly successful if they opened new branches here in Brooklyn."
 
Of Cleveland-based Melt, she writes:
 
"The grilled cheese sandwiches at Cleveland’s Melt don’t even make sense. When I visited, I ate a belly-buster that was piled with pimento cheese, collards, fried chicken and cornbread. There was bread on the outside, but then there was cornbread in the sandwich. It ruled. The current sandwich-of-the-month at Melt, the "Hungry Hungarian Paprikash," involves pulled roasted chicken, huge homemade dumplings, creamy paprikash sauce, and Provolone cheese. There’s also a vegetarian version available. What! Also, they have a crazy beer selection, and it’s kind of a sports bar. We need this in our lives."
 
The article also includes our good friends down south in Columbus, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

See the rest of the good eats here.
a battle over cleveland’s unwanted churches
The Euclid Avenue Church of God and the former Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration continue to draw national attention in the absence of a congregation and money for general operations. This article in the Huffington Post is the most recent example.
 
The Cleveland Restoration Society desires to keep the landmarks in tact while the Cleveland Clinic would love to use the land for continued expansion. Unfortunately, the Clinic has no use for the churches but has offered to pay $500,000 for the land.
 
The Cleveland Restoration Society would like to renovate the buildings and offer them up to new congregations but there have been very few bites. They are not against repurposing the buildings as long as they are not demolished. In the end, a tough decision will have to be made.
 
Read the full Huffington Post story here.
'fun size' filmed in and around cleveland set for release
The movie "Fun Size," directed by Josh Schwartz and staring Victoria Justice, Johnny Knoxville, and Chelsea Handler, is set to release on October 12, 2012.
 
Filmed on location at Boulevard Elementary School, Coventry Food Mart, and the Coventry Road Business District in Shaker Heights, this film about a teen girl who loses her little brother on Halloween and her desperate attempt to track him down is reminiscent of John Hughes-style hits according to The New York Times.
 
While the rest of Cleveland waits on the May 4, 2012 release date of the highly anticipated and action-packed “The Avengers,” filmed downtown last summer, Cleveland continues to be in the national spotlight for additional movies.
 
Read the full New York Times story here.
cle's top attractions get top billing in pop candy
USA Today's popular PopCandy blog recently ran a round-up of Cleveland's most compelling attractions. Titled "The Pop Traveler: 11 Reasons to Visit Cleveland," the regular feature gives insiders a chance to name their city's top pop-culture hot spots.
 
In the article, which begins "Eleven ways that Cleveland rocks," a writer who goes by the pseudonym Big Business ticks of his (or her?) favorite finds.
 
Michael Symon restaurants:
The James Beard Award-winning chef brings a lot of pride and excitement to the restaurant landscape in Cleveland. Lola Bistro is the signature restaurant, but for a fun lunch, the B-Spot is a great place to just get a burger and fries.
 
Beachland Ballroom:
This concert club is a former Croatian ballroom and Cleveland landmark. The two-stage venue hosts up-and-coming local bands like The Suede Brothers, Afternoon Naps, bears and Cloud Nothings; regional performers and national acts.
 
Christmas Story House:
Located in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, 'twas where they filmed the exterior and some interior shots from the holiday classic A Christmas Story.
 
West Side Market:
You can buy small portions of items to eat while you stroll through the more than 100 vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, fine meats, seafood, baked goods, dairy and cheese.
 
Big Fun
"Come shopping ... leave smiling." It's that simple at Big Fun. They strive to find the coolest toys and gifts out there, and what you'll find is a veritable cornucopia of delights like G.I. Joe, Star Wars, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake.
 
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Lee Theatre, Burning River Roller Girls, Chucklefck comedy nights, Machine Gun Kelly and Stadium Mustard also made the list.
 
Check out the rest here.
cleveland selected for navy week in 2012
Cleveland has been selected as one of 15 cities where America’s Navy will “come home” in 2012, giving area residents an opportunity to meet Sailors and learn about the Navy’s capabilities and relevance to national security.
 
Navy Weeks are designed to educate Americans on the importance of Naval service, understand the investment they make in their Navy, and to increase awareness in cities which might not otherwise see the Navy at work on a regular basis.
 
Each year, about 20 Navy Weeks are led by the Navy Office of Community Outreach. Cities are selected based on a wide range of criteria with consideration given to aspects such as anchor events, Blue Angels air shows, asset availability, city size, demographic make-up, geographic region, relationship building, relationship sustainment and new outreach opportunities.
 
Navy Weeks typically are organized around a large anchor event, in this case, the Cleveland National Air Show.
 
On tap during the festivities: Blue Angels, (Navy Flight Demonstration Team), Leap Frogs (Navy Parachute Team), visiting U.S. Navy Ships, sailors from the USS Cleveland, and the Navy Band.
 
Navy Week Cleveland will run Aug. 27 through Sept. 4.
tedxcle 2012 details announced
TEDxCLE 2012 will be held on Friday, April 20th, 2012.

TEDxCLE is an annual forum that gathers the region’s big thinkers to "share ideas worth spreading." Organizers -- and recent "brain gains" -- Hallie Bram and Eric Kogelschatz seek to change the perceptions of people who live here as well as those outside the region by sharing stories of success, innovation and inspiration.

TED is a New York-based, international nonprofit whose mission is to spread innovative ideas in the areas of “technology, entertainment and design.” Founded in 1984, TED now hosts conferences in 80 countries.

Bram and Kogelschatz came up with the idea of launching TEDxCLE shortly after relocating in 2009 from Boston to Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.

“We realized that there are so many amazing things happening here," explains Bram, "but many people just don’t know about them.”

The first two years of TEDxCLE sold out in literally minutes. Fortunately, this year's conference has been moved to a larger venue -- the Gartner Auditorium at The Cleveland Museum of Art -- which will provide an additional 300 seats.

There is still time to submit speaker nominations. You can send them here until Friday, February 17th.
trio of cleveland bars make draft mag's 100 best beer bars list
Cleveland bars scored a hat trick on DRAFT magazine’s "100 Best Beer Bars" list for 2012.

Lakewood’s local-brew institution the Buckeye Beer Engine was lauded for its ever-expanding beer list and “topnotch burger menu [that] keeps things interesting with wacky specials like the Xmas Dinner: a patty piled high with ham and sweet potatoes."

Oft-awarded Ohio City staple McNulty’s Bier Markt made the ranks not only for its Belgian and Belgian-inspired beer menu, but for the “test-drive” dynamic it shares with owner Sam McNulty’s new spot, Market Garden Brewery, across the street.

Of Bier Markt, the mag says, "The crowd’s young and cool, the bottle list is long, and the prices are on point: $24 for a 10-beer sampler? Yes, please."

Pulling for the East Side, La Cave du Vin was praised for its hearty collection of limited edition and rarity beers, with editors encouraging a trip to the Cleveland Heights beer bar “when management decides to dip into the archives.” Give us a call -- we locals are never too far away.

Drink up the rest of the good news here.
great lakes cleans up once again at world beer championships
Great Lakes Brewing Company's Blackout Stout, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Christmas Ale all claimed medals at this year's World Beer Championships, conducted by the Beverage Testing Institute of Chicago and considered one of the top beer judging events in the craft beer industry.
 
Edmund Fitzgerald, available year-round, scored 93 points for a rating of “Exceptional,” earning the brew a gold medal in the “Porter” category.
 
Blackout Stout, a seasonal, scored 94 points for a rating of “Exceptional,” earning the beer a gold medal in the “Imperial Stout” category.
 
Christmas Ale, a seasonal favorite, scored 89 points for a rating of “Highly Recommended,” earning it a silver medal in the “Winter Ale” category.
 
Read the rest of the delicious news here.
cph's 'game's afoot' snags edgar award nomination for best play
The Cleveland Play House production of "The Game’s Afoot," a Clue-meets-Christmas Carol murder-mystery-comedy, has earned an Edgar Award nomination for Best Play from the Mystery Writers of America. Written by internationally-acclaimed playwright Ken Ludwig, the show re-imagines the classic character of Sherlock Holmes by casting its protagonist, William Gillette, as an actor portraying the famed sleuth in a play-within-a-play set in the 1930s.

"The Game’s Afoot" ran on the Main Stage of the Cleveland Play House throughout December 2011. The production was directed by theatre veteran Aaron Posner and featured several Playhouse resident behind-the-scenes talent, including costume designer Linda Roethke and stage manager Shannon Habenicht.

The Edgars, known formally (and fittingly) as the Edgar Allen Poe Awards, honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television. The awards will presented to winners at the Mystery Writers of America’s 66th Gala Banquet on April 26, 2010, in New York City.

Read the playbill here.
reimagine cleveland wins national planning excellence award for sustainability innovation
Defying a Rust Belt reputation may not have been the primary goal of Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland, but winning a National Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association proves the local initiative is well on its way.

Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland began in 2008 with a singular goal: bring Cleveland’s neighborhoods back, one vacant lot at a time. Led by the City of Cleveland and urban development organization Neighborhood Progress, the program pairs with Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative to envision innovative uses, including alternative energy generation and ecosystem revitalization, for vacant spaces throughout the city.

The American Planning Association recognized the collaborative effort for its non-traditional approach to greening Cleveland, awarding organizers for engaging the community with city-wide workshops and securing funding for nearly 60 vacant land pilot projects.

Read the rest here.
cle one of the best airports for business travelers
VentureBeat, a media company that covers technology, recently published an article on the best connected airports in the country, which examined the 40 busiest airports and their Internet connectivity. Thanks to fast and free wireless Internet, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) made the cut.
 
"If you do require constant Internet access, it helps to know what the best options are in terms of airlines and connecting airport locations," the reporter states. "West Coast business folks who are traveling to the other side of the country would do well to pick a Virgin America flight and connect through Cleveland, Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte."
 
The article also offers some advice when it comes to choosing airlines with Wi-Fi, selecting mobile gadgets, and even how to pack and dress.
 
See the rest of the itinerary here.
sawyer makes debut as 'iron chef america' challenger
When it comes to food TV, the top of the mountain, most would have to agree, is "Iron Chef America." One need only look to Michael Symon to see how much influence this star-builder of a show can have on a chef's career.
 
That's why Cleveland chef Jon Sawyer has been smiling ever since he got the invite to compete on the Food Network show. Though taped a few months back in Kitchen Stadium, the episode will finally air this Sunday, January 22. As always, the identity of the secret ingredient is under million-dollar lock and key.
 
Sawyer, chef and owner of Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat, will compete against Geoffrey Zakarian, who recently secured his Iron Chef status thanks to a win on "The Next Iron Chef." Zakarian is the chef-owner of multiple restaurants, including the Lamb's Club in New York.
 
This will not be Sawyer's first appearance in the Food Network's famed Kitchen Stadium. He previously served as sous chef for Symon on some of his previous battles.
 
Sawyer and company will be hosting watch parties/tweetups at Greenhouse and Noodlecat this Sunday during airtime.

Check out additional airtimes here.
cma included on list of 10 can't miss museums in the country
GotSaga, an interactive site that allows people to share stories, recently featured an article on the 10 best museums in the country. No surprise, The Cleveland Museum of Art was on the list. Also sharing the list are The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
 
"The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum situated in Wade Park, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000 works of art from around the world. The Cleveland Museum of Art has remained historically true to the vision of its founders, being the only major American museum keeping general admission free to the public."
 
Read about all the museums here.
dca seeks applicants for popular city advocates program
The City Advocates program is an effort by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) to engage young professionals in the revitalization of downtown. For two years, City Advocates attend monthly meetings and take on projects that will help advance downtown. Every two years, a new batch of skilled community leaders emerges from the program.
 
"The program has truly taken off in the past three years," says Gina Morris, DCA's Director of Marketing and Public Relations. "We're entering our fourth year now and have some incredible people with dynamic ideas."
 
In March, the City Advocates Program will select and announce up to 16 new participants. Those selected must make a two-year commitment to DCA’s program. Participants are chosen through a competitive application process that seeks to assemble a group of diverse individuals who share a passion for Downtown Cleveland and who represent a wide array of interests, professional backgrounds, and relationships to Downtown.
 
"Qualifications are simple," adds Morris. "Live or work in Downtown, and have a passion to generate change in the civic-realm.  We recruit emerging leaders with a vision and guts."
 
The deadline to apply for the upcoming session is 5 p.m. February 5. More information and application instructions can be found here.

For more info contact Laura Kushnick.
pier w included in list of top restaurant views in america
The Daily Meal, an online publication devoted to food and drink, recently published a feature crowning the "Top 20 Restaurant Views in America." Lakewood's Pier W restaurant garnered the #18 position.
 
"Some restaurants focus on locavorism, others on great service, and still others on creating unforgettable experiences and signature dishes. But there's a special category of restaurants across the country, one that showcases where they’re situated, creating over-the-top sensory experiences -- allowing diners to see for themselves the beauty that can be found only at that locale, and only from that specific table."
 
Of Pier W, the article states:
 
"This chic and stylized Cleveland landmark is placed right on the edge of scenic Lake Erie and across the lake from a stunning city skyline. Enjoy Pier W's romantic view as you sample the New American cuisine focused on seafood, especially the crab cakes and the bouillabaisse with fresh fish, mussels, clams, and shrimp."
 
Read the rest right here.
cle aquarium makes big splash in usa today
The Greater Cleveland Aquarium has yet to open, but it is already generating national buzz.

In a recent article in USA Today titled "8 Big Openings of 2012," the aquarium is featured alongside attractions like The Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor, Egypt, SkyPoint Climb on Australia's Gold Coast, and the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement -- aka the Mob Museum -- in downtown Las Vegas.
 
"What's new -- or newly reopening -- in 2012?," asks the article. "So much. Here are eight notable attractions."

Greater Cleveland Aquarium
 
"The Greater Cleveland Aquarium debuts Saturday, Jan. 21, with 40-plus tanks swimming with sand sharks, native brook trout, piranhas, madtom catfish and more. The attraction is in the FirstEnergy Powerhouse on the west bank of the Flats."

See the rest of the list here.
cle metroparks zoo earns title of #1 year-round attraction in northeast ohio
 
Thanks in no small part to some very large elephants, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo closed out 2011 with some very big attendance numbers. By welcoming 1.32 million guests during the year, the zoo earned the title of "#1 year-round attraction in Northeast Ohio."
 
This translates into a 16 percent increase over 2010 -- and given the amount of rain that fell, those are truly impressive figures.
 
That puts the zoo's string of 1 million-plus annual visitors at 19 years.
 
Clearly, the recent addition of the $25 million African Elephant Crossing had a lot to do with those attendance figures, says Steve Taylor, the zoo's director.
 
"The connection that Clevelanders have to our elephants and our zoo cannot be overstated," he notes.
 
Also welcomed in 2011 were four new grizzly cubs.
 
The zoo's best annual attendance figure was set in 1993, when 1.4 million people visited to check out the new Rainforest.
 
Read the rest of the good news here.
year of the dragon means annual call for artists
Good news for artists who would like to submit their ideas for this year's Lunar Chinese New Year sculpture show, the seventh in a series of popular annual public art campaigns. The deadline has been extended to Friday, January 20.
 
January 2012 marks the start of the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar. Once again, St Clair Superior Development Corporation (SCSDC) will install numerous fiberglass sculptures -- this year, dragons -- featuring unique designs created by Northeast Ohio artists and organizations. The Dragons will be placed outside Cleveland businesses this spring and will be auctioned off next fall.
 
Selected artists will be paid an honorarium of $400 upon completion and will receive two tickets to the Year of the Dragon Gala Auction Event (a value of $250).
 
For more information, visit here.
university circle deemed one of america's prettiest neighborhoods
Forbes, the publication that specializes in the whipped-off listicle, has once again included Cleveland in one of its infamous lists. Only this time, it's a flattering inclusion. Compiled with help from a travel editor from Midwest Living and the publisher of an online guide to the country’s best road trips, "America's Prettiest Neighborhoods" rambles cross-country like an RV on an unending vacation.
 
In the feature, Cleveland's University Circle gets a nod.
 
"With a symphony orchestra, an art museum, a natural history museum and planetarium, and a botanical garden, Cleveland’s University Circle offers a wide and exciting array of ways to pass the time, enjoy some high-end food, or consume world-class culture, all within a walkable area of town that features three notable colleges," writes Forbes.
 
Of University Circle, Kendra Williams, the above-mentioned travel editor, writes, “People from the neighborhood kick off summer with Parade the Circle, a cool mishmash of people wearing artfully made costumes and paper-mache masks,” says Williams. “It is beautiful any time of year, but I was there last October, and the fall color was astounding.”
 
Click through the rest of the list here.