Cleveland Heights
Cleveland Hts - photo Bob Perkoski
Considering that most people choose to live close to their place of employment, it makes perfect sense that Cleveland Heights continues to thrive. Situated "up the hill" from University Circle, one of the largest employment centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Heights is a hop, skip and jump for those who work in the area. That arts-minded populace fuels multiple artistic disciplines, including galleries, performing arts and live music venues. This near-east neighborhood dishes up fat slices of the American Dream, with beautiful old homes on tree-lined streets within close proximity to thriving commercial strips, parks, schools, libraries and public transportation.
The Steak Club Foundation started as a casual dinner group to reconnect friends and network and evolved into to a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity. The group provides meals, runs food pantries, and supports local communities. The foundation's guiding principle, "No Service, No Steak" reflects the commitment to giving back.
The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes will be celebrating Halloween today, and all weekend long, with plenty of spooky kid fun at the welcome desk. Stop in wearing your favorite costume and celebrate the season!
Since 2017, The Literacy Cooperative has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to send free books each month to local children. Working with local groups like Heights Family Foundation, United Way, and the Bruening Foundation, the groups have now distributed two million books.
The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes has teamed up with Wild Birds Unlimited in Mayfield Heights for its annual Bird Seed Sale fundraiser. A variety of seeds, suet, and accessories are available. Read some tips for feeding the birds in your yard this winter.
AutumnFest: Fairytales in the Forest, a free family-friendly event, is set to enchant visitors at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes this weekend with a variety of activities, storytelling, s'mores, craft-making, and food trucks. Guests can also check out the annual bird seed and perennial plant sales.
This summer a new trend in outdoor entertainment—public concerts in private yards—swept through Northeast Ohio. Hosts invited both friends and strangers onto their properties to hear the sounds of local musicians like Blue Lunch, Jackie Warren and Forecast, Moises Borges, and the Jim Rangel Trio. It sounds like a trend that may continue.
AloeCLE, founded last summer by mother-daughter team Lena Paskewitz and Miranda Fox-Hervey, grew out of a passion for rescuing and nurturing aloe plants. The school teachers offer hand-glazed pots and aloe plants, while promoting a community of plant enthusiasts with their aloe mama fostering program, pottery workshops, and walks through their AloeCLE Trail at their home studio.
Future Heights will host the 2024 Heights Music Hop this weekend in several Cleveland Heights neighborhoods, including Cedar Lee, Coventry, and Cedar Fairmount, with live music, shopping, dining, and plenty of community spirit.
Steve Presser, owner of the former Big Fun, and Gary Pearlman, aka, Dr. U.R. Awesome, are bringing Bubblefest to Cleveland in September. The two-day event hosts bubble artists from around the world and features activities, demonstrations, food trucks, music, and, of course, plenty of bubbles!
Cleveland artist Ben Small and his sister, Betsy Allen, have just published their graphic novella "Mary Sticks," which follows the ghost of Mary Clarence, who mysteriously disappeared in 1910. Small was inspired to write a ghost story after evening walks in Bratenahl. Mac’s Backs will host the authors for a book discussion and signing next week.
This Saturday, the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership will host a day of relaxation, kayaking, canoeing, and yoga on the Lower Shaker Lake. Dr. Roy Larick will lead an informative hike around the lake to learn about the region's history and geology.
Cleveland Heights City Council and child services agency Bellefaire JCB are leading efforts to improve police interactions with LGBTQ+ youth. The initiative, supported by the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Columbus-based Kaleidoscope Youth Center, focuses on reducing harmful encounters through updated protocols, officer training, and improved youth programs.
Advocates of pollinator gardens—plots with native plants that nurture bees, butterflies, and birds to preserve the ecosystem—have groups around the region, like Heights Native Pollinator Pathway and Wild Ones Greater Cleveland, sowing seeds and spreading a message.
Cleveland Heights residents are finally getting a new grocery store with Grocery Outlet moving into the vacant space in the Cedar-Fairmount business district, ending a two-year stretch without a walkable supermarket in the district.
The Astro Restaurant owners invite guests to take a cosmic voyage at their new outer space and alien-themed eatery at Towner City Center. From the creators of the Haunted House Restaurant in Cleveland Heights, The Astro gives a nod to sci-fi classics like Men in Black, Star Wars, The Jetsons, Star Trek, and more in an out-of-this world atmosphere.
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.
With a degree in games and simulation from the Emerging Technology and Business Design department at Miami University, Cleveland Heights resident, game designer, and Dungeons & Dragons pro Deckard Manne is releasing his Myrwoods D&D campaign book on Kickstarter next week—suited for gamers at all levels or people who enjoy delving into mythical fantasy worlds.
The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes launched the online portion of its annual plant sale this week, with hard-to-find native plants that attract and support local wildlife available. A free lecture series on native plants will be hosted by Curb Appeal Painting and Bartlett Tree Experts through April, with the in-person and the Home Grown sales happening in May and June.
Literary Cleveland announced today it will host its third Cleveland Poetry Festival in April at Cleveland Museum of Art's Community Arts Center in Tremont. This year's festival celebrates the overlapping influence of poetry and visual art with workshops and events with local and national poets and artists.
Lake Erie Ink's 12th annual Kids' Comic Con: Ignite you Imagination takes place on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2 at institutions like Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art's Pivot Center, and MoCa. Kids, teens, and adults are encouraged to ignite their creativity all weekend!