Downtown
Social media roundup: Tuesday morning, people were mingling about and enjoying the entertainment. By the afternoon, many protest groups had taken over Public Square. Then calm resumed.
Cleveland is humming with good vibes the weekend before the RNC kicks off, and security is in full force.
Today, managing editor @erin__obrien heads to downtown to see what's happening; the latest links to road closures and security; live music at RTA stations; and options for those avoiding downtown this week.
Yesterday, staff of the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland treated Fresh Water Cleveland to a sneak peek of the most unique pop-up shop around.
Saks Fifth Avenue will operate a temporary boutique in the sixth floor hotel lobby at the Ritz-Carlton in Tower City from July 17 to 21. While the doors aren't open yet, Fresh Water can say with confidence that Republican National Convention visitors - or anyone dropping in - will be treated to the likes of Judith Leiber clutches, KYBOE! watches and Burberry bags for last-minute gift and accessories. The shop will also offer select clothing and toiletry items
Guests staying at hotel will receive a $50 savings certificate valid when making a $300 minimum purchase at the boutique. For after-hours fashion emergencies, special trips to the larger Saks Fifth Avenue store in Cleveland can also be arranged for hotel guests, along with overnight tailoring, measurements for which will be taken at The Ritz-Carlton.
The posh boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saks Fifth Avenue will operate a temporary boutique in the sixth floor hotel lobby at the Ritz-Carlton in Tower City from July 17 to 21. While the doors aren't open yet, Fresh Water can say with confidence that Republican National Convention visitors - or anyone dropping in - will be treated to the likes of Judith Leiber clutches, KYBOE! watches and Burberry bags for last-minute gift and accessories. The shop will also offer select clothing and toiletry items
Guests staying at hotel will receive a $50 savings certificate valid when making a $300 minimum purchase at the boutique. For after-hours fashion emergencies, special trips to the larger Saks Fifth Avenue store in Cleveland can also be arranged for hotel guests, along with overnight tailoring, measurements for which will be taken at The Ritz-Carlton.
The posh boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Managing editor Erin O'Brien is already roaming downtown's streets, looking for signs the Republican National Convention is in town.
From an army of giant snails invading the Cleveland Public Library's Downtown branch to colorful murals lining RTA's Red Line, the 216 is alive with new eye-popping art to welcome RNC visitors.
Fresh Water uncovers the weird, the overlooked, the hidden, the has-been and even the naked in this rollicking roundup.
In just three years, the Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen has produced a wealth of successful food businesses, some of which have outgrown the incubator and moved on to their own locations.
For this week's Fresh Water, managing photographer Bob Perkoski chronicles the dazzling aftermath of the Cavaliers' historic championship win - with a royal narrative by Erin O'Brien.
Chess is a game that crosses racial, language and socioeconomic barriers, say its players and proponents. South Euclid resident Mike Joelson is doing his part to teach the millennia-old tradition to thousands of Northeast Ohio students.
Joelson is founder of Progress With Chess (PWC), an organization that offers after-school programs and camp-based instruction to 50 regional K-12 schools, reaching about 2,500 students annually. In harnessing a mission to improve the lives of area children and teenagers, PWC works with private schools as well as students from Cleveland's inner-ring suburbs and inner-city.
"We serve the entire spectrum of the community," says Joelson, a card-carrying national chess master who founded PWC as a nonprofit in 2000.
After-school sessions are held one hour per week. Though hourly instruction costs $9 per class, PWC also offers free programming to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), paid through foundational and corporate grants.
"We have more demand than we can fill," says Joelson. "We're always looking for additional funding to help us serve more schools."
Chess skill level doesn't matter, as PWC takes on everyone from newbies to more seasoned players.
"Students are divided into groups based on their age and skills," Joelson says. "We start off showing what the pieces do and how to play a legal game. More advanced students are taught advanced strategies and checkmate patterns."
Young chess charges are taught by two dozen independent contractors, some of them tournament veterans themselves. PWC instructors will be out in force this summer at chess camps in Beachwood, Parma, Westlake, CMSD's Patrick Henry School and elsewhere.
Joelson, who continues to play chess competitively on a local, state and national level, says the grand game embraces higher-level thinking abilities like pattern recognition and strategic planning, along with the critical life lessons of sportsmanship and perseverance.
"Every move you make has consequences, similar to life," says Joelson. "If you lose you're cool early, you'll keep that habit for the rest of the game."
Chess - and by extension PWC - is also a wonderful vehicle for exposing young people to those of different backgrounds.
"Multicultural and multiracial players are sitting in the same tournament and having a dialogue," says Joelson. "It's a win for everyone."
Joelson is founder of Progress With Chess (PWC), an organization that offers after-school programs and camp-based instruction to 50 regional K-12 schools, reaching about 2,500 students annually. In harnessing a mission to improve the lives of area children and teenagers, PWC works with private schools as well as students from Cleveland's inner-ring suburbs and inner-city.
"We serve the entire spectrum of the community," says Joelson, a card-carrying national chess master who founded PWC as a nonprofit in 2000.
After-school sessions are held one hour per week. Though hourly instruction costs $9 per class, PWC also offers free programming to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), paid through foundational and corporate grants.
"We have more demand than we can fill," says Joelson. "We're always looking for additional funding to help us serve more schools."
Chess skill level doesn't matter, as PWC takes on everyone from newbies to more seasoned players.
"Students are divided into groups based on their age and skills," Joelson says. "We start off showing what the pieces do and how to play a legal game. More advanced students are taught advanced strategies and checkmate patterns."
Young chess charges are taught by two dozen independent contractors, some of them tournament veterans themselves. PWC instructors will be out in force this summer at chess camps in Beachwood, Parma, Westlake, CMSD's Patrick Henry School and elsewhere.
Joelson, who continues to play chess competitively on a local, state and national level, says the grand game embraces higher-level thinking abilities like pattern recognition and strategic planning, along with the critical life lessons of sportsmanship and perseverance.
"Every move you make has consequences, similar to life," says Joelson. "If you lose you're cool early, you'll keep that habit for the rest of the game."
Chess - and by extension PWC - is also a wonderful vehicle for exposing young people to those of different backgrounds.
"Multicultural and multiracial players are sitting in the same tournament and having a dialogue," says Joelson. "It's a win for everyone."
Meet Italo Gonzalez. He rides 6.6 miles to work most every day – including those marked by rain, sleet and snow. And he's not alone.
Last week in Cleveland, some 200 Forward Cities attendees from across the nation explored strategies that foster entrepreneurship and social innovation in minority communities.
