What a beautiful day to be Alive on East 185!

The Color Guard and Drill Team from Collinwood High School started our third annual Alive on East 185 parade on Saturday, May 21st. They were followed by over 25 different groups and organizations including a bagpipe unit donated by Paran Management. This year’s winners for best units were: First Place went to the Lithuanian Village Dancers who danced down East 185th St., Second Place went to the Football Team from VASJ and Third Place went to Nothing but the Best Hair and Nail Salon. Each one of these units will receive cash prizes for being the best units in the parade. Ruta Degutis from the Lithuanian Village commented “the dancers had so much fun that they are already thinking ahead towards next year’s parade”. Linky from PNC Bank and the Pink Panther were waving to the children and passing out candy. Cebars had a boat in the parade and the Harland Pub had their all terrain vehicle driving down the street. The Salvation Army had their disaster unit and volunteers walking with Lt. Chris Mauk. We would like to thank 5th 3rd Bank for handing out water to the parade units as they marched past the bank.

After the parade East 185th Street was Alive with fun up and down the street. There was face painting at Helping Hands Day Care, Clowns with Balloons at Gus’s Diner, Free tacos at Chili Peppers, and popcorn was sold at Mickey’s Dairy Treats to benefit the Animal Protective League. Café Corso had bands playing throughout the day. Rachel Terzak from HCR Manor Care had a table providing information about their facility. The City of Euclid had a “Touch a Truck” spot set up at the Family Dollar parking lot, so that the residents could get up close and personal with a fire truck. Many other businesses brought their merchandise out on the street in a street wide Sidewalk Sale. We also had many non-profit groups at various spots on East 185th bringing information about their organizations to the residents of North Shore Collinwood.

This year for the first time we had an inflatable bounce section for the children. This was the busiest part of the street as children stood in line for their chance to play with the inflatables for free. This was provided with a grant from Neighborhood Connections. Laura Robinson from Helping Hands Day Care applied for this grant on behalf of the Alive on East 185 committee. Laura commented, “providing the inflatables was one of the best things we could have done for this event.” You missed a lot of fun if you were not on East 185th May 21st.

Northeast Shores kicked off their new membership drive at the Alive on East 185 event, “Members have Privileges.” When you become a member of Northeast Shores, you will get a key tag that is good for a different special each month at a business who is a member of Northeast Shores. The first special will start June 1st, we would like to thank Chili Peppers for kicking off this new program. Call Northeast Shores, 216-481-7660, to find out you can become a member and take advantage of these specials.

Denise Lorek is the Community Organizer for Northeast Shores serving the North Collinwood area.