"Memories of Our Lake", is the title given to the 14th mural, produced by the City of Cleveland Bureau of Cultural Arts Mural My Neighborhood Program. On display at 18324 Lakeshore Blvd., the mural was the second one in North Collinwood. It depicts activities in and around the lake neighborhood, and includes picture of our beloved Euclid Beach.
It is my pleasure to tell you that one of my favorite bands played recently at our very own neighborhood Beachland Ballroom. You may not have heard of Roger and his Peacemakers, you may not have heard of his former band the Refreshments, but I’ll guess that you’ve heard the theme song of King Of The Hill. Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are a hard band to define, although they have hints of rock, pop, folk and country, they don’t fit into any one of these categories.
The Peacemakers always play at the Beachland when they come to town, and they and always put on an epic show. Although the band is consistently excellent, the best part of the show has to be the fans that come from near and far, sing along together, toast shots and beers together, and become friends for life bonding over the amazingness that is Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.
The East 185 street ARABICA presents... ARTS ALIVE! An ongoing series of Arts events engaging audiences with Gallery showings, Live Theater, Vocalists, and Poets.
Last month's featured event was the play; Malcolm's Conversation, a hot stage play that appeared for two nights, Friday, June 11 and Saturday June 12. Friday night's standing room only crowd demonstrates the hunger in the community for accessible arts programming.
The corner of East 185th and Lasalle will be abuzz again, Friday, July 23, with "Friday Expressions". The frappes and coffee will be chilled and the open mic and gospel offerings will be hot! This is the second time owner/operator Jim Edsall has partnered with Pam Scott to bring Collinwood, "Friday Expressions".
I’m not sure what they have to do with mathematics, but they certainly have spirit. Delta Spirit brought what sunshine they had left from their hometown in Long Beach all the way to the Beachland Ballroom on June 24. Lovers of bands like O.A.R. or Phantom Planet would be interested in this group. The crowds were young and some even traveled from Athens, Ohio to see this band. Love was in the air as the men took off their glasses to impress their dates, who they held onto from behind.
The SS+W Boardwalk has put together quite an event that has never before happened on Waterloo, a classic car show! The block between East 160th and East 161st will be closed down from 4-10 pm on July 24th to host as many as 50 cars as well as vendors and entertainment.
Racer, musician, and long time Boardwalk friend, Gene Schwartz, will have one of his race cars parked right outside the Boardwalk! The Schwartz Brothers will be performing later that evening in the Beachland Tavern.
The big question was: “Will it rain?” The big answer: “Apparently not. But who cares? I’m staying for the Helper T-cells.”
That handsome painting of Waterloo shops that ran in the Friday tab, along with the write-up on the Waterloo Arts District? It came to life on Saturday, as 10,000 people (more or less) flowed up and down the road: listening, talking, eating, shopping, laughing. From the pre-opening ceremony of unveiling the mural at 11:30, to the official closing at 7 pm (when vendors had to be gently invited to pack up, as the last shoppers made their lingering choices), the Waterloo Arts Fest 2010 was one long series of happy encounters: People meeting people. People finding that one piece of pottery they’d been dreaming of. People hearing music they loved. Or encountering music they’d never heard before. Quite a lot of people meeting food.
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, is the true story of a brave little 10 year old Yemen girl, who challenged age-old customs, and set a precedent in her country, by getting a divorce from her abusive husband.
After her father arranged for her to marry a man three times her age, the man promised to wait until she reached puberty, before consummating the marriage. But he lied! He was cruel to her. He made her drop out of school. He beat her. Nujoodhas no one to turn to for help. Her mother-in-law told her son to "hit her even harder."
With great courage Nujood found a way to leave, to seek help, to go the courts, and demand to see a judge, saying, "I want a divorce!" She endured a long struggle, before finally being granted freedom from the abuse that stole her childhood.
Here is an e-mail interview between A. Boles and Upstage Players Improvisational Troupe leader Carrie Walsh-Hilf.
AB: What is the Upstage Players improv group?
CWH: UpStage Players Improvisational Troupe is a group of actors who dedicate time to working on the craft of acting and improvisation. They perform original scenes at different venues. Our future performances will be at the East 200th Street Stroll and at the Waterloo Arts Festival. This group is a piece of UpStage Children's Theater, but differs in that it is open to ages 5-whatever. We have about twenty participants and are always looking for more.
AB: What do you when you get together?
CWH: It depends. We do traditional vocal warm-ups and body warm-ups. Then we play a variety of games. The games will turn into our scenes. However, the scenes that we practice are just practice; we will create new scenes when we perform at whatever venue we are at. Sometimes we create a show out of ordinary boxes big and small, other days we turn ourselves into out-of-the-ordinary super heroes such as Bubble Man or Fashionista Girl with crazy super powers. You never know what will happen when you plan the games. Creativity fills the auditorium the instant you announce the game. We play different improvisational games each meeting. It is interesting to watch how a story can shift depending on who is leading it.
On Friday, June 11, 6-9 pm, Arts Collinwood is hosting a free meet and greet event with Shaker Heights resident and independent filmmaker, Todd Kwait, as a kick-off to the 2010 Ohio Independent Film Festival, and to promote Kwait's newest film, Vagabondo!. Todd is a lawyer and businessman with a lifelong passion for film.
The Film Fest starts Sunday, June 13, at the Beachland Ballroom with a premiere of "Vagabondo!" and benefit presented by Independent Pictures. The event begins at 6 pm.
The film by Todd Kwait and Mark Sebastian, brings us into the world of seminal New York singer songwriter Vince Martin. Martin spent time recording with The Lovin’ Spoonful's John Sebastian and Fred Neil and Felix Pappalardi. In the early sixties, he influenced the growing folk and folk rock scene in New York.
The festival runs from June 12 through the 14th, for a full listing of films, descriptions and times, go to www.ohiofilms.com.
New York has its Off Broadway theater district that offers audiences edgy, provocative works that challenge and even defy tradition. Now I'm bringing that dare-to-be-different approach to a non-traditional site for theater in Cleveland; The East 185th street ARABICA coffee house, with what has been called a "stage-shaking piece"; Malcolm's Conversation.
Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12 at 8 pm, the East 185th street Arabica will feature my latest work which I wrote, produced, directed, and oh yeah, I'm playing Malcolm Washington, the play's central character.Amy Pheneger is a transplant from Chicago who left her corporate job there and was inspired to move back to Cleveland because she wanted to “get back to painting.”
Despite having lived many years in Chicago—what many consider a place to move to create art—she found herself compromising that art in order to afford the cost of living. Amy moved back to Cleveland, and the Collinwood area, because of the warmth of the people and the accessibility to a strong artistic community that allows her the freedom to create.
Since her return, Amy has been a staple at the Grovewood Tavern and Wine Bar, where I first met her. If you’ve been there for dinner, you will no doubt remember her smile and earnest disposition. In addition, you may have noticed some of her work on display. Those pieces are also for sale for an affordable price because she feels that “art should be accessible to many.”
Poetry is a terrifying creature. It lurks beneath the surfaces of other art forms causing most people who encounter it to run away in discontent. They are left with questions that can never be answered, only speculated about.
The Sunday Roast Reading Series is just the cure needed for this phobia. Mix the aroma of coffee, the clink of glasses, and the aura of a little booze with this poetic creature and suddenly it becomes a likeable friend and a completely visceral experience.
The next Sunday Roast will be June 13th and feature readings by three regional writers. T.M. Göttl is best known around Cleveland as a slam poet, but her work can be found in print in various magazines and online journals. Her poetry captures the nature of storytelling while exploring themes of myth, adventure, and religion.
For four months, Hospice of the Western Reserve patients and families welcomed photography students from Notre Dame College on their journey with a serious illness. 167 photographs later, the four participating students found themselves changed forever.
These students, Aurelia Nuber, Ralph D’Alessio, Sarah Nank and Dominic Schiavoni, spent time with patients and families at Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Hospice House – an inpatient facility overlooking Lake Erie.The fruits of their experience – called “Images of Hospice” – will be on display at Arabica Coffee House at 818 East 185th Street beginning Thursday, June 24. The show kicks off with a reception from noon to 2 pm at Arabica and will remain there through July 16. The reception is free and open to the public.
Cleveland’s fastest-growing grassroots, family-friendly arts festival is back and better than ever, with more exhibits, installations performances and activities. More than 10,000 people are expected to spend the day on Waterloo, seeing and making art, catching live performances, shopping an array of vendors and noshing on local eats, as well as visiting all the one-of-a-kind businesses that make this burgeoning district unique.
Some of the popular features of last year are returning, including public art installations and historical exhibits; children’s activities with custom installations; live music on four stages; performance art, poetry and dance as well as local artisans selling their wares. This year look for a unique theater commission in our sculpture garden, stages in the street with even more live music al fresco, and a dynamic kids stage with incredible dance, music, contests and performances all day long.
Arts Collinwood’s Portfolio Project is an after-school program designed to give middle school and high school students the full experience of creating a portfolio, jurying a public art commission and creating an exhibit.
In this, its first year, it immediately became evident that the students’ grasp of the artistic mediums is growing almost as rapidly as their self-confidence and their ability to work as a team.
Visit the Arts Collinwood Web site to see some of the portraits they produced in Bridget Caswell’s photo classes. And visit the Arts Collinwood gallery on May 20, 6 – 9 pm, for the opening reception of their show, “This Time, Our Time.” The exhibit will be on view till May 23.My name is Mariesha Mikel and I am currently a senior at Collinwood High School.
I enjoy cooking, drawing, painting, sewing, writing poetry, and playing piano.
During my freshman year attending Villa Angela- St. Joseph High School, the school magazine called Venture’s published one of my paintings and a short story I had written; I was also awarded 3rd place for use of color and 1st place for teacher’s choice.
In the summer of my sophomore year, I entered 4 of my paintings into the Vision Arts Gallery and the Waterloo 7 Art Gallery. They are inspired by music, books that I have read, and dreams I have had.
Summer can be a magical time for children. As a caring parent, you want them to play and explore and grow, to make friends and make memories. A creative summer camp experience might be just the right choice for you.
Arts Collinwood's summer Art and Drama Camp offers children ages 5-12 the chance to get hands-on and creative, working with professional artists in a space where they can experiment with a range of artistic outlets. They'll paint and sculpt, build and draw, write their own plays and stage their own performances. They'll work together and grow together. Each year the end-of-camp performance is a special moment for parents and children alike.
Hundreds celebrated the Beachland Ballroom’s tenth anniversary, this past weekend, with Pere Ubu and Roky Erickson, followed on Sunday with a new brunch menu from the fabulous mind of chef Jeremy Cobb. WRUW's DJ Katherine from Maximum Consumption provided tunes.
To read about the show, go online at www.collinwoodobserver.com, and scroll down the front page to "Beachland Ballroom"
Hundreds celebrated the Beachland Ballroom’s tenth anniversary, this past weekend, with Pere Ubu and Roky Erickson. Here are the highlights:
Pere Ubu: The God Daddies of Avant Garage
David Thomas took the stage dressed as neutral as his attitude and wore a coat as long as his moustached face. The term avant-garage was actually coined by the frontman himself (not to be confused with the deceased Wendy's Restaurants entrepreneur) so that journalists could pigeon-hole their sound. Pere Ubu is also often described as post punk, experimental, and proto new wave. In 1974 Mr. Thomas was the vocalist of a group called "Rocket From the Tombs." In 1975, Thomas left Rocket From the Tombs with guitarist Peter Laughner to form Pere Ubu which left Johnny Blitz and Cheetah Chrome to join Stiv Bators, forming the infamous punk outfit the Dead Boys. Hailing from right here in our rust belt city, Pere Ubu birthed their first creative child, "The Modern Dance" in 1978 and performed every molecule of it on the Ballroom stage over 30 years later for a special Anniversary show on March 5th. This night in Cleveland, you looked around and forgot THIS many people lived in the city limits. There was no generation gap, which really gives you a strong idea of how influential this band really was and still is.
For the last eleven years there has been a movement afoot. It was founded with a simple mission: “ Never hide your talent," and was taking place annually in recreation centers, co-op storefronts, and Community galleries across the nation. This year, The National Arts Program (nationalartsprogram.org) will hold The City of Cleveland exhibit at the Arts Collinwood Gallery, March 29 – April 9, 2010, with a grand opening reception Thursday, April 1 from 6 –9pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Participants must be employees of the City of Cleveland, a family member of an employee, or a City of Cleveland resident. Proof of residency is required to enter the exhibition.
"We try to teach the principles of design and other visual elements," says Alexis Hedderson, who teaches Thursday afternoon classes for elementary-school-age children at ArtsCollinwood. "The children do what they want to do." According to Hedderson, the program is "choice-based" and "allows kids to be their own artist." The classes cover drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and working with clay. Miss Hedderson has an Early Childhood Education degree from Ursuline College and has taken art classes at Cleveland State University.
If you ask most Cleveland Municipal School District students if they have ever been to the Cleveland Museum of Art, chances are the answer would be no. Regrettably, a visit to this jewel in the University Circle cultural crown has become unattainable because field trips are so costly. However, guided tours for groups of fifteen or more are available on a first come, first serve basis and teachers can apply at the CMA Education Department section at www.clevelandart.com. Fortunately, before Christmas break I was able to take five Collinwood High School students on a tour of the newly renovated galleries of CMA, which is ranked as one of America’s top five art museums. Their enthusiasm was a delight to witness. Here are some of their comments:
This project is a unique intergenerational experience in which a small group of high school students work with senior citizens to create poetry, oral history, video, still photography and portraiture. The sessions will be led by artists pre-eminent in their fields, who will also teach the young artists how to develop a portfolio, curate an exhibit and participate in the jurying process -- by helping to select a finalist for a mural installation at the Arts Collinwood center.
The All-City Art Show, sponsored by the National Arts Program, will be held at the Arts Collinwood gallery March 26 to April 9, with an official opening reception on April 1. Submissions are due by March 22. The exhibit is judged by professional artists and art educators in Amateur, Intermediate, Professional and Youth classifications. Entry is free. Participants must live in or work for the city of Cleveland, or belong to a city employee’s family. All entries must be the artist’s own original work (no kits!). There’s $1800 of prize money for the nine adult classes; $600 for the eight under-eighteen classes; and the possibility of an Honorable Mention, besides a Certificate of Participation for all entrants. For information and registration forms call: 216-664-2562, or visit www.nationalartsprogram.org.
Just before receiving my Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1989 as a drawing major, I was introduced to enameling. In my 4th year, a friend showed me pieces of copper she had covered with some sort of colorful, durable coating. She explained that it was enamel, and briefly told me about the class and the process. I’d never heard of this, but was very intrigued and so enrolled in the class at the start of my 5th and final year at CIA, to learn some of the basics of the medium.
Visual artist Terry Durst, who taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Cuyahoga Community College, moved to South Collinwood from Tremont four years ago. The move got him closer to the Waterloo Arts District and to the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, where he loves to see music, mostly country music or anyone that sounds like Neil Young. When he lived in Tremont, his friends knew to look up his home phone number by searching for Neil Young in the phone book, that's how much Durst believes and associates with the power of music.
Arts Collinwood ended 2009 on a high note. For the first time ever, we faced an incredibly generous $5,000 challenge grant -- and thanks to tremendous response from members, neighbors and supporters, successfully raised the funds to make the match. The Weekends on Waterloo Holiday Sale at Arts Collinwood Gallery was up 20% from 2008 -- thanks for shopping locally! We received significant funding from the Cleveland Foundation. And, in spite of a really tough economy, we made it through the year, and didn't cut any of our core programs, including operating our new arts center.The year ahead looks promising: we've reopened the Cafe at Arts Collinwood, with a new look, new art, new menu, new music and more. Check out the jazz nights, movie nights, and much more -- another great way to showcase local artistic talent, while supporting the arts.
Breathtaking...stunning...unbelievable! No words can describe the beauty of "Avatar" because this movie is in a league of its own, with its wondrous special effects and sensitive script.