This weekend, celebrate creative women at Women to Watch — Ohio, show your mother some love at EarthFest2015, get carried away with Cleveland Ballet, rock out at Record Store Day and more. 

Women to Watch
Open now through May 2, 2015
Cleveland Institute of Art 11141 East Blvd.
Free

Cleveland Institute of Art has a deep history of creative and successful women. It is a lesser known fact that CIA was initially founded in 1882 as Western Reserve School of Design for Women before becoming co-educational in 1892.

The Reinberger Galleries are proud to host Women to Watch — Ohio which marks a significant collaboration with the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) and the galleries on East Boulevard’s final art show before the college moves to its new home on Euclid Avenue.

Women to Watch — Ohio was initiated by Barbara Richter and Harriet Warm, founders and co-chairs of the Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. “We hope that the show actively promotes the careers of women in our region and that in the process we elevate our community and artists on a national level,” says Richter.

It might be 2015, but women are still undervalued and underrepresented in the art world. According to the NMWA, 51 percent of visual artists today are women, yet only 5 percent of work on U.S. museum walls is by women, and work by women makes up only 5 percent of major permanent collections in the U.S. and Europe.

“The success of women has always been a huge priority for us a college,” says Ann McGuire, Director of Communications. “It’s a fantastic show that harkens back to the way the school was founded and it’s a really good note to end the gallery on.” This will mark Reinberger Gallery’s final show, after hosting exhibitions for over fifty years.

Women to Watch features a combination of ceramics, tapestry, painting, drawing, photography, installation and mixed media from five Ohio-based artists: Mimi Kato, Eva Kwong, Christi Birchfield, Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, and Lauren Yeager. The artists were nominated by curators at CMA and MOCA Cleveland.

The work is not collectively “feminine”; instead each artist takes on their own distinct aesthetic personality. The works include Icelandic-born artist Jónsson’s impressionistic textile landforms, Kwong’s colorful pseudoscientific sculptures, Yeager’s transformation of common objects and Birchfield’s abstract highly textured prints constructed using dried flowers.

Kato was chosen for international Women to Watch 2015, which opens in June 5 at NMWA in Washington D.C. She creates intricate photomontages incorporating multiple versions of herself into cartoony modern Japanese landscapes. The result is Cindy Sherman-esque and highly humorous. This is the first time Ohio will be represented in the national bi-annual exhibition.

Cleveland Ballet presents Classic. Elegant. Timeless.
Friday, April 17th. 7 pm
Ohio Theatre, 1511 Euclid Ave.
$20 - $49

Ballet is an art form of unparalleled beauty. This weekend only, become mesmerized by Cleveland Ballet and Cleveland Ballet youth company accompanied by the Cleveland Ballet Orchestra in a showcase of Cleveland's new generation of dancers. The performance will also include world renowned guest artists Carlos Lopez and Adiarys Almeida, performing White Swan from Swan Lake.

Urban Grazing Workshop
Friday April 17th. 1 - 3:30.
COSE, 1240 Huron Rd. E # 200
Free. Reservations are suggested. Register here.

When sheep graze the yard, you don’t need a lawnmower. Sheep are great for utilizing vacant lots and weed and invasive species control. If I’ve ever been interested in the benefits of urban grazing, here’s an opportunity to learn more.

The Urban Grazing Workshop will walk you through logistics including a management plan addressing: density, fencing, rotational grazing, watering, mineral supplements, parasites, handling systems, manure, predators, biosecurity, a shepherding schedule, and marketing your product.

Celebrate Record Store Day!
Saturday, April 17th.
Participating Cleveland Record Stores

Show some love to your favorite local record stores this weekend! A few local shops distributing Record Store Day releases include My Mind's Eye, A Separate Reality, Music Saves, and Hausfrau. Blue Arrow Records has opted out of carrying Record Store Day releases and re-christened the day “Customer Appreciation Day.” They will be doing giveaways of local music instead.

EarthFest 2015: Celebrating the Year of Clean Water!
Sunday, April 19th. 10 am - 5 pm
Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds 19201 East Bagley Rd.
$4 ages 2-11. $8 ages 12+. Ride your bike, get in free!

Celebrate EarthFest’s 25th consecutive year! Enjoy eco-activities, biodiesel-powered amusement park rides, live music, urban farm animals, pony rides, petting zoos, healthy food from local food trucks, local microbrews and more.

Earth Fest 2015 is hosted by Earth Day Coalition in partnership with Mayor Frank Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 initiative, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, in celebration of the “Year of Clean Water.”

EarthFest will feature 270 exhibits in nine sustainability exhibit areas. Don't forget to bring expired medicine, mercury thermometers, and textiles to drop-off.

Spring Seed Swap
Sunday, April 19th. 12 - 5 pm
Room Service Boutique 2078 W 25th St.
Free

Grow something beautiful! Room Service is presenting a Seed Swap to exchange seedling with other neighborhood gardeners. The first fifty visitors will received a “seed bomb” — a small ball of seeds and soil bound with soft clay that contain native wildflower seeds (courtesy of Ohio Prarie Nursery). Representatives of the Cleveland Seed Bank will also be there for all your gardening inquiries