The Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance is celebrating its fifth birthday promoting Northeast Ohio as a vigorous regional entity. Like any proud parent, Cleveland Plus executive director Rick Batyko is eager to show off the campaign's accomplishments over its first five years of life. Fresh Water writer Douglas J. Guth spoke with Batyko about the campaign's successful past as well as the Wadsworth native's hopes for the region's future.

Just moments before they took the dais for the Lockwood Thompson Dialogues, presented by the Cleveland Public Library in partnership with LAND studio, local author Michael Ruhlman and award-winning photographer Penny De Los Santos sat down with Fresh Water. The free-flowing conversation touched upon topics ranging from the local food movement to the Cleveland dining scene to food photography. Have a listen.

University Circle Inc. has made exploring the neighborhood and finding new things to do a little easier thanks to a new iPhone app. Developed by FORM in Shaker Heights, the app allows visitors to navigate and learn about University Circle. The app complements the organization’s recently revamped website.
 
“Our goal was to create a much more visitor friendly website with the app,” says Erika McLaughlin, UCI’s public affairs manager. “We h... Read more >

What makes a neighborhood thrive? Is it a coffee shop? A fistful of chef-owned bistros? What about a grocery store and dry cleaners? When it comes to Cleveland's various neighborhoods, some seem to have all the pieces in place. Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway… these budding burgs appear to have everything a resident could want and need. But do they?

On the heels of St. Patty's Day, which gives cause for merriment whether you're Irish for one day or your entire life, comes Dyngus Day. And Justin Gorski, aka "DJ Kishka," invites you to dig deep to find your ethnic roots and celebrate Cleveland's Polish heritage in style.

"I'm Polish, and I always had pride in that," says Gorski, who created the Polka Happy Hour at the Happy Dog seven years ago. "My grandmother made pierogi and p... Read more >

To conduct an authentic test of what it's like to be a tourist in Cleveland, Positively Cleveland recently sent several Northeast Ohioans on all-expenses-paid trips to parts of the city with which they were unfamiliar. The outcomes of this "mystery shopper" test were revealing, if not exactly surprising: Safety, wayfinding signage and public transportation ranked among participants' top concerns.

Lexi Hotchkiss, Communications Manager with Positively Cle... Read more >

It's the "Year of Local Food" in Cleveland, say the organizers of Sustainable Cleveland 2019. It's also the year that Congress is set to reauthorize the farm bill, the largest piece of food and farm legislation that determines how food reaches our plate.

These two events may seem disconnected, but they really are not, says Tia Lebherz, an organizer with Food and Water Watch, whose job is to energize the Cleveland Fair Farm Bill Campaign. In fact, the bil... Read more >

When Kelly Kandah walked to her job each morning at ABC News in Manhattan, she found herself gaping at the long lines outside of trendy cupcake shops like Crumbs and Magnolia Bakery.

It wasn't because she was hungry -- Kandah simply has cupcakes in her blood. Baking is a family tradition, and her mom has been baking cakes featuring Grandma Kandah's "famous" frosting recipe for years for family friends.

So, when the 25-year-old Kandah moved back ... Read more >

Throughout its 20 year history, Eden Inc., a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, has "flown under the radar," says David Fearn, Manager of Grants Development and Community Relations. If so, then one might say that Eden's recently launched sustainability efforts constitute a coming out party -- one to which all of its neighbors are invited.

Eden has always been a community-minded agency; its housing developments serve low-income and often mentally ill ... Read more >

Ohio City Inc. was named the inaugural winner of the Enterprise Community Innovation Awards, held on Tuesday, March 6 at CSU’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. The event, hosted by Enterprise Community Partners, which helps find affordable housing options, was sponsored through KeyBank. It was designed to recognize organizations creating new and lasting community development solutions in Greater Cleveland.
 
Ohio City received a $25,000 grant to support its Marke... Read more >

Freshbag, which offers corporate wellness programs and an online fresh foods-shopping and delivery service, is growing faster than founders Ian Wong and Max Wilberding anticipated. The company is adding to its current six pickup locations and forming new partnerships.
 
Later this month, Freshbag will add 1-2-1 Fitness, on the Case campus, as a new pick up location. Wong says more locations are in the works. Furthermore, the company is expanding its chef repertoire wi... Read more >

In this Fresh Water video, Cleveland chefs Jeff Fisher, Dante Boccuzzi and Zack Bruell talk about their culinary style, their restaurants, and their fondness for the farm-to-table movement. With decades of experience between them, they are able to put into context the dramatic progress the Cleveland restaurant scene has made over the past 10 to 15 years.

As more people and businesses settle in downtown Cleveland, the need is greater than ever for safe, beautiful and active public spaces. Who, then, will steward the dialogue around the importance of good design to the quality of life and economic competitiveness of our region? LAND studio will. The recent union of Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks has given rise to LAND, an organization focused on (L)andscape, (A)rt, (N)eighborhoods, and (D)evelopment.