Stories
On a recent Thursday in April, Jenice Contreras walked in front of 32 investors, architects, and community development corporation reps to announce some long-awaited news. “It’s a perfect storm,” she announced to the group at the Greater Cleveland Partnership offices downtown. “It took three decades. But we no longer need three decades to make it happen. All the right elements are now in place.”
Cleveland has had its shares of ups and downs in the 223 years since Moses Cleaveland first set up shop, but many of the city’s homes and buildings have remained—largely due to those who have put forth tremendous efforts to preserve and restore the structures that form Cleveland’s unique history.
During a recent afternoon ceremony at the Halle Building, the mood was celebratory and inspiring as five local organizations received $5,000 grants in support of youth-geared initiatives. Even cooler? The benefactors are ambitious, civic-minded high school juniors and seniors who spent nine months serving on United Way of Greater Cleveland's John K. Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee.
For 40 years, the nonprofit One World Shop has partnered with organizations around the globe to give artisans a chance to sell their creations—at fair trade wages—to Northeast Ohio residents. This week, One World will take its fair trade mission to another level by showcasing more than 300 hand-knotted rugs made by Pakistani artisans at its Fair Trade Rug Event.
A vision 35 years in the making is hitting critical mass as the community of La Villa Hispana takes shape with a renewed sense of community and a flurry of new development.
If the neighborhood of Tremont were a person, it would make one heck of a dinner party host. One month from today, the area will once again host its annual Tremont Trek on Saturday, June 15. Now 18 years running, the event features an exclusive whirlwind tour of six private homes, along with tastings provided by local restaurants at each stop.
When Ebony Naylor received her cosmetology license two years ago, she figured she’d mark the achievement by herself. The eight women who had mentored her for a year had other ideas.
When Cleveland Asian Festival founders Lisa Wong, Johnny Wu, and Vi Huynh first started talking about celebrating Cleveland’s Asian community in 2010, they didn’t know what to expect. “Lisa threw out [the idea of] a big party,’” recalls Wayne Wong, the festival’s emcee and this year’s performance chair. “It wasn’t about any particular ethnicity—Chinese, Japanese, or Korean—but about the entire community and a celebration of Asian culture.”
Proposed cuts in the Ohio House budget means the curtain might fall on Cleveland’s thriving film scene. The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, which gives filmmakers an incentive to bring movie production to Ohio, is on the chopping block to make space in the budget for income tax cuts. But Senate Bill 37 is also in the works, with a goal of raising the tax credit from $40 million to $100 million to pave the way for more growth in the local film industry. It’s a pivotal moment that has the Greater Cleveland Film Commission on edge.
Welcome to the latest edition of FreshWater Cleveland's “Who’s Hiring” series, where we feature growing companies with open positions, what they’re looking for, and how to apply. This installment includes jobs from Five Lakes Professional Services, Neighborhood Leadership Development Program, Refugee Response, Cleveland Foundation, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation, and more. Click here for the freshest job opportunities fit to print.
While little remains of the original League Park, it ranks among America's top neighborhood baseball parks, and the memories of the iconic Cleveland landmark are still vivid in many people’s minds. Now those memories are coming back to life with a brand-new scale model and revitalization efforts for the surrounding neighborhood of Hough.
Make no mistake—the buoy gently bobbing in the waves eight miles offshore in Lake Erie is not like the others.
In many homes, Mother's Day means smiling children, fresh flowers, and homemade breakfast-in-bed. But for families facing loss, their mom might be a lifetime away. Yoga to Remember offers a remembrance event on Thursday, May 9, at St. John’s Episcopal Church to honor the memory of mothers—or any loved one—who is missed.
As Cleveland State University’s first-ever director of sustainability, Jennifer McMillin can be a bit in-your-face when it comes to the motto, “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” And she’s proud of that. (As she should be, since the school reduced its landfill waste five percent in 2018, diverting 306 tons from landfills.)
Yet another reason Cleveland "rocks:" Clevelander Michele Gehrmann has created GoRock.com, a free website for people to track painted rocks in public.
One year after getting its start with a booth at the Cleveland Asian Festival, Ball Ball Waffle is open for business.
Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland. Check out the May lineup here!
As a member of the South Dakota-based Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, lifelong Clevelander, and chairperson of the Lake Erie Native American Council (LENAC), Marlys Rambeau is accustomed to area organizations approaching her when they need a Native American to play a role in a theatrical production, but she says people usually just want someone who can play a stereotypical part. They’re not always interested in depicting the true Native American cultural story.
Mention Cleveland sports and the Browns, Cavs, or Indians probably spring to mind. But, if the weeks ahead are any indication, soccer might be ready to join that list. Everywhere you look, the beautiful game is taking off in Northeast Ohio.