Been to Any Community Festivals Lately?

Summertime might as well be called festival time. In Cleveland, we do festivals well. We get tired of looking at the walls all winter and open our doors wide to summer. Now it’s time to have fun outdoors at community festivals. In the last two weeks, I've detailed a fair number of arts and culture festival happenings; this week, in my final of three installments, I touch on the wealth of community festivals here in our fair city.

Celebrations are well underway as a quick examination of this week’s events in Cool Cleveland suggest – Wade Oval Wednesdays and the run of Coventry Street Fairs have started. And there are plenty of other community festivals that aren’t too far behind (some might say all festivals are community festivals). In any case, grab your PDA, planer or Rolodex calendar and start marking down some of these great festive events:

The Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival on July 5 on the West Bank of the Cuyahoga promises to highlight Asian culture and thrill spectators watching the dragon boat races. The Festival is held on the West Bank of the Flats and is sponsored by the Cleveland Rowing Foundation and the Flats Oxbow Association. Go back to the Flats and spend time on the patio deck of the Waterfront Restaurant during opening ceremonies at 9AM. http://www.clevelanddragonboatfestival.com.

During the weekend of July 18-20, the Lorain Port Authority proudly presents the Port Fest on the banks of the Black River. Black River Landing, east of Basule Bridge on Erie Avenue, will be decorated with food tents, vendors, and local arts and crafts. Musical entertainment, helicopter rides, group tours of the historic lighthouse, and children’s activities round out the event. While in Lorain, scope out the riverfront development, the renovated theater, and the historic Antler’s Hotel; this working-class city’s heart is revealed in their ability to throw a good party. http://www.lorainportauthority.com/calendar.

Festivals move into the streets of Cleveland with the Ingenuity Fest, which challenges the Cleveland community to “Create: Celebrate: Innovate.” Last year, the Ingenuity Festival closed Euclid Avenue outside of Playhouse Square and a big stage filled the road in front of the theaters; check it out July 25-27 this year. You will experience Cleveland at its best with interactive exhibits and hi-tech demonstrations; music ranging from hip-hop and rock to classical and jazz; contemporary dance, film, and video performances; galleries and art, and food. http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com.

Deep into summer, Medina County Park District’s Summer Celebration on July 26 will feature crafts, food, inflatables, and live animals at Buckeye Woods Park. http://www.medinacountyparks.com/Pages/Programs.html.

Taste of Tremont, on July 20, celebrates Tremont’s rich diversity at Lincoln Park, and the churches of Tremont can be explored on the same day. http://restoretremont.com/events/tremont.

Midway rides, a parade, and children’s activities propel the Twins Festival (rightfully located in Twinsburg) into a community festival about twins, but not just for twins, the weekend of August 2-3. http://www.twinsdays.org.

Valley City’s Frog Jump Festival offers music and food, but the frog jumping and amphibian education are the perks of this annual festival to be held on August 10 at Mill Stream Park. http://www.valleycity.org/frogs/frogjmp.htm.

The Corn Festival in North Ridgeville (the weekend of August 10) is just one of the festivals that celebrate harvests. http://www.nrcornfest.org/index.php.

The old-time Apple Festival in Elyria, featuring a princess pageant, a balloon drop, pie baking and eating, and continuous entertainment on two stages, food, crafts, and a car show at Elyria Square, takes place September 19-21. http://www.elyriaapplefestival.com.

Our history as a major grape-growing state and our re-emerging reputation for wine making, are spotlighted at Vintage Ohio (first weekend of August) and the Cleveland Wine Festival. http://www.clevelandwinefestival.com. http://www.visitvintageohio.com.

The official end of summer is marked by the Taste of Cleveland, held at the Time-Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City during Labor Day Weekend. But the festivals don’t end there — and this article only touches on a small portion of the community events happening in greater Cleveland. We take summer into fall with the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Festival and the Country Living and Antiques Fall Festival in Avon, among others... because we want summer fun to last as long as it can.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com
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