Fun Summer at Cedar Fairmout: The Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District (SID) plans to celebrate the outdoors with art, food trucks and more this summer. While the SID presented a single summer event in the afternoon in the past, this year it is expanding the program.
“We believe that engaging the community will be a fun and exciting way for us to celebrate the outdoors for an entire summer,” said Myra G. Orenstein, president of CATV, Inc. and acting general manager of Cedar Fairmount SID, in a press release.
With the support of a scholarship from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and private donations from the SID Board and some members of the Cleveland Heights City Council, Cedar Fairmount can create this expanded program. Food trucks will be featured on Fairmount Boulevard near the Cedar Road intersection on select Tuesdays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
Thursday evening concerts, held twice a month in different areas of the district, will also highlight local talent. The concerts take place from 7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. The first two of the six planned concerts include the Moises Borges Trio on June 17th in the Firestone parking lot of the SID and the Blue Lunch on June 24th in the parking lot next to Nighttown.
Family entertainment and art projects coordinated with Robin VanLear (formerly the Cleveland Museum of Art and Parade the Circle) invite adults and children to partake in hands-on art programs and line dancing with pachyderms.
I’m not sure how line dancing with pachyderms works, so you may have to show up to find out. Elephants, rhinos, and hippos aren’t exactly light-footed, but an online search shows they are thick-skinned on the plus side. So if you criticize their dance, they will take it well.
Details and times of all events can be found at cedarfairmount.org.
Federation Honors Philanthropist: The Cleveland Jewish Federation has named Beachwoods Danielle Wild the 2021 Ruby Bass Challenge Award winner. The award is the organization’s most prestigious for female philanthropists. Wild was honored on May 27 during the Federation’s Women Women in Philanthropy virtual signature event.
“I grew up in a household where philanthropy was very important,” Wild said in a press release. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to be on the list of women who have received this award in the past – women I have always looked up to as mentors and amazing examples of selfless church leadership. “
The Federation notes that Wild has played an active role in serving the Cleveland Jewish community for many years. Her commitment to the Federation began as a member of the Board of Directors of the Young Leadership Division. She later served as Chair of the Women IN Philanthropy Campaign, Chair of the Women IN Philanthropy Campaign, and Vice-Chair of the Federation’s annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.
Wild has also worked to expand the diversity of women involved in the federation – including women from the Orthodox community, empty nests, new Clevelanders, and more.
“Danielle is what the Ruby Bass Award is all about,” said Michelle Hirsch, chairwoman of Women IN Philanthropy, in the same publication. “Danielle not only led with her brain, but also with her heart.”
Launched in memory of Ruby Bass, the award is presented annually to a woman who shares Bass’ lifelong passion for the Federation, her commitment to Women IN Philanthropy, and her fundraiser for the Jewish Needs Campaign, which is the Federation’s annual fundraiser represents, recognizes money needed to change and improve lives in Cleveland and around the world.
In Wild’s honor, the Ruby Bass Challenge Endowment Fund will make a donation to the women’s campaign for the 2022 campaign for Jewish needs. The award was launched by Ruby Bass’ son Jonathan, his wife Stephany and their mother Lenore Kessler, who was a close friend of Ruby.
News from the Shaker Library: The Shaker Library reports that the first phase of the renovation of the main library has been completed and that their customers “were very excited about our new look”. It is also pointed out that the best is yet to come with the upcoming renovation of the east side of the building to include meeting rooms and a “monumental staircase”.
There is also news from the library about the “summer slide”. The summer slide is not about playground equipment. It’s about the average student who loses a month of study time in the summer when school is closed. If so, I haven’t gone to school in a few years, which means there’s no telling how many months of learning have slipped out of my head.
Anyway, the Shaker Library’s summer reading program is designed to help students keep reading and studying throughout the summer. To this end, staff have been preparing intensively for Tails & Tales, the library’s 2021 program, which runs from June 1 to August 31. Many thanks for the program go to the Friends of the Shaker Library for their sustained support with reading in the summer and for providing the tempting reading incentives.
The school age grand prize is a Nintendo Switch Lite with a Mario Kart game, and the teen grand prize is an Instax mini camera, Cleveland Aquarium tickets, and a coupon for Mitchel’s Ice Cream. Many local businesses help the library promote the reading program by displaying summer reading posters in their stores or kiosks.
Also note that the Shaker Library will be home to medical historian and critically acclaimed author Brandy Schillace via Zoom on June 2nd at 7pm. Schillace will speak about her latest book: “Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: The Head of a Monkey, the Pope’s Neuroscientist and the Quest for the Transplant of the Soul. “The book is the true story of the late Dr. Robert White, a Shaker resident and MetroHealth’s first chief of neurosurgery, who tested the limits of science and ethics in his quest to find a human soul transplant. The electronic book can be downloaded from Overdrive here, while the physical book can be reserved here in the library. Sign up here to see Dr. Meet Schillace online.
Finally, Ali Black, Shaker Library’s adult community engagement specialist, was named a finalist in the 2021 Ohioana Book Awards for her book of poetry, “If It Heals at All”. In 2021, Ohioana is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its Book Awards, the second oldest state literary award in America. The winners will be announced in July.
Black leads the library’s WRD: Write Read Discover for Teens, a writing workshop for middle and high school students that takes place on Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
Heights Libraries Events: There is a group of online events on the way out of the Heights Libraries. Upcoming are “1619 Discussion: Reparations, Part 1” from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., June 10 (Zoom ID: 8236485349 PW: 691353); “Alzheimer’s Association Presents: Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body: Tips from the Latest Research” from June 19-20 (registration by calling 800-272-3900 or at https://bit.ly/3cG7BiL) ; “So you want to become a contractor?”, Also from June 19-20 (register here); and “WordPress Part 1”, from 3:30 pm, June 15th (register here).
And don’t forget that the University Heights Library branch is hosting the Whiz Bang Circus in the park for school-age children and families from June 18-20. A library campaign for the event reads: “Come one! Everyone, come to this special performance from Whizbang Circus Theater in Cleveland Heights! We’re taking the Big Top outside to Walter Stinson Community Park (2313 Fenwick Road) for an evening of laughter, thrills and magic. “
As for this event – I don’t think it’s against the law, but the Noble Neighborhood branch at 2800 Noble Road in Cleveland Heights is hosting what is known as the World Wide Knit In Public Day. I swear, if you can knit in public at all, you can do pretty much anything these days. The library reports on this event: “Many knitters around the world meet and knit to show others their craft. Bring your chair, knit and join in. “Well I think it sounds fine. If the weather is bad, this event will take place on Zoom.
Everything takes place from 12 noon to 12 noon on June 12th.
Family Fun Day at the Piano: Piano Cleveland is holding a Family Fun Day on June 13th at 1:00 pm in the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights. There is no end time listed for the event. So be prompt.
All Cleveland families are invited to celebrate the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition with an afternoon of fun activities during this event, hosted in partnership with Heights Arts. Young listeners can partake in an artist-led craft and enjoy a live interactive performance of the Carnival of the Animals with local musicians. To learn more about upcoming Piano Cleveland events, visit here.
From Milwaukee to Jerusalem: The Park Synagogue will present “Golda Meir: From Milwaukee to Jerusalem” via Zoom on June 9 at 1pm. On the program is Professor Meron Medzini, who lives from Israel. Everyone is invited to attend a session that Park believes gives you a unique behind-the-scenes look at Golda Meir, Israel’s only female prime minister.
The discussion will trace Meir’s life of her shtetl origins, her American experience, and the rise of power and influence in Israel, a country for which she was willing to sacrifice her marriage and family life. Medzini had known Meir (1898-1978) since childhood and was her spokesman during the Yom Kippur War. He is the author of “Golda: A Political Biography”.
Pre-registration for the free program is required by June 6th in order to receive your Zoom link. Register on the Park Synagogue website at Parksynagogue.org or by emailing Ellen Petler at epetler@parksyn.org. Questions can be sent to Petler at 216-371-2244, ext 122. The program is sponsored by the Park Senior Adult Group.
College News: The University of Findlay announced that Jacob Myers of Shaker Heights received his Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy from the school. Congratulations to him.
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