15+ Things to Do in Cleveland This Thanksgiving Weekend (Nov. 27-Dec. 1)
WED 11/27 Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks The Eastern Conference-leading Cavs take on a decent Atlanta Hawks team that features sharpshooting guard Trae Young. Tipoff is at 7 tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com. Charity Evonna To date, the local R&B singer-songwriter has released three projects, and her most recent album, It’s…
East Cleveland’s Loiter Café Reaches Agreement With Cuyahoga Land Bank After Lawsuit
By the time the ribbon was cut on the second floor of the Mickey’s Building on the fringe of East Cleveland on July 10, Ismail Samad was ready to open his coffee shop and community market with full force. Most of the pieces of what would become Loiter East Cleveland were either already in place…
Dave Koz To Bring His Annual Holiday Christmas Show Back to Playhouse Square in December
Saxophonist Dave Koz, who’s released eight Christmas albums, will bring his annual Christmas tour to Connor Palace Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 8, to celebrate the tour’s 27th anniversary. This year, the tour features singer-guitarist Jonathan Butler, saxophonist Vincent Ingala, guitarist Adam Hawley and singer Rebecca Jade. Koz and Hawley will perform their current Top 20…
Cuyahoga County Jail Will Now Do More Than Show People the Door
For years, Cuyahoga County has offered little help to people before releasing them from one of the worst jails in Ohio. That will end next month. A revamped reentry program to assist people as they leave the jail is being finalized by Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel and other top leaders. The program will connect…
Livewire: 15 of the Best Concerts to Catch in Cleveland Through Early December
THU 11/21 Back to Black: Amy Winehouse Tribute Featuring Post Saga, and Mikey SilasThis tribute to the late singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse takes place tonight at 7 at the Beachland Ballroom. Local acts Post Saga, and Mikey Silas (Apostle Jones) will perform Winehouse’s Back to Black album with help from a 12-piece band. 15711 Waterloo Rd.,…
Now Open: Royal Docks Brewing Tied House in Ohio City
The northern invasion of Canton-based Royal Docks Brewing has begun. This week, the 10-year-old brewery opened the doors to its newest outpost, Tied House + Kitchen in Ohio City. The 100-seat restaurant and taproom has taken over the former North High Brewing space at COhatch. Co-founders John Bikis and brewer Dave Sutula launched the company…
Cleveland Planning Director Joyce Huang Leaving for Gig at Cleveland Foundation
Joyce Pan Huang, the City of Cleveland’s planning director who helmed the backbone of the Bibb administration’s recent slate of projects aimed at modernizing the city, will be leaving by the end of the year for a new job as Chief Impact Officer for the Cleveland Foundation. A city spokesperson confirmed the news on Wednesday,…
12 Underground Cleveland Dance Clubs Where the Night Moves
For the entirety of history, it’s been impossible to detach the notion of “underground” from a sense of identity. You think of the Black gays in Chicago’s Warehouse dancing to Frankie Knuckles in 1986. You think of the ballroom queens in Paris is Burning in 1992, the New York Puerto Ricans owning the Copacabana, the…
Church of Starry Wisdom To Bring Immersive ‘Black Rose Xperience’ to Cleveland Public Theatre
Billed as “a multi-media theatrical rock event that combines the music of Church of Starry Wisdom with an immersive cinematic narrative,” Church of Starry Wisdom’s new live show, The Black Rose Xperience, will head to Cleveland Public Theatre next month for a four-day stand from Thursday, Dec. 5, to Sunday, Dec. 8. Set in a…
What Would “Mass Deportations” Do to Ohio’s Economy?
The dust has settled on the 2024 presidential election and we now know that Donald Trump will once again be President of the United States. Trump has promised many things for his second term in office: deregulation, tax cuts, an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods from other countries. The step…
Review: Artis Cranks the Creativity and Flavors to 11
If you’ve dined at Artis in Lakewood, you now know just how loud a restaurant can be. The din within is so thunderous that diners can’t hear servers, servers can’t hear managers, and the nocturnal creatures in the area have banded together to lodge a formal complaint. Nobody is more hip to the situation than…
Cleveland to Host a Fashion Week for the First Time Since 2017
In the middle of July this year, local events coordinator Chrissy Cavotta teamed up with Mike Anthony, the co-founder of the Sweetest Day Foundation, to spearhead what may have been the most haute event ever held under the City Hall Rotunda: a three-hour Cleveland take on the Met Gala. The energy, Cavotta recalled recently, was…
15+ Things to Do in Cleveland This Weekend (Nov. 21-24)
Our weekly picks of the best things to do in Cleveland this weekend. Also check out our full Cleveland event calendar. THU 11/21 Luke Grimes Earlier this year, this country singer-songwriter and actor released his self-titled full-length debut. Produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton), the album arrived on the heels of Grimes’s 2023 EP, Pain Pills…
Whiskey Bar Opening New Downtown Location in Gateway District
Eight years ago, Jay and Jade Novak closed Café Bon Appetite, their health-focused café on Coventry, to make way for an intimate after-hours cocktail bar. The goal back then was to create a destination for mature guests who were interested in discovering fine whiskeys from around the world. Since then, the Whiskey Bar (2767 Euclid…
A Big Week for Orchestras in Cleveland and All the Classical Music to Catch
It’s a big week for classical orchestra concerts, large and small, general and specialized. You could catch one or more performances every day from Wednesday through next Tuesday (and three on Sunday). – On Wednesday the 20th at 7:30, the CIM Orchestra plays music by Caroline Shaw, Benjamin Britten, and Wolfgang Amadé Mozart at Mentor…
Now Open: Rising Star Coffee in Cleveland Heights
Last month, Rising Star Coffee announced that, after five years on Lee Road, the local roaster had found a new home in Cleveland Heights. The coffee shop had been sharing the diner property at 1975 Lee Road with Abundance Culinary, but they had been on the lookout for a larger, permanent home. The new cafe, which…
Atlas Obscura Names Ohio One of Top 20 Places to Visit in 2025
Laos, Paraguay, South Korea, Sierra Leon, Kazakhstan… Ohio? The Buckeye State might feel out of place in a list such as that one without context, but it fits right in according to Atlas Obscura, which included our lovely state as one of the 20 destinations in its Where to Wander list for 2025. Ours is…
Ohio Educators, Parents and Religious Leaders Testify Against Religious Release Time BIll
More than 150 people submitted opponent testimony against a bill that would require school districts to create a policy to allow students to be excused from school to go to release for time religious instruction. Opponents argued religious release time programs disrupt the school day, create a divide between students who participate and those that…
Cleveland State Men’s Basketball Beats Two D1 Teams in Fun Week
Cleveland State took a leap this past week. Between multiple guys having career games and the team looking more in tune with each other, the Vikings won two good games leading into this week’s matchup against Minnesota. Away Game at Valparaiso Facing a familiar foe (even though they left the Horizon League in 2017), CSU…
As Cleveland Renters Deal With Predatory, Negligent Out-of-State Landlords, City Council Plans a $1 Million Push to Help Tenants
It was a gray, drizzly morning in November, and in the parking lot of a mostly empty building off of S. Moreland Boulevard in the city’s Buckeye-Shaker Square neighborhood, misery was in the air. A group of neighbors, volunteers, and movers were huddled around a U-Haul truck parked in the back of the building in…
VCN Clothing Brings a Local Bent to Streetwear
“Why am I wearing other people’s stuff when I can just make my own?” That was the realization that hit Cleveland native Davon Dumetz when he was a student at Kent State University studying athletic training. He was cutting hair to supplement his income and digging into fashion, gaining more visibility on campus. Years later,…
Now Open: JB Bagelry in Mayfield Heights
There is a new option for fresh-baked bagels on the east side of town. Last month, JB Bagelry (5848 Mayfield Rd., 216-896-5615) opened in Mayfield Heights. Owners Jamie and Brad Kowit say they saw a gaping hole in the marketplace and sought to fill it. Bagels are sold by the piece, half dozen or baker’s…
Relic Clothing Delivers Vintage Fashion to Cleveland on Wheels
Instead of waiting for customers to come to Relic Clothing, Relic Clothing goes to customers. Setting up shop in a white, decked-out camper that’s plastered with the colorful earth-shaped Relic Clothing logo outlined in a retro‘’70s striped design, when you walk into Relic Clothing, you’re entering a world of nostalgia. “I feel like the whole…
Ohio Republicans Propose Requiring Proof of Citizenship for Voting, Removing Drop Boxes
Another election has come and gone in Ohio with no reports of widespread fraud. That hasn’t stopped a handful of Republican state senators from advancing legislation to place new restrictions on how Ohioans cast their ballots. State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, has put forward a bill requiring Ohioans show proof of citizenship to register to…
‘We Don’t Know What’s Gonna Happen’: Northeast Ohio Immigration Advocates Brace for Trump 2.0
Many immigration advocates have a tough time picking out which Trump-era policy shook their foundation the most. There were the suite of executive orders that banned travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries—the Muslim Ban, as it’s known, which grew to 13 countries come 2020. There was the planned 455 miles of U.S. border wall. The…
This Week in Cleveland Food News: Big New Openings in Bay
– Dan Deagan and Mandi Burman this weekend swing the doors open at Wolf & Co., the pair’s new wine bar and pizzeria in Bay. Here’s everything to look forward to. Related – Thyme Table owner Mike Smith is in the process of turning the old Java Bay spot into Trust Coffee Co., which will be…
Cleveland’s Genghis Con Returns for its 15th Year Celebrating Comics, Art, Zines, Illustrators and Community
Genghis Con Cleveland, the small press and independent comic convention that has grown from humble beginnings to one of the largest conventions of its kind in the Midwest, returns on Dec. 1 to the Pivot Art Center in Ohio City. Showcasing more than 80 cartoonists, zinesters, printmakers, authors and illustrators, attendees will exhibit their work and…
Transgender Ohioans and Allies Are Asking Gov. Mike DeWine to Veto Bathroom Ban Bill
Transgender Ohioans, allies and educators are calling on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to veto a transgender bathroom ban bill. The Ohio Senate voted along party lines to concur Senate Bill 104 Wednesday during their first session back from break. The Ohio House added House Bill 183 (the bathroom bill) to Senate Bill 104 and passed…
For the Future Impact of Downtown Cleveland’s Shore to Core TIF, Detroit Offers Some Clues
When Cleveland approved the new Shore-to-Core-to-Shore TIF overlay district, which will capture tax revenue usually bound for other uses and instead funnel it into downtown development, it marked the first time the city used the financial instrument for a broad neighborhood rather than a specific project. In order to finally develop the lake and riverfront,…
Dahlia Coffee on Cleveland’s West Side Gives Mexican-Focused Java House Room to Grow
Despite being previously tucked away in the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression in Tremont, Natalia Alcazar managed to make a name for herself in the local coffee scene. Thanks to a great product – and a knack for social media – Alcazar cultivated and then grew the roots of Dahlia Coffee that outpaced…
The Cleveland Orchesta Completes Its Beethoven Cycle and the Rest of the Classical Music to Catch This Week
This week’s classical music highlights include pianocentric performances, the 50th anniversary of a famous pipe organ, and a “black box” opera with a wacky plot. – The final trio of concerts in The Cleveland Orchestra’s Beethoven Piano Cycle bring a mentor and his student to the Severance Music Center Stage. On Friday at 7:30, Yunchan…
Scene Theater Critic Christine Howey Has Retired
The curtain has come down on Christine Howey’s tenure as Scene’s theater critic, and as the best theater critic in Cleveland, as she retires to move out of state to be closer to her family. There will be no more raves, no more pans, no more blunt assessments of success and failures, and we will all…
Browns Brook Park Dome Wouldn’t Host Nearly as Many Events as Haslams Promise, City-Commissioned Study Says
Last month, Mayor Justin Bibb announced Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam had decided to move their football team to a new $2.4-billion stadium village in Brook Park instead of working with Cleveland to renovate the existing stadium or find a site for a new build. Bibb put an emphasis on what it would mean…
Ohio Transgender Bathroom Ban Bill Heads to Gov. Mike DeWine’s Desk
A bill that would ban transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity is going to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. The Ohio Senate voted to concur on Senate Bill 104 in a 24-7 party-line vote Wednesday afternoon. The Ohio House wove House Bill 183 (the bathroom ban…
Cleveland City Councilmember Jenny Spencer Won’t Seek Reelection
Ward 15 Cleveland City Councilmember Jenny Spencer, who represents parts of the Detroit Shoreway, Cudell and Edgewater neighborhoods on the city’s west side, announced Wednesday evening that she won’t seek reelection next year. Her decision not to run again has created a rare open race on city council. In a break with tradition, Spencer said…
Paris Room in Chagrin Falls to Close in January
Owner Sali McSherry this week shared the sad news that charming Chagrin Falls bistro The Paris Room will close come the end of January. “It’s with many emotions that I have decided to retire/pursue other opportunities,” McSherry said on Instagram. “I look forward to spending time with my husband, who is retired, and our family.…
Livewire: 12 of the Best Concerts to Catch in Cleveland This Weekend
THU 11/14 Shemekia CopelandBlame It on Eve, the latest offering from this singer-songwriter, features 10 new originals, plus covers of tunes by Stevie Wonder and Copeland’s father, Johnny Copeland. Will Kimbrough (who produced her three previous albums) helmed the sessions, and the guests include guitar hotshots Luther Dickinson and Charlie Hunter, Americana superstar Alejandro Escovedo,…
Cuyahoga County Exec Recommends New Meal Provider for Jail
After thousands of complaints across the years about the quality of food service at the Cuyahoga County jail, change could finally be imminent. County Executive Chris Ronayne introduced legislation at yesterday’s County Council meeting recommending Summit Correctional Services, a staff and meal supplier for jails that’s based in Charlotte, North Carolina, to replace the controversial…
Coming Soon: Trust Coffee in Bay Village, an All-Day Cafe from Thyme Table Owner Mike Smith
In the coming days, weeks and months, Bay Village will welcome a handful of new bars, restaurants and entertainment destinations. For this once-sleepy bedroom community, it seems that progress is seeping in from all sides. Scene-watchers can now add Trust to the list. Opening in the next month or so, Trust Coffee (27225 Wolf Rd.)…
What Would Cannabis Rescheduling Mean for Ohio’s Green Economy?
Cannabis has made undeniable gains in the U.S. since California legalized medical use of the plant in 1996. Today, therapeutic application of marijuana is allowed in 40 states, while recreational use has been approved in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Then there’s Ohio, which came into the adult-use fold last November after voters…
All Sides Claim Victory After Ohio Auditor Report on Akram Boutros Bonus Saga at MetroHealth
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s office this week released the results of a two-year audit and investigation into $1.9 million in bonuses issued and received by Akram Boutros during his tenure as CEO of MetroHealth. The hospital’s board, in 2022, fired him over the payments, claiming they were unauthorized. What followed was a string of bad…
What Immigrants Really Mean to Ohio
After a campaign based around anti-immigrant sentiments, President-elect Donald Trump’s victory has created worries over the future of new Americans and those considering immigrating. However, immigrants play a vital role in the Ohio economy. According to the American Immigration Council, “about 4.9% of the state’s residents are foreign-born, and 2.4% of its U.S.-born residents live…
First Look: Wolf & Co., Opening Saturday, Nov. 16 in Bay Village
Partners Dan Deagan and Mandi Burman are just days away from opening the doors to Wolf & Co. (27215 Wolf Rd.), a casual wine bar and pizzeria in Bay Village. The restaurant, located in the Bay Village Square Shopping Center across the street from Cahoon Park, will open to the public on Saturday, November 16. The name, borrowed…
State Revokes Cleveland Clinic Doctor’s Medical License After Decade of ‘Inappropriate Touching’
After a nearly two year investigation, the Ohio State Medical Board in August revoked the license of a Cleveland Clinic doctor who the board found inappropriately touched at least seven female patients dating back to 2012. Joseph Abdelmalak, a specialist in pain medicine and anesthesiology who’s been practicing in the U.S. for the past two…
Singer-Songwriter Charity Evonna Talks About Her Journey to the House of Blues Stage
Earlier this year in March, singer-songwriter Charity Evonna was attending a Destin Conrad concert in the Cambridge Room at House of Blues in Downtown Cleveland when her car was stolen not even 100 feet away from the venue on Euclid Avenue. She was upset and shaken but resilient in her journey — it’s just another…
For Thanksgiving This Year, Go Local by Supporting One of These Cleveland-Area Farms
There are many good reasons to swap the traditional factory-farmed turkey for one raised locally at a small farm. While more expensive, these birds are almost always humanely and ethically raised, allowed to roam free as opposed to being packed like sardines in massive barns. Pasture-raised turkeys graze on fresh grasses, bugs and worms, making…
What Bernie Moreno and Trump Ally Vivek Ramaswamy See Ahead in 2025
At an Ohio Chamber of Commerce conference last week Trump allies struck a conciliatory tone at odds with the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the president-elect. Donald Trump has promised sweeping deportations, to mobilize police or even military force against a perceived “enemy within,” and to serve as a kind of avatar of “retribution” on behalf…
Judge Leslie Celebrezze Denies Misconduct Claims, Faces a Disciplinary Hearing in January
Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze has filed her responses to multiple counts of misconduct alleging she steered lucrative divorce cases to a personal friend, Ohio Disciplinary Counsel records show. A three-member panel will now conduct a disciplinary hearing and make a recommendation to the Board of Professional Conduct as to whether a…
RTA to Receive $800,000 From Ohio for Bus Stops and ‘Last Mile’ Transportation
The RTA is lined up to get almost $1 million in funding from the state, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday morning. Along with 31 other transit organizations and projects throughout Ohio, from Dayton to Lorain, RTA will get a combined $800,000 in grants straight from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Office of Transit. Money will…
