Credit: David Brichford, Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
The 26th annual Parade the Circle is set to return to Wade Oval on June 13 with the usual assortment of “lively sounds and colors.” The event will feature “innovative costumes, giant puppets and handmade masks” created by international and national artists as well as Greater Cleveland artists, families, schools and community groups. This year’s theme is “BEAT: to beat, to breathe, to create celebrates the beat; the engine of our being.”

“In developing our theme, our initial interest was in the word animal and then the word animate,” says Robin VanLear, the Cleveland Museum of Art Community Arts Director, in a press release. “Both words come from anima, meaning ‘spirit, soul, breath or mind.’ We then looked up the word spirit, discovering its roots are virtually the same, spiritus, ‘breath’ and spirare, to ‘breathe.’ Our discussions of these overlapping meanings led to the question, what is behind the breath, what is our driving force? Our answer was the beat. We felt this single word exemplified the shared energy among all living beings, human, or other animal.” Parade the Circle begins at noon at the Cleveland Museum of Art and proceeds in a counter clockwise direction around Wade Oval. Activities are planned from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This article appears in May 13-19, 2015.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.