July 21, 200618 yr Maybe they need more street performers. Magicians walking around, jugglers from the St. Ignatius circus club, high school-age break dancers, etc. Ingenuity needs to add more life to the street by using some inexpensive options. I also think that they need to add some more interactive exhibits/games. I am not talking about throwing the dart at the balloon and winning some stuffed animal prize. There is a lot of potential to be tapped. Potential indeed! I think they need to create more of a carnival atmosphere as well as promote more interaction between people. I like the "staged" dominos game that got people talking with strangers. And I like your idea wim about adding more interactive games on the street. something to get people excited and keep them around longer while they are waiting for a performance. I personally think they need more greenspace to chill in as pavement intensifies heat! It would also be nice to have some sort of shallow pool to cool down in. I was thinking how cool it would be to float amongst all the lights and sounds. I wonder if it is feasible to install a temporary green space, specifically for relaxing. To that end, I wonder of the feasibility of installing a temporary (large) water feature and floatation pool. Amplifying downtown's connection to the lake certainly warrants it. keep the ideas coming.....!
July 27, 200618 yr Fest in debt, yet Ingenuity attendance shows boost Wednesday, July 26 By Carolyn Jack Plain Dealer Arts Reporter Ingenuity’s four-day event this month has left the annual Cleveland art and technology festival in the red, its executive director said. James Levin estimated that the 2006 festival, which ran July 13-16 in downtown Cleveland, will end up about $150,000 in debt. The festival had increased its budget to about $1 million this year after a 2005 debut last September that cost about $760,000 and brought in slightly more than that. Though attendance increased, “We did not hit our targets with the earned revenue and spent more than we had planned,” he said. Additional events, sites, security and insurance were among the last-minute expenses that increased the budget, he said. The Ingenuity organization charged for tickets this year for the first time. In spite of larger crowds, less was made at the gate than could have been because first-night crowds following the opening parade into the festival site on lower Prospect Avenue weren’t asked to pay. Also, though the Friday, July 14, events started at noon, admission wasn’t charged until 2 p.m. Many discounts were offered, and children under 12 were admitted free, as were all Cleveland school district students. Some people also found their way in through businesses with entrances on Prospect and nearby streets not closed off. Levin said the festival would have needed about five more gates to completely control access. “I think we have to spend more money on security, and I’m seriously thinking of getting a professional ticketing company involved,” he said. Levin took the blame for the erratic admission situation, saying that planning needs to be more effective. But he hopes corporate sponsorship will increase enough next year to allow Ingenuity to return to free admission. To that end, and to reduce debt, Ingenuity soon will begin a funding drive, including a fall or early winter benefit event. Costs will be trimmed. And some larger creditors may be asked to forgive part of what’s owed in exchange for sponsorship privileges, he said. But the artists will be paid. “We can’t not pay artists. It’s bad karma,” said Levin, who founded Cleveland Public Theatre and directed it for 20 years before starting Ingenuity. Ingenuity did enjoy some good karma, despite downtown traffic problems and weather that may have kept some people away. Dick Clough, a Cleveland marketing professional and experienced festival organizer who helped Ingenuity find corporate sponsors, said he thought Ingenuity did well, considering obstacles such as streets closed for construction, a rainstorm one evening and intense heat. “I was pleased with the turnout,” Clough, said, noting attendance hit 95,000 to 100,000, up from 70,000 to 75,000 in 2005. He called that “a milestone” that should help Ingenuity keep its sponsors and attract national ones. He said he plans to approach technology-related corporations such as General Motors and Sony for 2007 sponsorships. Clough said this year’s sponsors seemed pleased with the exposure they received. That assessment was corroborated by Jared Chaney, chief communications officer for Medical Mutual of Ohio, an Ingenuity sponsor that got naming rights to the festival admissions gate nearest its offices at Prospect Avenue and East 9th Street. Chaney said members of his company seem “pretty excited” by Ingenuity: “The recognition we got for the [gate] close to the building here was good.” Clough hopes the festival will draw 150,000 to 200,000 people next year. The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland will continue to help with that. Twice the number of users clicked on the Ingenuity section of the bureau’s Web site compared to the previous year, said Tamera Brown, vice president of marketing. Audience growth will depend to some extent on factors that have yet to be decided, such as where downtown the festival will be. Though Levin acknowledged that moving the festival to a new location each year creates challenges for his staff, “the vision of the festival all along was to be a movable feast,” he said — one transforming underused or decaying parts of the city and promoting their redevelopment. Ingenuity was held on lower Euclid Avenue in 2005 and moved to lower Prospect Avenue this year to avoid the worst of the construction on the Euclid Corridor transportation project. The Playhouse Square and Cleveland State University area on Euclid between East 14th and East 22nd streets is under consideration for 2007. Levin said he foresees reining in his budget and restructuring the festival to have a free opening night; fewer, but more significant, featured events throughout the weekend; and an artists’ “open” with all kinds of smaller events, like the Fringe events that take place alongside Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival. The point of Ingenuity, he said, is to make it as “demanding and challenging and fresh” for the participants as for the public.
October 22, 200618 yr Here we go! :clap: GuitarMania to return next summer Friday, October 20, 2006 Barb Galbincea Plain Dealer Reporter Don't fret. After striking a chord in two previous appearances, they're set for an encore. Giant guitars, part of United Way's popular public art project that debuted in 2002 and was repeated in 2004, will return to Cleveland streets next summer. ...
January 18, 200718 yr The Guitarmania 2007 site has been launched http://www.cleveland.com/guitarmania/ They have most of the proposals posted. Lots of local artist - not many, if any, big names. At least none that I recognize.
February 18, 200718 yr Looks like the 2007 CIFF will be March 15-25. The festival website isn't up yet, which is kind of surprising, considering the event is less than a month away. I can't wait to see what's playing. Film Society website http://clevelandfilm.org/ EDIT: Link updated.
February 19, 200718 yr It returns once again! This time to Playhouse Square. http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com/
February 21, 200718 yr Ingenuity fest snags Grandmaster Flash Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Karen Sandstrom Plain Dealer Reporter Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash, who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month, will perform as part of the 2007 Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology this summer. In its third year, the four-day festival celebrates the fusion of arts and technology with music, visual arts, street performances and art-tech collaborations. This year's festival will take place Thursday to Sunday, July 19-22, in the Playhouse Square district. Flash's performance on the third night of the festival will be among the many free outdoor events expected to draw some 80,000 visitors. Festival director James Levin said he's been trying to snag Flash since the festival was conceived three years ago. "I think somebody like Flash is sort of a product of the intersection between art and technology, the consummate DJ. He's sort of an icon of what Ingenuity is," Levin said. "Also, as an artist, there are few that really transcend racial, ethnic, cultural and age barriers as much as somebody like Flash." The Palace Theater will become a center for video games and interactive exhibits. Troika Ranch, a New York-based dance and media company -- it sometimes choreographs works in which dancers' costumes are wired for sound, for example -- will perform two days during the festival. Last year's opening act, Symphony for a Thousand Drums, will be revisited, incorporating local drum lines and compositions developed by Cleveland-born drummer Jamey Haddad. Closing ceremonies will be a "gospel spectacular" followed by a fireworks show. One of the most intriguing elements of the festival, Levin said, will be the use of an alley that runs parallel to Prospect Avenue off of East 14th Street. Nooks and crannies created by the bordering buildings will be transformed into art and performance areas. Levin plans for the alley to be full of small surprises. "The transformation of that space is going to be a viscerally cool experience," he said. In its first years, Ingenuity has generally been successful in attractive intriguing artists and drawing crowds. This year, Levin expects that newfound administrative and marketing help from Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University and Ideastream will give the festival the needed boost in professionalism. "It's the difference between a high school prom and a contemporary event," Levin said. All outdoor activities will be free. Visitors to the festival be issued smart cards that will help the festival calculate attendance and be used as tickets for indoor events. A $10 deposit on the smart card will get visitors into all indoor events happening on that day. Weekend passes will be $25. Tickets could go on sale as early as April, Levin said. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4810 © 2007 The Plain Dealer © 2007 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.
February 21, 200718 yr That's awesome Grandmaster Flash will be there.. Now if only they could get Herbie Hancock it would be an 80s techno-rap extravaganza! Isn't Playhouse Square gonna be all f'ed up with the ECP still though?
February 22, 200718 yr Isn't Playhouse Square gonna be all f'ed up with the ECP still though? That part of the EC will be done by then. The portion near East 4th will be "f'ed up" during this years iNGENUiTY. I'm glad they will be utilizing portions of the CSU campus as well - at least according to the map.
March 7, 200718 yr Since they are bringing in Grand Master Flash maybe we they can invite future rock hall inductees and hijack the induction ceremonies. Have the inductees jam as part of the ingenuity festival.
March 7, 200718 yr Details on the 2007 film festival schedule are now posted on the CIFF website. Link is posted above.
March 7, 200718 yr I've noticed their schedules are out and about town too. There is a stack of them at A J Rocco's.
March 7, 200718 yr ^ you might try using just the http://clevelandfilm.org link. when i went to the link, it pulled up an old page which didn't have the film festival info linked.
March 8, 200718 yr The gay community (and friends thereof) can catch a sneak preview of the film festival Tuesday, March 13, 6:00 - 8:00, at the Great Lakes Science Center. http://www.forwardthought.net/plexus/PlexusNetworkTuesdays0307.pdf. There or square, people, there or square.
March 26, 200718 yr Nope. That would have been interesting to say the least. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
March 26, 200718 yr Great to hear the momentum that this festival is gaining. Two record setting years in a row! AFTERNOON BUZZ: A record year for Cleveland film fest Posted by Michael Norman March 26, 2007 13:37PM Categories: Afternoon Buzz, Movies Multiplex moments fade quickly, but the film festival tends to stay with you. Plain Dealer Film Critic Clint O'Connor reports that the Cleveland International Film Festival, the annual 11-day film-a-thon at Tower City Cinemas, ended in record-setting fashion Sunday night. The festival had its best total attendance ever -- 52,753 -- and its best-single-day attendance, more than 7,900 folks turned out Saturday for a slate of films that included "The Ten," from homegrown director David Wain, "Cofee Date," and "The Hip Hop Project." But the most popular, most talked about film by far was a documentary: "Darius Goes West: The Roll of his Life," which won the festival's top prize for best film. Read Clint's full festival report here.
March 26, 200718 yr good news, spring weather and lots of people in town for the film festival which now rolls into NCAA final four.
March 26, 200718 yr I went to the film festival yesterday and barely got into Beautiful Ohio after getting turned away from The Ten. It was packed. The other good news is that the festival achieved it's $31,000 fundraising goal, which triggered a $31,000 match from a foundation somewhere in the northeast. They actually had $37k or so by yesterday afternoon.
April 17, 200718 yr i think NASA being involved in this is a huge addition to the festival and shows how far this fest has come and how it is evolving.
April 19, 200718 yr Adding cool technology to the Ingenuity Fest Thursday, April 19, 2007 Karen Sandstrom Plain Dealer Reporter It was one thing to conceive a festival that merges the arts and technology. It seemed another to raise the profile of technology without sedating the audience. Still, Richard Weiss, assistant director of the 2007 Ingenuity Fest, thought it could be done. And now, with about $900,000 raised and hundreds of artists lined up for the third annual event in July, festival co-founder James Levin has let Weiss and others persuade him to give tech more respect at Ingenuity. The festival takes place Thursday, July 19, through Sunday, July 22, in the Playhouse Square neighborhood. The Palace, State and Ohio theaters, as well as the 14th Street Theatre south of Euclid Avenue, will be home to ongoing art installations and interactive events. Art and performances will take place on the street and in now-vacant storefronts as well. In addition, though, Cleveland State University will lure visitors for exhibits in which science, not art, is the focus of creativity. That's new this year. "The big worry was that we were going to bore people with something that looked like a trade show," says Weiss, whose job includes coordinating the technology events for the festival. Weiss and leaders of Northeast Ohio medical and technology companies persuaded Levin that efforts in engineering, biomedical research and science could be presented in a way that would make visitors rethink their hometown. "I think people are going to come [to the festival] thinking that Cleveland is a declining industrial economy full of smokestacks and steel, and leave jaw-dropped about the new-economy ideas coming out of our region," Weiss said Tuesday. He had just finished presenting a case to high school students in Chagrin Falls for why they should join his ever-expanding team of student ambassadors. Teens will act as festival tour guides. Weiss' hope is that as the students research the companies doing work in polymers, sensors and brain waves, they too will see the potential of the region in a new way, and even consider staying in Northeast Ohio for college. It isn't as if technology was completely absent in the first two years of the festival. As Weiss points out, there were exhibits such as one in which a dancer performed while her brain waves were projected on a screen. "But people would still leave thinking they'd just seen an arts festival," Weiss says. This year, the tech component is increased "10 times" over previous years, he says, and there will be plenty of elements that have no arts connection. CSU joins the festival as a sponsor, dedicating part of its campus and showcasing research from its engineering and science departments. Gregg Schoof, manager of student programs at the Fenn College of Engineering, detailed some of the exhibits, including a prototype for a portable device to purify water, an idea inspired in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Another is a "helical wind-powered harness- ing system," which he describes as a windmill-like device that generates more power from slower wind speeds. The American Society of Civil Engineers student group will do timed exercises involving the construction of a 12-foot-long bridge. A "robotic swarm" exhibit will demonstrate how robots can be programmed to interact as a team, detect obstacles and photograph surroundings. "Clearly there are uses for this in toxic waste situations and terrorism," Schoof says. Engineers used observations about how ants work with each other as part of their model, he adds. Beyond the new presence of purely technological exhibits, Ingenuity this year puts far more emphasis on tech-inspired art - everything from video installations to viewer participation events. Levin invited Steven Dietz, director of the ZeroOne San Diego art and technology festival, to be the new media curator for this year's Ingenuity. Dietz was the founding director of New Media initiatives at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. New media is the "intersection where computers and networks allow for new possibilities" in the arts, says Dietz, who was in Cleveland Wednesday for Ingenuity planning. The 14th Street Theatre will be a hub of some of the artists he has lured for the festival. French artist Marie Sester will use the theater for the ongoing presentation of "Be[am]." The project uses a robotic projector to throw pop culture pictures - Charlie Chaplin, Wile E. Coyote and video-game character Mario of "Super Mario Bros." fame - onto the walls around a public space. Visitors create interactions among the pictures by using game-control devices. The street-facing windows of the theater will be occupied by J.D. Beltran's "Telephone Story," in which passers-by can tap various spots on a picture of her studio, see the image of the sound wave produced by the tap, then hear some of the many telephone answering-machine messages she recorded over a year. "Telephone Story" has been done elsewhere, but Dietz likes what he imagines about its adaptation to the theater space. "One of the exciting things is getting art out of the white cubed gallery and working in specific environments," he says. To that end, he's also pressing billboards into service for art. The Ideastream electronic news-crawl banner, for instance, will feature Canadian artist Germaine Koh's diary excerpts. The festival also has 15 featured artists, whose work was selected by a curatorial committee that looked for work that celebrates the intersection of art and technology. Levin and Weiss believe more can come from the new emphasis on technology than pure entertainment. "The question we're going to answer is: Can a festival in four days do something to reverse brain drain?" says Weiss. "I think we can. Because we're cool."
April 23, 200718 yr A free public tour of the subway below Cleveland's Detroit-Superior Veterans Memorial Bridge will be held by the Cuyahoga County Engineers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 26 (NOTE: future tours will be held June 30 and Sept 1, both are Saturdays). New attractions have been added. Entrance to the subway is at the northeast corner of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue. Enter next to the county engineers' bridge garage, 2433 Superior Viaduct. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 2, 200718 yr The press release didn't say. I suspect they might be additional exhibitors. They set up tables in the tunnel, right next to where the bridgework starts. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 8, 200718 yr I didn't see any basic "concert announcement" threads for Cleveland... I didn't want to to start a new thread for this, so hopefully this can serve as a catch all for smaller music concerts in Cleveland. --------------------------------------------------------- Matt and Kim 9 p.m. Tueday, May 8, $8 (all ages). The Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., 216-321-5588. By D.X. Ferris Published: May 2, 2007 Subject(s): Matt and Kim Matt and Kim are just totally fun. Totally. Like a power-pop take on They Might Be Giants, with a (simulated) accordion and everything. They're even from Brooklyn, where they've developed a loyal following at loft parties, basements, art galleries, and clubs. They accurately describe their live sets as having the vibe of "an onstage pizza party." And they're so energetic, it's hard to sit still through their songs -- so while you should check them out at www.MySpace.com/MattAndKim, don't do it at work, because you'll start a pogo fest, and people two floors below will complain about the deafening noise from everyone shouting along. Seriously: Take a listen to "Yea Yeah." You'll smile from now until the show. And probably for a week after. At least. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I took a listen to their "yea yeah" and it is damn addicting...the first 40 secs are ok, but then it just kinda sticks to you and puts a damn, goofy smile on your face and you want to listen to it again....beware! haha
May 11, 200718 yr I really like the idea of this thread, so if anyone knows of any band playing at any venue in cleveland, feel free to add it here.
May 13, 200718 yr My Summer Concert List: Rusted Root May 25 (Fri) Tower City Amphitheater Little Feat June 6 (Wed) House of Blues Ben Harper June 12 (Tue) House Of Blues Dark Star July 6-7 (Fri-Sat) Nelson Ledges OR An Evening with Weird Al Yankovic July 6 (Fri) Plain Dealer Pavilion Ratdog July 16 (Mon) Tower City Amphitheater Bela Fleck August 11 (Sat) Cain Park
May 24, 200718 yr Rebranding effort aims to add some heat to city’s Ingenuity Festival By JOHN BOOTH 6:00 am, May 14, 2007 There’s a new look to the branding of the Ingenuity Festival, and organizers hope an accompanying marketing push will boost the event’s profile as it enters its third year. Dick Clough, who took the job as Ingenuity’s marketing director shortly after last year’s edition, said part of the problem was vague branding as an art and technology festival. “There was sort of a snob appeal with ‘art,’ and a fear association with ‘technology,’” Mr. Clough said. “It’s much more a festival about creativity and innovation.” Not surprisingly, then, the new branding drops the terms “art” and “technology” in favor of the latter pairing. The new-look logo — a stylized flame — is a product of students working under David Moss, director of the Center for Design and Technology Transfer at The Cleveland Institute of Art. Ingenuity design coordinator Sheila Hart and the students brainstormed to put it to use. “A logo doesn’t make a brand,” Ms. Hart said. “The next step was to try and figure out how this logo applies.” As a result, the “fest” part of Ingenuity’s branding has become the equivalent of an aftermarket car part. It can be knocked off the logo completely or replaced with something else, as in the case of the “IngenuityH2O” labels destined for bottled water at the festival.(Tagline: “quench your thirst creatively.”) And there won’t be tickets for admission, but “Ingenuity Passports.” The guitar-playing robot that has been the festival’s icon remains, though it has been updated with a flat-screen monitor for a head and the new flame logo where its face once was blank. In marketing the festival, Mr. Clough said organizers need to reach out to a broader audience. “If you’re an arts patron, you know about Ingenuity,” he said, “but I don’t think Ingenuity, the first couple years, resonated” with the general public. Ingenuity attendance was around 50,000 the first year and 70,000 in 2006, according to Mr. Clough. To broaden the festival’s appeal, Mr. Clough said promoters will market to smaller segments of the public with specific ads and flyers in several languages, and will reach out to travel writers in Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Columbus. “Ingenuity has an opportunity to become a defining festival for this city,” he said. Also, if you have not signed up to volunteer yet, its not too late. http://www.ingenuity2007.com/volunteer.html A map of all of the venues for this year
May 25, 200718 yr GuitarMania hits the streets Posted by pzicari May 25, 2007 11:41AM The United Way of Greater Cleveland is unveiling its outdoor public art project GuitarMania for 2007 today at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. About 70 oversize, decorated guitars decorated by local artists and sponsored by area corporations will be on display along downtown streets for the summer, but they're all together at the Rock Hall today through Memorial Day. The guitars will return to the Rock Hall for the last six weeks they're on display. Guitarmania's Web page is www.cleveland.com/guitarmania/ Here's a direct link to this year's guitars: http://www.cleveland.com/guitarmania/guitar.ssf?appSession=106332352633740&/guitarmania/guitars.html
May 30, 200718 yr I was there on Sunday; they look great. Even TNT did a camera swoop on them while coming back from a commerical of the Cavs game.
May 30, 200718 yr ^^Don't we all? ^I have only seen them online. Overall I think this years is sub par with previous years. But there a few that do stand out.
May 31, 200718 yr From the CSU webpage: Experience Four Days of Creativity and Innovation IngenuityFest Cleveland IngenuityFest Cleveland State to showcase research, innovation in a fun way Ingenuity 2007, Cleveland’s festival of art and technology, is back for a third year, and Cleveland State is a presenting sponsor. Ingenuity 2007 will be held Thursday through Sunday, July 19-22, in and around Cleveland’s Playhouse Square area. The event brings together virtually all of the area’s major arts and cultural organizations, individual artists and performers, and technology firms and innovators to demonstrate the region’s impressive resources and encourage its growth. “Groups across campus are taking part, exploring some unusual interactions between art and technology,” said President Michael Schwartz. “From molecular medicine to wind energy to the arts, we will illustrate how education, research and technology can be applied to create solutions and drive economic opportunity for the region.” Plans call for Ingenuity’s opening event — Samba for 1,000 Drums — to take place on Cleveland State’s plaza. The event will be projected on giant screens at Star Plaza in Playhouse Square and at other festival sites. The University will showcase its research expertise through more than two dozen fun, interactive exhibits, many located in the Festival’s Family Village in Glickman- Miller Hall, home to Cleveland State’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at 1717 Euclid Ave. Other exhibits will be located throughout the festival. Exhibits include: * Disease Detectives — By targeting your body’s cells, molecular medicine is the super sleuth of diagnosis. * Wind Energy — A “Helical Wind Harnessing System” can generate more energy from lower wind speeds than a traditional bladed wind turbine and has more practical applications. How might this change our future? * Human Powered Water Purification — As a result of Hurricane Katrina, engineering students are working on a portable apparatus to purify contaminated water via evaporative distillation. * Robotic Swarms —See how robots can sense their environment, work as a team, detect obstacles, photograph their surroundings, and then report back to their base station. * Planning and Design of Green Communities —Learn how an “ideal community,” similar in size to Cleveland, can be planned to conserve energy, water usage and the environment. * Can the Cuyahoga River Still Set Itself on Fire? — Applying satellite and airborne imagery to environmental problems of the Cuyahoga River. * Golf Your Way Back from Stroke —Exploring the ergonomics of a golf swing as an early predictor of rehab success. * It’s a Small, Small World —Nanotechnology as art. In addition, School of Communication faculty and students will help operate IngenuiTV, broadcasting live performances, art and interviews on large screens throughout the festival. And Cleveland State’s Black Studies and Dramatic Arts programs will team with Karamu House to perform writer Nikki Giovanni’s play A Fire Inside. Dramatic Arts also will mount performances of the award-winning play Whirligig, directed by Holly Holsinger, assistant professor of dramatic arts, at the loading dock of the Rose Design Building. For updates on Ingenuity Festival events, visit www.ingenuitycleveland.com
June 25, 200717 yr This venue has officially been renamed the "Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City" enjoy! Working on getting Public Transportation options added to the website.
June 25, 200717 yr Here are a few of my summer concerts so far....man I'm gonna be broke once I get past the first one: Public Square: 7/5/07 Cleveland Orchestra (FREE!) Star-Spangled Spectacular Concert and Festival Date: Friday, July 7, 2006 Time: Concert will begin at 9:00 p.m. and will end at approximately 10:15 p.m. Where: Public Square in Downtown Cleveland What: The Cleveland Orchestra, Fireworks HOB: 7/28/07 Third Eye Blind ($26.50) TWCATC: 8/1/07 Incubus with special guests Simon Dawes and The Bravery ($40) 8/3/07 311 with special guests Matisyahu and Shootyz Groove ($39.50)
June 26, 200717 yr Here are a few of my summer concerts so far....man I'm gonna be broke once I get past the first one: Public Square: 7/7/07 Cleveland Orchestra (FREE!) Star-Spangled Spectacular Concert and Festival Date: Friday, July 7, 2006 Time: Concert will begin at 9:00 p.m. and will end at approximately 10:15 p.m. Where: Public Square in Downtown Cleveland What: The Cleveland Orchestra, Fireworks I'm not sure where you got this info. First of all, July 7 is a Saturday, besides which according to the Cleveland Orchestra website, the concert is Thursday night, July 5th.
July 7, 200717 yr Just a little bump as the July 19th opening looms closer. Also, Lisa Lock will be there. Someone whom I have never heard of, but am really intrigued by this picture:
July 17, 200717 yr EXTREME ARTS Ingenuity Festival organizers count on cool acts and technology savvy to draw crowds downtown Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Karen Sandstrom (Just in from Phoenix, AZ) :wink: Plain Dealer Reporter As Cleveland's Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology moves into its third year, organizers describe an event that's more organized, better located and offers sharper content than in its freshman and sophomore years. The festival is also under more pressure than ever to perform well. Festival director James Levin sees this year as a critical one. He believes it's necessary for the festival to increase attendance from the 70,000 to 75,000 achieved in the past to at least 100,000, and that the details are in place this year to do that. "If the crowds don't come," Levin says, "I have to look at this as a message from the community that maybe this is not a good fit." The return-on-investment that donors and sponsors expect is measured in bodies in the streets, say Levin and Cleveland Foundation program director Kathleen Cerveny. Ingenuity must be seen as a happening. Crowds must visit local retailers. That will give sponsors continued confidence, which will keep donations flowing. At the moment, however, Levin still believes Ingenuity will work in Cleveland, and he and his staff made what they say are two key changes to boost interest and enthusiasm. First, technology takes a much bigger role this year. A hall at Cleveland State University will feature demonstrations of high-tech science and engineering innovations. Virtually all visual art on display has a tech component, and the live video of festival events will be streamed on the Ingenuity Web site, www.ingenuitycleveland.com. Second, they've formed a partnership with Playhouse Square, which has taken over ticketing and gate-keeping. The theaters and lobbies of Playhouse Square, which will be filled throughout the four-day event, anchor the festival geographically. During its first two years, it was difficult to know where the festival began and ended. Ingenuity Festival 2007 is a tale of two beginnings, and one costs more than the other. The festival's first benefit party happens Wednesday night, opening the 2007 Ingenuity Fest early for those who want to catch a glimpse of some of the weekend's events while helping the festival raise cash. The 2007 Ingenuity Premiere party runs 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square, 1375 Euclid Ave. It begins with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed by performances by many Ingenuity artists. Premiere tickets, $150 and $250, are available at the door. The Ingenuity Festival starts in earnest Thursday, with the opening celebration, "Samba for 1,000 Drums," an outdoor percussion performance and parade. Brazilian drummer Marcus Santos is the composer and conductor of a performance that will bring together professional percussionists with local drum lines. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with the gathering of drummers at the student pavilion at Cleveland State University, East 22nd Street and Euclid Avenue. A parade of performers will move west on Euclid toward Playhouse Square at 6:45 p.m. "In addition to drummers and a composed drum thing with lots of featured artists and solos, there'll be dancers and people in costumes," says Grand Marquit, who is organizing the event. "My whole goal is to create an atmosphere where the line between performers and the audience is vague." The festival continues with evening dance, drama, musical and art performances at venues throughout the neighborhood. Levin also is proud of the seemingly endless roster of events. Audiences will see performances by "audio ballerinas" whose costumes emit sounds as the dancers move. Visitors will be able to spar in a video game that uses biofeedback from players' bodies. They'll watch film of a local dancer interacting with a zero-gravity treadmill developed at NASA Glenn Research Center and, on Saturday night, hear an outdoor concert by hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash. Levin and arts entrepreneur Thomas Mulready started Ingenuity in 2005 with the belief that the city deserved a summer festival. They focused on the intersection of technology and arts because both industries thrive on creativity and are counted among Cleveland's strengths. (Mulready left after the first year.) The first festival, held on Labor Day weekend in 2005, drew an estimated 75,000 people to Euclid Avenue downtown for an attraction that combined the appeal of a street festival with a bit of tech-inspired art. The weather was great. "The vibe that first year was splendid," Levin says. "There was sort of this surprise, first-blush amazement." Last year, Levin says, the event started with a crowd-pleasing "Symphony for 1,000 Drums," but rain pelted visitors on Friday, then gave way to hammering heat over the weekend. The festival was located outdoors and in buildings on Prospect Avenue, near East Fourth Street, but it was hard to find exhibits, Levin says. Crowd estimates hovered at 70,000. Still, festival-watchers generally gave Ingenuity a thumbs-up. Plenty of city leaders and activists liked Ingenuity's first two years and believe in its potential to grow. Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square gave their stamps of approval by ponying up money, space and manpower. CSU put more than 100 students and staffers to work, offered space for exhibits and invested about $80,000, said marketing director Brian Johnston. Playhouse Square Foundation President Art Falco estimated that the organization will have invested close to $100,000 in manpower and resources this year, and the organization is sponsoring performances by digital dance-theater company Troika Ranch at a cost of about $30,000. The festival again won major financial support from three sources that have been in from the beginning. Cuyahoga County put up $135,000; the George Gund Foundation contributed $125,000; and the Cleveland Foundation contributed $165,000. The Cleveland Foundation got on board because leaders believed in its mix of technology and the arts, and that it could reap economic benefits. "We felt that Cleveland has been without a summer festival, and it's something many communities use to create interest in their downtowns," says Cerveny. Jeanette Grasselli Brown, who is co- chairing the festival's first benefit party on Wednesday night, said she has believed in the festival all along because she remembers a time when people went downtown for great events. "I think the idea is dynamite," she says. "Half of Cleveland goes up to Niagara-on-the- Lake [in Canada] every summer. We love the Shaw Festival. The other half goes to Chautauqua [in western New York]. Well, why can't Cleveland be a destination?" Arts manager Thomas Schorgl says he would like to see the festival have time to grow. When it comes to starting a major annual event and the organization to pull it off, Schorgl says, "I don't think three years is much of a gestation period." Success with such projects is measured in quantity and quality, says Schorgl, CEO of the nonprofit Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Not only would planners expect to see more visitors from year to year, but they should hope to see a higher ratio of visitors from outside Cuyahoga County. When the festival starts luring people from Pittsburgh and Detroit, it becomes an economic engine, Schorgl says. The festival drew about 2,500 visitors from outside Northeast Ohio in each of its first two years. Earned income also should grow over time. This year, the festival will raise money through the sale of $5 daily festival passes and through beer sales. That should help make up the difference between the $1.1 million the festival is projected to spend this year and the $1 million Levin says has been raised so far. Schorgl says nonprofit organizations should have a cash safety net equal to 25 percent of their annual expenses. But it takes time to build those reserves, he says. One qualitative measure of success, Schorgl says, lies in whether the festival continues to build excitement from year to year. It's hard to quantify that, but Schorgl points to University Circle's annual Parade the Circle event. "Over time, Parade the Circle doesn't become a last-minute decision on the part of people to come. It's something they plan around," he says. Another gauge of the festival's value is whether it spawns new projects and alliances among artists, scientists and others who otherwise wouldn't have met. Ingenuity will try to measure those things. As in past years, the festival will survey 400 to 500 visitors about their reactions to individual performances. They'll also ask whether the festival changes their views about Cleveland. Enough of the right answers - and a run of good weather - could help decide Ingenuity's fate for 2008. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4810
July 17, 200717 yr so who is going to be in the area over the weekend? I most likely will be on saturday. wee.
July 17, 200717 yr I will be there every night... mostly volunteering. There are still opportunities to help out if anyone is interested. Free pass, t-shirt, food (depending on how many hours) for all volunteers. this article barely covers what is going to be happening. If you ride your bike to the event, there will be a bike valet section in-between the urban and business buildings.
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