Why CLE? Blog-olutions

Happy almost 2011!  Here’s hoping you enjoy a happy, healthy, and safe beginning to the new year!

I’m usually not one for resolutions and this year I’m embracing “focus words” for the year in my personal life.  But, I thought maybe I could use some blog-olutions – ways to enhance my CLE experience, the blog, or both.  I expect you all to keep me on task with these…and if they don’t work out, blog-olutions won’t be a recurring feature.

1. Sign up for a Twitter account and create a Facebook fan page for the blog.  Blog-promotion in 2011!  Here’s hoping CLEmom and CLEguy aren’t my only two followers.

2. Meet up in “real life” with some of the other fabulous CLE bloggers I follow.  Strength in numbers!

3. Take one of my personal goals (doing the Couch to 5K program) and turn it into a way to see more of CLE.  Takin’ it to the streets.

4. Volunteer with a CLE-based charity.  Suggestions welcomed.

5. Finally, finally, finally eat at Melt.  It’s just sad that I haven’t been there, given my love of CLE generally and cheesey things specifically.  While there are a lot of great restaurants I want to explore in 2011, Melt has been on my list forever.  Just ask CLEguy, who hears about this approximately every other day.

6. Spend a weekend at an Ohio City bed and breakfast.  I’m all about getaways in your own town – easy, affordable, and relaxing.  This B&B is topping the list, but any advice is welcomed.

7. Shop at least once a month at The West Side Market.

8. Attend more CLE cultural events (e.g., Cleveland Orchestra concerts, Tremont art walks, etc.)

9. Interview at least one CLE celeb for the blog.  Nominations welcomed, only if they come with a means of contacting said person and a likelihood of success.

10. Continue to daily discover new answers to “Why Cleveland?”

So, what are your CLE resolutions?

Why? Higher Education.

Not only is CLE a great place to live, it’s a great place to learn.  The greater Cleveland area boasts wonderful universities, offering students the opportunity to not only get a good education, but also gain exposure to this amazing city.  CLE universities allow local students the option to stay close to home, while receiving a world-class education. 

But, perhaps even better, CLE universities draw in students from across the state, region, and country, many of whom choose to stay in the CLE and contribute to the community here.  While “brain drain” may statistically exist, I know of many more anecdotal stories of CLEfriends who came here to go to school and decided to stay after graduation.  Full disclosure: I went to college at John Carroll University, then left the CLE for my graduate degree (but I came back!). 

Now, I know there are a lot of colleges and universities in Ohio, but to keep this post at least somewhat reasonable in length, I kept the list to 4-year schools located in the greater Cleveland area (as I think it’s reasonably defined…the great prerogative of being the author of this blog):

Baldwin-Wallace College – founded in 1845 and located in Berea, Ohio – known for strong education and music programs

Case Western Reserve University – formed in 1967 by combining Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology and located in University Circle - ranked #41 in the nation and #1 in Ohio for undergraduate programs, #20 in the nation for medical school, and #3 in the nation for health law

Cleveland Institute of Art - founded in 1891 and located in University Circle – consistently ranked in the top 10 art schools in the country

Cleveland State University – founded in 1964 and located in Cleveland, Ohio – offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as NCAA Division I sports and one of the lowest tuition rates in the state

John Carroll University – founded in 1886 and located in University Heights, Ohio – consistently ranked in the top 10 Midwest universities and known for strong programs in education, communication, and business

It's my alma mater, so it gets a picture.

Notre Dame College - founded in 1922 and located in South Euclid, Ohio – strong programs in education, business, and science

Ursuline College – founded in 1871 and located in Pepper Pike, Ohio – strong programs in education and nursing; 80% of Ursuline’s alumni reside in Ohio (inlcuding CLEmom!)

If you went to one of these fine CLE schools, please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.  Our strength in higher education is a great answer to “Why Cleveland?” and will certainly help to keep people answering that question positively into the future.

Why? Weekends!

One of my main answers to “Why Cleveland?” is proximity to family and friends.  And never is that more evident than at the holidays.  I had a weekend full of friends, family, food, and fun.  And now I’m just about ready to resume a regular blogging schedule.  But first, I think CLEpup has the right idea:

Time for a long winter’s nap!  Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend and discovered even more answers to “Why Cleveland?”

Why? Music!

We all know that CLE boasts the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an internationally-renowned orchestra.  But, music is an answer to “Why Cleveland?” for a lot more reasons than that.  So, as I explore CLE’s music scene, I’ll give you even more reasons to answer “music” (among other things) next time someone asks you, “Why Cleveland?”

Last night, CLEguy and I went to see Burning River Brass at Severance Hall.  Pre-concert, we dined at Sergio’s in University Circle.

For me, an evening out is about the entire experience and Sergio’s got the evening started on just the right note.  This is the perfect spot for a pre-concert meal.  The dining room is small and intimate, the service is friendly and unhurried, and the Italian food is to die for!  I had the Woods Hole sea scallops and CLEguy had the penne Brasato.  We highly recommend both, paired with a nice bottle of Italian Zinfandel.  Oh, and a hot fudge sundae for dessert.  We lingered over our meal and our wine and then were only a couple minutes from Severance Hall.  Perfect!

As a CLE fanatic, I am embarrassed to admit I had never been to Severance Hall.  But, better late than never, so if you haven’t been either, put it on your CLE to-do list.  The venue itself is beautiful, with striking marble columns and sweeping staircases.

Severance Hall lobby, pre-concert

And then there was the concert itself.  Burning River Brass put on an almost two-hour show of traditional and contemporary Christmas music.  It was a perfect kick-off to the Christmas weekend ahead.

Burning River Brass playing festively

Burning River Brass started in CLE, but their musicians are from all over the country, including New York City, Seattle, and New Orleans.  It’s pretty cool that CLE can attract such talented musicians.  I also have a soft spot for anyone who takes a piece of Cleveland history and turns it into a nod to how far we’ve come.  We’ll always be the city of the burning river, but we’re so much more than that, too.  Burning River Brass is just another example of the culture and development of CLE.  And, of course, a reason why you can answer “music” to the question “Why Cleveland?”

All in all, a beautiful evening in my favorite city at my favorite time of year.  Wishing you the happiest of holidays.  I’ll catch you on the flip side (and I’m done with the music puns).

Why? Weekends!

Hope everyone has been enjoying the last weekend before Christmas!  Did you get your shopping done?  Bake cookies?  Trim the tree?

It seems this weekend for me centered around that most festive and mythical of CLE holiday traditions:

A very artsy Christmas Ale pic, courtesy of CLEguy

They do exist!  I know lots of you are having trouble locating this staple of CLE Christmas cheer.  For the uninitiated, of course I’m talking about Great Lakes Brewing Co.‘s Christmas Ale.  CLEguy and I enjoyed some on draft at Tradesman Tavern in Parma, as well as at a great party with CLEfriends.  Nothing says Christmas in the CLE like Christmas Ale!

Due to the above-referenced Christmas Ale, my holiday shopping has yet to be completed, so I will be dashing through the malls this week.

What new answers to why CLE did you discover this weekend?  Or what “why CLE” favorites did you revisit?

Why? Bob Feller.

Today I would usually do a “Friday Inspiration” post.  And who better to talk about today than Bob Feller?  To add my voice to the many who are celebrating the life of this amazing man who, while not a native, truly became a Clevelander.  There are people who become part of the fabric of a city – they’re sewn ino history, legend, memories, even architecture.  Bob Feller is one of those people for CLE.

There was a lot of national news coverage about Bob Feller’s passing and so much of what has been written has focused not only on his amazing baseball career, but on his patriotism. At 17, he was the youngest player ever signed to a Major League Baseball team.   In his senior year in high school, Bob Feller was on the cover of Time Magazine.  His graduation was nationally broadcast on the radio.  Two days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, in the midst of seeing his career take-off, Bob Feller enlisted in the United States Navy.  He was the first MLB player to enlist in World War II.  In the age of LeBron James (yes, I said his name), when we step back and wonder what superstar-dom does to young people, what better example of grace and humility could those young athletes have than Bob Feller?  His decision to enlist was not about his career, but his country.  Not about the individual, but about the whole.

Bob Feller came back and pitched for the Indians during the real heydey of Indians baseball.  One of the CLEaunts would talk about skipping school to go to the World Series games in 1948.  Back in those days, going to a World Series game was possible, even just for a kid skipping school.  Sports were for everyone and the players were genuine hereos.  And so it was with Bob Feller.  His talent landed him a permanent place in Cleveland history and in the history of baseball itself.  But it was how he lived his life that made him a real legend.  We love him, not just for being a part of the only World Series title the Indians have ever won, not just for bringing fame to our team, but for being a true role model and an adopted CLE son.

The 1998 baseball season, I worked at what was then Jacob’s Field.  And as I walked into work, I’d walk past the Bob Feller statue.  Part of my history.  Part of all our histories.  The statue is now collecting flowers in memory of Bob Feller.  And I think those are there because of more than just his pitching arm or his strike-out count.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Do something inspiring.

For more information on Bob Feller’s life, click here.

Why? Generosity.

I had an idea, which I ran past CLEguy (my partner in most things and now an unwitting blog character).  I told him one of my answers to “Why Cleveland?” was generosity.  And not just in an anecdotal way.  I said I bet we gave more to charities than people in other cities.  He asked what the blog would be about if the facts didn’t back that up.  Well, lucky for me, an answer to “Why Cleveland?” is most definitely generosity.

According to Charity Navigator, an organization that researches charities in order to better inform donors, the 39 largest charities in Cleveland are far exceeding the national average in total revenue and assets.  For 2010, total revenue was $8.6 million, outstripping the national average by $3.4 million.  Total assets stood at a staggering $30.8 million, beating the national average by $23.1 million.

Wow CLE!  In a time where Cleveland has been hit harder than most by the economic downturn, people are still recognizing need and giving where and when it counts.  It says a lot about the heart of a city when people can see beyond their own need to the needs of the whole.  And it definitely makes me proud to be able to say “generosity” as an answer to “Why Cleveland?”

For more info on Charity Navigator’s study and the 39 largest charities in Cleveland click here.

Why? Weekends!

This weekend, CLEguy and I attended his office holiday party, which included a Lolly the Trolley tour of Cleveland:

If you’ve never gone on one of these tours, I really encourage you to check it out.  You’ll learn lots of great new answers to “Why Cleveland?”  Plus, you’ll see views like this:

All in all, a great way to spend an evening!

This weekend was also CLEgrandpa’s 86th birthday!  Having spent his entire life in CLE and having worked as a CLE police officer, I figured this was a perfect subject for a blog interview.  However, CLEgrandpa was more focused on the yumminess of Carrie Cerino’s, so we’ll get back to you on the interview.

But, for now, happy birthday CLEgrandpa!  Your dedication to this city is an awesome answer to “Why Cleveland?”

Why? Friday Inspiration.

I’m a sucker for a few (OK, lots) of things: one of which is heartwarming stories and another is recurring blog features.  So, every Friday, I’ll be bringing you a tale of an inspiring everyday CLE resident, who did something great and brought some positive attention to our fair city.

I’ll admit that I missed this story the first time around (it happened back in November).  But today on the Sirius XM holiday station (yes, I’m a Christmas elf in disguise), they mentioned this as an example of the generous spirit of people at the holidays.  Go CLE!

A CLE man, a bartender at the Hilton Garden Inn on Carnegie, left a money pouch with $3,600 (a year’s worth of tips) on top his car one night.  The pouch fell off the roof of the car and a safety ambassador with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance found it, turned it in to the Cleveland Police, and the money was returned to its rightful owner.

You can find write-ups on this story here, here, and here.

Have a great weekend and do something inspiring!

Why? Holiday Festivities.

Why Cleveland?  Because we know how to celebrate the holidays.  From downtown to the ‘burbs, from the shopping malls to Public Square, Cleveland is bursting with holiday cheer.  Here’s just some of the fun festivations you can take part in:

Historic Warehouse District’s 11th Annual Holiday Tour – Wednesday, December 8 from 5:30pm-11pm – tour the Warehouse District’s historic buildings, nosh on great food from local restaurants, and end the evening with desserts and music at Constantino’s Market

The Rink at Wade Oval – open daily until January 2 – admission is free and skate rental is $3

A Christmas Carol – through December 23 at the Ohio Theater – see the classic Dickens story performed by the Great Lakes Theater Festival

Deck the Hall: A Dickens of a Christmas – weekends through December 30 at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens – if you haven’t gotten your fill of Dickens, check out the lights, decorations, holiday shopping, and hot chocolate

Winter Show 2010 – Tuesdays through Saturdays at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens – wander through greenhouses of seasonal plants, do some holiday shopping, and maybe get your skating on at The Rink at Wade Oval

The Black Nativity – through December 30 at Karamu House – see this moving performance of the play written by native Clevelander Langston Hughes

The Singing Angels – this youth chorus has a series of holiday concerts throughout the Cleveland area

Tobogganing – check out the toboggan runs in the beautiful Strongsville MetroParks

Snow Days – through January 2 at Progressive Field – check out tubing, ice skating, and fun for kids and adults
No matter how you choose to celebrate, CLE offers plenty of ways to get in the holiday spirit!  What a great answer to “Why Cleveland?”