Sparx City Hop is a free all day event that celebrates the visual, culinary and performing arts of Cleveland’s most central and metropolitan neighborhoods. Free trolley service by Lolly the Trolley allows individuals and families to “hop” through the neighborhoods of Downtown (Historic Gateway Neighborhood, Historic Warehouse District, PlayhouseSquare and the Campus District) plus the neighborhoods that connect directly to Downtown (Tremont, Ohio City, MidTown, AsiaTown and St. Clair Superior). The trolley routes connect people to over 60 galleries & artist studios, over 100 restaurants, several markets and dozens of specialty retail shops. In addition, Sparx City Hop includes a variety of sidewalk concerts, main stage performances, special gallery and studio events, the Terminal Tower observation deck, the Tower City Street Fair, the Sparx Classic Car Show, a variety of merchant specials and so much more.

Between 25,000 and 30,000 people participate in the Sparx City Hop each year. Don’t miss this opportunity to get out and explore what makes the core of our city so special!

Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Affiliate Partnership:

This year, Sparx City Hop is excited to be partnering with the Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure, which will also be taking place on Saturday, September 11^th. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested nearly $1.5 billion since its inception in 1982. Thanks to events like the Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from their partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, Komen Northeast Ohio has invested over $17 million dollars in our community since 1994. Up to 75% of the funds raised thru the Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure stay in our community for educational programs, screenings and survivor support programs.

“Sparx City Hop is an event that celebrates the strength and power of our community and we couldn’t think of a better partner to help celebrate the power of community than the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure^©,” said Joe Marinucci, President and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance. “Our hope is that everyone participating in the race will stay throughout the day and enjoy everything the center of the city has to offer.  We also encourage everyone in the community to not only participate in the Sparx City Hop, but to support the fight against breast cancer by participating in this year’s Race for the Cure^©.”

On race day, as part of the partnership with the Race for the Cure^©, all race participants who wear their pink race-day shirt will be able to take advantage of a variety of special merchant offers at over 60 City Hop locations. These special offers will also be available to anyone in the public via the brand new Sparx City Hop Passport (see below for more information).

“Komen Northeast Ohio is pleased to partner with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the Sparx City Hop event” said Sophie Sureau, Executive Director of Komen Northeast Ohio. “Our supporters continually tell us that they enjoy being downtown near the many great restaurants, hotels, attractions and merchants. Together, we will brighten the city with an even greater energy from dawn to well after dusk.”

Sparx City Hop Passport:

This year’s Sparx City Hop event will introduce a free new promotion…the Sparx City Hop Passport. The passport will have two uses:

1.       It will act as the trolley pass for participants in this year’s Sparx City Hop. Simply show your passport to the trolley driver in order for you and your family to ride for free!

2.       And the City Hop Passport will list over 60 special offers at participating City Hop locations. Simply show your passport to a participating City Hop merchant and take advantage of the special!

Not only will passport holders be able to take advantage of these specials during the Sparx City Hop event on September 11^th, but they’ll be able to get those same specials throughout the entire year! Starting September 11^th, 2010 (and lasting till August 31^st, 2011), all promotions in the passport will be available to passport holders, simply present this passport at any participating Sparx City Hop location.

The Sparx City Hop Passport is free but it will be distributed only two ways:

1.       Look for your Sparx City Hop Passport insert in the September issue of Cleveland Magazine or

2.       Get your passport at the Sparx City Hop event on Saturday, September 11th. The passports will be distributed at designated trolley stops that day.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to get special discounts throughout the year, make sure you mark this year’s Sparx City Hop on your calendar!

Sparx City Hop is presented by:

Sparx City Hop is presented by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and is made possible through the collaboration of its Down and Aroundtown partners.

Down and Aroundtown Cleveland is a collaboration between Cleveland’s most central and metropolitan neighborhoods. Together, these districts not only offer the most dynamic mix of city life in our region, but they represent a unified trade district that attracts over 7.4 million visits, employs over 160,000 people and is home to more than 43,000 residents.

Down & Aroundtown Cleveland includes: Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Historic Gateway Neighborhood, Historic Warehouse District, PlayhouseSquare District Development Corp., The Campus District, St. Clair Superior Development Corp., AsiaTown, MidTown Cleveland Inc., Tremont West Development, Ohio City Near West Development Corp., and Flats Oxbow

For information on this summer’s upcoming Sparx City Hop, go to
www.downtowncleveland.com/sparx

To register today visit http://stormwater-workshop.eventbrite.com

Due to the number of requests and inquiries from the general public, the organizers and exhibitors of Cleveland’s First Furniture and Millwork Fair have graciously decided to open the exhibits of the fair to the general public for the entire day of Thursday, July 15th. Doors open at 8am.

This first-of-its-kind fair is currently taking place in The Halle Building (1212 Huron Rd, E) and features dozens of Northeast Ohio’s finest furniture and millwork manufacturers along with several Greater Cleveland artisan woodworkers and local organizations that focus on design techniques and sustainability. Exhibitors include several large and small Amish furniture and millwork manufacturers from Holmes County.

At 5:00pm tomorrow, display models will be available for sale to the general public. Do not miss this amazing opportunity to purchase exquisitely crafted hardwood furniture for your home!

I am still working on a few projects at the same time… All are ongoing activities/projects. For starters, I am still working to get some interest in Pedapod and may acquire one in the nearer future to do a trial run.

Secondly, litter clean-ups at Edgewater to promote more anti-littering environments in Cleveland. I will mention again, if there is ever a campaign needed here to promote anti-littering, now is the time as the problem gets worse in N.E. Ohio. The last few years alone, on highways, alone, for example, the word I received from ODOT has money spent at over 8 million dollars for clean-up—and this is on and along the major highways only. Myself and another are seeing if we can get some kind of power point presentation going to address block clubs and youth groups in the city.

Next up is the project that continues to gain interest. But, we could improve on gaining more sustained effort from artists and volunteers–so–if you are a doer, please contact us! The project is Working on storefront window makeover program. We completed a simple one at Chesterfield and will get Statler done soon and 1104 Prospect. As mentioned earlier, two art themes I have recently proposed are a tribute to Euclid’s grand retail heyday….AND, a cleaner city and shoreline through cleaning up litter… will be art themes/messages featuring some art of the lesser-known fish life of the region, such as Darters, Gar, and Sturgeon. I am seeking out artists who would like to have the opportunity to do this with our direction. So, again, if you’re out there, please contact us!

In other small updates, I soon hope to open a trial cart shop in the Galleria, as part of spin-off of sort with the Gardens Under Glass theme… which will feature a couple of indoor environmentally related eco-products that will help clean indoor air and water. These items will not be available in stores, so it kind of offers a bit of something downtown can have more of an exclusive on. Lastly, This past weekend, I took a group of visitors to the city Saturday while I assisted with the ushering duties at the re-opening of the Observation Deck. All went well and any chance I had, promoted, informed and directed guests around downtown. This was a fun day and the reception of the deck re-opening was very well received as I spoke with many guests. Many were from outer areas and other states.

Along with others, I also obliged doing a short radio stream which is supposed to run on WCPN. There was a representative at the opening there chatting with several people about it. Speaking of radio, if you are a unique, different, crafty and unique Cleveland business looking for well done and written audio ads/streams for your business/website, please contact me personally! The ads are  free of charge.

Well, that’s all folks…and please contact me if you’re interested in assisting in any of the above items!

This post was written by a DCA City Advocate. To learn more about the City Advocate Program, please click here.

Fuze APOOLooza is happening Saturday, July 17th from 1:00p.m.-8:00p.m. Enjoy live entertainment, an olympic sized pool, corn hole and much more. Tickets are available today. For more information call 216-623-1700

Show the world the power of home tomorrow morning (Saturday, July 3rd). Cavs fans from all over Northeast Ohio will line both sides of E.9th Street (from Carnegie to St. Clair) tomorrow morning at 10am. Meetings with LeBron James, the Chicago Bulls and the Cavaliers will begin later that morning. Let’s show our support for LeBron and our solidarity to the CAVS management team as they drive to their meetings.

HOME signs will be distributed at the corner of Euclid and 9th (PNC Plaza) at 10 am. Fans are encouraged to wear their CAVS gear as they line the street. See you there! Click here for a map

Beginning, Saturday July 10^th and continuing until Sunday, August 1^st, the Terminal Tower Observation Deck will be open to the public for a limited time only. On Saturdays and Sundays in July, individuals will have the opportunity to go up into this magnificent Cleveland landmark and, once again, experience the breathtaking views of Downtown. Downtown Cleveland Alliance and Forest City have partnered to make this opening possible.

The Observation Deck will be open from 12:00p.m. until 4:00p.m. and general admission cost will be $5 per person with free admission for children 5 years of age and under. Tickets can be purchased at Guest Services in Tower City Center. The dates listed below are the weekends the Observation Deck will be open to the public.

· July 10^th-11^th

· July 17^th-18^th

· July 24^th-25^th

· July 31^st-Aug 1^st

Originally opened in 1929, Terminal Tower has been a Cleveland landmark for over 80 years. The Observation Deck sits on the 42^nd floor of the Tower. After September 11^th, the Observation Deck was closed and since then both the exterior and interior of the Tower has gone undergone numerous renovations. The rehabilitation began about 5 years ago with the exterior façade being repaired; the Observation Deck was one of the latter components of the rehabilitation, but in January of this year the work was completed.

The interior of the Observation Deck has been restored to resemble a more original period of the 1930’s and 40’s. After careful examination of old designs, photographs and newspaper clippings, the Tower today looks much like it did the day it opened, with many of the original features having been either restored or recreated. Checkered floors, exposed radiators, circular lights and railings in front of the windows, which create a sense that people are leaning over to look out from the Tower, are just some of the renovations that took place. They also upgraded their heating and cooling system to a more modern system and installed new eco-friendly windows and elevators throughout.

According to Stephen Bir, General Manager for Forest City Enterprises, “it was the right time to reopen the Observation Deck as many cities across the U.S. began to open up their observation decks again; it was only fitting that Cleveland do the same. Furthermore he added, “there is no other place downtown at this elevation that the public can go up and see everything from Lake Erie to the Cuyahoga River. “ Joe Marinucci, President and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance adds, “offering this destination for tourists and locals is our way of getting people to explore one of Cleveland’s greatest assets.”

“Although the Observation Deck will only be open for a limited engagement this summer, the hope is that we will be able to open it up for future times on a more regular occurrence,” says Bir.