It’s Monday, and Clevelanders are still smarting with the Cavaliers’ playoff implosion. It’s not what anyone imagined for the team, but it has cemented another truism about the city and region as a whole: if anything, we surely know how to express ourselves. This week’s Fresh Start supports that sentiment, with a slate of events that deliver Cleveland’s urban heart, cultural melting pot and artistic flair in under seven days. Long suffering Clevelanders are famed for the turn of phrase, “There’s always next year,” but when it comes to sheer emotional expression, we all know there’s no day like today.
Rock the Mic
Billed as “Cleveland’s premier spoken word get-together,” Lyrical Rhythm transcends any open mic poetry experience, drawing on influences ranging from jazz and NeoSoul music, to Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes and hip-hop. Presented by Chief Rocka Entertainment, Q-Nice and The Playscape Allstars host the event and keep the poetry flowing, while DJ Tom Noy leads a dance party interlude every Tuesday at 10 pm at the B Side Liquor Lounge in Cleveland Heights. This Tuesday, May 18, poets and revelers return to the club, located below the Grog Shop, with live musical accompaniment. If you want to know what's in the creative heart of Cleveland, don't miss Lyrical Rhythms.
If You’re Feeling Sinister
Convergence-continuum presents Len Jenkin’s “strange, phantasmagoric tale” Dark Ride starting this Friday, May 21. The company will keep it running until mid-June at its cozy home, The Liminis on Scranton Road in Tremont. Like most of CC’s edgy, postmodern, stark and apocalyptic productions, its interpretation of Jenkin’s marquee work skirts the edges of sanity. Dark Ride is a foray into the subconscious, where B-movie plots team with a decidedly cirque du bizarre atmosphere, as a jewel thief, waitress and occultist group mingle in this circuitous plot. Learn more by visiting convergence-continuum.
The Far Eastern Conference
The first-ever Cleveland Asian Festival promises a brilliant experience for attendees. The Asia Town–based event, which takes place at East 30th Street and Payne Avenue in Cleveland, features the first-ever appearance of the Wah Lum Kung Fu’s dragon dance seven-man troupe, along with Kwan family’s lion dance, a sumo wrestling competition, lots of great local food and an egg roll eating contest. Verb Ballets, members of the Taiko drumming ensemble and a fashion show round out the fun Saturday, May 22. This festival will serve as a great primer for the Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival in August.
Heart of Creation
Wondering about the rest of your weekend? Don’t forget the inaugural Weapons of Mass Creation Festival, which runs Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23 at Parish Hall, 6205 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. This brand new festival, celebrating art, film, music and more is the brainchild of Jeff Finley, artist, designer and co-owner of Go Media. To learn more about the featured artists, be sure to read the Profiles in Creation series on OhioAuthority.
