Maybe it’s Springsteen’s “Working on a Dream” on the radio talking, but this week’s Fresh Start seems to be all about Americana. When holidays like Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day roll around, we’re collectively full of patriotism and honor for our country and its rich history, and the people who serve it. Consider our country’s cultural hodgepodge, and the folklore and traditions of a nowhere-else-on-Earth place like New Orleans. Consider the Great American Songbook, and the stories and people from it that embody our hopes, dreams and struggles. Consider the direction we’ve moved in as a more consumer-minded society. We can all appreciate the American Experience in very different ways, but these options offer an open door to something more.
Baubles and Blue
Clevelanders know that there’s only one place to be on Fat Tuesday that beats Fat Fish Blue, and that’s New Orleans. The FFB Mardi Gras menagerie begins Tuesday, February 16 at 11 am, headlined by the four Bs: an all-day buffet, beads, bands and bevvies. Classics, such as gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée, red beans and rice, and muffuletta sliders (zesty sandwiches with meat, cheese and tapenade), will be present and accounted for. While you’re not likely to get flashed at FFB, expect a hearty helping of indigenous New Orleans blues and jazz, balloon artists, stilt walkers and the usual party vibe this arena district local is famous for. It’s no visit to New Orleans, nor is it an immersion in the music of Congo Square, but it's as close as you'll get on the North Coast, and it's a great time.
Walk the Line
Marc Cohn is a Grammy-winning Beachwood High School grad best known for his 1991 hit single “Walking in Memphis." Cohn is sure to perform “Memphis” alongside songs from his four albums on Wednesday, February 17 at 8 pm at the Kent Stage – a popular home away from home for many of Cohn’s adult alternative ilk. (We’re surprised he’s not been spun more at the new WNWV “Boom” 107.3-FM, but we digress). It’s been a while since Cohn’s made headlines, and even longer since he made any he was happy about: In 2005, while opening a show for folkie Suzanne Vega, Cohn was shot in the head during a failed carjacking. His latest album Join the Parade reflects on this experience.
Community Spotlight
Photographer Andrew Borowiec has been shooting the social landscape of the Midwest and Middle America for many years, and to grand effect. The University of Akron’s Myers School of Art prof has shown his work at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and at scads of other locations. The Akron Art Museum is the latest to feature Borowiec’s color photography, digital prints and gelatin silver photography with Looking for the American Dream: Andrew Borowiec’s Ohio Photographs. The exhibition opens Saturday, February 20, featuring a dozen large-scale images from his The New Heartland collection, and twice as many prints included from his Along the Ohio series. Borowiec’s meditations on commercial and suburban development, and the “lifestyle center” phenomenon hold the same punch as his post-industrial work; this exhibit is not to be missed.
