To note that the weather in northeast Ohio is miserable this first week of January would be generous. Bitter cold, endless snow, and dangerous ice – it all conspires to keep us indoors. Mother Nature, the original ornery barometer of cool, underestimates the power of positive Clevelanders. Inclement weather be damned. We don our winter woolies, load up on hearty fare and strong drink, and make for the city. This weekend, there are numerous testaments to our commitment to fun in the winter sun. 

Tremont ArtWalk

The first ArtWalk of 2010 takes place this Friday, January 8, beginning at 6 pm. The organizers and artists are starting this year off with a bang. Among the highlights will be a showing of Bob Dylan and The Band photos taken by local artist William Scheele at Visible Voice Books, one of the region’s best independent book shops and wine tasting spots. At Heather Haviland’s beloved Lucky’s Café, visitors will find captivating landscape and portrait work by Cleveland’s Cooper School of Art graduate and Tremont resident Tim Herron. An eclectic collection of mixed media items from Lucette Johnson, Theresa Yondo and Kathy Patton can be found at one of Tremont’s newest additions, Geode Gallery and Gifts. Wrap up the night at Prosperity Social Club, where Martini Five-O is scheduled to deliver a suitably cool repertoire of lounge-surf tunes. 

Dante Restaurant Open House Cocktail Party

One of the country’s – much less the region’s – most talented chefs is opening his newest restaurant in Tremont this weekend. Dante Boccuzzi and his team have reworked the former Third Federal Bank building on Professor Avenue into a gem of polished, casual dining. Read the full story here, and be sure to stop in to say congrats and have a cocktail. The festivities kick off at 6 pm on Friday, January 8.

Rock Hall Celebrates 75 Years of Elvis 

Elvis may have left the proverbial building, but his music and legend continue to interest new generations. In celebration of the King of Rock and Roll's would-be 75th birthday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is inviting fans from around the country to view the Elvis exhibit on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9. The collection features more than 40 artifacts that help document the life of one of rock’s founding fathers, including one of his famous jumpsuits from 1973 and a jukebox presented to him by RCA [pictured; photo courtesy of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum/Design Photography]. The weekend will include the opportunity to sign a giant birthday card that will be sent to Graceland, a cake cutting at noon on Friday, meet the curator/artifact spotlight in the Elvis exhibit on Friday at 2 pm, and a screening of the Aloha from Hawaii concert film on Saturday at 11:45 am. Throughout the weekend, guests can watch footage from Elvis’ 1986 Rock Hall induction. Now that's a hunk of burning love that'll melt even the chilliest disposition. 

Cleveland is a complex melting pot of cultures, generations, interests and lifestyles. Yes, Israel Zangwill’s term may be overused in describing any metropolitan area, and is most closely associated with New York City, but few would argue against its relevance when talking about the North Coast. The vast range of cultural options in northeast Ohio is extraordinary, though you have to dig to find them sometimes. OhioAuthority.com unearthed this week’s trio of must-do events to scratch your international and historical itches, and (hopefully) explain why you can’t sleep afterwards:

Evan Ziporyn & Gamelan Galak Tika 

The composer and 30-member troupe are a part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Viva! & Gala series, offering a fusion of traditional and modern Balinese music and dance. Gamelan translates as “to hammer,” referring to the percussion orchestras of Bali and the Indonesian island of Java. Gamelan Galak Tika’s performance feature Ziporyn’s compositions Tire Fire, Amok! and Heavy Metal delivered on hand drums, gongs, metallophones, bamboo flutes and spiked fiddles by MIT students. Sound intriguing? Check out the performance at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on Friday, January 8 at 7:30PM. 

Jerry’s Girls at Ensemble Theatre 

Longing for the Great White Way? We all know you don’t mean snowswept Euclid Avenue. Ensemble Theatre’s musical revue of songs by Jerry Herman is directed by Frank Lucas, and it’s a throwback to the glitz and glamour of Broadway’s heyday. Jerry’s Girls offers a cornucopia of cabaret that channels the star-studded productions that featured memorable leading ladies such as Carol Channing, Jo Anne Worley and Chita Rivera. The timeless music from Mame, Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles, Mack and Mabel, and more might have you thinking classic cocktails afterwards. In which case, head to the Velvet Tango Room. The production runs from January 8 through January 31. 

Sleep and Counting Sheep 

If you wake up feeling as weary as you did the night before, and are tired of  being, well, tired, you're likely looking for relief. Perhaps you’re struggling with a sleep disorder or related condition, and don’t know it. The latest installment of the Science Café's Cleveland Series at Great Lakes Brewing Company features MetroHealth Medical Center speakers Dr. Ziad Shaman (pulmonary and critical Care) and Dr. Vidya Krishnan (center for sleep medicine) Tuesday, January 12 at 6:30PM. Learn the science behind what’s happening and change your life, or simply hang out for an intriguing happy hour discussion.

Speaking of sleep: don’t lose any more of it thinking about the Paul Gauguin: Paris, 1889 exhibition if you haven’t been to it. The Cleveland Museum of Art’s exhibition is a stunner. Get there before it closes Monday, January 18. www.gogauguin.com  

New Year’s resolutions are trite – at least, that’s what we say after going back on our yearly promises of personal betterment. We vow to lose weight, get fit and exercise, but find our inner gourmand calling to us before Valentine’s Day. We hope to halt those bad habits and be more centered, only to find a tough week at work derails everything. And some of us even attempt to learn something brand new. At OhioAuthority, we think the latter is still a very attainable goal, especially with this trio of local events:

New Year’s Eve Insurrection Mass and Possibilitarian Puppet Service

Usher in the New Year with a whole lotta new: ideas, approach, attitude and friends. On Thursday, December 31 at 3 pm, this out-with-the-old “mass” celebration at the Coventry Village Library in Cleveland Heights includes a papier-mâché puppet service (non-denominational), a fiddle sermon and "Funeral March for the Rotten Ideas of 2009" parade, which steps off at 3:45 pm. All ages and participants are welcome, but plan on arriving at 11 am, if you want to walk in the parade. For more information, call 216-771-8287 or email diana_sette@yahoo.com. Don't forget to head back to Coventry for Tommy's Annual New Year's Day Pancake Breakfast to benefit Heights Arts, Friday, January 1. 

Sergio’s Sarava New Year’s Eve Samba Party 

A change in latitude is good for the soul, as evidenced by the hundreds who flocked to Sergio’s Sarava last year for this Brazilian bash. Sarava offers three different incarnations of their New Year’s Eve Samba Party on Thursday, December 31, including two with prix fixe dinners, live music by Samba Joia, sets by world music DJ Kris Koch and more. One too many margaritas, mojitos or caipirinhas? Sarava has set up special overnight packages (including a continental breakfast) through Glidden House for advance purchase. Equal parts Carnaval and cosmopolitan cool, this is a New Year’s Eve party unlike any other in Cleveland. To make reservations, call 216-295-1200.

Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association’s New Year's Day Poker Run 

Okay, so we all promise to be healthier and more community-minded in the New Year,  but this event tackles both on Day One 2010. Bring your bike and your balaclava, and get your blood pumping with CAMBA’s ninth annual New Year's Day cycle rally. It all starts Friday, January 1 at Tremont's Lincoln Park, located at West 14th Street, between Kenilworth Avenue and Startkweather Avenue. Riders should meet at noon at the bandstand at the center of Lincoln Park. Take in CAMBA’s road circuit, featuring a brisk journey through downtown, The Flats and Tremont, where The tour ends at The SouthSide for some well-deserved food and drink. 

Every holiday season, thousands of Clevelanders are faced with the dilemma of what to do with their families while they're in town. Having drifted off into a food-induced daze, some flock to the local multiplex for Hollywood’s annual blockbuster barrage, while others settle into the tried-but-true routine of continued grazing, imbibing and television marathons. But for those hungering for something more fulfillingly Cleveland, here’s a trio of great local events that are simply too good to pass up (and will encourage people to get out of your house for a bit):

Black Nativity at Karamu House 

This is a Cleveland institution, written by a Cleveland institution and performed at a Cleveland institution. A transcendent gospel meditation, Karamu House's annual production of native Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity is always top-notch. Performed at the oldest African American theater in the country, Nativity centers on the spiritual Christmas story through vivid costumes, dance and melody. It’s been 30 years since Mike Malone, late former Karamu artistic director, found the script (and other Hughes works) on the Karamu property. To say Nativity is inspirational is an understatement; like snow and Christmas Ale, it’s hard to imagine a Cleveland holiday season without it. The production runs through Monday, December 28. Visit online for schedule and showtimes, or call 216-795-7070.

Cleveland Botanical Garden’s WinterShow 

Life around the holidays was different before shopping mall impresarios began conjuring retail theater in every suburb across America. This no-cost, open-to-the-public (with Garden admission) WinterShow is most certainly a throwback: a much-needed dose of Rockwellian nostalgia for the holidays, replete with a timelessly decorated tree, window displays, a gingerbread house competition, a Garden Store and much more. Cleveland Botanical Garden’s seasonal programming is simply the best of its kind in the city; the WinterShow is the best of their best. Finish your visit with a skate on Wade Oval (skate rental is a mere $3) and hot chocolate and cookies at the Garden’s Café. WinterShow runs through Monday, January 4. 

Coffinberry at the Grog Shop 

Coffinberry’s latest, self-titled release is a harmonic epiphany, particularly given the post-punk immensity of their previous effort, God Dam Dogs. Incorporating acoustic and pop elements into their sludgy, garage rock instrumentation, Coffinberry recalls J. Mascis, The Replacements and Ohio's Pere Ubu in the process. This quartet is, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, noisy, casual and “selflessly fashion unconscious.” They’re also one of the area’s best live bands. Check them live at the Grog Shop on Saturday, December 26 at 9PM with special guests The Walkies, Good Touch Bad Touch and Buried Wires, the latter one of Cleveland's other most buzzed about bands. 

When Cleveland native and Boston area resident Judah Leblang found himself on a Florida vacation without his favorite baseball cap (Cleveland Indians, of course; Leblang hasn't transferred allegiances – yet), he made a quick stop in a strip-mall tourist shop to buy a replacement. Finding one lone cap among the store's motley selection, he quickly paid for it and went on his way. When he arrived at his friend's house to begin his vacation, he displayed his purchase – a white cap with the letters "WWJD" printed above the brim in large black type – and wondered if his friend had heard of this local radio station.

"Wearing my new cap constantly, pleased with bagging a bargain, I walked around town," writes Leblang in his new book of essays, Finding My Place. "Folks seemed even warmer than usual, and Jacksonville had always seemed to me a singularly friendly place." Back in Boston, a chance discussion with a friend revealed the real meaning of the cap's slogan, and Leblang reflected on his experiences in Jacksonville. "For a week, I'd been protected, and passed safely through the land of the moral majority unscathed."

Finding My Place is a memoir, told through a collection of Leblang's essays, many of which have previously appeared in regional publications or were broadcast on various NPR affiliates. In spare, straightforward style, Leblang creates affecting vignettes of his youth in Cleveland and adulthood in Boston and beyond, touching on themes of name and place. This summer, Leblang will return to Cleveland for readings from Finding My Place (keep up with him here) – hopefully, the boys of summer won't give him further cause to start rooting for the Red Sox.

Finding My Place is now available on Amazon, at Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights and Visible Voice Books in Tremont.