Cedar Fairmount district plans summer of activities

Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District is changing is summer programming from a one-day event to an all-season celebration.

The Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District (SID) is moving away from its traditional one-day festival to instead offer an entire summer of activities, from June through August.

The district hopes to renew its pre-COVID vitality by encouraging more people to walk to Cedar Fairmount, dine at its restaurants, raise glasses and celebrate in its bars, discover the many unique items in its stores, and support its services.

The summer’s plans and activities include Food Truck Tuesdays, Music Thursdays, and Family Arts/Entertainment Saturdays.

Food trucks will offer everything from Slyman’s corned beef sandwiches to New Orleans and vegetarian fare on select Tuesdays, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Beginning June 15, the trucks will park on Fairmount Boulevard, in front of Barrio. While district organizers hope that Food Truck Tuesdays will become a regular event, the food truck operators will be basing their appearances on the number of people buying lunch from them.

Thursday nights, 7–8:30 p.m. will be dedicated to music, with free concerts featuring local favorites Blue Lunch, Moises Borges Trio, and IN2ATIVE. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs to the concerts, which will take place in various locations throughout the district. 

There will be something for everyone on Saturdays. Family art projects, organized by Parade the Circle’s creator, Robin VanLear, and her team, are designed to engage parents and children alike. VanLear and her fanciful, hallucinogenic pachyderms will lead line dancing on July 17, and chalk artists will create and instruct on June 26, July 24 and Aug. 21.

Cleveland Heights Police and Fire departments will be on hand for meet and greets, with trucks and more, on June 19, July 17 and Aug. 21.

Interested in learning more about Cedar Fairmount’s history? Ken Goldberg, president of the Cleveland Heights Historical Society, will conduct 1.5 hour tours of the district on June 19 and July 24.

For readers, Heights Libraries will bring its book bike to Cedar Fairmount, offering free books and more, on July 17 and Aug. 14.

To learn more, visit www.cedarfairmount.org.

Myra Orenstein

Myra Orenstein, a Cleveland Heights resident for more than 30 years, is executive director of Cedar Fairmount SID.

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Volume 14, Issue 7, Posted 9:32 AM, 06.08.2021