Our arts park is unique

Flush with the success of the 47th annual Cain Park Arts Festival, Ian Hinz, the park’s general manager, met with us to assess the season so far and share his vision for the future. Although this is Hinz’s first year as full-time, year-round general manager, he served as the park’s operations manager for several summers, about a decade ago.

Estimated attendance at this year’s arts festival was 13,000, up from 10,000 in 2023, and we can attest to the high quality of works for sale.

Responding to e-mail and social media surveys, as well as to input from a devoted cadre of volunteers, Hinz and team have booked more eclectic music programming, plus more free concerts, thanks to a partnership with the Local 4 Music Fund of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians.

Planned facility improvements have begun with better lighting in the bathrooms. Hinz gave a big shout-out to Friends of Heights Parks, Friends of Cain Park, and FutureHeights for sustainably beautifying the grounds with native plants.

Perhaps few Cain Park patrons know that municipally owned and operated arts parks are a rarity in the United States. Only one that we know of originated in the same era as Cain Park: Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, about 10 miles southwest of Denver, Colo., is a New Deal project built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and dedicated in 1941.

Cain Park owes its existence to the vision and initiative of one woman. In 1934, Heights High drama teacher Dina Rees Evans started producing plays in a natural amphitheater formed by Dugway Brook in the center of Cleveland Heights, by then a built-up streetcar suburb. After the stream was culverted, the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History notes, “Workmen from the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Relief and the Works Progress Administration landscaped the ravine and built the 3,000-seat open-air auditorium and 80' stage. The theater was dedicated on 10 August 1938. Evans became its first executive director, reporting to Cleveland Heights City Council.” The park's name honors the city’s first mayor, Frank Cain. In 1989 the amphitheater was named for Evans.

With seating for 9,525, Red Rocks is far larger than Evans Amphitheater, which seats 1,275 under cover and about 1,700 on the lawn. To our knowledge, Red Rocks focuses exclusively on national musical acts. Its spectacular natural setting, outside a major metropolitan area, contrasts with Cain Park’s walkable, urban oasis vibe.

Envisioned by its founder primarily as a theatrical venue, Cain Park offers theater, music and dance performances, along with exhibits in the Feinberg Art Gallery. Plays are presented in the 262-seat Alma Theater, completed in 1944 and named for Mayor Cain’s wife. Hinz said there are currently no plans to present plays in the amphitheater because staging costs are prohibitive.

Hinz has, however, increased the number of theater productions from two to five, in part by stretching the season from May 31 to Oct. 4. (It traditionally ran from mid-June through August.)

Another “stretch” occurred in February, with a two-day inaugural "Freeze-Fest" held at the top of Cain Park’s sledding hill. Hinz expects the Taylor Tudors development to catalyze a gradual, organic expansion to year-round programming in the park.

Last, but not least, the current Feinberg gallery show features works by artists who live in Cleveland Heights, “Home of the Arts.” It runs through Aug. 30.

Hinz summed up the importance of our municipal arts park to Cleveland Heights: “It feels like we’re more divided in this country, in many different ways, than ever before. At this time especially, I see Cain Park as a unifier.” We concur!