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Rockin’ Cleveland – Parade the Circle and More!
A great place to stay while visiting is the Hilton Garden Hotel, right in the heart of downtown Cleveland, close to all the wonderful attractions Cleveland offers. The staff is friendly and the rooms are comfortable with a high-speed Internet connection. The hotel’s restaurant, the American Grill, offers a great fresh breakfast every morning and fine a la carte American favorites for dinner. What to See and Do From roaming among dinosaur bones to cruising through rock and roll’s memory lane, shopping for paintings and glassworks in Little Italy, fine dining on international cuisines, tuning into a music festival or celebrating at the parade – there’s so much to choose from, it’ll pay to do some homework before you get there. Here are some must-do’s to build into your agenda.
The museum is home to a slew of musical instruments and customs, from The Who to Elvis Presley to Britney Spears. To commemorate their 10th anniversary, the museum hosted the first ever CMJ (College Music Journal) Rock Hall MusicFest in the city. Normally held only in New York, the event attracted over 100 up and coming bands from the US and abroad who competed for recognition and a possible record deal. The next CMJ Music Marathon will take place in New York’s Lincoln Center from September 14-17, 2005. The Great Lakes Science Center - A stone’s throw away from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, the center has over 400 hands on exhibit and currently is featuring a unique traveling exhibit, Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds 2. Not for the faint of heart, the show is an anatomical exhibition of real human bodies. Dr. von Hagens has developed a procedure called plastination that uses reactive polymers to replace bodily fluids and fats, enabling bodies to be conserved in a dry and odorless fashion. See what a smoker’s lungs look like compared to a non-smoker’s and witness the devastating effects of fat on an obese body; this should get you heading for the gym in a hurry! The exhibit is showing until September 18, 2005. The Science Center is also home to an impressive 320 seat OMNIMAX theatre, currently showing Mystery of the Nile, the first ever successful rafting expedition down the entire length of the Blue Nile from its source, Lake Tana in Ethiopia through Sudan and Egypt and finally out into the Mediterranean Sea. Join the expedition crew and discover the beauty and cultures of these lands. Cleveland Museum of Natural History – Located in the University Circle District and fun for the whole family, the museum features many exciting exhibits that show the evolution of man and animals in this ever changing world.
Life size taxidermies of animals, plants and artifacts from over 11 different cultures: North and South America, Mesoamerica, Africa, Australia and New Guinea, show the ecological impact man has had on the environment through recent history. This is a great educational and entertaining exhibition for the whole family. For the star gazers, there’s also a planetarium where you can escape to outer space on a tour of the solar system and beyond and discover if a comet is made out of rock or ice.
Little Italy – The air is filled with the aroma of fresh baked pizzas and desserts from Italian pastry shops that line the main street. Stop for a cappuccino or espresso and indulge in a mouth watering pastry; tiramisu, biscotti, or almond cake. After you’re cured of your sweet tooth, peruse art galleries that exhibit local artists’ works.
The Conservatory is the latest new project on the property. This external glass and aluminum structure has been reconstructed as the home of an impressive live butterfly exhibit. The Butterflies are Here opened on June 4th and showcases over 400 hundred exotic butterflies from all corners of the globe. Where to Dine
Shooters on the Water – For a causal relaxing lunch by the lake, stop by and grab lunch at Shooters. The restaurant features American contemporary dishes, sandwiches, fresh salads, pastas, steak, and seafood such as Maryland style crab cakes, calamari dibattista, Lake Erie fried perch, and Cajun shrimp pasta.
Ken Stewart’s Grille - Located in Akron, this is the perfect stop for a romantic dinner after a visit to the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. Dine like the Seiberlings amongst the rich and elegant décor and enjoy a fine dining experience. The seafood is delicious; their trademark entrée is Japanese shrimp (wrapped in shredded phyllo dough and served with a sweet soy glaze). The tender grilled peppercorn steak melts in the mouth. Make sure you leave room for their homemade vanilla ice cream. Cleveland’s CVB website’s claim, “There’s so much to do in Cleveland!” holds true. I was surprised by all that I saw and by how friendly and welcoming Clevelanders are. At the CMJ MusicFest I lost my diamond wedding ring. I was mortified, Naeem and I walked around trying to find it, but to no avail. Finally I decided to ask the police officer at the entrance if anyone had returned a ring. She asked me to describe it and as I was doing so, she smiled and pulled it out of her pocket. Someone had actually returned my diamond ring! Cleveland rocks! FOR MORE INFORMATION: Lolly the Trolley Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum The Great Lakes Science Center The Cleveland Museum of Natural History The Cleveland Museum of Art Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens Where to Dine: International House of Blues Foundation Shooters on the Water Theory Restaurant Ken Stewart’s Grille Tel: 330-867-2555
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JustSayGO Travel Show
The city by the southern shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland is a destination
with overflowing enthusiasm, culture, history, and art that calls to
families and couples alike looking for a place to visit and play. Painted
faces, giggling, laughter, glittering colorful costumes, marching bands,
clowns on stilts, and joyous music all come together at the annual
summer event, Parade the Circle Celebration, held in the University
Circle district, recognized worldwide for its educational merit, medical
facilities and museums. Cleveland has renewed its efforts over the
last several years to attract people from across the country to discover
its rich heritage of culture and history along with an abundant arts
and music scene.
Cleveland celebrated its bicentennial anniversary
on July 22, 1996 and the city has plenty to celebrate. After all,
this was where the first whole-body scanner and x-ray machine were
invented in 1896 with the invention of the automatic windshield wiper
following in 1921. The first indoor shopping center, The Arcade,
opened in 1890, and the phrase rock’n’ roll was coined in 1955. Cleveland can even pride itself on the creation of the popular LifeSavers candy in 1912. A great way to discover the city is to take a one or two hour city sightseeing tour aboard Lolly the Trolley. The driver’s
detailed narration as he stops and points out the architecture and
points of interest around town gives you great photo opportunities,
such as the 1894 Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument and can
help you build your own itinerary and plans for further exploration.
Walk amongst creatures who roamed the earth and the seas hundreds of millions of years ago. Pose with Happy the dinosaur, a 70-foot-long Haplocanthosaurus delfsi and the oldest sauropod (lizard-footed) on exhibit anywhere. Another marvel, recovered from the Rocky River Valley in Cleveland, is a 16-foot-long 360 million-year-old armored fish with impressive self-sharpening razor sharp teeth that would make sushi out of our modern day sharks.
The Cleveland Museum of Art - The University Circle
District is also home to this museum. While still open to the public,
it is currently undergoing a major renovation and expansion project
at a cost of $258 million and is scheduled for completion in 2010.
This will add to Cleveland’s growing list of attractions for visitors.
This coming July, catch the NEO (North East Ohio) exhibit, a juried
exhibition where new and upcoming artists will have the opportunity
to display various forms of creative expressions such as painting,
sculptures, drawings, print making, decorative arts and crafts, and
video and films. For more information about current and upcoming
exhibits, visit the museum’s
website.
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