Cleveland: Recreation
Sightseeing
One of Cleveland's most popular attractions is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the world's only facility dedicated to the living heritage of rock and roll music. Situated on the shores of Lake Erie, the museum houses six floors of costumes, interactive exhibits, and original films, along with the most extensive collection of rock and roll artifacts and memorabilia in the world. Adjacent to the Rock and Roll Hall on North Coast Harbor is the Great Lakes Science Center. Visitors can explore the wonders of science, the environment, and technology via more than 400 interactive exhibits. Located inside the center is the six-story OMNIMAX theater, with supersized images and digital sound that allows viewers to feel as though they were actually in the film.
North America's largest collection of primate species is housed at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest, located five miles south of downtown. The zoo has more than 3,300 animals from around the world, including 84 endangered species, and occupies 168 rolling, wooded acres. The two-acre RainForest is home to more than 600 animals and 10,000 plants from the jungles of the world, and features a 25-foot waterfall and simulated tropical storm.
The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center is the only NASA facility north of the Mason-Dixon line. Named after the Ohio astronaut, it presents programs on space exploration, aircraft propulsion, satellites, and alternative energy sources. Two of Cleveland's best-known monuments are the Garfield Monument in Lakeview Cemetery and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, which resembles the original shrine in France and is located 10 miles east of the city.
Seasonal amusement parks located in Greater Cleveland Geauga Lake and Cedar Point, known for its world-record-breaking collection of roller coasters and rides, (located 63 miles from Cleveland, in Sandusky, Ohio). Sandusky is also home to Kalahari Resort, the largest indoor waterpark in Ohio.
Arts and Culture
University Circle, located four miles east of downtown, boasts the largest concentration of cultural institutions and museums in the country. Within one square mile, visitors will find more than 40 non-profit institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Children's Museum of Cleveland, HealthSpace Cleveland, Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), which, in honor of its 35th anniversary, changed its name from the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art in 2003.
Museums located outside of University Circle include the Hungarian Heritage Society, the Shaker Historical Society and Museum, the Steamship William G. Mather Museum, and the Dunham Tavern Museum, the oldest Cleveland museum building on its original site. The Milton & Tamar Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage is scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.
The Cleveland Orchestra, considered one of the nation's top orchestras, plays a season of concerts at Severance Hall from September to May; the summer season is scheduled at the open-air Blossom Music Center from June to August. Blossom also hosts opera, classical, pop, jazz, rock, and folk concerts during the summer months. The Cleveland Chamber Music Society and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony offer a schedule of chamber music each year. The Cleveland Institute of Music presents hundreds of concerts by faculty, students, and visiting artists, and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra performs music from motion pictures and Broadway shows. The internationally acclaimed Cleveland Quartet gives performances throughout the world. The nation added its eighth House of Blues with the 2004 opening of Cleveland's concert club.
Two dance companies perform in Cleveland: Dance Cleveland and North Coast Ballet Theatre. Cleveland's three opera companies, Opera Cleveland at the State Theater, Lyric Opera, and Cleveland Institute of Music's Opera Theater, stage operatic presentations.
Cleveland supports a number of theater companies. Cleveland Play House, the country's first professional resident company, presents a season of classical drama and new works. Playhouse Square Center, with its five beautifully restored circa 1920 theaters, is the nation's second largest performing arts center. The Ohio Theatre is home to the Great Lakes Theater Festival; the others host touring Broadway
Festivals and Holidays
Cleveland schedules a full calendar of annual events. Each January, Cleveland organizes a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, followed two months later by a festive St. Patrick's Day Parade through downtown. The Cleveland International Film Festival also takes place in March with nearly than 200 film screenings. The state's largest environmental event is EarthFest, held in April at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show, the largest outdoor flower show in North America, takes place in May at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.
June brings the Parade the Circle Celebration, featuring an art parade and free admission to University Circle facilities. Visitors can join in Cleveland's annual July birthday bash in the Flats with riverfront festivities and performances as well as an amazing fireworks and laser light show. Samples of savory ribs, live entertainment, and family fun are on the menu at the New Cleveland Rib Burnoff in July. Cleveland showcases its diversity at summer festivities such as the Irish Cultural Festival, Puerto Rican Friendly Days, the Annual Polish Heritage Festival, and the Cleveland Pride Parade & Festival, celebrating the lesbian-gay-bi-transsexual community.
The week-long Cuyoga County Fair in August features rides, exhibits, and shows. An unforgettable Labor Day weekend event is the Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport. Art meets technology at the Ingenuity Festival, taking place at various downtown locations in early September; running nearly simultaneously with this event is Taste of Cleveland, at which food from more than 30 local restaurants can be sampled. The Johnny Appleseed Festival at Mapleside Farms, and the Midwest Oktoberfest are among the area's many fall festivals. The Christmas season marks its start with the annual Holiday Lighting ceremony on downtown's Public Square the day after Thanksgiving.
Sports for the Spectator
Cleveland is a major-league sports city with major-league sports facilities. Gund Arena hosts NBA Cleveland Cavaliers basketball, the WNBA Cleveland Rockers basketball, and the American Hockey League's Cleveland Barons, as well as more than 200 family events and concerts each year. State-ofthe-art Jacobs Field is home to Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians. The Cleveland Browns professional football team, named for their first coach, the legendary Paul Brown, is part of the National Football League's American Conference and play home games at the lakefront Cleveland Browns Stadium. Indoor soccer action is brought to fans by the Cleveland Force at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center. The Cleveland Junior Lumberjacks play youth hockey at the Metroplex. The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland is held over three June days at the Burke Lakefront Airport. Thistledown Race Track offers thoroughbred racing and Northfield Park schedules harness races.
Sports for the Participant
Cleveland's Metroparks system, consisting of 20,000 acres in 15 parks that surround the city's core, represents one of the nation's largest concentrations of park land per capita. Facilities are available for hiking, cycling, tennis, swimming, golf, boating, and horseback riding. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, tobogganing, ice skating, and ice fishing. Downhill skiing is available at three nearby resorts. Greater Cleveland encompasses more than 70 public and private golf courses. One hundred miles of Lake Erie shoreline, as well as inland lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams, make fishing a favorite pastime; the annual catch in Lake Erie equals that of the other four Great Lakes combined. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland Lakefront State Park, Huntington Beach, and Mentor Headlands State Park are popular summer spots for water sports enthusiasts. The Cleveland Marathon and 10K is held downtown in May.
Shopping and Dining
More than 600 retail businesses are located in downtown Cleveland. The elegant Tower City Center offers shopping and dining at more than 100 establishments. ETON, situated on Chagrin Boulevard, houses retail and dining establishments amid fountains, gardens, and sculptures, and recently underwent a $50 million expansion and renovation. Just west of downtown Cleveland is the new Crocker Park, a $450 million shopping center that encompasses 12 city blocks in Westlake. Unique shopping opportunities can be found throughout the city, such as: Antique Row on Lorain Avenue which attracts antique buyers; the Arcade, a nineteenth-century marketplace containing more than 100 shops and restaurants; and West Side Market in nearby Ohio City which sells fresh fish and meats, vegetables and fruits, baked goods, cheeses, and ethnic foods.
Visitor Information: Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, 3100 Terminal Tower, 50 Public Sq., Cleveland, OH 44113; telephone (216)621-4110; toll-free 800-321-1001; fax (216)623-4499; email cvb@travelcleveland.com