Thursday, February 28, 2008

Leap Night - Celebrating one more extra cold day every four years.


LEAP NIGHT
February 29, 2008
East Bank of the Flats (where Dick's Last Resort was recently torn the heck down)
Old River Road

Cleveland, OH
6pm - 11pm
googlemap


A pop up experience with food, fun, and spectacle in the Flats East Bank.

FOOD
Food vendors Ideally, some of the restaurants that will be part of the Flats East Bank development will set up stands and sell food and drinks. Pig roast and/or oil drum barbecues Grilling meat will add warmth and protein to the evening.

FUN
Ice skating If the weather is cold enough in the days leading up to the event, we will flood part of the Flats East Bank site for skating. If the weather is too warm, the rink area will become a pond for toy boat races. Open snowboarding and competition on rails, boxes, and ramps set up for the night.

Video game competitions Large-scale video games (Rock Band, etc.) projected on a blank building wall at the southern end of the site. (Vertical Sound for audio/projection equipment) Snowsuit fashion show and the crowning of Miss Leap Night.

SPECTACLE
Snow installation The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative and local artists will create a temporary snow environment as a setting for the event, using ice blocks and snow that will be stockpiled on the site in January and February. The snow installation will be constructed during the last week of February, generating interest and publicity in the days leading up to the event.

Central bonfire and/or a series of trash can fires at the river’s edge to provide light and warmth. Dead Christmas tree forest Old Christmas trees will be stockpiled and used to landscape the site for the event; trees will be harvested throughout the night to fuel the bonfire(s). The Christmas tree forest will be populated by polar bears (actually people in polar bear costumes) who will hand out snacks and deliver trees to the bonfire(s).

SAFMOD
Cleveland’s multi-media performance ensemble will create a special fire performance for the event.

LOGISTICS
Safety Fire truck and ambulance on site; off-duty police officers will provide security.

ACCESS
Participants will be encouraged to ride the Waterfront Line to the event; snacks and mittens will be provided at the East Bank Station.

WEATHER
If the weather is unseasonably warm at the end of February, we will cancel the snow machine and have sand delivered to the site; the event becomes a beach barbecue.

It only seems fair when considering that one chooses to live in a region that for about half the year is relatively inhospitably cold hindering proper exploration and the relishing of natural splendor. At least it seems that way as most of the general population would rather stay inside where it is warm (or at least warmer), hence a severe lack out outdoor activities.

However, in a city that is struggling to reinvent itself as a home, full of opportunity and activity, what more perfect way to strike a chord of hope into the hearts of those of us locked in the gloomy and dark pattern that is our winter time routine than a celebration for having one more day of proper winter?

Thanks Pop-Up City folk! Thanks for giving us a spark of hope.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Cleveland Film Festival - Green Slant

March 6th - 16th
Tower City Theaters
32nd Cleveland International Film Festival

Ripped from the aiadocs (Cleveland) headlines:

The 32 Annual Cleveland International Film Festival has a "section committed to green awareness" entitled "It's Easy Being Green" and features five films -

The Green Chain
Mountain Top Removal
The Planet
The Return of the Cuyahoga
Flow, for the Love of Water

Resources:
Official festival trailer.