A night of new klezmer arrives in Cleveland as the Case Western Reserve University Klezmer Music Ensemble performs original instrumental and vocal works by director Steven Greenman. The program spans compositions from 1997 to 2025, drawing on Eastern European Jewish cultural traditions and the evolving sounds of klezmer and Yiddish music.

A free presentation in Mentor will offer a rare, up-close look at life during the American Revolution. Historian and collector Todd Brighton will showcase original artifacts from his private collection, sharing the personal stories of seven Patriot soldiers. The event is May 20, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Springbrook Gardenhouse.

Demolition crews have moved in at Cedar and Miramar in University Heights, clearing a 2.1-acre site for a new Aldi. The project will raze the Waterstone Medical Center and a former Huntington Bank branch, with site work expected to take six to eight weeks. City leaders say the store will anchor broader Bell Tower Center redevelopment and traffic signal upgrades now underway.

Cleveland’s child poverty crisis is fueling an urgent demand for family shelter, with The City Mission reporting a wait list of more than 200 women and children. A new partnership with West Park Barber School is offering free haircuts to teen boys at Laura’s Home, adding a sense of normalcy and mentorship as families work to rebuild.

Cleveland’s future WNBA franchise says it completed a major community pledge three months ahead of schedule, hosting 28 events for more than 2,600 girls and young women across Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York. The final event was an all-girls youth clinic at Rocket Arena as the team prepares to begin play in 2028.

Sandusky’s Ghostly Manor Thrill Center offers nearly a dozen indoor attractions year-round, from its nationally recognized haunted house to 3D blacklight mini golf, laser tag, a 4D dark ride, a roller rink, an arcade and more. The Epic Pass bundles multiple activities with a meal and an arcade card, giving families an all-in-one option just off Route 250 on Milan Road.

Rosinski, an award-winning choreographer who teaches dance throughout the region, designed both programs to be inclusive regardless of a persons previous experience. The Adult Hip Hop Dance Team includes a mix of professional dancers and people who have never set foot on a stage before joining. They have appeared on "New Day Cleveland" and performed at major local venues such as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Public Hall and the Wolstein Center. According to Rosinski, the group

A touring flock of 12-foot-tall “Giant Quackers” rubber ducks begins rolling through Northeast Ohio on March 19, building buzz for the Ohio Rubber Duck Dash Festival in downtown Cuyahoga Falls, April 23-25. The multiday event features a six-story “World’s Largest Rubber Duck,” an All-City Art Walk, food vendors, and a Saturday dash with prizes.

For SJ Santiago, the transition from the high-stakes environment of a hospital ward to the mystical landscapes of her debut novel was a process years in the making. Santiago, a registered nurse currently pursuing her master's degree, recently released her first fantasy book, "Blood Spells: The Awakening." The story follows a young woman named Aradia who, upon her 18th birthday, discovers magic is a tangible part of her biological heritage. According to Santiago, the narrative

A Cleveland garden expert says Memorial Day may be too late for some crops. Kelly Crotty of Kelly's Creations in the CLE has opened her Spring Cool Season Plant Reserve, offering starts timed for the region’s unpredictable spring. The reserve includes cool-weather favorites like lettuce, bok choy and herbs, grown locally and ready for outdoor beds or containers.

Two huge fireballs lit up U.S. skies in a single week, including the “Ohio Giant,” a 7-ton meteor that ended its 4.5 billion-year journey in Medina County. Researchers and collectors are now searching the strewn field for rare fragments that could offer a pristine look at the early solar system.

The Northern Ohio Mountain Bike Series has released its eight-race 2026 schedule, opening April 26 at Camp Tuscazoar in Dover and building toward the Ohio Mountain Bike State Championship on Aug. 2 in Ravenna. The lineup includes technical stops, a women-focused weekend at Mohican State Park, and a season finale with double points at Vultures Knob.

Firefighters from Parma Heights and neighboring departments responded to a house fire on Parkhill Drive, working quickly to keep flames from spreading to nearby homes. Officials said the fire was brought under control rapidly, with no injuries reported. The cause has not been released as investigators work to determine the origin.

Sandusky Bay Pancake House is becoming a go-to stop for locals and tourists along Milan Road, serving scratch-made classics alongside vegan and gluten-free options. With a family-friendly dining room, patio seating and steady daily hours, the restaurant is carving out a bigger role in Erie County’s fast-growing breakfast scene.

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra continues its 16th season with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a Prague-themed program at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle. World-renowned pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi will perform Kabalevsky’s “Prague Concerto,” alongside works by Janacek and Mozart. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish, with multiple parking options nearby.

Cleveland physician and educator Dr. Kwaku L. Carlisle Woods has been inducted into the Marquis Who’s Who biographical registry. The honor highlights a five-decade career spanning medicine, entrepreneurship and community mentorship, including work with youth football programs and Coach Sam Rutigliano’s Aiming Higher initiative. Woods also leads the Prometheus Reborn Universal Foundation.

Ohio lawmakers advanced House Bill 84, the “Innocence Act,” requiring websites that distribute obscene material to geolocate users and verify ages for Ohio access. The bill also creates criminal penalties for using someone’s likeness in sexual imagery without consent and empowers the Ohio attorney general to enforce compliance with steep civil penalties. It now moves to the Senate.

Castaway Bay is doubling down on year-round family fun in Sandusky, with an indoor water park built to beat unpredictable Ohio weather. Its Rocket’s Canopy Coaster is billed as northern Ohio’s only water coaster, launching two-person rafts through hills and tunnels before a splashdown. The resort also offers an arcade, craft room and escape room to keep families on-site longer.

Many Clevelanders think they speak without an accent, but linguists say the city sits at the center of the Inland North dialect and the Northern Cities Vowel Shift — a sweeping change in vowels that reaches across the Great Lakes. From “cat” sounding like “kee-yat” to a sharp “cot-caught” split, researchers trace how history, class and generation shape the region’s speech.

Emergency sirens will sound across Northeast Ohio at 9:50 a.m. March 18 as the state conducts its annual Statewide Tornado Drill. Officials urge residents to treat it like the real thing, review tornado watch vs. warning guidance, and identify safe shelter options at home, work and school before severe weather strikes.