Cleveland's Ethnic Diversity Mapped

At ClevelandPeople.Com we have known for years what a diverse and vibrant city Cleveland is. After all, we have covered the events, people, music, food and other cultural traits of over 100 groups that have large communities in the area.

But we wanted a visual representation to demonstrate this to others. So at the 2014 Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) we set up a large map of Asia and asked people to place a dot where they or their ancestors came from. At first people were reluctant to do so and we had some language issues. But gradually people migrated to the map and discussed (in various languages) with us and their family and friends.

There were quite a few parents showing their adopted children "This is where you came from!"
By the end of the CAF portions of the map were saturated with dots - especially China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and the Philippines. We encouraged people to place their dot as close to the city/village as they knew. Many were excited to have their small town, far from a capital or well-known city, represented.

The interest generated from the map at CAF convinced us to continue the efforts. For the One World Festival in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, the ClevelandPeople.Com booth had our map of Asia but also a large map of Europe and a map of the world that clearly identified countries in Africa and the Americas.

Europe Map after first day

Over 80 countries were rrepresented and some great stories.  Check it out - Cleveland's Ethnic Diversity Mapped 

Jim Doney - Adventure Road

RIP Jim Doney. 

 Born near West 30^th and Denison in 1926, Jim was well-known for hosting Adventure Road from 1962-1975.  

He worked with with Ed Sullivan, Duke Ellington, Art Linkletter, Steve Allen, Dick Clark, David Hasselhoff, Jayne Kennedy and more. 

RIP Jim. 

JIm Doney's ClevelandSeniors profile - with photos

Grand Piano Concert in the Russian Cultural Garden

The Russian Cultural Garden hosted its first inaugural "Grand Piano in the Russian Garden" concert. The event took place on the site of a future Russian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Rockefeller Park.


The concert's theme was "Music of the Cultural Gardens of Cleveland" and featured works from composers in other Cultural Gardens such as Chopin (Polish Garden) and Liszt (Hungarian Garden). Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky represented the future Russian Garden.

Pics and videos of the Russian Garden event

Greek Festival at Sts Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral

The annual Greek Festival at Sts Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Cleveland Heights took place from August 21-24,2014. The festival featured live music, folk dancing, Greek food and beverages, Cathedral tours, homemade pastries and even a flea market.

Photos and videos from the Greek Festival

Classic Italian songs at the Feast

A highlight of the Feast of the Assumption celebration in Cleveland's Little Italy  is the nightly performance of the band Primavera on the streets of Little Italy. They play classic Italian songs and get the crowd dancing and singing along.

Here's a sample song that got a young couple dancing

More from the Feast

Feast of the Assumption 2014

The annual celebration of the Feast of the Assumption took place in Cleveland's Little Italy centered around Holy Rosary Church. It is primarily a religious holiday celebrating the Assumption of Jesus' mother Mary into Heaven and the Feast begins with Mass and a solemn procession. It is also 4 days of great Italian music, food, traditions and camaraderie.

More from the Feast

St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral

St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral is the oldest Romanian Orthodox parish in the U.S.A. founded in 1904.

Photos from the Church

St Mary Romanian Festival

The annual Romanian Festival included Church and Museum tours.

The food, music, shopping and hospitality demonstrate why Bucharest became known as the "little Paris."

Bine ati Venit! (Welcome) and Pofta Buna (Good Appetite)!

More from the Romanian Festival (including videos)

Syrian Cultural Garden VIrtual Tour

Dan Hanson of ClevelandPeople.Com walks through the Syrian Cultural Garden in Cleveland Ohio. The monuments describe why Syria is called the Cradle of Civilization. The Syria Garden is one of over 25 gardens in the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation.

More on Syrians in Cleveland