Dancing to Harmonia at Ukraine Benefit in Cleveland Cultural Gardens

 The band Harmonia performed in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as a benefit for Ukraine sponsored by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Ohio Chapter. 

 Harmonia presents the traditional folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the Carpathians. Its repertoire reflects the cultures of this region: Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian and Gypsy. 

 The performers that evening were: Walt Mahovlich – accordion, Steven Greenman – violin, Alexander Fedoriouk – cimbalom, Branislav Brinarsky – bass and Beata Begeniova – vocals.  

In this finale number members of the audience came out and danced to a lively Ukrainian song.  

Feast of the Assumption Procession in Cleveland 2022

 While there are 4 days of music, food and partying each year the highlight of the annual Feast of the Assumption is the Mass on August 15th, the actual feast day, followed by a prayerful procession through the streets of Little Italy. 

 After the Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Cleveland’s Little Italy, parishioners and others march through the streets of the neighborhood saying the Rosary.  This year Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic marched with them. Here is some of the Feast of the Assumption parade in Cleveland, 2022.

Italians in Cleveland

Croatian Cultural Garden in Cleveland – Immigrant Mother Statue

 The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are a chain of over 35 gardens in Cleveland’s Rockefeller Park that focus on the heritage of the different groups. 

The Croatian Cultural Garden has an upper presence on East Blvd. and this lower level on MLK Blvd.  Dan Hanson walks through the lower level and talks about the inspiring statue of the Immigrant Mother created by Joseph Turkaly.  

The Immigrant Mother statue is dedicated to all those women, regardless of nationality, who came her, often with children in tow, to start a new life in America.  

He also shows the beautiful waterfall cascading from the upper level to the lower. 

Croatians in Cleveland

The World should have listened

 I was going through some old videos and found this from 2016.

During the Parade of Flags at the 71st annual One World Day in the Centennial Year of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens on MLK Blvd. members of the Ukrainian Cultural Garden chanted “Putin, get out of Ukraine” as they marched.

Mead – the oldest alcohol known to man

 We stopped at the Feisty Mead booth at the 2022 Ohio Celtic Festival in Painesville just east of Cleveland. Mead is a drink more similar to beer and wine than hard liquors.  Variations can resemble cider or beer or, as in the case of Feisty Mead, more like wine.  

The alcohol content is a little over 13% and they have a variety of flavorings and spices.  Brian from Feisty Mead told us that mead is the oldest alcohol known to man primarily because it’s so easy to make. 

Mossy Moran plays Jake the Peg

Mossy Moran performed at the 2022 Ohio Celtic Festival in Painesville just east of Cleveland. 

He played this song about a man named Jake who had an extra leg.  Jake the Peg was written by Rolf Harris who also wrote the classic Australian song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport". 

Puerto Rican Parade and Festival

 The annual Cleveland Puerto Rican Parade was held Sunday August 7th. The Parade was put on by the Hispanic Police Officers' Association (HPOA) which has been proudly serving it's members and the greater Cleveland community since it was founded in 1986.

The 2022 Parade Honorees were:

• Ramonita Vargas, Grand Marshal
• Victor Ruiz, Padrino
• Keisha González, Madrina
• Zaria Ivelisse Ortiz, Miss Teen Puerto Rico 2022

Click on the white arrow below to watch a video of some highlights of the Parade including former Cleveland Indians Carlos Baerga and Candy Maldonado. I did not include the cars and other vehicles in the parade - they will be in a separate video. I also did not include the many politicians in the parade.

See lots of pictures and video of the Puerto Rican Parade and Festival

Jain community packs 10,000 meals for Refugees

 I admit that I didn't know much about Jains and Jainism before this event.

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live lives of harmlessness and renunciation. The essence of Jainism is concern for the welfare of every being in the universe and for the health of the universe itself.

In this video, Atul Shah from the Jain Society of Greater Cleveland told of the 3 main principles of Jainism: Strict non-violence, Many-sided Reality and Non-attachment to possessions. Jains go beyond being vegans - what he called Jain Vegan where even root vegetables are not eaten. He estimates there are 350 or so Jains in the Cleveland area.

On Saturday August 6 the Jain Society of Greater Cleveland held a working event at the Jain Temple in Richfield Ohio called Compassion in Action where the group packed 10,000 Meals for Refugees around the World. Joining them was Richfield Mayor Michael Wheeler and his wife.

Watch a video of the workers packing meals.

See more about Jains and the Meals for Refugees

Dunham Tavern Museum

 The Rotary Club of Cleveland had a special meeting at the Dunham Tavern Museum on Thursday July 28, 2022.

Once a stagecoach stop on Buffalo-Cleveland-Detroit post road, today Dunham Tavern Museum is the oldest building still standing on its original site in the city of Cleveland.

Rufus and Jane Pratt Dunham came to the Western Reserve in 1819 from Massachusetts and built their first home on the site in 1824, and the existing taproom was built in 1842. It is believed to be the first building constructed on Euclid Avenue east of East 55th Street. It later became a stagecoach stop and tavern.

Cleveland activist and landscape architect, A. Donald Gray purchased the home in 1932, restoring the 19th century architecture and replanting the orchard.

They have a new Executive Director, a new neighbor (the Cleveland Foundation) and a new plan.

See photos and videos of the Dunham Tavern Museum

Opera in the Italian Cultural Garden with The Cleveland Opera & Cleveland Ballet

 Dedicated in 1930 as "a symbol of the contribution of Italian culture," the Italian Cultural Garden hosted opera concerts in the 1930's and 1940's.

In 2008, Joyce Mariani led the effort to revive the concerts for the public and to showcase two of Italy's highest at forms: opera and ballet.

The annual Opera in the Italian Cultural Garden was held on Sunday July 24, 2022 and featured The Cleveland Opera and the Cleveland Ballet. The volunteer crew at the Garden included Matt Silvaggio, Robert Lippucci, Chuck Giomuso, Mike Spena, Tom Antonello, Tom Berardinelli, Brittany Giomuso Kroboth, Susan Varga, Laura DeCesare, Cori Lupton, Mary Anne Baucco, Connie Adams, Barbara Walker.

See photos and videos from the Opera/Ballet

One of the fun parts of the Opera is the people watching. See a full page of people at the opera. Who do you recognize?

Japanese Obon Festival

Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives. It is a major holiday in Japan.

The annual Obon Festival was held on Sunday July 17, 2022 at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple.

The Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese dancers showed the audience how to perform many different traditional Japanese dances and the audience danced along with them.

The Yume Daiko taiko drummers also performed. 

See photos and videos of the Obon Festival

Cleveland Tall Ships Festival

 Cleveland Tall Ships Festival returned to Lake Erie for a 4-day maritime celebration.

Serving as the second host port of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Great Lakes 2022 race series, Cleveland was honored to welcome a fleet of historic tall ships from harbors through the United States, Canada and Spain.

Nao Trinidad Tall Ship from Huelva Spain

Sparred Length: 93', Rig Height: 80'

Watch this short video of a few characters from the Tall Ships grounds including Ginger Whimsy, Buccaneer Bob from Put in Bay and others. We also take a quick look at a ship from Seville Spain and the Pride of Baltimore II Clipper Ship.

     

In addition, Cleveland maritime attractions were a part of the 2022 festival.

Photos and videos from the Tall Ships Festival

Jovan Ducic Bust Dedication in the Serbian Cultural Garden

The Serbian Cultural Garden in Cleveland continues to grow. A new bust of Jovan Ducic was dedicated on Sunday July 10th in the Serbian Cultural Garden.

Jovan Ducic (1871 - 1943) was a renowned Serbian poet, academic, diplomat and patriot. He served as Yugoslavia's Ambassador to multiple countries about which he wrote in his poems and travelogues. Following the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 Ducic went into exile in the US where he led the Serbian National Defense Council fighting for the interests of the Serbian diaspora.

A blessing and dedication was held Sunday July 10, 2022.

See photos and videos of the Jovan Ducic Bust Dedication

Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization Picnic

 The Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization (CAMEO) has been in existence for 52 years. C.A.M.E.O. is designed to articulate the political interest of more than 275,000 Northeastern Ohio residents of Middle Eastern Heritage, Arab Americans.

Photos and video from the CAMEO picnic

Bastille Day Celebration at the Tall Ships Festival

 As Larry Miller, President, French-American Chamber Commerce (Ohio) said, it was fortunate that the Tall Ships Festival took place in between the 4th of July and Bastille Day celebrations. Not to mention during early stages of the Tour de France.

Yannick Tagand, who was appointed Consul General of France in Chicago in September 2021 with jurisdiction for thirteen States, visited Cleveland for the celebration and to honor Cédric Le Rouge as the new Honorary Consul.

Cédric Le Rouge, Yannick Tagand and Larry Miller

See photos and videos of the French celebration

Tour de France

 I admit that I knew very little about the Tour de France outside of hearing names like Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong and about the yellow jersey.

But while flipping through TV channels my sister and I saw some of the race and became hooked. 

The peloton is particularly intriguing with the large group of riders mere inches from each other and the strategies for drafting and more.  There are also meaningful green, white and polka dot jerseys.

The 2022 Tour de France began on July 1 with the Grand Départ in Denmark and ends July 24 in Paris. 

Watch the special episode of Fun with Maps about the Tour de France.

See more Fun with Maps episodes

Fun with Maps - Macau

 In this episode of Fun with Maps, host Dan Hanson discusses a Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.) of the People's Republic of China called Macau.

 Macau is known as the "Las Vegas of the East", and some call it the gaming capital of the world.  It has a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.  

The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and with a population of about 680,000 and an area of just 12.7 sq. miles, it is also the most densely populated region in the world. 

This episode covers the history of the Portuguese settlement of Macau by Jorge Álvares to the transfer to China on December 20, 1999 after 442 years of Portuguese rule.  

This episode looks at maps of the region around Macau including Hong Kong, the Pearl River Estuary and Delta and Guangdong Province and Guangzhou which you may know as Canton. 

If you like learning about the world and its people by studying maps, consider subscribing to this series.  See more Fun with Maps episodes 

Albanian Ambassador Floreta Faber in the Albanian Cultural Garden

Albanian Ambassador to the United States Floreta Faber met with former Cleveland City Councilwoman Dona Brady and a group of Albanian community leaders for a tour of the Albanian Cultural Garden in Cleveland,Ohio USA.

Juxhin Sazavari, Ajaz Emini, Ambassador Floreta Faber,
Dona Brady and Soni Mihij

Dona Brady has been a delegate representing the Albanian Garden and was involved in its dedication, the Mother Teresa statue and hosting the president of Albania, Mayor of Fier and other dignitaries. In their walk through the Garden, Ambassador Faber told how Albania had been closed off for many years till 1990 and the communists tried to convince the people that the United States was their biggest enemy. But once it opened up they are great friends of the US and joined NATO in 2009. As they continued their walk toward the Mother Teresa statue, Dona Brady told how the Garden came about and some of the events that have taken place there.

Watch the video of the Ambassador and Dona in the Albanian Garden.

More pictures and video from the Albanian Cultural Garden

Here is a quick video tour of the Albanian Cultural Garden.

Grand opening of HOLA Hispanic community center in Painesville

HOLA Ohio is a 501c3 Latino organization based in Painesville with a mission to empower the Latino community by creating opportunities through education, outreach, leadership development and economic advancement. 

In 2016 HOLA embarked on a project to develop a Hispanic community center to meet the demands of the growing Latino community and demand for its services.

On May 5, 2022 the HOLA Hispanic Community Center had its grand opening.

Leading the national anthem

Ribbon Cutting

Photos and videos of the HOLA Hispanic Community Center grand opening

Los Jilgueros de Altamira and HOLA Folkloric Dancers at grand opening of Hispanic community center

Great traditional performances at the grand opening of the new HOLA Hispanic Community Center including Los Jilgueros de Altamira from Mexico and the HOLA Folkloric Dancers. 

Los Jilgueros de Altamira

HOLA Folkloric Dancers

Pics and videos of the Mexican performances