LaSalle Theater Open House this January!

Please join Northeast Shores at the LaSalle Theater on Monday, January 11th at 6:30 for a community open house. The theater will be open for the neighborhood and interested stakeholders to view the current conditions of the building. We look forward to showing off the building and letting the community see what a tremendous asset the theater can be again for East 185th Street. Please dress warmly and wear sensible shoes as the theater has no heat and is in poor condition. Also, it couldn't hurt to bring your own flashlight to see small portions of the theater that do not have working lights.

Immediately following the open house, there will be a brainstorming and visioning session of what potential reuse the community would like to see for the LaSalle Theater. The visioning session will occur at 7:00 on January 11th in the Federated Auto Parts training room (just next door to the theater). There will be warm beverages and refreshments to help defrost after walking through the LaSalle Theater. Please come with your best ideas for what could be done with the theater and hear other people's dreams for what the theater could be used for. (Thanks to Wendy Sattin and CNDC for moderating this session.)

Interested attendees can join us for both sessions or either one. In other words, if you just want to see the theater out of curiosity, come to the open house, take a look, and go on with your evening (if you aren't interested in potential plans for the theater that may be presented at the visioning session).

RSVPs are not mandatory or required, but they sure would be appreciated. Please e-mail your attendance plans to jboksansky@northeastshores.org or call (216) 481-7660.

This event is open to anyone and everybody so please help spread the word!

All Cindy Wants for Christmas

In the most recent Scene Magazine (free and available everywhere), Northeast Shores Board President and Beachland Ballroom Co-owner Cindy Barber shared what she most wants for Christmas. What does she most want? Artist immigrants for our Waterloo Village initiative.

What Cindy wrote:

All I want for Cleveland is homesteading legislation like in Paducah, Kentucky, where they created a live-work artist community by giving away houses.

Here in Cleveland, instead of letting out-of-town investors and shady developers land-grab our savable foreclosed properties, let's create a national call, and invite artists and immigrants with entrepreneurial spirit to repopulate our city by giving them $1 homes if they have the will and means to rehab the property, a plan to be self-sustaining to keep the property out of future foreclosure and a willingness to invest emotional capital into Cleveland. It means getting creative with the building and housing code, and finding a way to funnel some of the "stimulus" funds we are getting into a revolving loan program perhaps, but we need population and we need small neighborhood jobs more than anything.

Forget the medical mart or condoing the lakefront — if we don't focus on repopulating the abandoned properties in our neighborhoods in a faster, more inventive way, we might as well hire Blackwater to usher visitors in and out of the central city in a couple years.

As board president of Northeast Shores Development Corporation in North Collinwood, I am seeing firsthand how slow it's going to get abandoned HUD properties turned around. I'd love to see council and city leaders get back to our progressive roots and ask themselves, "What would Tom Johnson do?" (Maybe take over RTA!) Just let me help write the press release for the Great Cleveland Housing Rush of 2010. — Cindy Barber, owner of the Beachland Ballroom and former editor of Cleveland Free Times

Support our merchants and Shop 185

Shop at participating E.185th businesses and collect stickers to fill the spaces on the “I SHOP 185″ postcard available throughout the district.

After your card is filled, return it to a participating business (see list below). You will be entered into a drawing to win one of several awesome prizes. The more cards you complete, the better your chances of winning! And really, when you shop in your community and support local merchants, EVERYONE WINS!

Here is a complete list of participating businesses: Beachland Hair Design, Chili Pepper’s, Federated Auto Parts, LakeShore Automotive, Northeast Shores Development Corp, Patria Imports, Tuthill’s Florist, Adriatic Pets, Arabica, Fresh Catch, Helping Hands Day Care, Joe Compoli, Attorney, National City Bank, Shore Carpet, Azman Meats, Best Friend Self Serve Dog Wash, Blue Sky Bike, Cebar’s, Groom Room, Gus’ Diner, Lakeshore Florist, Martin’s Men’s Wear, Music Emporium, Old World Plaza Barber Shop, Oz Collectibles, Scotti’s Italian Eatery, Seven Star Muffler, Used Cars Inc, Video Game and Record Exchange, Villa Rosa Pizzeria, and Vince’s Barber Shop

Holiday Decorating Contest

From Collinwood Observer:

It is time to reward the folks who spend so much time, effort, and money to decorate their homes for the holidays. The Observer's First Annual Holiday Decorating contest is eligible to all residents of Collinwood. You can enter the contest by:
1) Email a photo of your home to christmasincollinwood@gmail.com
2) Mail a photo of your home to: Christmas in Collinwood c/o Collinwood Observer, 650A East 185th Street, Cleveland Ohio 44119
3) Don't have a computer? Don't have a camera? You can still enter! Call the Collinwood Observer at (216) 531-6790. Say, "I have the most beautiful house!" or "I have seen the most beautiful house!" Then tell us the address.

We will take the picture and make sure you are in the contest.

Awards will be given to the following categories! Most Artistic, Best use of Color, The "Griswold" Award (most possible lights per square foot), "A" for Effort, Best Decorated Street, and Best Decorated Business. Plus a fabulous prize will be awarded for "Best in Show".

Judging will be done by a self-proclaimed panel of experts, made up of business owners, residents and actual artists. Contest ends on Christmas Eve. Winners will be announced in our January 7, 2010 issue.

Be sure to log on line at www.collinwood-observer.com to see all the entrants.

Get your Lightpost NOW

The East 185th St. Block Watch has been awarded a CityWorks grant to help pay for the cost of Decorative Post Lights for our front yards. These post lights are offered by Cleveland Public Power. The CityWorks grant pays up to $149.00 towards the cost of the light post. If you want any of the additional items, you have to pay for that item. Additional items are not part of the grant allocation money.

Please contact us for a flyer showing the styles and the cost as well as the add-ons that are available. There is also an application for the lights. You can pay the price in full or you can have it added to your CPP bill.

If you would like to participate in the program, please contact Denise Lorek at dlorek@northeastshores.org or (216) 481-7660.

Weekends on Waterloo Part Three

The big art sale at Arts Collinwood starts in mere hours. I want to go to there!

THE CITY’S KID-FRIENDLIEST ART SALE December 11,12,13

The Arts Collinwood Holiday Art Sale is the kid-friendliest anywhere. Not only does it have a supervised craft corner in the Art Center, where the kids can make art while you shop; not only does the Café understand the importance of cookies and cocoa (with cocoa, it’s the whipped cream); but on Sunday December 13, the last day of the sale, you can take the family to the Beachland for brunch and a puppet show, and shop afterwards. Food, entertainment, art – Waterloo Road has it all.

For shoppers, so does Arts Collinwood. From vintage clutches to museum-quality glass to wearables, paintings, photography and scented soaps, your main problem will be choosing. (And the jewelry!) More than 30 of the area’s top artists will show their wares on December 11 (5-11 pm), 12 (11 am – 11 pm) and 13 (11 am – 5 pm). New talents have joined with some Arts Collinwood favorites to create what I’d have to call a fabulous shopping experience if I were given to advert-ese: Michelle Biondo, Sunia Boneham, Amy Casey, Jon Cotterman, Designs by Arielle and Pamela, Joan of Art (Deveney), Chris Dixon, Gretchen Goss, Scott Goss, Ann Grecar, John Gulyas and Maryann Posch, Mark Hartung. Jon Hicks, Jeanetta Ho, Mariamne Ingalls, Megan Kelly, Chris Kolcsar, Chadd Lacy, Nathan Longnecker, Michael Mikula, Michael Romanik, Steve and Michelle Romanik, Susan Skoczen, Mark Sudduth, Randall Tiedman, Tutu's Designs, Beth Whalley, Karin Wishner, Brent Kee Young, Sandra Zodnik, Linda Zolten Wood.

HOLIDAY SAVINGS AT THE CAFE

And on any weekend during the holidays, save $1 off your purchase at the Arts Collinwood Café with a receipt from any of these merchants: Arts Collinwood Gallery & Café, Azure Stained Glass, Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Blue Arrow Records, The Boardwalk, Cakes By Sweetwater, Fotina’s, Low Life, Mac’s Lock Shop, Music Saves, Neighbor’s Choice, R&D Sausage, Raddell’s Sausage, Star Pop, Shoparooni & The Annex, Slovenian Workman’s Home, This Way Out, Waterloo 7 Gallery and Wunderkind Gallery.

The café, BTW, is introducing some seriously delicious food; on Friday I had gingered tomato soup and a most elegant plate of crostini with olive and white bean tapenades.

And every penny you spend in either the café or gallery will not only purchase pleasure, repleteness and the gratitude and admiration of your friends – it will also help pay for art lessons for kids who are bursting with creative energy; or for paints and canvas that a starving artist will turn into another masterpiece. How can you resist?

Weekends on Waterloo Part Two

Official Grand Opening of StarPop tomorrow.

Check out StarPop as one of the fun parts of Weekends on Waterloo.

Here is the StarPop info:

Star Pop (starpopcleveland.com) is a unique place to grab some of your last minute holiday gifts, including vintage and modern toys, t-shirts, clothing and accessories, children’s books, video games, movies, music, art, and more. Star Pop is celebrating its official grand opening on the night of December 12, 2009 and invites you to come enjoy some holiday treats while you explore all that the store has to offer. Star Pop is conveniently located immediately off of I-90 in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland’s Eastside at 15813 Waterloo Rd (at the corner of Waterloo & E. 160).

Star Pop’s customers are quickly adapting to the store’s eclectic mixture of “all things cool.” Moms and dads will find toys and fashions from their youth at prices that they can afford, alongside new and used toys, books, and movies their kids will love. Star Pop’s approach isn’t just fun, it’s sustainable. Although many of the items in the store are brand new, none are ordered from catalogs; they have all been salvaged from local families and estates in an effort to cut down on waste and to keep collectible and practical goods out of landfills and forgotten attics alike.

Come check out Star Pop for some of those hard to shop for friends and family members. Plus, don’t forget to leave time to check out Star Pop’s neighbors including the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Arts Collinwood, Music Saves, Shoparooni, Low Life Gallery, Blue Arrow Records, Waterloo 7 Gallery, and This Way Out Vintage.

Star Pop is the newest addition to this vibrant, growing community of locally owned businesses. Owner Troy Schwartz, a Cleveland native, has been collecting toys and other pop culture collectibles since he was 9 years old. He is the fourth generation in his family to work in the toy business and both his great-grandparents and grandparents owned toy stores up until the 1960’s.

Star Pop
15813 Waterloo Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44110
216-965-2368

Tuesday-Thursday 3-9, Friday 3-10, Saturday 2-10, Sunday 12:30-6

Extended holiday hours will be posted at www.starpopcleveland.com or call to inquire.

Weekends on Waterloo Part One

It is that time of the year again when we all get our fair share of holiday shopping on Waterloo Road. This year's Weekends on Waterloo is going to be huge! For the next several days, we will be posting the details of special events and holiday happenings on Waterloo this year.

Here is the first of many blog postings for Weekends on Waterloo. This one is from the wonderful Waterloo 7 Gallery located at 16006 Waterloo Road.

The Waterloo 7 Gallery Christmas Art Show, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Wrap up your holiday shopping at Waterloo 7 Gallery, 16006 Waterloo Road, Cleveland.

Join us December 12 for a night of live music and unique gift shopping. We've loaded the Gallery with one-of-a-kind jewelry, sculpture ranging from stocking-sized to garden-sized, hand-painted treasure boxes, blown glass, wood art, pottery, purses, dolls, and new fine-art prints for everyone's individual taste! Enjoy a PBR beer or glass of wine with the artists and find the perfect gift for that special someone (or a treat for yourself!) Visit the Wunderkind Gallery within Waterloo 7 for a great selection of Kids' Art. Bands playing from 7PM - 11PM include Oldboy, Ben Barr, and Jenna Fournier.

The show runs from December 12 through January 1. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 2 - 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 2 - 10 p.m.; Sunday 1 - 6 p.m. Phone: (239) 293-9548.

Breakfast with Santa a Huge Success!

Santa Claus ate breakfast with the children of North Collinwood last Saturday, December 5th at the Lithuanian Hall, which was decorated in its Christmas finest, thanks to Ruta Degutis.

The East 185th St. Merchants Association, Arts Collinwood and Northeast Shores Development Corporation joined together and invited Santa to breakfast with the children of North Collinwood. Santa and his elves flew in from the North Pole to hear the Christmas wishes from the children of North Collinwood.

French toast and sausage was provided by Gus’s Diner. Milk and juice was provided by Lucky’s Diner and coffee for the parents was provided by Arabica. O.H. Perry Elementary School provided carolers to entertain the families with holiday songs. After the children visited Santa and ate their breakfast, they visited the Arts Collinwood craft table where they made Christmas decorations to take home.

Bob Diliberto, a North Collinwood resident, commented “this breakfast is better than going to the mall and paying $35.00 for a picture with Santa. For $5.00 we got breakfast, a picture with Santa and I didn’t have to leave the neighborhood.”

Many thanks to Santa, his elves, the student volunteers from VASJ, carollers from OH Perry, Gus’s Diner, Lucky’s Diner, Arabica, E.185th St. Merchants Association, Arts Collinwood, the Lithuanian Hall and Northeast Shores for making Breakfast with Santa Claus possible. As you can see from the photos, a good time was had by all.

Great Announcement from Blue Arrow Records

Blue Arrow Records is proud to announce that this Friday, December 4th a book release party for "Mick Ronson, The Spider With The Platinum Hair." (Ronson was the talented guitarist with David Bowie's band in the early 70s.) The book, written by local authors, Weird and Gilly, features interviews with Ronson's family, friend and colleagues including "... Steve Popovich (manager). Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Ian Hunter, Chrissie Hynde, Glen Matlock, ... and a host of others."

The authors will be at 16001 Waterloo Road to do readings and book signings. Also on hand will be DJ Slider (AKA, Mr. Dave Swanson) who will be spinning treasures from his vast archives to help celebrate the talents of Mick Ronson. In addition, we are also honored to feature numerous local musicians playing homage to Mr. Ronson.

This book will make for a wonderful and unique holiday gift for any music fan! There will be a raffle held at the end of the night. First prize being a signed copy of the book, second prize being a vinyl copy of Mick Ronson's solo albums.

The festivities will be from 6-9, snacks and beverages will be available. Please plan to join us.

Santa is confirmed!

Santa has just sent a message to us confirming his Breakfast date this Saturday, December 5th at 10:00 until noon at the Lithuanian Hall, 877 East 185th St.

He told us he can't wait to have breakfast with the children of North Collinwood. So all of you children in North Collinwood get your list together, you don't want to forget to ask Santa for that special gift you want for Christmas. And remember he knows if you've been naughty or nice so be good for goodness sake!

If you have not gotten your ticket yet, please call Laura Robinson at 383-9671 or Denise Lorek at 481-7660 to make sure your spot is reserved and we have enough breakfast for everyone.