New York to Cleveland!

Check out this fantastic article from today's New York Times' travel section on a fun getaway weekend to Cleveland!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/travel/20hours.html?hp

(Contrary to what the article says, I frequently fly from New York's LaGuardia airport to Cleveland Hopkins for $180.00 or less. I recommend Continental Airlines!)

(Pictured above, Cleveland's "Tremont" neighborhood. Photo by Sarah Sloboda.)

Portrait Mini-Sessions with Sarah Sloboda

On Saturday, July 11th, 2009, Cleveland native Sarah Sloboda returns home for a special one-day only children’s portrait event. Mini portrait sessions will take place at a beautiful location in Columbia Station, and include an online proofing gallery, and three 5x7 prints, for $125.00 per child. This is an inclusive package, in that the online photo gallery, and several prints, come with the package price of the sitting fee.
The event is sponsored in part by Honey Hut ice cream, and participants will receive a special frozen treat, courtesy of the Honey Hut team.
Sloboda photographs children with an artistic approach to capture their natural spirit – carefree, fun, and spontaneous. Her main goal is to allow children to be themselves, and to have the portraits reflect the child’s individuality. A sample online proofing gallery is available at http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/sloboda.

Rain date is scheduled for Sunday, July 12th, 2009.

RSVP required – please email sarah[at]sarahsloboda.com to request a timeslot and driving directions.

Sarah Sloboda is a premier children’s photographer, based in New York City, and is famous for her work in Wondertime magazine. She was awarded second place by the Prix de la Photographie, Paris, for her series, “Happiest Day in a Girl’s Life.” Her commercial portfolio may be viewed online at http://www.sarahsloboda.com. Sloboda was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.













Photos copyright: Sarah Sloboda
(Click on the photos for a larger view.)

Still got an Appetite?

In our last post about Appetite, we mentioned the special Sunday brunch. Well, it calls for another mention. Check the website or give ‘em a call to check that it’s on -- and when it is, it’s really on. Start with a made-to-order omelet -- veggies, meats, cheeses...add everything you want. While it’s cooking, move down the counter and pick up some French toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit...and the bakery. They’re kind enough to set out small slices of various quiche, bagels and pastries, so you can sample a bunch, but many of the whole pastries in the display are up for grabs with the brunch special as well. I’d recommend the chocolate croissant, but every single one of them is delicious (and believe me, I’ve tried them all.) Seriously, bring your Appetite.

Appetite
5143 Mayfield Road
Lyndhurst, OH 44124

phone: 440.461.8000
www.appetitedeliandbakery.com

by: Cathleen Dalton

Edgewater Park

Just west of downtown, Edgewater Park has it’s own exit off the Shoreway. With good reason: there’s walking paths, a beach, a pier, a concession stand, and a stone wall to walk along the water. For the adventurous, there’s even a “path” of boulders along the stone wall that offers a more challenging route. (Careful, just because one of your dogs acts like a billy goat, that doesn’t mean your puppy won’t stumble and fall into a crevice between rocks -- you don’t want to find out how hard it is to get him out, especially when you’re laughing about how silly he looks trying to claw his way up. Believe me.) One of the defining characteristics of Edgewater Park is the fishermen...they’re always there, waiting to see what Lake Erie’s willing to give up, along the stone wall or on the pier. The pier also has benches that offer a place to relax and look at Edgewater Park’s other defining characteristic: the Cleveland skyline.

by: Cathleen Dalton

Steel Plant

Here is a view of one of the steel plants near downtown Cleveland:


You can see the plant from the nearby shopping center, and up the hill on your way to Tremont. There are several steel plants close together in this area, and most of them are no longer major steel manufacturers, but I believe at least one of them still operates on some level.

This is a symbol of one of the things that brought our ancestors to this country at the turn of the 20th century - a relic of the industrialization of the United States.

by: Sarah Sloboda
photo: Sarah Sloboda

Lilly Chocolates

For a delicious treat, try Lilly Chocolates! The truffles are hand-crafted, and soon they'll offer shipping anywhere in the country, but for now you can visit Lilly on Starkweather Ave., in Tremont.

I was thrilled to walk into the large, minimalist store to find a display of chocolate treats, a gift / merchandise table, and a wall of beer! The wall had several huge shelves, all stocked with beer selected to compliment chocolate. You may mix and match your own four or six-pack to sample a certain variety, you could buy higher end larger bottles individually. The selection includes an array of stouts and porters, and even one called, "Juju Ginger."

My brother and I selected several beers and chocolates, and went home and sampled all of them after dinner with our family. It was so much fun! The chocolates were unbelievably flavorful, and very fine quality. My personal favorite was milk chocolate with a real dried fig inside. Amazing. And we loved the beer as well! Our favorite was the Vanilla Porter, which is a stout that tastes remarkably like root beer.

The owner was charming and wonderful, and let us sample a chocolate while we were deciding on our purchase. We loved her! And we felt so much appreciation leaving her store. It was truly an awesome indulgence!

Website: http://www.lillytremont.com/

761 Starkweather Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
216.771.3333
Closed Mondays

by: Sarah Sloboda

The Ukrainian Museum

My paternal grandfather's parents emigrated from the Ukraine at the turn of the last century, so I was fascinated with the idea of learning more about your culture at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives. The museum is located just off of West 14th, in the historic Tremont neighborhood, just minutes from downtown.

An amazing piece of modern architecture is set behind an old, traditional Cleveland-style 2-story porched house. These two buildings make up the Ukrainian museum. The house portion is going under a substantial renovation, but I rather enjoyed looking at all of the artifacts amidst the dust and old walls of the old Cleveland house. There was something rather authentic about it, and it certainly didn't take away from the quality of the collection itself.

There is a wonderful taste of Ukrainian culture and history, particularly regarding a few large immigration waves into the US that took place around the turn of the 19th century, and again around World War II. And the new building behind the house is FABULOUS. It's a stark concrete and wood structure that is completely worth the visit in and of itself, if you're into modern architecture.

The museum's curator herself gave me a guided tour, filling me in on the origins of the collection and lots of the history of Ukrainian immigrants in the Cleveland area. She is a first-generation American whose parents were born in the Ukraine, and she speaks the language fluently! Talk about authenticity!

Admission to the museum is by donation, and highly worth a meaningful one. You may also become a sponsor using a mail-in donation envelope. The gift shop sells astoundingly detailed dyed eggs, created using the traditional Ukrainian batik process, and the style of which were symbolically very powerful in pagan times in the Ukraine.

Current Exhibition:
Displaced Persons Camps Exhibit -The Journey from Ukraine to America - WWII Refuges. Runs from June 13-September 6, 2008.

Museum Hours:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - 10 to 3 PM (or by prior appointment).

Ukrainian Museum-Archives
1202 Kenilworth Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
United States of America
Phone: 216.781.4329

Their website also features several on-line exhibitions, if you'd like to get a taste: www.umacleveland.org

by: Sarah Sloboda