Playing tourist in my own city

People claim the real world sucks, but so far I have absolutely loved my taste of the 40 hrs/wk gig. Mainly because I can actually fit everything into one day, and even better- I have free time. Time that was not pressured by some overhanging concern like homework or a project was virtually unheard of in the past year with school. Actually, now that I think on it, I really never have had this much free time in Cleveland, ever. Luckily it is summer, and there are actually lots of fun things to do to pass the time. Sadly, I still need all these events to keep entertained, unlike being at home, but that's another story.

Two weekends ago was Parade the Circle. Quite the untraditional parade, it circled around Wade Oval. Forget your traditional assumptions of marching bands and people waving from floats. Instead we had stilts, costumed dancers, musicians, and all manner of artistically themed entries. It was a riot of color and music. Aside from the actual event itself, one of the highlights for me personally was the bike valet parking. Not only does the free service ensure the safety of my bike, but they gave it a quick once-over before I left. Now when was the last time your car valet checked your engine for you?

This past weekend we were entertained by the Larchmere Porchfest. Based off an event in Ithaca, local residents of the Larchmere neighborhood volunteered their porches as stages for musicians. I unfortunately only managed to get to hear one band on a porch; after a long bike ride in the morning, a nap was in order for me. It was quite a novel experience to sit on a stranger's yard to listen to music, but it was really nice. The headliner bands played on Shaker Square. The quality of music was mixed, but I especially enjoyed the final band- I believe their name was goodmorning valetine.

Last night we explored the Tremont neighborhood. This hip, trendy neighborhood on the near-west side is still rather foreign to me. We visited some neat places, including a bar with a tree in it. Tremont is an interesting neighborhood because it is essentially almost entirely residential with commercial scattered about. It seems like most other neighborhoods in Cleveland tend to have a main street area or a group of blocks where the commercial activity is concentrated, but not Tremont apparently. It was neat to wander the streets and experience the area.

This upcoming weekend is what sounds like a really cool event called Made in the 216. I have no particular affinity to anything made in this particular area code, but I'm sure some of my cronies do, so we are off Saturday evening to explore the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, see some things made by Clevelanders, and enjoy some live music. Hopefully I will remember to bring my camera!