on July 28, 2016 at 9:52 AM, updated CLEVELAND, Ohio - After playing a starring role in the Republican National Convention, the city's renovated Public Square is ready for its encore. It's one that should last many years, as the historic, 6-acre civic space in the heart of downtown Cleveland carves out a new role for itself as a place for everything from concerts, yoga classes and CrossFit workouts to winter ice-skating and the annual downtown Christmas tree lighting, scheduled for Nov. 26. "It's already a shining star, and I believe it has the opportunity to continue to shine, to continue to impress, and continue to be that place where our community gathers in a beautiful location," said Sanaa Julien, CEO of the square's marketing and community relations. The $50 million renovation of Public Square, 60 percent of which was funded through corporate and foundation dollars, was completed in June, just prior to the Republican National Convention. Julien released to The Plain Dealer a calendar (listed below) of upcoming events that begins with the Cleveland Orchestra's free "Star Spangled Spectacular" concert in the square starting Friday night at 9 p.m., and that extends deep into the fall.
The offerings include Food Truck Tuesdays, a regular series of midday concerts and yoga classes, a bocce zone, movie nights and a convening of yo-yo players on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 7:30 p.m., aimed at busting a Guinness world record. Julien is a loaned executive from Cleveland Metroparks, where she serves as chief marketing officer, who is serving the nonprofit, city-county Group Plan Commission, which led the square's renovation. Julien said she has planned an average of 60 events per week in the square during the summer. "Busy is good, because a thriving public space is evidence of a strong community," she said. "The more activity public spaces have, the safer they feel, and more people feel they can come there." She said the activity level she's trying to promote for the square also "supports the initiative of [Cleveland] Mayor Frank Jackson to create a walkable, bikeable downtown." But Julien also said the frequency and type of events would still allow much of the space to feel like a tranquil outdoor retreat for daydreaming, sunning or reading.
"We've been conscious to make sure places stay pristine, quiet and calm at different points in time," she said. "It is a big space, and it gives us the opportunity to do things so the square can be enjoyed concurrently by different people with different needs." Programming at the square will include arts and culture, wellness, recreation, education, new trends and emerging local businesses. Julien said her goal is to create "a sense of community and a sense of neighborhood. People who come to events will start to know each other and find similarities in things they are doing. It will allow the community as a whole to be closer and stronger." Funding for programming will come from sources including $3.8 million pledged so far by corporations and foundations between now and 2020, Julien said. The Group Plan Commission has a goal of raising $6.8 million for programming and maintenance at the square. Among the grants and donations is a $50,000 federal grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the agency that distributes proceeds from the county's 30-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes to support the arts.
Julien said she hopes enthusiasm for the square evolves into a formal friends-of-the-square group to help oversee long-term maintenance and funding. She also envisioned that the square could help support itself through earned income from space rentals for special events, beverage and food sales at larger events, merchandise and sponsorships. For now, Julien oversees Public Square from an eighth-floor office in the Terminal Tower, which overlooks the space from its southwest corner. As she looks down into the square's water feature, a shallow oval of water edged on one side with fountain sprays, she said she's entranced by the regular flow of children who lie in the water and make imaginary snow angels with their arms and legs. "I want to be out there all day long," Julien said, "but I wouldn't get any work done." What follows is the latest and admittedly still partial calendar of events planned for the square: The Cleveland Orchestra presents its annual Star Spangled Spectacular with a fireworks finale by Pyrotechnico.
Be sure to arrive early and enjoy lunch or dinner at Rebol, an Urban performance restaurant that fuels people to live productively. Grab a blanket, a bol from Rebol, and enjoy a beautiful summer afternoon on Public Square. 216 Bistro, Betty's Bomb Ass Burgers, Mason's Creamery, Nelly Belly, Sweet! Mobile Cupcakery,Tour de Cleveland, Sauced Wood Fired Pizza , Off the Griddle, Umami Moto, Gyro George, Papa Nick's 11:30am - 12:45pm Megan Zurkey Band 1:00pm - 2:30pm Cats on Holiday 4:30pm - 6:00pm The Feedbacks Sunday, Aug. 7 (and every Sunday through end of October) Aug. 11, 16 and Sept. 9, 24 4 - 6 PM Music Aug. 15, 20, 21, 24 Aug. 16 and Sept. 7 September events that will continue: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday Yoga Tuesdays - Food Trucks at lunchtime Thursdays Farmers Markets (through September 30) Browns Tailgating/Pregaming on Public Square
October events will feature Fall and Halloween Celebrations November brings the opening of the Ice Rink on November 18, Winterfest November 26 and a MoVember Mustache Party (finalizing date). Activities to be scheduled in coming weeks: Childrens Eye Health Screenings for National Eye Health Day in SeptemberLego has built its empire just like the interlocking bricks themselves, by connecting kids and adults, using pop-culture and mass appeal. On July 31st, A Lego Brickumentary will premiere. It’s the very first full-length documentary chronicling the powerful toy brand. The film is narrated by a minifig voiced by Jason Bateman, who maintains a lively and chipper, Everything Is Awesome-type feel, which really resonates for fans. Beginning back in the 1930s when the company was first founded by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen, the history of Lego is recreated through a series of stop-motion Lego scenes. It’s a pretty effective way to cover the major moments in the company’s history.
The stop-motion scenes were also spliced with archival footage and photographs. By the 1950s the company was on a course for world domination, once it realized the formula of success lay in their revolutionary interlocking design, which meant the possibilities for building were virtually limitless. It is actually pretty awesome watching the history of Lego told through Lego stop-motion. However, it’s not all rainbows and minifigs. There have been plenty of issues that have popped up over the past few decades that shed light on the perpetuation of gender constructs, by launching sets aimed squarely at ‘girls’. In response, the film highlights Alice Finch, an AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) known for her amazing builds. Unfortunately, Finch feels a bit like a token, and there are many, many women AFOLs out there the filmmakers could have reached out to or at least referenced more heavily. For instance, Mariann Asanuma was a Lego Master Model Designer until she branched out to become the world’s first and only female Freelance LEGO Artist.
I would have liked just a bit more in-depth analysis of gender issues, since Lego clearly didn’t always have a gender problem. The filmmakers Daniel Junge and Kief Davidson come from a place of socially-conscious documentary filmmaking, and I was really hoping A Lego Brickumentary would go into more detail as to the social impact of Lego, from its use as a therapeutic method for autistic children and people suffering from PTSD, to the toy company’s reinforcement of gender stereotypes with sets such as the Lego ‘Friends’ series. As mentioned, these were only touched upon, which is a shame, because non-Lego fans will likely take the film as a very well-done infomercial. Junge won the Oscar in 2012 with Saving Face, which exposed the horrible acid attacks against Pakistani women, and Davidson was nominated for an Oscar for Open Heart, about impoverished Rwandan children in need of open heart surgery. Don’t get me wrong, the film does cover child psychologists using Lego with autistic children, but I felt like it just touched the tip of the iceberg.
For me, Lego has always been more than just a toy. Even when I was young. It was the first toy, and pretty much only toy for kids of the 80’s, that didn’t come prepackaged with a story. Sure, you had Lego Space sets and Lego Pirate sets, but the point was to build these sets and then make them your own, add your own narrative to them. Barbies, Transformers, G.I. Joes, all those Mattel and Hasbro toys fit a certain mold and didn’t require too much imagination, and certainly didn’t require creativity to build. Even Transformers, simply transformed from one thing to another. Mostly, you just recreated scenarios you saw on the shows that promoted the toys sets. Lego is different from those other toys. Lego grows with you. That’s one of the more salient points the documentary makes and gets absolutely right. How many toys from childhood have the versatility and aesthetic appeal to grow with you? One thing to keep in mind with Lego, there are no rules or directions. Sure, you can following instructions for building a set, or you could just let your imagination run wild.
This is nowhere more impressive than the AFOL crowd. Seeing what Master Builders and amateur super-fans can design and build can be truly inspiring. Not only are these mega-sculptures engineered impressively, but they also show that there’s an art to the build. The film highlights Nathan Sawaya, a Lego artist who uses the bricks to create three-dimensional sculptures. The film ends with the building of an almost life-size replica of a Star Wars X-wing fighter. What I wanted more of was the company’s comeback from near collapse in 2003. Critics of the brand at the time argued that the company was inundating the brick market with too many custom pieces and that the brand was getting diluted. Some may criticize the documentary as being too niche, too focused on people who are already fans of the 80-year old toy brand. But, what the film does so well is use its charm to showcase just how diverse the toy company is in its appeal, spending a great deal of time exploring the evolution of Lego, from its humble beginnings as a wooden Danish toy, to the global enterprise that all but dominates the modern toy industry.