Recently, when my husband Robbie and I had the chance to visit Cleveland on a press trip, we had expected to see a few things we hadn’t before, take in the museums that we’d previously missed and kick back a bit for the weekend. We’d been to Cleveland – or so we thought – many times before, visiting friends, performing or supporting local GLBT events – but we weren’t prepared for the depth and breadth of cultural and entertainment options.
We had visited, but had yet to discover, Cleveland.
All that changed when Positively Cleveland (the CLE equivalent of CMH’s Experience Columbus) and the absolutely amazing Lexi Hotchkiss (our tour guide and all around bestie for the weekend) set up an itinerary that we won’t soon forget.
We drove in – it’s only a couple hours, plus or minus, after all – and our first stop was the A Christmas Story house (www.achristmasstoryhouse.com). Yes, you remember, Ralphie and his cohorts, bunny suits, BB guns, leg lamps. The house is recently restored, and it doesn’t have to be Christmastime to enjoy it. It’s also interactive – so hide under the sink, put on the array of hats, go fall down and flail in the neighbor’s yard; it’s not only accepted, it’s encouraged. The gift shop and museum have everything imaginable, and it’ll take you back to the first time you saw the film. Or the last 24-hour marathon you saw of it on Christmas day.
We then navigated our way to University Circle (www.universitycircle.org), the most densely-packed cultural neighborhood in America. [...] And so we eventually arrived at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens (www.cbgarden.org). It was cold. It was misting rain. We’d been lost for an hour. Suddenly none of that mattered. The gardens are spectacular, both interior and exterior. We spent as much time as we could outside, admiring the rose garden and the herb gardens and planning what our future planting plots would look like. Eventually, we gave in to the cold rain and went inside, only to experience an amazing array of exhibits in the CBG’s glasshouse, and a striking bonsai show in the atrium.
A walk literally across the street and we were at the Cleveland Museum of Art (www.clevelandart.org). We never expected what we found – it was like someone had created a satellite of New York’s Met and dropped it in Cleveland. Room after room of sculpture, artifacts and paintings. We expected to spend an hour – we spent three and only left because we were exhausted. Not to be missed: the Dali and Warhol collections, and the 5-piece series of Apollo and the Muses. Spellbinding. If you go to Cleveland for no other reason than to visit this museum, you’ve made a good choice. It’s also one of the world’s few remaining major art museums still offering FREE admission.
Having now discovered that Euclid Avenue will take you from anywhere to anywhere in Cleveland, we traversed it back across town, admiring the recycling bins and green-technology buses, to our hotel – on the lake and in walking distance to the next day’s activities. A quick nap, shower, and we were in the car with Lexi and off to the most stunning Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland (www.ritzcarlton.com). There an amazing staff entertained us, including Hollie Ksiezyk (we can’t pronounce it either – call her Hollie) the catering manager, lesbian activist, and member of the Gay Games 2014 committee (www.2014gaygamescleveland.com), along with many of her colleagues from both the Ritz and the Gay Games. We’re proud to be on board as sponsors and advocates for the Games and look forward to working with the committee to make them the most well attended Games in history. We also were treated to meeting Ritzy Rainbow Duck (friend him on Facebook), and have been carting him around awaiting the perfect photo op!
Keep reading HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment