Euclid Beach Was A Blast...AGAIN!

Which way to fun? Event goers at this year's Euclid Beach Blast had an opportunity to see a play, listen to live bands, take in the sunset and enjoy great food, all in one place!

This year, the Euclid Beach Blast 2013 was truly a blast. For the first time the parking lot hit maximum capacity with an estimated attendance of 1500 people! We jammed and danced to live music from the Hesitations, the Wingtones and Grupo Son Gitano, chowed down on some great eats from B&M Barbeque, Callaloo Cafe, TB's Hot Dogs & Hoagies and got our sweet fix with Real Frut drinks and a scoop or two of East Coast Custard.

And if great music and tasty food weren't enough, we made kaleidoscopes and rose-colored glasses to see Euclid Beach Park in a new light; colored, sketched or painted to our heart's desire to reimagine Euclid Beach Park, threw sand at the competition in the sand castle contest, struck a pose for a new Euclid Beach pier and chalked up just about every inch of concrete with artist Hector Castellanos!

But it wasn't just all fun and games, we also watched the amazing Upstage Players perform an original play about the importance of taking care of our beaches and our lake and had a chance to learn about all the great things individuals and organizations are doing in the community and region to improve beach and water quality, reduce waste, and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood. And we heard from you....lots of you on our survey wall about the types of events, programming, improvements, hopes and dreams you have for Euclid Beach and our other Lakefront Parks, now part of the Cleveland Metroparks Emerald Necklace.

Overall, our surveys reveal a pent-up demand for arts and culture events, live music and festivals in the park as well as a concern for increased cleanliness and maintenance.  An ice cream stand, concert venue, new pier, cleaner water and improved connections to other parks reflect some of the most frequent responses when event-goers were asked, 'What are your hopes and dreams for Euclid Beach Park?' The surveys reflect a growing excitement in the community for the future potential of Euclid Beach and the Lakefront with the added capacity and resources of Cleveland Metroparks. Information gathered on the survey walls will be made available to Cleveland Metroparks and other organizations in the community with an interest in improving our lakefront parks.

Now for the many, many thank yous! We could not have developed a great event without the help of many dedicated Euclid Beach Blast volunteers, including friends and family who spent hours in the sun on Saturday keeping everything cool! And of course, MC Douglas Million for his awesome host-with-the-most skills! Thank you to our Beach Blast 'Big Fish' sponsors- Cleveland Lakefront Parks Conservancy, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Northeast Shores Development Corporation, YMCA Clevelanders in Motion and Jergens Industrial Supply. 

A big thank-you to all of the local businesses (Nulife Fitness, Callaloo Cafe, R&D Sausage, Star Pop Vintage + Modern, Music Saves, Blue Arrow Records, Scotti's Italian Eatery, Bistro 185, Chilli Peppers, Mickey's Ice Cream, Sue & Bob's Euclid Garden Center, Cleveland Garden Center, Holland's BBQ, TB's Hot Dogs & Hoagies, Bari Beauty & Health Plus, Sandy's Ice Cream, Berry Lane Frozen Yogurt and local artist Linda Zolten Wood) who made our amazing raffles possible--with over $600 in prizes.

Thank you also to all of the participating community tables and food vendors and to all of our community partners - Arts Collinwood, Project Pop Up Galleries, Beachland Ballroom, Northeast Shores and Councilman Polensek to mention just a few, who have helped make Euclid Beach Blast North Collinwood's premiere event on the Lakefront!

And to the incredible Rangers and Maintenance staff from Cleveland Metroparks who kept the park spotless and safe! Another thank you to Image Mart Owner Joe Bruzas for designing and constructing the 'Once and Future' Euclid Beach Pier photo booth. A very special thank you to the Upstage Players summer interns and support staff, including parents, who concluded their program with a stellar performance of their own play 'No Easy Clean Up' and thank you Neighborhood Connections for your generous grant to make this program possible.

Finally, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Ali Lukacsy, who helped to make Euclid Beach Blast 2013 a success in so many ways, whether it was dreaming up craft ideas, designing signage or the drawing contest, winning the Cool Cleveland hashtag contest for free event promotion or just keeping my head cool, she put the Blast in this years Beach Blast--I love you!

Want to see how much fun we had on Saturday? Visit facebook.com/euclidbeachblast to see photos and videos of this year's Euclid Beach Blast, post your own photos and videos or email euclidbeachblast@gmail.com with photos, videos and comments/feedback from this year's Beach Blast! 

Want to see your picture from the 'Once and Future' Euclid Beach Pier? Visit our flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/euclidbeachblast/. We are already looking forward to a bigger and better Euclid Beach Blast in 2014 and are hopeful about partnering with Cleveland Metroparks!

Can't wait until the next Euclid Beach Blast to be part of all the momentum at Euclid Beach? Not to worry! Join Euclid Beach Adopt-a-Beach Team(TM) volunteers for their next beach cleanup on Saturday August 17th from 10am-12pm when we will be cleaning up the wooded beach west of the old Euclid Beach Pier and for International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday September 21st from 10am-12pm.

And if you are really feeling inspired, find out how you can become a Cleveland Metroparks Urban Beach Ambassador by contacting Heather Triplett, Volunteer Services Manager, hat@clevelandmetroparks.com or call 440-253-2143. Be part of the change that's making Euclid Beach and all of our lakefront parks great places to visit every day of the year (well, maybe not a day in January...)!

Stephen Love is a Lake Erie fanatic from Cleveland, OH. In his day job he works for the Cuyahoga Land Bank and in every other waking moment is the founder and coordinator of Euclid Beach Adopt-a-Beach Team and Euclid Beach Blast! He started Euclid Beach Blast out of a desire to explore the connections between environmental stewardship, art, public spaces, music, and community.


Stephen Love

Stephen Love is a Lake Erie fanatic from Cleveland, OH. In his day job he works for the Cuyahoga Land Bank and in every other waking moment is the founder and coordinator of Euclid Beach Adopt-a-Beach Team and Euclid Beach Blast! He started Euclid Beach Blast out of a desire to explore the connections between environmental stewardship, art, public spaces, music, and community.

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Volume 5, Issue 7, Posted 10:58 AM, 08.09.2013