Euclid Beach Blasts the Rain Away!

As soon as the pavement dried it was chalking time with artist Hector Castellanos!

Not even gale force wind, blinding rain and two broken tents could stop the Euclid Beach Blast!  And despite the threat of rain, we jammed and danced to live music from the Pride of Glenville Marching Band, Scott Hanson and the Champagnes, Panic Steel Ensemble and Grupo Son Gitano while chowing down on some great eats from the Callaloo Cafe, Beachland Ballroom, Euclid Beach Concessions & Gifts and for our sweet fix, Real Frut drinks, Chilli Pop Shop, Savannah Kettle Corn and a scoop or two of East Coast Custard!

And if great music and tasty food weren't enough, we made fun sand art and mural paintings with Cleveland Metroparks Outdoor Education, threw sand at the competition in the Waterloo Sculpture Garden Sand Castle Contest, stood awe struck in front of Sand Sculptor Greg Butauski's dragon and castle, took a beach joy ride on a Fat Bike with Bike Cleveland, struck a pose for a new Euclid Beach pier and chalked the walkway with artist Hector Castellanos!

But it wasn't just all fun and games, we also watched the amazing Upstage Players perform an original play, entitled 'No Easy Cleanup' 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 and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood. And we heard from many of you through our Cleveland Metroparks surveys about the types of events, programming, improvements, hopes and dreams you have for Euclid Beach and our other Lakefront Parks, part of the Cleveland Metroparks Emerald Necklace.  Information gathered on the survey walls will be used by Cleveland Metroparks as they develop a plan for making improvements to our Lakefront parks.  Please be sure to look out for an article announcing upcoming community meetings held by Cleveland Metroparks to discuss park improvements.

And now for the many, many thank yous. I would first like to thank the Sun who arrived fashionably late but still managed to keep the festivities going until the end! But sun or no sun, we could not have had a great event without the help of many dedicated Euclid Beach Blast volunteers, including my friends and family who spent hours in the sun, then wind, then run on Saturday to ensure that the event went forward! Major thanks also goes to our event partner, Cleveland Metroparks for not only sponsoring the event but also providing maintenance staff, tables, chairs and tents and event promotion! We look forward to continuing to grow our event partnership next season! Thank you to all of our Beach Blast sponsors and community partners including Cleveland Lakefront Parks Conservancy, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Neighborhood Connections, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Northeast Shores Development Corporation, Waterloo Arts, Jergens Industrial Supply, Scene Magazine and No Problem Printing!

A big thank you also goes out to all of our Euclid Beach Blast raffle basket contributors: Nulife Fitness, Callaloo Cafe, R&D Sausage, Radell's Sausage, Star Pop Vintage + Modern, Music Saves, Blue Arrow Records, Scotti's Italian Eatery, Bistro 185, Chilli Peppers, Mickey's Ice Cream, Cavotta's Garden Center, Cleveland Garden Center, Bob's Place, Sandy's Ice Cream, Muldoon's, Grovewood Tavern, BG's Old World Tavern, Buetener's Bakery, Cleveland Musuem of Natural History, the Children's Museum and local rain barrel artists Linda Zolten Wood and Joe Bruzas who made our amazing raffles possible--with over $1000 worth of prizes.

Thank you also to all of the participating community tables and food vendors who have helped make Euclid Beach Blast North Collinwood's premiere event on the Lakefront!

Finally, I would like to thank my girlfriend and North Collinwood celebrity Ali Lukacsy, who helped make Euclid Beach Blast 2014 a success in so many ways, whether designing signage, coordinating volunteer meetings, promoting the heck out of the event or just keeping my head cool, she once agin 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!

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 23rd from 10am-12pm for Do Something Day and for International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday September 20th from 10am-12pm for International Coastal Cleanup Day.

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.

Read More on Euclid Beach
Volume 6, Issue 7, Posted 2:15 AM, 08.05.2014