TravelSmart recently ranked Cleveland as the second safest and culturally most fascinating city in the U.S.
Both Cleveland's Gund Arena and the Convocation Center at Cleveland State University were recently added to Pollstar's "Top 50 Arena Venues in the World."
WebMD Medical News has listed the Cleveland Clinic in its "2003 U.S. Best Hospital Rankings".
Cleveland was named one of the 2003 Top 25 Arts Destinations by www.americanstyle.com.
All State Insurance and Black Enterprise Magazine recently chose Cleveland as a top 20 travel destination for African Americans.
Cleveland is ranked as one of the top ten destinations for summer vacations in the nation by MSN.com!
Greater Cleveland was recently named one of four "most livable cities" in America by Partners for Livable Communities. The nonprofit organization selects its cities based on several criteria, including envirnomental quality, parks, arts and culture, planning, economic development and public/private partnerships.
Greater Cleveland was named the nation's second best spot for recreation, according to Places Rated Almanac.
Ebony magazine recently ranked Cleveland one of the top ten cities for African-American women to live. Ebony rated cities based on factors including lifestyle, safety, culture and job opportunities.
Essence magazine named Cleveland the #5 Best American City for African American Families.
The West Side Market, the city's most venerable food institution, has made it into "The Saveur 100"; list. Saveur magazine's annual listing celebrates the "mastery in food, drink, writing, design and restaurant life."
Six Greater Cleveland restaurants earned AAA Four Diamond Award for 2004; Century at the Ritz Carlton, Ristorante Giovanni's, The Baricelli Inn, The Leopard Restaurant, Lockkeepers and Classics. Cleveland has more Diamond restaurants than any other restaurants in our competing regions. Standards for Diamond Awards are set by AAA and include overall sophistication in décor and service and the highest quality of food and presentation. Cleveland has more Diamond Award restaurants than any other city in our competing regions.
Three Greater Cleveland hotels won the 2004 AAA Award. They are the InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center, Walden Country Inn & Stables and Ritz-Carlton Cleveland.
ATTRACTION NEWS & 2005 EXHIBITS
Cleveland's beloved amusement park reopened last year bearing its original name, Geauga Lake. Here you will find more than 60 rides and attractions, including ten roller coasters and a water park! For the daredevils in all of us, Geauga Lake features Texas Twister, X-Flight, and The Raging Wolf Bobs. Be sure to cool off when you visit Hurricane Hannah's Wave Pool as well as other fun-in-the-sun water slides, pools and play areas. The park began construction this past November on Wildwater Kingdom, a $26 million dollar expansion built on 56 acres of land. The first phase of the expansion will be completed for the 2005 Memorial Day weekend.
Cedar Point Amusement Park continues to break world records with its new roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster. This is the first coaster in the world to top the 400-foot mark. Top Thrill Dragster will top out at 120 miles per hour. This is the park's largest investment in 132 years.
Cedar Point is swinging and spinning into its 2005 season with maXair, a new mega-thriller ride, that gives the amusement park a total of 68 rides - which is more than any other place in the world. Riders on MaXair will sit in outward-facing suspended seats that form a giant circle of 50 passengers. MaXair will let loose by swinging riders back and forth in a pendulum motion while spinning in a clockwise rotation and reaching a maximum speed of 70 mph. When the pendulum reaches its peak, riders will be 140 feet high and experience the sensation of weightlessness. Cedar Point opens its gates on May 7, 2005.
Cedar Point continues to hold the title of " Best Amusement Park in the World" for the 4th consecutive year by the National Park Historical Association (NAPHA).
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is the worlds only museum dedicated to rock and roll music. The museum is now featuring The Genius of Ray Charles exhibit on the musical legacy of Ray Charles. The new exhibit features the music legend's mementos, awards, and marks their first trip outside his L.A. studios and give the fans and music scholars a closer look at one of the world's most enduring music pioneers of our time. Exhibit runs through Labor Day 2005.
Located in University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Art is considered one of the world's greatest art museums. Its most recent acquisition is a life-size bronze statue of Apollo Sauroktonos ("Lizard-Slayer") from roughly 350-275 B.C. It may be the only surviving sculpture actually produced in Praxiteles' workshop. This past year they purchased five large mythological paintings by the early 19th century French painter Charles Meynier. Also, visit the Gallery of Sub-Saharan African Art on display now through December 31, 2005. Sixty-two objects in wood, terracotta, brass, ivory and cloth from south of the Sahara are featured along with masks and figures made in West and Central Africa in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. From December 12, 2004 - February 20, 2005, you can see Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections, The exquisitely crafted traditional color woodcuts and paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries depict scenes of daily life and worldly pleasures, such as beautiful women, Kabuki actors, and landscapes. Starting February 20, 2005 through May 29, 2005, you can visit the Masterworks from the Phillips Collection, this collection features 56 celebrated European paintings from the 19th and early 20th centuries, providing an unique and rare opportunity for the visitor.
Playhouse Square Center is the largest performing arts center in the country outside of New York City. Its five magnificently restored theaters include the State, Palace, Ohio, Allen and Hanna Theaters.
The 2004-05 Broadway Series will begin this fall with hits such as Hairspray, Movin' Out and Phantom of the Opera.
Triple Esspreso is now playing at the Hanna Theater.
The world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra continues to set standards of performing excellence and imaginative programming to their audiences and performers alike. Whether in concerts at their winter home, Severance Hall, or in their summer home at Blossom Music Center, or on tour traveling the world they can be sure to be making beautiful music that everyone can enjoy. Mozart's Flute Concerto in G Major and Remember Me: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are just some of the shows scheduled in January 2005. For a complete list of concert dates, log onto www.clevelandorchestra.com.
The Cleveland Play House is the countries first regional theater. The 2005 schedule includes The Emperor's New Clothes and Cookin' at the Cookery, Tuesdays With Morie and The Piano Lesson. Log onto www.clevelandplayhouse.com for the most current list of plays.
The Ohio Ballet is nationally recognized as one of America's finest professional ballet companies. For a complete list of performances and their summer festival dates, visit www.ohioballet.org.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History The Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium is a state-of-the-art planetarium that incorporates the latest projection, video and laser technology and a 40-foot diameter dome that accurately illustrates more than 5,000 stars and the observable events of the sky, including planetary and lunar events. Also open is the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden, which includes a 2.2-acre outdoor gallery, featuring live animals and birds in their natural habitat, complete with trees, ponds and flowing water.
The Western Reserve Historical Society was founded to preserve and protect the history of all the people in northeast Ohio. Today, it is the largest privately supported regional historical society in the nation. The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum was named one of the country's top 10 auto museums by Car Collectors magazine. Visit the exhibit Every Four Years: Ohio's Role in Making of the American President showing through February 27, 2005. Where you can recount the evolution of the presidency, from the age of George Washington until today. Arthur's World is a hands-on exhibit based on the Emmy Award winning children's TV series and popular books by Arthur creator, Marc Brown, who is originally from Cleveland. Exhibit runs through January 23, 2005.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and RainForest is the 7th oldest zoo in the country. Back by popular demand, Dinosaurs! will be returning May 14th. Explore the larger than life creatures and experience the prehistoric world in which these dinosaurs ruled the earth.
The Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, located in the Cleveland Metroparks, is a 325-acre reservation, in the heart of Cuyahoga County. It is linked to the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, also known as Cleveland's "Hidden Valley," where the Towpath Trail travels 22 miles south, to Akron.
In October of 2001, the Cleveland Metroparks received the 2001 National Gold Medal Award. The Cleveland Metroparks were cited for "creation and opening of the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, natural resources protection and management, and a creative offering of diverse outdoor recreation activities.
Now open is the Cleveland Botanical Garden'sEleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse and Environmental Education Center. It is a magnificent conservatory that is home to two of the most fragile ecosystems: the desert of Madagascar and the cloud forest of Costa Rica. The exhibits include 500 species of plants and 50 species of animals. Spend the day enjoying The Hershey Children's Garden, a 25,000-square-foot addition to the garden a variety of activities for children. Sheduled to return in May of 2005 is the Cleveland Botanical Garden's Flower Show, which is fashioned after the Chelsea Flower Show in the UK and is renowned in its own right.
The Health Museum of Cleveland will open the doors to its new facility near the end of 2003. The stunning white oak and Vermont slate façade will feature 15,000 linear feet of glass that will allow natural light to stream into all levels of the building. The museum's 20,000 square- foot permanent exhibit gallery and the signature Head First Theater will be visible from the street to attract visitor attention along Euclid Avenue. In addition to the museum's permanent exhibits, a 5,000 square-foot temporary exhibit gallery will accommodate traveling exhibitions. The building's lower level will house the new Frohring Education Center and will include two health science laboratories, a theater-style auditorium, classrooms, and a demonstration kitchen for healthy culinary courses. The new education center will be wired for distance learning to allow off-campus access to health education programs.
The Great Lakes Science Center is one of America's largest interactive science museums. With more than 375 exciting "hands-on" exhibits, daily demonstrations, and exciting educational programs, visitors experience the interdependency of science, especially in the Great Lakes region. Visit the newly expanded InfoTech Gallery and explore hands-on examples of how information technologies impact our lives. Come one, come all to the CIRCUS! Science Under the Big Top! Exhibit now through January 2005. Explore the fantastic world of an interactive extravaganza, where you can peek behind curtains, dress up in the costume area, and even become an expert juggler.
The OMNIMAX THEATER is now showing Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey where you can explore the sights and sounds of continents and cultures, guided by the internationally acclaimed performers of the stage show STOMP. The world has a pulse; come feel it!
The International Women's Air & Space Museum is located in the terminal lobby of Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland. The museum's exhibits showcase women's accomplishments in aviation and space. Currently a special exhibit on Katherine Wright, the Wright Brother's sister, is on display at the Museum. Although not a pilot herself, she encouraged and supported her brothers. It is one of the many exhibits that illustrate the historic achievements of women in aviation.
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Major League Baseball's (MLB's) Cleveland Indians hold the MLB record for consecutive sellouts (455) at Jacobs Field. Also, known by Clevelanders as "The Jake." The Indians sold out every game for five consecutive seasons. Be sure to check out the new video display scoreboard, 36 feet by 149 feet, the largest scoreboard at any professional sports facility!
Opening day is April 11, 2005. The Indians play the Chicago White Sox.
It's football time again! Support your Cleveland Browns by sporting your orange and brown during the 2004-2005 Brown's season. Grab your tickets and stop by the infamous Dawg Pound for the full experience. For a complete list of games, check out www.clevelandbrowns.com.
Cheer on the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Gund Arena as Lebron and company take on some of the best NBA teams in the 2nd quarter of their season.
Ready for some action? Catch the AHL Cleveland Barons battle it out on the ice at National City Arena at the Gund Arena.
Cleveland will host the 2nd annual Black College All-Star Game and Celebrity Extravaganza on April 16, 2005. Visit www.blackcollegeallstargame.com for a complete list details.
March Madness begins with the Mid-American (MAC) Men's and Women's College Basketball Tournaments at Gund Arena, March 9-13, 2005. Winners represent the league in the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland also hosts the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA National Championship Tournament at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center, March 17-19, 2005. Call 216-566-4622.
