Gloria Ferris

Well, today you could hurry on over to Archwood Avenue in Brooklyn Centre and take in the Archwood Avenue Street sale. Don’t forget to bring some non-perishable food to drop off at Archwood UCC at 2800 Archwood Avenue.

Today is the day for this church’s annual food drive to benefit Brookside Center on Pearl Road.  The goal is to raise TWO TONS of non-perishable foodstuff to replenish the pantry shelves at Brookside Center after a hard winter.  I drove by a few hours ago and they have a long way to go to fill the church steps.

Over forty homes have agreed to participate in the streetwide garage sale this year.  Lots of good buys and there is always a  lot of good conversation to be had at each and every site.

 So if you are into adventure of a Cleveland kind–exploring new and different neighborhoods–this weekend is a good time to try Brooklyn Centre.

I have a new page, available also through the sidebar to the right. There are a number of ways we become members of a community, and one of them is by joining organizations and participating in events, or just by hanging out and talking. Some community-building opportunities we have available here in Ward 15, or near it, appear on the new page, in no special order as yet. If you think I should be including something else, let me know.

Tim and I had a full day planned of meeting people. Late last night we decided that we were going to buy an all-day ride pass on the RTA and see if it appeared practical to ride to all of our meetups with various people.

Our first meeting was Tim’s Brooklyn Circle B-to-B Connect meeting at Theo’s at 7 a.m. Since it was such an early start time, I wasn’t sure that we would be able to make the connections we would need. Off I went to the RTA Transit website where lo and behold, there is now a trip planner! All I had to do was put in our address and the address of my destination. Then I put in the day and time. I had five options to choose. Maybe you are aware of this little added feature, but I wasn’t.

Our next meeting was at Talkie’s on Market Street at 10 a.m. So my start point was Theo’s, and I ended up at Talkie’s. Again, I had five possibilities.

We arrived at the West Side Market with so much time to spare that we had breakfast at the Westside Market Cafe. I posted about this great restaurant once before, but Tim hadn’t had the experience of eating there yet so it was a good place to stop before our 10 a.m. I of course, not being an adventurous sort with food went for my tried and true Eggs Benedict. Tim had Market Hash with poached eggs and creole mustard sauce. He said it was some great Andouille sausage, and he was very impressed with his poached eggs.

After we ate, we still had some time to kill so we strolled through the market. We saw Mr. Leu who has now retired but still shops at the Market on Fridays. We always stop to say “hi” to Janet Woyma, a neighbor and friend who has worked for Ed Dabstuter for years and years.

As we walked out the front doors, we ran into two of our neighbors who always do their shopping on Friday morning. They wanted to know where our packages were, and we said that we weren’t shopping, that we had come to the market for breakfast.

After our meeting at Talkies, we again hopped on the bus and saw another one of our neighbors who had decided she had had enough of the corporate world for one day, so she took a half day vacation. We walked down the street with our friend, stopped off at home to check the RTA Trip planner one more time, and decided to hop back on the bus to deliver some paperwork to Roger Bundy’s Law Offices on Broadview. Since Roger was not at his office, we dropped in to see Janie at Janie’s Sewing Corner. She told us to just leave the package, and she would see that Roger got it.

All in all, with the sun shining in the midst of a blue, blue sky and fluffy white clouds, Tim and I had a very satisfying day riding the RTA talking to other passengers and visiting with friends and neighbors. We even squeezed in two business meetings.

And why, did I post about our day on the RTA? This is why. We stepped out of our breakneck pace of rushing back and forth to home and out again for another meeting and back again and out again. Instead, we deliberately slowed down and thoughtfully planned our next move. We both felt that we had an incredibly productive day.

Today is a great day to be in Brooklyn Centre because today is the annual Holiday Art Sale and Candlelight Christmas Home Tour put on by Art House and Archwood-Denison Concerned Citizens.

Sheryl Hoffman, executive director of Art House and her wonderful staff have put together a great sale featuring seventeen local artists who will offer ceramics, prints, photography, jewelry, handmade cards and more for sale at Art House, located at 3119 Denison Avenue. (If you’ve gone to the link and noted the admission prices, see below that admission pricing is suspended this year!)There will also be a bake sale with proceeds benefiting Art House and Archwood-Denison Concerned Citizens. The Holiday art sale is free and open to the public.

The Candlelight Christmas Home Tour, which was full-sized on the drawing board earlier this year, has downsized itself as if by magic to only four exhibits and, therefore, will be offered for the wonderful low price of nothing-at-all. The organizations will gratefully and humbly accept any donations, but nothing is required.

We have two great houses on the tour?one seen a few years ago, the other a first-time offering–a beautiful church on Archwood, and the restored 1840?s chapel located in Riverside Cemetery. We understand that holiday music in the form of a violinist and a band were planned to accompany you on your tour as well. And, you also get a chance to see the Quonset Hut Studio at Art House and the art sale.

So, if you are facing a snowy Sunday afternoon in Cleveland with nothing to do, why not venture out to the Holiday Art Sale at 3119 Denison Avenue and then take a wonderful leisurely walk?or drive– through the snow and tour Brooklyn Centre while munching on bakery from our bake sale. The sale begins at 1 p.m. at Art House where maps of the tour will be available, and we hope to see you there! ?It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”

Tim and I had the pleasure of attending Thomas Frontini?s art show opening at convivium33 gallery. I am at a loss for words on how to describe Thomas?s paintings and the beauty of the gallery. They are both must-sees.

For a preview of the paintings showcased at the gallery, visit the Frontini website, but don?t stop there. You must see the paintings at the gallery to get the essence of the artistry of Thomas. There is whimsy, there is humor, there is message. And, my descriptions do not do the artwork justice. Trust me, you need to see the artwork for yourself, with the proper lighting, in the appropriate space, and give yourself the ability to step up to it and then back from it. Alternative perspectives are important with this particular artist?there is more than one level at which you need to do your viewing, your savoring. The show runs through January 29th, 2006, so you have plenty of time to get there, unless God has other plans for you. Maybe it?s better to ?Seize the day.?

And then, there is the rebirth of St. Josaphat Church. What an intriguing alternative use?adaptive reuse–of space! The school has become studio space for artists, and the sanctuary holds the gallery. The convivium33 gallery website gives a good overview, but the space deserves a true-life, on-the-ground exploration. The space feels great?it?s awesome just to walk through the doors and see the pews gone. When you go to the website, be sure to take the time to read the introduction which treats the church?s evolution with compassion and reverence of its past and its future.

In the deep dark days of December and January here in Cleveland, Tom Frontini?s artwork will give you a memory of soft summer breezes at the seaside and so much more.

We went to the Tremont Holiday Hop afterwards, and everything else we saw after our exposure to Frontini and the Josaphat space paled by comparison. But Tremont will always be one of our favorites because we see so many friends there and we always feel welcomed there.