Cleveland Foundation's Parting Gift: Day of Family Fun

Bob Eckardt, Executive Vice President of The Cleveland Foundation and Jim McIntyre, Host of The 11th Hour

The Cleveland Foundation is ending its centennial year celebration in a big way.

All year long, the nation's first community foundation has been offering Northeast Ohioans monthly gifts to help celebrate its founding in 1914, and the final gift includes a day of family fun throughout six counties in Northeast Ohio.

Executive Vice President Bob Eckardt explains why the Cleveland Foundation has been so generous, partnering with more than 2 dozen agencies to provide expense-free benefits to more than 170,000 people in 2014.

Celebrating Cleveland Success On Gingerbread Lane

Photo provided by Welcome House

Gingerbread Lane is once again on display at the Great Northern Mall. It is an event created by Welcome House, an organization that for the past 40 years has focused on helping people with developmental disabilities.

This year's theme is Celebrating Cleveland Success.  The houses are modeled after some Cleveland Landmarks and made by local bakers.  Chef Angelo Colozza of Colozza's Bakery in Parma is among the bakers participating in this years gingerbread lane display. He explains the effort needed to build a gingerbread house in this interview, and he is accompanied by Tony Thomas, Executive Director of Welcome House, and Todd Schwartz, the organizer of the event.

Associate Dean Offers Students International Flavor

Klaus Tenbergen/Photo credit: Cuyahoga Community College

Klaus Tenbergen, associate dean of the Hospitality Management program at Cuyahoga Community College, brings a global culinary perspective to Tri-C.  A native of Germany, Klaus began is career there, owned and operated a bakery in South Africa, and ran the culinary program at California State University, Fresno before coming to Cleveland. 

Tenbergen was generous with his time for this interview, explaining how students learn culinary arts and entrepreneurship, discussing a recent “culinary mission” to France to start a student exchange program, and explaining why some chefs gravitate toward baking, others cooking.

Baking is Tenbergen's specialty, and he is enthused about the trend toward urban gardening in Cleveland.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Returning To Cleveland

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is bringing its Christmas-themed arena rock and visually spectacular show to Quicken Loans Arena for two performances on December 26th.  As TSO founder Paul O'Neill explains in this interview, concert-goers will experience the debut of The Christmas Attic, as well as classics like Wizards in Winter and Christmas Eve/Sarajevo.

First "Wellness Nursery" To Open In Cleveland Soon

Providence House was Ohio's first crisis nursery when Sr. Hope Greener first opened its doors in Ohio City in 1981. The majority of the babies who needed care then were born with crack addictions, passed on by mothers unable to care for their newborns.

Today,  homelessness and heroin addictions are the major hurdles faced by the babies and children who receive loving care Providence House.  And in early 2015, Providence House plans to open the first wellness nursery in the country.  Elisabeth's House, named for the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation, will care for infants and children with medical issues who are well enough to be released from the hospital, but may not have a safe place to go.

Natalie Leek-Nelson, President and CEO of Providence House says construction of the wellness nursery is complete and the license has been issued.  Initial operating funds are needed to open the doors and fill the beds with babies in need.  You can contribute by attending the agency's biggest fundraiser of the year, Deck the House, taking place Tuesday, December 9 at First Energy Stadium.

Tour Ireland With Kelly, Quinn and McIntyre in April

Photo credit: Loretta Kelley

Time is running short for reserving your spot on the 11 day tour of Ireland with Gerry Quinn of The Irish Show, and Jim McIntyre and Tom Kelly of The 11th Hour.  It has been branded The Cleveland Irish Tenor's Tour, even though not one of them can sing a lick.  But there will be plenty of REAL musical entertainment, as Gerry Quinn has lined up the likes of James Kilbane, Johnny Carroll and Seanie Vaughan for private shows, just for our group.

That's just one of the features that makes this trip unique.  Another is the quality of the hotels booked for the tour.  From the Europa Hotel in Belfast to the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill, which is rated by Conde Nast as one of Europe's 20 top 20 resorts.  And the cost of admission at every destination, from the world's largest Titanic visitor's attraction to Blarney Castle and the Guinness Storehouse is covered by your tour payment.

With breakfast provided every day of the trip, and dinners 6 of our 10 nights in Ireland, there will be few added expenses.   Call 877-677-4466 or click here to go to Ireland with Kelly, Quinn and McIntyre in April.

Arts, Culture Loom Large as Economic Drivers in NEO

Kristin Puch and Tom Schorgl of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture

The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture has commissioned a study to determine the economic impact of Greater Cleveland's visual arts sector.  From painters to print shop workers, it turns out the visual arts sector is growing, and contributing mightily to the economic engine that is fueling Northeast Ohio in 2014.

Tom Schorgl, President and CEO of CPAC, and Kristin Puch, Director of Research and Advancement explain the economic importance of Arts and Culture in Cleveland.