Movie Magic
Grab a Seat at Cleveland International Film Festival
Provocative. Profound. Poignant.
Sure, amid all the kid flicks, superhero fare and romcoms, you can still see a few movies for grownups at your local cineplex. But if you want to see a bunch of terrific and — go ahead and say it — sometimes funky films, don’t miss the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival.
More than 100,000 people are expected this year for CIFF April 4-15 at Tower City Cinemas.
With 200 feature films and 200 short subject films representing 70 countries, you’re bound to find something that inspires, confuses and entertains you. Ticket sales begin March 23. Go to clevelandfilm.org.
A Hall of Fame for Cool People
If You Can’t Get a Ticket, At Least Get a T-Shirt
The 33rd annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is back in Cleveland April 14, and with it comes a week of special events for those of us (almost everyone) who won’t be hobnobbing with rock royalty and uber-connected folks at Public Auditorium for the actual event.
Visit the hall of fame website, rockhall.com, for details. You can catch the ceremony on HBO later this spring.
The inductees are Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Nina Simone, and receiving the Award for Early Influence is Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Oh, and about that T-shirt: You can order a 2018 inductee shirt at rockhallstore.com or buy one at the hall of fame gift shop.
Tackle Technology
(It Won’t Hurt a Bit)
Do you butt dial your grandkids? Have your Facebook skills turned you into a social media pariah? Fear not, tech-challenged friends. It’s almost time for the second annual Living in the Digital World Senior Expo at the Don Umerley Civic Center in Rocky River.
Exhibits, valuable info (no more butt dialing, right?), presentations, door prizes and food will help make all that information much more palatable. The free event is set for Thursday, May 10, from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and is sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Aging in the Digital World.
Founder Tak Sato (and Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond’s tech columnist) empowers those of us 50+ with digital literacy through the center’s free 16-week Discover Digital Literacy! Flagship program. The nonprofit also works closely with eight West Side senior centers (westshoreseniors.org) on other tech events.
To learn more, including sponsorship opportunities, visit Tak’s website at empowerseniors.org.
A Welcome Home for Veterans’ Families
Lodging — and Support — Close to VA Hospital
Groundbreaking is set for March for the area’s first Fisher Houses to meet the short-term housing needs of family members of patients at The Louis Stokes VA Medical Center.
The two homes with 16 suites will accommodate 50 family members. They will be built adjacent to the grounds of VA Medical Center in University Circle at the corner of East 105th and Orville streets.
The Stokes VA is now the third largest VA Medical Center in the nation, receiving patients from around the nation for treatment at its eight Centers of Excellence in veteran care. It is also a designated critical step-down facility for some of the most seriously wounded coming from Walter Reed Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center. In addition, the facility provides care to more than 105,000 veterans in the 24 counties that make up Northern Ohio.
The Stokes Medical Center is also the largest VA facility in the nation without a Fisher House. The existence of such a house will fill a major gap in veterans’ care and support not only in Northeast Ohio but for the Midwest region of the country as well.
Currently, family members who come to The Stokes Medical Center while their loved one is undergoing care are put up in one of three hotels in downtown Cleveland. The VA is currently paying for private hotel housing for 30 to 40 patient family members per week.
The Greater Cleveland Fisher House Task Force raised $3 million for the project. The Fisher House National Foundation provided matching funds toward the cost of the homes, allowing local organizers to construct a second house.
Additional money raised through donations will be used to purchase deep-discounted airline tickets for Fisher House families traveling to and from Cleveland, obtain entertainment for families such as museum passes, Goodtime cruise tickets, events at Quicken Loans Arena and other activities, and to help Fisher House families who have children who may need educational scholarships.
The Greater Cleveland Fisher House is the Northeast Ohio affiliate of The Fisher House Foundation. At this time, there are 78 existing Fisher Houses operating in the United States and three overseas at U.S. Army hospitals in Germany. Plans are the drawing board for an additional 12 Fisher Houses, including Cleveland.
Art Attack
The Cure? A Library Card
If you like original fine art but not the price tag that comes with it, get an Akron-Summit County Public Library card and take a painting home.
Prints, photographs and mixed-media works — along with paintings — by local, regional and international artists can be borrowed for four weeks at a time from the main library branch under a new partnership between the Akron Art Museum and the library system. Up to five renewals are permitted if the work has not been reserved by another library patron.
The new Akron Art Library aims to enrich lives through contemporary art and encourage people to collect art. As part of the lending program, the Akron Art Museum will offer programs about collecting, displaying and caring for art.
To view and reserve artworks in the Akron Art Library collection, visit the online catalog at akronlibrary.org.
