The 40th Cleveland International Film Festival, presented by Dollar Bank, kicks off May 30 through April 10, 2016 at Tower City Cinemas.

Mark your calendars!  The 9th annual Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week will run February 19 through February 28, 2016, a week that gives you the opportunity to experience Downtown’s thriving culinary scene.

Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week features $15, $30 and $40 lunch and dinner specials at select restaurants throughout Downtown Cleveland, including many in the Gateway District.

Join your friends from the Gateway District and Warehouse District for an upcoming group outing!  You can take your pick of a Cleveland State University basketball game or a theatrical experience at Flanagan’s Wake at PlayhouseSquare .

Saturday, February 6, 2016:  CSU Basketball Game Outing

Friday, February 12, 2016:  Flanangan’s Wake

8:00 PM show at Kennedy’s Theatre at PlayhouseSquare
Tickets are $29.00 each (includes processing fees).

To learn more about Flanagan’s wake, click here.  To download the reservation form with complete details, click here. 

Reservations are due with payment by January 26th.  First come, first served.  Limited amount of tickets available. 

Come mourn the passing of Flanagan with the telling of tales and singing of songs!

Thanks for a fabulous 2015 tour season!  The tours have ended for the year, but will return on May 15, 2016.  Over 22,200 attendees have enjoyed the award-winning tours in seven seasons to date.  In 2015, the tours were awarded a Public Education and Awareness Award from the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection.

Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation is pleased to announce that the 2016 Take a Hike program has been awarded a Project Support grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and a Strategic Initiatives Grant from Ohio & Erie Canalway.

Check back in 2016 to learn more about the upcoming tour season.  If you are not familiar with the Take a Hike program, learn more about the five tours offered here.  We hope to see many of you “taking a hike” in Downtown Cleveland next year!

The Take a Hike program was recognized with a State Historic Preservation Office Award in the category of Public Education and Awareness on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the State Historic Preservation Office Awards Luncheon held at the Ohio History Connection in Columbus.  The complete list of award winners can be found here, and the article specifically about the Take a Hike program can be found here.  

Congratulations to all the Award recipients!  And, thank you to Dollar Bank, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Ohio & Erie Canalway for supporting the Take a Hike tours.

If you haven’t taken a hike yet, you still have time in 2015.  The extended Take a Hike tour season, presented by Dollar Bank, is offering a tour of Historic Euclid Avenue every Saturday now through December 12th.  Meet at 10 AM in the Arcade (401 Euclid Avenue) to enjoy a tour that combines portions of the summer Gateway District and Playhouse Square tours.  The tour will last approximately 1.5 hours in length and feature historic figures from the past, such as Frances Payne Bolton, Alan Freed, Milton Krantz, Garrett Morgan and Mayor Tom Johnson.  Enjoy learning about the Arcade, the 5th Street Arcades, the 9, the Statler Arms, the Playhouse Square neighborhood and, of course, the GE Chandelier.  

The Extended Take a Hike season is made possible with support from The Arcade, Metropolitan at the 9, Playhouse Square, Playhouse Square District Development Corporation and Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation.

Groups of ten or more are asked to call 216-771-1994 in advance.  These free tours do go rain or shine.  Donations are encouraged to help fund future tours.

The extended Take a Hike tour season, presented by Dollar Bank, will kick off Saturday, October 3rd.  Here’s your chance to enjoy the Fall weather in Cleveland by enjoying a tour of Historic Euclid Avenue.

Every Saturday from October 3rd through December 12th, a tour of Historic Euclid Avenue will be offered.  Meet at 10 AM in the Arcade (401 Euclid Avenue) to enjoy a tour that combines portions of the summer Gateway District and Playhouse Square tours.  The tour will last approximately 1.5 hours in length and feature historic figures from the past, such as Frances Payne Bolton, Alan Freed, Milton Krantz, Garrett Morgan and Mayor Tom Johnson.  Enjoy learning about the Arcade, the 5th Street Arcades, the 9, the Statler Arms, the Playhouse Square neighborhood and, of course, the GE Chandelier.  Make plans to stay Downtown for lunch after your tour at Flannery’s Pub, Hofbrauhaus Cleveland or Heinen’s!

The Extended Take a Hike season is made possible with support from The Arcade, Metropolitan at the 9, Playhouse Square, Playhouse Square District Development Corporation and Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation.

Groups of ten or more are asked to call 216-771-1994 in advance.  These free tours do go rain or shine.  Donations are encouraged to help fund future tours.

Sparx City Hop is scheduled for Saturday, September 19th from 11 AM to 6 PM in Downtown Cleveland.  Hop on free trolleys to explore, experience and celebrate Cleveland’s neighborhoods, including the  Gateway District, which will be a trolley stop on the Green Line!

The 5th Street Arcades in the Gateway District will offer hoppers a sidewalk pop-up party, complete with Sparx deals and live art demonstrations featuring 5th Street Arcade tenants.  Enjoy local art, handmade jewelry, artisan pastries and more. To learn more about what the 5th Street Arcades has to offer, click here.  The Corner Alley, just a short walk up Euclid Avenue, will be celebrating its grand reopening with tabletop games as well as food and drink specials on its new patio.

You can also enjoy a special Take a Hike tour being offered as part of Sparx.  A tour of Historic Euclid Avenue featuring actors portraying Alan Freed and Garrett Morgan will be offered twice on Saturday, September 19th.  The 1 PM tour will begin at the Main Trolley Hub at Playhouse Square, and the 3 PM tour will begin at the 5th Street Arcades Trolley Stop.   

An annual program now in its 13th year, SPARX is a celebration of everything that is in Cleveland’s most central and metropolitan neighborhoods. The one-day event has grown larger each year and now draws approximately 20,000 attendees.  SPARX  is presented by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and is made possible through the collaboration of its neighborhood partners including:  Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation, Playhouse Square District Development Corp., The Campus District, Superior Arts District, Asia Town, Tremont West Development and Ohio City Inc.  The program is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

To learn more about Sparx activities and trolley routes, click here.   To view the 2015 Sparx City Hop event guide, click here.

Hope to see you in the Gateway District on September 19th, and check back soon for information about the Extended Take a Hike season!

Take a Hike is pleased to be part of  Destination Cleveland’s #ThisisCLE Summer Challenge.  “Do you have a friend who thinks they can’t find anything to do in Cleveland?  We challenge you to change their mind.  Grab a buddy and complete a Summer Challenge task before heading to thisiscleveland.com/thisisclechallenge to tell Destination Cleveland your story for a chance to win an overnight escape in Downtown Cleveland.”

The contest was highlighted on cleveland.com here, or you can find more information here.   Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation encourages you to “take a hike” and share your story as part of the contest!

Take a Hike is an award-winning Heritage Tourism program presented by Dollar Bank.  Attendees can enjoy tours of the Gateway District, Warehouse District, Playhouse Square neighborhood, Canal Basin Park in the Flats and the Civic Center.  Each tour highlights the history, architecture and future plans of the tour areas while featuring talented local actors and actresses portraying important Clevelanders from the past.   You may “meet” Coach Paul Brown, Alan Freed, Garrett Morgan, Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton or others along the way!  History truly comes to life on the streets of Cleveland.

Admission is free.  Donations are encouraged to help match grants and fund future tours.  Each tour lasts approximately an hour and a half in length, and tours do go rain or shine.

This program is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.  The tours also receive generous support from Ohio & Erie Canalway and Downtown Cleveland Alliance. 

To view the complete tour schedule and details on how to “take a hike”, click here.