Show #437 Airing Sunday, 6/15/08
With gas prices out of sight, enjoying our local sights this summer is the way to go. Luckily, we in Northeast Ohio have Cleveland’s University Circle to keep us entertained. Here to explore the many “cool” activities we’ll find when the weather is “hot” is Laura Kleinman, director of the Cleveland Cultural Collaborative.
Question: So much is happening at University Circle this summer. Let's start with a major exhibit that's now at the Western Reserve HIstorical Society — Vatican Splendors.
Answer: Vatican Splendors will be staying at the WRHS until Labor Day. This exhibit is the largest to ever tour North America and includes over 200 antiquities, some of which have never before been on public view. It’s celebrating the 500th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Swiss Guard. Painting Sistine Chapel; Pope Story; Thorns
Tickets are $20. Seniors are admitted for $18. There are evening hours Monday through Wednesday, with the last admissions at 7 p.m. You can get tickets by calling 1-888-5VATICAN, by going to www.ticketmaster.com, or at the museum.
Question: Wednesdays this summer will be filled with plenty of cool activities. Can you explain?
Answer: Starting this Wednesday, June 18th, and continuing through August 27th, we will be having Wade Oval Wednesdays. University Circle, Inc. will be offering a free concert series from 6-9, featuring a variety of music from jazz, to reggae, to the Beatles. You may bring your own picnic, enjoy the beer and wine garden, or eat at one of the museum cafes.
All the museums on the Circle will have evening hours on Wednesday this summer, including the Museum of Natural History.
Also on Wednesdays, the Cleveland Botanical Garden will feature “Gourmets in the Garden.” For $5, you can watch a chef from a local restaurant (Sergio’s, Fire, Blue Point Grille) create gourmet food.
Question: I understand the Cleveland Botanical Garden also has a program just for seniors.
Answer: Yes. 12 on Tuesday will be offered on July 8th and August 12th. For $5.50, you can come for a program (including topics such as surfing the Internet for gardening information and pocket-pressed scented geraniums), admission to the garden, and café discounts.
Question: WIll the Cleveland Museum of Art be open yet?
Answer: One of the permanent wings is reopening on June 29th. It includes 19 renovated galleries on the second floor, including European art from the 17th and 18th centuries, American art from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Armor Court. Admission is free.
Question: Can you explain about the museum hopping option?
Answer: Say you went to see Vatican Splendors. If you hold on to your admission ticket, for a 7-day period you would receive reduced admission, good for 4 people, at any of the other museums at the Circle.
Also, if you have a membership to any of the museums, you get a $2 discount off general admission at the others.
So the idea is to come down to University Circle early, and stay late. Each museum has a parking garage or lot, and the Circle Link Shuttle offers free transportation around the area.
Question: Anything new on the radar for seniors?
Answer: The museums are developing new programming for seniors. This Fall, they’ll launch a new program, Coffee with a Curator, which features a café-style event on Wednesday mornings from 10:30-noon with a different museum curator each week. Be on the look out for details later this Summer, through Tri-C’s Encore campus brochure.
Spend your summer at the Circle, and enjoy the many events available right in our own backyard. More information is just a phone call away, and the number’s next. My thanks to Laura Kleinman.
