CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights will hold its Third Annual Black History Month celebration from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 21 at the city’s community center, 1 Monticello Blvd.
The event will be held in partnership with Djapo Cultural Arts Institute and the city of University Heights, and will feature fan favorites, such as a large vendors’ market, live music and dance, and interactive educational activities highlighting Black history and excellence.
New to the event this year will be presentations from CH-UH Schools and area students who entered poems, essays, and art into the Cleveland Heights Martin Luther King Jr. writing contest.
Overflow parking and shuttle service will be provided to and from Forest Hill Park and the community center for the entire event.
The celebration is free and open to all. Those interested in volunteering can do so by sending an email to Jami.
Anthony Bourdain tasting experience: The Rustic Grill at StoneWater, located at StoneWater Golf Club in Highland Heights, will hold on March 4 an Anthony Bourdain tasting dinner experience.
Bourdain, the renowned chef, author and travel documentarian, will be remembered with a multi-course dinner that draws directly from dishes featured in his travels and television episodes. The experience will highlight the comforting, soulful flavors Bourdain championed throughout his career.
The thoughtfully curated evening honors not only Bourdain’s global culinary adventures, but also his enduring legacy of bringing people together around food.
“Anthony Bourdain showed us that food is never just about what’s on the plate — it’s about the people, the stories, and the shared experience,” said Rustic Grill Executive Chef Kathryn Neidus, in a release. “This menu is our way of honoring his spirit.
“Each course reflects comfort, culture and connection. We want our guests to sit a little longer, talk a little more, and remember that the best meals are the ones that bring us together.”
The four-course meal includes items such as sticky Vietnamese chicken wings, beef cheek pierogis, pork pho noodle soup, ribeye steak au poivre, and strawberry ice cream pie.
In addition to a full bar, a curated list of Bourdain’s favorite beverages will also be available for purchase.
The dinner will take place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 4. StoneWater is located at 1 Club Lane in Highland Heights.
The cost is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity. To make a reservation, call or email Whitney at 440-461-465, ext. 232, or email wneidus@stonewatergolf.com.
A grant for Noble-Roanoke Park: The Akron-Cleveland Association of Realtors and the city of Cleveland Heights have announced that they have secured a $7,500 National Association of Realtors placemaking grant that will support improvements at Cleveland Heights’ Noble-Roanoke Park.
Funding will be used to install new gateway features, improve walkways, enhance landscaping, and add amenities that will make the park more accessible and welcoming to residents and visitors.
The project will also include new seating, lighting infrastructure, and beautification efforts designed to strengthen the park’s role as a neighborhood gathering space. More details about the project will be released soon.
Celebrating the Lunar New Year: The Chinese Family Affinity Group invites the community to its 2026 Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration, taking place from 5-8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1 at Beachwood High School, 25100 Fairmount Blvd.
The festive evening will bring families together to welcome the Lunar New Year through cultural performances, light meal options, and a lively New Year market.
Families of all ages, including children, parents, grandparents, and friends have the opportunity to gather to enjoy the celebration of culture, connection and community.
Handmade soaps: In its weekly newsletter, the city of Cleveland Heights let its residents know that STEM Handmade Soaps has opened a new shop at 2265 Lee Road.
The store features soaps, lotions, scrubs, balms and a variety of goods that focus on natural, “skin loving” ingredients and reduce-reuse packaging.
Partners Dave Willett and Steve Meka also operate their original location in Lakewood.
State of CH-UH Schools address: Residents are invited to the 2026 Cleveland Heights-University Heights State of our Schools Address, to be given at 9 a.m. Feb. 27 at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, 1 Monticello Blvd.
Refreshments will be served beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Annual temple blood drive: Temple Emanu El’s Brotherhood, along with the Red Cross, will host its annual Louis Clay Memorial Blood drive from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15 at Temple Emanu El, 4545 Brainard Road in Orange.
This year’s donation goal is 29 units to help stem the blood supply shortage.
Scheduling an appointment is preferred, but walk-ins are allowed.
Register here.
“Extreme winter weather has disrupted efforts to replenish the blood supply, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of blood drives,” it is stated on the Red Cross website. “The American Red Cross is facing a severe blood shortage as requests from hospitals exceed the available supply, drawing down the blood supply by about 35 percent over the past month.
“The shortage is especially serious for platelets and type O, A negative and B negative blood. Without immediate action, patients face serious risk. Your help is needed right now.”
Night for the Red & White benefit: The 34th Annual Gala: A Night for the Red & White, which benefits Shaker Heights Schools, will be held from 7-11 p.m. March 14 at The Agora Theatre & Ballroom, 5000 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland.
The event will feature dinner, dancing to the live music of Gumbo Dance Party, online silent auction, and the European Rhapsody Raffle.
Those who cannot attend can donate by visiting here.
Tickets for the European Rhapsody Raffle cost $100. The prize is an adventure for two to the winner’s choice of Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Paris, Rome, Madrid or Athens.
The five-day journey, a value of up to $5,000, includes airfare (round-trip for two); a luxury stay for four nights in a four-star Superior Hotel; private airport transfers; and authentic dining at a traditional local restaurant.
Buy tickets here. Only 250 tickets will be sold. The raffle closes at 10 p.m. March 14. The winner will be announced at the event and need not be present to win. Entrants must be 21 and older.
A University Heights mission statement: Members of University Heights City Council and the city’s new adminsitration under Mayor Michele Weiss met in a three-hour retreat on Feb. 10.
Their goal was to create a vision and set goals for the next two years. The mission statement they devised reads: In our legislative role, the University Heights City Council is committed to leading, advocating, and responding in service to our community with fiscal responsibility, integrity, transparency, mutual respect, and kindness.
The String Cheese Incident: Last week, we told you about the Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Grateful Dead-with- a-twist show coming to Cleveland Heights’ Cain Park (14591 Superior Road) on July 18 (buy tickets here), and this week we have news from Cain Park that it will welcome on Aug. 11 for a 7:15 p.m. concert The String Cheese Incident.
Tickets are now on sale for the jam band’s show, part of its Just Keep Spinning Tour.
Cost is $52.50 to $133.50 for Cleveland Heights residents, and $58.50 to $139.50 for non-residents.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Cain Park Arts Festival: Also, the 49th Annual Cain Park Arts Festival will take place this summer from July 10-12.
Applications for artists and vendors are now being accepted at cainpark.com/arts-festival.
Adult 90s Night at Children’s Museum: The Children’s Museum of Cleveland will hold an adults-only event, “Grownup Recess: 90s Throwback,” from 7-10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27.
The vibrant after-hours experience invites adults 18 and older to embrace nostalgia, creativity, and play in the Children’s Museum — without the kids.
Included will be a themed photo-op, slap bracelet decorating, beaded keychains, and cootie catcher making. Attendees can play classic games like Twister, Bop-It, and Pretty Pretty Princess, and belt out their favorite 90’s jams in a karaoke lounge.
Proceeds from the event benefit CMC’s Wonder Fund, supporting free and reduced admission programs that help make the Museum accessible to all families and children.
Tickets cost $30 and include access to all activities and exhibit spaces throughout the museum. Alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase.
Space is limited, so attendees are encouraged to purchase in advance at cmcleveland.org/adultevents/.
Baby items donation drive: The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce and Heights-Hillcrest Regional Chamber of Commerce are teaming up with Cuyahoga County Public Library to hold a baby items donation drive.
Items needed include diapers, sizes 3, 4, 5 and 6; wipes; formula; and gently worn clothing, sizes newborn to 2T.
Donations can be dropped off at the Beachwood Library branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd., and the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library branch, 1876 S. Green Road.
Nominate a Shaker landmark: The Shaker Heights Landmark Commission is now seeking nominations for its 2026 Preservation Awards program.
Exterior projects on any building in Shaker Heights that were completed after March of 2024 are eligible. Submissions will be accepted through April 30.
Learn more and submit a nomination here.
If you would like your item to appear in Press Run, send me an email, at least 12 days prior to an event, at jeff.piorkowski@att.net.
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