The Observer, September 8, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 2
Cleveland on Fire: Summer events at Wade Oval promising for city development
Great cities and great neighborhoods have wonderful public spaces that showcase the ideals of a community. Wade Oval Park has the potential to be the premier urban park in University Circle and Cleveland – a destination for citizens of the area and travelers to the Midwest. This summer, the Wade Oval Wednesday concerts brought life and energy to the neighborhood, but to become a destination, a leap needs to be taken past this summer's initial step.
One of the most important steps taken to ensure Wade Oval Park's success was taken in 2003 when the redesign and refurbishing of the seven-acre park occurred. Before those efforts, the park was brown, poorly lit, and unfriendly to users. Now it is a lush place for relaxing under a shade tree, Shakespearean productions, picnicking, or playing games of choice. With better lighting, it has also become a safer place at night.
This summer's concert series was a blast – every Wednesday hundreds of people went out to the park to enjoy the cool music on summer nights with the picturesque park around them. In every direction, Wade Oval showed its potential with families picnicking, children playing, elderly people relaxing in lounge chairs, and the varied institutions of University Circle looming in the background over well-grown trees.
Furthermore, these events brought together a great diversity of cultures – a feat that is not often matched in the sadly segregated society of Northeast Ohio. Age, race, and gender did not matter to these concert goers, who enjoyed jazz, rock, reggae, and soft singing musicians on the Kulas Stage.
All of these factors led to a great summer in the park full of food, music, sights, and friends. That, however, should not be the culmination of efforts to bring life to Wade Oval, but rather the beginning.
There are many opportunities ahead for the summer events at Wade Oval Park, but all of them require bigger thinking than what has happened over the last two summers. The music selection has been enjoyable, featuring varying groups of mostly jazz and reggae. However, a wider variety of musical and performance genres would provide a diverse entertainment schedule and therefore attract a more diverse audience.
Furthermore, the park would be a great location for free summer movies – an activity so prominent in other cities but seemingly lacking in Northeast Ohio. These movies could be targeted to either adults or children, or ideally both, to bring people to the park. A greater number of attendees will also attract a greater variety of vendors present, in terms of both the arts and the food tents, which were lackluster and the unchanging from week to week.
Lastly, there needs to be more of a collaboration and outreach between the institutions in University Circle for these concerts. As I have harped before, unless these organizations work together, they will not reach their greatest potential. Every week, concert goers walked through a seemingly small set of tents and vendors – with no sign of the museums sitting a couple hundred yards away. This is a golden opportunity for the institutions to open their doors to possible customers and support the neighborhood that is crucial to their success. Instead of turning their backs on the park in their backyard and competing with their own events, the museums should incorporate Wade Oval into their efforts.
