Check out the FB group or @cookoutctown to stay up to date on all of the fun that is happening in the world of Cookout Cleveland.
Also, does anyone know Wilde and Fee? I’d like to talk to them about broadcasting from a community cookout during the week of Cookout Cleveland.
Thanks!
Bob
Spread the word, share your thoughts, and let’s Cookout Cleveland!
Bob
Congratulations on making Cleveland Pizza Week a success and thank you for giving the local economy a little “boost”. I ran into other pizza week goers around town and many told me that they tried new pizza locations for the first time.
What we accomplished in less than three weeks:
1. Over 240 followers on Facebook
2. Over 70 followers on Twitter
3. Coverage on many blogs
4. A conversation of Cleveland Pizza Week on Q104
5. Friends gathered around pizza and engaged in dialogue
Stay tuned for future food weeks and do not hesitate to contact us (clevelandpizzaweek@gmail.com) with suggestions on types of foods that Clevelanders should focus on! You can continue to follow us on Facebook (Cleveland Pizza Week) and Twitter (ctownpizzaweek) for updates.
Enjoy,
Cleveland Pizza Week Fan Club
“So what is with this Cleveland Pizza Week?” That is the question that I have been hearing quite a bit during the past few days. Here’s the deal: it was created just for fun…but it is gaining momentum.
Two years ago several friends of mine decided to dedicated an entire week around one food. That food was tacos and the week was a blast. We visited five unique restaurants/bars, sampled their tacos, enjoyed the company of friends, and learned (or re-learned) new neighborhoods in Cleveland. The week was a success based on any measurement. Last year we we applied the same concept to mac n cheese. Mac n cheese week was also a success and exposed us to several new locations that had only been open for a few months or so BUT served great mac n cheese.
This year it was decided that we would focus our appetite towards pizza. Pizza is economical, healthy (in moderation), and in abundance in Cleveland. While Cleveland does not have the stereotypical “deep dish” pizzas of Chicago, we still hold our own with mom and pop places that have been going for years, or even generations. We all have our favorites and most of us are not afraid to share that information. This is why the first Cleveland Pizza Week is here!
This “project” is relying on a very small team of dedicated Clevelanders to grow, promote, and direct the movment towards its launch on March 9th. We are relying on social media to get the word out and all of the efforts will be highlighted during Cleveland Pizza Week. Specials will be shared (one local chain has already indicated an interest), favorites will be discussed and debated, and everyone will have a good time.
Success is simple: during the week of March 9th, every Clevelander pulls together a small group of family or friends and visits their favorite pizza place for lunch or dinner. That’s it! Our only goal is to expose Clevelanders to the pizza options in town and to inspire a little conversation when we could all use a break from reality.
So, enjoy pizza during the week of March 9th, spend some time with family and friends, and visit www.clevelandpizzaweek.com to share your comments and stories!
BTW, you can follow Cleveland Pizza Week to receive the latest news by visiting Twitter or Facebook.
Spread the word and forward over any suggestions on in what ways we can make Cleveland Pizza Week a true success!
Ohio State will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl this evening. There is nothing like watching TBDBITL perform Script Ohio in person but I’ll have to rely on a CD tonight.
OH…
Many great things are on my plate for 2009. Challenging work projects with several fun social activities tossed in for good measure…stay tuned!
The Plain Dealer will run a story tomorrow about the Creative People that Northeast Ohio lost in 2008. Who would be on your list? Would you only include people in the traditional “creative” sense? How about the entrepreneurs who helped build businesses in NEO or the business leaders who led their organizations through troubled waters?
The Plain Dealer has begun what appears to be their version of Quiet Crisis - Part Deux: how will the readers respond?
Numerous organizations in greater Cleveland are attempting to tackle the issue of civic engagement. The Cleveland Leadership Center has a committee to discuss the issue and a newly launched Citizens Leage has been formed; but what are the “non-connected citizens” doing?
What about the individuals who live in Westlake or Solon and work at Moen or Progressive Insurance. These are the folks who drive their kids to soccer or baseball practice without thinking about what event they are missing downtown. These are the people who shop at Crocker Park or Legacy Village and who have probably never been to Ohio City or Little Italy. Again, how do we engage these Cleveland assets?
I grew up in North Olmsted and Westlake. My parents made the effort to take me and my two sisters downtown on a regular basis to attend baseball games, enjoy musicals at playhouse square, see the sights at Tower City during the holidays, and occasionally enjoy a pie at Mama Santa’s. We were westsiders who realized that Cleveland did not stop at East 9th. I can’t say that this was the case for many of my friends but I appreciate that my parents knew that this “education” would be valuable at some point in our life.
I’ll argue that a large portion of the civic engagement deficit in Cleveland is due to the parents of greater Cleveland. If only the parents would take a few extra minutes to educate their children of the cultural, civic, business, educational, and athletic assets that we have in our own backyard. Would the graduating high schoolers of this region view Cleveland differently if they had this conversation? What if parents explained that many of the activities that the family participated in, even if in a limited basis, were in Cleveland; would the kids think of Cleveland differently when they drove to the airport or to Severance Hall? Would the kids view their hometown with a greater appreciation if they knew that the oil industry was born in the flats, that Akron was the capital of rubber, and that our sports teams have been trend setters in many arenas. I wonder.
I grew up listening to stories of my grandparents growing businesses and familes in the neighborhoods that I now live and play in. Every fall when I vote I meet a little old lady who reminds me that she has known my family for over 50 years and my neighbor never forgets to tell me that she shopped at my great-grandfathers butcher shop at 104th and Madison. These stories have encouraged me to become more engaged. I love this town and the people that make it real.
Clevelanders are not motivated by slogans or flashy logos; they are motivated by success and truth. Tell a Clevelander to believe in something and they will be apprehensive, but demonstrate success to a Clevelander and they will be a fan for years. So, I ask one thing of the civic engagment discussions going on at the moment: demonstrate success.
Share your successes with the Plain Dealer at sgoldberg@plaind.com.
Where will the PD take this new interest in public discourse? The beginnings for “Quiet Crisis - Part Deux” are being laid and it would appear to be much different than its counterpart from a few years back. My one desire is that the paper not only shed light on BIG ideas, rather; highlight the baby steps that are being taken today to solve regional problems of great significance.
One article today discussed “regionalism” but once again only focused on Cuyahoga County. Regionalism is much bigger than Cuyahoga County and needs to involve our equal partners in Akron, Lorain, Medina, Youngstown, etc. Each mini-region brings its own assets to the table and is part of a comprehensive economy.
So, thoughts on where this series is going and in what ways the residents of this region can drive the dialogue? Submit a letter here.
This article in the New York Times Magazine does an excellent job in documenting how a communications team and political campaign manager create the “brand” of a Presidential candidate. From historic packaging, to daily messaging, to decision making;the process is outlined in its entirety. I guess we will see if this effort pays off in a few weeks.
This is the stuff that most voters never take the time to understand about a campaign but what campaigns spend the most time in crafting.