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10/10/2014 - Cleveland Magazine’s 2014 Best of Cleveland Party brought together the "Best of Cleveland" reader and editor picks for 2014 under 1 beautiful roof in the Cleveland Public Auditorium. A few of our friends were winners this year so we saw adverts for the party pop up on social media more times than in the past. My wonderful and beautiful girlfriend Gina saw them, thought of my blog, and immediately bought tickets (10% of the reason)!... plus we got a chance to see the best of the best this city had to offer all in one place (10% of the reason)!... plus we got to sample eats from the best places in town (80% of the reason)!
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I've never been to Public Auditorium. I really can't think of too many opportunities that I've seen to go recently except for maybe Hall and Oates or for the Gay Games. Like a lot of old downtown buildings that were once celebrated gathering places of a great urban city, this building is a beautiful memory of what once was and what could be again. It is nicely preserved unlike a lot of buildings from its era in rust belt towns. Walking in, you see a relic frozen in time... a once glorious place to go and see debates, celebrations, and performances. It's ornately decorated and detail oriented but now deemed too small to hold a proper crowd. To build something like this again would cost millions of dollars and require years of planning and cutting through red tape. The rust belt mentality of the shrinking Midwest city would kill the idea before it even left your brain, flowed though your hand to a pen, and hit the paper... but it's here now... like a great ship without a crew. I say god bless Cleveland magazine for using the space! It truly is beautiful on the inside and should be utilized more as a medium sized venue in our city as we continue to grow back into the large suit we once wore.
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I felt a bit under dressed when I walked in and surveyed the inside of the building... as if I should be wearing a suit like you see in old baseball crowds... 3 pieces with a hat. As I looked around at the people in attendance though I settled at about medium dressed. I mean I still looked good! There were a lot of people there walking from booth to booth to see Cleveland's best show off a bit and remind you of how cultivating the seeds of small business could help lead your city back from the abyss. These once small restaurants and clothing stores now have beyond a cult following. They have honest to god brick and mortar storefronts that are the new anchors in a city that can't seem to keep the major corporations from blindly moving to the crumbling suburbs in search of smaller tax rates and sprawling headquarters... all driven by greed. These entrepreneurs are the pioneers that are leading our way of out of the depression and into a new era. They aren't sports teams or political conventions. They are people like me and you who have a dream and the drive to push their dreams forward in the city they call home. They are visionaries who see their new clients and customers flocking back to the city center to be a part of something great. They see the potential of a place where a city block can hold thousands of people and not just a few McMansions with gates and sprawling grass. In this game, the potential of thousands of people spending money outweighs the money held on to by the few. Every man, woman, and child is an advertiser for start-ups that can't afford flashy commercials in prime time spots. In this strange time when small players can play right next to the seasoned veterans, they have seized their opportunity... this was a celebration of that.
The party was beyond fun and dare I say "off the chain". Everyone of the winners were impressive and their samples and coupons were awesome. Booth to booth you were introduced to great food, jewelry, art... but most of all you were introduced to great people. Each was engaging... down to earth salespeople who tried to make every connection that they could as people shuffled by. There were games and drawings for people to interact with. Everything was geared towards you remembering who these people were and what they represented. The entertainment was fun and local. They set the mood for a wonderful evening and even got ole Gina's feet a tappin... and if you know her, her hands in the air like she just didn't care... that it wasn't 1992. (If this post gets enough views... I may give you a taste of what that looked like on YouTube so share share share!) I am still surprised that we were even in attendance. It was fancy and felt as if powerful connections were being made right in front of our eyes. The cities most popular movers and shakers were all in one place. It was good to be there with everyone though because I truly believed that we were all rooting for the same thing... all of us want businesses to prosper in Cleveland once again. We see these tiny stores that we may have found at the Cleveland Flea or in a small shop somewhere off the beaten path blossom into something bigger... and we never want that to end. I know in my heart that beyond the money we all spend, we owed these businesses this organized Thank You!
So for the friends we've made since we've been here... I attended this to cheer for you and support you. You are my heroes. I can only wish not only to have a great idea but have the guts to take it to the level that you have. You've made it to a point that I can only dream of and I can't begin to imagine the pride you must have taking a labor of love and bringing it to a city that needs you and so many others like you. So for Sassyfras, Brewnuts, and all of the other best of Cleveland winners... I speak for all Clevelanders when I say Thank you... and Congratulations!
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When you go to sleep tonight Cleveland know that the future is bright and that you too have the opportunity to do something great. We truly live in wonderful times. Sweet dreams... love you Cleveland.
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