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📸 Cleveland = Fun?

📸 Cleveland = Fun?

Tourists Think So!

April 23, 2025

Together With

Good morning, Cleveland! Draft Day feels like a holiday, Jarrett Allen’s writing sonnets to the city, and apparently, we’re fun now—just ask the tourists. Oh, and if you see a ninja vanish in Gordon Square, don’t worry… it’s just renovations. 🥷⛏️

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In today’s 216 Scoop Edition:

NFL Draft: Super Bowl for Browns fans brings high hopes, big parties
Welcome to Cleveland: ‘Fun’ image sparks jump in tourism
Renaissance Era meets the Industrial Age? Sweet, let’s party.
Jarrett Allen’s love letter to Cleveland
The ‘90s are back… Here comes Soul Coughing
Mozart’s epic opera about legendary libertine hits Playhouse Square
Re-enter the Ninja: Gordon Square spot closes for renovation

John Petkovic & Victor Takakura

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IN THE NEWS

NFL Draft: Super Bowl for Browns fans brings high hopes, big parties

Photos courtesy Cleveland Browns, NFL

Most years, Browns season lasts a grand total of one weekend -- draft weekend, to be specific – and it's all downhill from there. It’s the Super Bowl for a team that has never played in one.

Last season, fans came in with high hopes only to shake their heads in disbelief after a 1-6 start.

No surprise, the team has summoned Journey. The classic-rockers with the hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” will perform at the Browns’ 2025 Draft Party – Thursday at Huntington Bank Field.

Gates open at 4:30 p.m., Journey will hit the stage for a full set at 6 and Draftapalooza starts at 8. The event is free for all eligible season ticket members.

Several bars will host parties for Thursday’s opening of the draft, including ESPN Cleveland, which will broadcast from MGM Northfield starting at 3 p.m. The bash includes live entertainment and giveaways. More info here.

Ready, Browns fans?

Times: Round One starts at 8 p.m. Thursday; Rounds Two and Three start at 7 p.m. Friday; Rounds Four through Seven start at noon on Saturday.
Assets: The Browns have 10 picks, including No. 2 (Round 1), No. 33 (Round 2), No. 67 (Round 3), No. 94 (Round 3). The bevy of high picks place it at the top of the league when it comes to draft asset valuations.
Needs: Quarterback, obviously, but also offensive line, running back and defensive line.
Targets: The team has been linked to Travis Hunter (CB/WR Colorado). Other names: Abdul Carter (DE Penn State), Mason Graham (DL, Michigan), Jaxson Dart (QB Ole Miss), TreVeyon Henderson (RB, Ohio State), Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama), Shedeur Sanders (QB Colorado), Tyler Shough (QB Louisville). Here are some predictions from draft gurus.

A MESSAGE FROM DUNLAPS CORNER BAR

Looking for a spot that feels like home but pours like a pro? 🍻

Dunlap’s Corner Bar in Clark-Fulton is your new go-to for good vibes, cold drinks, and unbeatable happy hours. With live entertainment every night—think comedy, DJs, open mics—and classics like $2 wells and $3 High Life cans, this historic neighborhood bar is back and better than ever. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the energy. Whether you're a local or just passing through, there’s always a seat (and a shot) waiting for you.

🎤🍺 Swing by or check the lineup at dunlapsbar.com!

Welcome to Cleveland: ‘Fun’ image sparks jump in tourism

Photo courtesy Destination Cleveland

There was once a time that most Cleveland would mutter under their breadth, “Welcome to Cleveland – now leave.” My, my, what a decade has done to change minds.

A new survey by Destination Cleveland has found that 92% of residents are now likely to recommend Cleveland as a place to visit – up massive leap from just 34% a decade ago.

The rise mirrors an increase in sentiment about Cleveland as a tourist destination among potential visitors in Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Detroit. They pointed to attractions such as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the arts scene, lakefront and parks.

For decades, Cleveland was a laggard when it came to tourism. But positive national coverage resulting from high-profile sporting events, rock hall inductions, the 2016 Republican National Convention and last year’s solar eclipse helped change the perceptions – locally and nationally.

Increasingly, the city is perceived as “fun,” “energetic” and “creative.”

“Ten plus years ago, Cleveland’s brand was far from flattering and was inaccurate. It was rooted in problems dating back 40 plus years, and comedians, media and many others perpetuated the image,” says David Gilbert, CEO of Destination Cleveland. “Clevelanders weren’t proud of their city. Others had control of our brand. Rather than surrender, we decided it was time to take control.”

Tourism has become a growth industry in Cleveland, generating nearly $7 billion in direct sales. Meanwhile, Tourism-related employment is up 7.5% in Cuyahoga County and 7% of jobs are supported by the visitor economy.

Jarrett Allen’s love letter to Cleveland

Photo courtesy Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA

Fans will cheer even louder for Jarrett Allen when the Cavs face the Heat tonight after reading his heartfelt love letter in The Players’ Tribune.

In an article titled ‘The Vibes are Immaculate,’ Allen recounts how he arrived in Cleveland with bewilderment and fell in love with the city because of the people who live there.

“If you’d told me when I was back in Brooklyn that five or six years down the line I’d be on a new team … with one of the best records in the entire NBA? I’d have thought: Where’d I get traded to? Boston? L.A.? Golden State?”

“No, Cleveland.”

Allen Then makes the statement that will leave Clevelanders gushing with pride: “You don’t know how good it is until you’ve actually lived there.” Read it all here.

Renaissance Era meets the Industrial Age? Sweet, let’s party

Photos courtesy Cleveland Ingenuity

Since 2004, Ingenuity Cleveland has thrown some of the area’s most interesting happenings by intersecting the arts with technology.

Yes, the annual festival hosts bands, artists and performers. It also boasts exhibitions featuring Tesla coils that provide dancing shows of electrical currents and collaborations with NASA.

This year’s IngenuityFest is scheduled for Sept. 26-28. But there is also the annual fundraiser, Ingenuity Bal – an artful gala with eccentric themes that inspires attendees to don stylish or just strange outfits.

Tickets have just gone on sale for the 2025 edition: Rust Belt Renaissance – 7 p.m. May 10, in the sprawling warehouse known as IngenuityLabs, 5401 Hamilton Avenue, that is home to the arts group.

The soiree pays homage to eccentric arts parties that were thrown in Cleveland from the 1910s to 1940s. It also celebrates the past and future with a theme that crosses post-industrialism with the Renaissance Era. Tickets here.

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Photo by Jackie Alexander on Unsplash

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The 216 Rundown

The ‘90s are back… Here comes Soul Coughing

Soul Coughing helped define the 1990s alt-rock sound with its mix of jazz, pop, electronic rock, steam-of-consciousness lyrics and avant-garde sensibilities. It was beloved in the area, and its shows at the old Euclid Tavern have lived on thanks to show posters designed by local artist, Derek Hess. Soul Coughing broke up in 2000 but has reformed for a tour that will bring it to House of Blues – 8 tonight. More info here.

Mozart’s epic opera about legendary libertine hits Playhouse Square

The story of the insatiable libertine Don Giovanni will be told, er, sung, when the Cleveland Institute of Music brings Don Giovanni to Mimi Ohio Theater in Playhouse Square. The epic Mozart and Da Ponte opera blends comedy and melodrama and supernatural twists to tell the story of the legendary libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. 7 p.m. tonight and Friday. More info here.

NOTES ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Photo courtesy Ninja City

Re-enter the Ninja

It was always about more than signature cocktails and Asian street food. Ninja City brought color, comic-book flair and retro arcade vibes to the scene when it opened in 2014. It kept the sensibilities going when it hit Detroit Avenue in Gordon Square in 2018.

Times have changed and Ninja City is accommodating them with a temporary closing to renovation.

“It’s time for a full-on rebrand — A major glow up if you ask us,” Ninja City owners Bac Nguyen and Dylan Fallon announced on social media. “With the new Ninja city, expect new dishes (some wild ones), a whole new interior, and a fresh energy all around.”

Ninja City is expected to re-open on Friday May 2 with a “fully reimagine the space, the vibe, and the menu,” according to Fallon and Nguyen.

VINTAGE CLEVELAND

Most highly touted prospects show up NFL Draft Night adorned in flashy jewelry and suits. Joe Thomas was out fishing with his dad when the Browns selected him with the third pick in the 2007 draft. It endeared him to fans, who saw a no-frills Joe. After a stellar career, he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Photos courtesy of Cleveland Browns

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WEATHER

🌤️ Cleveland Weather Forecast

Wednesday, April 23

🌡️ 68°F / 58°F | ⛅ | 25% | 💨 NW 8 mph

Thursday, April 24

🌡️ 71°F / 63°F | ☀️ | 2% | 💨 SW 11 mph

Friday, April 25

🌡️ 71°F / 48°F | 🌧️ | 78% | 💨 SW 14 mph

Live Shows in the 216

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

^{For tickets and more information}

The 216 Sports Area

Upcoming Games

Cavaliers

Home vs. Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday.

Cleveland Guardians

Wednesday, April 23

New York Yankees / 1:10 PM ET / Progressive Field

Day game – Final in 3-game home series

Friday, April 25

Boston Red Sox / 7:10 PM ET / Boston Red Sox / Progressive Field

City Connect Wear Night – New series begins

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