💘 Cleveland’s Getting Weird This Valentine’s Weekend

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: The sun stuck around a little longer yesterday and honestly… morale improved by 38% 😎🌤️📈

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

Hello, horse. You are full of energy, freedom and movement. You also bring bold action, cultural shifts, potential upheaval.

Gallop ahead, this is your year. Tuesday marks the start of the Year of the Horse, according to the lunar calendar.

The year is said to bring fast-paced transformations, passion and volatility in politics and financial markets.  The fire energy could be too hot to handle – and lead to make-or-break relationships.

It will also bring celebrations to Cleveland.

On Monday, we’ll roll out a guide to AsiaTown. For now, here are some events this weekend:

Asia Plaza: It's lion dance season! At 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, the mall will host a celebration that features the Kwan Family Lion Dance team, musicians, martial arts performers and food. Info.

Li Wah: The restaurant is renowned for its dim sum and will roll out a special menu during celebrations – starting 11 a.m. Saturday, featuring a performance by Kwan family. Info.

Cleveland Museum of Art: It boasts one of the top collections of Asian art and will be hosting guided tours of it 6:30 tonight, 2-3 p.m. Saturday and 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday. Info.

Whispers of warming days are dandy. But we need something ferocious to scare this frigid beast of a winter.

Summon a gaggle of fuzzy monsters to send old man winter into a nursing home.

Cleveland Kurentovanje is back for a 14^th year in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, which was once the epicenter of the Slovenian community.

In the middle of it all is Slovenian National Home, which acts as a hub during the festival. It runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The festival is a sort of Mardi Gras, whose roots go back to pagan times.

It attracts 100,000 people and culminates with one of the city’s most popular and colorful parades filled with clanging bells, laughs, beer, food, music.

Of course, there are also the stars of the parade: those fuzzy, feisty monsters adored in sheepskin costumes that hop up and down and all around to scare winter away.

They’re called kurenti – ancient, mythological Slovenian creatures who summon mythical powers to deliver us spring and fertility. Info.

Sixty-four minutes might not seem like a lot.

Combine it with the heat – OK, relatively speaking – and it’s a much-welcome relief.

On Tuesday, the thermometer hit 47 degrees, which broke an 18-day streak in which the high of the day was under 32 degrees – a run not seen in 25 years.

Now comes Sunday, when sunset will clock in at 6 p.m.

It’ll be the first time we see the sun so late since Nov. 1 – and a welcome relief to  the 4:46 p.m. sunsets we saw in early December.

We’re heading into February and March, when daylight increases by an average of 2:45 a day – the most in calendar.

Even better, Friday through Saturday Feb. 21 will mark a run of highs over 32 degrees.

FRIDAY

Cleveland Bazaar Valentine: The annual market for sweethearts brings makers, food and drinks to 78^th Street Studio. 5 tonight and 10 a.m. Saturday. Info.

Monster Jam: Egads, it’s autogeddon – when those menacing machines transform Rocket Arena into a ‘Mad Max’ movie. Wild stunts and even wilder trucks. 7 tonight. Info.

Love Sucks: Mahall’s is always good for a themed dance party. This vampire-themed Valentine’s fang-shebang goes straight for the sweethearts among us. 10 tonight. Info.

Aaron Weber: He’s a regular and the youngest comedian to perform at the Grand Ole Opry – not to mention one of the scene’s rising stars. He brings his casually-delivered, self-deprecating routine to Hilarities. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday. Info

SATURDAY

Descendents: The Cali pop-punk band that pioneered the genre with its album ‘Milo Goes to College’ hits House of Blues at 6 p.m. Saturday. Info.

Tropical Cleveland: It’s cold outside, but you wouldn’t know it at a Tropical Cleveland Valentine’s soiree. At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the Latin Dance party will crank up the heat at Nuevo. Info.

The Showgirl Overture: The 15^th annual Sweetheart Showcase rolls out burlesque performances that pay tribute to classic Broadway shows. 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Beachland Ballroom. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

For decades, Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi silent film ‘Metropolis’ was hailed as a futuristic masterpiece. Far away then, so close now. Set in 2026, the film about a dystopian future corrupted by extreme wealth disparity, AI-like automation and machines-gone-wild looks like today. At 7 tonight, Heights Arts will show silent film with musical accompaniment by pianist Jenny Lin and electronic artist Drake Andersen. Info.

East Fourth Street when it was a retail center in downtown, 1945. Watch our photo montage of East Fourth through the decades on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

33 °F 🌡️ 19 °F | 🌧️➡️🌨️ (Rain to Snow / Windy) | 60% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 22 mph (≈ 19 knots)

25 °F 🌡️ 15 °F | 🌥️ (Morning Flurries / Cold) | 30% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 14 mph (≈ 12 knots)

29 °F 🌡️ 22 °F | 🌤️ (Partly Sunny / Chilly) | 10% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 10 mph (≈ 9 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Home vs. Nets, 07:00 PM February 19 (Thursday)

Away vs. Hornets, 07:00 PM February 20 (Friday)

Away vs. Thunder, 01:00 PM February 22 (Sunday)

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