📰 Vikings, Belly Dancers & Pierogi

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: Cleveland got a rare environmental W. The EPA says pollution levels have improved, so today we’re celebrating by inhaling responsibly 🌿🌬️😮‍💨

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

Bring on the Vikings, jousters, belly dancers, food, jazzbos, bands and art junkies. Festival season is running with enough parties to make you call off work Monday.

Ohio Scottish Games & Celtic Festival: Since 1977, it has celebrated dance, music and athletics of the ancient Highland Games and Celtic culture. Friday-Saturday. Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Info.

Tremont Food Truck Festival: Food trucks with diverse ethnic cuisines, live bands and artisans hit Tremont. Friday-Saturday. Info.

Ivan Kupala Festival: Russian cuisine is enough of a reason to go, but you also get dancers in traditional garb, domra and balalaika players, kid’s activities and a market. Sunday, Russian Cultural Gardens. Info.

Ohio Viking Festival: Tap your inner Berserkr, cry out in Old Norse, guzzle mead. The bash boasts warriors, demonstrations, food, artisan and artisans. Friday-Sunday, Lake County Fairgrounds. Info.

12th Lebanese Food and Music Festival: Small plates, traditional dishes and grilled items served with performers, music, games and activities. Saturday-Sunday, St. Sava Picnic Grove in Parma. Info.

St. Helena Romanian Church 120^th Anniversary: Founded in 1905, the oldest Romanian Byzantine Catholic Parish in America celebrates with a banquet, liturgy and guided tours Little Romania. Saturday-Sunday. Info.

52st Boston Mills Artfest: Two-weekend soiree: 300 artists from 35 states to go with scenic views, live music, wine and food. Saturday-Sunday and July 4-5. Info.

Tri-C Jazz Fest: The 47th installment brings an eclectic mix of styles -- from the Spyro Gyra to Ohio Players – to Playhouse Square. Saturday-Sunday. Info.

Breathe easier, Cleveland

The EPA announced that the Cleveland region meets national ozone standards after seeing dramatic reductions in the pollutants that create smog.

They’ve fallen by more than 40 percent since 2018, while other ozone-forming pollutants have also declined.

“Reaching attainment is more than a regulatory milestone — it’s a sign that the actions taken across Northeast Ohio are making a measurable difference in the air people breathe,” said EPA Administrator Anne Vogel.

Cleveland has struggled with pollution since the Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969, which inspired the Clean Water Act and EPA.

In the ‘70s, industrial pollution produced hazy great skies, soot-covered windshields and just-washed laundry hanging outside getting dirty all over again.

Cleaner air is a godsend for asthma sufferers in an area with the highest incidence in the country.

Eleven percent of Ohioans have asthma.  Cleveland is worse – with childhood rates hitting 20-25% in some neighborhoods.

Bands on the run with strangers cobbled together by chance. A celebration of spontaneity. A 10-minute gamble.

Bring on Cleveland Lottery League.

The local music event of the year will bring together 170 area musicians whose names were thrown into a hopper and randomly selected to play in bands together during a "draft.”

It didn't matter that many came from very different musical backgrounds -- metal, hip-hop, rock, country, experimental, punk.

Rules are simple: Bands members have never played with one another before. They must come up with 10 minutes of original material. And they must come up with a unique band name.

And they must make their debut at “The Big Show” – which celebrates its seventh installment since 2008 at Ingenuity Cleveland from noon to midnight Saturday.

As much as a concert, The Lottery League is an experiment that places disparate musicians in close proximity to see what happens. Info.

FRIDAY

Guardians vs.. Mariners: The road trip was a disaster. Hopefully, the 10-game homestand will treat the Guardos better. They open a three-game series at 7:10 p.m. against Seattle. Info.

‘The Great Gatsby’: The acclaimed Tony-winning musical based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 1925 novel closes it’s run in Connor Palace on Sunday. 7:30 p.m. Info.

Todd Barry: The King of bone-dry sarcasm (is that a category?) who’s appear on Colbert, Conan and in ‘Flight of the Concords’ and ‘The Wrestler hits the Winchester. 8 p.m. Info.

SATURDAY

Walk the Lakefront: The Cleveland Metroparks hosts a three-mile jaunt along the lakefront from the newly-renovated E. 55th Street Marina to Gordon Park and back. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration required. Info.

CLE Records Showcase: Jim Ellis published the legendary CLE magazine five decades ago. Now, he’s launched a record label – and will celebrate his roster of up-and-coming Cleveland bands: Doug McKean, Kiss Me Deadly, Moon Echo Garden and Duo Decibel System. 7 p.m., Brothers Lounge. Info.

SUNDAY

Jokes on You: The crowd-work comedy show features local and visiting comedians to think on their feet by ditching their routines and interacting with the audience. Anything goes. 8 p.m. at Hilarities. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

It’s a rusty, dusty train-lover’s paradise and one of the city’s best-kept secrets. 

Not on Saturday: Midwest Railway Preservation Society will transform into nirvana for train – and history – lovers.

Bring on the Cleveland Railroad Festival at its 1907 Historic B & O Roundhouse – one of three of its kind still functioning in Ohio and 15 in the country.

It features tours of the rail yard, more than 25 cars and the steam locomotive Grand Trunk Western 4070. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Info.

By the late 1950s the problems associated with air pollution could no longer be ignored. The pollutants released from Republic Steel's smoke stacks affected plant workers and those that lived in the adjacent communities. The air pollutants released by industrial complexes hit a critical mass.

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

72 °F 🌡️ 64 °F | ☁️ (Cloudy) | 24% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 8 mph W (≈ 7 knots)

74 °F 🌡️ 64 °F | ⛅ (Partly Cloudy) | 22% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 12 mph NNE (≈ 10 knots)

78 °F 🌡️ 68 °F | ☀️ (Mostly Sunny) | 13% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 10 mph NNE (≈ 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. Mariners, 7:10 PM June 26 (Friday)

Home vs. Mariners, 7:10 PM June 27 (Saturday)

Home vs. Mariners, 1:40 PM June 28 (Sunday)

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