ClevelandPeople.Com Celebrating Cleveland's Cultural Diversity
Slovenian Cultural Event for Prešeren Day
Slovenian Cultural Event for Prešeren Day
A special cultural event was held on February 11, 2025 at St. Vitus Church in Cleveland as part of "Preseren Day." The day was named for 19th-century Slovene poet France Prešeren who is considered the greatest Slovenian classical poet and the inspiration for later Slovenian literature. In 1945, the anniversary of his death, called Prešeren Day, was declared as the Slovene cultural holiday. In 1989, his Zdravljica was declared the national anthem of Slovenia. The Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia, Suzana Cešarek, hosted an evening to celebrate Slovenian culture.
Speakers Joseph Valencic, Mojca Slak, Consul General Suzana Cešarek and Dr. Luka Zibelnik
Each year the Rotary Club of Cleveland celebrates International Service Day by honoring an outstanding person or organization with the International Service Award. Past recipients have included leaders from the Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Cultural Gardens and ClevelandPeople.com.
The 2025 award was given to MedWish Medworks, a humanitarian nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity and environmental sustainability. They achieve this by providing essential care, redistributing surplus medical supplies, and connecting medically underserved communities with vital resources, in Northeast Ohio and around the world.
Rotary Committee Chair Julie West, MedWish CEO Britta Latz and Rotary President Howard Lichtig
A special City Club Forum was held on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 titled "Unpacking Recent Executive Orders on Immigration and Refugee Resettlement." It featured a panel consisting of Margaret W. WongFounding & Managing Partner, Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC, Joe Cimperman President, Global Cleveland, Mark Owens VP of Marketing & Communications, Team NEO and Selina Pagan Executive Director, The Young Latino Network.
Dan Moulthrop, Mark Owens, Margaret Wong, Selina Pagan and Joe Cimperman
Video and Photo Tour of the Hungarian Heritage Museum
Video and Photo Tour of the Hungarian Heritage Museum
The Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society's mission is to preserve Hungarian culture and the history of Hungarians in Northeast Ohio, so that present and future generations can draw upon its collection for education, inspiration and enrichment. To carry out its mission, the Society sponsors educational and research activities, and operates a museum and library as a repository and exhibition center for Hungarian historical, literary and artistic items. It is in the Galleria in downtown Cleveland.
László "Leslie" Mándoki was born in Budapest Hungary at a time when the music world was about to explode. He listened to early rock and roll via Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America and started learning instruments and playing. He was arrested many times by the communist regime and had to flee Hungary and eventually make it to the USA. he and his band played with dozens of well-known artists and he brought his story of music and freedom to Cleveland for an event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland which he called a dream come true.
Leslie Mandoki and Hungarian Guitarmania guitar
Before his Rock Hall gig Leslie Mándoki toured the Hungarian Museum with Janos Szigeti, Eva Szabo and other Museum volunteers and then visited Cardinal Mindszenty Plaza with Janos Szigeti.
Leslie Mandoki in Hungarian Museum with volunteers
As a true lover of Hungary and Hungarian culture he was suitably impressed with the Museum and people and aspects of the Hungarian community of Cleveland.
In the interview he gave a parting message to the Hungarian diaspora about the importance of teaching their children Hungarian. Watch the video below.
The Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, Tet in Vietnamese, Seollal in Korean, Losar in Tibet, and Tsagaan Sar in Mongolian. On February 1, 2025, we entered the Year of the Wood Snake.
There was a two-day celebration of Lunar New Year at Asia Plaza organized by OCAGC president Lisa Wong.
There was a two-day celebration of Lunar New Year 2025 for the Year of the Wood Snake at Asia Plaza. There were performances,information booths, vendors, community resources, photo opps and, of course, food! A highlight was the first time performance by ladies from the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Indonesia Balinese Dancers
Members of the Indonesian community joined them by the map of Bali
Rosa Lee has been playing the Chinese zither - the guzheng - since she was a little girl. She is an expert and explained the 21 string isntruemnt to the people and then gave performances.
Tet is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Many people of Vietnamese heritage attended including Gia Hoa Ryan who welcomed a family from Vietnam.
Gia Hoa Ryan and Vietnamese family
Many people stopped at the ClevelandPeople.com booth to pose in front of the map of their heritage.
In this episode of Fun with Maps we look at the very small (area and population) Alpine country of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is one of only two double-landlocked countries (along with Uzbekistan) in the world. The Rhine River forms its natural border with Switzerland to the West and the other border country is Austria to the East. Despite its small area, population and limited natural resources, Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in the world with more registered companies than citizens. It is one of the few countries in the world with no debt.
The history is interesting. Until the end of World War I, it was closely tied first to the Austrian Empire and later to Austria-Hungary, but the economic devastation caused by that conflict forced Liechtenstein to enter into a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Liechtenstein remained neutral in World War II. They needed money so they often resorted to selling family artistic treasures including what was then the most expensive painting in the world (a Da Vinci portrait).
We look at the map to explain double-landlocked and show a map of the US with its landlocked, double-landlocked and one triple land-locked states. There are interesting stories about free beer to the citizens and how they handled invasions with "a case of white wine. Low business taxes and easy incorporation rules have induced many companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein, providing significant state revenues. We also tell an interesting story about their flag to distinguish it from the flag of Haiti. For such a small country it sure has some interesting features.
The 2025 Class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame has been announced. Almost 100 worthy nominations were recieved.
The induction dinner ceremony will be held on Tuesday April 22, 2025 at Windows on the River. Doors open at 5 and the event starts promptly at 6PM.
The 2025 Class will consist of:
Dr. Raj Aggarwal (Indian community)
David Gilbert (Destination Cleveland and Greater Cleveland Sports Commission)
Frank G. Jackson (56th Mayor of Cleveland)
Beverly Kerecman (Japanese community)
Branka Malinar (Croatian community)
Svetlana Stolyarova (Russian community)
Tickets, sponsorships and other information will be posted soon. Or e-mail us now for details.
Cleveland Ethnic Bucket List
Cleveland Ethnic Bucket List
We always get asked what are the best ethnic events each year. While "best" is a subjective term we decided to put together a list of annual ethnic events that we have experienced and think that every Clevelander should attend at least once. There are a lot of one-time or every few years' events that you should attend as well (like the Lithuanian Song Festival in June or the Convencion Hispana every 3 years). But this initial list will be annual events.
We want your input. What does every resident of, and visitor to, The Land need to witness? We will be collecting your input and merging with our long list and then narrowing down to a definitive (in our opinion) checklist. Let us know how many of these you have already experienced. You can email us with your suggestions.
Here's a short alphabetical list of "must-do's" to get started. Don't be offended or worry if your favorite is not listed. This is just the start.
Cleveland Asian Festival (AsiaTown - 30th and Payne)
Columbus Day Parade (Little Italy)
Cleveland International Hall of Fame inductions (Windows on the River)
Feast of the Assumption (Little Italy)
Greek Independence Day Parade (West 14th)
India Republic Day (various)
Juneteenth Celebration (African American Cultural Garden)
Liszt Concert (Hungarian Cultural Garden)
Lunar New Year (AsiaPlaza and other)
Mexican Day of the Dead (Gordon Square)
Ohio Scottish Games & Celtic Festival (County Fairgrounds)
Oktoberfest (County Fair Grounds)
One World Day (Cleveland Cultural Gardens)
Opera in the Italian Garden
Polish Constitution Day Parade (Polish Village in Parma)
Puerto Rican Day Parade (West 25th by Metro)
Romanian Festival (St Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral)
Slovenian Kurentovaje (62nd and St. Clair)
St. Patrick's Day Parade (Superior Ave downtown)
Ukrainian Independence Day Parade (Ukrainian Village in Parma)
Jim (Imre) Balogh shot in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
Jim (Imre) Balogh shot in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
I always call him the 56er. In Hungary they call him Imre. But here in the United States he is Jim Balogh and he has a fascinating story. I had heard bits and pieces of his story over the years and finally got to sit down with him and hear him tell it. You can read some of the highlights and see a few pictures but be sure to watch the video below to hear Jim tell the story in his own words.
They're Baaaaack - in AsiaTown
They're Baaaaack - in AsiaTown
The three young unintentional heroes who solved a series of murders in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens find themselves in the middle of another mystery.
In Murder in AsiaTown DJ, Ren and Peggy, called a modern Mod Squad, discover a decades old murder case from Cleveland’s Chinatown. While working to showcase and document the history of the Chinese community and neighborhood they stumble upon some disturbing news. Their efforts take them all over the Chinatown and AsiaTown neighborhoods of Cleveland Ohio and includes numerous historic facts and stories. When it looks like they have the case solved, a surprising twist emerges.
This is Cleveland author Dan Hanson's second book. The first book, Murder in the Cultural Gardens, is a “whodunit” murder mystery set in the real world Cleveland Cultural Gardens. An unlikely new “Mod Squad” stumbles upon a series of murders in their beloved Gardens and assist in solving the crimes. All 30+ of the Cultural Gardens are covered in the book so readers learn about this treasure while trying to figure out the mystery.
You can find them on Amazon and in local bookstores like Mac'sBacks on Coventry. Or email for autogaphed copies. They make great Christmas gifts!
One World Day
One World Day
The 78th annual One World Day was another amazing event. One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946.
The 78th annual One World Day was amazing! Here is a video of the Parade of Flags with over 50 heritages represented.
The Parade began with CCGF past president Sheila Murphy Crawford welcoming the crowd and thanking the Parade Chairs Angela Woodson and Dan Hanson.
In a sign of unity, the MCs for the Parade were from the 4 major TV stations in Cleveland (left to right in the photo): Tino Bovenzi from Fox8, Kelly Dobeck from WOIO, Jiovanni Lieggi from WKYC and Tracy Carloss from WEWS.
One World Day Parade of Flags MCs
The Parade marched down MLK Blvd. and began with the One World Day Banner, followed by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Dr. Wael Khoury (Board Chair of Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation). Then the Irish American Club East Side Pipe and Drums followed by the American Garden represented by members of the Rotary Club of Cleveland.
Then the representatives of the: Hungarian Garden, Greek Garden, Hebrew Garden, Slovak Garden, Italian Garden, Romanian Garden, Turkish Garden, Chinese Garden, Russian Garden, Finnish Garden, Lebanese Garden, Lithuanian Garden, German Garden, Ethiopian Garden, Ukrainian Garden, Irish Garden, Croatian Garden, Latvian Garden, Estonian Garden, Armenia Garden, African American Garden, British Garden, Slovenian Garden, Syrian Garden, Dominican Republic Community, Scottish Garden, Albanian Garden, Korean Garden, India Garden, French Garden, Polish Garden, Carpatho-Rusyn Garden, Uzbekistan Garden, Pakistan Garden, Peruvian Garden, Palestinian Garden, Morocco Community, Swiss Community, Indonesian Community, Kazakhstan Community, Native American Garden, Mexican Garden, Japanese Community, Bangladesh community, Iranian Community, Haitian Community, Filipino Garden, Colombian Garden, Brazilian Community, Chilean Community and Serbian Garden.
The largest annual gathering (sold out at 500 people with a waiting list) of Cleveland's ethnic leaders and grassroots gathered Tuesday April 23 at Windows on the River for the 14th annual Cleveland International Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.
The 2024 Class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame consists of:
Dona Brady (Albanian heritage) who was inducted by Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek.
Ambassador Edward Crawford (Irish) who was inducted by Irish Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason.
Veronica Dahlberg (Mexican and broader Hispanic) who was inducted by Cleveland City Councilwoman Jasmin Santana.
Dr. Eugene Jordan (African-American) who was inducted posthumously Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr.
Erika Puussaar (Estonian) who was inducted by Estonia´s Ambassador to the United States Mr. Kristjan Prikk
Johnny K. Wu (Chinese and broader Asian) was inducted by Margaret W. Wong.
Click on the names (above) to go to a page with the photos and videos of that person's induction. Below is a video of the entire evening taken by TV20 professionals Dan Monroe and Raulston Douse. Thanks guys.
Albert Ratner - Cleveland International Hall of Fame
Albert Ratner - Cleveland International Hall of Fame
Albert Ratner had a 66-year career at Forest City where he grew the company from a lumber supply company to a construction company to a home improvement retailer to a real estate development company. Forest City spearheaded the redevelopment of the Halle Building, which it purchased in 1982, and Tower City, which opened in 1990. It became publicly-traded in 1960, an $8.2 billion corporation that develops, owns and manages residential and commercial properties across the country. Its national portfolio now includes 32 retail centers, 36 office buildings and 115 apartment buildings.
He has always been interested in, and has become an expert in, population and immigration topics. He led the creation of Global Cleveland in 2011. He was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame in 2011 and has given several keynote addresses at their induction ceremony. Unable to attend the 2024 induction ceremony in person he created this short video with his perspective and advice on population and immigration.
"It just didn't seem right to DJ. A body found bludgeoned in a place known for "Peace through Mutual Understanding." But there she was, crumpled behind a bust of composer Franz Liszt in the Hungarian Cultural Garden. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. "What is the nature of your emergency?" the dispatcher queried. With a suddenly very dry mouth DJ managed to get out, "There's been a murder in the Cultural Gardens."
That's the beginning of the recently published first novel by Dan Hanson.
The whodunit, titled Murder in the Cultural Gardens, takes place in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and all 30+ gardens are featured during the mystery. You may even recognize some of the characters.
Click the link above to learn more or to purchase in paperback or Kindle version from Amazon. Or contact Dan via the Murder in the Cultural Gardens webpage to have a signed book delivered.
Cleveland is a diverse city with about 120 distinct ethnic heritages represented. We at ClevelandPeople.com and the Cleveland International Hall of Fame believe that this ethnic diversity makes us a much richer city and that we should all celebrate this fact.
We asked people from various ethnic groups to create a tile representing their heritage. These 3 quilts are a product of that effort. We hope that other ethnic groups will want to add their own tile to these patchworks showcasing our ethnic diversity.
This DVD is a Living Rosary in the sense that over 200 people participated in saying a prayer. 3 bishops, numerous priests and sisters and a variety of lay people all said a prayer (Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary or Glory Be) that when put together combine to form the complete Rosary.
We hope that you will pray along with the diverse group of people on this DVD. They are young and old, different races and ethnicities, in Church and outside, alone and in groups. The prayers are said in English, but occasionally there is a prayer in another language. You may not know the language but will understand, and be able to pray along, because of the context.
We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Please note that some of the links on this website are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
If you want your group's events listed in our Calendar, please send an e-mail to events@clevelandpeople.com with the details. Please allow at least 2 weeks lead time.
Do you need a Hungarian Flag? A shirt that says "I love Slovenian girls"? How about a sign that says No Parking except for Irish Grandmother?
These and hundreds of other items for your particular ethnic group are available for browsing at our on-line store. It's safe, fast, easy and fun. And there is a wide selection you will never find in the stores!
