Heights Music Hop is back in 2017 in three Cleveland Heights business districts: Sept. 7 in Coventry Village, Sept. 8 in Cedar Fairmount, and Sept. 9 in Cedar Lee. Don’t miss this spectacular celebration of music and our community. Featuring free performances across the three nights, the Heights Music Hop showcases live music in a variety of genres, in restaurants, bars, shops and other Heights businesses.

Heights Music Hop, in partnership with Grog Shop, will host a silent disco on Saturday, Sept. 9, in the open space at Lee Road and Meadowbrook Boulevard. For $10, participants 21 and older will receive a wireless headset and choose their personal dance music from DJ Knyce, DJ White Rims and DJ Sputnik. Beer served by The BottleHouse and wine poured by CLE Urban Winery will be available for purchase. Silent disco tickets are available for pre-sale at www.heightsmusichop.com/silent-disco or at the silent disco entrance on Sept. 9.

And don’t miss the FutureHeights Chance Raffle! Your $10 donation gives you a chance to win one of 8 fabulous prize packages. Look for the Chance Raffle stations at the Hop or donate online here and choose your prize package.

Heights Music Hop is presented by FutureHeights and is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

Additional sponsors and partners include: Dominion Energy; Whole Foods Market; Heights Observer; Zagara’s Marketplace, the Cedar Fairmount, Cedar Lee, and Coventry Village special improvement districts; Dewey’s Pizza; Keller National, the city of Cleveland Heights; The BottleHouse Brewery; CLE Urban Winery; Digizoom Media; Grog Shop; Cellar Door Cleveland, Map Creative; Rad Graphics; Family Connections; Larchmere PorchFest; Brite Winter Festival; Verne & Ellsworth Hann, Mitchell’s Fine Chocolates, Green Tara Yoga, Sweet Fix Bakery, Cleveland Cinemas, WJCU Radio; and WRUW Radio.

The Heights Music Hop is free and open to the public, although some venues or performances may limit underage attendees. The silent disco, on Sept. 9 in Cedar Lee, will require paid admission and is open to those ages 21 and older. Many family-friendly activities are planned for the festival, including age-appropriate performances and interactive events, as well as a kids’ area provided by Family Connections.

To view more festival information, including the performance schedule and full list of musicians and activities, visit www.heightsmusichop.com and the Heights Music Hop’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

FutureHeights is partnering with Noble Neighbors, in cooperation with the City of Cleveland Heights Economic Development and Planning & Development departments, to host the Envision a New Triangle Workshop on July 9 to envision a new future for the area bounded by Noble, Mayfield and Warrensville Center roads. At the workshop, participants will imagine streetscape features to unify the district, sketch and describe new ideas in small groups, learn and be inspired by new perspectives, and kick start future projects.

The workshop takes place Sunday, July 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Disciples Christian Church, 3663 Mayfield Road. All Cleveland Heights residents are encouraged to attend. Learn more and RSVP at www.nobleneighbors.com.

FutureHeights will hold a public forum, Development Tools: Give Away or Benefit, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, at its offices in the Coventry School building, 2843 Washington Blvd.

FutureHeights’ Planning and Developing Committee organized the forum to help inform Heights residents about real estate development tools, such as tax abatement, tax credits, and tax increment financing (TIF). Speaker Wayne Mortensen, director of design and development for Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) and a Cleveland Heights resident, will explore the costs and benefits of these common financial tools that are commonly used in development projects throughout Northeast Ohio.

Mortenson is a Nebraska native. He and his wife, Jill, moved to Cleveland Heights in 2010.

At CNP, Mortensen oversaw the redevelopment of Saint Luke’s Hospital in the Buckeye neighborhood of Cleveland and created several target area plans, including vision plans for 16 neighborhoods that were prepared to prioritize the spending of 2011 HUD Neighborhood Stabilization funding. His role at CNP involves elevating the quality and sustainability of physical development efforts throughout the city of Cleveland.

In addition to his work at CNP, Mortenson is the current director of community outreach for the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Previously, Mortenson worked for H3 Studio as a planner and public engagement specialist in numerous historically marginalized communities throughout the Midwestern and Southern United States. He specializes in nonprofit management, budget setting, community planning and organizing, and strategic planning.

This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, e-mail info@futureheights.org or call 216-320-1423.

Financial planner Seku Shabazz will lead a workshop on business succession planning for small business owners on Friday, June 9. Sponsored by FutureHeights and the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio (SBDC), the workshop will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Ohio SBDC at Cleveland State University’s location on the 2nd floor of the Lee Road Library’s Knowledge and Innovation Center, 2340 Lee Road.

“The workshop aims to help local CH merchants, specifically ones who are ready to retire or leave their business and are concerned with what will happen with their business in the future,” said Micah Kirman, chair of the FutureHeights Planning & Development Committee, which is organizing the workshop. “Shabazz will look to show business owners that there are possible options that they can take when they feel that they are ready to leave their business or retire. These options can consist of anything from handing the business over to a loyal employee or selling the business to a family member.”

Seku Shabazz is a financial planner with Prudential Financial and a Cleveland Heights resident.

This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, e-mail info@futureheights.org or call 216-320-1423.

Join us on Tuesday, May 9 at Melt, 13463 Cedar Road, for the FutureHeights 2017 Restaurant Tour. Support a local business and FutureHeights at the same time! When you show this flyer, Melt will donate 20% of your lunch or dinner check (excluding alcoholic beverages) to FutureHeights. Join Executive Director Deanna Bremer Fisher, Board President Julia Kious Zabell and other FutureHeights staff members and volunteers as we celebrate our 15th anniversary at the FH 2017 Restaurant Tour.

Thank you for supporting locally owned businesses in the Cedar Fairmount Business District at the April 28 Hard Hat Happy Hour. And congratulations to raffle winners Eli Auerbach and Michael Beightol! Although we had some rain, and the construction on the north side of the street was challenging, a good time was had by all. Thank you to our partner, Cedar Fairmount SID; all of the participating merchants; and our volunteers: Anna Drungil, Micah Kirman, Rhonda Davis-Lovejoy, James Henke and Patricia Dyas Harwood. They all worked hard to make this event a success! Stay tuned for other events this summer as we anticipate the completion of the new streetscape. See photos of the event on our Facebook page.

Join us on March 22 at Lopez, 2196 Lee Road, for the FutureHeights 2017 Restaurant Tour. Join Executive Director Deanna Bremer Fisher, Board President Julia Kious Zabell and other FutureHeights staff members and volunteers as we celebrate our 15th anniversary by supporting a local business and raising money to support our community-building programs. Each month FutureHeights members and friends are invited to have dinner at a unique Heights restaurant, mention FutureHeights and show your wait staff this flyer, and the restaurant will donate 15% of each check (excluding alcoholic beverages) to FutureHeights. We hope to see you on Wednesday, March 22!

The restaurant tour continues in April at Dewey’s Pizza.

To help celebrate FutureHeights’ 15th anniversary, each month FutureHeights members are invited to visit a unique Heights restaurant for lunch or dinner, and the restaurant will donate 15% of each check (excluding alcoholic beverages) to FutureHeights to support our community-building programs. Our first stop was Panini’s on Coventry in January. On Feb. 22, Jim and Gia Patsch, owners of Best-of-the-Heights-award-wining Gigi’s on Fairmount, will welcome FutureHeights members for the tour. Stop by Gigi’s, 3477 Fairmount Blvd, on Feb. 22 for lunch or dinner, mention the FutureHeights 2017 Restaurant Tour and show your server this flyer.

The restaurant tour continues in March at Lopez and, in April, at Dewey’s Pizza.

FutureHeights will host a public forum, Vacant and Abandoned Properties in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, 3031 Monticello Blvd.

As Northeast Ohio climbs out of the housing crisis, many Cuyahoga County communities are still dealing with issues of property abandonment. This panel presentation and discussion aims to help attendees understand the basics about vacant and abandoned properties, help translate applicable laws and policies, and discuss existing options and solutions.

The discussion will focus on answers to the following questions:

1. What is a vacant and abandoned property, from a legal perspective?
2. What are the legal pathways to remedying an abandoned property?
3. What community actors have tools to remedy abandoned or nuisance properties? What are these tools? How do they work?
4. How do community actors know when a property is vacant or abandoned?

Presenters include April Urban, a research associate at Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development; Kermit Lind, clinical professor emeritus at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University (CSU); and Mark Wiseman, University Heights City Council member and principal of Wiseman Consulting.

Come party with us! Join us for an evening of fun at Nighttown, featuring the one and only Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta.

Purchase FutureHop event and Chance Raffle tickets online here, or call the FutureHeights office at 216-320-1423. Payment accepted by check or credit card (Mastercard and Visa only.)

Come for the music, the dancing, the delicious snacks, the cash bar, the incredible silent auction and chance raffle, and come for FutureHeights!

Join us Friday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. til midnight, to support FutureHeights and to celebrate the first night of the Heights Music Hop.

Sammy de Leon.

Individual tickets: $40 (Light appetizers, cash bar, dancing room only)

VIP Package: $320 (Table for 4, Light appetizers, bottle of wine)

Thank you to our generous FutureHop event sponsors!