CLEVELAND — It’s no secret that Cleveland is a renowned cultural hotspot, and with so much going on in 2024, I’m clearly unable to include EVERYTHING awesome that’s happening around town this year, but I’ll try to hit as many as possible in what little time we have. Now, what do you say we do this..….chronologically!?
January
- January 18th: The Cleveland Boat Show. Yes, the water-skiing squirrel is back. Did you really need to ask?
- January 20th: Guardians Fan Fest will feel hollow without Tito, but we’ll get through it together.
- January 28th: Tennis anyone? It’s The Cleveland Open.
February
- February 2: The Home and Garden Expo kicks off for all your storm window and gutter needs.
- February 8: Madonna!
- February 9: Cleveland Beerfest!
- February 10: Koo-Rahnt-tah-vahn-yah! It makes more sense when you’re there.
- February 12: Cleveland Fan Expo
- February 23: Cleveland Auto Show
- February 24: Brite Winter Fest
And that’s the same day, that THE BUZZARDS RETURN TO HINCKLEY! Imagine what a confusing sentence that must be for anyone who’s not from around here and also, probably, many who are.
April
The magnificent Cleveland International Film Festival kicks off April 3rd. And that’s a busy week because we also have….The NCAA Women's Final Four AND the Guardians home opener…Which is the SAME DAY that Cleveland will be experiencing a major solar eclipse.
Side note: I just have to give Mayor Bibb and his administration kudos for securing this eclipse event for Cleveland by making sure that we fell within the path of totality. Great job Mr. Mayor.
May
- May 4th: The Top Thrill Dragster returns to Cedar Point, and now there’s a spike on it!
- May 18th: Cleveland Marathon: No thanks, but good for them.
- May 25th: The Berea Rib Cook Off AKA Cleveland Burning Man.
June
- June 8: The deliciously ostentatious Parade the Circle.
- Back to the Future arrives at Playhouse Square on June 11, which is, itself, in the future.
- Then we’ve got concerts by New Kids On The Block (June 14) and The Rolling Stones (June 15). But not on the same bill, that would be ridiculous.
- June 21: The Ohio Scottish Games arrive
July
- July 12: The Pan-American Masters Games arrive in Cleveland.
- July 21: Valley City Frog Jump Festival is on July 21st.
- July 22: It's Moses Cleaveland Day, so be safe and book your hotel rooms now.
August
- August 2: Twinsburg Twins Day Festival. Been there. Not my thing. Unsettling.
- August 10: The ASAE Convention arrives in town. And that is, no joke, an annual convention for people who plan conventions, and I’ll bet that runs smoothly.
- August 15: Little Italy’s Feast of the Assumption kicks off, while Hootie and the Blowfish are at Blossom that same night. So.... tough choices.
- August 21: Put In Bay’s Bash On the Bay. They should be finished cleaning up by mid-September.
September-December
September 28th and we’re ALREADY AT THE Geneva Grape Jamboree? My WORD, this year is flying!
Of course we have Halloweekends through October, followed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in November when it returns to Cleveland, which kind of makes sense when you think about it... BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE THE ROCK HALL IS.
And finally by the end of year: Sherwin-Williams' new headquarters will be open downtown, forever altering our city’s landscape and rendering all of your Cleveland skyline silhouette prints INSTANTLY WORTHLESS!
Of course, that’s but as mere sampling of all the great events going on in Cleveland this year, with many still being scheduled. For example, I wasn’t even able to include the Super Bowl victory parade because we’re all still working out the timing and logistics on that.
But I hope this list still proves useful you folks. I’ve given you the dream-making tools, it’s now up to you to go out and build some memories. WKYC wishes you and your loved ones a very Cleveland-y 2024.