My little sister spends a lot of hours in front of the TV during summer break. I know this endless watching drives mom crazy, so I wanted to be helpful and get my sister out of the house.  Interning at Positively Cleveland this summer, I’ve researched and read about fun events and places I want to visit in and around the city. So that got me to thinking, “What is there for a 20 year-old and a 12 year-old to do together in Cleveland Plus this summer?”

A Creative Costume at Parade the Circle 2008

Our first summer activity was Parade the Circle in University Circle on June 14th. While I’d heard about this arts parade before, I never had attended wasn’t exactly certain what went on. We sat curbside between the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Museum of Art and, as it turns out, both my sister and I loved the parade–which lasted close to two hours. There were tons of people and groupsin the parade, all  with imaginative costumes and props. My sister’s favorite part of the parade was all the different stilt-walkers.  I just loved the overall atmosphere and how creative some of the groups were.

After the parade, we walked around the various “make-and-take” craft tents and ate lunch on the lawn listening to bands play. The event is free (not even a charge for parking), so that was great right from the start.  In fact, the only bad part of the day came from forgetting to put on sunscreen before leaving the house. We both ended up with horrible burns on our shoulders.

The next outing, or “Camp Hannah” activity as my mom now likes to call them, was seeing a movie at the OMNIMAX theater. I had been to the Great Lakes Science Center and this theatre many times before on grade school fieldtrips, but had not been back for a long time.  It was a great variation from just going to the local movie theater, where we probably couldn’t have agreed on a film we both wanted to see (or that was age appropriate) anyway. 

So what’s next for “Camp Hannah?”

Actually, we’re headed to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire in Geneva. This summer, it runs on weekends from July 5 – August 10. If you go, you’ll see people who don’t even work at the faire in costume–attendees dressed up as kings, queens, pirates, fairies and all sorts of other wild characters. While I don’t plan to dress up, my favorite part of this festival is the food and entertainment. The Medieval Faire is an old favorite of mine and in the years I’ve gone I’ve seen everything from comedy acts to Shakespeare done with a modern twist. If you’re coming from Cleveland and are trying to save on gas money, the drive east along Lake Erie to Geneva might be a little far, but I definitely think it’s worth it.

Finally, we are planning on the Twins Days Festival. Technically I can’t count this as just a sister-sister bonding event because my whole family usually ends up going.  This year, the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio is August 1-3. Last year the event drew 2,034 registered sets of twins. However, you don’t have to be a twin to go and enjoy the festivities. It’s a great family event if you’re free that weekend. –Hannah DeMilta