This year, Yelp Cleveland is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2019 Brite Winter Festival in the Flats West Bank. There may be snow, there may be a thunderstorm, but it’s Cleveland, and you should play outside. With 40 bands across 5 indoor and outdoor stages, 30+ visual artists, and plenty of local eats, what’s not to love?
Brite Winter started with a simple idea: Clevelanders shouldn’t hibernate in the winter and celebrating winter is better than just tolerating it.
With Brite Winter on the horizon on Saturday, February 23, we’re bringing you five ways to make your experience even brighter at Cleveland’s free winter fest:
1. With 40 bands performing, there’s no time like the present to fall in love with local music. Hip-hop? Indie rock? Angsty singer-songwriters? Check. Take a peek at the 2019 Music Schedule to plan your night. One of our top picks: Mimi Arden, the local indie folk band playing their new album at McCarthy’s at 5:40pm.
2. Set your Yelp bookmarks now. After spending all night listening to music with a beer in hand, visit a food truck for your munchies. Barrio, Wholly Frijoles Mexican Street Food, Swensons Drive-In, Manna Truck, Krav Food Truck and Wild Spork are ready with the bites for the beats.
3. No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. “Brite” is intentionally misspelled to reflect the uniqueness of our Cleveland community. Also, don’t be scared if you see a giant monster running around the Flats. His name is Fluri, and he’s the androgynous snow Yeti created by local artist Randy Crider. Fluri is a friendly Yeti, so give him a hug when you see him.
4. Speaking of Fluri, local brewery Platform Beer Co. is the official beer sponsor of Brite 2019. They’ve created a special brew for the evening: Brite Lights, Big City – a pale wheat ale with subtle spice characters of coriander, orange peel, grains of paradise, and juniper berries. Yum!
5. Don’t miss the “By Sea” art tent with amazing light installations led by The Cleveland Museum of Art and Ingenuity Cleveland. Sails will billow below waves, sunken treasure will glimmer and and deep-sea creatures will glide to dark tunes.
If you’re really feeling the Cleveland love, sign-up to volunteer for Brite. More than 100 community members work year-round to help make Brite Winter a reality and you can be a part of it. Volunteers must be able to build 10 snowballs in under a minute and complete a rigorous icy obstacle course. Exceptions will be made for any reason imaginable, including, but not limited to: “I’m not doing that” and “Yeah, there’s no way that’s gonna happen.”
But most importantly, use your Yelp app to help you find the best pre and post Brite Winter spots and check-in to participating venues. See you there!
Photos by Ken Blaze Photography for Brite Winter
