AUTHOR’S NOTE: I came back to this festival in 2016, which you can read about at
https://ohiofestivals.net/brite-winter-2016/
I’ve also been to this festival in 2011, which you can read about at
https://ohiofestivals.net/5-brite-winter-festival-cleveland-february-19-2011/
This post documents my experience on February 18, 2012.
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After hearing that the Brite Winter Festival decided to move to Ohio City for its third year of winter celebrations…
…I couldn’t resist.
The heart of the festival began here….
…at Bridge Ave. and 25th Street…
…where you were immediately dazzled by light installations…
…hypnotized by a video installation by Kasumi…
…challenged by a giant skee ball game (similar to last year’s)…
…tickled by the Angry Birds game.
…amused by the interactive puppet climbing…
…and bewildered by some of the peeps.
Similar to last year, the day was unusually warm for February, but painfully cold at night….
…which brought people to the fires where we huddled and huddled and huddled.
And with two food trucks nearby…
…we enjoyed the flavor (and warmth) of the Umami Moto pad thai…
…and Touch Supper Club‘s tacos (mac and cheese/pulled pork)…
…enjoyed all by the fire, obviously.
There was a main stage near those fires…
…featuring some great local bands (The Lighthouse & The Whaler).
But, as a benefit to the new location….
…there was also plenty of other great local bands at participating businesses throughout the area…
…you just had to look for the sign on the business’s door.
The festival did what it could to push you out and explore the other businesses away from the main festivities…
…tempting you to go on a scavenger hunt for secret words…
…so that you could get a piece of free cake.
They also sold a Brite Festival mug for $15 ($12 in advance) which got you 2 Ohio City vouchers good for food/drink items at participating businesses and special discounts as long as you had the mug with you. This definitely was a nice incentive to get out and have a night on the town.
But, unfortunately (for me), I never was tempted to leave the fires and explore Ohio City for mug-induced discounts or cake rewards.
Because, in my mind, anything out of view from the heart of the festival…
…just wasn’t the festival at all.
One reason I loved last year’s Brite Winter was because everything was open, in view, and seemingly accessible. So maybe, with this year’s new location, I needed to feel things were still connected by seeing brightly-colored sidewalk chalk drawings leading me to the other locations.
Or signs! Britely (sic) colored illuminated signs pointing the way with even more glowing signs at the business entrance to let me know that the festival continued inside.
But perhaps this is something that can be considered in the future…
*hint hint, GE (although I really should thank you for the free bulbs and festival support)*
With this small thing aside, I should be clear that we really did find the festival to be entertaining and enjoyable…
…especially after seeing the Gypsy Bean booth…
…and getting some delicious chocolate cream-filled Brite sandwich cookies.
I can’t promote those badboys enough!