IngenuityFest is a festival that mixes art, live music, performance, technology and innovation to create a unique experience. Locations can change from year to year, sometimes reutilizing abandoned spaces. There are also vendors and food trucks present.
2023 DATE: September 22-24, 2023
Website: https://www.ingenuitycleveland.org/programs/ingenuityfest/
This post documents my experience on September 26, 2010 when it was located on the Detroit-Superior Bridge.
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If there ever was a festival that captured the essence of Cleveland, it would have to be…
Set on the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, IngenuityFest transforms…
…the old stomping grounds of electric streetcars…
…into a place for festival goers to come and celebrate…
…music, art…
…and technology.
Accessible through 4 almost-secret entryways…
…including the east entry in the Flats and a west entry through an Italian restaurant…
…the festival was equipped with both signs for navigation…
…as well as music schedules posted…
…at each of the various concert stages.
But there were other types of performance as well, including…
…dance…
…theater…
…and good ole puppetry.
Mixed within the performances was a great assortment of art…
…in all shapes and sizes…
…and pieces took advantage of both the darkness and light of the environment.
One piece even took advantage of the festival goers…
…asking them to draw on everything…
…everything…
…and Julia was happy to show readers how it was done.
Actually Julia helped in other ways as well…
…by demonstrating furniture made with cardboard tubing…
…and helping me eat this sandwich from Dim and Dem Sum.
Apart from those selling some baked goods and beverages…
…food vendors were located outside at each side of the bridge.
Vendors and organizations…
…including one with info about the bridge…
…lined themselves along the bridge’s inner area.
But no vendor set themselves up along the true center of the festival…
…referred to as “The Span.”
This was the festival’s most intimidating area, but one you needed to overcome if you were going to get the full festival experience.
With boards of plywood placed over the grating…
…openings at the beams gave hints of what lied below…
…while side openings made it only clearer.
As we kept stepping over more beams…
…getting better shots of what would catch us or pierce us if we fell…
…our eyes occasionally found pieces of art to distract us.
And the festival did something else to both lure us in and help us forget our fears…
…it constructed a waterfall right in the middle of a bridge.
Such innovation, creativity and vision help make the IngenuityFest one to remember. It helps us become familiar and admire the local talent that’s out there while gaining a new appreciation for all things Cleveland.
