Brookstock

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 09:57.
07/12/2008 - 16:00
07/12/2008 - 22:30
Etc/GMT-4

Brookstock - A Celebration of Music & Nature
Saturday, July 12
4 - 10:30 p.m.
Brookside Valley Event Site
Brookside Reservation • Cleveland
Free!

PLEASE WALK or RIDE your bicycle to the event!!!

Celebrate a wide array of live music on two stages at Cleveland Metroparks free “BrookStock – A Celebration of Music & Nature” event on Saturday, July 12 from 4 to 10:30 p.m. at the Brookside Valley Event Site in Brookside Reservation in Cleveland.  Along with great music, “BrookStock – A Celebration of Music & Nature” features arts and crafts, games and activities, hikes (4:30, 6, 7:30, and 9 p.m.), live animals, and more!
 
“BrookStock” showcases seven bands featuring the eclectic sounds of blues, country, bluegrass, boogie-woogie, folk, and more, filling the air.  Closing the evening on the main stage at 9 p.m. is The Alan Greene Band.

Featured Bands on the Main Stage and Side Stage at BrookStock:

Main Stage
4:00 Lost State of Franklin [country]
5:30 Hayshaker Jones [americana/country]
7:00 Crookneck Chandler and the Tibbee Bottom Boys [funky twangy country]
9:00 The Alan Greene Blues Band [blues]

Side Stage
5:00 Tim & Jeanne [Folk]
6:30 Blonde Boy Grunt & the Groans [Freight train folkabiliy]
8:15 Heelsplitter [folk rock] 

For more information, call 216-206-1000.

Brookside Valley Event Site is located off John Nagy Blvd., off the Ridge Rd. entrance of Brookside Reservation in Cleveland – north of the I-480/Ridge Rd. exit.

Location

Cleveland, OH
United States

Frog Blog

Brookstock sounds like some good music. But let's see how much nature there is beyond the animal displays - Tee Shirts and a $4500 (!) frog costume don't count.

Action is the power to make a difference and the key to conservation!

With knowledge comes responsibility. We know that amphibians are in trouble because of human actions, like pollution and wetland habitat destruction. It is only by changing our behavior and taking action that we will protect amphibians and their habitats. Remember that every little thing that each of us does adds up - we can make a big difference!

Where better to use the knowledge (from their own people) than in all our parks. Generally, CMP attempts to pave (using petroleum based asphalt) as much as possible, including many parking areas adjacent to water. This speeds runoff, heats the water and washes pollutants quickly into creeks and rivers. As pointed out by Geauga Metroparks:

Every time a housing development goes up, every time a big-box
store goes in, every time a road is widened, there is loss of both
terrestrial and aquatic habitat which plays a crucial role in the
health of freshwaters. ...Impermeable surfaces
are detrimental to aquatic systems because they significantly
increase the “flash” (rainstorm) flow in streams, causing accelerated
erosion and other problems. Impermeable surfaces also warm
stream water, a phenomenon known as thermal pollution.
 

The Concrete Breaking this weekend for West Creek confluence is a very positive step backwards toward natural conditions - one CMP itself could learn from. Our park lands are not a land bank for constuction and paving, but should be a refuge from them.

Green is not about bragging rights and awards - it's about committing to sustainability as Summit Metroparks has done, on paper and in action. While Cleveland Metroparks is about to put in a lift station for sewers for 4 toilets (with heavy energy demands both from construction and going forward forever) Summit MP reports:

The first Clivus Multrum composting toilets were
installed in the 1980s, starting a trend that continues today.
These composting units allow us to provide restroom facili-
ties where no municipal services are available. The idea of
a composting toilet has endured for more than 20 years.
Thats what I call sustainable
.         [and more in keeping with a historical site]

Every little thing that CMP does is adding up - but not necessarily the right way. Preaching green from a pricey frog costume doesn't make up for treating the environment like dirt. One of the great benefits of urban farming will be to connect people with their natural surroundings. And it will be embarrassing when our city dwellers are greener than our metroparks.

Watchdog

  We need you and others like you, MM, who watchdog our public agencies and demand accountability.  Metroparks has a better track record than some, but they miss obvious ways to be more sustainable and green. 

For instance, my neighborhood, Brooklyn Centre used to have walk/bike access to Brookside Park with its ball diamonds and picnic facilities.  We have been cut off for years (intentional?) and, now, with the Fulton Rd. bridge construction, we are snubbed again.  I spoke with the events office and they did seem genuinely contrite about the situation and they promised to do better next year, if this event is well-received. 

I hope that it is a positive community event.  Most of the Metroparks administrators don't live in Cleveland.  It would help them to visit our schools and walk our streets and remember that they serve a community that lives nearby.