It’s August 8 and the AHA Festival is underway on Mall B. For those that don’t know, AHA is a light show that is the beginning of Gay Games 9; Land Studio was awarded a grant from the Cleveland Foundation to bring a festival of lights to downtown. It was cool to see yogi’s and cyclists embracing what a great city Cleveland has become.
I placed my mat along side hundreds of other yogi’s in anticipation of a community yoga sponsored by Inner Bliss Yoga. I missed the other gathering at the Rock Hall on June 27, a glorious event where like-minded people practiced yoga under the warm summer sky. Space was tight between yoga mats as participants did their best to “down dog” and/or “chair” pose.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, there is something about yoga that keeps me coming back. The poses can be difficult and quite challenging as you come up from your tenth low plank or push-up (Chaturanga) as you try to control your breath. During the AHA event, however, I have never seen so many yogi’s doing “head stands” and other poses that I have yet to master. The energy was alive where you couldn’t help but embrace what Cleveland has done to “bounce back” from recession and job loss that many are still experiencing (me included). The city was aglow in rainbow colors from one end of town to the other (the rainbow extended from Browns Stadium to Progressive field). Wow is what everyone probably thought as they gazed into the sky.
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| "The Pool" photo courtesy of AHACle.com website |
There was a circular, plastic sculpture, "The Pool" (maybe 200 small circles created a large circle) laid onto the grass of Mall B where participants stomped on the disks and vibrant colors emanated as you hit the plastic. Very intuitive and interactive. I didn’t get a chance to participate as a huge crowd was trying it out.
I was so happy so many people came out to participate in yoga and others that just hung out to see what all the fuss was about. Dogs were roaming around along with my sister’s dog, Max sniffing away at all the new smells. Something new to see, Clevelanders flock.
During the practice, the instructors reiterated the same mantra — look at our beautiful city and be proud of being a Clevelander; what makes you unique? Everyone has a gift to share. It’s a matter of finding it (I’m paraphrasing; that is what I got out of it).
Yoga is exercise, breath, inner strength and light emanated onto others. I felt all of us yogi’s (1500 or so) believing in ourselves, our city and coming together to share this light within us with everyone around us. I felt fulfilled and positive about the future.
Gay Games 9
As a volunteer for any new event in town, I offered my services to the Gay Games Federation. Such as the AHA yoga experience, I enjoyed my time at the Gay Games immensely. I met so many fine individuals from as far away as New Zealand, France (host to the 2018 games) Spain (two participants didn’t speak a word of English trying to get a team together so they can play volleyball) to Chicago, Michigan New York and California. Their excitement was infectious.
I volunteered on Saturday, August 9 as a greeter and informant for the cycling event. It was quiet at 8 a.m. but several participants from California took the “redeye” as they checked in with baggage in tow. I had a blast talking to people and welcoming them to Cleveland.
What I heard. The participants thought Clevelanders and Akronites were friendly and embraced them with open arms (“the red carpet” treatment). Why not! They’re spending the week participating and spending money at local restaurants and clubs.
When I volunteer, I do not pay to park. Instead I bike. One of my events was Beach Volleyball at Whiskey Island. I woke up at 5:20 a.m.; on my bike by 6:25 a.m. and barely made it to the venue by 8 a.m. The night before it rained so it was extremely windy as I rode west. It was as though I was pedaling backwards, the wind was so strong. The Beach Volleyball participants continued on in spite of the “freezing” conditions. Some “winter people” think this is perfect weather, but I love it hot especially when it’s supposed to be August and normal temperatures are in the 80’s. Wednesday morning, it was in the 50’s – fall weather. Yikes!
I hung tough and watched some amazing volleyball. A team from Detroit had to go back home and deal with flooding problems. He said, “Cleveland wasn’t so bad.” They said the same thing as others have said, Cleveland is a welcoming town. Hooray! Way to go Cleveland.
Right as I left, the sun cut through the heavy clouds. Biking towards downtown wasn’t bad in the sun. Regardless, I had fun.
One of my favorite events was water polo. I was amazed with the athleticism of these participants treading water for an entire game. I was getting tired watching them. On Thursday afternoon, I watched Cleveland versus DC (District of Columbia). Good game 9-8 (Cleveland wins).
Closing ceremonies were fun and something I will probably not see again. The entire Mall C area was flooded with people. Rainbow boas, colored hair, gold, silver and bronze metals hung around their necks. Laughter reverberating across the sky. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Kelly King from New York City sang beautifully hitting these high notes that could have broken some glass. Beautiful voice. I stood in awe.
The extinguishing of the flame and passing the flag to Paris brought tears to my eyes. I remembered the Winter Olympics we just had in February and how much I love competitive sports and the pageantry of the whole thing. They also showed this weeks sporting events in a short video and how proud I am of Cleveland in showing the world how great our city truly is – a hidden gem.
I’m sad that all this fanfare has come to a close but I’m sure that Cleveland will host more events: films, National Republican Convention, and so much more. Our city shined this week; I’m happy I was involved in its glory and resurgence.
