75,000 Celebrate 'Parade the Circle' Art, Festival

Posted June 10, 2012 in Articles

Author: Annette Lawless

It’s been a Cleveland tradition for decades.

But for Brenda Beyah and her sister, Elizabeth, they’ve made it their tradition to bring the family out to the annual Parade the Circle. The two live in the Cleveland area and dub the parade a must-see art event of the summer.

“Enjoying people,” Brenda said. “Just being in the presence of good-spirited people.”

Elizabeth adds, “It’s the arts, the crafts, the food, the people, the weather. It’s something to do that doesn’t cost a lot of money and you have fun, especially when you have a lot of kids.”

The Parade the Circle event started in 1990, with 125 participants and about 1,000 spectators.

Now celebrating its 23rd parade, Parade the Circle has more than 2,000 participants and an estimated 75,000 people who attended this year.

“The Museum of Art puts on a fantastic show,” said Erika McLaughlin, an organizer from University Circle. “Creative, they’ve been building floats and puppets for about 12 weeks.”

The day allowed families to explore the area’s vast museums and see fine art truly come to life.

John Karaffa, of Cleveland, attended the parade with his wife and 4-year-old daughter.

“It’s a beautiful day and it’s a beautiful event,” said John Karaffa, of Cleveland. “Like I said, it’s our first time. We’re just trying to experience it the best we can.”

He said he plans to return to the event year after year with his family.

“It’s great. I think they have upwards of 70,000 people here,” Karaffa said. “It’s impressive that everyone’s coming out here today. We like to expose her to all the culture events in Cleveland because it’s such a great city.”

Original Article: http://fox8.com/2012/06/09/75000-celebrate-parade-the-circle-art-festival/