December Centennial Gift:
Cleveland Foundation Day of Family Fun

Foundation’s final centennial gift to provide free, healthy activities at 38 sites
throughout Northeast Ohio

FamilyFunLogo_FBRelease Date: 12.3.2014     Updated: 12.15.2014

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Foundation’s December – and final – centennial gift to the community involves 5 gift partners – with free activities at 38 separate sites across 6 counties in Northeast Ohio! The activities start as early as 5:30 a.m. and end as late as 11 p.m. No tickets are required at any of the sites, but each site has specific details to help visitors plan their visit on Dec. 30:

 
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Free tobogganing at Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run in Strongsville – Noon to 10:30 p.m.
(16200 Valley Parkway, Strongsville)
  • First 2,000 visitors to check in before 6 p.m. will be guaranteed free tobogganing and hot chocolate. No sign-ups or advance registration required. 
  • Other fun activities will include ice-carving and snow-carving demonstrations, dog-sledding demonstrations and an ice-fishing display.
  • More details available at www.clevelandmetroparks.com.

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Special trail hikes and giveaways at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • 1-mile Evergreen Forest Snow Shoe Hikes – Start at the Winter Sports Center in the Kendall Lake Shelter (Truxell/Kendall Park Rd. Click here for a map).
    • Hikes at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (*If there is at least 4 inches of snow; otherwise it will be a hike).
    • Reservations are required! Call 330-657-2752 to reserve a space.
  • 1-mile Towpath Trail Beginner Hikes – Start at the Canal Exploration Center (7104 Canal Rd., Valley View. Click here for a map)
    • Hikes at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
    • Reservations are not required for these hikes.
  • Free park exploration packets are available at Trail Mix Peninsula, a park store run by the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (1600 W. Mill St., Peninsula). Map available here.
    • There will also be family crafts and prize package drawings throughout the day.
  • More details on these activities are available here.
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Free ice-skating at The Rink at Wade Oval in University Circle – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Free ice-skating, free skate rentals and free hot chocolate – no sign-ups or advanced registration required.
  • After visitors are done skating, their rink wristbands will provide special discounts at the nearby Wade Oval museums:
    • Cleveland Botanical Garden – $2 off, includes access to GLOW exhibit
    • Cleveland Museum of Art – 10% off at Provenance Café (Admission is always free)
    • Cleveland Museum of Natural History – $2 off, includes access to Mammoths & Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age
    • Western Reserve Historical Society – $2 off, discounted admission includes 2 rides on the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel
  • More details (including parking info) available at www.universitycircle.org.
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Free ice-skating, roller-skating and extended hours at City of Cleveland recreation centers – 11:30 a.m.
to 11 p.m.
  • Free ice-skating and free skate rentals at Halloran Park (3550 W. 117th St., Cleveland 44111)
  • Free roller-skating at Zelma George Recreation Center (3155 MLK Jr. Dr., Cleveland 44104)
    • No sign-ups or advanced registration required for the ice-skating or roller-skating.
  • Extended hours at all 20 city rec centers. Listing of all the centers available here.
 
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Free admission and special programs at all local branches of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland – 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Downtown branch closes at 9 p.m.)
  • Visitors can download a special guest pass that will work at all 12 branches on Dec. 30 and will expedite admission on Family Fun Day. 
  • Highlights of the special programming include health screenings, CPR/first-aid demonstrations, and classes such as Tumble Time, Splash Junior (for ages 4-9), Family Dance and Broga (Yoga for men).
  • Full schedules for each of the participating 12 branches (in Cuyahoga, Lake (Euclid Branch), Geauga, Lorain and Erie counties) and the downloadable guess pass available at www.clevelandymca.org/day-of-family-fun.

We hope thousands of Northeast Ohioans will take advantage of this month’s gift – with the largest number of gift partners and largest geographic reach of any of our centennial gifts this year!

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The Cleveland Foundation 

Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world’s first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.1 billion and 2013 grants of $89 million. For more information on the Cleveland Foundation, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Purpose and follow us at Facebook.com/ClevelandFoundation or @CleveFoundation on Twitter.