Cleveland Foundation Day at Downtown Festivals is the March AND June centennial gifts to the community

Foundation will provide free day at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 24 and free concerts at the Tri-C JazzFest on June 27 & 28

Release Date: 3.3.2014

CLEVELAND –– Celebrating two of Greater Cleveland’s premier downtown festivals will be the focus of the Cleveland Foundation’s March and June centennial gifts to the community. The Cleveland Foundation announced today that the March gift will take place at the Cleveland International Film Festival on Monday, March 24. In June, Cleveland Foundation Day will actually take place over two days – at the Tri-C JazzFest on Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28. These will be the first free days in each festival’s history.

Unlike the foundation’s first two monthly gifts, tickets will be required for attendance to these events. The public will be able to reserve tickets for each festival starting this Friday, March 7, at 11 a.m. via:

“The Cleveland Foundation is proud of the role we and our donors have played in helping each of these downtown festivals to become marquee events in our region and the nation,” said Robert E. Eckardt, executive vice president of the Cleveland Foundation. “We have provided nearly $3 million in total support for these festivals throughout the past three decades. We hope our centennial gift of the downtown festivals encourages many new festival-goers to check out these amazing events.”

At the Cleveland Foundation Day at the Cleveland International Film Festival on Monday, March 24, there will be more than 40 different films shown on eight separate screens at Tower City Cinemas throughout the day, with half of the films starting at 5 p.m. or later to allow families to take part in this celebration. Individuals will be able to reserve two tickets per movie for a maximum of four films that day, with a total available capacity of 9,500 seats for all screenings.

“For the past 38 years, the Cleveland International Film Festival has had so much to celebrate, including our long-term support from the Cleveland Foundation,” said Marcie Goodman, Cleveland International Film Festival executive director. “To now be celebrating the foundation’s centennial with its March gift of a free day at the Festival, is one of the greatest thrills in the history of our organization. This year, our Festival is ‘the home for stories’ and we cannot wait to welcome everyone so they can experience and create their own stories.”

The Cleveland Foundation Days at the Tri-C JazzFest will be Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 and will include the Friday 6 p.m. Gregory Porter concert at the Ohio Theatre (Tickets to the Porter concert have all been reserved as of 3/8/14). Porter won a Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album in 2014. Tickets are required for this concert – individuals will be able to reserve a maximum of four tickets, with 1,000 total tickets available.

Additionally, the Cleveland Foundation will be presenting a series of free outdoor concerts on Star Plaza in PlayhouseSquare that Friday and Saturday, starting at 3 p.m. No tickets will be required for the outdoor concerts, which 3,000 people will be able to enjoy each day.

“The Cleveland Foundation’s support for the arts in Northeast Ohio is immeasurable, and we at Tri-C JazzFest are thrilled and honored to be a part of its centennial celebration of community gifts,” said Terri Pontremoli, director, JazzFest and Performing Arts, Cuyahoga Community College.

Attendees for the Cleveland Foundation Day at Downtown Festivals are encouraged to take the Greater Cleveland RTA. The Cleveland International Film Festival is held at Tower City, easily accessed by the Rapid, HealthLine, many bus routes, and four trolley lines.  PlayhouseSquare is served by the HealthLine and several trolley lines. Details can be found at www.riderta.com.

A large number of Greater Clevelanders took advantage of the foundation’s first two “Cleveland Foundation Day” gifts to the community. January’s gift of a free day of riding on the Greater Cleveland RTA on Jan. 16 resulted in a 25-percent increase of riders on RTA buses and trains, a 20-percent rise in paratransit usage, and a 41-percent increase in HealthLine riders. February’s Weekend on North Coast Harbor also drew huge crowds. The Cleveland Foundation Day at the Great Lakes Science Center on Feb. 22 resulted in a record-breaking 16,450 visitors and the Cleveland Foundation Day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum on Feb. 23 brought more than 8,000 visitors, one of its largest crowds ever.

Through its monthly “Cleveland Foundation Day” birthday gifts to the community in 2014, the foundation is highlighting community assets it has played a role in creating or enhancing throughout its first century, in partnership with its donors. These gifts are open to everyone in the community, not just Cuyahoga County residents.

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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 2012 grants of $91 million. For more information on the Cleveland Foundation, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/purpose and follow us at Facebook.com/ClevelandFoundation or @CleveFoundation on Twitter.