Local Girl Gallery, 16106 Detroit Avenue, offers for sale the handcrafted artwork of more than eighty local and regional artists, from jewelry, hand painted silks, acrylic and oil paintings to blown glass, pottery and photography. The gallery also features a working studio where classes in a variety of mediums are offered for both children and adults. Gallery space can also be rented for parties, workshops, fundraisers, and other events. If interested, contact the gallery for availability. For more information, call 216/228-1802 or visit www.localgirlgallery.com

Bela Dubby is a kid-friendly art gallery/coffee house serving Phoenix brand Fair-Trade roasted coffee and a great selection of micro-brewed beer. The scrumptious Brooklyn Beer is always on tap. There’s a different artist featured every month in addition to live original music every week. Bela Dubby offers free WiFi, is kid friendly and non-smoking. Parents can bring their tots to art classes (call for the latest schedule), come to Cereal Saturdays once a month, or make reservations for their next kiddo birthday party. Bela Dubby is located at 13321 Madison Ave (just west of 117th) in Lakewood. Call 216/221-4479 for more information or go to: www.myspace.com/beladubby

The Pop-Shop Gallery & Studio, which describes itself as "breathing life into the world of art," collects only the "new breed" of contemporary art. It includes three facilities: a studio that houses Pop Shop artists who create and critique one another, a frame shop, and a gallery that displays works from jewelry to clothing and painting to sculpture. Shows rotate every 4-6 weeks. The Pop-Shop can be found at 17020 Madison Ave. in Lakewood or on-line at www.popshopgallery.com/index.html.

The Beck Center’s Visual Arts programs offer a variety of options for those who want to create art, such as Afterschool Artists, Cartooning, Digital Art, Stop Motion Animation, Drawing, Painting, Pottery, Video, Watercolor, Illustration, and Printmaking. They also offer a Creative Arts Therapies program which serves individuals of all ages with special needs, as well as an Outreach Education program which welcomes students from area schools to participate in a unique arts experience.

Art exhibits at the Beck Center are ongoing with exhibits by local and regional artists along with student and faculty exhibits. In addition, a partnership with the Cleveland Artists’ Foundation provides exhibits of historical and scholarly importance for free to the public.

The Beck Center is also home to a vibrant Theater Education program that is celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2009. Classes are offered for youth ages 1-18 and include areas such as Acting, Musical Theater, Theater, Make-up for Stage, Screen Workshops, Improvisation, and Private Coaching. Visit beckcenter.org/class/ or call 216/521-2540 for more information.

One thing that sets us apart from many surrounding communities is the diverse programming offered through Lakewood Community Recreation & Education. Among the many youth programs, quite a few art-related activities are offered each session, such as Nature Art, Young Rembrandts, and Comic Book Creation. Call 216/529-4081 or check their website at www.lakewoodrecreation.com for the current catalog and registration information.

The best kept secret within the City of Cleveland’s Department of Parks & Recreation, the Cudell Center consists of two lovely art studios that offer free fine arts classes and open studio sessions to both residents and non-residents of the City of Cleveland. They’re open Monday through Friday, 11:30 – 8 p.m. and have programming for families as well as afterschool sessions in the areas of pottery, paper crafts, painting, drawing, watercolor painting, jewelry design, fiber arts and more. Cudell is located at 10013 Detroit Avenue. Call 216/664-4183, stop in for a copy of their latest schedule or check the class schedule posted on the city’s website at www.city.cleveland.oh.us/clnd_images/Parks/rec_sched/cfa.pdf

BAYarts makes its home in the Huntington Reservation, the western-most member of the Cleveland Metroparks, located in Bay Village. The mission of BAYarts is to provide a welcoming lakeside environment to stimulate, encourage and support professional and aspiring artists of all ages through collaboration, education and exhibition. In addition to gallery space, BAYarts offers art classes for children and adults, birthday parties, and a summer concert series. BAYarts campus is within walking distance of Huntington Beach, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center and Huntington Playhouse. For a complete list of classes and information, visit bayarts.net/.

Smart Culture Source is a comprehensive website listing after school, weekend and summer arts and culture programs for children in Cuyahoga County. Smart Culture Source helps users find activities for children ages 3 to 10, as well as programs for middle school and high school youth. The site contains dates, times, locations, age and difficulty levels for programs in dance, drama, music, visual arts, history, literature and science.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
If your children can’t handle too many galleries and paintings, MOCA’s small size and wide open space make it a good choice of places to view art with your kids. Many of their exhibits use sound and motion, as well as visual representation; your kids will be fascinated by art that does more than just hang on the wall. The museum is located at 8501 Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland on the second floor of the Cleveland Play House complex. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is free for children 12 and under and free on Fridays. Phone 216/421-8671 or visit www.mocacleveland.org for information on current exhibits.

The Hessler Street Fair, held annually in May, is a community arts and music festival on historic Hessler Street in Cleveland's University Circle. It is a family-friendly event, showcasing local artists, food, musicians and poets. The Fair is one of Cleveland's most successful, attracting upwards of 10,000 visitors each year. Running from noon to dusk, Saturday and Sunday, it features a diverse mixture of musical styles and venues, and is a non-profit, volunteer-run weekend, focused on celebrating community, arts and culture. The Hessler Street Fair to promotes a spirit of togetherness and care-free fun in a home-grown atmosphere of family-friendly entertainment. Visit www.hessler.org/ for more information.

Parade the Circle and Circle Village is held every June from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on University Circle’s Wade Oval in Cleveland. If you’ve never attended this unique event, you’re in for an eyeful. The Parade, which begins at noon, incorporates the drama and artistry of colorful floats, puppets, costumes, dancers, and musicians. Circle Village invites visitors onto Wade Oval for an afternoon of activities, live music, and delectable food. This is a very popular event, so be prepared to park a distance away and walk to the circle. People arrive several hours in advance to get a good seat. For more information, visit www.universitycircle.org/uci.aspx?page=122