Northeast Ohio is celebrating two big birthdays this weekend — the city of Cleveland turns 221 and the area’s largest park system is turning a century old. Bobcats spending their summer in Cleveland can celebrate at the Metropark’s centennial event this weekend.
General Moses Cleaveland founded the city on July 22, 1796 when he was an investor for the Connecticut Land Company and was surveying the land within the Western Reserve.
Now the second largest city in the state of Ohio, is home to over 385,800 people, three professional sports teams, multiple manufacturing headquarters and more.
While the celebrations started early Friday afternoon, Clevelanders can still celebrate on the city’s actual birthday all weekend long.
Happy Birthday my sweet Cleveland!! 221 years young and getting better with each year! pic.twitter.com/lu8bDbtSAH
— Terminal Tower CLE (@TowerLightsCLE) July 21, 2017
The Cleveland Metroparks will be having a fireworks show Saturday to honor its 100th birthday on July 23.
@clevemetroparks Happy 100 Years of serving our communities Thank You!!! #happycentennial pic.twitter.com/8vt6enMEe2
— City Visitor (@CityVisitorCle) July 21, 2017
Live music will kick off the event at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Food trucks from around the area will be there to help satisfy food cravings, and people can visit the recently opened Edgewater Beach House which also has a lunch and dinner menu to choose from.
At a time when the area was very rural, William Stinchcomb had the idea to create a chain of parks with connecting boulevards. Finally, after raising some money from various organizations, in 1917 the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District was born.
Today it is known as one of the most scenic areas in the state with 18 reservations spanning more than 23,000 acres.
Get ready to blow out more than 300 birthday candles this weekend to celebrate the milestones that both Cleveland and the Metroparks have accomplished over the years.
