Waterloo Arts District Archives

Waterloo Arts Fest logo

(provided courtesy of Waterloo Arts)

The 16th-Annual Waterloo Arts Fest is Saturday, June 30, 2018, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Waterloo Arts & Entertainment District, Cleveland, on Waterloo Rd. between E. 161 St. and Calcutta Ave. and features more than 40 local bands playing a great mix of music, local handmade art vendors, CLE’s best food trucks, and an exciting mix of innovative and interactive art experiences for all ages. At the Waterloo Arts Fest, you can roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty and give art a try.

This community event is produced by Waterloo Arts, a nonprofit art center whose mission is to enrich the neighborhood culturally and economically by creating a stimulating arts environment through exhibits, performances, special events, and educational programming for people of all ages. In addition to orchestrating this festival, Waterloo Arts manages an art gallery, public art projects, a community arts center and artist studios.

What’s new this year?
This year we are excited to introduce an artist residency program to the event. For four to six weeks leading up to the festival, selected artists will create a temporary art installation that will be presented at the festival, and fans can follow along as the artists post progress shots of their work leading up to the big reveal. This year’s artists are Angela Oster and Susie Underwood. Each year, we would like to add residencies until we have as many as 20 artists creating large-scale installations for the event.

For more info and an event program, visit waterlooarts.org/fest.

Irie Jamaican Kitchen jerk chicken — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s jerk chicken

Irie Jamaican Kitchen's curry chicken bowl — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s curry chicken bowl

Irie Jamaican Kitchen's fish stew — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s fish stew

I was planning a business lunch to talk about the Waterloo Arts District, redevelopment, travel and other things with a colleague at The City of Euclid. When I asked where we should go, she suggested a new Jamaican restaurant that people are raving about on E. 185^th Street: Irie Jamaican Kitchen.

This small, cafeteria-style takeout is decorated in the bright colors of Jamaica (black, red, yellow, green). There is bar-style seating with a few stools, too. We dined in and got to meet Omar, the owner, and chat with him about his inspiration. It turns out he went to Cuyahoga Community College and Kent State University for culinary arts and hospitality management. He worked at restaurants his entire life.

Three years ago, he decided to fulfill his dream of owning a restaurant and working for himself. He opened Irie Jamaican Kitchen at Richmond Mall. One month ago, he moved to Euclid, where he currently lives, because he loves the community and felt it would offer a great customer base. So far, he’s doing well.

And, we can see why! Everything was fresh, tasty and full of flavor. There was so much to choose from, including healthy options. You could get a bowl (Jamaican version of Chipotle) with either salad or rice as the base. I got a salad bowl with jerk chicken, vinegar cucumber slaw, pineapple coleslaw and heavenly, carmelized, fried plantains. I also ordered a cup of thick, rich chicken-feet soup. My colleague had a rice bowl with curry chicken, mango salsa, plantains and sour cream. I wanted to try the fish stew in brown sauce, but there will always be another time.