on location: midwest ❖ ROCKS Good times await tour groups on the shores of

By Randy Mink

Goodtime III − Cleveland’s largest excursion boat.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a shining star on Cleveland’s lakefront.

n Cleveland your groups can cruise on a Great Lake, enjoy other, you know you’ve discovered itinerary gold. How could big-league sports and sample cheese at a historic food you call this place dull? I market. They can try their luck at a new casino, marvel at The glass pyramid that houses the Rock and Roll Hall of marine wonders in a new aquarium and see where a quirky Fame and Museum has become a city landmark and a cult Christmas movie was filmed. You might have trouble tear- tourism-generating powerhouse. With seven floors of exhibits, ing some of them away from what many consider to be the the museum deserves as much time as you can give it. city’s star attraction—the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Mu- Whether a fan of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix or seum; even a two-hour visit there just isn’t enough. Madonna, everyone remembers a certain era and revels in A good rule of thumb for tour planners: Devote more time to nostalgia as they peruse the photos, videos, costumes and in- Cleveland than you originally had intended. Once you realize struments. There are the pioneers like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee

Photos CourtesyPhotos of Cleveland Positively the diversity of attractions and their relative proximity to each Lewis and Buddy Holly. Motown is represented by the Jack-

28 August 2013 LeisureGroupTravel.com See vintage cars and planes at Crawford Auto Aviation Museum.

PlayhouseSquare is ’s theater district.

son Five, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, and Diana Ross The rock music shrine is just one of several attractions and the Supremes. Beatles memorabilia includes a Yellow fronting Lake Erie in downtown’s North Coast Harbor District. Submarine toy and jackets worn by the Fab Four. See Elvis’ A short walk away is the Great Lakes Science Center, which white-beaded jumpsuit and film clips of “The King” in concert. offers an Omnimax theater and the NASA Glenn Visitor Cen- Listen to disc jockeys from your city. ter, a collection of exhibits on aeronautics and space explo- Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, running through ration. The science museum’s Steamship William G. Mather, next March, is the museum’s first ever major exhibition cap- a restored Great Lakes freighter built in 1925, is moored on turing the band’s long career. Chronicling the Stones from the the lakefront and open for visits from May to October. Next mid-1960s, it includes personal items that have never been door to the Science Center is Stadium, seen before by the public. The exhibit, with film and interactive which offers behind-the-scenes tours. technology, takes up two-and-a-half floors. From North Coast Harbor, the city’s largest sightseeing ves-

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sel provides a good orientation to Cleveland. For captivating FirstEnergy Powerhouse, guests can walk through the Shark skyline views, consider a narrated Lake Erie/ SeaTube with sharks and fish swimming overhead. One ex- cruise aboard the 1,000-passenger Goodtime III. Lunch and hibit features freshwater species native to . One- and two- dinner sailings are available. Another popular cruise boat is the hour tours of Cleveland on Lolly the Trolley depart from the Nautica Queen, which offers lunch and dinner cruises from Powerhouse. , a riverside district that has grown in popularity with , a 52-story skyscraper on Public Square, the opening last year of the Aquarium. At is the most recognizable beacon on Cleveland’s skyline, and its Ohio’s only free-standing aquarium, located in the historic enclosed observation deck is open to group visits at any time (only on weekends to the general public.) The top of the Art Side Trips from Cleveland Deco masterpiece, dedicated in1930 and once the tallest build- ing outside of New York, is bathed in colored lights for holidays Cleveland makes a good base of operations for touring and special occasions. . Here are just a few of the possibilities: The lower levels of Terminal Tower contain shops, restau- rants and an 11-screen cinema. Called Tower City Center, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hale Farm & Village, Bath. • • complex has a food court with eateries like Nathan’s Famous Canton. Fresh from a major Journey back to the 19th century renovation/expansion, the hall at this outdoor living history and McDonald’s. The Hard Rock Cafe at Tower City serves the captures defining moments of museum in the Cuyahoga Valley. brand’s signature burgers, fries and shakes. For groups it of- football history and profiles greats A property of Western Reserve fers a package that includes admission to the Rock and Roll of the game through videos and Historical Society, it includes Hall of Fame. The restaurant has its own collection of rock high-tech, interactive exhibits. dozens of historic buildings and Touch screens provide bios of all a working farm staffed by role- music memorabilia, from a Rolling Stones guitar to Madonna’s inductees. (profootballhof.com) playing interpreters who demon- shoes. strate pioneer crafts. (wrhs.org) Creating the latest buzz at Terminal Tower is Horseshoe •Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Akron. This 65-room Tudor •Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Cleveland, a full-service casino that opened last year in the Revival manor house, built in Railroad, Independence. Take former Higbee’s department store. Highlights include 1,900 1912-15 for Goodyear company a nostalgic three-hour ride in a slots, 89 table games and a buffet called The Spread. co-founder Frank A. Seiberling, classic rail car pulled by a 1950s The nearby East 4th Street District, a block-long brick showcases treasures from around diesel locomotive. Traveling the world. (stanhywet.org) through Cuyahoga Valley National pedestrian street, is a nightlife hub with hotspots like the House Park, the excursion train traces of Blues, Hilarities comedy club, Pickwick concert venue and •Cedar Point, Sandusky. This the Cuyahoga River and Ohio celebrity chef Michael Symons’ Lola. Corner Alley, an upscale amusement park on the shores of & Erie Canalway, traversing bowling center with casual dining at 4th Street Bar & Grill, has Lake Erie boasts 16 roller coast- meadowland, forest and farms. ers, including some of the tallest Fall color tours are especially 12 lanes accented by video walls. and fastest in the world. Also popular. (cvsr.com) A walk down Euclid Avenue leads to PlayhouseSquare, a enjoy the beach, miniature golf cultural magnet centered around five restored theaters. On al- and Soak City water park. Some of the world’s premier roller coasters dominate the skyline at most any night you can catch a Broadway show, Shakespeare (cedarpoint.com) Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. play, concert, opera, ballet, play or top comedian. The Company and Cleveland Playhouse, among the top regional theater companies in the country, provide a wide variety of fare. All five theaters—the Allen, Ohio, State, Palace and Hanna—were built between 1919 and 1921 as vaudeville or movie theaters. They closed in the 1960s but were saved from the wrecking ball; renovations began in the ’70s. Theater tours can be arranged. Not far from PlayhouseSquare are () and Quicken Loans Arena (). Tours of Progressive Field include a dugout, the visitors’ clubhouse, bullpen, indoor batting cages, press box and exhibits on the team’s past. Quicken Loans Arena, or “The Q,” is also home to the AHL Lake Erie Monsters and arena

32 August 2013 LeisureGroupTravel.com Obtain Ohio visitor guides and itineraries and contact group- friendly suppliers directly at leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info football’s Cleveland Gladiators and hosts major concerts. wrapped package full of goodies for groups of all ages. While Many of Cleveland’s cultural institutions are clustered in the lakefront certainly has summertime appeal, groups will find the area, a few miles east of downtown. The merriment here any time of the year. (free general admission), undergo- For travel information, contact Positively Cleveland CVB, ing an extensive renovation and expansion, spans 6,000 years positivelycleveland.com. LGT of art, offering everything from Egyptian antiquities to French Impressionists and modern American art. You can view vintage cars and planes at the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, part of the Western Reserve Historical Society, which also Wander The Wonders of Wayne County encompasses The History Museum. Other University Circle attractions include Cleve- land Botanical Garden, which has a con- servatory that houses the ecosystems of the Madagascar desert and Costa Rican rainforest; the new Museum of Contem- porary Art; Cleveland Museum of Natu- ral History; and magnificent (home of The ) on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. The West Side Market, one of Amer- ica’s great historic food halls, is a favorite with tour groups and Cleveland residents. More than 100 tenants sell everything from meats and fish to spices, nuts and baked goods. Many stalls have remained under individual family control for much of the life of the market—a few dating back to its 1912 opening. Architecturally distinguished by its vaulted, tiled ceiling and landmark To discover what you have been missing clock tower, the market makes a great visit www.wccvb.com or call 1-800-362-6474 lunch stop. Many vendors offer free sam- 2013 WCCVB 094 061113 ples, or your group can eat its way through the market with Taste Cleveland Food Tours and meet its colorful entrepreneurs at the same time. Fans of A Christmas Story will want to visit the Christmas Story House, the re- stored house used in the classic 1983 movie about a 9-year-old boy who wanted an air rifle for Christmas. The companion museum across the street has props, costumes and other movie memorabilia, including Randy’s snowsuit and the family car. Cleveland, as more and more tour plan- ners are discovering, comes as a neatly

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