Winter Warmer Fest
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association hosts its 11th Annual Winter Warmer Fest at Windows on the River. The local brew showcase features more than 50 Ohio-based companies — from Fat Head’s to HiHO and Little Fish — and offers tastings of its new or classic seasonal and limited-edition beers. Keep your appetite at helm with fare from food trucks at the indoor-outdoor event and take in tunes from locals Austin Walkin’ Cane and Chris Allen. $45-$55, March 4 1 p.m., 2000 Sycamore St., Cleveland, ohiocraftbeer.org
A Great Wilderness
At a far-off Christian camp promising to “cure” gay teens, veteran counselor Walt is preparing to leave the grounds for good after deciding to retire. Yet when Daniel, a shy teenager, flees into the Idaho woods, Walt goes after him in a change of morality. The Boston Globe called Samuel D. Hunter’s gentle and soft-hearted take on coming-of-age sexuality “an affecting drama that strengthens its hold on you bit by unpredictable bit.” $31, March 3 & 4 8 p.m., March 5 3 p.m., Thru April 9; Beck Center for the Arts,17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, beckcenter.org
Short. Sweet. Film Fest
Showing over 90 films (most only 20 minutes long) over three days, this fest has been going strong for seven years. From a local Lake Erie Monster documentary to a profile of Congo Olympic hopefuls, these films cover myriad topics that span near and far. $20 for one-day pass, $40 for weekend; March 3 6 - 10:30 p.m., March 4 noon - 9:30 p.m., March 5 11 a.m.- 8 p.m., the Metropolitan at The 9, Alex Theater, 2017 East Ninth St., Cleveland, shortsweetfilmfest.com
Cleveland Independents Restaurant Week
Foodies, it’s that time to indulge in a three-course meal for just $33. Fifty independently owned restaurants — from Don’s Pomeroy House in Strongsville to Lopez on Lee in Cleveland Heights — have readied chef-designed, once-in-a-blue-moon prix fixe dinners. Here’s your chance to try that Brazilian feijoada at Batuqui or order the cassoulet at Table 45. $33, Thru March 16, Visit website for list clevelandindependents.com
Spring’s Awakening
It was once written that eroticism killed Frank Wedekind. In his magnum opus, Spring’s Awakening is a vivid dramatization of coming-of-age sexuality in 19th-century Germany, one that tells the interconnect story of teenagers who encounter the truth behind reproduction and grapple with suicide. Wedekind’s controversial play received its first English production in 1972, more than 80 years after it was written. $12, March 3 & 4, 7:30p.m., March 5, 2 p.m., Thru March 11, University of Akron, Sandefur Theatre, 224 E. Buchtel Ave, Akron, uakron.edu