GCP's Annual Event Focuses on AI, Energy; Cleveland Weekend Guide: CLE Daily

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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Night: These establishments make it easy for kids and their parents to have a good time with great food and beverages.

🇮🇪  Echoes of Ireland: Grammy-winning Apollo's Fire is set to host performances in Avon Lake, Bath and Kirtland this upcoming June. The shows will be held from June 16-21 

🏀 Where To Watch: Game 5 in the Cavs-Pistons series is set to tip off at 8 p.m. today on ESPN.

ICYMI: Margarita Reyes, who helped launch multiple restaurants for the Vergara family, is now leading the next era of Hola Tacos in Lakewood.

Today's Trivia

In 1937, the former National Town and Country Club was purchased by and renamed for what college – a forerunner to Cleveland State University?

GCP's annual event preaches a thriving Cleveland.

News | By Dillon Stewart

Greater Cleveland Partnership held its annual event last night at the Hilton Cleveland. While citing AI adoption and business attraction as opportunities for improvement, the regional chamber of commerce touted growth numbers, economic development and national press as wins from the past year.

"At GCP, we believe Cleveland has all the ingredients we need to be successful," says KeyCorp CEO Christopher Gorman. "World class universities. We've got that. A committed workforce, great place to hire. World class medical care. An abundance of natural resources. We have water. We have power. We have shale reserves. Not many states can say that. We have world class arts, theater and sports teams. In short, a great place to live, a great place to work and a great place to play."

Honorees:

• Guardians Owner Paul Dolan handed over the reins of board chair to KeyCorp CEO Christopher Gorman. 

• Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, earned the Richard Shatten Award for "a civic professional who had a significant impact on our community." 

AI Adoption: In his keynote speech, Gorman stressed the importance of speeding up widespread AI adoption in Cleveland's business community — and what GCP plans to do about it. 

• The organization is working to support businesses through monthly AI-themed roundtable discussions and resources like its AI Playbook.

• The group says more than 2,000 people attended its events in 2025. 

Gorman: “I’m a huge believer that AI is the biggest game changer of our collective lifetimes. Cleveland businesses, organizations and individuals must rapidly leverage AI tools to continue to compete, and most importantly, to win.”

Energy Boost: Gorman and other leaders also stressed the business need for more energy options, such as natural gas, nuclear energy and solar.  

• Gorman: "Energy is quickly becoming a defining competitive edge. A consistent theme we hear from CEOs that affordable, reliable energy directly drives investment decisions meeting that demand requires an all of the above energy strategy."

Baiju and Bibb: Despite not seeing eye-to-eye throughout the Browns Stadium negotiations, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and GCP CEO Baiju Shah presented a united front in a panel discussion.

• Shah: "Our business community needs to be talking to their colleagues, their clients, telling them why bringing businesses to Cleveland gives them an advantage."

• Bibb: "As we saw with the Browns debate, I think sometimes conflict is good because it allows us to  see what our priorities are and act in a more unified way."

Further Reading: Multiple times last night, local leaders mentioned this Wall Street Journal article, seeing the national recognition as a high watermark of the last year.

Talk of the Town

After a rock salt shortage this winter, the city of Cleveland approved an order for 75,000 tons for the 2026-27 winter season from Cleveland-based Cargill. The new order costs almost $4.5 million. The mines, located underneath Lake Erie, harvest about 12,000 tons of salt every day.

With gas prices rising, Cuyahoga County is advising gas stations to ensure they are displaying accurate prices at the pumps and on their street signs. The law requires both signs to match and for gas stations to display the highest price between cash and credit.

Using a grant of $14.8 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Cleveland City Council introduced legislation to develop solar power facilities at two landfills. If approved, the solar facilities will be located on Kolthoff Road and the other on West 11th Street and Spring Road.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted Christian Bryant for two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault for the alleged killing of Randolph Corrigan on April 25. Corrigan was shot multiple times at Costco in Strongsville and later pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital.

David Huffman has been named the new Cinematheque director of the Cleveland Institute of Art. Huffman is replacing Bilgesu Sisman, who has been the director for nearly the last two years. 

Blossom concerts, Guardians games, Cleveland Asian Fest and more.

Things To Do | By Jeff Niesel

Courage and Poetry: An Afternoon with Tank Ball at Mandel Concert Hall | Arts & Culture | May 17

This special event featuring Tank Ball of Tank and the Bangas will highlight the lyricism on the group's 2024 release, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul. Grammy-winning composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard will join Ball for the performance. The event takes place at 4 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

The Cleveland Ballet Presents Cinderella at the Ohio Theatre | Dance | May 15-16

The Cleveland Ballet presents this classic story about the girl who overcomes the abuse of her stepmom and stepsisters to make it to the ball. Performances take place at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Ohio Theatre. 1511 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org

Guardians vs. Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field | Sports | May 15-17

The Guardians take on their National League rivals, the Cincinnati Reds, tonight at Progressive Field. The game serves as a celebration of the 2016 Cleveland team that made it all the way to the World Series. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m., and the two teams play again on Saturday and Sunday. 2401 Ontario St., Cleveland, 216-420-4487, mlb.com

Kid Cudi at Blossom Music Center | Music | May 15

The rapper who grew up in the Cleveland area comes to Blossom. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m., and Chip Tha Ripper, Big Boi and A-Trak open. One dollar from every ticket sold will be donated to the Big Bro Foundation that helps Black youth facing mental health challenges. 1145 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

Cleveland Asian Festival | Festival | May 15-16

The annual festival that takes place during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month highlights Cleveland’s AsiaTown. Live entertainment takes place on two outdoor stages, and there will be a World Marketplace of more than 100 vendors and exhibitors. The free event begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 2999 Payne Ave., Cleveland, clevelandasianfestival.org

Yesterday's Trivia Answer

What avian-inspired Lakewood neighborhood was originally built at the turn of the 20th century for employees of the National Carbon Co.? Birdtown

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question.

From the Editor

Libraries rule. We're incredibly lucky to have these amazing spaces at our fingertips — many of which host book clubs, movie screenings, art displays, craft nights and more. A couple of months ago, my local library even gave out free packets of seeds, which helped us with our gardening this year.

In the latest local library news, Cuyahoga County Public Library's new Parma Heights library recently opened. It's really great, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking nature trails behind the building. I recommend you stop by to check it out if you're in the area.

And if you can't get out to a library, you can always take advantage of locally developed apps Libby or Kanopy that let you rent books, movies and more from your local library.

I'll say it again, and I'll never stop saying it: Libraries rule. - Annie Nickoloff, Senior Editor