Why? Weekends!

I've decided to make "Why? Weekends!" a recurring feature on the blog, in that it gives me a guaranteed post once a week, there's always something going on, and it gives me a chance to incorporate another recurring feature...the reader question!

OK, so why Cleveland?  Because there's always something great to do on the weekends!  This weekend, CLEguy, CLEfriends (including the fabulous HungryinCLE), and I checked out the Ohio City Christmas Festival.

This was the first year for this event, which featured local vendors, selling ornaments, handmade jewelry, various craft items, and tasty treats from CLEfriend Tinypop Treats.

There were also carriage rides, cookie decorating, and photos with this guy:

All in all, a fun afternoon, topped off by some rosemary garlic french fries and a St. Bernadus Christmas Ale at McNulty's Bier Markt.  If you had a chance to check out the Christmas Festival, let me know in the comments what you thought.  From chatting with one of the organizers, the goal is to expand the Festival to every weekend next year from Thanksgiving until Christmas!

Sunday was spent baking approximately 752 varieties of Christmas cookies with CLEguy and his family.  One of my main reasons for Why Cleveland? is family.  And I suspect it's the same for a lot of you.  It's wonderful to have family so close by, especially at the holidays.  Check out our handiwork:

I have sampled all the varieties and can attest to their yumminess, as can this creature:

Meet CLEpup, in happy Christmas mode.

Hope your weekends were happy, festive, and full of CLE goodness!  So, it's reader question time...what new answers to "Why Cleveland?" did you find this weekend?  Or what places that are already on your "Why Cleveland?" answer list did you revisit?

Why? Generosity.

So, I knew I wanted to start the blog rolling on a positive note.  Pick something wonderful about CLE to kvell about.  And I didn't want to just add my voice to the many who discussed a certain sporting event that occurred yesterday evening...the market was pretty much cornered on every aspect of that situation.  (Although, if you haven't seen it yet, and have kleenex nearby, check out ESPN's Believeland article.)

I had an idea, which I ran past CLEguy (my partner in most things and now an unwitting blog character).  I told him my first answer to "Why Cleveland?" was generosity.  And not just in an anecdotal way.  I said I bet we gave more to charities than people in other cities.  He asked what the blog would be about if the facts didn't back that up.  Well, lucky for me, the first answer to "Why Cleveland?" is most definitely generosity.

According to Charity Navigator, an organization that researches charities in order to better inform donors, the 39 largest charities in Cleveland are far exceeding the national average in total revenue and assets.  For 2010, total revenue was $8.6 million, outstripping the national average by $3.4 million.  Total assets stood at a staggering $30.8 million, beating the national average by $23.1 million.

Wow CLE!  In a time where Cleveland has been hit harder than most by the economic downturn, people are still recognizing need and giving where and when it counts.  It says a lot about the heart of a city when people can see beyond their own need to the needs of the whole.  And it definitely makes me proud to be able to say "generosity" as an answer to "Why Cleveland?"

For more info on Charity Navigator's study and the 39 largest charities in Cleveland click here.