I still remember Mr. Klockner’s shrill voice in that 8th grade Algebra class. I was reading aloud from a word problem and stumbled on “loge.”
I pronounced the word “lodge.”
“The word is ‘loge!’ Don’t you have any culture about you at all, boy?” he announced to all the class, loudly.
At that point, unless you count smuggling Kool Aid into the drive-in as culture, not really.
I came by it honestly. My parents were from extremely poor eastern Ohio farm families. Both used outhouses deep into their high school years. That’s a long way from catching Fiddler on the Roof at Playhouse Square.
But the distance to cultural opportunity isn’t nearly that great for anyone living in north central Ohio. The past month has offered a full slate of events to satisfy a myriad of cultural tastes.
For those who steered clear of the Ohio State Reformatory over the weekend, the three-day Inkcarceration music festival drew approximately 75,000 fans to a cornucopia of heavy metal and body art. The extravaganza, which attracted a wide ranging audience from all over the country, figured to pump $10 million into the local economy.
If that wasn’t your scene, our newsroom here at Idea Works in downtown Mansfield was the site for “What’s Your Narrative Poetry Slam.” It was hosted by the North End Community Improvement Collaborative and drew 30 people.
Neither of those affairs was really my cup of tea. So, our family turned its attention to the Mansfield Art Center on Sunday, where we took in the John Mellencamp exhibit.
I must admit, I’m a much bigger fan of Mellencamp’s music than his artwork, but the man is clearly a multi-talented individual who can handle a brush.
As his musical popularity grew in the 1980s, so did Mellencamp’s interest in painting. Mansfield joined a long list of stops his artwork has made, and this exhibit will be here through Aug. 7.
That was on the cultural menu just this past weekend.
Prior to that, the Honda Indy 200 blew through Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 1 to 3, and was followed at the same site by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series July 8 and 9.
Those events are all in addition to the usual festivities that dot our regional calendar every summer, including canoeing, mountain biking and hiking at Mohican, the various shows at both the Renaissance Theatre (where the Music Man debuts July 30) or Mansfield Playhouse (which staged Beauty and the Beast Jr. last month and will host Moana Jr. in September).
If fine dining appeals to your palate, Hudson & Essex has just announced Prohibition at the Caverns, an 8-course meal that will begin Aug. 5.
Simply put, one need not leave north central Ohio to find a cultural outlet. Just take a step outside, and a quick look around.
We’re incredibly fortunate in our neck of the woods. There’s plenty to see, and lots to do.
