CLEVELAND, Ohio — Halloween in April: While some of us are thinking of bunnies, colored eggs and chocolates in April, the folks at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque are looking at the month in a totally different, darker way. The Cinematheque is thinking about, of all things, Halloween.

Four classic horror movies and one new one comprise “Halloween in April,” a five-week film series that will run from April 1-30 at the Cinematheque. Included are films by Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin, a Blaxploitation classic, and others.

“There’s Christmas in July, so why not Halloween in April?” asks Cinematheque co-founder and director John Ewing, in a release. “Clevelanders shouldn’t have to wait six more months for one of their favorite holidays. So we’re flipping the calendar forward and screening four classic chillers and a new nightmare on Euclid Avenue this spring.”

All five movies will show in the Peter B. Lewis Theater inside the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Avenue. Admission to each film ranges from $13 down to $10 ($10 to $7 for Cinematheque members, CIA students and Cleveland State University ID holders, as well as those 25 and younger).

Halloween in April gets under way at 7 p.m. April 1 and at 8:40 p.m. April 2 with showings of the director’s cut of “The Exorcist.” Other movies include “Frenzy,” April 8-9; “Mad Love” April 16; “Blacula” April 21 and 23; and “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” April 29-30.

All moviegoers are required to show proof of vaccination upon entering the building and to wear face masks for the duration of their visit.

Free parking for filmgoers will be available in Lot 73 and in the Institute’s annex lot, both located off E. 117th Street, south of Euclid Avenue. Entrance to the building is through Entrance C, off Lot 73. For further information, call 216-421-7450, visit cia.edu/cinematheque, or send an email to cinema@cia.edu.

Exploring the Charlottesville trial: “Taking Violent White Supremacy to Court: The Charlottesville Trial,” will be presented on Zoom at 7:30 p.m. April 7 at 7:30 pm.

The program features Amy Spitalnick, executive director of Integrity First for America, in conversation with Clevelander Steve Dettelbach, former US Attorney for the Ohio Northern District. Spitalnick and Dettelbach will be discussing the landmark court case that took the organizers of the Charlottesville attack to court and won, securing multi-million dollars in damages and holding the extremists accountable for the violence they orchestrated.

To preregister and to receive the Zoom link, visit parksynagogue.org. The program is co-sponsored by Park Synagogue, AJC-Cleveland, NAACP Cleveland Branch, and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland.

Meet the author in Shaker: Shaker Library, the City of Shaker Heights, and the Friends of the Shaker Library will present David Pogue, author of How to Manage Climate Change, at 7 p.m. April 5 at Shaker Middle School, 20600 Shaker Blvd.

In his book, bestselling self-help author Pogue offers sensible, deeply researched advice for how people should start to ready themselves for the years ahead. Pogue walks readers through what to grow, what to eat, how to build, how to insure, where to invest, how to prepare your children and pets, and even where to consider relocating when the time comes. In a spoiler alert, the library informs us that the Great Lakes states have the requisite cool temperatures, good hospitals, reliable access to water, and resilient infrastructure to serve as climate havens in the years ahead.

Pogue will also provide tips for managing anxiety, as well as action plans for riding out every climate catastrophe, from superstorms and wildfires, to ticks and epidemics.

Pogue grew up in Shaker Heights, where he was a member of the 1981 graduating class of Shaker Heights High School. In 1985, he graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with distinction in music and worked as a conductor of Broadway musicals on and off for a decade. He has won a Loeb Award for journalism, received an honorary doctorate in music, and has been profiled on TV’s 48 Hours and 60 Minutes.

He was a contributor to many “For Dummies” publications and the creator of the Missing Manual series of computer teaching books. From 2000-2013 Pogue was The New York Times weekly tech columnist and wrote the “Crowdwise” feature for its “Smarter Living” section. He is a six-time Emmy winner for his stories on “CBS Sunday Morning,” and a host of 17 science specials on “NOVA” on PBS.

Following Pogue’s presentation, books will be available for sale and signing. The program is free, but reservations are requested at bit.ly/3ivehDq.

Forum on Cleveland Heights ballot Issue No. 9: Ahead of the May 3 Primary Election, the League of Women Voters and Heights Libraries will present a Forum on Ballot Issue #9 for a public activity park.

The issue, and forum, is centered on the proposed public activity park on Lee Road, between Tullamore Road and Meadowbrook Boulevard, which has been placed on the May 3 ballot by a citizen’s initiative. The forum will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. April 6 at the Heights Main Library, 2345 Lee Road.

The forum panel will comprise two groups of citizens, one supporting and one opposing the ordinance that will appear on the ballot. It will be moderated by a trained LWV moderator.

The forum is free and open to the public. In addition to taking place in-person at the library, it will be live-streamed and recorded for later viewing on the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland YouTube channel, which can be found at lwvgreatercleveland.org/chuh. The ballot language can be read on the Cleveland Heights website.

The forum will be presented by The League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland Heights Chapter and the Heights Libraries.

Stop the Hate contest finalists named: The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage has named the top 25 finalists in its Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out & Youth Sing Out contest. The winners will be named at 7 p.m. April 13, online via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public; advance registrations are required. You can register at maltzmuseum.org.

The Stop the Hate contest, as of 2022, has awarded scholarships, prizes, and anti-bias education grants to Northeast Ohio students and schools totaling $1.4 million. It is estimated that more than 45,000 students have participated across 12 counties. Using object-based learning, students learn what it means to be a bystander, upstander, or perpetrator in global events like the Holocaust and national events like the Civil Rights Movement.

Reflecting on this history, students are asked to reflect on discrimination they experience or witness. Students respond to the question of what role they play in changing their community.

The essay contest finalists from schools in the Press Run coverage area are, in the 11th and 12th grade category, Lizzy Huang, grade 11, of Shaker Heights High School, and Samah Khan grade 11, of Beachwood High School. Lizzy and Samah are competing for a $20,000 grand prize scholarship. There are also scholarships for $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000.

In the 6th to 10th grade category are seventh grader Jocelyn Sesnowitz, of Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School; eighth grader Ida Chang, of Beachwood Middle School; and 9th grader Anah Khan, also of Beachwood Middle School.

The Youth Sing Out local lyric writing finalists, in the high school category, are “Speak Out” by Nicole Majercak’s 1st Period Class at Beachwood High School — Teaching Artist: Taylor Lamborn; and “Tragedies and Memories” by Nicole Majercak’s 10th Period Class at Beachwood High School — Teaching Artist: Taylor Lamborn.

To learn more about the Maltz Museum or the Stop the Hate contest, visit maltzmuseum.org, and then register for the free Zoom event on April 13 to hear the inspiring words of Northeast Ohio students making a difference in the community.

Speaking of high school writers: North Canton educational nonprofit Power of the Pen, on March 20, announced the results of its Lake Erie Region Tournament, hosted virtually by Hudson Middle School on March 5.

In the Power of the Pen regional tournament, 7th and 8th grade students competed in a series of extemporaneous rounds of creative writing tasks, each in response to an open-ended prompt. The regional tournament is both a team and an individual competition.

While Hudson Middle School and Revere Middle school finished in the top two spots, Shaker Heights Middle School, coached by Sara Lambert, finished in third place.

Also, listed among the 7th grade top individual award winners was 12th place finisher Anders Beckman of Shaker Heights Middle School.

Cello extravaganza rescheduled: “i Cellisti!,” the annual cello ensemble blowout that was cancelled due to bad weather on Feb. 4, is back on again and will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 8 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd in Cleveland Heights.

The program, identical to what was planned for February 4, features Khari Joyner, recently-arrived cello professor at Baldwin-Wallace University. A composer as well as a performer, Joyner will play his work for solo cello, “PetrolMusic.”

The concert will also include cello ensemble performances by cello studios of Bryan Dumm and Ida Mercer of Case Western Reserve University; Brian Snow of Bowling Green State University; Khari Joyner of Baldwin-Wallace University; and Mingyao Zhao of Wooster College; as well as duos and a trio performed by Cleveland Orchestra Principal Mark Kosower, and First Assistant Principal Richard Weiss, and Mingyao Zhao.

Tickets cost $30 for general admission, $5 for students, and $100 for supporting patrons. Purchase tickets online at ClevelandCello.com, or by phone 216-921-3480.

And, if you like fish fries, you might want to come early for the fish fry dinner at St Paul’s that is prepared by EDWIN’S Leadership Institute from 5-8 pm.

Read about the fish fry and place your order at edwinsrestaurant.org/product/fish-fry-friday-st-pauls-april-8th/.

Heights Libraries happenings: “Impressionism: Gustave Caillebotte: The Greatest Impressionist You Don’t Know,” is being offered online through Heights Libraries from 7-8 p.m. April 7. Registration is not required. The meeting ID is 823 648 5349, and the passcode is 691353.

From 2-3:30 p.m. April 12, the Lee Road Library branch, 2345 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, will host “Computer Basics Part 2 – Intro to Computers.” Register here.

The same branch will also host “Using City Directories for Genealogy Research,” from 7-8:30 p.m. April 12. Registration is not required.

If you would like to see your item appear in Press Run, send me an email, at least 14 days prior to an event, at jeff.piorkowski@att.net.

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