October 16, 2024

Carrying the Torch - One year as Cuyahoga River AOC's Champion of the River

October 16, 2024/ Share the River

Yesterday’s Bedrock & Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center ground-breaking event gave Share the River executive director Jim Ridge a moment to reflect. “It’s wonderful how a natural resource a city turned its back on is now being considered as a place people want to use as its front porch.'“ “Bedrock and the Cavs embrace of a revitalized natural resource like the Cuyahoga River is heartening and it’s sobering to consider some of us may be gone before the 15-20 years it will take to complete the $3.5 billion, 35-acre riverfront development project”.

April 22, 2024

Earth Day - this is Cleveland's Cuyahoga River NOW!

April 22, 2024/ Share the River

We do wish more journalists (and their editors) would flip the script and instead of looking back on the bad old days, they take a look at the ONE river in the world that can elegantly and directly speak to how far the ecological movement has come for a variety of reasons.

April 21, 2023

Happy 53rd Anniversary Earth Day! Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is the photo-op for the comeback Cuyahoga River

April 21, 2023/ Share the River

For several years we used to recognize Earth Day by prowling the Cuyahoga River shoreline, in an effort to show still images and video of how the comeback Cuyahoga River looked and felt now - as opposed to pulling up five decade-old images from the bad ol’ days at the dawn of Earth Day.

March 31, 2022

Register for Blazing Paddles Paddlefest for a chance at winning two free tickets for “The Erie Situation” at Cleveland International Film Festival

March 31, 2022/ Share the River

Share the River will select two Blazing Paddles Paddlefest registrants at 9 am on Saturday morning, April 2, 2022 to receive two sets of tickets to “The Erie Situation”. at the Cleveland International Film Festival. at Playhouse Square. Winners can choose to attend either the world debut of “The Erie Situation” on Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 7:25 p.m. or the second showing on Monday, April 4, 2022 at 4:50 p.m. Tickets will be e-mailed to the winners.

March 08, 2022

International Women's Day: who are the women two Blazing Paddles Paddlefest events are named for? - the Ruth Patrick Memorial and Rachel Carson Memorial

March 08, 2022/ Share the River

When we established the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest, we decided to name two of our events (the 5.3-mile Ruth Patrick Memorial and the 13-mile Rachel Carson Memorial) after significant women who helped move the needle on the environmental movement. International Women’s Day gives us a perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on these two pioneering women.

August 09, 2021

Ohio River Paddlefest Celebrates 20 Years of Paddling the Ohio

August 09, 2021/ Share the River

Saturday’s 20th Annual Ohio River Paddlefest in Cincinnati, OH was a return to normalcy for almost 2,000 paddlers hungry for the opportunity to reconnect with each other and the Ohio River.

July 31, 2021

One Week After the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

July 31, 2021/ Share the River

One week ago on what some are calling a history-making day on Cleveland’s hard-working, scenic, and historic Cuyahoga River, many of you were part of the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest. During a short vacation (and an exhilarating whitewater rafting trip down the Cheat Narrows) in Dryfork, WV we’ve had a chance to reflect on what transpired on that amazing Saturday morning and we wanted to share a few thoughts. And some background.

July 26, 2021

The 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Drone Video (and photo galleries & media): An Amazing Morning on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River

July 26, 2021/ Share the River

Wow. Saturday's Blazing Paddles Paddlefest was an amazing sight for us to watch unfold. Brett Fisher's drone video footage gave us the opportunity to synthesize the vibrancy of Cleveland's hard working, historic, and scenic Cuyahoga River on that epic Saturday morning

July 25, 2021

3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest from Ground Level

July 25, 2021/ Share the River

Today is a variation on our weekly "Slow River" where we share ground level video with natural sound from yesterday’s AMAZING Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on Cleveland’s hard-working, historic, and scenic Cuyahoga River. Many thanks to our tireless volunteers, sponsors, Cuyahoga River industrial stakeholders, partner organizations, kayak rental livery partners, and yes, you, our Blazing Paddles paddlers!

July 22, 2021

Happy Birthday Cleveland! Share the River's Photo Album for Our Ideastream Public Media Sound of Ideas Convo with Rick Jackson

July 22, 2021/ Share the River

As fate would have it, our founder, Jim Ridge, will be on Ideastream Public Media/WCPN/The Sound of Ideas to talk with pro’s pro Rick Jackson about the July 24 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest at Rivergate Park/Cleveland Metroparks Merwin’s Wharf/Cleveland Rowing Foundation. But the convo will also touch upon Cleveland’s (and Cleveland’s waterfront) history! Jim will open the show from appx. 9:04 to 9:25 am. You can stream this morning’s interview here. Jim starts the show at the top of the hour.

September 20, 2019

Cuyahoga River Clean-Up Ahead of the Cuyahoga Regatta

September 20, 2019/ Share the River

Yesterday afternoon Surfrider Foundation Northern Ohio Chapter organized a clean-up of the Cuyahoga River ahead of tomorrow’s Head of the Cuyahoga Regatta. (HOTC). Paddleboarders assisted by The Port of Cleveland’s Flotsam pulled floating debris from the river while others gathered trash from the banks of the river.

July 03, 2019

The 2019 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Blazes a New Cuyahoga River Narrative

July 03, 2019/ Share the River

A new narrative for Cleveland was blazed as 250 paddlers on kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes took part in a historic celebration on the Cuyahoga River, 50 years to the day since the 1969 fire ignited the environmental movement.

April 23, 2019

It's the Day After Earth Day. So What Are You Gonna Do Now?!

April 23, 2019/ Share the River

As we wrapped our Earth Day Happy Hour last night we thought about the events that led to the first Earth Day back in 1970, and the unique role Cleveland and the Cuyahoga River served as the flash point for a nation awakening to its burgeoning environmental crisis.

July 06, 2018

What does CAN Triennial Have to Do With Art, Plastic, and Lake Erie?

July 06, 2018/ Share the River

CAN Triennial is a gathering of exemplary contemporary art from Northeast Ohio, featuring new discoveries, rising stars, and the region's most accomplished artists.

June 20, 2018

Here Comes the Ramble and Blazing Paddles, Celebrating How Far the Cuyahoga River Has Come Since 1969

June 20, 2018/ Share the River

s there a better way to celebrate how far the Cuyahoga River (and Cleveland) has come since the June 22, 1969 fire than a run/walk of the Cuyahoga River trails followed by GREAT music and Fat Head's Brewery beer?

May 23, 2018

It Took the Hapless Cleveland Browns to Provide A Much Needed Perspective on Lake Erie

May 23, 2018/ Share the River

But the Lake Erie PR pulse from last week's Browns announcement made us realize Lake Erie's ongoing challenges with algae blooms has tainted the public mindset to a point where a spoiled Lake Erie has finally eclipsed the Cuyahoga River as shorthand for out-of-towners to kick Cleveland in the shins

May 18, 2018

The Faces and Voices of RiverSweep

May 18, 2018/ Share the River

Saturday's RiverSweep saw over 700 volunteers fan out across the Cuyahoga River corridor to be part of what Canalway Partners calls "Ohio's largest done-in-a day clean-up". Individuals, students, and organizations descended upon 9 clean-up sites in the Cuyahoga River watershed and after three hours of effort, headed to Hart Crane Park for Sainato's pizza and music.

April 20, 2018

Here Comes Earth Day (and enough with that 66 year old photo of the Cuyahoga River)

April 20, 2018/ Share the River

We'll admit a certain dread when Earth Day rolls around as many well-meaning folks will trot out a 66-year-old photo of the Cuyahoga River as an example of what will happen if Scott Pruitt/EPA/Donald Trump get their way.

March 23, 2018

Coffee Outside on the Cuyahoga River with Joy Machines Bicycle Shop

March 23, 2018/ Share the River

Joy Machine's Bicycle Shop decide to host a pop-up event called simply enough "Coffee Outside" at the "spoon", Canalway Partners' name for the Scranton Flats pier jutting out over the river.

January 30, 2018

What We're Listening for During Tonight's State of the Union (hint: H2O Infrastructure)

January 30, 2018/ Share the River

One of our favorite sub-topics of interest falls under the relatively wonky heading "infrastructure", with a specific focus on: 1) public water/wastewater infrastructure and 2) waterfront infrastructure related to commercial port operations.

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