Much-Anticipated Festival Returns to Downtown Lakewood; Schedule of Events Unveiled
The biggest block party in the neighborhood is poised to heat up Lakewood this summer once again. Lakewood Summer Meltdown 2018, sponsored by Melt Bar and Grilled and presented by LakewoodAlive, returns to Downtown Lakewood for its ninth year on Saturday, July 14 from 4 to 10 p.m.
The Lakewood Summer Meltdown will make a splash on July 14. (The Lakewood Citizen)
The Summer Meltdown represents one of the region’s most highly-anticipated street parties. A summertime celebration of our city’s vibrancy, this free community event draws nearly 10,000 attendees from across Northeast Ohio to the heart of Lakewood each July.
This fixture on our city’s summer calendar takes place on Detroit Avenue in Downtown Lakewood between Marlowe and Mars. The Summer Meltdown is a “something for everyone” event, offering seemingly endless recreation and celebration opportunities, including a 5K race, 1 Mile Kids Fun Run, street festival, outdoor activities, games, food vendors, beer garden, live music and more.
Families will love the street festival component, which features vendor tents from 70+ businesses and nonprofits organizations, many of which offer interactive opportunities. Activities range from the “Water Moose” sprinkler park to exercise demonstrations to a skateboard park sponsored by West Side Skates.
Detroit Avenue in Downtown Lakewood serves as the site of the Lakewood Summer Meltdown. (Cleveland Scene Magazine)
The ever-popular Meltdown 5K sponsored by Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center serves as a fundraiser for LakewoodAlive. This staple of the Summer Meltdown draws hundreds of participants annually, as it features a fast course, chip timing, a t-shirt for participants and prizes for top finishers. Both this running event and the 1 Mile Kids Fun Run sponsored by Lakewood Family YMCA afford participants a rare opportunity to partake in an evening race.
Local brews available in the Gary K. Bish Memorial Beer Garden sponsored by First Federal Lakewood will complement dining options from vendors and food trucks. Live music by crowd-pleasing alternative rock band Front Porch Lights on the Meltdown Stage sponsored by The Exchange, The Ferry Cap and Set Screw Company and Textbook Painting will delight the crowd as dusk turns to nightfall in beautiful Downtown Lakewood.
Lakewood Summer Meltdown Schedule:
4-7:30 p.m. – Meltdown Street Festival
4 p.m. – Race-day registration begins at the intersection of Detroit and Belle Avenues
5-10 p.m. – Gary K. Bish Memorial Beer Garden sponsored by First Federal Lakewood
6 p.m. – 1 Mile Kids Fun Run sponsored by Lakewood Family YMCA begins at the intersection of Detroit and Belle Avenues
7 p.m. – Meltdown 5K sponsored by Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center begins at the intersection of Detroit and Belle Avenues
7 p.m. – Live music by alternative rock band Front Porch Lights on the Meltdown Stage sponsored by The Exchange
For more information regarding the Lakewood Summer Meltdown, including sponsorship and vendor applications, please visit LakewoodAlive.org/Meltdown.
The Lakewood Summer Meltdown is generously supported by the following sponsors:
Title Sponsor:
Melt Bar and Grilled
Platinum Sponsors:
Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center
Rally Health
Gold Medal Sponsors:
Beat Cycles
City of Lakewood
Cuyahoga Community College
The Exchange
First Federal Lakewood
Perry’s Ice Cream
Meltdown 5K Sponsor:
Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center
1 Mile Kids Fun Run Sponsor:
Lakewood Family YMCA
Table Sponsor:
Eric Lowrey, Berkshire Hathaway/Lucien Realty
Silver Medal Sponsors:
The Ferry Cap and Set Screw Company
Jen Hearn Photography
Lakewood City Schools Community Recreation & Education Department
Peace Racing
State Farm, Stacey Caskey-Coblentz
Textbook Painting
thunder::tech
West Side Skates
Bronze Medal Sponsors:
2nd Sole
The Lakewood Citizen
Ronald P. Kolodziej, D.M.D., M.S.
Tomorrow’s Leaders (The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Northern Ohio)
Window Universe