Together With Worts & Wards

Come for the tea, stay for the community 📍 W. 25th

Part apothecary, part bookstore, and part community gathering space, Worts & Wards has become a destination for those seeking a little more intention in their everyday lives.

Located in Ohio City, the shop blends holistic wellness, herbalism, and thoughtful retail under one roof. Visitors can browse shelves stocked with loose-leaf teas and handcrafted herbal goods, discover crystals and tarot decks, or find a new favorite book while exploring products from local artists and makers.

The experience extends well beyond shopping. Throughout the month, the space comes alive with yoga classes, sound baths, tarot readings, herbal workshops, meditation gatherings, and book clubs that invite people to learn, connect, and explore new interests.

See what's on the calendar this month → Browse upcoming events

Whether stopping in for a quiet moment, an evening event, or a thoughtful gift, visitors will find a welcoming atmosphere rooted in curiosity, creativity, and community.

Visit Worts & Wards online or wander in at 2525 Market Ave., Cleveland

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🏙️ Community Blend

Mrs. Roperfest, July 19 📍 Whiskey island

Last year, Jodie and I stumbled into a sea of caftans and red wigs on Whiskey Island and spent a solid five minutes trying to figure out which cult we'd accidentally joined. Turns out it was the kind where the uniform is the whole point.

We were unwitting bystanders at Roperfest, and we left card-carrying, caftan-curious converts. On Sunday, July 19, the Cleveland Chapter of the International Order of Mrs. Roper hosts its second annual Roperfest at Whiskey Island, 1 to 5 p.m.—and this time you can show up knowing exactly what you're getting into.

Here's the rundown:

• Live music from Soul Shake & The Eastside Horns

• A limbo contest, a conga line, and Mrs. Roper–themed giveaways

• A Three's Company theme song sing-along

• A group photo finale

Why it's worth your time: As chapter admin Kristen Kaleal puts it, when everyone's dressed the same, the usual worries about comparison and fitting in just melt away. For a few hours, nobody's the nervous newcomer or the person overthinking their outfit. Everybody's just a fabulous Mrs. Roper. She called it a love fest, and having accidentally crashed it once, we can confirm.

Learn more about the Cleveland Chapter of the International Order of Mrs. Roper.

So consider this your invitation to disappear into the disguise. Slip on the caftan, top it with the wig, and let Mrs. Roper handle the rest. Best cult we've ever accidentally joined.

🗞️ Short Takes

Short Takes on the Westside by Julie Short. We can’t fit everything into the email newsletter so you can find the full column on our website.

Avon

‍Festival canceled: The Country Rising Festival slated for July 24 at ForeFront Field (home of the Lake Erie Crushers) has been cancelled.

The announcement came via social media and stated, ‘Due to circumstances related to required event approvals and public safety requirements, we are unable to move forward with Country Rising Festival Cleveland as originally scheduled.’

Story time: Bring the kids for Story Time in the Woods at the Every Child’s Playground, 36265 Detroit Road from 10:30 to 11 a.m. July 10 (weather permitting)

Music, movement activities and play will accompany nature-themed stories. Dress for the weather and bring a blanket.

Avon Lake

Get your ducks in a row: Cheer on your lucky ducks as they race along the lazy river at the Ellen Trivanovich Aquatic Center, 32850 Electric Blvd., during the annual Ducks-n-Donuts Derby at 8:30 a.m. July 11.

Winners from each qualifying heat will earn a spot in the championship race for a chance to win a 2027 pool season pass. Participants do not need to be present to win and you do not  need to have a pool membership to attend. Register

Pantry expansion: Phase 1 of the 624-sq.-ft. pantry expansion at Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services (CRS), 33479 Lake Road, is now complete. The expansion significantly increased the shelving capacity and created a dedicated home for the food inventory. See who was instrumental in bringing the space to life.

Bay Village

Food trucks: Don’t forget Food Truck Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. are in full swing this summer at the Village Green behind City Hall, 350 Dover Center Road, although there is no event July 3 due to the holiday and Bay Days.

Upcoming trucks include July 10 with CLE Chicken and Smooth Rider, and also featuring musical artist Jason Meyers. On July 17 the food trucks are Manna and CLE Cookie Dough Co.

North Ridgeville

125 years of Disney magic: Learn about the life of Walt Disney, born in 1901, as well as the founding of Disney Studios and theme parks in the United States during a presentation from 6 to 7:30 p.m. July 14 at the North Ridgeville Library, 35700 Bainbridge Road.

Rocky River

Schools update: The Rocky River City Schools recently announced several staffing updates for the 2026-2027 school year.

See the staffing moves.

Westlake

Park enhancements: City officials have entered into a professional services contract with Environmental Design Group for the Clague Park Enhancement and Amphitheater Project.

The project is intended to build on recent investments in the city’s parks by refreshing Clague Park as a community destination with stronger trail connections, updated recreational areas and more open green space. Get the full scoop.

New store: Crocker Park officials recently announced that MINISO, the global lifestyle retailer known ‘for its playful product mix, immersive store experiences and popular brand collaborations’, will open a new location in August at 224 Main Street.  

Together With MDVIP

Bringing relationships back to your healthcare

Dr. Kurtis Dornan, a Westlake family medicine doctor, just opened a new practice built around an idea he worried was disappearing: actually knowing your patients.

“Across healthcare today, medicine has become increasingly transactional. Patients bounce between urgent care centers, specialists, telehealth apps, and overbooked primary care offices. Physicians are pushed to see more and more patients in less and less time. Fifteen-minute appointments have become the norm. Sometimes less.”

“The result is a system focused on volume, not relationships. And I think about how that impacts the residents of the Westside, the people that I grew up with, who cared for me, and vice versa."  

It's a personal story about community, perseverance, and the kind of care the Westside taught him to give. →Read the full story

Want to learn more? Call (440) 848-6611

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Business & Restaurant News

A bank that ran out of deposits…again 📍 Downtown

Most grocery stores don't have a stained-glass dome that Marvel once borrowed to play a New York bank vault. Downtown's Heinen's does. And on July 31, after 11 years, it's locking the doors for good.

If you've never been, it's not a "grab milk and go" kind of place. It's a 1907 former bank with an 85-foot rotunda ceiling, the kind of spot where tourists take photos in the cereal aisle. It's also the only full-service grocery store downtown. Was, anyway.

So what happened? Pretty much what you'd guess. Everybody started working from home and stopped grabbing lunch downtown. They tried shrinking the store back in 2024, but it wasn't enough. Co-president Jeff Heinen called it a tough call and said the numbers just never added up.

The good news, and it's real good news: nobody's losing their job. All 70 employees are getting offered spots at other Heinen's, and no other stores are closing.

Now somebody's got to figure out what goes in that gorgeous rotunda next. The building spent a century as a bank and a decade as a grocery store, and both times it came down to the same thing. To get people walking through the door.

As Westsiders, stopping in before Guardians games to save a few bucks on peanuts was the only time we would visit the store.