How would a curfew impact kids being out on a Sunday afternoon? You can't ban that. Would they move the festival back to evenings? Frankly, this all sounds like it's much ado about nothing. I was at the fair from 4-6:30 and yeah, there were a lot of teenagers, but the fighting must have been very localized because I never felt things were out of control and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

The curfew gives police a reason to kick out and/or arrest kids who simply come to hang out and cause trouble - before they cause trouble. I'm not sure if it would've helped Sunday unless there is a provision that the curfew applies to any hour that an event like the Coventry fair is open. Since news of the fair was spread by Twitter I would suggest the police, or a representative of the police dept., get on Twitter and spread the news of the curfew and tell the kids not to bother showing up without a parent/guardian on the day of the fair, the next time. If there is a next time, that is.

Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A82eafNLRU&feature=related

Stop this now,we have a problem with some of our youth,it need to be addressed by Adults look at the posting carefully we're saying to our children they are in control and has taken over this community.I'm from B'ham,Ala.,I was there when the water hoses,the dogs,the wild goats in Macklin Park,.I went to Bethel Baptist Church where Dr.King,Rev.Shuttlesworth and others met to organize the marches and yes I was present at 16 Street Baptist the day it was bombed,don't go backwards push forward this is about 2011 and our children needing more parental involvement,this is not a racial problem however C leveland Hts. we've got a problem,find a resolution ,implement the rules,set the example for our youug people,they are out of control and angry,these young people today would not have survived the 1960's,they would not have been an opportunity to get this far,please refrain from the reason this happened we're giving them just want they want, Justification to be rude mad and bad.Have a great day!

correcting an error in the post above,the youth would not have been "given"an opportunity to get this far
again,Have a great day!

I agree that many people panic when they see two or more black youth together, especially males. That is not cool. But I have been on Coventry when our black youth start fighting. It is ridiculous. As parents and as a community we need to help our young people understand what kind of behavior is acceptable. It is ok to hang out but it is not cool to fight, use loud foul language and be rude.

I'm kind of curious as to why my previous comments were deleted. There were nothing inflammatory or racially prejudiced about them.

The relevancy where I came was to move this problem from racism to focus on the fact if our chidren are fighting like this we've got to address it,if it was 100 black kids it's obvious not racially motivated.however let's look at what is going on our children need direction and discipline,this is not a cultural problem,we've got a young people problem,we as adults need to be grown up about this and deal with it,we need to stay focused.
Have a great day!

Equating these flash mob rioters to people that truly had real greivances both racial and political is completely ridiculous.

James, censorship is making a comeback, all the kool kidz are doing it.

I'm not even saying they're rioters, even though the argument can probably be made legally. 80 to 90% of the crowd weren't doing anything. It's the mere fact that the other 10 percent start issues and then it spreads because, well, you're dealing with teenagers whose hormones are raging on top of a whole other plethora of issues that are result from how they were raised. Yes, it's a young person problem. But, all young people problems are reflections of enculturation. Though, not always.

The reason I address this as a cultural issue because that's what it is. This particular example is a cultural issue stemming from and rooted in black families from the inner city. I don't know how else to address.

It's no mere coincidences that as black families have migrated from Cleveland/East Cleveland crime rates have increased in Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, etc. The data is there. I went to Collinwood high School so it's not an issue of race. At least, I don't feel it is.

Why would the PD print an article that the reports were highly exaggerated? This is farce. There's an attempt to ignore the real issues and that there's a population that has moved into the Heights from East Cleveland who don't value the same lifestyle. They saw it years ago and attempt to have "house training" classes but it was ruled illegal.

Is it true Cleveland Heights has only had Section 8 for a few years?

I have 3 questions, if anyone could enlighten me...although I believe these are the questions we're all trying to answer...

Why is this happening?
Why is it only happening on Coventry?
Why is it only happening during the fair?

Thank you! :)

In answer to your questions:
It seems to be happening because people are arranging these meet ups and planning things through social media. It is something to do. Teens like to be with groups of teens. Unfortunately mob mentality takes over and behavior seems to be reduced to the lowest common denominator. So even though only a few kids are fighting, the others swarm to see what is happening and then to get away if they become frightened.
It is NOT only happening on Coventry. (But Coventry has been a place where teens have hung out for the past 30-40 years so it is not surprising.) This has been happening in cities across the country, not just in our community. It is also happening at times other than the street fair.

Tweet search helps,

http://search.twitter.com/search?max_id=85120150499639296&page=28&q=+coventry+since%3A2011-06-26+until%3A2011-06-26

For question 2)
It's not only happening in Coventry. Flash Mobs are occurring throughout the U.S. Some are friendlier than others. Some are far worse like the recent case in P.A where 40 kids ransacked a Sears store. Google it or here read some about those in PA,

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/171638/20110629/philadelphia-flash-mob-2011.htm

Newsweek reported on it as well recently, which argues that it's the media exploiting "fear of blacks." Some legitimate points,
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/25/did-black-kids-ruin-flash-mobs.html

In fact this isn't even new to the Greater Cleveland Area. Euclid cancelled fireworks due to similar issues. Please, don't be so naive. While this is an isolated case, these have been occurring before.

For question 3)
That's false. It is not only happening during the fair. It was only reported on because the fair is a social landmark and it's future is now in question. It's happening on the weekends throughout the summer. I've been up there several times in the past 2 months and there's been similar issues. Based on my conversations with other it's become an occurring event on the weekends. An actual reporter, which I'm not, probably could have a decent conversation with C.H Police Officer to determine how many times this has occurred in the past 3 months.

Michelle,thank you for addressing the terms to post on Patch.I share the blogs with a youth group at my church,some of them told me this subject was getting a little touchy for them and they sensed a level of hostility in some of the posts.I would like to share a quote one of my sons who moved away from Cleveland Hts.told us upon leaving,"Mom it's not Where you live it's How you live"I admit I was concern about the neighborhood of choice ,however that quote He shared with us opened our eyes and our hearts ,this is true!

Of course. And thank you for being such an active contributor to the site. I spoke with Coventry Cats owner Sheila Blecman at the city council meeting last night, and she shared the same concern. "It has nothing to do with color — it has everything to do with behavior," she said.

It's not color, it's a culture and your blind to that which really is a shame. It's funny how we are allowed to speak on the Harlem Renaissance and the power of American black culture but say one negative thing about black culture and oh my you're being racists. Tell me why these groups of youth are all black? THIS ISN'T JUST YOUTH. It's a very specific group of youth. Can you explain this to me without deleting my posts?

James, "these groups of youth" are NOT "all black." If there are many black youth in an area, sure, they will be the ones predominantly causing trouble. I recall several fistfights in downtown Chagrin Falls that featured all white youths. But people seem to get less alarmed about that. I think you are the blind one to assume that there is some specific black "culture" that encourages unruly behavior. To me, saying that IS being racist.

Racism is not the answer to this or any other issue. Racism does not solve problems; it turns them into bigger problems.

Can any of you really explain how my commentary has been racist? I'm speaking about something very real here. Are you all going to deny America has a black culture that is unique to AMERICA?

You think I'm sensationalizing this?

There are so many dynamics at play here but to simply dismiss this as youth congregating is absurd when it's not the youth. It's very specific groups of youth.

James, I think you are now just looking for an argument. People here have explained why your comments sound racist. You are taking a small group of kids in an isolated situation and conflating them with an entire race and claiming this is part of this race;s monolithic "culture," while meanwhile dismissing that similar incidents happen here and there with youth of different colors. That sounds racist to many people.

A) This is not a small group of kids. It's over 100. Not is it isolated. It's happening across America. Some much worse than this.

B) I have never dismissed that similar incidents have happened here and there with you of different colors. Only one person provided an example of a situation in Chagrin Falls which I admitted freely to not knowing about and how it is important to communicate different situations and scenarios in order to gain a fuller perspective. I even requested a link to a news report so I can reflect on the situation but WAIT they deleted my comment.

3) If you actually read my commentary this has nothing to do with color but culture.

Again, you refuse to acknowledge that here in AMERICA we have a culture that people will call black and will only recognize it when it's positive commentary yet when you address it negatively, you're racist. We speak on the Harlem Renaissance and we reflect on the black community and culture in a positive light yet when we speak on the broken communities this culture is producing, silence.

I ask you for a better word and you don't provide one. I ask you to explain why these groups of youth are 98% black and you deny.

I know it has nothing to do with skin color but values that have been passed down. It's about enculturation. The youth didn't just exist and start acting up this way. But, this is ghetto which is probably the only word that can be used to explain it but wait they're all black so that's racists too!

I'm not saying anything different than Bill Cosby.

Thank you, Anastasia. I have my own example to share. I once lived in a small town where my same-sex partner and I were regularly harassed by homophobic taunts and vandalism directed at us by a small gang of young people. Some of our straight neighbors were also victimized by this group. Every one of the troublemakers was decidedly white. I don't think anyone would say these teens were exhibiting traits or reflecting values common to the "Caucasian culture." So I don't understand why anyone would blame black "values" and the black "culture" for what happened at the Coventry event. I'm no psychologist, but I think the roots of bad behavior go far deeper than the color of the perpetrator's skin or where his or her ancestors came from.

yes im like a year late but i jus wanted to say something in response to james worthing. Im white, black,french canadian,and cheeroke indian and let me tell you,you couldnt be more wrong about us and our culture. Yes what happned in coventry was extremly wrong,but to put blame on our black culture for everything that goes wrong because you say it happens every were in america is jus crazy. Not to go all the way back but when your white culture used us as slaves we didnt blame the entire white culture we date,marry,and have beautiful kids with yall like my mom and dad. So just because as you say it happens all around america doesnt mean you can insult us like that. Do blame all yall when yall rape, kill,kidnap,rob banks. No so you should repect our black culture and do the same goodbye.………