Community Corner

Coventry Family Arts Festival Canceled

The Coventry Family Arts Festival scheduled for Sunday has been canceled

The Coventry Family Arts Festival scheduled for Sunday has been canceled, the city of Cleveland Heights announced Thursday.

Mayor Ed Kelley said police had been monitoring social media and that they believed that they needed to cancel for safety reasons.

"We have a responsibility to never compromise the health, welfare and safety of our community," Kelley said. "We also want to respect the Coventry commercial district and the surrounding neighborhoods."

The Coventry Street Arts Fair was supposed to return in a modified version after the event was canceled last year.

The Coventry Street Arts Fair was cancelled in 2012 after police arrested 16 teenagers for fighting or drinking alcohol after the 2011 fair, and hundreds of kids congregated in the street.

Besides canceling the fair in 2012, city council also established a 6 p.m. curfew law for minors in the Coventry and Cedar Lee business districts, which were later amended to make exceptions for kids patronizing businesses and concert venues and expanded to Severance.

The chaos was coined a "flash mob," and it led to debates and discussions among local police forces and city officials about how to prevent the large gatherings, as other cities had similar issues.


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