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Featured CAB  Honoree: Blossom Music Center

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Blossom Music Center, the premier outdoor amphitheater in Northeast Ohio, is celebrating 50 years of music and entertainment for the people of North Coast. The pavilion seats 5,700 people, with space for about 13,500 more on the lawn. It is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. It is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the orchestra's non-profit parent organization.

Blossom Music Center is named after the family of Dudley S. Blossom, who served as president of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1936 to 1938. The site's natural parabolic setting, the pavilion's sloping slate roof, and the area's natural wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheatres. The facility, designed by architect Peter van Dijk, is located on 800 acres of natural woods inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 10 miles north of downtown Akron and 33 miles south of downtown Cleveland. There are currently plans to sell 580 acres of Blossom's undeveloped acreage to the National Park Service to add to the park. As of March 2011, 233 acres have been purchased by the National Park Service for US $4 million with hopes for NPS to purchase the remaining unused land. This would financially benefit the owners and serve to protect the natural setting of Blossom. In 2003, the venue underwent a $17 million renovation.

The amphitheatre has played host to many music festivals, including: All That Music and More Festival, Buzzard Festival, Country Throwdown Tour, Crue Fest, Crue Fest 2, Curiosa Festival, EndFest, Furthur Festival, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza , Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution, Uproar Festival and Vans Warped Tour.

In addition, the annual Carnival of Horrors has been held at the venue every October since 2003.

The Michael Stanley Band, intensely popular on the North Coast, holds the Blossom attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30-31, 1982.

 

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CAB Mission Statement

As a nonprofit  501c6 we work collaboratively as an industry to continue to advance excellence in broadcasting in Cleveland through education, social interaction, recognition and philanthropy.

1. Promote the quality of broadcasting in the Cleveland area
2. Provide a forum for issues concerning all segments of the Cleveland broadcasting community
3. Foster greater understanding between those in the broadcasting sales, advertising and business communities
4. Increase the level of professionalism among those in the Cleveland broadcast community

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