CLEVELAND — The 14th Annual Brite Winter Festival was held Saturday in downtown Cleveland, featuring music, food and art from across the city.

The day began with a light dusting of snow and Emily Hornack, co-founder of the festival, was excited to wake up to snow on the ground. 

What You Need To Know

  • The 14th Annual Brite Winter Festival was on Saturday in Cleveland 

  • There were performances by 20 different artists at three different outdoor stages 

  • There was also food and artwork from around the city 

  • The goal was to bring the community together, despite the weather and get people out of the house 

“I think today is a perfect winter day," said Hornack. "You start off the day with a little snow, you have blue skies and sun. It will get cold this evening, but right now it’s perfect.”

She said the festival originated from her and the other co-founders wanting more to do in the winter. Since Cleveland weather is unpredictable, they leaned into the other strengths of the city.

“We thought we would focus on what Cleveland does best year round, which is music and art, food and community,” she said.

The theme of the festival is “Anchors Away,” which played into Cleveland’s waterways. Hornack expressed the importance of this theme.

“Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie obviously are such a huge part of what makes Cleveland, Cleveland; and so we really wanted to focus on those things that are integral to what makes our city what it is,” she said. 

Morgan Passek, a board member for Brite Winter Festival, handled the logistics on Saturday.

“This is our 14th year doing this festival. Twenty bands across three outdoor stages and it should be a total hit,” she said.

Passek said that the festival can help cure the winter blues that many people feel during the cold winter months. 

“Brite Winter is definitely one of those events that we just want everybody to come out of their house, come out of those winter doldrums if you will. So, it’s a great family friendly event for everybody to get out and enjoy the weather, enjoy the community,” she said.

The festival began at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon and ran throughout the rest of the day.