The 7th annual Station Hope was scheduled for May 2—which we understand now is not a time in which we can gather together. After Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Friday announcement and clarification with the City, we are hoping for HOPE. We are marching forward, and rescheduling the festival in hopes we can safely convene on Saturday, June 27, 2020.
Everything in us wants to believe this can happen. Before we cancel the rest of the 2019/2020 season, and remove any possibility of an important event like this from happening, we are choosing to hope we can move forward. We’d hate for June 27 to come around, and look back and regret our decision.
We are artists and that means we are dreamers, and hope is intrinsic to our work. To even begin something, we have to believe in its potential. We know hope will carry us through this time—and that hope lives in our day-to-day actions and behaviors. Staying home today is an act of hope. Planning for the future is an act of hope. Choosing to believe in our interconnectedness while we are physically isolated is an act of hope.
We recognize fully that Station Hope may not happen on June 27, and we will of course follow the orders and guidance of our State and City. We want to assure you we understand how serious this public health concern is—and are obviously not asking artists to rehearse in conditions that are unsafe (for example). If we do this event, we will do it responsibly. We are leading with hope, and acting with safety, care, purpose, and integrity.
We started this festival because we felt a need for our communities to come together to address our current moment, because the Underground Railroad is not just about past, it is about present. This pandemic is underlining the systemic failures we live within, and we hold strong to hope that person to person, moment to moment, we can continue to fight for and believe in change.
Art is essential. And hope lives on.
Raymond & the CPT Staff
Station Hope 2020
Saturday, June 27
7:00 – 10:00pm
A CELEBRATION OF HOPE
A DIALOGUE FOR CHANGE
St. John’s Episcopal Church and surrounding neighborhood
2600 Church Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
Now in its seventh year, Station Hope is a jubilant community event celebrating Cleveland’s social justice history and exploring contemporary struggles for freedom and equity. Engage with over 250 artists as they envision, interrogate, and seek out hope on the grounds of Cleveland’s first authenticated Underground Railroad site, St. John’s Episcopal Church. Audiences explore the historic properties while viewing works of theatre, music, storytelling, and dance inspired by the most important issues of our time.
A Thank You to Our Partners
Station Hope 2020 is presented in partnership with The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio & The Institute at St. John’s, Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack, Ohio City Incorporated, Graham Veysey & Marika Shioiri-Clark, Restore Cleveland Hope, Inc. & the Cozad-Bates House, and Global Cleveland with over 50 participating arts groups and 250 individual artists from the Northeast Ohio region.
Other Leadership Supporters of Station Hope 2020 include The City of Cleveland, The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, Ohio City Incorporated, and Third Federal Savings & Loan.
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