Ronnie Cannon, LaTonya Cliff and Tracy Patton are just a few Clevelanders whose names and stories you will hear at this year’s Towards Employment’s “Chance to Advance” event.
The three are alums of Towards Employment, an organization founded in 1976 to support Clevelanders and their efforts to build careers and wealth.
At 6 p.m. this Friday, June 14, Dominick Farinacci, a well-known jazz artist, Cleveland native and co-creator of Modern Warrior Live, will partner with the three alums to share uplifting stories of personal transformation.
This is the second year Modern Warrior EXPERIENCE has partnered with Towards Employment to create a live performance in collaboration with people with lived experience in the criminal justice system who have faced barriers to finding jobs and careers.
It also includes five musicians, a tech crew, and a director to create the live performance.
“Our organization aims to lift up and celebrate the power of careers and workers,” Adora Schmeidli, Chief Advancement & Community Engagement Officer of Towards Employment said.
World Class Jazz meets Real Life Stories (June 14)
This performance is Friday, June 14 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, 1855 Ansel Rd., as part of Towards Employment’s “Chance to Advance” event. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. with a Career Champion Festival on the grounds of the Maltz.
Tower of Power (June 14)
Join Tower of Power, an American R&B-based horn section and band, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968 at Cain Park’s Evans amphitheater Friday, June 14 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit Cain Park’s website.
LatinUS Theater Co. presents Botánica (June 14-15)
Botánica, a play written by Dolores Prida and directed by Kivin Bauzo, explores cultural conflicts in East Harlem among an old Puerto Rican woman, her daughter and her granddaughter, who just graduated from an Ivy League university. Dorlores Prida was a feminist and Hispanic dramatist whose work and central themes searched for the identity of Latino/Hispanic immigrants, specifically women in the United States. For more information, visit the theater’s website.