West Park enjoyed its 2nd annual Hooley on Kamm’s Corners on May 14th. Hooley is Irish slang, meaning “party”. The neighborhood festival saw Lorain Avenue cordoned off for several city blocks. Last year’s inaugural event drew close to 15,000. This year, organizers added a second stage overlooking 
U-Haul and Iron Asylum Gym to accommodate more family-oriented programming.
The inclement weather didn’t entirely discourage throngs from coming out to visit the nearly fifty featured vendors, nearly twice as many as 2010.
“Last year, the Hooley was supposed to be just a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the streetscape,” explained Steve Lorenz, Executive Director of Kamm’s Corners Development Corp. “That’s how it started. We said, let’s have a ribbon-cutting for this $12 million investment by the city—and before we knew it, we had a stage, vendors, pipes and drums… and it became the Hooley.”
The Irish presence on Lorain Avenue was inescapable. Populated by many Emerald Isle descendants—families of firemen, police, and union laborers—West Park is one of Cleveland’s most sham-centric nooks. The people are hardworking and proud—but they also know how to throw a party.
Cleveland Police Pipes and Drums. Cats on Holiday, New Barleycorn, Mary’s Lane and Cleveland Firefighters Pipes and Drums highlighted one stage, while talented young foot-steppers from Leneghan Academy, Burke School, and Brady-Campbell Irish Dance Schools entertained the predominantly family audience with their colorful costumes and reel-ready routines. The St. Ignatius Circus Company and student-thespians from Newton D. Baker School of Arts joined The Mighty Tigues. 
“The neighborhood has been saying for a while that we needed to have some kind of street festival here,” Lorenz told OhIAN. “I’ve heard that from a lot of people over the years.” “But until we got our streetscape done, and got the power lines buried and sidewalks done and planters put in, trying to have a party here wouldn’t seem like much of a celebration. It just 
didn’t look good! It’s only been in the last three or four years that many of the new bars and restaurants have come in, too. So when people were clamoring for it five or six years ago, that stretch of Lorain was kind of a desperate place.”
Kamm’s Corners is decidedly less desperate these days, notwithstanding the shaky economy. Here’s hoping The 3rd Annual Hooley will boast even more retailers and increased attendance. A little more sunshine wouldn’t hurt, either!
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