Things to Do in Cleveland

The muffled thuds of boxing gloves pummeling headgear or backs blasting into floor mats resound throughout Strong Style's steel- and chain-link-clad gym. Child and adult classes fuse moves from the judo, muay thai, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu traditions as students throw punches and kicks or discuss international politics while grappling in two full-size boxing rings. Conditioning classes work the entire body with functional training tools such as weighted ropes, TRX suspension straps, and improbably huge truck tires, previously Paul Bunyan's rollerblade wheels. To zero in on individual fitness goals, clients may schedule personal-training sessions or design their own workouts using the facility's weights and cardio machines.

From 1992–1994, the Cleveland Thunderbolts gave the city its first taste of Arena Football League action. And while the taste was but a tease at the time—the team disbanded at the end of the 1994 season—AFL fans eventually would see a return to revelry in 2008 with the arrival of the Gladiators, a team that bounced around the country like a rock band on pogo sticks before diggin’ in their cleats at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena. In their first official season, the Gladiators introduced themselves in grand fashion by advancing to the franchise's first-ever conference championship game—a tough loss, to the eventual league champion Philadelphia Soul, that’s since stood as the squad’s humbling reminder of the unending effort required to achieve league dominance.

Rumor has it the maniacal laughter, sobs, and screams of ghosts echo throughout CornStalkers Haunted Cornfield and Forest's 1-acre cornfield. Fifteen-minute strolls down its easy-to-follow trail lead brave guests through rows of 7-foot stalks teeming with scarecrows looking for new brains to show off in Oz. Foreboding also hangs over the 5-acre forest, where flesh-eating zombies, creepy creatures, and spooky effects petrify patrons making the half-hour trek down its gravel path. Visitors that survive the cornfield and forest's PG-13-level scares can regain their bearings with snacks from the concessions stand.

Founded by sports enthusiast and former adolescent Rick Hart, Jump Start Sports works to enrich pupils' childhoods by developing useful life skills through athletics. Qualified counselors employ their wealth of experience working with children to help campers learn teamwork and fair play as well as the fundamentals of fielding baseballs, scoring soccer goals, or synchronizing pom-pom work. A course structure built around age-appropriate activities, group play, and free electives ensures that students never get bored, and an 8:1 pupil-teacher ratio enables one-on-one assistance to young champions as they practice the graceful art of pitching or the scheming intrigue of free-agent contract negotiation.