Turney Road turns into a full-blown block party today as Garfield Heights hosts the third annual Taste of Turney, a free street festival running from noon to 7 p.m. across the 4700 to 4900 blocks between Homeworth Avenue and Garfield Heights Boulevard. Two stages, eleven food trucks and nearly fifty vendors are packed into the corridor for what organizers are calling this year's theme, Together We Shine!
The festival traces back to Sweetly Shoibhan Pastries owner Vonda Leath and Auntie Lumpy's Restaurant owner Charlene Wesley, two Garfield Heights entrepreneurs who co-created the event to spotlight local merchants, artisans and performers, according to Carlos Jones's website. What began in 2024 as a single-site gathering at the Garfield Heights Civic Center has since grown into a sprawling multi-block street festival, expanding for both its second and third annual editions, per the City of Garfield Heights. Details on this year's full lineup, vendor roster and schedule come from a Facebook post published Saturday by The City of Garfield Heights.
Two Stages, Two Headliners, One Corridor
The festival's main stage sits in the Garfield Heights High School south parking lot, where DJ Ju spins from noon to 7 p.m. and the GHHS Marching Band opens the day at 11:45 a.m. MC Vaughn Music kicks off the main-stage lineup at noon, followed by Lela Blue at 1 p.m., Joey Pompignano at 2:15 p.m., Robert Johnson Jr. — billed as the Line Dance King — at 3 p.m., and Raven Rae at 4 p.m. Cleveland-native saxophonist Brittany Atterberry, known professionally as Lady Sax, closes out the main stage as headliner at 5:30 p.m. Atterberry is a Billboard-charting performer who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from Cleveland State University, according to Légère Reeds.
A second stage runs simultaneously at Garfield Boulevard and Turney Road, where DJ Sissy Bunny spins alongside performances kicked off by MC Kiana Wilson at noon. That lineup includes Let's Tap at 1 p.m., Young Caleb at 2 p.m., MC Smooth and the Phenomenal Ballroom Dancers at 3:30 p.m., and Prince Tucker at 4:30 p.m., before the group Just Pluckin Around headlines the second stage at 6 p.m.
Food Trucks and Nearly Fifty Vendors
Eleven food trucks line the route, including Von & Moras, Sip & Lick!, Beez Bites, His & Hers, Sundae Skool Bus, Steak & Hoagies, Brothaz Kitchen, Bo's Smokey Sticks, Travelin Toms Coffee, Tay Avas Kitchen and Friends of the Bridegroom. The vendor and sponsor roster runs from number 12 through 61, skipping number 53, and covers everything from local boutiques and salons to nonprofits and financial institutions.
Among the vendors is Funk Not Fight, a nonviolence campaign founded by funk bassist Bootsy Collins. The initiative partnered with Garfield Heights youth nonprofit The Village in May 2023 to open music studios and safe spaces for local teens, according to Cleveland Scene. Other vendors include the AIDS Taskforce, Crossroads Hospice, Cleveland Metroparks, First Federal Lakewood, Remington College and Domino's Pizza, alongside a City of Garfield Heights tent and welcome tent for the festival itself. A touch-a-truck area and dedicated parking round out the family-friendly footprint, per the same city Facebook post.
A Festival Built Around a Redevelopment Corridor
The festival's growth along Turney Road isn't happening in a vacuum. In November, Garfield Heights formally adopted the Turney Road Transit-Oriented Development Study, a plan from the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission to convert the 2.25-mile corridor into a walkable downtown commercial district. A separate effort, the Garfield Boulevard Reconstruction & Trail project led by the city and Cleveland Metroparks, is adding road diets, bioswales and pedestrian trail connections linking Turney Road to the Garfield Park Reservation, according to project documentation on ArcGIS StoryMaps.
The street festival also arrives amid broader momentum — and lingering tension — in Garfield Heights. Cuyahoga County is moving ahead with an $890 million Central Services Campus on 71 acres along Transportation Boulevard, with groundbreaking expected later this year and an opening targeted for 2029, as Hoodline previously reported. Industrial manufacturer Cleveland Controls also announced last month that it is relocating operations to Highland Park in Garfield Heights, bringing new jobs to a former manufacturing site.
At the same time, city leaders have been navigating public safety concerns following the permanent closure of Debelak Park in June after a shooting and social media “teen takeover” alerts prompted a shutdown of the park for good. Against that backdrop, Taste of Turney stands as one of the city's largest organized public gatherings of the summer, drawing families into the commercial corridor city planners are hoping to reshape for years to come.
