North Olmsted seniors will get a taste of the world for five bucks next month, as the Senior Center's International Food Cook Off returns to Springvale Ballroom on November 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Five senior living facilities will serve up sample-sized dishes from around the globe, and attendees get to vote for their favorite before a trophy is handed out to the winning facility.
Tickets go on sale Monday, October 12, at the North Olmsted Senior Center, located at 28114 Lorain Road, according to Cleveland.com. Those looking for more details can call the center directly at 440-777-8100. Seniors pay just $5 for what organizers describe as a plentiful spread, with past menus having included chicken paprikash, warak enab served with hummus and pita, and coq au vin, per the same report.
From Senior Center Roots to a Historic Dance Hall
The cook off didn't start out at Springvale. It launched in 2010 at the Senior Center itself before outgrowing the space and relocating to the ballroom because of its popularity, Cleveland.com reports. That move put the annual fundraiser inside one of Ohio's most storied dance halls — Springvale Ballroom opened in 1923; Fred Biddulph built the dance hall on a farm settled in 1865 by his grandparents John and Christina Biddulph, and it carries Ohio Historical Marker No. 85-18 as one of the state's oldest continuously operating dance halls, according to the Historical Marker Database. During World War II, servicemen reportedly paid a nickel a dance at the venue.
The City of North Olmsted bought Springvale Ballroom and the surrounding property in 1994 specifically to stop the historic building from being demolished; a golf course opened on the site in 1928 and became an 18-hole course in 1952, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. That civic rescue has paid off for decades of community programming, and the venue got a fresh round of upgrades this year — a repaved parking lot, updated exterior lighting, an ADA-accessible entrance ramp, refinished ballroom floors, and a renovated bridal suite, as Hoodline detailed in its recent coverage of Springvale's facelift.
A Senior Hub Serving the West Shore
The North Olmsted Senior Center itself has deep roots, having been dedicated on June 6, 1980, inside North Olmsted Community Park to serve adults 55 and older from across the surrounding West Shore communities, according to the City of North Olmsted. That mission matters in a county where seniors make up an outsized share of the population — 2021 census estimates showed 319,264 Cuyahoga County residents aged 60 or older, or 25.8% of the total population, a higher share than both the Ohio and national averages, per the Center for Community Solutions.
Countywide, Cuyahoga's Division of Senior and Adult Services draws on local Health and Human Services levy funds to support municipal senior centers, transportation, and home-delivered meals. Area seniors can also tap into a program card through the Senior Center offering a 40% discount on cafeteria meals at UH St. John Medical Center in neighboring Westlake, up to a $10 purchase limit per visit.
Springvale Ballroom has plenty more on its calendar this fall. The venue hosts its fifth-annual Oktoberfest on October 21, which has already sold out, and attendees who snagged tickets get a full meal, two drink tickets, a DJ, and a photo booth for $10. Tiffany Hunt said this year's Oktoberfest sold out faster than in prior years, according to Cleveland.com.
