Ingenuity, Friday night

Water is emerging as a theme at this year's Ingenuity Festival. Not only is the 130-foot waterfall flowing off the Detroit-Superior Bridge...


...visitors can also text messages to a water fountain that spells out words, letter by letter.



The Ingenuity Festival continues tonight until 1 a.m. and tomorrow from 12 to 5.

Ingenuity creates 130-foot waterfall off Detroit-Superior Bridge

How's this for ingenious -- a 130-foot-tall man-made waterfall off the Detroit-Superior Bridge?

This weekend -- as the Ingenuity Festival stages a sprawling kaleidoscope of art, music, and theatrical performances on the bridge's old streetcar level -- the biggest art project of all will cascade past, from the bridge's upper floor all the way into the Cuyahoga River. As many as 5,000 gallons of water a minute, illuminated by amber lights, may tumble from the bridge.

This video, shot last night, captures the waterfall's first test run. Only three of the 10 weirs were running, so this weekend, the ribbon of water should three times as wide. The Cleveland Division of Water is working with Ingenuity to make it happen.

"We wanted something iconic," said Kidist Getachew, one of the three artists who conceived of the idea. "We wanted to celebrate Cleveland, Lake Erie, the water, the natural resource, the abundance of it." At lifelinefromcleveland.org, the artists are collecting donations to help bring running water to a community in Ethiopia, where Getachew is from.

The Ingenuity Festival runs this weekend on the Detroit Superior Bridge's lower level. For more info, see the festival website, ingenuitycleveland.com.