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A cash mob is being held at Canopy Collective, 3810 Lorain Road in Ohio City, on Sunday, Feb. 28 from noon-2 p.m.

(Canopy)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A pair of Ohio City residents have organized a cash mob for this weekend in support of Canopy, an arts boutique and gallery on Lorain Avenue.

Cash mobs are like flash mobs. Instead of a random dance, people spend money in support of a local business and the surrounding community.

The business in this case is Canopy Collective, an art consignment, housewares and vintage furniture store and event space that features pieces from 75 local artists.

Joan Chase and Lynn Phares of Fulton-Lorain-Bailey Block Club, a Ohio City neighborhood group, are inviting people to come to Canopy from noon-2 p.m. on Sunday and spend $20.

"Some people in the community will always complain or be unhappy with what is happening in a neighborhood," Chase said. "Instead of dwelling on that, we decided instead to celebrate the great work of one of our neighborhood anchors."

The block club felt Canopy was in need of a boost after the store was compelled to stop hosting live entertainment after the Department of Building and Housing was tipped off that the events were in violation of the business' use permit. The space holds 6-12 live events per month ranging from comedy shows to film screenings.

"The building inspector came by and checked the whole place out and I'm working with them to get things in place to allow me to do this without the risk of somebody being able to apply an old law to it," Canopy owner Erika Durham said.



The business was cited last week for unauthorized illegal use.

Community activist Henry Senyak, whose complaints led to the raid of the Loren Naji Gallery in Ohio City in 2014, pointed authorities in Canopy's direction as well.

"This is about a building use issue. It has nothing to do with art," Senyak said. "If they want to operate under their legal use as an art gallery and didn't provide food or entertainment, there's no issue."

Durham obtained all the permits and inspections she thought were necessary when she founded the store in May of 2015, but said the laws were not clear enough about what was and wasn't permitted in the space.

"I'm not blaming anyone at all for this except for the fact the city still operating under very old laws written in the 1920s that apply to us."

So, after this weekend's Theater Ninjas performances, all live events at Canopy have been canceled until Durham can work with city officials to get everything she needs for the shows to resume.

"It's a big deal," she said. "I don't make any money directly from the shows. If I can get a larger amount of people in the store from an event, then the store gets exposure".

The cash mob will also help Canopy, which relies on word of mouth and foot traffic, get exposure.

"I'm interested in getting things back to normal here because this place is very positive resource for artists in the community," Durham said. "I'm also interested in finding a way to get some new legislation for stuff like this.

Canopy is located at 3810 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland.