1. All Cleveland natives are crazy proud of their home city — and it shows. Below, Positively Cleveland’s Communications Coordinator April Ingle and Interactive Media Manager Corinne Allie, hosts during a press trip in downtown Cleveland this past weekend, sport “Vacation in Cleveland, Ohio. You’re Gonna Love it!” t-shirts.

2. Cleveland’s doing cool things with food and drink. Ever been to a champagne bar? I hadn’t until this past Saturday night when we went to Pickwick and Frolic. The basement is a swanky champagne bar with a small stage for live musical performances or presentations, all of which can be rented out as event space:

3. When you’re in Cleveland, you’re gonna want to go to an Indians game. Our last night of the press trip we witnessed a close game between the Tribe and the Washington Nationals — with Nationals winning 7-6 in the last inning. Before you feel bad for the Indians fans, they still got fireworks and a Hot Dog Derby.

After every fifth inning of an Indians home game, they hold the famous Hot Dog Derby (spoiler alert: Ketchup wins this one):

And whether the Indians win or lose, after the game is an impressive fireworks display set to music. This one was to AC/DC:

4. Cleveland is home to the one and only A Christmas Story House & Museum. If the 1983 film wasn’t a staple in your childhood, you may not be interested in this one. But for those of us who said “You’ll shoot your eye out” every time their sister held a water gun, wouldn’t even approach an icy pole in wintertime, and desperately wanted a leg lamp (now on sale at the A Christmas Story Museum Gift Shop), this is kind of a big deal:

5. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is something to check off your bucket list. Currently housing 10 iconic rock-and-roll exhibits, including the featured Rolling Stones showcase, the Rock Hall, as locals call it, is hours of entertainment, full of rare artifacts from our country’s musical history. The current Stones exhibit is awesome. Here’s a sneak peek:

6. Cleveland’s getting greener and prettier every day. The emerging meetings destination is expanding park and public-square space in its downtown area. In fact, the new eco-friendly, underground Cleveland Convention Center doubles as a public park: