These days, there’s more than enough irony to go around at Christmastime. It’s a season that promises important lessons about selflessness and taking care of other people, especially those experiencing poverty. The entire point of A Christmas Carol is literally that Scrooge shouldn’t have been such an a-hole to poor people. What the heck happened?

In the spirit of both the upbeat and the nonsense, hang in there. If you know of any folks in Cleveland creating bright spots in their community — through art or activism — send them my way.

This week, I pushed the pop culture recommendations to the bottom. Keep reading for local arts and culture, including interviews with Geek Peek’s recent award nomination and two Cleveland musicians’ holiday EP. For today’s “downbeat,” we have an update on a recent defamation case against a local organizer.

Happy reading,
Dakotah

P.S. If you liked this even a teeny bit, forward to a friend <3

The Geek Peek, located in Old Brooklyn, was just nominated for its first regional award: TCG Hobby Shop of the Year. Since 2023, Geek Peek has cultivated an inclusive gaming space for beginners interested in learning how to play games such as Pokemon and Magic the Gathering. Voting is open now through the end of the year.

The award recognizes and rewards local game stores that have “gone above and beyond to support both their local community and the TCG industry,” according to their website. “These hobby shops are more than just places to buy and sell: they play a pivotal role in creating a community of collectors, players and enthusiasts.”

Geek Peek is the first shop from Cleveland to be nominated for the award. If they win, the shop would be the first store from Ohio and the second Midwest store to receive the recognition. Last year, two out of the three winners were from California.

“It’s pretty freaking huge,” said Jill Bresnahan, one of the co-owners, about receiving a nomination. Bresnahan runs the shop with her partner, Mikey Pierce, alongside their small staff and shop cat named Zora.

TCGPlayer is an online sales platform for selling collectible card games such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering. The award also comes with sponsorship opportunities and mentorship, plus added benefits such as beta testing and waived fees.

"This is a huge opportunity for us to bring new players and collectors to Cleveland,” Bresnahan told Upbeat Nonsense. “This year alone we've fulfilled over 15,000 orders online and in-store."

Two other OH-based shops were also nominated: Card Father Games in Grove City and Top Table in Avon. You can vote once per email address.

Geek Peek also hosts regular events, such as open play nights or monthly Pokemon League challenges. They have multiple events scheduled through the end of the year, including:

For more than a year, the owners of Race Fuel have squared off against community members in Cudell who don't want one of their gas stations in their neighborhood. Over the summer, one of the owners sued a Cleveland organizer for making false statements after he called out the group for racist conduct during a heated city council meeting. 

On Tuesday, a judge dismissed the case, strengthening free speech for activists who speak out in their community, according to court records.

In September 2024, people showed up to multiple Cleveland City Council meetings to protest a zoning change that would allow Race Fuel to set-up shop in Cudell. During and after one of the meetings, Dallas Eckman witnessed what he called racist behavior from the owners of the gas station, including Ibrahim Shehadeh. 

During his public comment in April 2025, Eckman said that supporters of the gas station made animal noises and “flicked cigarettes” at protestors and their families, including children. By the summer, Shehadeh filed suit against Eckman, claiming that not only were the statements false, but they harmed Shehadeh’s reputation.

Judge Shannon Gallagher dismissed the case, ruling that Shehadeh could not win because Eckman’s statements were made as a public commenter. Further, the law may also require Shehadeh to pay Eckman’s attorney’s fees. 

Shehadeh has one remaining active case in the local courts: a defamation case against him, filed by Antoine Tolbert and Rameer Askew, two of the New Era Cleveland organizers acquitted after an explosive six-week jury trial this summer. The complaint against New Era members stemmed from a dispute last year at a separate Race Fuel in Lee-Harvard. Tolbert and Askew claim that Shehadeh pushed a local news outlet to run a sensationalized and inaccurate news story that damaged their reputation and led to their unfounded prosecution. 

Upbeat Nonsense reached out to Shehadeh’s attorneys for further comment. The web version of this story will be updated with any new information.

This Christmas, alternative soul vocalist Sierra Delaine and multi-genre guitarist Joe Rangel hope to provide some relief this holiday season with their first EP, “A Lil Bit of Christmas.” The five-track album is available for download now.

With all the bad news that streaming services have meant to independent artists, Delaine opted out, choosing to make the EP available on a pay-what-you-can basis.

“This is a really hard Christmas for people in general,” Delaine said, a former artist-in-residence at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Born in Cleveland, Delaine describes her sound as heavily influenced by jazz and R&B.

Delaine and Rangel played together for years, often in the form of stripped-down acoustic sets. They met through mutual friends, and although interviewed separately, both described their working relationship as easy and fun. Rangel is also from Cleveland and said he grew up learning how to play guitar from his dad.

Both came to the project with specific holiday songs in mind. For example, Delaine wanted to include “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Christmas Song.” For Rangel, the most important song was “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

Although interviewed separately, they both agreed that these are some of the last songs that still feel like Christmas. The EP also includes “Silent Night” and “This Christmas.”

Not only can you download to the EP, but you can catch Delaine and Rangel live tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 18.

“It’s one of the first shows we know what we’re singing before we get there,” Delaine said. “We know we’re going to have a good time.”

Grab your tickets ($22) to hear the EP live tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 18 at Sofar Sounds Holiday Show in Ohio City. Show starts at 7 p.m.

I used to love combing through movies and music to find the “best” Christmas content. Here’s what I’ve come up with over the years. If you don’t do Christmas, I sadly don’t have much except Proud Family’s Kwanzaa or Rugrats’ Hanukkah episodes.

Up first, The Christmas List has been a staple since it premiered on Fox Family’s — now Freeform — 25 Days of Christmas. The movie is about a woman who works at a perfume counter and after jokingly submitting her “wish list” to Santa’s mailbox, she starts getting exactly what she wished for. It also has one of the best “you go, girl” scenes in history, but all I’ll say is: creme brûlée.

No streaming subscription required, it’s on YouTube.

Next up, Matt Groening’s — yes, that Matt Groening — Olive the Other Reindeer. It’s animated, about 45 minutes, and stars Drew Barrymore. It’s about a dog who mishears a radio announcement calling upon “all of” the other reindeer, instead believing that Santa needs “Olive the other reindeer” to save Christmas. Olive teams up with a shady but charismatic penguin named Martini, who is on the run for selling fake Rolex watches. It’s a silly time, but worth it, if not for the puns alone.

Oh and there is a cameo from Michael Stipe from R.E.M. featuring an original song? Just take my word for it.

Lucky for you, it’s also on YouTube.

This might be the only “slow” Christmas song that I love. I will also take every opportunity to remind people that Karen Carpenter is probably the best drummer of all time.

If you’re looking for a song that’s more upbeat, I love Cher’s version of “Baby, Please Come Home.”

Well, almost. Does anyone else have a favorite yule log video? I wish this one of hamsters in a tiny living room was longer than 12 minutes.