Occupy Cleveland says permits renewed

CLEVELAND - Occupy Cleveland organizers are eager to meet the thousands of people expected to attend the Winterfest celebration on Cleveland Public Square.

A number of members of the group talked about their plans as they ate donated Thanksgiving Day dinners inside a tent near the northwest quadrant of the square Thursday afternoon.

Jonathan Bowen, a spokesperson for the group, told NewsChannle5 they plan to hand out leaflets at Saturday's Winterfest. In addition, Bowen said Occupy Cleveland will hold their own festivities called "Home for the Holidays."

"There's going to be an arts and crafts table for little kids to make their own decorations, we're going to have a Santa, we're going to have Christmas carolers," said Bowen. "So come join the festivities."

The official Winterfest program is presented by Huntington Bank and includes, family activities and entertainment, shopping opportunities and the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony. NewsChannel5 is a sponsor of the event and news anchors Lee Jordan and Chris Flanagan will host the tree lighting starting at 6 p.m.  NewsChannel5 is streaming coverage of the event live on newsnet5.com and to mobile devices.

Separately, Occupy Cleveland also said they have successfully renewed the permits allowing them to demonstrate around-the-clock on Public Square through the end of the year.  The group said their current permits were to expire this week.