DIVERSIONS

Diver sion s

Akron Art Museum

COURTESY OF AKRON ART MUSEUM

Take a detour from the everyday. Whether you’re a fan of the arts or just looking for something to do with the kids, you’ve come to the right place. The list below will get you started. Check ArtsNow.org, downtownakron.com and artsinstark.com for more.

We Hit the Right Notes

The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center—Sit on the lawn, drink a little wine and hear one of the world’s truly great orchestras.

Akron, Canton & Alliance Symphony

Orchestras—You don’t have to go far to hear inspiring music played by professionals. Visit a local park in summer to hear their free concerts— gifts to their home communities

Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival— Akron honors its rich musical history at this annual festival featuring music by local and national artists at several venues over a weekend each summer.

Tuesday Musical—This longtime Akron organization brings some of the world’s best music to the community. All students can attend concerts for free, and its Decompression Chamber brings concerts to high-stress environments.

Broadway in Akron at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall—Home to the Akron Symphony and Tuesday Musical, E.J. Thomas hosts a series of Broadway shows that shouldn’t be missed.

We’re Light on Our Feet

The Ballet Theatre of Ohio—This is the largest classic ballet company in Northeast Ohio with a broad classical and contemporary repertoire at various venues.

The Neos Dance Theatre—Based at The University of Akron and the Oberlin Center for the Arts, Neos is nonprofi t professional company that performs both classical and contemporary choreography.

Canton Ballet—With the School of Canton Ballet, a company of more than 35 pre-professional dancers and an extensive performance repertoire, this is a training ground for serious students.

Ballet Excel Ohio is one of the oldest youth ballets in the nation with dancers ages 8-18. Its educational outreach exposes thousands of students to dance each year.

We Color Our World

The Akron Art Museum—Focused on art from 1850 onward, the museum is free on Thursdays. Visit the inspiring Bud and Susie Rogers Garden. It has many community outreach programs for adults and children.

Canton Ballet

COURTESY OF CANTON BALLET COURTESY OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Blossom Music Center

COURTESY OF CANTON PALACE THEATRE

Canton Palace Theatre

The Canton Museum of Art—The museum’s permanent collection focuses on American works on paper from the 19th century onward and contemporary ceramics. Admission is free on Thursdays.

The Kent State University Museum— Home to extraordinary collections of historic dress, fashion, textiles, and decorative arts by many of the world’s great artists and designers. The museum is affi liated with Kent State’s top-ranked fashion school.

Massillon Museum—Known as MassMu, this is where art and history intersect. Check out its mini-museum about Paul Brown, the famous football coach and Massillon native.

McKinley Museum

exhibitions of contemporary artists and showcases the works of university students and faculty at the Mary S. Myers School of Art.

The Downtown Akron Artwalk—Travel by foot or trolley to discover two dozen destinations for art appreciation (and shopping!).

The Canton Arts District—This downtown area boasts 30 art galleries, studios and specialty shops plus a wide range of public artwork on display.

We Thrive on Drama

Ohio Shakespeare Festival—In the gardens of Stan Hywet Hall in summer or in graceful Greystone Hall in winter, this professional theater troupe brings the magic of Shakespeare and his fellow playwrights to vivid life.

Weathervane Playhouse—Celebrating its 88th season, this community theater is designed to enrich quality of life and engage the community through performance and education.

none too fragile theater—Some of the edgiest theater you’ll fi nd in Northeast Ohio, its Akron-based productions are always compelling.

QuTheatr Ensemble—This theatre project employs and empowers LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in Greater Akron.

Porthouse Theatre—The theater, affi liated with Kent State University, presents outdoor musicals and dramas on the grounds of Blossom Music Center. Picnic before the show.

The Nightlight Cinema—On Akron’s High Street, patrons can sip a drink and watch fascinating, independent fi lms with like-minded folk. Ma’Sue Productions—An Akron theater company created in 2011, it celebrates traditional and original African American stories. Its productions take place at various venues in the region.

Point of No Return Improv—Based in Cuyahoga Falls, this troupe of brave and sort of nontraditional actors perform armed only with talent.

Gum-Dip Theatre—Plays for, with and about our Akron community. Named for a step in the tire-building process.

Weathervane Playhouse

COURTESY OF WEATHERVANE PLAYHOUSE

Live Music

We’re Fun for Kids

Whatever your jam—rap, rock, jazz or metal— you can hear it live in Akron-Canton. What else would you expect from the place that gave you DEVO, Chrissie Hynde, the O’Jays and The Black Keys?

Akron Children’s Museum—With water tables, wind tunnels and monster makers, this downtown museum is the place for children to learn about the world while having a blast. The museum, which is at Lock 3 downtown, is in the midst of an expansion, which adds a private party room, sensory room and redesigned makerspace,

Visit the Akron Civic Theatre, the jewel on Main Street that draws groups like Straight No Chaser and Earth, Wind & Fire. Next to the Civic in the historic Whitelaw Building, you’ll fi nd The Knight Stage that seats 200, a perfect setting for an intimate show. E.J. Thomas Hall on The University of Akron Campus features national artists and events such as the Masked Singer Tour. The Goodyear Theater, once part of the famous tire company, seats 1,500. You just may fi nd the likes of Peabo Bryson and Pat Benatar playing there. Each Friday and Saturday night all year, the Canton Music Block in downtown Canton reverberates with live music of all types. Buzzbin Art and Music Shop and George’s Lounge are defi nitely worth a stop. The Canton Arts District also has fi ve live music venues among its many galleries and studios. Rock the lock with your favorite tribute bands all summer at Lock 3 Park, the enormously popular amphitheater in downtown Akron.

At Jilly’s Music Room in Akron’s Northside and Musica (under the Dance sign on Maiden Lane) downtown, you can hear the very best local and regional bands while sipping your favorite drink. If you’re a jazz fan, head to BLU Jazz or the Lock Bottom Blues & Jazz Club in downtown Akron or the Old 97 Café in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood. Kenmore is also home to the Rialto Theatre and the Akron Recording Company, which are run by musicians for musicians.

Sometimes our music scene spills into the streets. PorchRokr is a summer festival in Akron’s Highland Square. Bands play on people’s front porches as thousands of fans fi ll the neighborhood. Come knockin’, start rockin’. The Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival each August keeps the hep cats happy. Falls Downtown Fridays and Kenmore First Fridays help hard workers slide into the weekend with some of the area’s best bands.

And if you need the best homegrown music 24/7, stream it at the330.net, sponsored by 91.3 FM The Summit, which is operated by The Akron Public Schools. You’ll hear The Black Keys and DEVO, if course. But you’ll also discover new area artists you’re bound to love. Lock 4

COURTESY OF AKRON ZOO

The Otter Slide, Akron Zoo

Akron Children’s Museum

among other improvements. It’s set to be completed in 2023.

Magical Theater Co.—Based in a renovated, gem-like theater in Barberton, it is the only professional resident and touring theater for children in Northeast Ohio.

F.A. Seiberling Naturealm—The park has three hiking trails, gardens, a suspension bridge and two ponds. An indoor center with exhibits, live animals and presentations allows visitors to touch, listen and learn.

The Akron Zoo—The zoo sits on 77 acres, half of which have been developed into spectacular exhibits and gardens designed to bring visitors close to more than 700 animals. Its new Wild Asia exhibit has Sumatran tigers, red pandas and white-cheeked gibbons. Kids love the tube slide through the otter exhibit at Grizzly Ridge. And check out the spray pad at Pride of Africa. The zoo is easily navigated in a few hours. For those with sensory processing needs such as autism, it off ers special tools and services. Check out the zoo’s many events, including Paint with the Lions and Wild Lights. Wingfoot Lake State Park— Paddleboats, fi shing, miniature golf, a massive playground and a clear view of the Goodyear Blimp hangar. What more could a kid ask for? Well, how about a Storybook Trail that takes them on a hike through an engaging tale by a children’s author.

OPEN STUDIO—In the lobby of the Akron Art Museum, kids can develop their creative spirits. From sensory stations for babies to messy arts supplies school-age kids love, this artistic space is open weekdays. Serious artists are welcome, too.

The William McKinley Presidential

Library & Museum in Canton has all the things you’d expect of a presidential library, but it also has kidfriendly surprises. Its life-sized Street of Shops replicates a street from the late 19th century. Its Discover World is an interactive science center and Hoover-Price Planetarium has more than 60 projectors.

MORE LOVE

92 The world-famous Cleveland Orchestra has its summer home at the

Blossom Music Center, an outdoor amphitheater in

Cuyahoga Falls. Blossom also hosts rock, country and indie concerts all summer presented by Live Nation. Pack a picnic or get food there. It’s a Greater Akron-Canton must.

93 Do you want to have Thanksgiving dinner with Abraham Lincoln?

Hale Farm & Village in Bath

Township is your place. It’s the original homestead of Jonathan

Hale, a Connecticut native who migrated to the Western

Reserve in 1810. The openair interpretive museum has historic structures, farm animals and early American craft and trade demonstrations.

94 Each June, Clay’s Park Resort in Canal Fulton plays host to The Country

Fest, a three-day music festival featuring top country talent from across the country that draws over 15,000 attendees nightly. Grab your camping gear and stay on-site all weekend at one of Clay’s Parks campsites.