Road Runner Akron Marathon an extremely exciting event for Akron!

It was another exciting weekend for the City of Akron.  Over 10,000 runners converged on downtown to take part in the 7^th Annual Road Runner Akron Marathon.  It was tremendous to see so many excited athletes and spectators out and about in Downtown Akron.  Hats off to everyone who participated and those who cheered the runners on throughout the race.  Congratulations to the Road Runner Akron Marathon staff for another well organized, enjoyable event!

I was able to participate in the race as part of the 5 person relay team.  Keep in mind, I am not a runner!  But I made the decision to participate after volunteering last year.  There is something about the atmosphere and excitement that is contagious.  I thoroughly enjoyed my experience this year and look forward to participating next year.  I may never run the whole marathon but I feel a great sense of accomplishment being part of a relay team.  Thanks again to the RRAM staff and to my teammates for an exhilarating and fun Saturday!

Kimberly Beckett

The Zips Win First Game at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field

What an exciting weekend for the University of Akron Zips and the City of Akron!  I was overwhelmed by the energy as I walked from Downtown and entered InfoCision Stadium on Saturday afternoon. To a crowd of over 27,000 the Zips showed their enthusiasm for their new stadium by beating Morgan State 41-0.  I just couldn’t help thinking about how incredible this day was for everyone involved. It was great seeing so many people around town, in a great mood and enjoying such a positive event in Akron. Congratulations to the Zips and all those who made this happen. I am really looking forward to this stadium making a positive impact on Downtown and the City of Akron as a whole. The citizens of Akron should be very proud of the Zips!

Kimberly Beckett, Business Specialist, Downtown Akron Partnership

The Zips win first home game at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field

Don’t Miss all of the Fun Going On in Downtown Akron this Weekend!

If you’re anything like me, you’re wondering where the summer months went. When did it get to be September? I didn’t spend nearly enough time outdoors enjoying the warm weather all of the fun activities going on in the area.

It might be September, but it’s still gorgeous outside and Downtown Akron will be full of great activities to enjoy this weekend (both indoors and outdoors)! Come enjoy one of the outdoor activities or come for an indoor activity and grab dinner at one of the great Downtown Akron restaurants that offer patio dining.

The weekend festivities kick-off today with The Market at Lock 3 from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Come down to Lock 3 for a great selection of fresh produce, baked goods, chocolate, jams and art.

Barley Fest, an all day music festival on Main Street in front of Barley House, takes place from 2 p.m.-12 a.m. Barley Fest features 11 Bands: David Ullman, Pete N., Randy H., Tom Evanchuck, Operations, Zack, Tropidelic, Get On Up, Mifune, Ashes & Red Wanting Blue. Tickets are $10 at the door. Also enjoy beer, Cornhole, beer bong, food & tattoos! Proceeds benefit Akron Mobile Meals and Aluminum Cans for Burned Children.

Also enjoy live music Waterband and George Harrison Ford Explorers at Musica and The Numbers Band at Northside on Friday night.

Saturday is the first University of Akron Zips home game at the new InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field. Come Downtown to park for FREE, check out the Downtown Draft Party and take a shuttle up to the stadium. The Downtown Draft Party takes place from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Paul Williams Ave. (off of W. Exchange) and features live music, juggling by B. Roddy, caricature drawings by Kari Fry, an appearance by the Rubber City Rollergirls, food and drink specials at local bars and restaurants! Buy a “Downtown Akron & The Zips” t-shirt for $5 or a Downtown Draft Cup for $1 and fill it with Miller Lite for only $2.50 on all Zips home game days from open until 9 p.m. at participating bars. Lots of other Downtown bars and restaurants are also offering special promotions. Visit www.downtownakron.com/zips for everything you need to know about Downtown Akron on Zips game days. Shuttles to and from the stadium will be available. Check out the route at www.downtownakron.com/zips-shuttles.

Enjoy a FREE viewing of Coal Country at the Akron Civic Theatre on Saturday night at 8 p.m. Coal Country tells of the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. In Appalachia, miners and residents are locked in conflict: is mining and processing coal essential to providing good jobs, or is it destroying the land, water and air? What does this mean for the rest of America and the world? Join the after-party at Ohio Brewing Company from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. featuring live bluegrass music by Sawgrass. Visit www.coalcountrythemovie.com for more information.

On Sunday, the Red Cross Ride for the Red through the Cuyahoga Valley starts at 1 p.m. at Liberty Harley Davidson in Boston Heights and ends at Lock 3 in Downtown Akron complete with food, vendors and live entertainment! Enjoy music by Dark Side of the Moon, a Pink Floyd tribute band, vendors, beer, food, raffles, merchandise and games. Visit www.downtownakron.com/event/ride-for-the-red1 for more information.

The Akron Aeros are in the Eastern League playoffs! They won the first two games vs. the Reading Phillies in the Division Series and play their third game tonight at the opposing team’s field. If necessary, the fourth game will be played at the opposing team’s field as well. The fifth game, if necessary, is scheduled for this Sunday at Canal Park at 7:05 p.m. Check out www.akronaeros.com for up-to-date information on the Akron Aeros playoff schedule. Tickets are available online for only $6 when you enter the promo code: playoffs.

Hope you find something to enjoy in Downtown Akron this weekend!

Lisa Knapp, Communications Director, Downtown Akron Partnership

Interning Experience with DAP

My name is Ashley Sikora, I graduated from Kent State University this past December with a bachelor’s in Applied Communication. For those of you wondering what Applied Communication is, it’s everything from marketing, advertising to public relations and communications. I struggled like most college students trying to find my way and deciding on a major. And then it hit me, my passion- communication and marketing. So I did some research and with the help of my professor and mentor I was able to decide on Applied Communication.

I took some courses more specific to that major and loved them. They really inspired me and helped me decide on my future. I did a marketing internship with Akron General Medical Center this past fall and enjoyed every aspect of it. It really opened my eyes to the marketing world. I gained valuable experience and knowledge that I am able to put towards my other positions.

Since graduation, I have worked as a marketing assistant for a local Canton area electrical engineering company. I felt that I needed to expand my work experience, so I decided to intern with DAP this summer. I have been assisting with the GO: Get Out of the Office program. The GO program has been a great experience. Its enabled me to get out of the office everyday, meet and network with new people and I get to participate in the activities as well as learn about Downtown. I also have been instrumental with the development of the Market at Lock 3, which takes place every Friday, rain or shine, at Lock 3 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

These experiences have been very rewarding. This internship with DAP is very valuable and the knowledge I will take away from this will definitely influence my next career. I have been very privileged to work with such great staff members who show their commitment and support for Downtown Akron. Downtown Akron Partnership is a wonderful organization and I’m very honored to have had this opportunity.

August ArtWalk

What a wonderful night August 1 was for the arts in Downtown Akron!  We saw a district that was busy with people taking in a variety of artistic demonstrations from juggling to glassblowing to painting to live music.  People converged from all over the area to take part in the festivities.  This is in fact the role that a Downtown plays; the living room of the community.

It was amazing to see so many people enjoying themselves.  The live music added an incredible synergy to the evening.  The amazing talents of the juggler and stiltwalker added a fun and exciting twist as well.

It was great to see people enjoying a wonderful summer evening in Downtown and getting a peak at the creative side of Akron.  After hours of entertainment and people watching, my evening was capped off by a delectable dinner at VegiTerranean. It doesn’t get much better than that!

A quick reminder that the Downtown ArtWalk takes place the first Saturday of every month.  Visit www.downtownakron.com/artwalk for more information!

Kimberly Beckett, Downtown Akron Partnership

Ryan Humbert at the ArtWalk

Bill Roddy at ArtWalk

Julia the Stiltwalker

Darrell Sees a Falcon Fall in Front of Main Place

Recently while patrolling Main Street, Clean Ambassador Darrell Stamp, witnessed something out off the ordinary. He was walking along in front of Main Place on South Main in Cascade Plaza, when suddenly he heard a “Thud” from above, he looked up to a large bird falling to the ground. It hit the side walk then got up and just stood there. Darrell got on his radio and immediately called me, and told me that a falcon had fallen from the building at Main Place.

I replied “you mean one of those fake ones they use to scare the pigeons?” He said, “No a big live Falcon is standing on the sidewalk in front of Main Place right now!”

I hustled down there and sure enough a Peregrine Falcon was just standing on the sidewalk stunned after hitting the building and falling to the ground. We got on the phone and called the Ohio Department of Wildlife and they dispatched someone to come out and check it out. We kept people back for about 45 minutes until he arrived, but the Falcon grew quite an audience at times. After the Wildlife person got there, he checked him out, did not find any serious injuries, and got him back up to his home on top of the Landmark Building just across the street. So everything worked out.

Video of the falcon on Main Street

Info about the nest at the Landmark Building in Akron

http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/year.aspx?nest_id=2

Wayne Weese, Operations Manager, Clean & Safe Team

Market at Lock 3

My favorite thing about summer is fresh, locally grown vegetables.  Cucumbers, corn, peppers….you name it I love it!  As a lover of all things green, I am very excited to be the organizer of the Market at Lock 3 this year.  The Market at Lock 3 is a Friday event that allows local people to sell homemade and homegrown products.  The Market, with incredible help from the City of Akron and the DAP interns, has been a wonderful success!!

As we move deeper into July, the Market at Lock 3 is seeing an increase in produce.  So far, we have had strawberries, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, and lettuce.  The next few weeks we will see green beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, blueberries, and more.

If you haven’t already, I encourage everyone to check out the Market at Lock 3.  The market is open 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. every Friday and not only offers fresh produce but also tea, baked goods, pottery, plants, and clothing.

On July 17, the Market will feature two local musicians.  The music schedule is as follows:

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Brenden Buffett of the band Gallery
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Zach

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Market.  Stop by the information booth and meet the DAP staff!

Kimberly Beckett, Downtown Akron Partnership

Charlie's Gourmet Garlic

A weekend of fun in Downtown Akron!

After my great lunch Downtown on Friday, I went back to the Italian-American Festival after work for some fun with my friends and family. The crowd was the biggest I have ever seen. It was a great site to see Downtown Akron so full of life, from families to couples, you name it, they were all Downtown Akron this weekend. While standing on Main St. within the crowd, I looked around to see everyone smiling, laughing and enjoying their time in Downtown. Once the bands starting playing I moved down into Lock 3 for a better view. The crowd had seemed to get bigger and bigger. The whole grass area of Lock 3 was filled. When I looked around I couldn’t help but smile, even though the temperature seemed to be the hottest its been all summer. Friday was definitely a great night in Downtown.

On Sunday, I attended the mass at Lock 3. It was almost surreal for me. To think that I was in Downtown Akron, enjoying mass outside on a Sunday morning was something I never thought would happen. The view of Downtown and the sounds that come with it (the helicopter flying to Akron Children’s Hospital) didn’t stop the mass and it made the mass more special. It is definitely something I will remember and cherish for years to come and wish it happened every Sunday. After mass was over, I walked to Main St. to see the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses .  It was another site to see in Downtown Akron. People gathered on both sides of the street to wait for the horses to parade down Main. After a good 45 minutes of waiting, they finally made their appearance. People cheered and waved as the group of horses galloped down the street. When it was all said and done, I was happy to have enjoyed such a great weekend in Downtown Akron.

Allyson Ford
Downtown Akron Partnership

A Fun Festival

My sister, nephew and niece are visiting from Texas. We attended the Italian-American festival downtown, Saturday and Sunday.  We took  pictures of the Clydesdales and enjoyed the wonderful food. There were lots of people at the festival and the weather was perfect .  Our age group was from twelve to eightyeight and everyone had a great time.  We had close parking and it was really nice to be able to attend a festival like this.

Holly Mattucci
Downtown Akron Partnership

The start of a GREAT weekend in Downtown Akron!

Italian-American Festival in Downtown Akron - 2009

What a great start to my weekend, enjoying amazing pasta at the Italian-American Festival at Lock 3. I was overwhelmed walking down Main St. in front of Lock 3 to see all the different vendors. How was I going to make the decision of where to eat lunch when I had so many options around me? I ended up choosing pasta, which was a great choice. Myself, Kimberlee, Kimberly, Linda and Lisa took our food down into Lock 3 and ate lunch at a picnic table. I now find myself back at the office full from food and excitement. Walking downtown Main St. I saw a lot of familiar happy faces which made me more excited to work Downtown. We ran into the Mayor, people from Summit County, the Akron Art Museum, Road Runner Akron Marathon, the Akron Police Department and the Akron Fire Department, just to name a few. The small sampling of what’s happening in Downtown Akron this weekend, made me excited for the rest of the Italian-American Festival which I will attend with friends and family. Stay tuned for other blog posts to come about the rest of the great things happening at the festival, like entertainment, food, the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses and more! And don’t forget to check out the rest that Downtown Akron has to offer, like restaurants, museums, bars and so much more. Check out www.downtownakron.com for all your Downtown needs!

Allyson Ford
Downtown Akron Partnership