Love looking at houses? Now’s your chance to indulge.
Homes across the area will be open for three weekends starting today during the Portage and Summit Counties Parade of Homes. The scattered-site event features 17 new homes and one house that has undergone a major remodeling.
The stops range from a custom home worth almost $2 million to a condo priced at $139,000.
The Parade of Homes is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday as well as July 27 and 28 and Aug. 3 and 4. Descriptions of the homes and their addresses are at http://akronhba.com.
Admission is free.
Magazine lists artisans
Eight area artisans are listed in Early American Life magazine’s 2013 Directory of Traditional American Crafts.
The annual directory honors those deemed best at their crafts by a panel of authorities. The list is in the magazine’s August issue.
The local honorees and their specialties are:
• Carl and Marcia Giordano of Carl Giordano, Tinsmith in Wadsworth, tinwork.
• Patrick Livengood of Lafayette Township, Medina County, ironwork.
• Kim Thomas of Thomas Ironworks in Seville, ironwork.
• Barbara Bunsey of Calico Goose in Macedonia, decorative painting on tin.
• Marilyn Willmore of Worked in Wool in Plain Township, Stark County, hooked rugs, wall hangings and mats.
• Laurel Dabbs of Laurel Dabbs Decoys in Westfield Center, cedar gunning decoys.
• Ron Fedor of Ron Fedor Masonry Inc. in Mantua, masonry and hand-carved stone.
Gardening at Grand Hotel
Plant brand Proven Winners is sponsoring a garden-theme gathering Aug. 25-27 at the elegant Grand Hotel on Michigan’s Mackinac Island.
The Grand Garden Show will include gardening sessions and walking tours of 12 private gardens, as well as breakfasts, dinners and a cocktail reception with TV host and gardening expert P. Allen Smith.
Cost is $779 for a single person or $929 for a couple. Individual day passes are also available.
Details are at www.provenwinners.com/Grand-Hotel.
Events, programs
• Cleveland Botanical Garden events, 11030 East Blvd. Ask the Gardener, noon to 4 p.m. today. Northeast Ohio Daylily Society Show, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Eleanor Squire Library Rare Book Tour, 2-3 p.m. next Saturday (members $3, others $11, registration required). Garden admission: $9.50; children ages 3-12, $4; members and younger children, free. 216-721-1600 or www.cbgarden.org.
• Parade of Ponds, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Self-guided tour of ponds and water features in Northeast Ohio. Tour booklets $11, available at Water X Scapes, 1021 E. Caston Road, Green; Biggins’ Big Dip, 197 Portage Lakes Drive, Coventry Township; Graf Growers, 1015 White Pond Drive, Copley Township; and Mock Property Services, 37 S. Cleveland Ave., Mogadore. Tour benefits Akron Children’s Hospital and its burn unit. 330-896-9811.
• Daylily Madness Weekends, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Sunday and July 27-28, Daylilies and More, 8290 Avon Lake Road (state Route 83), about one mile north of Lodi. Thousands of daylilies in bloom. 330-948-2470 or daylily@ohio.net.
• Warm Up Akron meetings, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mogadore Branch Library, 144 S. Cleveland Ave. Members knit and crochet rectangles that are used to make afghans for needy people in the Akron area, and they’ll teach others the skills. 330-699-3252 or http://warmupakron.webs.com.
• Guided Summer Walk, 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Secrest Arboretum, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster Township. Free. Advance registration encouraged at cochran.7@osu.edu or 330-464-2148.
• Pond Planning, Design and Construction, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Water X Scapes, 1021 E. Caston Road, Green. Free, but reservations are requested at 330-896-9811 or http://waterxscapes.com/seminars.
• Pesky Plants, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, Akron. Presentation on common invasive plants by Danae Wolfe of the Ohio State University Extension. Part of the Summit County Master Gardeners’ Meet Me in the Garden series. Free.
• Open house, 4-6 p.m. Thursday, John Brown House, 514 Diagonal Road, Akron. Tour the abolitionist’s home and visit the Summit Hall of Honor. Free. 330-535-1120 or www.summithistory.org.
• Play in Water, 9 a.m. to noon Friday or next Saturday, Holden Arboretum, 9500 Sperry Road, Kirtland. Activity session is part of the Learn How to Play in Nature series, which teaches about the benefits of outdoor play and how to engage children in specific outdoor environments. Members $15, others $20. Registration: 440-946-4400 or www.holdenarb.org.
• Fairy Garden Workshop, 10-11:30 a.m. next Saturday, Graf Growers Garden Center, 1015 White Pond Drive, Copley Township. Children and adults can plant miniature gardens in containers brought from home or purchased at the garden center. Free, but plants and embellishments must be purchased at Graf Growers. Space is limited. Reservations: 330-836-2727.
• Arboretum Art and Music Festival, noon to 6 p.m. next Saturday, Secrest Arboretum, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster Township. Free. http://secrest.osu.edu.
• Nuno Felted Scarf Workshop, 3-6 p.m. next Saturday, Spicy Lamb Farm, 6560 Akron-Peninsula Road, Peninsula (accessible from West Boston Mills Road). Make a scarf using wet felting techniques. $75. Registration: 330-657-2012. Information: www.thespicylamb.com.
• Akron Arts Expo, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 28, Hardesty Park, 1615 W. Market St. Juried fine arts and crafts show with more than 160 artists, food, entertainment and children’s activities. Free admission. http://tinyurl.com/akronexpo.
Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.