It’s almost time to dive into the Parade of Ponds.
The annual tour showcases ponds and other water features throughout the area and raises money for the burn unit at Akron Children’s Hospital. The event is spread over two weekends, July 19-20 and July 26-27.
Ponds north of U.S. 224 are open the first weekend, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Ponds south of that dividing line are open during the same hours the second weekend.
In addition, there’s an “Under the Lights” tour from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. July 19, featuring ponds in both areas.
Tour booklets are $10 and are 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.
Information is at http://waterxscapes.com/events/parade-of-ponds.
Events, programs
• Garden Chat, 10 a.m. today, Brunswick Library, 3649 Center Road. Medina County master gardeners will discuss battling bugs. Free. www.mcdl.info or 330-273-4150.
• 90th Anniversary Celebration, noon to 4 p.m. today, Perkins Stone Mansion, 550 Copley Road, Akron. Summit County Historical Society celebration includes antique evaluations (one item per person), tours of the mansion and the John Brown House, music, antique cars, a hobo camp, carnival games and more. Free. Food available for sale. http://summithistory.org or 330-535-1120.
• GardenWalk Cleveland, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. Free, self-guided tour of gardens, urban farms, vineyards and orchards in several neighborhoods of Cleveland. Guides available at all Dave’s Markets and Petitti Garden Centers. Maps and information also available at www.gardenwalkcleveland.org.
• Open house and plant sale, noon to 7:30 p.m. today and Sunday, Furniture Maker’s Garden, 4101 Timber Trail, Montville Township. Garden has more than 2,300 perennials. Free. Guided tours available by appointment at 330-725-2544.
• Ask a Master Gardener, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Stow Community Farmers Market, Stow Community Church, 1567 Pilgrim Drive, and 3-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Twinsburg Farmers Market, 2695 Creekside Commons Drive. Summit County master gardener volunteers will be available to answer questions.
• Knitting and Crocheting Circle meetings, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Highland Library, 4160 Ridge Road, Granger Township, Medina County (330-278-4271 or 330-239-2674), and 6 p.m. Thursday, Seville Library, 45 N. Center St. (330-769-2852).
• Farm tour, Smaht Fahm, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, 7238 Spieth Road, York Township near Medina. Tour a sustainably managed farm to see alpacas, honeybees raised without chemicals and heritage breeds of fowl. Free. Presented by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association. www.oeffa.org/documents/farm tour2014.pdf.
• Caring for Your Collections Workshop III — All That Shines!, 2-4 p.m. Tuesday, Shaker Historical Society & Museum, 16740 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights. Workshop on caring for silver and metalwork. Members $5, others $10. Class size limited. Registration: 216-921-1201. Information: www.shakerhistoricalsociety.org.
• Aquaponics program, 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, community garden at Kenmore Boulevard and Ira Avenue, Akron. Information on using recycled materials to build a system to raise fish. Part of the Talking in the Garden Series, sponsored by Akron Summit Community Action Inc. and Little Mike’s Corner Store. Free. Bring a chair. 330-572-8304.
• Terrarium Workshop, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Graf Growers Garden Center, 1015 White Pond Drive, Copley Township. Potting soil and instruction free. All other items, except the container, must be purchased at Graf’s. Reservations: 330-836-2727 or karlie@grafgrowers.com.
• Building Doctors visit, Thursday and Friday, Richfield. Historical preservation experts from Ohio History Connection will offer advice on caring for old buildings. Clinic on common maintenance issues, 7 p.m. Thursday, Historical Museum of Richfield, 3907 Broadview Road. Consultations with building owners near Richfield, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Both events free. Registration: http://tinyurl.com/buildingdoctor2014 or 800-499-2470.
• Quilting and Foundation Piecing, 2-4 p.m. Friday, Peninsula Art Academy, 1600 W. Mill St. Course on quilt-making technique commonly called paper piecing. Members $90, others $115. Registration: 330-657-2248 or http://peninsulaartacademy.com.
• Bee Festival, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Saturday, Medina Library, 210 S. Broadway. Beekeeping information, children’s activities, items for sale. Free. www.mcdl.info/BeeFest.
• Lake Township Historical Society Home Tour, next Saturday. Tour of two homes, noon to 3 p.m. Tickets $10, available 2-5 p.m. Sunday at the historical society’s museum, 3300 Meyers St. NW, or on tour day at 1440 or 1555 Lake-O-Pines St. NE. Some Enchanted Evening dinner at one of the homes, 6-9:30 p.m. General seating $50, gazebo seating $60. Dinner reservations: 330-877-2625 or 330-699-3342.
• Historical home tour, 2 p.m. next Saturday, West Akron. Tour of architecturally and historically significant homes, including wine and hors d’oeuvre reception at the Anchorage. Organized by Preservation Alliance of Greater Akron. Member $50, others $70. To order tickets, visit att www.eventbrite.com, enter “Preservation Alliance of Greater Akron” into the search box, and then click on “Historic House Tour and Reception.” Registration deadline Monday.
• Nature Connects, through Aug. 24, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd. Family-oriented event includes 14 giant Lego sculptures and nature-related activities. Ask the Gardener, noon to 4 p.m. today. Eleanor Squire Library Book Collectors’ special sale featuring rare books and original botanical prints, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. S-HORT Course for Kids: Bug Terrarium Workshop, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. next Saturday (members $25, others $35, reservations required). Garden hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays. $11; children 3 to 12, $6; members and younger children, free. www.cbgarden.org or 216-721-1600, ext. 100.
Submit notices of classes, programs and events 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. Deadline for submissions is noon Monday.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.