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Because there’s more to Akron than meets the eye. The Devil Strip, an online and print alternative media source, focuses on topics about Akron’s creative community—from artists and musicians to small businesses and the emerging tech sector—that have been overlooked. The name comes from that strip of land known elsewhere as a “tree lawn,” but in Akron known as a “devil’s strip.”
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Because we love to bang a drum. The University of Akron (UA) Steel Drum Band, founded in 1980, is known as one of oldest collegiate panoramic style steel bands. Is it a coincidence that Akron-based Panyard, Inc., founded in 1990, has become a world specialist in selling steel drums, accessories and sheet music for the steel drum industry? We don’t think so. Owner Ron Kerns and former partner Shelly Irvine fell in love with the steel drums while they were drummers at UA.
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Because three out of four Summit County residents say this area is an excellent or good place to live, according to The Summit Poll 2017 conducted by the Center for Marketing and Opinion Research. By the way, Akron comes from the Greek word for “high place.” We’re not going anywhere but up.
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Because who doesn’t love the nostalgia of seeing a movie under the stars at a classic drive-in? We love the Blue Sky Drive-In in Wadsworth or Magic City Drive-In in Barberton. Pack your car for a one-carload price.
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Because we don’t just have craft shows, we have the Crafty Mart, the Rubber City’s longest-running indie handmade marketplace. There’s the big Crafty Mart in downtown Akron twice a year and several “pop up” Crafty Marts during the year elsewhere, including inside Summit Artspace. In 2015, Crafty Mart was honored with a Zenith Award by the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.
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Because if your taste runs more to the fruit of the vine, we have your wine. The Grape and Granary in east Akron lets patrons make their own wine and design the labels. The Winery at Wolf Creek, which overlooks an idyllic reservoir in Norton, offers handcrafted wines and appetizers in addition to the beautiful view. Sarah’s Vineyard, in the heart of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, has been cultivated on land that was reclaimed by the park for farming. Nauti Vine Winery on the Portage Lakes’s Tuscan atmosphere is perfect. ThornCreek Winery & Gardens in Aurora combines fine wine, food and seven acres of heavenly viewing. Medina’s High & Low features seating in the vineyards, on the deck and patio and a walk-up wine bar.
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Because all those trees in Kent could be the reason the 10 black squirrels imported from Canada and let loose on the Kent State campus in 1961 decided to stay around and procreate. (Or they just like it here.) Their abundant presence inspired the creation of the Black Squirrel Festival held on campus every September as well as Black Squirrel Brewing Company, Black Squirrel Radio and Black Squirrel Books, an imprint of Kent State University Press.
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Because Goodrich rubber was even used to make fountain pens. Joseph Betzler and Wesley Wilson (former B. F. Goodrich employees) used the rubber to make the barrel of the holder in their Akron pens in the late 20th century. Their pens were sold at the A. Polsky Co., the M. O’Neil Co., Day Drugs, Dales Jewelry, Robinson’s Book Store and other Akron businesses. The company’s premium product was a $3.50 pen made of solid 14k gold, pointed with iridium.
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And then there’s Oddmall: The Emporium of the Weird in Akron. Oddmall takes place in May and November at the John S. Knight Center. It is part art fair, part craft show, part comic-con, part gaming festival, part cosplay extravaganza, part toy show, part antique show, part vintage fashion show, part geeksplosion, part music fest, part magic show and part various undefinable othernesses. That’s how they describe it. The one big rule: No judgment. And it’s free!
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