Arts and Culture Day - December 9, 2009

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” should have been the theme of the day...

by Tom Venarge '10, VP Manufacturing, APV Engineered Coatings

When we arrived at the newly renovated Weathervane Community Playhouse on a cold December morning, little did we know that within the hour we would all be experienced actors—“Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat” starring the 33 stars of Leadership Akron Class 26!! (we'll leave to your curiosity who was mysteriously absent...)

John Hedges was rightfully proud to talk of Weathervane’s recent modifications.  The building is absolutely gorgeous!  The new lobby was fit for a terrific party at the day’s end, but additional office space, gift shop, and improvements to both stages will enhance the experience for the theatre going community.

Neither Mark nor Susan was very forthcoming with the day’s events, and each portion of our subsequent tour was a surprise.  I personally liked this aspect, although I’m sure others that are more organized by nature were a little unsettled by the unknown.

The first stop on the tour was Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens.  This Akron Icon is 65,000 square feet of intricate detail situated on 70 plush acres of beauty.  Constructed and inhabited in 1915, how impressive is it that the amenities afforded this estate included 360 degree showers??  Mr. Seiberling obviously was legendary to the direction of this region (not to mention the world), but the simple phrase above the door that translates into “Not for us Alone” is a testament to how he felt about his fellow man.

Our next stop was the Akron Zoo/ Komodo Kingdom where we are able to go behind the scenes to see how the Komodo, Galapagos Turtles and Jellyfish were cared for.   I generally don’t feel too intimidated by something that weighs 150 lbs, but I didn’t really want to be around during feeding time!  The Jellyfish are more my speed… anything that needs an outside pump to help it move…I can deal with that!

We circled around to view the Perkins’ Mansion, and then John Brown House, then moved on to the Hower House.  This 28 room, 1871 Victorian-style mansion situated near the University of Akron was the home of John Henry Hower.  We learned of the Hower family, and their prosperity in the reaping (and cereal) industries.  We all knew about Quaker Oats history within Akron, but I doubt many knew that John Henry Hower had any ties to that as well.

The Akron Art Museum graciously hosted our lunch in the lobby.  The strangely odd but beautiful building was the perfect spot to grab a bite to eat, while we were able to watch folks walk around downtown through the glass.  We listened to Madeline Bozzelli (2009 Polsky Humanitarian Award) speak about spending 42 years impacting our community in just about every organization imaginable.  Her determination to help was genuinely inspirational.  We then visited the “Chuck Close” exhibit (Linda), as well as other wonderful LOCAL artists.

A short trip up Market Street took us to a lesser known gem, Summit Art Space.  Founded in 2002 by local artists, I heard the best philosophy about the impact of Arts and Culture while here:  The quality of the community is what attracts better people to live here.  With our Biomedical Corridor, professional services, and industry serving a large part of the area, if we want the best doctors, lawyers and services available, we need to have excellent culture for those people to enjoy.  Makes a lot of sense!

While at Summit Art Space, the class also took some time to demonstrate some of their personal skills (??!).  I am REALLY enjoyed First Night Akron 2010, where our Class 26 display was unveiled as part of Creatures of the Midnight Sun.  Perhaps it may even end up as a touring piece!!

Next stop was the Historic Akron Civic Theatre.  I would have never expected to see such gorgeous detail in every square inch.  Beautiful wood, architecture, painting, sculpture,…you name it—it is there!  I felt like I was back in the 1930’s attending an event that the President would attend.

I was most impressed with the small (unaltered) section of the lobby that was left as a time capsule for us to witness the massive renovation efforts.  This small section had gotten brown, dull and dingy over the years, hiding the rich, luminous paintings that adorned the walls and ceilings.  It was like watching the Wizard of Oz with ½ the screen in original Black and White, ½ the screen in Colored High Definition.  (I don’t want to forget the gift from The Peanut Shoppe either!  You can’t attend the Theatre without a fresh bag of assorted nuts!!  They were veeerrrry yummy!)

Our last stop on the day’s tour of Art and Culture was E.J. Thomas Hall.  Here, we were treated to a small sampling of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, with a cello and bassoon performance.  We also enjoyed a performance from the University of Akron steel drum band.  Nothing like the sound of steel drums to make you think of sitting on the beach, somewhere warm, cool drink in hand……and when Betsy and Carrie had a chance to play…how fun!  The girls are naturals!

We ended our day of touring, and knew we were going to a party afterward at the Weathervane. What we didn’t know was that all of our hosts from the day had collaborated to provide gifts for all classmates from each of their respective locations. Whoever said ‘membership has its privileges’ was definitely on the money!!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!!!

I have seen a lot in these few months so far, but this day was by far my favorite.  I have lived in this area my whole life, and never experienced ONE-TENTH of what I saw in one day!!  I went home and told my wife: “honey, we have lots to do…”

** A special “Thank You” to Neal Gresham’s wife for baking cookies for our class---they were terrific!!