recreation & leisure

By Lori Brandt

Up, Up And Away
An array of colors will decorate the sky on September 15 and 16 at the 29th annual Ravenna Balloon A-Fair. Spectators of all ages will have the chance to observe 25 hot air balloons take flight in celebration of one of the city’s earliest and largest industries, rubber toy balloons. Prior to liftoff, a 90-minute grand parade will step off at 9 a.m. on Saturday in downtown Ravenna. Craft booths, food concessions, live entertainment and a Children’s Alley with games, carnival rides, jugglers and magicians will line Main Street.

“Entertainment is aimed at all ages, and we try to keep everything affordable,” says spokesperson Deborah Sunderland, who started working at the event 26 years ago as a clown.

When activities end at 5 p.m., the fun continues at Sunbeau Valley Farm, located 1.5 miles from downtown. There is a $5 fee to enter the farm (kids 12 and under get in free) to watch the balloons rise at 5:30 p.m., weather permitting. Concessions, craft booths and entertainment will also be provided, with a fireworks display at dusk. The fun resumes on Sunday at 9 a.m. at the farm, featuring an antique tractor show and the final balloon liftoff.

There will also be a children’s parade on September 13 and a community breakfast on September 14. For more information, contact Deborah Sunderland at 330-730-2114, the Balloon A-Fair hotline at 330-296-FAIR, or visit www.ravennaballoonafair.com.

Raising a Stink
The opportunities to see a skunk up close are typically phew and far between. On September 8, however, it’s a certainty, if you visit the seventh annual North Ridgeville SkunkFest.

Deborah Cipriani, founder of SkunkHaven, a nonprofit rescue and assistance shelter that offers help with pet skunks, says visitors will have the chance to safely see these critters in many different colors: apricot, champagne, brown and gray.

“There will be skunks for sale there as well,” she explains, “but in Ohio, you need a permit to own a skunk. You have to buy from a federal and state permit breeder or dealer.” SkunkFest is the main fund-raiser to help the shelter, says Cipriani. Money will go towards helping the skunks – for research (setting standards for vets to follow), food, medical needs, bedding or supplies.

There is no reason to be concerned about funky odors at this unique gathering; each of the so-called stinkers has been disarmed. Planned activities begin at 10:30 a.m., and include educational skunk exhibits and displays, as well as costume contests, games, DJ, raffles, food, vendors selling skunk merchandise and, the finale: the crowning of the king and queen skunks.

The entrance fee requires a donation in the form of items such as paper towels, frozen veggies and natural cereal. For more information, visit www.skunkhaven.com or call Deborah Cipriani at 440-327-4349.

Get Hooked
Bluegill, bass and catfish will be bitin’ at the Kids’ Fall Fishing Derby on September 23 in Akron. The free event takes place at Firestone Metro Park’s Little Turtle Pond from 1 to 4 p.m. “Kids love learning to fish and trying to catch something,” says naturalist Mike Greene, “and the odds are good, at this fully stocked pond.”

Greene explains that this event is for children 15 and younger only. No adult fishing is permitted, but parents are encouraged to assist youngsters. Noncompetitive prizes will be awarded. Volunteers and Summit County Metro Parks employees will be on hand to teach kids how to bait, hook and cast. Participants can borrow rods and reels, but families are encouraged to bring their own fishing gear because quantities are limited. For more information, call the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm at 330-865-8065.

Reaching Unusual Heights
Seville’s most famous 19th-century couple stood out in their adopted hometown by simply standing up.

The lives of this unique duo will be commemorated at the second annual GiantFest on September 15 and 16. Captain Martin Van Buren Bates measured 7 feet 9 inches and weighed 470 pounds, and his wife, 7-foot-11-inch Anna Swan Bates, weighed 413 pounds, according to Velvet Eby, founder of the city’s GiantFest. The one-of-a-kind pair has also been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest married couple.

“They were a special couple,” says Eby. “How many people have had a giant couple live in their hometown? We are trying to preserve their memory by raising money to create life-size sculptures of them.”

Highlighted activities at the free two-day event include a Civil War-era fashion show, Scottish march, entertainment, pie-eating contest, ghost walks (pre-sale tickets only), vintage baseball game, talent show and fireworks. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the giants through a short play based on the children’s book The Giant of Seville by local author Dan Andreasen, and at the city’s historical society, where a few of the Bates’ possessions will be showcased.

The family festival is located at two separate parks, within a quarter mile of each other, on the east and west sides of Seville in Medina County. Horse- and tractor-drawn wagons will be available to shuttle people from park to park.

For more information and a schedule of activities, contact Velvet Eby at 330-769-9131 or visit www.giantfest.com.

Purple Feet
There is a great possibility that, at one time or another, you have sipped it or tasted it, but have you ever had the chance to stomp on it?

The experience of crushing dark blue-purple fruit (better known as Concord grapes) into juice – with your feet, of course – can be yours when you visit the 44th annual Geneva Grape JAMboree. Or, come and join the fun in cheering on the competitors.

Channel 19 chief meteorologist Jeff Tanchak, the official JAMboree spokesperson, will help kick off the celebration of harvesting the locally grown grapes. The free event takes place on September 29 and 30. A craft fair, art and car shows, costume contests, raffle, food, music and two parades, featuring the Ohio festival queens, will make this an entertaining weekend for the entire family. Wine, juice and grape products will be available for sampling. For further information and a schedule of activities, visit www.grapejamboree.com or call 440-466-JAMB.

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