Stories

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, which happened to coincide with Mexican Independence Day, we were honored to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with the 3rd Annual Akron Latin Festival. 

This year's two-day downtown Juneteenth celebration was filled with delicious food, great art, community togetherness, and most importantly, joy. 

In 2018 and 2019, Madrid-based artist collective Boa Mistura was commissioned to create a mural on the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM Middle School Plaza. In May 2023, they returned to reinvigorate the space and celebrate with the community. 

Amid boarded windows, blockades ready to be moved into roadways, and palpable tension in the community, people still came downtown from far and wide to take a breath, spend time with loved ones, and experience the beauty of the cherry blossom trees that were just past peak bloom. 

To say this year’s Downtown Akron Lunar New Year Celebration was spectacular would be an understatement. The event, which was only in its second iteration, was humbling, heartening, and absolutely extraordinary by every measure. 

Wayfinding is about so much more than mere signage. Learn more about what we installed downtown in 2022. 

On Saturday, June 25, during a roller skating event, DAP welcomed five-time Guinness world record holder Dinesh Sunar to Cascade Plaza, where he was to attempt to break yet another world record.  

Multigenerational families, groups of friends, and community acquaintances sat together, broke bread, and celebrated Juneteenth with warm conversation and palpable joy.  

This summer, downtown organizations worked with Groundswell Design Group to come up with a plan for enhancing Cascade Plaza. 

If you’ve been downtown lately, you’ve probably noticed—it’s in full bloom! 

When the collies first approach the geese, they begin harassing them with a predatory stare called “the eye.” 

There are 472 cherry blossom trees planted along the Towpath Trail in downtown Akron. On Saturday, April 9, 2022, over a thousand people from across the state gathered to celebrate them. 

The Summit Suffrage Centennial Committee is working with internationally renowned artist Woodrow Nash to establish a Sojourner Truth statue and plaza adjacent to the Sojourner Truth Building on North High Street. 

As Phase II of Main Street construction wraps up, we’re looking forward to bringing more planters, more color, and more blooms to downtown Akron. 

What can we do as individuals and organizations to support our pollinators? We certainly can’t fix everything, but we can do our small part here in downtown Akron. 

If you think it’s a waste of time to pick up your dog’s droppings from downtown public and private spaces, think again. 

Between the dances and demonstrations by performers young and professional, the glittering display of fireworks at the end of the night, and the wonder on the faces of onlookers, we hope this was only the first of many such Lunar New Year celebrations to come.  

Pedestrians walking north or south along North High Street near the Akron Art Museum will see a whimsical message come alive thanks to a new public art installation from international artist team, Boa Mistura. 

Walking into the brand new High St. Hop House feels like you’re walking into a vintage, historical space and leaving everything modern behind. 

Akron Coffee Roasters in the Historic Arts District is a quaint coffee shop that serves types of coffee that Akron has never seen before. 

If you enjoy live music with a contemporary flare, Jilly’s Music Room is one place you need to check out.