Crafty Mart, an alternative craft show founded by J Hudson, of Cuyahoga Falls, and Juniper Sage, of Akron, is heading into its third year and will take place Nov. 26 from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. at Musica, which is located on Market Street near High Street.

Sage, who owns Square Records in Highland Square with her husband Dave Ignizio, was a vendor at a similar show called Bazaar Bizarre in Cleveland  in 2007 when she met Hudson, who stopped by her booth and wondered out loud why Akron didn’t have an alternative craft show of its own.

Hudson had been making the trek to Cleveland with his three children for the show for several years .

The University of Akron Dance Company (UADC) will present a number of different dance styles for its Fall 2011 Dance Concert Nov. 17 through 19 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. at Paul A. Daum Theatre in Kolbe Hall, 328 Buchtel Common on campus.

UA dance students will perform works by faculty choreographers MaryAnn Black, Tom Smith and Robin Prichard. They will also perform a work by guest choreographer Bobby Wesner, artistic director of Neos Dance Theatre.

The concert will feature myriad dance styles that include contemporary ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance set to music from Handel, Gershwin and Broadway's “Hairspray.”

If you live in or near the Buchtel cluster in Akron, your opinion is needed. The Ujima Dialogue Series, which kicks off this Saturday, Nov. 5, at 9:30 a.m., will bring residents, community leaders and other stakeholders together to discuss what programs and activities should be a part of the district’s Community Learning Centers (CLCs).

The meetings are geared toward everyone in the community, said Crystal Jones, co-manager of The Akron Neighborhood Trust, a community consulting partnership funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. “If you have a stake in the Buchtel community then you should have a seat at the table,” said Jones.

The goal of the group is to create “hubs of excellence” at these learning centers (Buchtel/Perkins, Crouse, Helen Arnold, Portage Path, Rankin and Schumacher), and to enable the community to have a say as to what programs or activities may help meet this end.

An upcoming University of Akron play will employ techniques like masks, puppets and a formal, physical approach that takes cues from Asian theatre. "The Great God Brown" by Eugene O’Neill opens Nov. 3 at The University of Akron’s Sandefur Theatre in Guzzetta Hall, 139 Buchtel Ave.

Presented by the UA Theatre Program and directed by Professor James Slowiak, performances are Nov. 3 through 5 and Nov. 10 through 12 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. Pre-show discussions are at 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 in room 299 of Guzzetta Hall.

Written in 1926, "The Great God Brown" is one of O’Neill’s most mystical and expressionistic works. It draws inspiration from Jungian psychology, Nietzschean philosophy, Greek myth and Asian and Christian religious sources, creating a world in which the denial of one’s true self can lead to devastating consequences.

What makes a city great? Many believe it is the people living in it - the dreamers, achievers and people living out their purpose, building it up economically and socially, so that it is thriving in all areas.

Many have fled the city, instead of building it up. But individuals are needed to build, create and inspire others to make Akron a more vibrant community. Several grassroots efforts are currently being worked on to build up the city, but there are also bigger initiatives taking place as well – collaborations between city officials and organizations. University Park Alliance is one of these initiatives. Their slogan is "Do something great today!"

 
"University Park is a neighborhood which surrounds the University of Akron. University Park Alliance is an organization that was started by the University of Akron, Housing Authority, (and others), with the initiative to really work to re-develop the 50 blocks surrounding the university," Eric Johnson Ph.D., executive director, said.

Barrelponics is changing the face of urban farming and agriculture, and is being used to feed the hungry around the world, especially in urban areas and places with limited resources. Travis Hughey, considered the inventor of the barrelponics technique for cultivating food, will visit Akron Oct. 29 to provide demonstrations and discuss this innovative method of agriculture.

The OctoberFRESH Bounty of the Harvest Celebration, which will teach residents about healthy eating and agriculture, takes place at Mason Community Center on East Exchange Street Oct. 29., 1 to 5 p.m., and covers aquaponics, veggie cooking, beekeeping, herb gardens and other techniques.

The event also will feature stations with children's activities, like cornhusk dolls, pumpkin decorating, apple bobbing and a hay mountain.

For a former industrial city, this is a big week. Actually, for any city, this would be a big week.

Akron and University Park Alliance recently announced that KUD International of Long Beach, Calif., was making a long-term commitment to Akron to help build out UPA’s core vision for Akron’s core. On Wednesday, the community will welcome KUD CEO Marvin Suomi to town to meet local officials. The relationship with KUD will dramatically accelerate the economic activity and redevelopment in Akron, contributing to the city’s growing vitality.

We know that the perception of our city, by and large, has lagged our continual progress toward this new reality. If you’re reading this blog from outside our city, put yourself in our shoes:  Through years of effort, we’ve cast off the storied Rust Belt, yet the label remains.
We don’t want to hear about it anymore.

Aimee Sauls, who earned a degree in art education in 2004 from The University of Akron's Myers School of Art and is now pursuing a master's degree in elementary education at UA, recently helped women and children express their hopes and dreams through art.

On Oct. 7 at the Haven of Rest in Akron, Sauls exhibited nearly 50 collages created by women and children from the Haven of Rests Harvest Home and children from the Canton Baptist Temples CBT Kids.

To create the exhibition, Sauls worked closely with Harvest Home staff Yvette McMillan and Becky Pinkerton to better understand the issues of poverty and homelessness. She encouraged the Harvest Home residents to to share their immediate hopes and dreams through visual representation, and to think about their future choices.She did the same with the Canton Baptist Temple childrenas part of a fall art enrichment session that the church offers on Sunday evenings.

Akron Society of Artists (ASA) member Cleo Clark Williams of Canton won the $300 first prize in the group’s 80th Anniversary Member Show, which is on display at Summit Artspace Gallery through Nov. 6.  Her winning painting is done in oil and titled "Three Granny Smiths."

The second place $200 prize went to Judy Takacs of Solon for an oil painting titled "Paul is the Best Man," and the third place $100 prize was an oil painting called "Medallion" by Dan Lindner of North Canton. Founded in 1931, ASA has 133 members who meet regularly for painting demonstrations, lectures, critiques and studio sessions with live models and still life subjects.

The Battered Women’s Shelter is asking residents and businesses to show solidarity for Domestic Violence Awareness Month by displaying a purple light. The Purple Light Nights™ program honors those victims who lost their lives as a result of domestic violence.

“We normally see between 4,200 to 5,500 females victimized by domestic violence annually in Summit County, and that’s only the people who report it,” said Brittany Paliswat, outreach coordinator for the Battered Women’s Shelter, who adds that nationally one in four women and one in 15 men are affected by domestic violence.

“We do see quite a few people (at the shelter) but domestic violence is one of those things that’s underreported. It’s startling enough to hear one in four women are affected, but to know that it’s underreported is even more startling.”