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Busy weekend in Portage area: Crowds brave rain to enjoy events in Mantua, Kent and Stow

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September 7, 2008

By Deborah Guziak
Record-Courier staff writer
Gloomy skies and periodic rain didn't deter people from having fun at the Mantua Potato Festival and Art in the Park in Kent Saturday. Both events continue today.
In Mantua, people enjoyed the 35th annual Mantua Potato Festival. The festival features rides, booths, carnival games and, of course, food; many made with potatoes.
The festivities continue today starting with a 2 p.m. parade. The parade will start at Crestwood High School and end at the festival grounds at Buchert Park.
Among those enjoying the festival Saturday were Mantua residents Bill Novak, Drake Engelhart and Ethan White.
The teens came to see their friends perform as the band SoBeIt. Ethan also said he enjoyed socializing with friends he saw at the event. "It's nice to hang here outside of school," he said.
The festival continues from 2 to 7 p.m. today.
In Kent, artists sold their creations at the annual Art in the Park event at Fred Fuller Park on Middlebury Road. Almost 100 booths sold one-of-a-kind artwork.
Kent resident Janet Hallaran was selling her creations " glass pendants, earrings, barrettes, picture frames and a few other objects made from glass.
Artfully crafted, Hallaran's pieces also included jewelry pieces of dichroic glass. While dichroic glass is expensive due to the process in which it is made, Hallaran's dichroic glass jewelry was not expensive.
"I believe everyone should be able to afford nice pieces of jewelry," she said.
Jewelry was sought by Ruth Walters of Kenmore and Claire Hrovat of Solon. The women often attend Art in the Park.
"I have a necklace that I'm trying to match with other pieces of jewelry," Hrovat said.
"I just like jewelry," Walters said.
"And I'm her wallet," Walters' husband, Bill, teased.
Art in the Park will continue from noon to 6 p.m. today.
In addition to the events in Kent and Mantua, Stow welcomed visitors Saturday the Aviation Heritage Fair at the Kent State University Airport on Kent Road (S.R. 59). The annual event is sponsored by the Kent State University Aeronautics Program.
The festivities include balloon launches, airplane rides, airport fly-overs and aircraft displays.
Featured this year were a World War II plane from the Commemorative Air Force; a Cessna Citation Sovereign and Eclipse VLJ, and a Polish TS-11 Iskra jet aircraft.
Several different helicopters also were on site, including an EC-145, AS-350, B-206III and S-76.




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