On June 17th, the City of Akron hosted the 8th annual Blue Heron Homecoming. The event had a great turn-out from the start, running out of rain barrel vouchers 2 hours into the festival. Eco and Sprout were in attendance, quickly becoming friends with our young guests.
During the event there were 33 exhibitors spread out throughout Cascade Valley Metro Park – Chuckery Area so the size of our beautiful metro park could be utilized, including a portion of the event that ran past the Cuyahoga River. The exhibitors kept the visitors entertained and educated during the 4-hour event. Over the entirety of the event, over 800 people come through the park.
Mayor Horrigan was in attendance, welcoming exhibitors, volunteers, and other City of Akron employees and thanking them for all their hard work.
Lock 3 provided an area for relaxing, and enjoying lunch while DJ Pete kept them entertained. An extremely talented photographer, Anthony Zawahri, took plenty of great shots you can see in the gallery below. Local musician, Jeff Klemm, moved about the festival, guitar in hand, playing music to keep the crowd engaged and the environment fun and positive.
Blue Heron welcomed the kids from various community centers and provided them some insight as to where their water goes after it rains or after they flush and the lengths our exhibitors go to keep the Cuyahoga River clean for them. The Akron Fire Department had a fire truck on display while the Akron Police Department kept the event running safely and smoothly.
Everyone who helped Blue Heron happen, went above and beyond to create an environment where kids and families alike could not only learn but have fun while doing so. We look forward to continuing into 2023 carrying the same positivity from the 2022 event.
