Friends of the Pemberville Public Library plan Garden Tour

        The Friends of the Pemberville Library will present a self-guided tour of five local gardens on Saturday, June 24.
        Tickets are $15 and are available in advance at the Pemberville Library by calling 419-287-4012 or at the gardens the day of the tour. Tour hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
        Tour stops include the homes of:
        • Dave and Julie Lewandowski, 327 Krotzer Ave., Luckey. The gardens includes a mixture of perennials, annuals and vegetables as well as a fairy garden.  Visitors will see an array of vintage plants, including a rose bush and blue iris.
        • Keith and Denise Avers, 18792 Bradner Rd., Pemberville. The gardens feature a windmill, a vintage chair on the porch, and sedum throughout the landscape.  The house has been in the family for more than 150 years. Yard art has been installed in memory of a family member.
        • Lavender Farm, 19587 Luckey Rd., Pemberville, an all-natural U-pick farm featuring more than 850 plants and five varieties of lavender, both culinary and craft.
        • Bob and Joanne Bruning, 428 Water St., Pemberville. Visitors will see a flower garden of perennials and annuals with lots of color, with a white fence for a background. 
        • Kent and Jennifer Schuerman, 1550 Kahle Rd., Pemberville. This garden includes a large pond featuring water lilies. The garden design was inspired by the English cottage garden. Hostas are a gift from Jennifer's father and get bigger each year.  Wildflowers are planted for butterflies and bees.
 
Glass City Metropark Grand Opening June 9
        Opening weekend for Glass City Metropark, set for Friday-Sunday, June 9-11, will include a free concert Friday evening, a roller skating party Saturday and an outdoor expo Sunday.
        Phase 2 of Glass City, located on Front Street, includes Market Hall, a restaurant, The Ribbon roller and ice skating trail, nature-themed children’s play areas, art installations and three miles of trails.
        For a complete schedule, visit metroparkstoledo.com/explore-your-parks/glass-city-metroparks-opening-weekend.
 
African Safari welcomes 48-foot T. rex
        On May 24, a team of nearly a dozen African Safari Wildlife Park employees and contractors carefully positioned and assembled a 48-foot-long, 3,000-pound animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex in the park’s Walk-Thru Safari.
        The prehistoric beast, which was fabricated overseas, will be a featured player in “Dinosaur Takeover,” the park’s summer attraction featuring more than 20 moving, roaring, life-sized creatures.
         At “Dinosaur Takeover,” park guests will also have the opportunity to pose for photographs in oversized dinosaur eggs or the jaws of a T. rex; mine for real dinosaur fossils to take home (for an additional fee); discover how these animals hunted, survived and cared for their young in a prehistoric world; and learn how to protect today’s wildlife from the threat of extinction.
        Dinosaur Takeover, which is included with general park admission, will begin this month and run through Monday, Sept. 4. More information is available at africansafariwildlifepark.com/dinosaurs.
 
Celebrity Wait Night
        Imagination Station is fusing the worlds of science, food and philanthropy at a Celebrity Wait Night fundraiser Monday, June 12 from 6:15-9 p.m. at Zia’s Italian Restaurant on the Docks, 20 Main St., Toledo.
        Funds raised at the event will provide programming that strengthen the science center’s school programs, exhibits and all other STEAM-related (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) experiences.
        Kelli and Jason Daniels, Feed Imagination chairs will be joined by a number of celebrity waiters.
        Tickets are $55 per person, which include a three-course meal and nonalcoholic beverages, are available at imaginationstationtoledo.org/join-support/feed-imagination-celebrity-wait-night.
 
“Peter and The Starcatcher”
         The Village Players will present “Peter and The Starcatcher” June 2-11 at the Village Players Theatre, 2740 Upton Ave., Toledo.
        Curtain times are:
        • June 2 and 3 at 8 p.m.
        • June 4 at 2 p.m.
        • June 8 at 7 p.m.
        • June 9 and 10 at 8 p.m.
        • June 11 at 2 p.m.
        Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors 60 and older and students (with valid ID). Visit thevillageplayers.org or call the box office at 419-472-6817.
        A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels, “Peter and the Starcatcher” upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (aka Peter Pan). From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, “Peter and the Starcatcher”
playfully explores the depths of greed and despair...and the bonds of friendship, duty, and love.
 
Rossford DORA to enhance ‘Stroll the Street’
        This year, Rossford’s DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) allows visitors to purchase liquid refreshments from local watering holes and sip and walk while enjoying Stroll the Street every Tuesday from 4:30-7:30 p.m., through Aug. 29.
        Edward Ford Memorial Park will host live music, craft vendors, crafts and face painting for kids, and paint-along sessions for adults. Ten food trucks line the street each week and fresh produce is available from local farmers.
        Super Cruises
        Classic car owners are invited to register their vehicles at Super Cruises to be held at Stroll the Streets June 20, July 18 and Aug. 15 from 4-7 p.m. at Rossford United Methodist Church, 270 Dixie Highway. DJ Crusin Zeake, will provide music. Every registered driver will receive a $5 food coupon good at any of the 10 food trucks at the event. Eight $25 gas cards will also be given away in a random drawing of registered car owners.
        Parking is available in portions of the Rossford United Methodist Church parking lot as well as the IPS Headquarters parking lot on the other side of Edward Ford Memorial Park at 146 Dixie Highway.
        For details and more info, visit StrolltheStreet.com or contact Beth Genson at bethgenson@visitrossfordohio.com.
 
Summer Camps for Kids at Owens
        Owens Community College Workforce and Community Services is inviting kids as young as 3 years old to participate in summer camps.
        Kids ages 3-7 are invited to “STEMulating Young Minds: Engineering Camp.” Participants will build bridges and towers and learn the basic concepts of engineering. When the camp is over, students will get a take-home kit, certificate and shirt.
        “Candy STEM Camp,” geared toward kids ages 7- 12, uses candy as tools. Participants will paint, create mazes and build structures and more all with candy in a camp that’s sure to be a real “treat.”
        Camps run Monday through Thursday throughout the summer. Costs vary by camp. Camps and classes for people of all ages are being added continuously.
        Visit owens.edu/workforce_cs/workandplay.php for details.
 
“Best Foot Forward”
        The Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council’s next exhibit at The Arts Garage will be a show of original oil paintings by Rick Dziak, of Marblehead. The Arts Garage is located in the city’s old maintenance garage at 31 W. Perry St.
        The solo show, titled “Best Foot Forward,” will feature approximately 50 paintings, which will be on display through July 2. Dziak works include both “en plein air’” (on location) and in the studio, both of which will be represented. Many of the paintings will be for sale. Those not for sale will be on loan from private collection and rarely seen.
        For more information about GPCAAC and TAG, visit gpcaac.org.
       
Art Walks return to downtown PC
        The Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council’s Art Walks in historic downtown Port Clinton are returning this summer.
        Art Walks offer an opportunity to meet and shop from local artists and artisans, check out local shops, and explore downtown Port Clinton. They happen every fourth Thursday of the month from 5 to 8 p.m. (June 22, July 27, Aug. 24 and Sept. 28) in downtown Port Clinton starting in the 100 block of Madison Street, down to Second Street.
        Visit gpcaac.org for more details.
 
Soft Jazz Concert
        The Chris Buzzelli Quartet, a soft jazz quartet from the Toledo area, area will perform Friday, June 16 from 6-8 p.m. on the lawn of the Clyde Museum & General McPherson House at 124 W. Buckeye St.
        Attendees should bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the music. Admission is free. Snacks and beverages (soft drinks, iced tea, lemonade, bottled water, and pre-packaged snacks) will be provided free of charge to concertgoers. Donations may be made for the refreshments but are not required.
        If there is inclement weather, the concert will be moved inside in the Hurd Room of the museum, with limited seating. For updates, visit the museum’s Facebook page or call 419-547-7946.
        The Clyde Museum is open Thursdays from 1-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and the General McPherson House is open by appointment only. Visit clydemuseum.org for details.
 
Author to discuss Civil War battle where Hayes was shot
        An author and historian will discuss the Civil War battle of South Mountain, in which President Rutherford B. Hayes was shot and nearly lost his arm, on Sunday, June 11, at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums.
        Brian Matthew Jordan, Ph.D., associate professor of U.S. Civil War history and chairman of the Department of History at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, will give a talk at 1:30 p.m. in the museum auditorium.
        Admission is free.
        The Battle of South Mountain took place on Sept. 14, 1862, near Middletown, Maryland. A Union victory, the battle was the precursor to the Battle of Antietam, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, that took place three days later. Antietam was the bloodiest one-day battle in American History.
        During the Battle of South Mountain, President Hayes was shot in the left arm, and there was some concern it would have to be amputated. Thanks to the quick work of the regiment’s surgeon, Hayes retained it. He was unable to fight in the battle of Antietam, although his regiment, the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, did.
        Jordan will discuss the importance of this battle during his talk. He has taught at Sam Houston State University since 2015. He earned his master’s degrees and Ph.D. in history from Yale University, where his doctoral dissertation earned the George Washington Eggleston Prize (for best U.S. history dissertation at Yale) and the John Addison Porter Prize, one of Yale's highest academic honors.
        He is the author or editor of six books on the Civil War and its era, and his more than 150 reviews, articles and essays have appeared in scholarly journals, popular magazines and newspapers. He has contributed chapters to more than a dozen edited volumes and scholarly anthologies. Jordan has made frequent appearances on C-SPAN and, in 2020, appeared in the History Channel's three-part mini-series, “Grant.”
        For information, call 419-332-2081 or visit rbhayes.org.
 
OSU Band to perform
        The Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, Miller Boat Line, Jet Express, Putinbay.com, and Perry Group announced The Best Damn Band in the Land will return to Put-in-Bay and South Bass Island on Sept 3.
        The Ohio State Marching Band will help celebrate the BicenTENial of the Battle of Lake Erie (1813-2023). The family-friendly, fun-filled day will kick off with the band arriving in the afternoon at the Miller Ferry’s downtown dock. A short parade will take place downtown. The band will reconvene later in the day for a march to Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial where they will perform a concert on the lawn.
        A fireworks display will follow the performance shortly after dusk.
        Visit visitputinbay.com for more details.