The Great (insert ethnicity) Festival of Ohio!

Ohio is home to many different ethnicities in large part due to its geographical placemark in the history of our nation. While early settlers found Ohio a great wilderness, the movement westward during the 1800's saw the state rise to prominence as lake (Erie) and river systems (Ohio) were connected by a series of canals. Railroads later continued the criss-cross of people through our state and with the explosion of industrialization of the 20th century, the coal mines and steel mills (see Youngstown monument right, click to enlarge) brought even more unskilled immigrant laborers into the state.

All of this growth, from building canals, railroads and mining the ores that fueled the steel, and later, automotive industries, Ohio is awash with nationalities from all over the globe. It is a tribute to these "Little Italies" and "German Villages" (see German Village photo left, click to enlarge) that each summer festivals dot the state honoring the different ethnic heritages. You can literally pick a nationality and attend a festival celebration unique to that culture.

Early July brought two competing Italian Festivals to northeast Ohio, one in downtown Akron and the other at the Stark County fairgrounds. Akron's downtown festival was full of the typical vendors of Italian fare, offered live music, inflatables and even the strolling accordian musician (see right, click to enlarge).

Akron's festival was centered at Lock 3 (see left, click to enlarge), located between the historic Civic Theater and the former O'Neil's Department store (wiki history, photo) -- now a parking deck, law offices and two bar's on the Main Street frontage. A former lock along the Ohio and Erie Canal, Lock 3 has been turned into a open air event venue. Winter brings German artisans at the annual ChrisKindl Market along with ice skating on a large outdoor rink. Summer brings a stage and camp-chair seating for many live musical and arts events throughout the summer.

Staged along Main Street were vendors featuring many Italian dishes (see right, click to enlarge). The vendors included the local and regional Italian organizations as well as vendors of all types of food and merchandise. As tempting as it might be, it was hard on this day to partake in typical fair food such as snow cones, dippin' dots or waffle fries when there were cannoli and calzones for the taking.

An impromptu parade flowed through the vendor row on Main Street on the final day of the festival, as two historic 60's era cars (see left, click to enlarge) with the festival court pre-empted the Budweiser Clydesdales (see below right, click to enlarge). It was a neat juxtaposition of two very different, yet very similar, modes of transportation offering heavy horsepower. Despite their youth and beauty, the three festival queens may have been upstaged by the dalmation roaming atop the Budweiser wagon.

A car show was also part of the festival, with a handful of cars from the '50s through modern times, including several eye-popping red Ferrari's. But even the speedy sportsers couldn't match the ambience of a '60 Oldsmobile that personified a different time and place in Ohio with a little car-hop tray sitting atop the window with a meal and a Big Boy doll set atop (see right, click to enlarge).

But pick your ethnicity and you can transpose this festival to many big and little towns through the state throughout the year, as festivals celebrating German, Polish, Irish, Russian, Slavic, Greek and other heritages dot the countryside. The hometown feel of each is unique and part of what makes Ohio unique as well.

J.