Hey out there, Akronites.

Welcome once again to Around Akron with Blue Green and yes, we have an amazing show ahead of us today.

I'm going to head to downtown Akron to learn all about the Nightlight Cinema with Jenn Kidd.

Then I'm going to learn all about Turkeyfoot Lake.

Then it's over to the Portage Lakes Visitor Center to learn all about the amenities on the outside and on the inside.

Now to kick this show off today is to downtown Akron to the Night Light Cinema.

If you're looking for some good movies to watch, this is the place for you.

Let's go see what the Nightlight Cinema is all about.

- We're right across from the Sojourner Truth statue.

We're right by the Akron Art Museum.

We're in the Historic Arts District on High Street.

So when you come down the one way street, the United Way buildings across from us, and then we're next to Akron Coffee Roasters, High St.

Hop House, Totally Baked Pizza, and the Akron Library parking deck.

We're a 501(c)(3).

It started as Akron Film and Pixel Film Festival, and the mission was sort of to bring movies here that people wouldn't see otherwise, because you had to drive very far to see indie films before.

Our mission is fostering community connection through cinema.

So bringing films here about bringing people together through films, right?

We do a lot of education outreach.

We host students.

We've worked with a lot of organizations that work with kids, talk to kids about, like, what kind of movie would you make about being a kid in Akron, what kind of story would you tell.

Interesting in a time when big theaters are closing, we raised a lot of capital and expanded and actually doubled our attendance because it's just a different experience.

So we added over 3000ft² and we added one additional screen because we didn't want to go crazy and become a megaplex.

It's not who we are, it's not what we do.

We just needed one extra screen to be able to show the movies we wanted to show, because there were so many times where we had to choose between movies, because with one screen, you're super limited on what you can show.

The whole place is ADA accessible.

It's super important to us.

So our front door, we have a push button.

Our bar we have a flip top bar underneath our bar that opens up for wheelchair users.

So there's a bar that's not... It's an ADA bar.

Nobody else has one.

All of the bathrooms have pushbutton entrances.

In screen one with 44 seats, there are two wheelchair spaces and screen two with 64 seats, there are four wheelchair spaces.

We also have accessible equipment, ADA assistive equipment, so we have headphones.

We also have caption readers that you can put in the chair and we're getting glasses that you can, the captions will be on the glasses.

You can just come see anything and know that it's— We rarely show films that aren't good.

And that's what I love about this place, is somebody can come experience something for the first time, and it can be magical.

Like that's what movies should be, is make you feel something, make you, you know, whether it's escaping the world, which is a good place to escape right now for like two hours or, you know, just something to laugh or something to share somebody else's perspective, somebody who lives, you know, in a different country or from a different culture, like learn about these things, take it in.

It's how you get more compassionate and kind, but I want this place to be safe, cozy, warm.

A place where people can discover something or escape something, you know?

Mark Mitten, who's a producer, film producer and documentary producer, he's from Akron, originally.

Amazing.

Amazing.

Human.

This is the Mitten Media library.

And when we were designing the expansion with the theaters, I was like, I want a library.

I want it to feel like somebody’s, like somebody's grandpa’s library that you weren't allowed in when you were young, and then you became an adult and took it over.

But it's more so we have built in bookshelves and it's all film books.

Eventually people can borrow them, we're not there yet.

But there's a very fake fireplace for safety reasons.

It's very fake.

The Shining carpet, we licensed it from a company called Film and Furniture in London, who owns the rights to the hexagon patterned Shining carpet.

And it was custom milled in the U.S.

for this room.

But it's really just a cozy atmosphere where you can have quiet conversations.

In our original theater, there are two sets of recliners up front, two and two that are cushy recliners that are first come, first serve.

We do not charge extra and we do not reserve them.

Everybody— There's always a rush to get the recliners.

I always crack up when I go to introduce a movie, and the whole theater is full and nobody's in the recliners.

The hottest seats in Akron.

But the other seats are just your standard, you know, we'll upgrade them maybe next year.

But screen two, our new screen, our high back.

They're not rockers.

They're not recliners.

They, you know, there's plenty of room, lots of legroom.

Protip if you come, if you're tall and you come to screen two, the back row has five extra inches of legroom for tall folks.

Pro-tip.

In screen one, there's this little back corner nook with two extra chairs.

It's my favorite spot to seat.

A lot of theaters now have recliners and heated recliners and 4DX and all of these fancy things, and we just don't, no gimmicks.

Just come watch a movie.

Part of the reason I do what I do is because I want young people in Akron.

I want there to be things here when they get older.

I don't want young people to feel like they have to move away to live creative lives.

I want there to be spaces where they can go get inspired, where they can make art and show it.

I want there to be, like for us what we do.

We do a very specific thing and we do it well, which is we bring movies here that wouldn't be seen otherwise, right?

So you can come get inspired, learn something different and then take it with you on whatever journey you go on, right?

Same with the art museum.

They bring art from different places that wouldn't be, you know.

But I want this place to be here 20, 30 years from now.

I think movies matter.

I think movies, you know, we're showing movies from the 1920s, like there are millions of movies, you know, that people have never seen and I just want this place to be here for a long time.

Our website is nightlightcinema.com, N-I-G-H-T L-I-G-H-T cinema.com.

You can learn more about us there.

There's also a donation link.

Every donation is tax deductible.

We also have memberships where you can become a member and it's monthly or annual.

But you get, you know, discounts on tickets or free tickets depending on what level you're at.

- Next up, it's over to Portage Lake State Park to learn all about Turkeyfoot Lake.

You ever wonder why it's called Turkeyfoot?

Let's go see what Turkeyfoot Lake is all about.

- Turkeyfoot Lake is one of my favorite lakes in the Portage Lakes system.

There's so much you can do there.

There's a beach, you can swim, you can actually play frisbee golf near it.

You can take a trail and walk around it.

You can water ski on the lake.

There's beach volleyball there.

It's just an amazing place.

So, let's go learn about Turkeyfoot Lake.

Turkeyfoot Lake is actually named after the unique distinctive feature and look of the lake.

It has three prominent extensions or toes which resembles a turkey foot.

Local legends say that the Native Americans named it after its look because it looked like a turkey foot.

So turkey foot basically names a geographical look of the lake and a way that people would name a lake visually.

So someone, when they actually got there could see what it looked like.

And this resembled a turkey's foot.

So what is Turkeyfoot?

Well, it's a kettle lake.

A kettle lake is basically a large detached piece of ice that was left after the Ice Age and slowly melted.

So it's one of the original lakes here.

So it's been here for a very long time.

And they're also known as kettle holes in the landscape.

Turkeyfoot Lake, located within Portage Lakes region of Ohio, is an area rich in history and natural beauty.

Its story encompasses native American heritage, European settlement, industrial development, and modern recreation, reflecting the evolving landscape of northeastern Ohio.

Originally, this area was inhabited by Native Americans, with the Portage Path itself being an ancient vital route connecting waterways used by these various peoples for millennia.

This area was an extensive part of the trade route in northeastern Ohio.

The area was used for fishing, hunting, and transportation.

Early European settlers into the area established farms, mills, and small villages.

The water in Portage Lakes was used for the canal system, which changed the look and the flow of the water in the land.

In the early 20th century, Turkeyfoot Lake and its neighboring bodies of water begin to attract recreation and tourism.

The scenic beauty and recreational opportunities drew visitors and residents alike.

Boating, fishing, and swimming became popular activities, leading to development of cottages, parks and resorts along the shores of the lake.

The lake holds cultural importance for its local residents and visitors who value its natural landscapes and recreational opportunities.

Community events, festivals and outdoor activities centered around Turkeyfoot Lake promote a sense of identity and community with the area's historical roots.

So, as you can see, Turkeyfoot Lake has a very long history.

It was here way before any of us were here, and it's still serving an amazing purpose in the community.

So do yourself a favor, go check out Turkeyfoot Lake at Portage Lakes State Park.

Next up, it's over to the Portage Lakes Visitor Center.

Now, it used to be really hard to get to the beach if you had a wheelchair or if you had mobility issues.

Now you can get all the way down onto the beach and you can actually get onto the sand.

Let's go see what the Portage Lakes Visitor Center outside area is all about.

- Groundbreaking was actually, so, like, 13 months to the day.

So this is our visitor center.

The purpose of it was kind of just to give back to our community, to have a place for them to explore, to come visit, to delve deeper into the history behind Portage Lakes.

And a huge, extremely important thing about this place is that it's accessible and inclusive.

A big part of it was adding the sidewalks and a path that leads all the way from the parking lot directly down to the beach.

With support from our Portage Lakes Advisory Council, we got mobi mats, which are like a little path that leads on to the beach.

So if someone has mobility issues or they're in a wheelchair, they can go onto the beach sand and access it.

So that's great.

We love that.

We're off of Manchester.

So if you go into the main entrance to the park, keep driving all the way straight and then we're at the Turkeyfoot beach.

This is the beach where everyone thinks of going when they want to go swimming.

That's the beach.

So our visitor center, we specifically designed it to be right on that beautiful view so you can visit here and see the great views and you're right at the beach.

Outside we have a couple of benches that are made actually sustainably out of wind turbines.

And we had local artists— Yeah, so they’re wind turbine and they kind of look like a sailboat the way they're shaped, or like a boat, which is pretty cool.

They're all local artists, and each of them represent a different important piece of Portage Lakes.

So, like, we have our dragon boat ladies, we have the Portage Lakes Advisory Council, we have the fireworks represented because the 4th of July holiday is super important and celebrated here.

A lot of state parks will have like the nature centers.

We've been wanting, like, because Portage Lakes hasn't had a building that the community can come and actually visit and take a look around and have that opportunity to stay here longer because we have a restroom or accessibility like that.

So we're ecstatic to have this.

We do plan on having this place open for programing for schools or and like you said, homeschool groups.

We do actually offer some programs, right now so we, alongside the naturalists from Wingfoot, we are doing some nature programs, craft programs.

And then in the summertime we'll have like our regular, like, archery.

So we actually have archery area in the park here.

And then we have fishing, we have kayaking, all that sorts of stuff.

Bird hikes.

That's a huge passion of mine.

So right now we're actually doing bird hikes and craft programs but then probably early spring is when we'll start doing, bringing back fishing and archery.

The spring is incredible.

I mean, but already here, when I've been here in the fall, I've seen some life birds, so birds that I've never seen before species.

So they have a great diversity of birds here.

Actually the other week there were 28 plus trumpeter swans out here.

So migrating through.

So that was incredible to see.

Because the lake wasn't frozen yet, so they're just hanging out.

This lake is great for like thousands and thousands of waterfowl are seen out here.

And I love when I'm going out and I see, like, visitors will be, parked their car when they see a deer and, like, watch it.

It just, that's what makes me happy, like, I love— My huge passion is making other people excited about wildlife.

And that's why my favorite part of this job is offering programs and educating people.

So I think that in order to help with conservation, because that's a huge, huge goal for me, in order to get people interested and want to conserve nature, that you have to make them passionate about it first and care about it.

- Now to wrap this show up today hits to the inside of the Portage Lakes Visitor Center.

Now, if you haven't been there, you're going to want to go check it out.

Let's go see what the Portage Lakes Visitor Center is all about.

- When you walk in, I would say the first thing that you notice is you're taken in by all the vibrant colors.

So we have these incredible murals in here, which are done by a company that's actually from Ohio.

And it kind of just paints the picture, literally, of the history behind this place.

So you're kind of seeing from prehistoric times to modern day.

So our history from the Portage Lakes, so the Portage Path is where we get the name Portage Lakes because Native Americans use this area to travel and to carry import merchandise— Or, like, produce or crops or stuff like that.

So we depict that in these murals and then you see like, a mammoth, because we actually have a mammoth tooth that was found here.

Which is incredible to even think about because it's literally, like, not even that far away from where this building is sitting right now.

So you're seeing all these murals and then also this huge topography map that's in the middle.

And you can really see, visualize like all of the lakes that make up Portage Lakes and the hills and the depths of the water and the flow of it and it's really just incredible to see that.

It’s interactive, so you can press buttons and it'll light up where the kettle lakes are, which are the natural ones.

And then you can see also the manmade ones, and then where the dams are and all that sort of things.

This whole center map thing is just perfect for children.

And then when they find the boat, they love playing in the boat and just playing with all the toys and the board is so fun.

This is a, a learning discovery area.

So we have, books.

We have this Everbright, which is a interactive wall that you can twist the knobs and change the colors, and it's really fun.

You can make different designs.

We have an interactive boat where the children can play on and even put on their life vest.

We have animal pelts that they can take a look at, feel and play a matching game with it to choose which one is which.

We have interactive stepping stones.

Yeah, it's really nice.

The people who made the maps, also made the big murals and the hanging birds.

So that's graphite design and build and they're actually based out of Toledo, Ohio.

They've actually worked on other state park buildings and visitor centers.

So, like, they actually worked on the new Put-in-Bay Visitor Center.

The guests come in here and they all love the place, and they're super eager to talk with you and I love hearing all the stories that they have.

And a lot of people that come here so far have been like the people who actually live here and just hearing all the stories, their personal history behind the place of Portage Lakes and living here.

And I just, I like, I really enjoy getting to view that behind the scenes personal touch to the place.

We have some really cool designs of, like, birds because we have an important bird here, the purple martins, which are big with the Portage Lakes Advisory Council and we have, like, a whole festival for that.

So we actually have buttons that you can press of these hanging murals and designs, and they actually play the sound of a purple martin.

And we also have an osprey and they can press the osprey sound.

And that's probably my favorite part of the whole building.

So there's an enclosed porch and you can sit in these nice Adirondack chairs.

There's benches, there's rockers, there's tables.

And then you can go out to further and there's, like, a little balcony and it overlooks the great view of the lake and it's just so serene.

A local artist is actually featured here.

So Dale Warren, he has all these insane, incredibly talented, artwork hanging around.

So we have, like, featured quite a few of them.

He's from the Portage Lakes area and all these pictures show these, like, amazing stories of the different parts, like the sailboats, the Tudor house, the old hotel and all these things and it's just incredible.

We're so honored to have them here.

The future of this place is, we want people to come out and appreciate it and realize, like, this place is for them.

This is our give back to the community, a place for them to enjoy, to learn, to explore.

That's our big thing with this place.

It's for the community.

- Thank you for watching this episode of Around Akron with Blue Green.

Now, if you have any questions or any comments, you can catch me on social media.

Thank you and have an amazing day!