Downtown

"PAYDAMAN" S/S by 10x Your City, $21.99 at RCC-Downtown only.

Da man has been paid.  And quite well at that.  The Cleveland Browns just restructured Kent State alum Josh Cribbs’ contract, to where he can earn as much as $18 million overall, with $7 million guaranteed.

Cribbs is getting paid; Z is coming back; now Cleveland sports fans can focus all their anxiety on whether Lebron will stay.  Hey, didn’t the Indians just start spring training?

You see that above?  That’s what it looked like when I looked out my window this morning!  Nothing but white.  Mother Nature just won’t let up.  Doesn’t she realize that we live in NE Ohio?  It’s bad enough we can’t get a sports team to win, but do we really need to be hit heavily with snow seemingly till Memorial Day?  C’mon, give us a break.

According to all of the local sources, this mess is supposed to last through the weekend.  Oh joy!  But fear not, both Rubber City Clothing locations will be open Friday & Saturday.  The nice thing about downtown is that it gets shoveled much quicker than the rest of the city.  Highland Square…. not so much, so I (Sarah) get a nice work out shoveling the sidewalk in front of the store, the Highland Square Barbershop, and try to get a little path to the parking lot.  So, as long as it is safe for you to come out, avoid cabin fever & do some local shopping.  Hell, we’ll even take “just-browsers”.  Come see us!

Here’s a little good news from the ABJ:

Cancellation of Christmas not an option

City telling Santa Claus he’ll be needed Friday

By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009

What’s Christmas without a little fun, and what’s Christmas without Santa Claus?

Budget cuts in the city have caused downsizing, but the city is not canceling Christmas, thanks to downtown merchants and area businesses.

”The holidays are alive and well in downtown Akron and we want to continue our big holiday presence,” Kimberlee McKee, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership, said Monday. ”The Holidayfest and Chriskindl Market will both take place at Lock 3, just on a smaller scale.”

In a publicity stunt Monday, McKee filed a missing person’s report for Santa Claus, just to make sure he isn’t under the impression festivities are canceled and he’s not needed for the traditional lighting of the city’s Christmas tree at 7
p.m., Friday, as well as the Welcome Santa Parade at noon Saturday in downtown Akron.

”It’s become an annual tradition to kick off the holidays in downtown with fireworks and the lighting of our Christmas tree,” McKee said. ”Unless we find Santa Claus before Friday, the holidays in downtown Akron just won’t be the same.”

Akron police Chief Craig Gilbride took the missing person’s report, vowing that Santa Claus, aka Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or St. Nick, will be found in time for the holiday events. In fact, the report states he was last seen at Lock 3 in Akron on Dec. 25, 2008, and ”never misses the festivities.”

McKee said the Downtown Akron Partnership contributed $8,000 for Friday night’s lighting ceremony and fireworks display. Other donations came from the Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, FirstMerit Bank, Goodyear, Bridgestone and a dozen other businesses.

Three Chemnitz, Germany, vendors will return to the city on their own, even though the city is not able to support the sister-city exchange. It will be the sixth year at Lock 3 for Mario Hausdorfer (glass ornaments), Frank Kuhnert (wooden items) and Georg Wolfe (ceramics). This year they will be joined at Chriskindl Market by local artisans, artists and craftsmen.

McKee said there will be different local vendors each weekend, so people are encouraged to visit often.

A new feature at this year’s market is the Everything Akron store operated by the Akron-Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will sell Akron hats, mugs, shirts, bags and office products.

Skating will still be available at Lock 3 for free. Skate rental is $2. The ice rink will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7:30 to 10 p.m. the day after Thanksgiving, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. It will remain open into January. Times vary and are listed on the city’s Web site, along with all other downtown festivities, at http://www.downtownakron.com or http://www.lock3live.com.

”Downtown Akron hosting the holidays in downtown Akron is such a great tradition, we just wanted to continue it,” McKee said. ”It should be a very fun evening for everyone.”

Today’s post is brought to you by Made in Akron, our sister-store, conveniently located in Highland Square.  I (Sarah) am keeping watch over MiA while Elizabeth (the MiA GM) takes a much-deserved day off to go see Mary Poppins up at Playhouse Square in Cleveland (I’ve heard it’s wonderful). 

While we are closely related, carry some of the same merchandise, and share one common goal (Akron pride), both stores are quite unique.  While I’ve spent the last year creating a gritty, industrial boutique vibe to RCC, MiA has a genuine local art & creative vibe.  Focusing more on local art and products (as opposed to the RCC focus on t-shirts/apparel, with a few local products mixed in), MiA has quite a diverse selection.  From the first step in the door to the last step you take before you slam into the back wall, there is local art covering the walls and showcased on the tables.  Each piece in this store was hand-selected as something great Made in Akron.  There are paintings & pictures with vibrant colors; sculptures made of glass and metal, intricate handmade jewelry and mosaics.  This art completely summarizes the name of the store: made in Akron.  Plus there is a huge variety of local general merchandise & nostalgia, like a Stan Hywet picture book or those classic Goodyear Blimp erasers (both also available at RCC).  Everyone in Akron should visit MiA & RCC.  Both are truly cool local stores (and I’m not just tooting our own horns- it is fact).

Next time you need a great unique gift, or want to send some Akron love to other lands, come to RCC or MiA!

Now that we have a much larger space (which I will have pics up soon- though you really should come see it for yourselves), we need much larger hours.  We will now be open 7 DAYS/week and extended hours on Thursdays-Saturdays.  They go as follows:

Sundays: 12pm-5pm (new day)

Mondays: 11am-6pm

Tuesdays: 11am-6pm

Wednesdays: 11am-6pm

Thursdays: 11am-9pm

Fridays: 11am-9pm

Saturdays: 11am-9pm

We also have some special events coming up.  I’ll post more info on each event closer to the date.  The first Saturday of every month is the Downtown Akron Artwalk, which we are open till 10pm.