Some of northeast Ohio’s best and brightest poets and spoken word artists will soon be taking the stage at The Rialto Theatre’s new space, The Living Room, at 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month. Each event will include a featured poet/spoken word artist as well as an open mic for those wanting to share their own poetry.

Angry Cow Poetry in The Rialto Living Room will kick off with its very first event on June 1st with featured poet, Danielle Nicole Nikki Dixon.

Tina Boyes is the executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, the community development corporation working to revitalize the area around The Rialto Theatre, which is becoming known as ‘Akron’s Music Row.’ She called Kenmore Boulevard a place “where creative people of all genres can find a stage.”

“Spoken word and poetry go hand in hand with live music, and we’re excited to welcome such talented artists and their fans to Kenmore Boulevard,” Boyes said.

In addition to bringing visitors to Kenmore, Angry Cow Poetry founder Keith Allison hopes to engage local businesses. “We believe in elevating voices and highlighting those who support local artists,” Allison said. “For an investment of only $100 a patron or business can be our sponsor of the month, promoting their work in the community while supporting local artists and events.”

Here’s a look at the first two events:

June 1, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

June feature, Danielle Nicole Nikki Dixon, initially turned to writing as therapy and now uses her poetry to document culture and, as the last of her family branch, to pay homage to her lineage. She is the author of Sagittariusly Blunt, has won the Music 2 Poetry Slam and The Activist Vince Robinson’s Slam, and took third place at the Cincinnati Poetry Slam in 2019. Danielle was a 2020 Baldwin House resident with Twelve Literary Arts and was recently Akron Soul Train’s artist resident.

July 6, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

July will host two features, Steve Brightman and Theresa Göttl Brightman.

Steve lives in Akron with his wife and their parrot. During the vast wilderness that is the Covid era, he published a full length collection of poems titled, “The Circus of His Bones.” His first full length collection, “The Wild Gospel of Careening And Other Sermons From The Rumble Strip” was released in the before days of 2015. His most recent chapbooks are “Leaving the Flatlands to the Amateurs,” “History, Too, Is A Simple Machine,” and “13 Ways of Looking At Lou Reed.”

Theresa Göttl Brightman’s poems have appeared in many online and print publications, two chapbooks, and one full-length collection. She has received awards from the University of Akron, the City of Ventura, among others, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, and Best of the Net awards. She lives in Akron, with her husband and the green bird who owns them both.

For more information about Angry Cow Poetry visit angrycowpoetry.com. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Keith Allison at angrycowpoetry@gmail.com.

Sarah White is an Akron resident who has been active in the Kenmore Community for 15 years. A member of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance’s Promotions Committee and dedicated volunteer at events like Kenmore Blvd. Cleanups and Kenmore First Fridays, Sarah is the mother of three daughters and a host for AkronBuzz, 330toGO, and a special events host for the Cleveland Guardians.

Sarah has been passionate about singing her whole life and will be co-hosting Voices In The 330 Vol. 3 – a singing competition designed to highlight undiscovered talent in the area – at The Rialto Theatre this Saturday.

1. How did you first get involved in the Kenmore Community?

My husband Ben worked at First Glance youth center on Kenmore Blvd. back in 2007. I would volunteer with him at Rec night and that was my first introduction to Kenmore. Then in 2015-16 we came back to be a part of a church plant with The Chapel Kenmore. My husband first worked there part time doing music and is now the pastor. He also runs Hip Hop night for students who want to learn to perform or write music at First Glance each week.

2. What is your involvement with Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance?

I am a part of the promotions committee, that helps to plan for Kenmore First Fridays! This year I had a chance to help with food trucks and with kids activities!

3. What are you most looking forward to at Kenmore First Fridays?

Of course the music is amazing, I love the food trucks, and I am obsessed with all the amazing local businesses! I can’t help but want to buy something from them all in support! I also love how much my kids enjoy the events too!

4. You and your kids participate in our Kenmore Blvd. Cleanups – the next of which is this Saturday, May 21 (sign up to volunteer here). Why is it important to you and your family to participate in the cleanups?

I like to participate in the cleanups so that we can help to make our space more beautiful for current residents and for when people come to visit the Blvd, like for First Friday! I love to include my kids so that they learn to take care of the environment and learn to help out in situations that help the community become a better place!

5. Tell us about Voices in the 330?

It’s the third one we have had at the Rialto Theatre, it’s a local singing competition put on by 330toGO for the best singers in the area! It’s lots of fun and always has amazing talent. It is this Friday evening!

6. How are you involved?

I will be co-hosting the event, and doing contestant interviews. I even get to sing a duet from my childhood “somewhere out there” from American Tail with last years winner DeAngelo!

7. Why does 330ToGO choose to host it at the Rialto Theatre?

Because it’s such a great music venue for the size of show we are looking to have. The Rialto has been so great to work with on this, the winner gets to record a single there!

8. Where is your favorite place to shop on the Boulevard?

This is hard for me 😀 I love Marigold Sol for home decor and gifts and Just a Dad from Akron and Ethicrace for clothing!

9. What’s your Favorite Kenmore restaurant and why?

Pierre’s Brooklyn Pizza and Deli is my absolute favorite. There is nothing like the loaded pie. It’s the only pizza that has toppings I don’t even usually like, and however they mix it all together makes it taste so amazing, I even like things I don’t usually eat! 😀

10. What do you hope the Boulevard looks like in 10 years?

Flourishing. Bright, fun, filled with energy from all of the people hanging out, listening to music and enjoying the restaurants, shops, coffee, tea and so much more. Lots of culture, music, and art all with an urban flavor.

To volunteer or learn more about our Kenmore Blvd. Cleanup happening this Saturday, May 21, from 9am – noon, visit the Facebook event page.

For more information on Voices In The 330 Vol. 3 also happening at The Rialto Theatre this Saturday, May 21 beginning at 6pm, check out the Facebook event page or therialtotheatre.com.

Comic book industry has up and down years, so Kenmore Komics is in a superhero class after surviving 20 years

**The following article was originally published in 2007 to honor the 20th Anniversary of Kenmore Komics & Games.**

Published May 5, 2007 By Paula Schleis Akron Beacon Journal

He can’t shoot webs from his wrist, outrun a speeding bullet or soar through space on a surfboard. But John Buntin Jr. has proven himself stronger, faster and more able than the competition. His store — Kenmore Komics & Games — turns 20 this month, a rare milestone in an industry that has experienced more twists and turns than a graphic novel. After the Batman films rekindled interest in the genre back in 1989, Buntin counted 16 comic book shops in the Akron area, many launched by young entrepreneurs who smelled money. Five years later, most of them were out of business. Today, the phone book lists just four in all of Summit County. Growing up in Jackson, Mich., young John was a collector of stamps, coins and, not surprisingly, comic books. He became a certified nerd when he received a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from the Ohio Institute of Technology. The new graduate found work using computers to look for oil out west, but when the field started downsizing in the mid-1980s, “it wasn’t fun anymore,” he said.

Buntin returned to Michigan and injected a little “fun” into his life by working in a local comic book shop while mulling over the next step in his career. He didn’t realize he’d just taken it. He was managing the shop for the owner when he met a man from Akron who talked him into moving to Kenmore to help set up a comic book shop. The doors of that shop opened on Kenmore Boulevard May 9, 1987. It was always the plan that after the store was running smoothly, Buntin would be free to go off and find his next electronics job. But as fate would have it, Buntin ended up buying out his partner within the year, moving the shop down the street to its current location, and permanently settling into a neighborhood he would grow to love. His business strategy was pragmatic and methodical. “I knew right away if I wanted to be successful, I needed to diversify,” he said. Comic books alone wouldn’t pay the bills, so he quickly added cards, games and accessories to his inventory. He went to every comic book convention he could squeeze into his schedule — once fitting 50 shows into his 52-week year. The conventions allowed him to promote his business while making purchases necessary for building his stock.

Buntin couldn’t have picked a better time to hawk comics. The Michael Keaton Batman film sent droves of new fans into his store. He hired five employees. “It really kicked off the industry again,” Buntin said. Today, he’s down to two employees and makes half the profit he did then. The boom, as it turned out, had been fueled by inexperienced buyers who thought stacks of comic books would send them into early retirement. But what Batman ushered in, Superman took out. His well-publicized demise in 1993 marked the pinnacle in an escalation among comic book publishers to cater to speculators by outdoing each other with dramatic plots and gimmicks. Superman’s fatal battle with Doomsday sold an unheard-of 3 million copies worldwide. (By contrast, top titles today sell about 100,000 copies a month.)

But a few months later, a redesigned Superman was back, as comic book veterans who had seen too many resurrections knew he would be. Buntin, who had sold his 400-count supply of Superman’s “last” book in just two hours, couldn’t sell half of the 150 books he ordered of Superman’s return. The folks who invested in the earlier book came back trying to unload them, only to find the flooded market had collapsed their dreams of making a quick buck. “Ten percent of the comic book stores in the country went out of business that month,” Buntin said, recalling reports the industry put out after the boom went bust. Buntin was hurting, too. “I need to sell 85 to 90 percent of what comes in to pay the bills and make a profit,” he said. “My sell-through for that month was 64 percent.” Yet he survived, thanks to his careful attention to cycles, shrewd purchases, and diversification into noncomic products that account for nearly half of store sales. This week’s release of Spider-Man 3 will bring a few new fans to the store. But after a spate of superhero movies in recent years, Buntin knows the routine. In six months, the little flurry will vanish. And it won’t hurt him a bit, with the foundation of his business built to withstand cultural fluctuations. Meanwhile, he continues to watch the industry evolve. More fans are moving away from traditional comic books that cost an average of $3 a piece, take 10 minutes to read, and ask you to return next month for a new installment. Growing in popularity are trade publications (graphic novels) where $10 will get you a complete story and at least an hour’s worth of entertainment. But if you think business acumen is all it takes to be successful, Buntin will set you straight. Crediting community He gives a lot of credit to mutual loyalty between him and his adopted community, where Buntin is a well-known civic leader. He’s currently president of Kenmore Kiwanis and will talk in detail about the group’s fundraising efforts to collect money for RIF (the national “Reading Is Fundamental” movement.)

He’s also a past president and active member of the Kenmore Board of Trade, a group that does everything from arrange Easter Egg hunts and Halloween parades to summer concerts at the local gazebo. “I love Kenmore,” he said. “I saw a community I wanted to be involved in. . . . I’ve had many people wonder why I don’t move on. I’ve had chances to go elsewhere. I don’t want to.” It’s easy to see why. Kenmore Komics has become a gathering spot, a clubhouse where people hang out and socialize. And despite the ups and downs of his industry, he respects what comics and games mean to his customers. “People come in here and find something that brings them joy,” Buntin said. “I can’t ask for more than that.”

Kenmore Komics & Games is located at 1020 Kenmore Blvd. Akron, OH 44314. Please visit kenmore-komics.com for hours of operation and more information.

The Beekeeper Caper is a new comedy about phones, woods, bees, bears, and some of the people that love them—or don’t.

Looking to get out of the house and laugh? Then The Beekeeper Caper – happening at The Rialto Theatre May 12, 13, and 14 – may just be exactly what you’re looking for. The new play was written by local author and playwright Paula Apynys – who created and directed her first play in grade school, performed in high school productions, earned a BA in English from The University of Akron, and has completed a variety of fiction and non-fiction writing projects.

With The Beekeeper Caper, Apynys wanted to write something light and fun that would make people laugh.

“Comedy deserves more respect than it gets,” Apynys said. “Getting people to cry is easy – inspiring laughter is hard work! The Beekeeper cast members have thrown themselves into their roles with abandon and it’s been thrilling to see actors take her words and turn them into funny performances.”

The play is a romp about a rebellion against the potential addiction people are experiencing in the digital age to electronic media, computer intelligence, and cellular telephone communication. The setting provides a contrast between city and country life as lived by two brothers—the younger of whom is ordered by his wife to visit the woods to simplify his life and lower his blood pressure. Intruding on this experiment, are two men running from a court appearance concerning the fate of a Russian gangster.

Casting the play was a full-circle journey for Apynys as one of the leads, Bill Vaill, was Apynys’ English teacher, debate coach and humorous interpretation coach in high school. Now she gets to watch Norton High School’s Mr. Vaill interpret her play.

The play also features actor Charlie Shook, who has appeared in four other plays with Vaill at The Rialto.

“Bill and Charlie are a great team in acting terms,” Apynys said, “They know each other’s quirks and styles and complement each other.”

Rounding out the cast are John Hopswood, Paula Maggio, Tony Paparella, and Lisa Valley.

The Beekeeper Caper is produced as part of a series of annual spring productions that raise money for the ongoing renovation of the historic Rialto Theatre building on Kenmore Boulevard and provide continued support for the performing arts in the Kenmore and Akron area. This is the first time The Rialto has been able to host the series since it ran a production was Arsenic and Old Lace in 2019.

“Due to the size of the performances we had to suspend the annual plays during the pandemic,” Rialto Theatre co-owner Seth Vaill explained, “it’s really exciting to welcome this type of programming back to our stage.”

Tickets are $25 and include appetizers and one complimentary drink. For more information or to purchase tickets online visit therialtotheater.com. Tickets are also available at the Houston Pub in Norton.

Little is known about Kenmore’s transition from a village to a city in 1922, but one thing is for sure: Vern Christy had a part in it.

Christy, a Marshallville native who moved to Kenmore in 1909, served as a member of the Village Council during Kenmore’s formative years. “He was, in fact, instrumental in collecting signatures of the 15,000 residents of Kenmore required to have (it) declared a city,” reported Lee McCutchen, who interviewed Christy’s wife, Ida, in 1984.

But that was just the beginning – the beginning and the end – as Ida would explain: “It was just about this time that Akron came forth with their decision to annex (Kenmore). Kenmore’s Mayor Hollinger and several on the Village Council were much opposed to the ‘takeover’ and determined not to concede. The evening of the Village Council meeting at which the annexation papers were to be signed, Akron came prepared with subpoenas. When the first subpoena was served on Mayor Hollinger, council members Christy, Goetke and Jones and a fourth member ran from the meeting to forestall the signing of the annexation papers. The four were cited in contempt of court and the sheriff was sent to ‘track them down.’

Verne Christy did not go home that night, but at 3 a.m. the sheriff was there banging on his front door, demanding he come out. Christy’s son-in-law, Walter Edwards, answered the door and asked what Mr. Christy had done, ‘murdered somebody?’ The answer was no, but ‘they were out to get him, and would, dead or alive.’

The four were located, and still refusing to sign, taken to the county jail. Elmer Prentice went down to bail them out, willing to go to almost any figure to post bond for them. The judge refused to set a bond, sentencing them each to a week in jail. The four did sign the annexation papers, but they still served their full time.”

Learn more about the Vern & Ida Christy and their place in early Kenmore history at www.kenmorehistorical.org.

By Jennifer Conn Spectrum News

Published April 20, 2022

Ameer Williamson’s Alien Arts nonprofit exposes kids to the positive side of hip hop and the entertainment industry. (Photo courtesy of Ameer Williamson)

Young people who enjoy hip-hop culture will be exposed to the positive side of the genre during Minus the Alien, a hip-hop experience at the Kenmore Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.

Minus the Alien will perform as part of the library’s Sounds of Akron series, which showcases local musical talent. The event will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, April 28 at the library’s Kenmore Branch, 969 Kenmore Blvd.

Minus the Alien will be accompanied by DJ Dramatize & Holbrook Riles III, aka HRIII.

Off the stage, Minus the Alien is Ameer Williamson is a recording artist, youth mentor and community outreach activist. Williamson launched the nonprofit Alien Arts several years ago to provide kids with a platform to enjoy hip hop and rap without being exposed to negative messaging.

“When you say ‘hip hop,’ the first thing that comes to people’s minds is all the negative stuff, and that’s really not where it originated from,” he said.

The Kenmore library hip-hop experience will include a concert, storytelling and a history of hip-hop culture, Williamson said. Organizers hope the event will draw kids who attend the nearby First Glance Skatepark.

Hip hop began in New York City in the early ‘70s when a young man known as DJ Kool Herc set up dueling turntables in his Bronx neighborhood, Williamson said. DJ Kool Herc’s public jams for neighborhood kids sparked what is now known as hip hop, with rap said to have sprung from rhyming chants he used to encourage the “break-boys” and “break-girls” to come to the dance area as the music played.

That’s the spirit hip hop was intended to embrace, Williamson said.

“My messages are uplifting and motivating,” Williamson said. “And, you know, we talk about social issues in the music and things like that.”

Partnering with area organizations, Alien Arts also hosts hip-hop boot camps designed to expose kids to the fun aspects of the hip-hop culture, such as songwriting and mural creation, and to help them learn about careers in entertainment, from DJing to music production, he said.

A Hip-hop Boot Camp is planned for this summer, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, August 1 to Friday, August 5 at the Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, he said.

Williamson is also working on launching the Ohio Urban Arts Initiative, which is planned to bring together local educators and musicians to continue exposing young people to the positive aspects of hip-hop through programming in schools, he said.

“It all boils down to positive programming, is what I call it,” he said. “If they feel like the music is influencing them in a negative way, we can do the opposite as well.”

One hundred and twenty three years ago this week – on April 6, 1899 – the man who changed the way movies were seen forever was born.

In the early days of cinema, Harry Coulter Williams was living in Kenmore and working as a projectionist at two Akron movie houses: the Majestic (located in the Summit Lake district to the south of Downtown on S. Main Street), and the Norka (located on E. Market across from the Goodyear factory). Movie screens of the day left much to be desired and often times films would appear dim or dark to the viewer.

Williams himself described these early movie screens as “painted bedsheets” to the Akron Beacon Journal in 1966.

Ever the troubleshooter, the reels in the young projectionist’s head began spinning while he looked out at the dimly lit screen and he began to consider ways to potentially enhance the appearance of the movies he was projecting.

After some experimenting, Williams found what he was looking for one afternoon in 1925 in a canoe house along the western shore of Summit Lake when he tried painting a stout cloth with silver paint.

This was the day the “Silver Screen” was born and the movie industry forever changed.

Encouraged by the reflective properties of the silver paint, he decided to try it on the screen at the Majestic Theatre where it was a success – producing a brighter picture at all angles with top reflectivity at direct viewing and extra diffusion for movie goers seated in side seats and balconies.

Next, he painted the screen at the Norka Theatre and before too long he was producing his silver screens, which he branded as “Williams Perlite,” in Kenmore and selling them to theatres everywhere.

“Fox, Warner Brothers, MGM – they all picked up on it,” Williams’ daughter-in-law and former Kenmore High School teacher Jan Williams explained in an interview on Around Akron with Blue Green.

An early adopter of the silver screen was the Rakoci family-owned Rialto Theatre – located just down the road from the Williams Screen Company.

The Rialto Theatre had the first silver screen on Kenmore Blvd. The addition of the Williams Perlite, and an impressive marquee, enabled the smaller, 300-seat Rialto to stand out and compete with the larger 480-seat Boulevard Theatre, located just two blocks away.

Williams’ innovation extended beyond the silver screen.

In 1929, he started perforating his screens to let the sound of the first “talking pictures” through, and in 1947, he developed a vinyl plastic screen used to make larger screens.

He built screens and operated the Williams Screen Company on Summit Lake Blvd. until 1971 and was innovating right until the end of this life.

“He was experimenting with roll-up awnings for campers,” Jan Williams said. “If he’d lived longer he probably would have been in on that industry too.”

Harry Coulter Williams passed away at the age of 73 on February 10, 1973, but his legacy lives on today every time you see a movie in a theatre or hear the term “silver screen” used.

In 2015, the Rialto Theatre was restored to Kenmore Blvd. after closing six decades prior. While the contemporary Rialto Theatre is a music and performance venue (thought it does screen films on occasion), it pays homage to its movie house past and Harry Coulter Williams with a plaque honoring him in its ticket booth.

To learn more about Harry Coulter Williams, check out “The Silver Screen” on Around Akron with Blue Green.

Last year, when the-nurse Lori Julien decided to hang up her scrubs to transform her “part-time passion into full-time work,” she never could have imagined she’d be part of a movement on Kenmore Boulevard.

Her shop, Marigold Sol, was one of 11 new businesses to open during the pandemic, one of five women to set up shop on the Boulevard within a 12-month span. But what she refers to as the “essential corner store” has quickly become a destination for anyone looking to buy a gift, take a class or pick up something special for themselves.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I did as well as I did during the pandemic,” Julien said. “Overall we’ve done really good here.”

While the business was new for Kenmore, it wasn’t an entirely new venture for Julien. She had operated a similar retail shop for four years in Wadsworth until the property she was operating out of was sold and the new owners had their own plans for the space.

After closing the Wadsworth location, Julien sold at shows and rented booth space at other storefronts, but continued to wait for the right opportunity to present itself for her to open new shop of her own.

Her chance finally came one day while she and her husband were walking down Kenmore Blvd. and she realized Dragon’s Mantle – which had occupied 962 Kenmore Blvd. since 2015 – had moved out.

Things moved quickly from there.

Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance Executive Director Tina Boyes put Julien in touch with the building’s owner, Julien signed the lease about a month later, and on April Fools Day 2021 Marigold Sol was cutting the ribbon on its new location.

“The support I got from KNA, the mayor, the media and the community, I was just blown away.”

Now a year later, Marigold Sol is in full bloom attracting customers with unique home décor, one of a kind furniture and frequent DIY furniture refinishing, painting and craft workshops.

It’s a favorite stop for antiquers, hobbyists and folks strolling the Boulevard at events like Kenmore First Fridays.

“I’m really looking forward to First Fridays this year, especially coming out of the pandemic” Julien said. “People are ready to get out. And I love the feel of the shop door being open, live music playing, people walking around.”

Friday, April 1 from 6 to 9 p.m., Marigold Sol’s hold its own celebration with a one-year anniversary open house event, which will include specials, giveaways, light snacks and refreshments. Marigold Sol is located at 962 Kenmore Blvd. in Akron and is open Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment by calling 330-803-0419. Shoppers can find them online at marigold-sol.com, on Facebook @marigoldsol and on Instagram @mymarigoldsol.