Mark your calendars now as tickets for the popular Boo by the Woods - Trail of Haunted Tales & Basement of Terror go on sale at 9 a.m. Sept. 17 for Avon Lake residents. There is a 10 ticket limit per household.
The events take place Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 at the Avon Lake Public Library and Lorain County Metroparks Kopf Reservation.
New this year are digital tickets using an Eventbrite link. Guests can bring a printed ticket or store it in your phone's digital wallet.
Free activities for the Oct. 11 Boo by the Woods Festival include a DJ, inflatable obstacle course, pumpkin decorating, hay maze, trunk or treat, stilt walkers, Bubble Lady, Back to the Wild animals, Jurassic Park, dinos, character meet and greets with Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and princesses.
A complete schedule of activities and ticket price information is available on the city's Parks and Recreation Department website, go to avonlakeoh.myrec.com.
AVON
New city park: City officials recently dedicated the Traxler Family Arboretum, across from the Avon Early Learning Center, at 2980 Stoney Ridge Road. The largely wooded area has multiple trails.
A few years ago city officials and the Traxler Family began discussions regarding transforming the property into a public park and arboretum.
Mayor Bryan Jensen later secured grant funding through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to aid in the purchase of the property.
Deaf presentation: Explore the deaf culture, including differences in cultural norms and day‑to‑day experiences, during a presentation from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Avon Library, 37485 Harvest Drive.
Presented by the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center's Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, guests will learn about the impact of language deprivation and get tips on working with deaf individuals and interpreters.
Pre-registration is required, go to LorainPublicLibrary.org/programs.
Historical society meeting: The Avon Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Avon Olde Town Hall, corner of Detroit and Stoney Ridge roads.
The program features Photo Restoration - The Art and Science of Resurrecting Damaged and Faded Photographs, presented by Mark Madere, from SpectraLight Photography and Design.
The public is welcome to attend. For more information, go to avonhistory.org or call Ralph White at 440-695-8238.
Health, safety fair: The city's annual Health and Safety Fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Avon Aquatic Facility, 36265 Detroit Road.
The free event includes safety exhibits, car seat checks, crafts and food trucks (separate purchase).
Butterfly house: Time is running out to visit the Butterfly House at the Miller Nature Preserve, 2739 Center Road, for the season.
The house is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (weather dependent) through Aug. 31.
Trick-or-Treat: It's the question asked over and over this time of year, "When is Trick-or-Treat?" This year Halloween falls on Friday Oct. 31 which also is probable the Avon football team will have a home football playoff game that evening.
Mayor Bryan Jensen has made the decision now to have Trick-or-Treat move to Oct. 30. The time will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The decision was made for safety reasons. Even if a football game is not played (it's highly unlikely Avon won't make the playoffs), Trick-or-Treat will still be Oct. 30.
New preschool, daycare: Little Buckeye Learning Center, 445 Avon Belden Road (The Landings) is hosting an Open House Carnival from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 6 in advance of officially opening the new preschool and daycare center.
The event includes a bounce house, face painting, balloon artist, petting zoo, raffles, and refreshments, as well as an opportunity to learn more about the new business.
For more information, go to littlebuckeyelearningcenter.com.
Pool closing: Soak up the remaining days of summer as the Ellen Trivanovich Aquatic Center, 32850 Electric Blvd., closes Sept. 1.
For days/hours leading up the final day, go to avonlake.org/parksrec/aquatics.
The annual Big Splash Dog Swim, benefiting Love-A-Stray, is set to take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 6 at the aquatic center, 32850 Electric Blvd.
Bond sale: The Avon Lake City Schools are embarking on the process of constructing a new grades 5-8 building, as well as upgrades and renovations for the district's three elementary schools, thanks to the passage of a bond issue in May.
The bonds for the construction will be priced on Sept. 22, and will go on sale on Oct. 1.
District officials have also begun to meet with various stakeholder groups regarding the design of the new building. A community visioning session will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 30 (location not yet announced) with invitations being sent soon.
At the Oct. 21 Board of Education meeting architects from ThenDesign Architecture will give a presentation highlighting the results from the stakeholding meetings.
For more information, go to avonlakecityschools.org/district/community/facilities.
Garden club meeting: The Avon on the Lake Garden Club next meeting is at 11 a.m. (members only) Sept. 4 at the Avon Lake Public Library at 32649 Electric Blvd.
The meeting is to honor the past presidents with a Presidents Tea.
The program, "Connecting to the Community Through Plants," presented by Bridget Murphy, owner of Paper Crane Botanicals in Avon Lake, explains how she crafted her business based on her love of plants, her community and paper cranes, begins at 1 p.m. and is open to the public.
For more information, go to avonlakegarden.club.
Playground update: The playground equipment for the Avon Lake Play Space (ALPS) project has arrived and installation has begun.
The community can keep track of the ALPS project's progress and learn more about sponsorship opportunities, go to avonlake.org/alps.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE
Sub shop, UPS coming: City officials have confirmed plans are in the works to bring a Jimmy John's Sandwiches shop in the building formerly occupied by Scooter's Coffee, 34522 Center Ridge Road.
A UPS Store is also coming soon in the Giant Eagle Plaza on Center Ridge Road next to Subway.
Schoolhouse tour: The North Ridgeville Historical Society invites the community to visit the District #9 Schoolhouse, 5064 Jaycox Road, from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 31.
Built as one of North Ridgeville's 10 district schools in 1859, the historical building gives visitors a look at education in the early years.
Republican club: The North Ridgeville Republican Club will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 4, at the North Ridgeville Library, 35700 Bainbridge Road.
Special guest speakers will be Mayor Kevin Corcoran and Lorain County Sheriff Jack Hall.
Garden club: The Garden Club of North Ridgeville will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at Sandy Ridge Reservation, 6195 Otten Road.
Member Trish Banus will present a program titled, "Herbal Teas for your Health."
For more information, call 440-365-8522.