Akron Digest
June 19, 2026
Good Morning, Akron!
The word 'Trillion' is having a moment in the headlines, so let's put it in terms a brain can actually hold. Counting one number per second, you'd hit a million in under two weeks. A billion would take almost 32 years. A trillion? That's 31,688 years of nonstop counting. You'd have started back when humans were painting mammoths on cave walls in Ice Age France, and you'd still be at it today. Big number.
Let's dive into this week's issue.
📰 The Digest
🍞 Schwebel's Bakery Calls It After 120 Years
Some sad news for the bread aisle: Schwebel's, the Youngstown baking company that's been a Northeast Ohio fixture since 1906, announced this week that it's winding down after 120 years. The plan is to keep going through the Fourth of July weekend, then liquidate over the rest of the summer, closing its bakeries in Youngstown and Hebron along with retail stores and distribution centers across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Leadership pointed to a familiar mix of trouble: aging facilities and equipment, heavy labor and pension costs, and softening demand for traditional bread. CEO Steve Cooper said the company spent months looking for a buyer before concluding that liquidation was the only option left.
Speaking as someone who once lived downwind of the old Cuyahoga Falls plant, I still miss that warm-bread smell rolling through the neighborhood. No candle could ever come close.
🛒 Two Markets, One Block: A Downtown Standoff
Downtown Akron waited the better part of a decade for a grocery store. This summer it may suddenly have two, sitting almost across the street from one another, and the timing has set off a quiet turf war. Shane Wynn and Becca Gippin are set to open The Mercantile, a wine-and-sundries bodega in the Cascade Plaza PNC Building, in July. Then a "coming soon" sign appeared for a second, no-frills market in the historic 159 S. Main building, stocking similar staples on a similar timeline.
Downtown leaders told Signal Akron they were blindsided, noting that an area of roughly 3,000 residents falls short of the 5,000 typically needed to support even one store. The building's owners insist the two aren't really competitors. Wynn disagrees, and says that if the second market opens, she may not open at all. After years of waiting for one grocery store, downtown could end up watching the surer bet back out and the newcomer take its place, or neither stick the landing.
🔥 Top Events This Weekend
Here is our list of hand-picked events around the area:
Stan Hywet's Father's Day Car Show 🚗
Sunday, June 21 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
The country's longest-running car show rolls onto the Great Meadow for its 68th year, and this time the theme is "A Century of Mopar," a tribute to Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth muscle. Park yourself in front of the Manor House to ogle two genuine Hollywood rides: the Nash Bridges '71 'Cuda and the Furious 7 '73 'Cuda.
New this year is a Touch-A-Truck zone with the City of Akron, and your ticket also gets you into the America 250 exhibition, "The Families That Built Akron." Horsepower, history, and a good excuse to spoil Dad.
The Remember Balloons Live 🎈
Saturday, June 20 | 6:30 PM | E.J. Thomas Hall
Fresh off a national tour, this Akron-born production comes home for a new, expanded staging from choreographer Dominic Moore-Dunson and composer Theron Brown, with original jazz, contemporary dance, and multimedia storytelling across 90 minutes.
Adapted from the children's picture book of the same name, the show explores memory, love, and Alzheimer's across generations, honoring caregivers and the people they care for. With 20 live musicians and five dancers on stage, it's a heartfelt show that doesn't forget to be fun, and the whole family is welcome.
Lucy Darling: You're Welcome 🎩
Friday, June 19 | 7:30 PM | The Knight Stage
Magician-comedian Lucy Darling brings her touring variety show to the Knight Stage, mixing glamour, mischief, sharp wit, and a fair amount of unsolicited advice in with the sleight of hand. The character is a wisecracking old-Hollywood socialite created by Carisa Hendrix, who's turned up on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and much of the night runs on crowd work, so the front row should expect to become part of the act.
She's joined by the eccentric Mark Ettinger, who scores the chaos on piano, melodica, and roughly a dozen other instruments. Their easy chemistry makes for an intimate, grown-up night out that leans far more "speakeasy" than "kids' birthday party." You're welcome, indeed.
A Weekend at Blossom: The Strokes Meet The Red Rocker 🎸
Friday, June 19 & Saturday, June 20 | Blossom Music Center
Blossom is running a genre split-screen this weekend. Friday belongs to The Strokes, who bring their Reality Awaits World Tour, along with their first new album in years, to the lawn at 7 PM, with Thundercat and Hamilton Leithauser opening. Expect "Last Nite," "Reptilia," and plenty of fresh material.
Saturday flips to classic rock when Sammy Hagar rolls in at 6:30 PM with his Best of All Worlds tour, flanked by Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Kenny Aronoff, plus special guest Rick Springfield. Two nights, two different crowds, one well-earned lawn chair.
Celebrate Juneteenth Around Akron 🎉
Various dates and locations | June 19 – 20
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free, and Akron has a full week of ways to honor it. The Akron Urban League, NAACP, and Freedom BLOC anchor things with their "Stronger Together" series, including a Juneteenth Education & Celebration on Friday, June 19 (5 PM, Akron Urban League) capped by fireworks at Freedom Land, and a community celebration with food, vendors, and live entertainment on Saturday, June 20 (11 AM–6 PM).
Saturday also brings the 50th Annual West Akron Parade, Juneteenth Edition (noon, from Buchtel CLC to the John Brown House). Want something different? Catch slam poetry at the Angry Cow Poetry Juneteenth Celebration (Friday, June 19, 7 PM, Rialto Theatre), step back to 1870 at Hale Farm & Village's living-history commemoration (June 17–20), or grab a free meal with live music at the Mustill Store's Free Lunch Friday Juneteenth Special. Check out the full roundup below from Signal Akron.
📌 Everything Else Worth Knowing
Some bonus picks from us:
🎷 Music & Live Performances
Party on the Plaza: AFI Scruggs
Friday, June 19 | 6:00 PM | PNC Plaza at The Civic
A free, hour-long set of blues and R&B from Cleveland-based bassist and singer-songwriter.
More info →
Akron's Real Deal with the Rick Ward Project
Friday, June 19 | 7:00 PM | Lock 3
A free downtown concert from the self-proclaimed "Emperors of old-school R&B," with the Rick Ward Project.
More info →
🎭 Theater & Stage
A Taste of Ireland
Saturday, June 20 | 7:30 PM | Goodyear Theater
World-champion Irish dancers and live musicians fuse traditional jigs with modern choreography and a few a cappella tap battles.
More info →
Grease
Through June 27 | Porthouse Theatre at Blossom Music Center
Rydell High's class of '59 hand-jives through "Summer Nights" and "Greased Lightnin'" under the stars at Kent State's outdoor summer theater.
More info →
📸 #SeenInAkron
🎬🎥 Akron Weekend Movie Action
Nightlight Theatre
Note: This is a partial list of showings. For the full list, follow one of the links below.
STOP! THAT! TRAIN!
“STOP! THAT! TRAIN! follows best friends Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee), train stewardesses who trade their dreary shifts on the Stank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express. When a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatens to derail the high-speed train and crash it into Los Angeles, the duo in coach must join forces with the snobby first class attendants (Symone, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia) and President Gagwell (RuPaul) to save the day in this wild ride of camp and comedy.”Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Leviticus
“Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most—each other.”Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
The Devil Queen
“Rio de Janeiro’s criminal underworld is run by an unexpected boss: Diaba (Milton Gonçalves, Carandiru), a femme queen with a taste for power and violence. When the police come after her boy toy, Diaba attempts to find a scapegoat to take the blame and a plot to dethrone Her Majesty arises! Always clad in gloriously colorful outfits and accessories inspired by Afro-Brazilian culture, Diaba runs a mob of eccentric misfits made up of drag queens, pimps, prostitutes, and queer folks of all stripes. The movie’s bold and audacious color palette and camp aesthetic evokes the early films of Pedro Almodóvar, while its stylized and over-the-top violence is giving Quentin Tarantino queer fever dream.”Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Highland Theatre
Toy Story 5
“Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.” (IMDb)Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Weather
Today
75 🌡️ 51 | 🌦 | 63% 🌧️
Saturday
75 🌡️ 55 | ⛈ | 55% 🌧️
Sunday
75 🌡️ 59 | ⛅ | 17% 🌧️
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Talk to you next Friday!