Old West End Festival celebrates Toledo's rich architectural history
Brian Frauenknecht and Jarid Fitch, right, in their Old West End home.
An estimated 10,000 people are expected for the art fair on the grounds at the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion, the King Wamba and Queen Sancha parade, an antique and classic car show, the Scott High School marching band, live animals for children to see up front and close, and of course, plenty of food.
Indeed, the Old West End Festival is different from the plethora of other festivals that give Toledo its distinct characteristics. Several residents who live in some of the historic houses will open their doors for visitors to get a peek at the grand homes where some of the city's most notable figures lived as they laid the foundation for Toledo. Tourists are always especially interested in the way current residents decorate their late 19th and early 20th century houses to enhance the character and architecture.
PHOTO GALLERY: Take a visual tour of some of the neighborhood's historic homes.
The 2011 festival begins Saturday and takes place again Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. and ending each day at 5 p.m. Tickets to see the five homes on the tour are $12 per person. But if in advance you donate four canned goods to the Feed Your Neighbor program or four canned pet foods to the Humane Ohio Pet Food Bank, tickets are $10. There is no charge for children age 12 and younger to tour the homes. Tickets for those who want to tour only one home are $4.
The following homes are on this year's tour:
The cool blue bedroom.
● The Overmyer-Youngman Home at 2061 Robinwood Ave., a 5,800-square-foot classic and colonial revival style architecture with six bedrooms, four baths, pocket doors, and stained and leaded glass accents, was built in 1903.
● The Anthony J. Gallagher House at 2737 Robinwood Ave., built in 1913, features interior landing and terrazzo tile on the front porch. There are four bedrooms in the arts-and-crafts style home.
● The Clement-Fitch Home at 2461 Glenwood Ave., is a 1902 colonial revival-styled house designed by renowned architect David L. Stine. Visitors will be awed by the front porch that boasts multiple columns and the sweeping grand staircase inside.
● And of course the Old West End Association's Reynolds-Secor House, Mansion View Inn at 2035 Collingwood Blvd., which has 18 rooms and six-and-a-half baths on its three floors, and that is adorned with Italian marble and stained glass.
A bus will be available to transport tourists to each site.
Visitors to the art fair will enjoy the ambiance of the event underneath shade trees. Artists whose works represent all the media will be judged on the quality of their work; awards will be presented.
University of Toledo women's basketball coach Tricia Cullop will serve as grand marshal of the King Wamba and Queen Sancha parade that is set for 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. It will begin on Robinwood, head east on Bancroft Street, and then south on Collingwood to the Mansion View Inn.
The parlor in the home of Brian Frauenknecht and Jarid Fitch features a gold flake ceiling.
Urban gardening demonstrations are another festival highlight, and anybody who wonders what urban birding is can find out at the Old West End festival.
The antique and classic car show, sponsored by Vin Devers Autohaus of Sylvania, gets off to a start at 9 Saturday morning at Toledo Spain Park, at the corner of Collingwood and 23rd Street. A 1956 Gullwing Mercedes Benz is among the attractions.
Registration for the 5K run and walk begins at 7:30 Sunday morning. The race-walk begins at 9, with runners and walkers entertained by members of the Toledo Symphony who will set up to play their instruments on OWE residents' porches, lawns, and driveways.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., festival-goers can purchase foods typically found at such entertainment programs: pizza, burgers, pop, smoothies, ribs, and that's just for starters.
While visitors are free to pay to park in any of the commercial lots, anyone who finds a parking place on the street next to the curb in the neighborhood is free to park there as well.
Contact Rose Russell at rrussell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.