Spring festivals in Greater Cleveland

Springtime in Cleveland is a time of rebirth and renewal after the often severe Northeast Ohio winter. The city and surrounding areas celebrate the season with a host of flower shows, festivals and good times. Here are just a few of the events you'll want to mark on your calendar:

Cleveland Botanical Garden Daffodil Show
April 24-25
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
11030 East Blvd. in Cleveland
216-721-1600

Cleveland Botanical Garden, located across from the Cleveland Museum of Art in the city's University Circle cultural district, welcomes spring each year with the Spring Daffodil Show. This year's event showcases more than 60 different varieties of daffodils, ranging from the traditional yellow to light pink and white. The show complements the many different flowering bulbs in bloom in the Garden's outdoor displays. Admission to the Daffodil Show is free with Garden admission, which is $7.50 for adults and $3 for children ages 3 to 12; children younger than 3 are admitted free of charge.

Hessler Street Fair
May 22-23
11 a.m. till dusk
Hessler Road in Cleveland
216-556-3716

Considered by many to be the start of the summer festival season, this quirky neighborhood arts festival began in 1969. Sponsored by the Hessler Neighborhood Association, this two-day event features a variety of live musical performances, poetry readings, crafts vendors and food (including vegetarian offerings). Hessler Road, located in Cleveland's University Circle neighborhood, in the shadow of University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University, is known for its Victorian homes, bricked street and "hippie" atmosphere. Admission to the fair is free. A portion of the profits go toward maintaining this historic pocket of Cleveland.

International Children's Festival
May 3-8
Various times
Playhouse Square
1511 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland
216-241-6000

Cleveland's downtown Playhouse Square is launching what will hopefully become an annual event. The International Children's Festival will be a weeklong cultural festival that highlights music, dance and customs from locales all around the globe. Events include dramatic, musical and dance performances; craft workshops; and a global village. Single tickets are $14, and visitors can also opt for a ticket package that includes any two shows for $20. Admission includes a number of free workshops and activities.

Parade the Circle
June 12
11 a.m. to 4 p.m., parade at noon
Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Blvd. in Cleveland
216-707-2483

Sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Art, Parade the Circle, held the second Saturday in June each year, encourages creativity and celebrates all that is unique about Cleveland's residents. The event is centered around the parade, which steps off at noon, and residents make masks and costumes - some quite elaborate - and stroll briskly around Wade Oval at University Circle. You'll see butterflies, men on stilts, human robots and other fanciful creatures. If you want to join the fun, there are several mask-making workshops at the museum in May and June. If you'd rather watch the festivities, you won't be alone; the event draws more than 50,000 spectators. Parade the Circle also features food tastings from local eateries, live entertainment and interactive displays from the neighborhood's many cultural institutions. Admission is free, and there is a $6 fee to walk in the parade.

Founders' Day Weekend
June 11-13
Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon
Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
714 N. Portage Path in Akron
330-836-5533

Akron's Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens is a beautiful early 20th century 65-room Tudor Revival mansion. The former home of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founder F.A. Seiberling and his family, it features a massive entry hall, a wood-paneled library and an indoor swimming pool. The surrounding gardens are equally impressive. However, Stan Hywet is perhaps best known for its role in the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous. It was at the mansion's Gate Lodge, occupied by Seiberling daughter-in-law Henrietta and her family, that Bill Wilson first met Dr. Bob Smith and where the pair drew out the first tenants of the now-worldwide organization.

Stan Hywet celebrates this association each spring during Founders' Day Weekend. Events include tours of the Gate Lodge and the grounds, exhibits about AA and its founders, and musical and dramatic presentations. Admission to the Gate Lodge and grounds is free; tours of the Manor House are $6.