Great Escape: Get a Taste of Spring at Akron Home and Flower Show

If last week’s small taste of spring left you hungering for more, the Akron Home and Flower Show’s feature gardens offer another sample of what’s to come.

This week’s Great Escape features more than 7,000 square feet of flower-filled gardens, loads of information about gardening trends, cooking demonstrations and presentations from conservationist Ed Begley Jr. and celebrity home-improvement expert Matt Fox, co-host of the PBS show “Around the House with Matt and Shari,” according to the show’s sponsor, the Home Builders Association (HBA) serving Summit and Portage Counties.

Begley will appear on stage at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday to present “Live Simply so Others can Simply Live.” According to the HBA, Begley will meet fans and sign autographs for one hour following each presentation. Fox is scheduled to appear on stage at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday to talk about “Great Weekend Projects.” Fox also is scheduled to meet fans and sign autographs for an hour following each presentation.

Other stage presentations feature experts from Petitti Garden Centers, Brothers Grimm Landscape and Design and Sit Means Sit Dog Training. The show is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at downtown Akron’s John S. Knight Center. Admission is $8 for adults and $1 discount coupons can be found on the HBA’s website. If you want to take the kids, children 12 and under are free with a paying adult.