The Glass City will host a slew of events April 19 — from the Maker’s Mart to The Gallery Loop to an acrobatics show — in honor of the third annual 419 Day, a fete named for the city’s 419 area code and celebrating all things Toledo.
To get a different perspective on the day, get out your smartphone for the Instagram meetups planned around the city — the inaugural 419 Day event for @IGers_Toledo, a newly formed group of photography and social media enthusiasts.
ALSO: Readers share area photos in honor of 419 Day
The @IGers_Toledo, who snap pictures of the city for their Instagram pages, are planning a sunrise meetup at Oak Openings Metropark Lodge at 7:30 a.m., said the group’s founder, Jeff Jones of Snap It Photography. Breakfast and coffee will be provided.
“It’s just a Toledo day for us,” Jones said, adding that Instagrammers will be coming to celebrate 419 Day from as far away as Indiana, Columbus, Cleveland and Ann Arbor.
The Instagrammers will gather at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Monroe Street entrance at 10:15 a.m. for outdoor snaps and selfies with the museum as a backdrop. Registration for the TMA meetup is requested but not required. For more information, visit toledomuseum.org/events/419-day.
“We’re seeing a lot of buzz around it and we’re very excited to see just the amount of people and the diversity of the group,” said Stephanie Elton, TMA’s social media and digital communications manager. “Everybody is welcome.”
Anyone who attends the TMA meetup is eligible to enter an Instagram contest. Attendees can share a photo tagged @toledomuseum and #419day by April 23 for a chance to win a prize package that includes a TMA family membership, gift cards, Toledo-themed items from local companies and more, Elton said.
@IGers_Toledo will visit different locales around Downtown until 7 p.m. when everyone is invited to the Secor Building, 425 Jefferson Ave., for appetizers and an art showing, Jones said. RSVP at igerstoledo-AT-gmail.com to be among the 100 in attendance.
“At the party, we’ll have a projector for the photography for that day on the wall and a gallery wall of Instagram photos. There will be live music, maybe a guitar and a drum — we’ll keep it simple,” Jones said.
Balance Pan-Asian Grille, an Asian restaurant with locations on West Central Avenue and in Maumee, will cater the event that has a “come as you are” dress code. A donation is suggested that will go toward a new camera for Shared Lives Studio, an art gallery that supports adults with developmental disabilities in becoming working artists.
The UpTown Association decided to nix its own event this year, which prompted rumors that 419 Day would be canceled. However, Julie Champa, executive director of the UpTown Association, said those rumors were false and that UpTown would be involved, just in a different way.
“419 Day will still happen and we’ll still have activities within the neighborhood,” Champa said. “We were going to do our own event but we felt that our event was similar (to other events). … Rather than duplicate the event, we decided to promote the event already existing.”
Champa said 419 Day is a “big day” and another way to spur economic development for the neighborhood.
“April 19 is synonymous with the entire Toledo metro area,” Champa said. “Because our focus is on UpTown, we see it as another development tool to bring people into the district and hopefully patronize other businesses in the district. Any events going on really benefit all of us. It’s a big day for UpTown and the community as a whole.”
The Maker’s Mart boasts nearly 50 vendors of handmade or specialty items in the UpTown neighborhood, said coordinator Betty Floored of Oh Sew Betty. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1717 Adams St.
About three-quarters of the vendors are from Toledo and the rest hail from around the Midwest region, Floored said. 419 Day will mark the fourth Maker’s Mart.
“Vendors can apply on our website. … We have a jury of four people go through the applications, looking for uniqueness and price points and what they make and we try to get a well-rounded juried show so you don’t have so much of the same thing,” Floored said. “We like to switch up vendors so people who come aren’t seeing the same vendors over and over.”
Two new vendors to the Maker’s Mart this year are Coffee Emergency, owned by Angie Cucunato, and Toledo Spirits, which sells specialty bitters for cocktails, owned by Andrew Newby. Newby also owns Black Kite Coffee with his wife, Kristin Kiser.
The Toledo vendors will have badges on their tables that designate them as made in Toledo, Floored said.
John Amato, owner of JUPMODE, plans to sell his specialty Toledo pride T-shirts at Maker’s Mart where he said business has always been good. He added a new 419 Day shirt to his collection, which includes the “You Will Do Better in Toledo” design.
“It’s going to be a really important day because … it’s just a buildup of all the neat little things people have created in Toledo,” Amato said. “419 Day is another example of the momentum that Toledo has right now. Our city pride is growing and expanding through the region. So it is a really exciting and special time to be in Toledo.”
You won’t see Amato’s new T-shirt truck at the Maker’s Mart this year. He’s still waiting on City Council to approve a new permit that allows him to park his truck in the Downtown corridor.
People can experience many different forms of art during 419 Day at more than 30 participating galleries and studios in The Gallery Loop from 3-8 p.m. Downtown. A bus will transport people to the free event, which is a great way to appreciate local art and also a great way for local artists to get exposure, said Ryan Bunch, of the Arts Commission.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to come down and explore and see the creativity,” Bunch said. “It’s also an opportunity for artists who don’t show or sell a lot. We usually have over 100 artists who work in sculpture, photography, painting, literary works, performance, so there’s a wide range of stuff. It’s a neat way for the arts community to come together.”
“Stripes and Blooms: A Bird’s Eye View Student Showcase” is a student acrobatic show from 4:30-8:30 p.m. at the Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Blvd.
Billed as a “colorful celebration of spring,” this free event will feature aerial stunts, stilt walking and partner acrobatics. Special guests will perform fire dancing and balancing moves.
For more information on these events or to learn about more events, go to facebook.com/419day or twitter.com/419day.
