Release Date: April 22,2024
You Are Cordially Invited: A Century of Wedding Dresses on display through July 27th
April 19, 2024, AKRON – The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, OH, is celebrating its centennial! Join us by coming to the Perkins Stone Mansion to view a new exhibition curated by Denise Remark Lundell featuring over 60 dresses relating to local individuals connected to the Society. From Society staff, volunteers and board directors to members, neighbors and past artifact donors, the display features the lives and styles from the 1920s through the 2020s.
One such neighbor is Veronica Brown Sims, the 33rd District Ohio State Representative, who shared her dress, veil and train that is on display by her wedding photograph in the front hall greeting each guest when they start their tour. Karen Clark has volunteered at the Society for 25 years working extensively with the Society’s president Leianne Neff Heppner on past exhibitions. Besides her knowledge of steaming and prepping vintage clothing, Karen loaned almost 20 dresses from her family that includes herself, her mother, her three daughters and her granddaughter.
Following in the design of the Society’s Centennial Christmas (December 2024 – January 2025), exhibitions this year will highlight a more recent history. It’s one that visitors can relate to personally from their own experiences or those of their parents, grandparents or even children and grandchildren. Presented at the historic Perkins Stone Mansion, the home of Akron and Summit County’s founding family, the juxtaposition of time and space will make an impact on the visitor. Each room is set to a different decade during the Society’s centennial year based on the Sherwin Williams color palette.
Accompanying the beautiful, unique and amazing dresses are veils (some with cowboy hats or pill boxes), shoes, wraps, gifts and even romantic-wear. The stories will warm your heart and cause visitors to wish for more time to learn about the women who wore the dresses and the families they united with their marriages.
Denise Remark Lundell started “recruiting” for this display last year building up the momentum for the Society’s celebratory year. With most collections dating prior to the 1940s, Denise knew that the requests needed to be personal. She has done a superior job displaying the dresses, accessories and photos with creativity, skill and ingenuity! Each room is a beautiful homage to the past and present.
Tours are available by appointment during the months of April and May by going online to EventBrite or by call the Society office at 330.535.1120. June and July tours are available Wednesday through Saturday. Society members are free. Nonmember ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and veterans/military, $5 for students and children age 6 and younger are free. https://bit.ly/CenturyWeddings24
The Society will celebrate its annual Family Fun Day on July 27th. All Saturday tours in July will be free courtesy of a grant from the Executive Office of Ilene Shapiro and the County of Summit.