Gala to preview Knight manor makeover

Just can't wait for Designer ShowHouse 2009 to open? You can be among the first to get a peek at the Preview Gala on May 1.

The black-tie-optional celebration starts at 6:30 p.m. and includes cocktails, dinner, entertainment and tours. Tickets are $150 per person; patron tickets are $250. Order gala tickets at 330-836-4905 or http://www.juniorleagueakron.org.

This year's show house, a fundraising project of the Junior League of Akron, is a makeover of the M.A. Knight manor at 711 N. Portage Path, Akron. Rooms, porches and other areas throughout the 8,100-square-foot house, as well as the grounds, are being transformed by dozens of professionals.

The show house will be open to the general public May 9-24. Details will be published closer to the opening, but if you want to know more now, visit the league's Web site.

Proceeds from Designer ShowHouse 2009 will help the Junior League expand the Adopt-a-High-Rise Project it operates in partnership with Mobile Meals. The project provides hot meal delivery, socialization and programming at an Akron Metropolitan Housing Agency apartment building.
Horticultural grants 

Seven horticultural education programs have received grants from the Summit County Master Gardeners.

Grant renewals went to the Ballinger Traumatic Brain Injury Clubhouse at Summit Terrace for its Courtyard Beautification Project, $500; the Nature's Own Garden Project at Fort Island Primary School, $250; the Summit County Combined General Health District WIC Project for its expanded WIC Garden, $250; and Hattie Larlham's Ability at Work program for its Gardening Skills for Life project, $500.

New grants were awarded to Laurel Lake Retirement Community for its Cultivating Health and Nutrition through Gardening Education project, $650; Cuyahoga Falls High School for its Greenhouse Project, $850; and Arrowhead Primary School for Learning and Growing in the Nature Zone: A Summer Gardening Club for Students, $1,000.

The grants are funded by proceeds from the annual Tour of Gardens, which this year will be June 27. Watch for details closer to the date.

WD-40 innovations 

The people who make WD-40 want to make it even better, and they want your help.

The WD-40 Co. is seeking ideas for a new WD-40 product or an innovation to the original WD-40, such as the permanently attached Smart Straw that was introduced in 2005. You can submit your ideas at http://EdisonNation.com.

If your concept is chosen, you'll get a minimum advance payment of $2,500, plus a percentage of sales for up to 20 years.