PBS 45 & 49?s Make It Myself! Expo offers exciting and unique opportunity for area arts and crafts enthusiasts Sept. 9-11 in Akron

The only event of its kind in the nation, this incredible weekend of creativity and fun at Akron?s John S. Knight Center will feature hands-on workshops led by Public TV hosts and a free consumer show

PBS 45 & 49?s Make It Myself! Expo, an exciting and unique event for sewing, arts and crafts enthusiasts, will be held Sept. 9-11, 2005, in downtown Akron, Ohio, at the John S. Knight Center. Hosted by PBS 45 & 49 and sponsored by the Craft & Hobby Association and its consumer Web site at www.craftplace.org/pbs and by the Strongsville-based Darice, Inc., the Make It Myself! Expo presents 70 hands-on workshops over the three-day event combined with a free consumer show. Proceeds from the event benefit PBS 45 & 49.

All workshop ticket purchasers and the first 500 people to arrive at the free consumer show each day will receive a gift bag filled with information and merchandise, including craft tools, craft magazines and more.

THE PBS 45 & 49 MAKE IT MYSELF! EXPO WORKSHOPS
PBS 45 & 49?s Make It Myself! hands-on workshops offer instruction in painting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, paper crafts, digital photography, holiday crafts, rug hooking, basket weaving, quilting, needlepoint, knitting, stained glass, food decorating, aromatherapy and even yoga and piano. Workshops, generally 2 to 3 hours in length, are scheduled between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day. Workshop ticket prices range from $20 to $250. Space is limited and tickets must be reserved in advance by ordering online at www.pbs4549.org/expo or by calling PBS 45 & 49 at . For complete information about all of the workshops, visit the event Web site or call PBS 45 & 49 at the toll-free number to request a free brochure.

Among the workshop instructors are the hosts of some of Public TV?s most popular how-to programs: Sue Hausmann of America Sews; Kaye Wood of Kaye?s Quilting Friends; Karen Good of America Quilts Creatively; Julie McGuffee of Scrapbook Memories; Vicki Payne of For Your Home and Glass With Vicki Payne; and Scott Houston of Play Piano in a Flash.

Additional workshops will be led by the following instructors: MaryEllen Drewes, owner of Aroma de Terra in Cleveland; Luise Easton of Strongsville, elite certified instructor in the Donna Dewberry One Stroke painting method; Terry Anthony of Amherst, a Bob Ross Wet-on-Wet certified painting instructor; Jane Drynan of Chicago, international certified Susan Scheewe watercolor instructor; Leigh E. McDonald of Kent, fiber artist, quilting instructor and owner of Adventures in Quilting; Sharon Klusmann of Tallmadge, owner of Cornerstone Baskets; Kathy Disantis and Dianne Rodabaugh of Stitch, Piece ?n Purl in Cuyahoga Falls; Beth Croup of Claridon, owner of Cross Creek Farm Rug Hooking Studio; Carole Spohn, owner of Leaded Glass Design in Cuyahoga Falls and Wadsworth; Sandy Laipply of Bucyrus, owner of Simply Sandy and craft expert; Dave Benson of PBS 45 & 49, educational technology consultant; Karen Neer of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; Linda Fedor of Mayfield Heights, commercial cake decorator and Wilton certified instructor; Vicki Star of Diamond, jewelry and beading author and instructor; Carole Turner-Metz of Buffalo, crystal jewelry designer; and Jenn Szalkowski and Marianne Hite of the Steinert Glass School at Plum Creek in Kent.

ABOUT THE FREE PBS 45 & 49 MAKE IT MYSELF! EXPO CONSUMER SHOW
The PBS 45 & 49 Make It Myself! Expo consumer show, free and open to the public, is dedicated entirely to arts and crafts, including books, materials and supplies for scrapbooking, sewing, painting, beading, glass and more. The show also includes stage presentations by Public TV personalities and make-it-and-take-it booths with craft activities. Show hours are Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and Sunday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information about exhibitors, including how companies can participate, is located at www.pbs4549.org/expo. Interested exhibitors can also contact PBS 45 & 49 at .

This is the second Make It Myself! Expo hosted by PBS 45 & 49. The first was held in February 2004. That event was well-received by the 1,100 people who signed up for workshops, giving PBS 45 & 49 the confidence to move forward with a second event.

?PBS 45 & 49?s Make It Myself! Expo is dedicated to instruction and the ?hands-on? experience with arts and crafts,? said Lisa Martinez, vice president of marketing and development at the station. While this is a fund-raising event for the station, it?s also an educational event. We want our workshop participants to feel that they?ve learned or discovered something exciting and new and that they want to pursue it beyond the event ? much like our public television programming mission. Workshop attendees will leave with projects they have created themselves or new skills that they didn?t have before, and we hope they will be inspired to do more.?

Added Martinez, ?PBS 45 & 49?s Make It Myself! Expo is the only event of its kind in the nation, so it?s accurate to describe the event as ?unique.? The Craft & Hobby Association, the industry?s international trade association, has signed on as one of our major sponsor for the second year in a row because it recognizes that uniqueness and hopes to launch the event in conjunction with other public television stations around the country in 2006.?

Major sponsors of the second PBS 45 & 49 Make It Myself! Expo are the Craft & Hobby Association (the international trade association for the $39 billion-a-year industry) and its consumer Web site at www.craftplace.org/pbs and the Strongsville-based Darice, Inc., owner of Pat Catan?s Craft Centers and distributor of craft products worldwide.

Presenting sponsors are Leaded Glass Design of Wadsworth and Cuyahoga Falls, American Printing of Akron, DMC Corp. and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and its new Public TV series, Our Ohio.

Additional support comes from Aroma de Terra, Bob Ross, Inc., Husqvarna/Viking, Janome America, Kaye Wood, Inc., KS Productions, Martin/F. Weber Co., Pfaff Sewing Machines, Steinert Glass School at Plum Creek and Stitch, Piece ?n Purl.