Things to Do in Avon

Rumor has it the maniacal laughter, sobs, and screams of ghosts echo throughout CornStalkers Haunted Cornfield and Forest's 1-acre cornfield. Fifteen-minute strolls down its easy-to-follow trail lead brave guests through rows of 7-foot stalks teeming with scarecrows looking for new brains to show off in Oz. Foreboding also hangs over the 5-acre forest, where flesh-eating zombies, creepy creatures, and spooky effects petrify patrons making the half-hour trek down its gravel path. Visitors that survive the cornfield and forest's PG-13-level scares can regain their bearings with snacks from the concessions stand.

When a performance studio stages The Sound of Music as its first production only months after opening, you know it means business. For the staff of Olmsted Performing Arts, their dedication to developing students' acting skills and hunger for creative expression continues to generate inspiring performances, whether their protégés pay homage to a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical or dazzle audiences with song-and-dance numbers from Footloose, a rousing tale about the adventures of a barefoot podiatrist.

While theater plays a large part in the curriculum, it isn't the only focus within Olmsted Performing Arts. The center’s dance academy fine-tunes steps in a variety of styles, its music-education program teaches voice and piano lessons, and its new gymnastics program encourages children to express themselves through movement rather than conceiving abstract poems in their alphabet soup.

In 1976, educator, musician, and kinesiologist Robin Wes opened The Little Gym based on his new take on physical education. His curriculum emphasized motivating children to achieve instead of pressuring them to win. As a result, The Little Gym became a noncompetitive, positive, nurturing environment where young ones could develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. Since then, Little Gyms have sprouted up across the country. Enter Kevin and Page Helmick. Kevin and Page's passion for working with children stirred the duo to open their own Little Gym locations in Liberty Township and Mason. Parents of two young boys, Kevin and Page captain a talented staff of childcare professionals and instructors that is as passionate about childhood development as they are. The programs and classes they teach aim to help kids develop skills such as rhythm and coordination, and kids camps during winter, spring, and summer breaks prevent children from creating finger paintings that express the existential ennui they feel when school is out of session. The gym's classes, camps, and childcare programs have earned this location the Best Children's Play award from Cincinnati Family Magazine.

The Five Seasons Family Sports Club houses tennis courts, a dining area, fitness facilities, swimming pools, and a full-service spa under one roof. Within air-conditioned indoor courts or on outdoor clay courts, racquet slingers compete in friendly bouts to sharpen swings, refine backhands, and showcase grunting abilities. Members can also break a sweat in exercise areas speckled with modern cardio equipment and weights or cool off in an Olympic-sized pool with diving wells and wading areas. Before meeting others for a postgame beverage at the lively café, clients can wander to the spa for a relaxing massage or partake in a sports workshop to gain a firm grasp on game mechanics.

Sometimes our dreams are within reach, but more often, those dreams are on the highest of high shelves, beside the BB gun and the cupcakes "for tomorrow." Reach that shelf with today's Groupon to stretch your muscles and muscle your stretches into a stretch of intense muscular moves. For $30, you get a five-class pass to Westside Yoga Studio in Lakewood, a $65 value. Upon your first visit, you'll receive your pass, which can be used toward any of the classes offered at the comforting studio. Once activated, you'll have 60 days to use your five classes, giving your card the considerable shelf life of a gallon of dehydrated milk.

Owner Elizabeth Sheehe fills the aisles of Birds of a Feather, an authorized Pfaff and Elna dealer, with knitting, quilting, and textile art supplies, in addition to hosting an array of classes. During knitting classes, instructors impart basic stitches and techniques to refine yarn crafting or patch the space-time continuum. Quilting classes teach students basic concepts, how to make use of machine appliques, and how to convert vintage clothing into quilt squares. A rotating schedule of other classes net crafters finished projects such as knitted socks and felted totes. Groups of four or more can arrange clandestine after-hours knitting classes with a BYOB option and no additional fees.