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📢 Local Events from Mentor & the Area: MentorLocalBuzz.com/Events!

📰 Local News: 🛍️ Ohio’s 2026 Sales Tax Holiday Is Shorter — and Far Fewer Items Qualify

🎡 Lake County Fair Senior Day Offers Free Admission and Activities Today

🌿 Free Watershed Tour Includes Mentor’s Springbrook Gardens

🚙 Event Spotlight: 🚙 Friday Car Cruise Brings Classic Rides to Downtown Painesville

⚾ Sports: ⚾ Lively Continues Rehab as Captains Fall to South Bend

🤔 Trivia Question

🤣 Something Funny

Contact Mentor Local Buzz - [email protected] - 440-256-6115

Ohio’s 2026 sales tax holiday lasts just three days and covers far fewer purchases than last year’s expanded event.

According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, the tax-free period runs from 12:00 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9.

This year, the exemption applies only to:

The limit applies to each item, not the total purchase. A shopper could buy several qualifying $70 clothing items in one transaction and receive the exemption on all of them.

However, an $80 shirt remains fully taxable. Stores cannot exempt the first $75, and prices in a buy-one-get-one-free offer cannot be averaged to make both items qualify.

Store discounts, store coupons and loyalty rewards can reduce an item below the price limit. Manufacturer coupons and rebates do not lower the price for tax purposes.

Eligible online purchases can qualify when they are ordered and paid for during the holiday, even if they arrive later. Orders completed before the holiday do not qualify simply because they are delivered during it.

Unlike the expanded 2025 event, electronics, furniture, appliances and most other general merchandise will not be tax-free this year.

👉🏻 Before you shop, read our full guide to see which items qualify, how coupons and online orders are handled, and which common mistakes could leave an otherwise eligible purchase taxable.

Seniors age 60 and older can receive free admission and enjoy entertainment, lunch and community resources during Senior Day at the Lake County Fair today, Friday, July 31.

The Lake County Council on Aging’s celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 1301 Mentor Ave. in Painesville Township. Eligible seniors will receive free admission until 3 p.m.

Complimentary transportation to the fair will be provided by Laketran through funding from the Lake County Senior Services Levy.

A free boxed picnic lunch will be served at noon. Only 350 meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch tickets can be picked up at the Council on Aging meal ticket table in front of the Senior Day tent.

Activities include America 250 and Lake County trivia presented by the Lake County Historical Society, music from DJ Jesse Webb, door prizes and bingo beginning at 1 p.m.

Representatives from the Council on Aging, Laketran, University Hospitals and other senior-focused organizations will also be available with information and resources.

👉🏻 Planning to attend? Read the full story for the event schedule, lunch details and a simple guide to what seniors should know before heading to the fair.

Mentor-area residents can see how stream restoration works in practice during a free regional tour Monday, Aug. 24.

Chagrin River Watershed Partners will lead the Regional Partnerships Highlights Tour from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The trip begins and ends at Daniels Park, 38401 Johnnycake Ridge Road in Willoughby, and lunch will be provided.

The five stops show different ways communities are addressing erosion, stormwater, water quality and habitat.

At Springbrook Gardens in Mentor, participants will see a nature-based project that added curves to the stream and planted native vegetation to slow stormwater, reduce erosion and improve aquatic habitat.

Other stops include dam removal and habitat restoration at Daniels Park, a project reconnecting Doan Brook with its floodplain at Sowinski Park, a student-centered rain garden at Willson Elementary School and restoration of Kellogg Creek’s natural flow at Brightwood Lake.

Together, the projects offer a practical look at how parks, schools and community partners are using dam removal, floodplain restoration, rain gardens and native vegetation to care for local waterways.

The event is free. Registration is available at crwp.org/30th-tours/. The supplied event materials do not list a registration deadline, parking instructions or accessibility details.

👉🏻 Visit the full website story for a stop-by-stop preview, what makes each project different and the details to check before registering.

Classic cars, muscle cars and other distinctive vehicles will fill downtown Painesville again Friday evening as the city’s weekly Car Cruise returns to Veterans’ Park.

The gathering runs from 5–8 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 18, weather permitting. It takes place at Painesville Square, 1 Liberty St., also known as Veterans’ Park.

Visitors can walk among the vehicles while enjoying music and snacks in the park. Because the lineup changes from week to week, each cruise may bring a different collection of restored classics, performance cars and unusual rides.

The event offers an easy Friday evening outing for longtime car enthusiasts, families and anyone interested in seeing vehicles that are not part of the everyday commute. There is no formal program listed, so visitors can arrive at any point during the three-hour gathering and explore at their own pace.

Those driving downtown should allow time to find street or metered parking around the square. The city has not published event-specific admission, vehicle-registration or parking instructions, so owners planning to display a vehicle should check with the organizer before arriving.

Since the cruise is weather dependent, visitors should also check the City of Painesville calendar or its social media updates before heading downtown.

Event at a Glance

When: Fridays, 5–8 p.m., through Sept. 18
Where: Veterans’ Park/Painesville Square, 1 Liberty St.
Weather: Held weather permitting

Link to their Facebook Page for more information

Ben Lively made his second Minor League rehabilitation start Thursday night, but South Bend’s power and a season-high strikeout total proved too much in the Lake County Captains’ 11-8 loss at Classic Auto Group Park.

Lively, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, allowed two runs on five hits over 1⅔ innings. He struck out two, walked one and threw 24 of his 36 pitches for strikes. Both runs came on back-to-back home runs to open the second inning.

Lake County recovered from an early 4-0 deficit. Jace LaViolette hit a two-run double in the third, and Juan Benjamin tied the game with a two-run homer in the fourth.

South Bend regained control by scoring seven runs from the fifth through eighth innings. LaViolette kept the Captains within reach with a two-run homer, completing a four-RBI night. Benjamin finished with three hits.

Ryan Degges took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over 3⅓ innings. He walked five and struck out three.

The Captains scored eight runs on nine hits but struck out 19 times, matching their season high. South Bend collected 17 hits and hit five home runs.

Lake County fell to 16-15 in the second half, leaving the Captains 2½ games behind Great Lakes in the Midwest League East.

👉🏻 Read the full story on the Local Buzz website for more on Lively’s rehabilitation appearance, LaViolette’s growing impact and what the loss means in Lake County’s second-half playoff race.

🐝 Buzz Fact: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame held its first induction ceremony in 1986—proof that even rock stars eventually end up at a formal dinner with assigned seating.
Answer: Google

This is hilarious. 😆