Adjacent to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Ohio-Erie Canal, Akron, offers a respite for active travelers. Home of NBA star LeBron James and Grammy-winning band, the Black Keys, Akron boasts both an interest in sports and a lively arts scene; it is home of the World Championship – Bridgestone Invitational and a state-of-the-art minor league baseball stadium, and has a vested interest in its downtown arts district as well as the presence of local art. Once known as the “Rubber Capital of the World,” it is now a world-renowned center of polymer research and development with the Polymer Science Institute of the University of Akron. The name “Akron” is derived from a Greek work meaning “high,” as is fitting for a city that continues to move up in the world.