What does (love) for Everett Road have to do with it?

Akron-Canton Airport opened an indoor-outdoor area to assemble bicycles in September, and the Highland Theater, for the second year in a row, will host the REEL Cycling Film Festival. These seemingly unrelated events would never have come to fruition if not for the existence of a rutted and virtually impassable section of Everett Road.

Why would an airport clear space to put together bicycles? Akron-Canton is the gateway airport to the bike trails of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the 120-mile route of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath and the cross-country Great American Rail Trail. In addition, Akron-Canton is a destination airport for bikers who ride metroparks trails in several Northeast Ohio counties.

The airport is the first in Ohio to provide this service, joining LaGuardia in New York City, plus major airports in Seattle, Portland and Denver.

Passengers can reassemble their bikes – stored in boxes during flight – in a dedicated indoor-outdoor area near baggage claim that includes a floor-mounted bike repair stand, plus commonly used tools.

In addition to cooperation from the Akron-Canton Airport Authority and local government, three area bike shops (All-Around Cyclery, Blimp City Bike & Hike, Eddie’s Bike Shop) and Akron and Cleveland bike clubs helped make the assembly area possible.,

The individuals who pushed hardest to make it happen were Marilyn Shea-Stonum, a retired federal judge and avid bike rider from Bath Township, and Summit County Council President Jeff Wilhite, whose interest was piqued after he attended the first REEL Cycling Film Festival.

According to Shea-Stonum, she and Wilhite were sitting together at last year’s film festival. On the screen was a documentary about a father and son putting together their bikes at an airport for a cross-country ride.

“I thought, that’s it,’’ said Shea-Stonum. “Jeff contacted [Akron-Canton President] Renato Camacho, and we had a meeting. They thought it was a great idea, and we were off and running.’’

The film festival was the brainchild of Shea-Stonum and other bike enthusiasts. They organized Northeast Ohio Safe Trails and Roads Inc., a 501(c)(3), to raise funds and awareness to upgrade and reopen Everett Road – from just east of Revere High School into the national park – to bicyclists, hikers and equestrians. That effort is still ongoing, also with the help of Wilhite.

The REEL Cycling Film Festival on Nov. 3 will showcase several short films that focus on bicycling. The Highland Theater will open at 12:30 p.m., and the films will screen from 1-4 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults; children under 10 will be admitted free if accompanied by an adult.

Local bike shops are donating prizes to be raffled during breaks in the program. Patrons can park on the street or across from the theater.

Proceeds will go to NEOSTAR, whose mission is to maintain local roads in need of repair, particularly the closed portion of Everett Road, which the county engineer has tried to vacate.

“The Everett route is an important route into and out of the valley,” said Shea-Stonum, director of NEOSTAR. “Proceeds from this event will be dedicated to funding future maintenance costs once these routes are restored.” Tickets can be purchased at neostarinc.org or the Highland Theater box office in advance or the day of the film festival. The theater is at 826 W. Market St., Akron.