Visit Elmore for mac & cheese, run it off in March

If winter weather is leaving you with a taste for comfort food such as macaroni and cheese, the Village of Elmore is where you can satisfy that yearning.
And if you’ve packed on a few pounds this winter, the village is offering a chance to work them off.
A``Mac and Cheese Stroll” is being planned for Feb. 15 in the village and a 5-K run is in the works for March.
The stroll and race are the first two events the Explore Elmore committee - local merchants, civic groups and elected officials - have scheduled to let the area know the downtown district on Rice Street is open for business while the State Route 51 bridge undergoes a major upgrade and will be closed for months starting in mid-March.
The stroll will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public is invited to try the mac and cheese creations at participating businesses and organizations and cast a vote for the favorite.
Each participating business or organization on Rice Street will have a poster in its window designating it as a “stroll stop” and several stops will include entries from organizations that don’t have a location on Rice Street.
The stroll is free to the public.
Mayor Rick Claar said as of last week more than 20 businesses and organizations have registered to enter the stroll contest.
The Explore Elmore committee is also working with Dave’s Running Shop to stage a 5-K race in the village, the mayor said.
A 9:30 a.m. start time on March 28 is tentatively planned. The committee is posting updates on future events on its Facebook page.
Rebecca Dangelo, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation, said crews in early February will begin installing a causeway in the Portage River, allowing work to be done on the bridge from below. The causeway will span the river, preventing watercraft such as kayaks and canoes from passing under the bridge. Water flow will be maintained for river wildlife.
In mid-March, crews plan to close the bridge to traffic for about five months. Dangelo said the official detour route is Rt. 51 to U.S. Route 20 to State Rt. 105. Pedestrians and bicyclists may use the North Coast Inland Trail, which stretches along a former rail bridge, to cross the river.