Not So Nice Jewish Girls Coming To The PI Coffeehouse On June 8th

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad is a refreshing mix of comedy, music, spoken-word and show-stopping burlesque, featuring the gals who learned to smoke at Hebrew School, got drunk at their Bat-Mitzvahs and would rather have more schtuppa than the chupah, featuring performers seen on Comedy Central, HBO and Late Night TV. These ultra-cool chosen chicks boldly dare to deconstruct years of tradition, expectations and guilt in a fast-paced vaudeville extravaganza. It ain't yo' mama's Fiddler!

After cruising the US for 6 years, last year Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad opened at The Zipper Theater in NYC with a brand new show which received rave reviews - 3 stars- NY Post, Backstage called it "a spontaneous party" and the Village Voice said it was "super fun." This rendition of mishagas on wheels was directed by Michael Baron (Signature Theater, DC) and choreographed by Jessi Erian (Urban Bush Women and Adira Amram's The Experience). It's Faster Pussycat in the Borscht Belt, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" gets remixed, Tumbalaika gets a makeover and we all find out what's in Gefilte Fish. It's "Fear Factor" for Jews, although you don't have to be Jewish to love these broads.

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad features a rotating cast of comedians Shawn Pelofsky (Chelsea Lately, Comics Unleashed), Rena Zager (Comedy Central) and hosted by queen of the quick change, The Goddess Perlman (Last Comic Standing).

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad has been spreading their own brand of nuevo schmaltz across the land to sold-out crowds in NYC, DC, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Pittsburgh, Madison, Detroit, Montreal, Burlington, Provincetown, The Berkshires, The Hamptons, and of course, The Catskills. Audiences can't get enough of these wayward girls!

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com. The show starts at 8:00 p.m.
 

Erie Art Museum Announces Summer/Fall Programs

• Each Summer Tuesday beginning June 9, from 3–4:30 p.m.
Art in Action
For children ages 10–14 years old. Each week education staff will guide youth through a different exhibit-inspired artistic endeavor. Costs, which include all materials, is $5 per student each week. Contact the Museum to reserve a spot in advance.

• Each Summer Wednesday beginning June 10, from 12-1p.m.
Mid-day Art Break & "Make"
Lunch on the Museum steps, live music and art-making project. Free admission for all and gallery tours at 12 & 12:30 p.m. Sponsored by Erie Insurance Group, 35WSEE and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

• June 12, 2009 from 7–10p.m.
Gallery Night
Public opening receptions for Paintings by Kris Risto, Innovate Erie Product Design Competition and closing reception for 86th Annual Spring Show

• August 21, 2009 from 7–10p.m.
Gallery Night
Public opening receptions for Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser and Takezasa-Do.

• August 28, 2009 from 5–7 p.m.
Nouveau
The Erie Art Museum’s party series for 20 to 40-somethings. Event theme untitled. Sponsored by PNC Bank, Erie Times News, Bob FM, Molly Brannigans, Erie Beer

• October 9, 2009 from 7–10p.m.
Gallery Night
Public opening receptions for Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Collection, Celebration of Visual Traditions and Works by Cappy Counard.

• October 30, 2009 from 5–7 p.m.
Nouveau
The Erie Art Museum’s party series for 20 to 40-somethings. Event theme untitled. Sponsored by PNC Bank, Erie Times News, Bob FM, Molly Brannigans, Erie Beer

Call 814-459-4577 or check out www.erieartmuseum.org for more information

Erie Loses A Major Theatrical Venue

By Rob Taylor

News has come out that one of Erie’s premiere theatres, The Director’s Circle Theatre has closed. This is a major loss for the cultural atmosphere for the local area. 

During its run Director’s Circle produced some the best theatrical productions around. The talent that they used was unequaled as was the directing talent they drew upon and they made it a point to feature a large number of locally written plays…something unique in community theatre. 

Now, I love big theatres, whether they are live shows or movies. There is something about sharing the laughs and tears of a production with a couple hundred people, that I really enjoy. With Director’s Circle the opposite was true. It only sat 50 people and when I saw “Come Back To The Five And Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” the cast got the sell-out audience going in a way I would never have expected.

As a critic, I always felt that the small size, friendliness of the cast and crew as well as the intimate connection between the cast and the audience made every production I saw there very entertaining. There were many times I hung around after the show and talked with the director and/or cast of a show and I was never chased out or made to feel unwanted. Not only that but the old murals that lined the walls added a lot to the theatre’s experience. 

The loss of Director’s Circle is something that all of the people of Erie, not just the theatre going public, will feel. I sincerely hope that Michael Weiss and the rest of the Director’s Circle family will find a new home and start up productions again so that the Bohemian life in Erie will once again be complete.

Dulcimer Concert Set For Asbury Woods

By Rob Taylor

The Asbury Woods Nature Center, 4105 Asbury Rd. in Erie will host the Dulcimers In The Woods 2009 on June 14, 2009.

The highly acclaimed husband-wife duet Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly will present an afternoon of traditional American folk music, a capella music, old time gospel music, dance tunes, original music and Celtic folk music.

Atwater and Donnelly play guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, mandolin, tin whistle, harmonica, banjos, bones, spoons, limberjacks and other surprises to create a unique and pleasing melody. Then they add Appalachian clog dancing, French Canadian footwork and tap dancing to take their show to another level.

This performance will be appealing to all ages with humor, audience participation and a relaxed feeling between the performers and their audience which includes an explanation of the origins of some of the songs to create a deeper understanding of their music.

There will also be a dulcimer workshop held the same day.

Workshops are scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. and the concert starts at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $25 for the workshop sessions with an additional $5 for the concert. Concert only tickets are $10 prepaid and $12 at the door. Check out Asbury Woods Website for more information

Global Search Is On For Hip Hop Performers

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Zoo Hosts Big Trucks For Little (And Big) Kids

by Rob Taylor

Ask any little kid what they love to watch and pretty much all of them will say trucks and machines. Video producers have realized this and have made videos for kids that just feature the biggest of the big trucks and construction equipment…and kids watch them for hours.

On June 6th the Erie Zoo, 423 West 38th St, Erie will be a little kid’s, and maybe some bigger kid’s Heaven when they present the Erie Zoo’s Equipment Day.

From 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. the zoo will be filled with everything from fire trucks to dump trucks and more. Not only will you get the chance to get up close and personal with the trucks but there is a chance that the kids, and maybe some grown-ups, will be able to actually sit in the big trucks.

For more information call the zoo at 814-864-4091

Where Can I Get A Good Root Beer?

By Rob Taylor

Last weekend I took a trip home to Akron for the day and I saw something that brought back memories of a childhood so many years ago and that was a simple root beer stand. Now, it is nothing special: a small building, some neon lights, picnic tables and a menu offering root beer, hot dogs, hamburgers and fries. The thing was…it had car hops and the best root beer around!

Everyone has seen them in movies and documentaries but, at least in the Erie area…they don’t exist. It is almost as hard to find a place that serves the creamy style of root beer that the old 50’s root bear stands carry. It just isn’t there.

I know what you are going to say. There are places like that close by and I admit that you are right. Erie has Sara’s at the entrance to Presque Isle. Yes, they are good but I am fairly sure that they serve the mass produced Barq’s Root Beer that everyone else offers in town. It just doesn’t have the right flavor, and they do not have people who come to your car and take your order. They do not have the car hops of old. There is another close to here, in the city of Conneaut, Ohio. It seems to be a very popular place that serves the same stuff as Sara’s and they don’t have car hops either.

Everyone over the age of 30 or so has the memory of the family going to root beer stand on a hot summer day, rolling down the driver’s side window and have a cute girl in shorts and a tight shirt take your order and bring it to you on a metal tray. Once she clipped it on the window you got a heavy, thick glass mug filled with a dark brown, nearly black, liquid and a creamy tan foam. If you combined that with a food-long Coney Island…not a greek... a Coney Island Hot Dog...and a order of fries you were in pretty much paradise.

While I was home I went to the B&K Root Beer Stand at 3946 State Rd. in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. (I recently found out that the Akron area has four B&K root beer stands) It was truly like taking a step back in time. I was waited on a by a lovely girl named Jessica, whose picture accompanies this article. I was greeted by a bright smile and a cheery attitude. I ordered two foot long dogs and a mug of root beer for $6.39 including tax. Now, the hog dogs weren’t Smith’s but they were good. The main thing was…the atmosphere and the cute girl. It brought back soooooooo many memories.

I have just one question…with all of the small restaurants and ice cream stands opening up why can’t someone open a good old fashioned root beer stand? It wouldn’t take much…convert an ice cream stand somewhere, hire some cute girls to wait on customers and talk to the B&K Root Beer people about supplying the place and you’d have it made.

Erie has let a lot of old fashioned things fall by the wayside in the name of progress. At one time there were three drive in theatres on Erie’s west side. One is now a Giant Eagle, one is a housing complex and the last is now the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. Maybe someone should take a minute and remember what it was like to go out with the family and start bringing back some of the things of our pasts.

Where's Matt When He's Not In Erie?

Have you ever wondered what Dueling Piano's Matt Alterio does when he isn't appearing at Jr's Last Laugh...well, he's singing with the Beastie Boys at a club called Sing Sing's in Pittsburgh and here's proof...

ERIE PHIL’S SUMMER SERIES RETURNS  

FREE OUTDOOR CONCERTS IN FRONT OF WARNER

To all our Glass Growers Gallery Goers:

As the Erie Art Museum builds a new building next to us, we want to make shopping at Glass Growers convenient for you. Here's how: we offer a free quarter for on-street parking when you come in to shop at Glass Growers Gallery. Just ask. The metered parking outside the gallery is usually available throughout the day.

Other parking options:
There is a Parking Ramp on East 3rd between State and French. EMTA Free Bayliner Trolley Service is available from the Bayfront Park & Ride at Liberty Park. M-F 7 am to 5 pm service every 25 minutes or at the Intermodal Transportation Center M-F 6:15 am to 11 pm service every 9 min. Sat 10 to 5:30 pm service every 9 min.

See you there as we watch the museum grow into a wonderful facility Erie can be exceedingly proud of. Come often to see the progress!

Deb, Noreen, Bonnie, & Vanessa

5th Annual Tour de West County July 25, 2009

Pleasant Ridge Park

8289 Barker Road

Fairview, PA

What is the Tour de West County (TdWC)?

First, it is a Fundraiser, from which all proceeds go directly to The Lance Armstrong Foundation. The TdWC is an event to raise awareness and to help others LiveSTRONG with cancer. The TdWC welcomes cancer patients, survivors, families and friends to participate in all or any of the days festivities!

The Rides:

The Event is sponsored by The Presque Isle Cycling Club!

The TdWC starts with a bike tour which includes a shorter ride for families and a 25 and 50 mile tour for more experienced riders.

This year we are adding a Cyclocross Fun Ride throughout the trails of the park! This will begin around 1:30 pm so all riders doing the early rides will get a chance to participate!

Registration Form:

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Bike Tour begins at 8:30 am with shotgun starts.

Click here for a Registration Form

The Family Expo:

The ride is then followed by a Family Expo from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., which includes a Silent Auction, Bike Polo, King Cobra Karate Demonstartion, Frisbee Dogs, Dino-Jump, Dunking Booth, music and more. As always, food and beverages and fun for the whole family!

To learn more click here or email Mike Spellacy.

Please check our MySpace site for the updated calendar, songs, photos, and more!

http://www.myspace.com/unklejohnsband2
                
UPCOMING SHOWS:

Jun 12 --  Broadway Joe's (Buffalo)
Jun 19 -- Sugar Lake Hotel (Cochranton)
July 4 -- The Palms (Conneaut Lake)
July 25 -- Bosco's (Meadville)
Aug 1 --  Deer Head Inn (Meadville)
Sep 4 --  Scully's (Erie)
October 9 -- Sugar Lake Hotel (Cochranton)

I love this Doctor 

Q: Doctor,  I've heard that  cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it...don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually.  Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend  the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a  nap. 

Q: Should  I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You  must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these?  Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your  system. Need grain?  Eat chicken.  Beef is also a good source  of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of  vegetable  products.

Q: Should  I reduce my alcohol intake? 
A:  No,  not at all.  Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of  the fruity bit so you  get even more of the goodness that  way.  Beer is also made out of grain.  Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one  to one. If you have two bodies, your  ratio is two to  one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q:  Aren't  fried  foods bad for you? 
A:  YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ..... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it.  How could  getting more vegetables be bad for  you? 

Q:  Will  sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach. 

Q:  Is chocolate bad for me? 
A:  Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q:  Is swimming good for your figure? 
A:  If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to  me.

Q:  Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? 
A:  Hey!  'Round' is a shape! 

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And  remember:
'Life should  NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved  body, but rather  to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one  hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride' 

   
 
AND......

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final  word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional  studies. 

1. The Japanese eat  very little fat
and suffer  fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of  fat
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3.. The Chinese drink very little  red wine
and  suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking  English is apparently what kills you.