April 23, 2009     |   Volume 1 Issue 8         

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Erie Art Museum Opens Its 86th Annual Spring Show

By T.R. Septaric


According to the Erie Art Museum website the entries for the Erie Art Museum Spring Show were all very strong and appealing.

They make a special note of the quality of the entries in the photography division, especially the digital photographs. Many of the digital entries made the best out of the medium and came out looking like there were not digital pieces. It is easy to see that the artists are using the digital format very effectively, just as they would any “traditional” tool…this made the judging of the division especially hard for judges.

Traditional art forms like Painting and sculpture are both well represented in the show. Painting was at the near opposite end of the spectrum from photography. The works range from the excellent to bad but when the judges got to the end of the first round of judging there was still a large wealth of paintings to choose from. Sculpture, although one of the smaller categories still had some strong works, including a couple that judges said were real standouts.

A lot of the work entered, paintings especially, had strong content--political comments, current events, and timely, references. Some of the strongest artists approached the subject matter in an unusual way, through the inventive use of materials, such as Robert Villamagna's metal collages, or A.D. Peters' copper and paint work. Some of the work--such as the dog painting by Jacqueline Welsh, which was really good, very successfully avoided the tendency to go over the edge to cuteness--had judges feeling that they'd like to see more by this artist.

Artists were allowed to enter three pieces into the competition. This could serve and both a benefit and a hindrance to the artist since three excellent pieces showed the artist's consistency while one excellent piece could be over-shadowed by two bad pieces.

After all the work, the judging and the criticism, what it left is the absolute best of the best and that is what will be displayed in the Erie Art Museum Main Floor Gallery now through June 14th, 2009.

The gallery is located at 411 State St in Erie. For more information about the Spring Show or any of the other EAM exhibits check out.

Poet Geoff Peterson To Appear At The Erie Book Store

by Amontillado Kerouac-Gazookus

So, the Erie Book Store. You’ve been there, right? The Erie Book Store? East Thirteenth, between French and Holland? A place to be for poetry in Erie. Especially Fridays, at 6:30. Especially this Friday, tomorrow, April 24. Geoff Peterson will be the featured poet.

What is it about poetry in Erie? What’s the fuss? Are we supposed to take it seriously? Come find out for yourself. If there’s poetry in Erie like there’s music in Erie or theatre in Erie it’ll be at Erie Book, Friday April 24, in the person of Geoff Peterson.

He’s the Feature. Here’s how that works. The weekly poetry event called Poetry Scene starts with open reading at 6:30, and by around 7:15, depending on how many open readers open, Geoff’ll come on, presenting his poetry for extended consideration, including poetry from his new work, “Drama & Desire”. More sex and death in exotic locales, existence drawn to as fine a point as surgery. Hot stuff.

It’s poetry, but it will crack you up. That’s one thing about poetry in Erie, it’s pretty funny. And pretty serious, like Geoff. Geoff Peterson is pretty serious. His point seems to be that life is meaningless and numinous. He makes his point with words, strung into lines, grouped into stanzas, then read with the skill of an acrobat making it look easy. It’s all one big poem for Geoff Peterson.

Geoff Peterson. Poetry. This Friday. 6:30. Erie Book Store.

In Spring Everyone Screams For Ice Cream

by Rob Taylor

There are certain distinct signs that Spring has finally arrived: the traditional robin show up from wherever they go, girls start wearing short pants again, baseball starts up at the Uht again and one people see but usually don't think about - the area's ice cream stands open for the season.

For most people it seems that cold weather doesn't matter when it comes to that first taste of ice cream. As long as the sun is shining and there is no rain or snow the line from the film Field Of Dreams rings true…”If you build it they will come.”

If you go for a ride on any spring or summer Saturday or Sunday you will most likely see several ice cream stands with huge crowds waiting to get something cold to eat. On a recent Saturday the temperature was around 50 degrees and there was a line around Creamland out on West Ridge Rd. With just a rough count, the line was at least 45 people.

For some people the annual spring trip to the ice cream stand has become a long-standing tradition.

Millcreek resident Jeanette Hughes is one of those who don't feel that spring starts until she gets a vanilla/chocolate swirl soft serve. “My kids look forward all winter for spring to come so we can go get some soft-serve. My mom and dad took me every year when I was a little girl and when my kids were born I kept it going with them,” she said. That day she got her usual vanilla/chocolate swirl cone while her kids got hot fudge sundaes.

For those of you looking to start their own spring tradition the weather is going to be warm this weekend so, to help you, here is a list of area ice cream stands: -

The Big Dipper - 14235 Rt. 19, Waterford 
Castle Custard - 7334 West Lake Rd
Connie's Ice Cream - 3304 Liberty St
Cold Stone Creamery - 360 Millcreek Plaza
Creamland - 6201 West Lake Rd
Denny's Ice Cream Stand - 929 Parade St
Dolce Gourmet Gelateria - 2616 West 8th St
Gelateria Barbara - 602 ½ West 8th St.
Ice Cream and More - 11385 West Ridge Rd
Maria's Tasty Delights - 1701 West 26th St
Pulako's 926 Chocolates - 1301 West 26th St
Rita's Italian Ice - 1406 West Gore Rd
Whippy Dip - 2527 Chestnut St

There are also nine Dairy Queens are located throughout Erie County.

Whether you like vanilla, chocolate or mountain raspberry there is an ice cream stand in our area which will fulfill your most decadent fantasy. It would be worth a weekend just to travel around and scarf down cones, sundaes and milkshakes to find that one treat you'll truly want to keep coming back for.

Historical Society Events Promise Fun And Mayhem In May

Has cabin fever set in? The Society offers three great opportunities to shake off the cabin fever…Market at the Mansion, the Erie Planetarium’s National Astronomy Day celebration and the first ever “Rock the Bridge” Benefit Concert.

Market at the Mansion
Saturday, May 2nd 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 3rd 12 noon - 4 p.m.

Conceived by interior designer and Society volunteer Sandy Blazek, the Market at the Mansion is a three-day shopping experience located within the elegant Watson-Curtze Mansion. Painters, photographers, designers, jewelers and other artisans of the area will be well-represented under one roof. The current list of vendors includes, Accents on the Bay, Traditions, The Blue Cubbard, Tom & Cheryl Vicary, Nickel Plate Mills (spring gardening supplies and ideas), the Carrie T. Watson Garden Club, Finney’s Chocolate Shoppe and more.

The market opens Friday, May 1st with a wine and cheese preview reception by candlelight. Guests at the reception will have the first opportunity to shop the market and peruse the one-of-a-kind art pieces that will make this experience so unique. Reservations are a must for this special night! Saturday, May 2nd 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 3rd doors will be open 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A general admission fee of $5.00 will be charged at the door.

Proceeds generated from the event will be used to restore and maintain the Watson-Curtze Mansion. The 2008 event raised $9,000 for the preservation of Erie’s historic home, the Watson-Curtze Mansion on West Sixth Street. The Society was able to repair one of the home’s five chimneys, replace gutters overtop two original stained glass windows, and a variety of small preservation projects throughout the building.

For More Information Click Image

The Druid's of Whispering Lake Grove, ADF will be hosting an open-to-the-public Irish Celtic Beltaine Ritual this Sunday, April 26th beginning at 5:30pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie, PA, 7180 New Perry Highway, Erie PA.

The celebration will honor the Dagda, the Great Good God and BoAnn, Irish Goddess of Sovereignty. We plan to celebrate this season of fertility with song, dance, fun and fellowship.

Attendees will not only dance through the balefires for purification and cleansing, but also be dancing a Maypole for continued fertility.

So, plan an offering for the Dagda and BoAnn and join us on Sunday! Please bring a dish to share for the potluck dinner following the ritual. For additional information regarding this ritual, please contact: carrionmann@aol.com for more information and for driving directions visit the Grove's website at: www.whisperinglakegrove.org.

Behrend Choir Presents Stratosphere This Weekend

The Penn State Behrend Concert Choir and Chamber Singers will give two performances of “Stratosphere,” their year-end concert program.

The first performance will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel on the Penn State Behrend campus. The next day, Sunday, April 26, the choirs will perform at 4 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul Episcopal, 134 W. 7th St., Erie. General admission tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the main desk in Penn State Behrend’s Reed Union Building, or by phone at 814-898-6242.

“We’re calling this concert ‘Stratosphere’ in recognition of the unusual amount of high singing and large number of soloists—17— featured in the repertoire,” explains Dr. D. Jason Bishop, director of choral activities and lecturer in music at Penn State Behrend. “The program includes Gregorio Allegri’s hypnotic Renaissance motet ‘Miserere Mei, Deus,’ along with works by Eric Whitacre, Kinley Lange and Samuel Barber that have a transportive effect, allowing the listener to zone out, or experience meditation, through the invitation of the music.”

“Stratosphere” also includes opera choruses, African-American spirituals, and “Si Tú Sueñas,” a Latin salsa piece by contemporary composer Francisco Núñez that will be accompanied by musicians from the Penn State Behrend Jazz Ensemble.

For additional information about the performances, phone 814-898-6078.

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