Gannon
University’s Erie Chamber Orchestra will resume its
monthly concert series in the fall. The first concert of
the 2009-10 season will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 18 and will feature Jacqueline Bezek (soprano) as
soloist. The concert will be held at St. Patrick Church,
130 East 4th St. Gannon University’s Erie Chamber
Orchestra is conducted and directed by Bruce Morton
Wright. All concerts of the orchestra are free and open
to the public. For more information, call 814-871-5467
or 814-871-7755.
Gannon University’s Schuster Gallery will host its
first exhibit of the 2009-10 season from Sept. 30
through Nov. 15. The exhibit is “Celebration of Visual
Traditions: New Work of Diverse Pennsylvania Artists.”
The Gallery is located on the third floor of the
University’s Nash Library, 619 Sassafras St., and is
open regular library hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to
midnight; Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to
5:30 p.m.; and Sunday 12:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. Free and
open to the public. For more information, contact
Gannon’s Schuster Program for the Arts at
814-871-5467.
Gannon University on Sept. 18 will host a public
presentation of the Plavcan mural. The presentation is
free and open to the public and will begin at 3 p.m. on
the first floor of the University’s Palumbo Academic
Center, 824 Peach St. The painting, by the late Joseph
Plavcan, dates to the early to mid 1940s and at one time
was housed at the former Erie Press Club. A 7-foot-tall
by 23-foot-long oil on canvas, it depicts scenes and
impressions of the life and times of Erie and the
country at the time. Plavcan is one of Erie’s most
accomplished artists. For more information, or to RSVP
for the event, contact Gannon University at
814-871-7201.
The Funniest Cast Of Fools Ever Performing At The Station
By Rob Taylor
I just got home from what has to be one of the funniest plays any theatre in town has presented this year…and that play is the Station Dinner Theatre’s presentation of Neil Simon’s Fools.
Neil Simon has always been one of my favorite playwrights. I could watch his The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two, Only When I Laugh and Barefoot In The Park over and over again. The thing is that MOST of his movies are based on his real life and that makes the enjoyable. From what I hear Fools was written as revenge against his wife who wanted more alimony….so he went and wrote the stupidest play he could so he wouldn’t have to pay her and Fools came out. The thing is…it is dumb as a freaking rock and it is a laugh a minute and a total joy to watch.
The story is about a Ukrainian village some number of years ago that had a curse…or purse…or hearse or whatever (you’ll get that joke when you see the play) placed on it where the entire village is made completely stupid. I mean these people are such bloody idiots that Dr. and Lenya Zubritsky (Larry Lewis and Carrie Smith) are ecstatic when there 19-year-old daughter Sophia (Katie States) learns how to sit down….yeah after 19 years she finally learned how to sit down…and they get even more excited when they are asked a simple question.
There is only one way to break the curse…or purse…or hearse or whatever, and that is for Sophia to merry the guy who lives in the big house on the hill, Count Yousekevitch (Dave Edmunds). It was his family who put the curse on the village and he, as a resident of the village…he’s an idiot too!
The village has brought in hundreds of teachers come in to try and teach them how to be smart. Finally, Leon Tolchinsky (Nick Kikola) shows up as a teacher hired by the Zubritsky’s to try to help their daughter. The catch is…well, he only has 24 hours to do it or he becomes as dumb as the rest of them.
Other characters include Snetsky (Nick Iacobucci), The Magistrate/Slovitch (Glenn Tuttle) and Mishkin (Marann Curtis). The thing is if you take the IQs of all of these characters, as well as the Zubritsky’s and Yousekevitch, and added them together you would probably get a number between 19 and 21 and guess what…I doubt any of them could ever count that high.
There is not one person in the cast who didn’t rock in their performances…even Tolchinsky who could at least speak with intelligence made me laugh because of what he had to deal with. True, you’ll feel sorry for the rest of the cast but it is hard not to laugh at their total ignorance. I mean…I haven’t seen such stupidity since the 2000 presidential election.
I had Slovitch (Tuttle) as my waiter for lunch. If you asked him he served us he said that he served us cherries, strawberries, apples and beef for our entrée, we had borscht for dessert, apple crisp for the appetizer and I had water to drink. The thing was we were eating chicken, ham, carrots and potatoes for lunch, borscht for our soup and apple crisp for dessert and I had Coke to drink. You know what the bad thing was…I asked for some whipped cream for the “Strawberries” and he never brought it to me!
To be honest I don’t know how they do it. Most of the cast is either involved with The Station’s A Canterbury Feast or A3’s Primal Fear. They put on great shows there and then perform at the level they did here…it is amazing! It takes some kind of talent to put on shows of the quality of those and then turn around and put on a show that is so funny that you will never stop laughing through the entire show.
Yeah, the characters in Fools are stupid…that ain’t a strong enough for it…and it is a silly play but I promise you will laugh your ass off and get some really good food at the same time. The thing is it has a strange schedule since Canterbury is running during the same weeks so call the theatre at 814-864-2022 or check out
www.canterburyfeast.com for the schedule. The only thing I can tell you for sure is the dates and they are SEPTEMBER 29, 30, OCTOBER 2, 3, 13, 14, 27, 28.
Wine
Festival Coming To North East
Over
the years the Wine Country Harvest Festival has evolved into a
regional event that encompasses the entire town of North East for 3
full days. In addition to the more than 150 companies and
organizations that must come together for this festival, consider some
of these facts as well:
WineFest relies on approximately 150 volunteers each year
Between 13,000 and 16,000 people will visit the festival
15 Bands will play over the weekend
More than 32,000 glasses of wine will be sold
Thank you for being a part of our festival. Below is some general
festival information. If you have other questions or comments please
let us know.We constantly look for ways to improve the overall
experience of WineFest and we look forward to hearing from you.
Park Hours and Admission
Gravel Pit Park: $6 For Adults 11 years and older
Friday 6pm-10pm
Saturday 12pm-10pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Gibson Park FREE
Friday 10 am - 6pm
Saturday 10 am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
The festival will happen, rain or shine! But, for your own comfort,
you may want to bring rain gear or sun screen because our Septembers
can be unpredictable! Handicapped parking is available and other
public parking is provided free in downtown North East as well as at
Gravel Pit Park.
Food and beverages will be available for sale at both parks during the
festival. No coolers or alcoholic beverages may be brought into the
festival grounds. For those who do not enjoy wine, Pepsi and Welch
products will be available.
Pets will not be admitted to the festival area, and for the safety of
your animals, please do not leave them in your car.
Events & Entertainment
WineFest features 15 of the regions best bands during the weekend.
These include popular blues, rock and country groups. See below for
band schedules.
Gravel
Pit Park
Friday,
September 25, 2009
6-7:30 pm Everchange - 80's-Current Rock
8-10:00 pm House of Cards - Country
Saturday, September 26, 2009
12-2:30 pm String Theory - 60's & 70's Classical Rock
3-5:00 pm Antyx - Southern & Classic Rock
6-7:30 pm Duke Sherman - Blues
8-10:00 pm Porcelain Bus Drivers - Variety with horn section
Sunday, September 27, 2009
12-2:00 pm Breezer - Motown
2:30-4:30 pm Rick & the Roadhouse Rockers - Classic Rock
5-6:00 pm Lake Effect - Top 40 Variety
Gibson Park
Saturday, September 26, 2009
11 am-1 pm Acoustic Gypsys - Variety
1:30-3:30 pm Hot Rhythum Club - 20's Jazz
4-6:00 pm Matt Maloof - Alt-Country
Sunday, September 27, 2009
12-2:00 pm Shotgun Jubilee - Folk
2:30-4:00 pm Carl Hultman Group - Folk Jazz
4:30-6:00 pm Claims to Fame - Top 40 Variety
Shuttle
Busses Between Parks
Pick up on Main Street and Park Street, (by McCord Library)
Saturday, September 26, 11:15am - 11:15pm
Sunday, September 27, 11:15am - 6:15pm
Vans To Wineries and Wine Shops
Leaves from Gravel Pit Park
Saturday, September 26, 11:15am - 6:15pm
Sunday, September 27, 11:15am - 6:15pm
2009 Wine Country Harvest Festival
Wine tasting tents will be selling 1 ounce, 3 ounce or 5 ounce
servings.
Tokens must be used to purchase drinks, the tokens will sell for $1.00
for
1 ounce serving, $3.00 for 3 ounce serving and $5.00 for 5 ounce
serving.
Gravel Pit Park
$4.00 Advance Ticket Purchase (call 814.725.4262 before 5 pm on 9/24)
$6.00 at the Gate
Friday, September 25th 6pm - 10pm
Saturday, September 26th noon - 10pm
Sunday, September 27th noon - 6pm
Token sales in Gravel Pit Park will end at 9:00 pm on Friday and
Saturday
evening. The wine tent will stop serving at 9:30 pm.
No pets, beverages or coolers may be brought into Festival Grounds.
Entertainment schedule listed below.
Gibson Park
No ticket required for Gibson Park.
Friday, September 25th 10 am - 6pm
Saturday, September 26th 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday, September 25th noon - 6pm
28th Annual Arts and Crafts Show
Gravel Pit Park features a wonderful selection of homemade and
handmade items from artists and crafters representing the tri-state
area. Over 75 booths will be open during the entire festival weekend.
Gibson Park features artisans and demonstrators from the local area,
and is free to our guests. Enjoy this portion of the weekend that
represents the origin of our Wine Festival.
15th Annual Cruise In
Gravel Pit Park, Noon - 4:00 Saturday, September 26th
Registration Fee: $5.00, registration from 11:30 - 1:30pm
First 100 cars get one FREE admission ticket to WineFest,
Goodie bag, dash plaque. Grape Queen Choice Trophy, Commitee
Choice Trophy and Participants Choice Trophy.
Show Sponsor: Sacco's North East Tire & Auto Service
Net proceeds will benefit Common Ground Teen Center.
Grape Stomping near the Main Stage
Saturday: 2:30 - 3:00pm; 5:00 - 6:00pm
Sunday: 2:00-2:30pm; 4:30-5:00pm
3rd Annual Motorcycle Show
Sunday, September 27th
Registration Fee: $5.00, registration from noon - 2:00pm
Awards will be presented at 3:30pm
Fee includes one FREE admissions ticket to Winefest,
Ten judged classes with trophies for class winners
Bike Wine Country
Saturday morning, September 26th. Enjoy a non-competitive group ride
through the beautiful wine country in the peak of grape season. Call
Lake Country Bike for more information, 814-725-1338.
International
Coastal Cleanup will be held on September 19 at 9:00 am.
Volunteers are invited to participate in the 24th Annual International
Coastal Cleanup. Come join us at Presque Isle State Park or Erie
Bluffs State Park and help us clean up our waterways.
Participants
will be picking up trash and collecting data regarding their finds.
Trash bags, gloves, data cards and pencils will be provided at
registration. Registration begins at 9:00 am at the Tom Ridge
Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park or the parking area at
Erie Bluffs State Park. Groups and organizations are welcome to
pre-register by calling (814) 838-2454 or email eborcz@state.pa.us.
Service hours are available and the event will be held regardless of
the weather.
Irish
Celebration At Rainbow Gardens Next Weekend
The
Erie Irish Festival was created in 1993 to bring together the Erie
Community for a day of Celtic culture and celebration. For eight years
our home was at the Cauley Center at St. Patrick Church. We have
outgrown the Cauley Center. We welcome you to our new home for the
fifth year at Rainbow Gardens - 6th and 8th street, Erie, PA.
Help our Food Bank and SAVE MONEY!!!
Adult daily admission $3 when you bring canned/dry goods to help
support St. Patrick's Food Bank.
Adult daily admission is $5 without canned/dry goods.
Children under 16 admitted FREE!
DATES:
Friday, September 18, 2009, 5pm-10:30pm
Saturday, September 19, 2009, 11:30am-10:30pm
Sunday, September 20, 2009, 10:30am-6pm
Irish Vendors -clothing, jewelry, art, crystal, religious items,
ceramics
Games - Irish Auction, games of chance, Various Raffles of Irish Wares
Irish Food - Shepard's Pie, Reubens, Corned beef & cabbage, Potato
Soup, and much, much more!
Bake sale - Try your favorite Irish treats and much, much more
