Future events
local stage
Reservations for the Thompson House Restaurant’s interactive Halloween Mystery Dinner Theatre, “The Vampire Game,” scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31, should be made by calling 724-785-4744. The Thompson House Restaurant is located at 815 Water St., Brownsville.
Actors and Artists of Fayette County will present “If the Shoe Fits,” the second production in Scottdale Showtime’s Fall Family Showcase, on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-20, at Scottdale Showtime Theatre, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale. “If the Shoe Fits” is a one-act adaptation of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, as told with a modern beat. For more information, call 724-887- 0887.
Uniontown Business and Professional Women’s Club will present a dinner theater at Becker’s Shadyside Restaurant, 998 N. Gallatin Ave. Extension, Uniontown, on Friday, Oct. 25. The cost is $40 per person. Stagecoach to the Stars will perform “Arsenic and Old Lace.” A Chinese auction will also be held. A cash bar will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. followed by dinner and the show. Dinner choices will include prime rib, chicken or orange roughy. For tickets, call 724-438-0310 or 724-438-3144.
music
Diane Bish, renowned organist and host of “The Joy of Music” television series, will perform on the two-manual, 22-rank Schantz pipe organ at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Uniontown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15. Tickets for the event are sold out.
Dr. Gordon Turk, resident organist of the historic Auditorium in Ocean Grove, N.J., will give the inaugural organ recital in the Asbury Festival Recital Series on Sunday, Oct. 13, at Asbury United Methodist Church. The festival series will conclude on April 13 (Palm Sunday) with a performance by the Asbury Festival Choir and the Greater Uniontown Chorale assisted by guest artists. Season subscriptions for the recital series are available. Four- and two-concert subscription packages will be sold by mail only, at considerable savings. Anyone who wants to be placed on the mailing list to receive a subscription brochure should send an address label to Asbury United Methodist Church, 20 Dunbar St., Uniontown Pa. 15401. Tickets for individual performances at $12 each will be sold two weeks before each performance at selected outlets. No tickets will be sold at the door. Asbury church is located as the corner of South Beeson Avenue and Dunbar Street and is handicapped accessible. All performances will be given in the church sanctuary.
The Fall Recital Series of Trinity Presbyterian Church, corner of Morgantown and West Fayette streets, Uniontown, will begin an organ recital by their organist and music director, Jason J. Keefer at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. Keefer will present a program featuring works by French and German masters ranging from the 17th through 20th centuries. Following the recital on Friday, Oct. 25, the public is invited to a reception in the chapel for a time of refreshment and fellowship. For more information, call 724-437-2709.
The Point Marion Lions Club will host a “Music Jamboree” fund-raising event at the skating rink in Point Marion every second Saturday of the month. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature an open-stage portion from 6 to 7:30 p.m. A feature group or band will play from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. These events will continue every second Saturday of the month through June 2003. Betty Jo and the Mountainairs from Orlando, W.Va., will sing a variety of country, gospel and traditional music on Saturday. There is a $2 donation at the door. The kitchen opens at 5:30 p.m. To participate in the open stage, book a band or perform in the feature portion, call 724-725-5737 or 1-304-599-0795.
“Symphony on Wheels” will travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 12, to attend the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert entitled, “Salute to Lerner and Loewe.” Conductor Marvin Hamlish is joined by headliner Melba Moore for a tribute to those icons of Broadway, Lerner and Loewe. The concert will feature show-stopping tunes from “My Fair Lady,” “Brigadoon,” “Camelot” and more. Ticket cost is $42 for seating in the grand tier or orchestra level. Bus transportation from the Uniontown Mall is available for a charge of $17 for a round-trip ticket. The deadline for tickets is Oct. 4. Call Susan at Communities in Schools at 724-437-2540 for reservations.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will return to California University of Pennsylvania for its ninth annual appearance at Steele Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tuesday. During this special performance, concert goers will be treated to the world premiere of a music selection composed by Nancy Galbraith for California University’s Sesquicentennial, and based on the bronze art creation that graces the World Cultures Building, “The Ascent of Humanity.” Lucas Richman, resident conductor, will direct the orchestra for the piece, which is titled “De profundis ad lucem.” Tickets are $10. Students with a valid CalCard attend charge of charge. For concert and ticket information regarding the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, call the Steele Auditorium box office at 724-938-5943.
The Greater Uniontown Chorale will open its 28th season at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, in the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church of Uniontown. The 40-member chorus, known locally as “the official musical voice of Uniontown,” will sing the stirring music of Howard Hanson’s “Song of Democracy” and “Requiem” by John Rutter. The first concert of the 2002-03 season will be a post-tour performance following a three-day tour to West Chester to sing in concert with the Chester County Choral Society. Tickets for the chorale’s fall concert will be available, beginning Monday, Oct. 14, at Window Designs by Lydia, Main Street, Uniontown; Judy’s Do Re Me Music Shop, 70 S. Beeson Blvd., Uniontown; Amend’s Jewelry in the Uniontown Mall and at the Atkins Music Store in Connellsville. Admission prices are $10 for adults and $7 for students. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and no tickets will be sold at the door. The doors of Asbury Church will open one hour before the performance. The chorale is offering four- and two-concert subscription packages with savings for both adults and students. Subscriptions may be purchased by calling Karen at 724-439-7518. Asbury United Methodist Church is located at the corner of South Beeson Avenue and Dunbar Street in Uniontown.
art
A.G. Montessori Preschool and Kindergarten will hold an art auction fundraiser to benefit the educational program for children in the Uniontown area. It will be held on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Becker’s Shadyside Inn. Marlin Art, New York-based company, will furnish exquisitely framed art in a variety of mediums – oil, watercolor, lithographs, etc. – and provide an auctioneer for the evening. Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres are available during the preview period and the auction. The event will also feature a variety of raffles and a Chinese auction.
Sylvia Vignali of Hopwood, Uniontown Art Club president, and Patty Clutter-Thorpe of Fairchance, recording secretary, have chosen 16 photographs to exhibit at the National City Bank in downtown Uniontown during bank hours in October. The photographs portray the essence of local landscapes and nature through their vision of composition, lighting and impact. Both women have taken classes from nationally known photographers Norm Schumm and Nancy Rotenberg at the Touchstone Center for the Arts. Vignali has focused her skills on the fine art of black and white photography for which she has won many awards. Clutter-Thorpe has exhibited photos at the Carnegie Museum Photography Section, Westmoreland Art Nationals and has won several best of show awards. She owns and operates a wedding photography business in Fairchance. A portion of all sales will benefit the Uniontown Art Club. For more information, call Vignali at 724-439-3880 or Clutter-Thorpe at 724-564-2019.
odds & ends
Candlelight Ghost Tours of Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville will be held every Saturday and Sunday in October, starting this weekend and running through Oct. 31. The tours will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 to 10 p.m. on Sundays at the castle, which is located along Front Street in Brownsville. Everyone who visits the castle asks if it is haunted. Tour guides will share the investigation results from a para-normal research team, information gained by psychics, the castle staff and volunteers and the castle’s visitors. Charge for the castle tours is $6 for adults and $3 for children age 12 and under. For more information, call 724-785-6882.
Deadlines for both high school and college divisions of the 64 Crayons Short-Play Writing Contest have been extended to Friday, Nov. 15. Teachers, gifted program coordinators, play directors or others involved with student groups interested in play writing, who have students interested in this project, should either call 724-785-9010, e-mail Geezersbks@worldnet.att.net, or write to 64 Crayons Short-Play Writing Contest, third floor of the Thompson House, 815 Water St., Brownsville, Pa. 15417 for contest rules, awards and performance information.
Women’s Association of Springhill Furnace Presbyterian Church, which is located one mile north of the West Virginia line on Route 857, will hold a bazaar and bake sale this Saturday and Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be handmade quilts, crafts and holiday items. Take-out food orders are available. All proceeds will go to different Worldwide Missions. For more information, call Doris Jarrett at 724-785-3430.
German Township Recreation Parks & Trails Commission invites the public to attend a dinner on Sunday, Oct. 20, to benefit the Browns Run Trail at Dolfi’s Restaurant banquet room on River Avenue in Masontown. Design plans will be on display, and an auction of items will be held. Appetizers will be served at 5:30 p.m. followed by a buffet dinner at 6:15 p.m. A donation of $30 per person is requested. Tickets are available by calling Martha Babic at 724-737-5130.
Touchstone Center for Crafts will host its annual buckwheat cake and pancake dinner from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20. The cost is $5 for adults and $4 for children under age 10. A “Hammer In” will be featured from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, with the members of the Pittsburgh Area Artists’ Blacksmith Association (PAABA) in the world-famous Hart-Moore Blacksmith Studio, which was built for Touchstone by the Eberly Foundation. John Steel of Freedom is president of the PAABA group. They will be making hasps, hinges and hooks for use on Touchstone buildings and for sale in the gallery. Touchstone is located on the Elliottsville Road, which is four miles from Route 40 East. Visitors are welcome to visit the forge and see the work done by these experienced blacksmiths. For more information, call 724-329-1370.
Fayette County Community Action Agency Inc. will host its annual Service Awards Banquet on Thursday at the Uniontown Country Club. The banquet is held to recognize outstanding, local individuals and businesses that have positively impacted the community and contributed significantly to the FCCAA mission. The community is invited to attend. The cost is $35 per person. A cash bar and Chinese action will begin at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Presentation of the awards will immediately follow. For more information regarding reservations or donations, contact 724-437-6050, extension 257.
Special dinner dance will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Brownfield Community Center in Dawson. Lunch will be served at noon followed by round and square dancing from 1 to 3 p.m. The donation for lunch and the dance is $3 per person.
Music and figure calling will be provided by the Dave Dahl Trio. Call Linda Cottom at 724-529-7626 to make reservations three days prior to the event.
The Ohiopyle-Stewart Volunteer Fire Company and Ohiopyle State Park invite the public to attend the annual buckwheat and pancake supper, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12, from 10 a.m. through 8 p.m. daily. Tickets cost $6 for adults and $3 for children under 12.
Hoe-down round and square dancing, slow dancing, line dancing & clogging will be held on the following dates: 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Brownfield Community Center in Dawson; 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at the Arthurdale Center Hall in Arthurdale, W.Va.; 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Wharton Grange in Elliottsville; 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Ohiopyle Community Center in Ohiopyle. Donation is $4 per person, and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Music and figure calling will be provided by the Dave Dahl Trio.
area
stage
The Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont recently announced its 2002 summer schedule, which offers dramas as well as comedies. This season’s highlights include the male and female versions of “The Odd Couple,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Taffetas” and “Picnic.” Apple Hill Playhouse is a restored barn that has been converted to a 175-seat performance space. Dinner-theater packages are available with the nearby Lamplighter Restaurant. Apple Hill is located about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh in Delmont. For more information, call 724-468-5050 or visit www.applehillplayhouse.org.
The Broadway musical “42nd Street” will be presented Oct. 8-13 at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh. Tickets are available at the Benedum Center Box Office, which is located at 7th Street near Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, by calling 412-456-6666 or online at www.pgharts.org. Groups of 20 or more may call 412-471-6930. Ticket prices range from $46.50 to $61.50 depending on performance time and seat location and are subject to applicable handling fees.
music
The Voices of St. Vincent are currently holding auditions for all sections of the chorus. Rehearsals are every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. in the St. Vincent Archabbey Basilica in Latrobe. Rehearsals are required. For additional information or to schedule an audition, call Joseph Bronder at 724-532-6600.
The Fabulous Hubcaps will perform on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Lakeview resort in Morgantown, W.Va. The band performs hits from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Tickets are $20 each. Proceeds will benefit the Foundation of Mon General Hospital’s community scholarship fund. For more information, call 304-598-1337.
art
An exhibit entitled “Vistas of the Laurel Highlands” is offered at the Mountain View Inn in Greensburg. This exhibit is a result of collaborative work between the Westmoreland Photographers and Vance and Vicki Booher, owners of the Mountain View Inn. The public is invited to view this permanent limited-edition collection of vistas from various locations in Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. Featured will be Fallingwater, Cucumber Falls, Cedar Creek, Twin Lakes, St. Michael’s Church in Rector, Rolling Rock, Linn Run, Four-Mile Run, Ligonier, Sugarloaf, Barronvale Covered Bridge and more. The photographers of this collection are Anne Bernstein, Tracy Ekovich, Ann Hewitt, Shireleah Kujawa, Kern Little, Jim Miller, Lois Odendahl and Lorie Womack. Professional framer Cathy Hayden of the Nature Nook and Malloy’s Camercade assisted with the project. For information, contact Kujawa at 724-219-9355.
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts recently opened to the public its seventh annual Regional Art Exhibition. It will run until Saturday, Oct. 12. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibition is hosted by the College of Fine Arts and the University Museum of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The exhibition will be in the museum, which is located in the John Sutton Hall on the campus.
odds & ends
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Schenley Park is staying open every Friday until 9 p.m. Visitors can enjoy an evening stroll through the entire conservatory, then sit and relax in the Palm Court where cappuccino, expresso and desserts will be available. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardents, the 13-room Victorian glasshouse and gardens in Schenley Park, is open year-round Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phipps is closed Mondays. Phipps admission rates are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors age 60 and older, $4 for students with ID and $3 for children ages 2 to 12. Children under 2 and Phipps members are admitted free. For more information about the conservatory, call 412-622-6914 or visit online at www.phipps.conservatory.org.
The Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Christmas Festival will return Friday through Sunday, Oct. 18-20, and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26-27, to the Washington County Fairgrounds. The event will feature more than 200 high-quality arts, crafts and food booths with vendors coming from 10 states. Festival hours are daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission cost is $5 for adults, $4.50 for senior citizens age 65 and older and $1 for children ages 6 to 12. Children under 6 years of age are admitted free. Additional discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information, call 724-863-4577, visit the Web site at www.familyfestivals.com or e-mail familyfestivals@hotmail.com.
Phantom Fright Nights will be held every Friday and Saturday night through Oct. 19 at Kennywood Park. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and lasts until midnight. Visitors can see the Terror Vision 3D maze, the Gothic House, Mortem Manor and the Scare Zone. You can even enjoy some of your favorite Kennywood rides – with a haunted twist of course. Phantom Fright Nights is not recommended for children under the age of 13. Tickets are $17.50 at Kennywood or buy them in advance at blockbuster and save $3. For more information visit http://www.phantomfrightnights.com.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPA Aquarium has switched to its fall and winter hours of operation. The zoo will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with admission gates closing at 4 p.m.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History will present a special exhibit, “Fascinating Fakes,” through Dec. 8 in the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. The exhibit showcases specimens that have been embellished to increase value, altered to look like a more valuable piece and examples of some specimens with questionable authenticity. The exhibit is free with museum admission. “Fascinating Fakes” can be enjoyed Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays until 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, $5 for children ages 3 to 18 and full-time students with ID. The exhibit is free to children under age 3 and Carnegie members. For more information, call 412-622-3131 or visit the museum’s Web site at www.CarnegieMuseums.org/cmnh.
Two of Pittsburgh’s premier haunted houses, Terror by the Lake in North Park and Phantoms Phest ’02 (also known as Phantoms in the Park) in South Park, opened. Proceeds from both houses will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania. The houses have raised more than $1 million for the Foundation since 1992. Terror by the Lake, created and directed by SPFX “Benzy,” on Pearce Mill Road, North Park, is open through Nov. 2. It is closed on Mondays. It is open from 7:30 to 10 p.m. weekdays and 7:30 to 11 p.m. weekends. The cost is $8 Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday and $10 on Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 724-934-HELL or visit www.terrorbythelake.com. Phantoms Phest ’02, featuring carnival rides and games, is located at 100 Acre Drive, South Park. The house is open through Oct. 31. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday. It is open from 7 to 10 p.m. weekdays and 7 to 11 p.m. weekends. The cost is $9 per person, which includes rides. The cost for games is extra. For more information, call 412-854-4156 or visit the Web site at www.phantomsinthepark.com.
Tickets are still available for the annual Korean Harvest Card Party and Luncheon hosted by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The event will be held at the Sheraton-Station Square on Saturday, Oct. 12. Funds raised through the even support the work of the Sisters of Charity in Korea and China and fund the education of the Korean sisters so that they can better serve in their ministries. Tickets are $25 per person and tables of four may be reserved for $100. Advance registration is required, and tickets will be held for pick up at the door. To make reservations before the Sept. 28 deadline, contact Maxine Yost at 724-836-0406, extension 610. Doors open at 11 a.m. with lunch served at noon. Guests will then play their choice of card or board games until 3 p.m. The event will also feature door prizes, a gift sale, Oriental auction and a bake sale.