Dec 26, 2003 13 min read

local The Point Marion Lions Club began its music jamborees, which will continue every second Saturday of the month through June 2004 at the skating rink in Point Marion. The doors will open at about 5 p.m. The open stage starts at 6 p.m. The event is alcohol and smoke free. A small donation will be accepted at the door. For information or to book a band, call 724-725-5737. Visit the Web site at www.lionwap.org/pointmarionpa.

Classical music and musical theater will highlight the 2003-04 season of the Asbury Festival Recital Series. Featuring the music of Marcel Grandjany, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, “278 Strings” will premiere in the Asbury sanctuary March 7. The series will conclude April 3 with a performance of Franz Schubert’s “Mass in G” sung by the Asbury Festival Choir and the Greater Uniontown Chorale in addition to Josef Rheinberger’s “Concerto No. 2 in F” performed by Asbury organist Jim Hutchinson. Asbury Festival Series subscription brochures can be obtained by mailing an address label to Asbury United Methodist Church, attention: Festival Series, 20 Dunbar St., Uniontown, Pa., 15401. Brochures will be mailed shortly to those on the series mailing list. Individual tickets will be on sale two weeks prior to each recital event at local businesses in Uniontown and Hopwood.

Advanced Strings, a group of guitar playing, banjo strumming, yodeling senior adults, meet every Thursday at Center in the Woods in California for its weekly jam session. For more information, call 724-938-3554.

Caileigh’s Restaurant will hold a Christmas benefit concert at 6:30 p.m. Monday in honor of Rikki Lynn Wivell, 17, the niece of Scott and Amy Wivell of Smock. She was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease in July. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and will start radiation therapy in the new year. A three-course meal will be served during the concert. The menu offers a choice of sliced slow-roasted Prime Rib, grilled Atlantic Salmon or stuffed Chicken Lorenzo. Members of the Joe Carei family will perform in the concert. To make reservations, call 724-437-9463.”Interpretations,” an exhibit of paintings and monoprints by Samuel N. Koleman, will run from Saturday through Feb. 7 at the Frank L. Meglega Art Museum on the upper floor of the Flatiron Builidng Heritage Center, 69 Market St., Brownsville. The Heritage Center is open noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For museum hours, call 724-785-9331.

Artists Image Resource (AIR), Pittsburgh’s only professional printmaking studio, will present a collection of fine art prints at California University of Pennsylvania’s Manderino Gallery of Fine Art, located on the third floor of Manderino Library. All are welcome to attend a catered opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. The gallery is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 2 to 6 p.m. Sundays. The show will run until Jan. 15.

Washington resident Judy Hopson has crossed into Fayette County to exhibit her art at 64 Crayons Cultural Center in the Thompson House at 815 Water Street, Brownsville. Her third show, “Extravaganza!,” will be displayed throughout December. The exhibit features pottery, paintings and prints. Hopson plans to offer a pottery demonstration at the site later this month and a series of workshops in January. For more information call 64 Crayons at 724-785-9010 or Bill Faust at 724-225-3512 or e-mail Geezersbks@att.net.A New Year’s Eve dinner/dance will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Shadyside Restaurant, 998 N. Gallatin Ave., Uniontown. Music will be provided by D.J. Arnie Amber. Call 724-438-0931 for information and reservations.

Christmas SportCard, NASCAR, Comic Book and Collectible Show will be held at the Uniontown Mall. It will continue until Dec. 24 near the Sear’s store at the mall. There will be dealers from three states with many different items to fill Christmas gift lists. For more information, call 724-592-5038.

A candlelight lecture series will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at Nancy’s Fancy Tea Room, 428 N. Pittsburgh St., Connellsville. Guest lecturer Robert Adamovich will speak about the French and Indian War. It will be a three-part lecture series, but the other dates have not been selected. For more information or reservations, call Nancy Koller, owner of the tea room, at 724-628-0173. A small fee will be charged.

A cookbook is currently being planned for print by the State Theatre Center for the Arts Progressive Dinner Committee. The committee asks anyone with favorite recipes that they want included in the book to send the information to the State Theatre, 27 E. Main St., Uniontown, Pa. For questions or additional information, call the State Theatre at 724-439-1360.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is searching for volunteers to work in a variety of capacities from “Ask Me” guides to garden helpers to pavilion assistants to transcription services. Those applying must enjoy nature, architecture or history. Volunteers are offered a flexible schedule, working one day a week or one day a month. For more information, call 724-329-1441, ext. 1203, or e-mail aturnicky@paconserve.org.

Friendship Hill National Historic Site announces its 2003-04 winter hours. The Gallatin House, including the visitor center, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The house will be available for group tours by reservation Tuesday through Friday. A 48-hour notice is requested for tours. All other areas of the park, including hiking trails, will remain open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week through the winter. The restrooms at the main parking lot will be locked at 5 p.m. every evening. For more information or to make reservations, call 724-329-5811.

Christmas Candlelight Tours will be held at Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December and Jan. 2-4. The tours are available from 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and 2 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Activities begin with Light-Up Night on Sunday when the castle grounds and walls are lined with luminaria. “An Old-fashioned Christmas” is this year’s theme. For more information, call 724-785-6882.

The Carpathian Cookery cookbook, now in its 10th printing, is again available for sale. The 330-page cookbook features a protective plastic cover and includes sections on Christmas and Easter customs and recipes, traditional Rusyn foods and other ethnic dishes and many other recipes of St. John’s parishioners. For more information on how to order, call 724-438-6027.

“Fayette County: A Video History,” an educational video with more than 90 minutes of footage about the history of Fayette County, is available at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, the Coal and Coke Heritage Center at Penn State Library, Connellsville Area Historical Society, Smock Historical Society, Uniontown Public Library or from the Fayette County Historical Society. The book “Abel Gray: A Romance of the National Road,” reproduced by the Fayette County Historical Society in 1998 from the 1876 writings of A.F. Hill published in the Uniontown newspaper, contains accurate depictions of the National Road. For more information contact the Fayette County Historical Society, Inc. at P.O. Box 193 Uniontown, Pa. 15401 or call 724-439-4422.

A Big New Year’s Eve Round and Square Dance will be held from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the Ohiopyle Stewart Community Center. For more information, call Dave Dahl at 724-438-5455.

New Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance Party will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, and continue until 1 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, at All Saints Social Hall in Masontown. D.J. Paul McGrady will present music from the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s to present-day hits. Myers Catering will provide the buffet dinner. Every guest will receive a derby hat or crown, noise maker and a lei. A cash bair will be featured. The event will benefit All Saints School in Masontown.

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St. Vincent College’s Department of Fine Arts and Music will host auditions for students interested in pursuing undergraduate degrees in music, music performance or music education. Admission to St. Vincent’s music programs are by audition only. Auditions will be held on four Saturdays throughout the 2003-04 academic year: this Saturday, March 6 and April 17. All auditions will begin at 11 a.m. in the Fine Arts Department located on the third floor of the Robert S. Carey Student Center. Appointments are required. To receive a copy of audition requirements, schedule an appointment or for more information, contact Joseph Bronder at 724-805-2123.

The Monongalia Arts Center in Morgantown, W.Va., will hold OpenMac Night at the center every month. Any bands interested in performing at one of the OpenMac Night events should contact Seret Englestad at 304-292-3325 or stop by 107 High St. in Morgantown, W.Va., for more details.

A New Year’s Eve dinner and show, an alcohol-free event, will be held at the Sagebrush Round-Up on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Doors open at 5 p.m., dinner will be served at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Meat, bread, drink and utensils will be available but bring a covered dish. The Sagebrush Round-Up is located six miles east of Interstate 79, exit 139 on Bunner Ridge near Fairmont, W.Va. For more information, call 304-292-5854 or 304-363-4864.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Pops and Mary Rodgers will pay tribute to composer Richard Rodgers at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 23 and 24 in Pittsburgh Symphony Heinz Hall. Mary Rodgers, the daughter of Richard Rodgers, will share stories and insights into the life of her famous father. For ticket information, call 412-392-4900.

Symphony With a Splash, the Pittsburgh Symphony’s three-concert series targeting professionals between the ages of 25 and 50, will hold its second concert at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, in Pittsburgh Symphony Heinz Hall. During happy hour, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Grand Lobby, Rodney McCoy Productions will provide live jazz music. For ticket information, call 412-392-4900.The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is offering an exploration of the animal world in “Skulls and Skeletons” featuring dozens of real and replicated skulls, skeletons, bones and fossils of present day to prehistoric animals, including the wooly mammoth and a killer whale. It offers a learning experience on the skeletal adaptations of reptiles, birds, mammals, fish and insects and why the various animal adaptations are crucial to their survival. The exhibit also features a real dinosaur bone for visitors to touch. The aquarium is the first venue for this exhibit. The exhibit will begin a nationwide tour after its Pittsburgh stop. “Skulls and Skeletons” will be in the Discovery Pavilion at the Kids Kingdom until January. For more information on the exhibit, call the aquarium at 412-665-3639.

Smitty’s on the Water Front, 119 River Road, Speers, will offer dancing from 7 to 10:30 p.m. every second Sunday of the month. There is an admission charge. For more information, call 724-483-7333.

Millions of sparkling lights and animated displays across 15 acres makes up the Overly’s Country Christmas, a drive-through, walk-through Christmas Village, held at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Mount Pleasant Township through Jan. 4, every day including holidays. Event favorites include: Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Sprouting Water Fountain, Forest of Dancing Trees, Walkway Entrance to the Christmas Village, Kids’ Korner, Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Dancing Snowmen, Ringing in the New Year Bells, Carousel Park, Galliker’s Milking Pallor and Victorian Carolers. Wagon/sleigh rides and kids’ express train rides will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Gifts, treats and a bonfire will also enhance this Christmas tradition. Proceeds from the event benefit Overly’s Lights For Little Ones Endowment, which supports multiple children’s causes. For more information, call the infolines at 800-9OVERLY (968-3759) or 724-423-1400 or visit the Web site at www.overlys.com.

Wild West Garden at Phipps Conservatory will run through Feb. 22 with four different G-scale trains traveling tracks through the 1,250-square-foot western landscape. An interactive mining car explores an ore mine. Turn-of-the-century steam engines pass through mountains and canyons, traveling over bridges and through tunnels admist a variety of plants all to scale. Phipps serves the area in two locations: Phipps Consevatory and Botanical Gardens in Schenley Park and Phipps Garden Center at 1059 Shady Ave. in Mellon Park. For additional information, call the conservatory at 412-622-6914 or the garden center at 412-441-4442. To learn more about either location, visit Phipps online at www.phipps.conservatory.org.

The Fire and Ice Festival will be held Friday through Sunday, Jan. 16-18, in Somerset. The annual festival, held in the streets of Somerset every January, kicks off with a winter fireworks display at 6 p.m. Friday. Ice sculptures will be on display and carving will continue throughout the weekend as the DiMartino Ice Company creates masterpieces for the entertainment of the crowd. Musical entertainment and activities for children and teens will also be available. A 5K walk/run will be held at 10 p.m. Saturday. The “Hot Stuff” Chili Cookoff will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday in the basement of the American Legion.

The Andy Warhol Museum has announced its 2004 season for the Off the Wall performance arts series. For the fourth year, The Warhol will bring an eclectic batch of nationally and internationally acclaimed performance artists to Pittsburgh audiences. The 2004 season features everything from thought-provoking spoken word to physical theater and multi-media performances. A reception to meet the artist will follow each performance. The 2004 season will welcome the following artists: Forced Entertainment at 8 p.m. Jan. 17; Sekou Sundiata at 8 p.m. Feb. 21; Richard Maxwell and the New York City Players at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. March 6 and 2, 4 and 6 p.m. March 7; Dael Orlandersmith at 8 p.m. April 10; New Paradise Laboratories at 7 and 9 p.m. April 24; Tim Miller at 8 p.m. May 22 and 23. For more information, call 412-237-8300.

The Winter Festival of Lights at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va., runs through Jan. 4. Seven new light displays were unveiled this year including two fire-breathing dragon displays at the Good Zoo at Oglebay.

On Friday and Saturday, zoo visitors can make s’mores over a fire burning on the zoo patio from 6 to 9 p.m.

The zoo also features holiday laser shows and a large miniature train display with a nostalgic winter village.

Trolley tours of the festival are offered nightly every hour from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The festival is open from 5 to 11 p.m.

For more information call 304-243-4000 or 1-800-624-6988 or visit www.oglebay-resort.com.

Seton Hill University will present “An Evening with Jack Gantos” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Cecilian Hall. Gantos’ lecture will take place during the January residency of the master of art in writing popular fiction program. A book signing will follow the free lecture.

Gantos received the Newbery Honor in 2001 for his book “Joey Pigza Loses Control” and is known nationally for his educational creative writing and literature presentations to students and teachers.

For more information, call Wendy Lynn, administrative assistant for writing popular fiction, at 724-830-4600.