Future events
local The Geyer Performing Arts Center of Scottdale has announced rehearsals for the musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” will begin during March in Uniontown with performances slated at the Geyer Performing Arts Center on April 19-22. The production staff for “Forum” will include Brad Henry, music director; Ginny Tanner, choreographer; and Bill Dreucci, director. For more information, call 724-557-1119.
“The Wizard of Oz,” a play, will be presented at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at Uniontown High School. All proceeds will benefit Fayette Friends of Animals, a no-kill shelter. Tickets are on sale now. To purchase a ticket, call 724-437-1965.
Flatwoods Productions announced the first shows it will be presenting as part of its spring season. All shows are performed in the Curfew Grange, located at the corner of Route 201 South and Buena Vista Road across from the cemetery in Flatwoods. Shows are performed for three performances, at 8 p.m. on two days and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Dinner is available for an extra charge with the Saturday evening shows. Dinner theater requires a reservation. Group rates for dinner also are available. The season will begin on March 16-18, with a musical revue titled “One Hundred Years of Broadway” and will feature music from the past 100 years from the early days of Broadway through Tin Pan Alley and up to the present day. A special St. Patrick’s Day dinner will be available at 6 p.m. March 17. The meal is an additional cost, and reservations are needed. Food will include a choice of either roast beef or stuffed chicken breast, mashed potatoes, vegetable, fruit cup, rolls and butter, salad, coffee, tea or soft drink and a dessert. For reservations or additional information, call 724-785-6896.
Albert Gallatin Area High School will present the spring musical performance of “Damn Yankees: at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 23-24, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25. Reserved seating will be available in the Albert Gallatin Area High School Auditorium. Tickets may be purchased daily at the Albert Gallatin Area High School, beginning on Monday, March 12, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. An evening ticket sale will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 19. All ticket sales prior to the performance will take place in the high school’s main office. Pending availability, tickets may be purchased at the door before each performance. No refunds or exchanges will be available on tickets. For ticket information, call Marianne Muzika at the high school office at 724-564-2040, extension 5302.
“Lost In Yonkers” will be performed at 8 p.m. March 31 at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown. Wolford and Lenore Swimmer and Josh and Maria Swimmer will sponsor the show. “Lost in Yonkers” is Neil Simon’s touching story and Pulitzer Prize-winning play of an eccentric New York family in crisis in the summer of 1942. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the State Theatre box office at 724-439-1360.
64 Crayons at Jozart, 333 Second St., California, in cooperation with the California Community Theatre, plans performances of six new short plays on March 22-25. The program “Danse Macabre,” features winning plays submitted by local writers for the fall 2006 playwriting competition. They include Pamela Murphy’s “Howard’s Finale,” Phil Coleman’s “Going Overboard,” Cindy’s Bartolotta’s “Number 31,” Diana Man’s “Beef Stew,” Andrea Kremposky’s “Cursed Play” and Fred Lapisardi’s “October Leaves.” The California Community Theatre plans productions of Bill Bennett’s adaptations from Chekhov in April, a second round of different 64 Crayons Writing Workshops plays in May and “Scenes from Shakespeare” in June. For more information, call Lapisardi at 724-880-3801 or e-mail him at 64crayons@jozartstudios.com.
The Frazier Drama Club will present the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” at 7 p.m. March 28-31 in the high school auditorium. Tickets are available at the door. For information, call 724-736-4426.
The classic fairy tale of Cinderella will come alive on stage at Uniontown High School March 29-31. Tickets can be purchased in the high school office or by calling 724-439-5000.
Flatwoods Productions announced auditions for its next project, a comedy titled “Dearly Departed,” will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Curfew Grange, Flatwoods. Needed at six men ages 14 through 30, four women ages 14 through 30 and four men and women that are senior citizens (age 50 and older) for a variety of roles. “Dearly Departed” will be presented April 13-15. All roles are open, and previous experience is not necessary. Readings will be taken from the script. For additional information, call 724-785-8689.The Greater Uniontown Children’s Choir will hold rehearsals from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Third Presbyterian Church, 425 Union St., Uniontown. Rehearsals will continue through May. The choir has performed at the state Capitol in Harrisburg and the Maryland Children’s Choir Festival. In addition to the annual concert, the choir performs for annual holiday events at Nemacolin Woodlands, Nemacolin Castle, Christian Klay Winery and private parties. The choir is open to children who like to sing from the Fayette/Greene County area in grades four through senior high. Boys must have unchanged voices. For more information, call 724-938-1348.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra will play at 7 p.m. May 19 at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown. The event is sponsored in part by National City Bank. Back at the theater by popular demand, the legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all the dance bandleaders back in the swing era of the 1930s and ’40s. Under the direction of Larry O’Brien, the 19-member band continues to play many of the original arrangements that have been delighting Miller fans for decades. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the State Theatre box office at 724-439-1360.
American County Revival will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, in the Grindstone Fireman’s Social Hall. Steel Witness, one of the area’s best known gospel bands head by the Rev. Mitch Wall will perform.
The Beesontown Singers of Fayette County continue its search for adult singers for the new spring season. Experience choral singers who want to sing good choral literature are encouraged to make an appointment for an audition as soon as possible. The Beesontown Singers rehearse for two hours each Sunday evening in Uniontown and present two public performances annually. It is the only auditioned choral ensemble in the tri-county area and the membership is limited to achieve a good choral balance. Rehearsals will begin in late February to prepare for a mid-May concert. Interested singers should apply as soon as possible by calling 724-557-1119 or by sending a letter of application to Beesontown Singers, 20 Dunbar St., Uniontown, Pa. 15401.
Communities In Schools will host the 11th annual Fourth Grade Concert sponsored by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the CIS Community Outreach Program. Again this year, fourth grad students from area elementary schools will travel to the Maggie Hardy Magerko Auditorium at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, on Monday, March 5, to hear a musical presentation by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra String Quintet. Members of the String Quintet are violinist Sarah Brough Blomquist, violinist Yuko Uchiyama, cellist Michael Lipman and violist Isaias Zelkowicz. About 1,000 students are expected to attend. For more information, call Susan Shoemaker at 724-437-2540.
The Greater Uniontown Chorale will begin rehearsals for the spring term on Monday at the Third Presbyterian Church on Union Street, Uniontown. Rehearsals will begin at 7 p.m. All questions may be directed to Richard McCoy at 724-437-6400. Music selected will represent the history of Broadway.Frank L. Melega Art Museum, upper floor in the Flatiron Building Heritage Center, 69 Market St., Brownsville, will present “Treasures Found!” from March 25 through May 5. An opening reception will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 25. The museum will debut recently discovered artworks of Frank L. Melega. For more information, call the museum at 724-785-9331 or e-mail info@barcpa.org for the latest weekday and weekend hours.64 Crayons at Jozart Studios, 333 Second St., California, invites local writers to submit short plays, from eight to 15 minutes running time, for possible production as part of the 2007 season at California Community Theatre. The plays will be read and judged by members of the 64 Crayons Writing Workshop. Final decision on production rests with the CCT Board of Directors. Manuscripts will be accepted from now through Tuesday. No more than two plays will be considered per playwright. A readers’ fee of $5 for one play or $8 for two will be charged, but playwrights will receive a share of the performance proceeds for any play produced by CCT. The fee will be waived if the author joins the Writers’ Workshop and participates in the production process. For more information, call Dr. Fred Lapisardi at 724-938-9730 or e-mail him at 64crayons@jozartstudios.com.
Ballet Lafayette Ballroom will offer ballroom dance lessons. Participants can learn the English waltz, salsa and more. Call 724-437-8653 for schedule and cost of lessons.
Local and regional celebrities will showcase their culinary skills at 6 p.m. March 24 at the annual Celebrity Chef Cook-Off event at Lakeside Party Center, McClellandtown. Andrew Stockey and Mike Clark, both news anchors at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, will be participating at this year’s event. For the fifth year, Chef Joe Carei, owner of Caileigh’s Restaurant in Uniontown, and a volunteer committee are planning to set the sizzle for this event to support colon cancer awareness programs. The event will feature a number of stations that will offer everything from tantalizing appretizers, savory entrees and tempting desserts. Guests may visit the individual stations and sample each chef’s creation. Last year, this event raised more than $24,000 for colon cancer awareness. Tickets are available by calling Caileigh’s Restaurnat at 724-437-9463. Interested volunteers and sponsors should call that number and speak to Chef Joe.
Nemacolin Castle on Front Street, Brownsville, will hold the following events: ghost tours from 6 to 10 p.m. March 9-11 and March 16-18; Easter Bonnet Parade and Egg Hunt at 1 p.m. April 7; castle open on weekends only from noon to 4 p.m. April 7 to May 27; National Road Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 19-20 and ghost tours only from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 19.
Ballet Lafayette will hold a mother and daughter/friend tea on Sunday, March 25. A spring performance of “Mary Poppins: Extraordinary Nanny” will be held April 13-15 at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown and on April 21 in Morgantown, W.Va.
St. Therese Church Cookbook with familiar and traditional recipes “like Grandma used to make” is available for sale. To place an order or for more information, call St. Therese Faith Formation Center at 724-437-1957 or Linda at 724-439-4036.
Classes are being held at The Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale for those interested in performance-related topics. Some of the courses offered include acting, vocals, songwriting, guitar and set design. The six-week courses are arranged by age from 8 to adult. The instructors include Josh Garsteck and Matt Starry. For information, call 724-887-0887 or stop by The Geyer Performing Arts Center at 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale.
Geezers’ Book Shop, now operating as 64 Crayons at Jozart’s Studios, has resumed Tuesday writing workshops from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at 333 Second St., California, located above the Dollar General store. Instead of concentrating on a single genre as in past years, the current group agreed that fiction, creative, non-fiction, poetry, plays, film scripts and songs may be presented for discussion. There is no charge for these sessions. For more information, call 724-938-9730 or e-mail 64crayons-@jozartstudios.com.
An indoor flea market and craft show will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at St. Thomas Social Hall in Footedale. There is a cost for tables. No entrance fee will be charged. Refreshments will be available. The event is sponsored by St. Thomas Christian Mothers. Call 724-245-2786 for table reservations.
A cookbook with a forward by award-winning chef Joe Carei of Caileigh’s Restaurant in Uniontown is available at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown. The cookbook is full of recipes and historic photographs of “The Grand Old Lady of Main Street.” They are available in the theater box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at all performances. Call 724-439-1360 to place a mail order. There is a cost for the cookbooks.
The Friends of the Uniontown Public Library are selling New Geneva Stoneware as a fund-raiser. The three styles offered, each inscribed “Fayette County,” are a mini jug, a mini crock and a pencil jar and are available in the Pennsylvania Room on the second floor of the library. The Friends also are selling hoagie tickets, which can be purchased at the first floor circulation desk. All funds raised directly will benefit the Uniontown Public Library.
The “Carpathian Cookery” cookbook, now in its 12th printing, having sold more than 10,000, is again available for sale. The 330-page cookbook now has a new look and features a protective plastic cover and includes sections on Christmas customs and recipes, Easter customs and recipes, traditional Rusyn foods, other ethnic dishes and many other recipes of St. John’s parishioners. Many paska and kolachi recipes, as well as meatless dishes and Lenten recipes, suitable for the great fast as well as the pre-Christmas fast. There is a cost for the cookbook. For more information, call 724-438-6027.
The Coal and Coke Heritage Center at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, will hold a three-day conference titled “Working Together, Living Together: African-American Miners and the Coal Culture of Southwestern PA, 1870-1970” March 15-17. The opening session will be held Thursday when a Pennsylvania historical marker will be dedicated acknowledging the Connellsville Coke Region.
The main conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 16, will examine interactions among African-Americans and other ethnic groups who lived and worked in the region’s coalfields. From 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, local history sessions will be scheduled and representatives from local historical societies will display and share current projects and membership information. One goal of the overall program is to foster and develop scholarship of African-American miners living and working in this geographical region and throughout the United States, while promoting future study and research. The conference is open to the general public with advanced reservations. Call Pamela Seighman at 724-430-4158 or visit the Web site at www.coalandcokepsu.org for more information.
area
The Grand Theater, located at 207 Second Ave., Elizabeth (next to Rockwell’s Red Lion Restaurant) will present that funny, habit-forming musical “Nunsense” for three performances March 23-25.
An audience participation quiz will start off the festivities, and later in the show audience members can buy a cookbook of favorite Catholic recipes to help the nuns reach their fund-raising goals.
Additional information is available by calling the theater at 412-384-0504.”The Monongahela Railway, Its History and Operation, 1903-1993,” a 212-page book with more than 300 black and white pictures and 24 maps of the system, is available at Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, 325 Market St., Fayette Chamber of Commerce, Uniontown Library, Flatiron Building, Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville, New Salem and Fairchance pharmacies and Hobbies & Stuff in Connellsville.
Pittsburgh Wine Festival 2007 will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. April 26 in the East and West Club Lounges at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh. For details and ticket information, call 412-281-2681 or visit www.pittsburghwinefestival.com.
Flenniken Public Library, 102 E. George St., Carmichaels, will offer preschool story hour every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The library also will offer after-school tutoring for students in kindergarten through high school. A state-certified teacher runs the program. Sessions are customized to fit each child’s learning style.
For more information, call 724-966-5263.
The California Area Public Library will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon to 4 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Story hour for preschool children will be held at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday. Visit the library’s Web site at www.calpublib.org, and click on the “story hour” link for more information or call the library at 724-938-2907.