Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 23
Women artists use their ‘Visual Voices’ for Jeannette gallery show
Artists showing in the third “Women in Art” exhibition at You Are Here in Jeannette were given a specific assignment. The submitted works had to adhere to the theme, “Visual Voice.” Each artist filled out a statement that began, “I use my visual voice to speak to …” Previous “Women...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 22-24
Come out and play The City of Greensburg Recreation Department will host the first of five classic backyard game sessions from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at Lynch Field, 520 New Alexandria Road, Greensburg. People of all ages can drop in at any time during the event to play four...
Ligonier Township couple raise exotic poultry in rustic setting
Nestled in a Ligonier Township hollow, a rustic cabin sits among the trees with a stream running along either side. Ducks dabble in a stone-lined pond, while chickens strut around the grounds. The idyllic scene is home to Dave and Rosslyn Kemerer, a young couple who are living out their...
Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘Blue’ explore themes of race, violence and reconciliation
Pittsburgh Opera will explore themes of race, violence and reconciliation in “Blue,” a contemporary opera inspired by current events and Black literature. “Blue” will be presented in five performances Saturday through May 1 in the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, at 980 Liberty Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh. The story...
Westmoreland Museum invites young artists back to on-site summer camps
In-person children’s art camps are returning this summer to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art after a pandemic hiatus, with new offerings including one that can be enjoyed on the spur of the moment. New this year, the Greensburg facility will host Drop-In Day Camps from Aug. 10-12 for children...
City Winery upscale eatery, concert venue coming to Pittsburgh’s Strip District
City Winery, a national chain offering food and wine experiences paired with intimate live performances, is coming to Pittsburgh’s Strip District. A late fall opening is projected for the space at the westernmost end of The Terminal at 16th and Smallman streets. Founded in 2008 by Michael Dorf, City Winery...
Seton Hill theater production explores ancestry and the African diaspora
Seton Hill University Theatre will present the Pittsburgh-area premiere of “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea,” a 2014 play by Nathan Alan Davis that explores what ancestry means to people of color, specifically those whose African ancestors were taken into slavery. Curtain times will be 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and...
Lawrenceville gallery to host first-time sale of Peter Max posters
Fans of Peter Max have an opportunity to purchase never-before-available posters from the pop artist whose bright, bold works are synonymous with 1960s and ’70s pop culture. “The Peter Max Experience,” a boutique collection of some of Max’s iconic works, will have a limited engagement in the Christine Frechard Gallery...
Carnegie Museum of Art’s ‘Mindful Museum’ programs target older visitors
Sometimes inspiration comes from unlikely sources. For Lucy Stewart, associate curator of education at the Carnegie Museum of Art, walking through the galleries sparked an idea for one of the facility’s new “Mindful Museum” offerings, a suite of accessible programs and activities that enhance the museum as a destination to...
Apple Hill Players planning risque, romantic romp on Trafford stage
“Don’t Dress for Dinner” is a complicated play, but the Apple Hill Players don’t want audiences to think too deeply about it. The theater troupe will stage the madcap farce, replete with romantic hi-jinks and mistaken identities, from April 22-30 in the Trafford Performing Arts Center. “I think audiences have...
Westmoreland Symphony to wrap 53rd season with ‘Beethoven’s Brilliance’
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will conclude its 53rd season with “a brilliant, energetic, and touching musical document from the grand tradition established by Mozart and Haydn,” according to Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. The piece is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Mass in C, which will conclude “Beethoven’s Brilliance,” set for 7:30 p.m....
Neon Swing X-perience founder revives grandfather’s 1940s dance band
For 24 years, Neon Swing X-perience has been jumpin’ and jivin’ across area stages, playing a lively blend of vintage Americana music styles, including big-band, swing, rockabilly, hot jazz and blues. After a July 2 appearance at the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, the band will be no more. “I’ve...
Mountain Playhouse departs Jennerstown gristmill for upcoming season
The good news for fans of Mountain Playhouse is that the two-year pandemic intermission will end with a new season starting May 25. News that patrons may find disconcerting is that actors won’t tread the historic boards at the company’s longtime home in the converted gristmill theater in Jennerstown, Somerset...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 15-17
After-hours art Fiber artist Kari Roslund will be the special guest at Art After Hours from 6 to 8 p.m. today at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Roslund’s one-of-a-kind, hand-felted art pieces made from materials including wool, silk, wire, wood and paper are available in...
Ligonier olive oil shop offers education, gourmet tasting experience
Allison Lunko knew her specialty olive oil shop was a winner when someone asked, “How does it feel to have found something that people around here didn’t even realize they needed?” The Johnstown native opened Laurel Highlands Olive Oil at 140 E. Main St., Ligonier, in June 2021. Almost a...
Mattress Factory names Pittsburgh curator as new executive director
Following a five-month, nationwide search, the Mattress Factory found its next executive director close to home. David Oresick, the current executive director and chief curator of Silver Eye Center for Photography, will begin his new role May 16 at the contemporary installation art museum in Pittsburgh’s North Side. ”David exemplified...
New August Wilson Center exhibition reveals playwright’s work, life
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center finally has a permanent exhibition dedicated to the life and work of its Pulitzer Prize-winning namesake. “August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape” opens to the public at noon Saturday. Covering 3,600 square feet of gallery space in the downtown Pittsburgh facility at 980 Liberty...
Bluesman Kenny Wayne Shepherd brings 25 years of ‘Trouble’ to GreensburgVideo
The Palace Theatre is in the sweet spot of venues where blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd likes to play. “There’s something to be said for playing to 20-, 30-, 50,000 people that is an experience unto itself, but there’s something to be said for playing the more intimate venues,” Shepherd...
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band returns to Pittsburgh in JuneVideo
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band will play PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on June 18, as part of the second leg of tour dates initially planned for 2020. The former Beatle and his supergroup originally were scheduled for a June 20, 2020, date in Pittsburgh that was canceled because...
Philly’s Boat House Row brings ‘yacht rock’ to Irwin’s Lamp TheatreVideo
Put on your Sperrys and Ray-Bans and sail away to the smooth sounds of yacht rock. Boat House Row will cruise from Philadelphia to The Lamp Theatre in Irwin for a show at 8 p.m. April 15, celebrating the soft rock that filled the airwaves in the late 1970s and...
Greensburg’s Palace Theatre adds accessible seating options
More accessible seating has been added at The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg. Eight new locations are available at the front of the theater near the stage, along with existing spaces at the back of the theater, to provide additional options to patrons with special seating needs. The new accessible...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 8-10
Get your Kix The hard-rock, glam-metal band Kix will take the stage at 8 p.m. Friday at The Lamp Theatre, 222 Main St., Irwin. The band’s 1988 release, “Blow My Fuse,” went platinum, with the power ballad “Don’t Close Your Eyes” peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100....
Greensburg’s Dv8 coffee shop gets ‘shot in the arm’ with new ownership
Drink a Mexican Volcano, and you never know what might happen. Zack Dreskler went from enjoying the signature beverage at Dv8 Espresso Bar & Gallery in Greensburg to owning the place. A longtime customer, Dreskler took over from former owners Kim and Patricia Elliott-Rentler in early April. The couple, who...
Yellow Bridge Brewing in Delmont plans new Greensburg taproom
Craft beer fans soon will have a new option for wetting their whistles in downtown Greensburg. Yellow Bridge Brewing Co. of Delmont is working on a taproom at 33 E. Pittsburgh St., next door to Sittay’s Mediterranean Kitchen. While the opening date is not set, it probably will be early...
Stage Right stages ‘Joseph,’ a biblical tale of intrigue, at The Palace
The thing that makes “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” so interesting for audiences also makes it challenging for the cast. “The music is everything from country-western to calypso to a pop-rock sound, and other things that go toward the classical musical theater sound,” said Christopher McAllister, executive director of...
