Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 43
Pop-up miniature golf course comes to streets of Oakland
Mini-golfers are invited to play at a free pop-up course beginning Thursday in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section. Presented by the Pittsburgh Innovation District, the nine-hole Oakland Open will welcome duffers from noon-8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays through April. The ADA-compliant course, located on Oakland Avenue between Forbes Avenue and...
Drop a request in community prayer boxes in Ligonier, New Stanton
Pandemic or no pandemic, life can be tough. “There are always distraught people out there with no one to help them,” said Ron Ingelido, lead pastor of New Stanton Assembly of God. “The community has to know that we’re there in their time of need.” The church has established a...
Share your ‘Big Talent’ with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region
The pandemic actually has provided one benefit to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. Instead of offering twice-yearly, in-person information sessions for prospective “Bigs,” the organization now has ongoing virtual sessions. As a result, “we’re making more matches than ever,” said Community Relations and Events Director Ali Iezzi....
Youngwood shelter animals bond with young readers during Zoom sessionVideo
Kids, animals and books were a winning combination for a program at Animal Friends of Westmoreland in Youngwood. The shelter teamed with teachers and students from Hempfield Area Cyber Academy on Thursday and Friday for a Zoom reading session in conjunction with Read Across America Week, an annual celebration of...
Get coffee or creative fix at Murrysville’s Brushes & Beans CafeVideo
Come for the coffee and stay to paint a piece of pottery. Or vice versa. That’s what owners Mark and Amanda Clemente hope people will do at Brushes & Beans Cafe in Murrysville. In two spacious rooms, the new business at 4550 William Penn Highway houses a coffee shop and...
Phipps Conservatory’s ‘Canopy of Color’ spring show invites guests to look up
The spring flower show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has been a long time in the making. “This is actually the show we were hoping to run last year,” said Jordyn Melino, the show designer and Phipps associate director of exhibits. “Everything was ready for the show when we...
Things to do in Western Pa.: March 3, 2021Video
Looking for some live music from a big-time country music star? Trace Adkins is scheduled to play The Palace Theatre in Greensburg in January 2022. In the meantime, many of the area’s entertainment options remain in the virtual realm. There’s music, magic, theater, film and book talk to choose from,...
Pittsburgh Playhouse virtual season has theater, dance, speakers
Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse will open a season of virtual productions on Saturday with a new play-reading series. The season includes theater and dance productions, the Dance Speaker Series and a re-imagined Media Innovators Workshop & Speaker Series, building on expertise gained in mounting previous online performances, according to...
Ready for a Maple Roll Stout? Jeannette’s Sobel’s Obscure Brewery, Enrico’s Bakery team up for a beerVideo
Sobel’s Obscure Brewery in Jeannette is riding the beer-and-bakery wave with a new Maple Roll Stout. “Pastry stouts are a popular beer style right now, so we wanted to try one,” said brewery co-owner Jackie Sobel. “They’re pretty darned decadent.” Inspiration for the small-batch offering, available on Friday, came from...
Latrobe woman’s tiny vacation house gets online magazine spreadVideo
For Jessica Hooper, part of the appeal of tiny house living is that “when you strip away the clutter and distractions in life, you are able to focus your energy on what is truly important.” That’s what the Latrobe resident told readers of Tiny House Magazine, an online publication that...
Fort Ligonier receives museum association award for innovative fundraiser
Fort Ligonier’s Cannon Ball Online Auction and Party to Go received a 2021 Special Achievement Award from PA Museums, an independent statewide museum association that supports the Pennsylvania museum community. Usually an in-person event, the Cannon Ball was restructured in September due to pandemic gathering restrictions. It featured an online...
Blackburn Center’s ‘Walk a Mile’ event gets new name, goes virtual
The Blackburn Center’s annual walk against gender-based violence is returning after a hiatus with a new name and format. Formerly called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, the event has been rebranded as Walk a Mile in Their His Her Our Shoes to reflect the universality of intimate partner violence....
Stahlstown-based ministry nears 11,000 layettes sent to families in need
One of the fun activities for expectant parents is finding the perfect outfit for baby to wear home from the hospital. But what happens if the family can’t afford one? It was something that concerned Audrey Bell, former pastor of Stahlstown United Methodist Church. That was the start of a...
Pie for The Palace a sweet ending for Westmoreland Cultural Trust gala
When the Westmoreland Cultural Trust throws its annual Party at The Palace, they go all out. So when organizers added a pie-in-the-face finale to this year’s event, they went all out for that, too. No chintzy shaving cream in a pie tin for this group. These pies had graham cracker...
Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital makes Newsweek list of top maternity centers
The Family Additions Maternity Center at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital made Newsweek’s list of Best Maternity Hospitals 2021. Excela Health is one of 217 hospitals across 36 states on the annual list compiled by the news magazine in partnership with The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that reports on...
Mini-grants boost Lincoln Highway-linked arts programming
Art and music along the Lincoln Highway are getting a boost, thanks to mini-grants funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation and administered by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Westmoreland Cultural Trust received $675 toward creating an interactive video tour of its...
Sun Dawg Cafe owners plan new Greensburg nanobrewery
The owners of Sun Dawg Cafe in Greensburg are planning to enter the nanobrewery business. Ray and Rachel Flowers have purchased a building at 503 New Alexandria Road in Greensburg that formerly housed the Underground Grappling sports training facility. The new El Diablo Brewing Co. & Wood-Fired Kitchen is planned...
Things to do in Western Pa.: Feb. 24, 2021Video
Revisit the royal wedding of Prince William and Duchess Kate reimagined as a “fantastical dreamscape,” or plan now to attend an old-fashioned, foot-stompin’ Pittsburgh St. Paddy’s Day party. Check out some online music or theater, satisfy your creative urges by signing up for an art class, or head to Ligonier...
Party at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg adds ‘pie in the face’ finale
Six community members are stepping up to the (pie) plate in support of The Palace Theatre and Westmoreland Cultural Trust. They’re willing to take a “Pie for The Palace” during the Trust’s Party at The Palace virtual fundraising event Saturday, beginning with a VIP party at 7 p.m. and main...
Western Pennsylvania gospel group New Journey lands Dollywood gigVideo
Members of a Western Pennsylvania gospel trio reluctantly turned down their first chance to sing at Dollywood. When a second chance came around, they took it. New Journey, with two members from Westmoreland County, is booked for a day’s worth of shows on May 22 at the Tennessee amusement park...
Audience plays role in Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre’s mystery podcasts
Whodunit fans can test their detecting skills with season two of Prime Stage Theatre’s Mystery Theatre podcast series. The first episode of “The Play’s the Thing,” written by Pittsburgh science fiction/mystery author Lawrence C. Connolly, will debut Thursday, with four more following on subsequent Thursdays. “Lawrence Connolly’s Mystery Theatre podcast...
Pandemic brain fog? Here’s how to clear itVideo
Are you having trouble focusing, feeling lonely or hopeless, lacking motivation, withdrawing from people? These are some of the symptoms of pandemic fatigue, a condition brought on by the stresses and fears of the past year, combined with having too much free time. The hallmark of pandemic fatigue is a...
Greensburg artist Pamela Cooper takes ‘leap of faith’ with new studioVideo
Artist Pamela Cooper is taking a leap of faith by renting studio space in Greensburg. For the first time, she’s hoping to support herself solely by making art. If all goes well, she’ll offer art classes remotely and in her space in the Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s Incubator for the Arts...
Artists brave elements during Ligonier winter paint-outVideo
Painting outside in Ligonier on a 28-degree February day, under a light drizzle, is “not for the faint of heart,” said Jan Pini of Venetia, Washington County. Nevertheless, she worked with pastels en plein air Friday morning at the Loyalhanna Watershed Association grounds, just west of the borough. Pini and...
Pittsburgh woman creates dual artist market, fundraising website
A Pittsburgh woman has combined her love of art, talent for organization and desire to do good to create a website that is equal parts artist marketplace and fundraising outlet. Desiree Canovic, a senior program manager for Highmark, realized a long-standing dream by creating LocalGood, which launched in October. “It...
