Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 53
Westmoreland Symphony will livestream upcoming season concerts
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will return to the stage of The Palace Theatre for its 2021 season, with one significant difference from past years. The seats in the historic Greensburg theater will be empty and, instead, patrons will be viewing concerts in their homes via livestream presented in partnership with...
Pittsburgh Symphony looks to January return to Heinz Hall
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is planning its return to Heinz Hall in January, but in the meantime will offer a new digital music series free to the public this fall. The digital programming will introduce a “reinvented” 2020-21 season, the symphony’s 125th, taking the place of in-person concerts that have...
Outdoor Greensburg concert promises ‘Songs of Hope’
“Songs of Hope” will fill the air on Thursday at St. Emma Retreat House in Greensburg, in a concert presented by Alabaster Productions. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. on the patio of the facility at 1001 Harvey Ave. “Our show is designed to pour hope into our audience....
Greensburg artists’ mosaic finds home in Puerto Rican church
A mosaic created for a show at the Greensburg Art Center will have a permanent home at a chapel in Puerto Rico. Artists Rosemary Sovyak of Hempfield and Tom Niggel of Greensburg combined their talents for the piece that was part of last winter’s “Collaborations” exhibition, featuring works made by...
‘Art Neighbors’ lend their talents to Greensburg Art Center show
Many hands make light work, and they also can make beautiful art — as illustrated by the upcoming “Art Neighbors” exhibition at Greensburg Art Center. Now in its second year, the show features work by artists who are members of either, or both, the Greensburg and Latrobe art centers. The...
Greensburg cat cafe offering free headshots to job seekers
It’s a job-hunting truism: you only get one chance to make a good first impression. One way to do that in the age of online applications and networking is with a good headshot. To help job seekers reach that goal, the Cattfeinated Cat Cafe in Greensburg will offer free headshot...
Out & About: Loyalhanna Watershed Association hosts harvest ‘picnic’
The pandemic actually provided the Loyalhanna Watershed Association with an opportunity to expand its fifth annual Farm-to-Table Harvest Dinner. Previous dinners have been sit-down affairs in the barn on the association’s hillside property in Ligonier Township, with food prepared by one vendor from the Ligonier Country Market. Because of the...
Butterflies released at Greensburg Garden CenterVideo
A legend ascribed to Native Americans says that if you want a wish to come true, you should capture a butterfly, whisper the wish to it and then let it go. Since a butterfly makes no sound, it can reveal the wish to no one but the Great Spirit —...
CEO of 412 Food Rescue Leah Lizarondo included in book on global women leaders
Leah Lizarondo, co-founder of 412 Food Rescue in Pittsburgh, is in heady company with her inclusion in the book “Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power to Empower.” To be published in September by Assouline, the book is presented by Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international nonprofit that partners with...
Family reunions — another casualty of covid-19 gathering restrictions
The families of James and William Ulery were looking forward to their 95th annual reunion on Aug. 23 at Laurel Highlands Campground Pavilion in Donegal. But, like so many other events this year, the gathering fell victim to the covid-19 pandemic. “I hated like everything to have to (cancel), but...
Animals in motel rooms star in Carnegie’s next online exhibitionVideo
The Carnegie Museum of Art’s next online exhibition will feature video vignettes of “wild North American migratory animals relocated from their natural habitats to vacant motel rooms.” Launching Aug. 19, the unusual work is “migration (empire),” a 24-minute video by multidisciplinary artist Doug Aitken. The film was exhibited on the...
The Westmoreland reopens: A safe space to contemplate art in the midst of pandemicVideo
Doug and Connie Clutter of Washington, Pa., were the first guests through the door when The Westmoreland Museum of American Art reopened Wednesday. A watercolor painter, Connie said she was in need of some inspiration for her work. “We needed an outing, too,” her husband said. “I just missed art...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust continues online programs, reopening plans
When will patrons be able to return to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District for live music, theater and other entertainment? While the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust does not have a date to resume in-person programs, it is “working with national tours and presenters to realign all 2020 season programs into the 2021 calendar...
Teen pens musical adaptation for Diamond Theatre of Ligonier
While some teens have been busy during the pandemic shutdown recording TikTok videos, a 15-year-old from Laughlintown has gone a big step further. Lanigan McCulty created “Greece Lightning the Musical,” which will be staged this weekend at the Diamond Theatre of Ligonier. Granted, he might have an advantage over the...
Pittsburgh CLO postpones live shows, plans virtual ‘Christmas Carol’
Pittsburgh CLO has postponed all scheduled in-person performances until 2021, citing “uncertainties and risks related to the ongoing health crisis.” Postponed shows includes the previously scheduled fall Kara Cabaret productions of “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” and “Untitled.” The annual production of “A Musical Christmas Carol” at the Byham Theater will be...
To buy or not to buy, that is the question with this year’s back-to-school shopping
With questions remaining about how schools will operate in the fall, back-to-school shopping feels a little different this year. “It’s hard to even get excited about it,” said Wynter Hisker of Greensburg during a July 24 trip to Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. The 12-year-old is a student at Greensburg Salem...
Delmont’s Apple Hill Playhouse is closed but fond memories remain
Pat Beyer says she’s heard many times over the years that ghosts inhabit the Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont. After all, the structure has been around since Civil War times, starting out as a barn before its reincarnation as a theater with a long string of owners. Beyer, Apple Hill’s...
Managing ‘maskne’: Simple steps to keep your complexion clearVideo
Summer sun, heat and humidity can do a number on sensitive skin. Put a mask on top of it and you might end up with irritation and breakouts that have been labeled “maskne.” “For some of our patients, it is a problem,” says Dr. Charles Mount, director of the Allegheny...
Laurel Highlands in running for best fall foliage destination
Western Pennsylvanians can let the rest of the country know how beautiful fall is in the Laurel Highlands, by voting for the region in USA Today’s poll of top 20 Best Destinations for Fall Foliage. The nominees, chosen by editors of the USA Today 10Best website, also include the Pocono...
Pittsburgh playwrights produce new works for online performance
Five Pittsburgh-area playwrights have written 10-minute plays responding to the current state of the world. A one-night-only digital reading of the resulting works, entitled “Homegrown Stories,” is planned for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6 as part of City of Asylum’s The Show Must Go On(line) Series. The initiative is a collaboration...
Westmoreland Symphony musicians plan ‘Live on the Lawn’ concert
A quartet of Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra string musicians will be “Live on the Lawn” Friday on the grounds of the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center. The concert, beginning at 7 p.m., features the WSO String Quartet — violinists Dena Miller and Samantha Nelson, Sarah Ferrell on cello and Sasha Shapiro...
Antiques on the Avenue sale returning to downtown Greensburg
Antiques on the Avenue returns to downtown Greensburg on Saturday, featuring antiques dealers from Westmoreland, Allegheny and Cambria counties. Dealers will set up from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. along South Pennsylvania Avenue, offering an eclectic mix of items, including stoneware, vintage jewelry, advertising, primitives, vintage linens, vintage holiday decorations...
Out & About: Latrobe Art Center fans gather for annual lamb dinner
Latrobe Art Center hosted its annual lamb dinner fundraiser on July 26 at Jamison Farm in Unity. Seeing guests arriving in masks reminded farm owner John Jamison of a bit of family folklore. With Prohibition on the horizon in 1918, Jamison’s grandfather, J.C. Jamison Jr., and a partner “decided to...
Sage’s Army online art auction features Western Pa. artists’ work
The work of noted area artists will be available in an online art auction to benefit Sage’s Army. Bidding will begin at noon Wednesday. Among more than two dozen artists donating work are prominent local artists including Dan Overdorff, Mary Ellen Raneri and Toni Antonucci, along with national and international...
Butterflies are free for Greensburg Garden Center release
Butterflies are now free for Greensburg Garden Center’s annual release. Thanks to funding from Dominion Energy, remaining monarch butterflies can be reserved at no charge, says garden center president Carla Rusnica. The Aug. 8 event will include two separate release sessions, to accommodate social distancing concerns. Release times will be...
