Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 94
Out & About: Ruffed Grouse Society banquet aids feathered friends
Forget the black tie, here come the denim and flannel. The banquet facility at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn in Crabtree became a sportsmen’s paradise on Jan. 25 for the 28th annual Conservation and Sportsmen’s Banquet hosted by the Ruffed Grouse Society Western Allegheny Chapter. A large part of the event is...
Out & About: Trolley ride connects 2 Saint Vincent gallery shows
The Neighborhood Trolley trundled around Saint Vincent College on Jan. 24, carrying visitors between openings in two campus galleries. In the Saint Vincent Gallery, they found “a visual reminder to slow down, linger over and reflect upon the world as it exists around us,” according to curator Andrew Julo, in...
Sometimes even the weariest traveler must refuse a hotel room
As a travel seller, I’d hear it from time to time: “That hotel was totally unacceptable.” But you slept there, right? Travelers often abandon rational thinking in pursuit of a travel objective. It’s difficult to make significant emotional investment selecting and booking a hotel, long anticipating a safe, quiet sanctuary...
Travel tip: Get your ‘Phil fix’ during Groundhog Day festivities
Standing in the freezing cold in the middle of the night, waiting for Punxsutawney Phil to emerge from his Gobbler’s Knob burrow, is only a small part of Groundhog Day fun. The Jefferson County borough after which the woodchuck weather forecaster is named has two days of nonstop activities, starting...
Greensburg antique show and sale promises items for all tastes
Whether you have $5 or $25,000 to spend, you should be able to find something you like at the annual antique show and sale at the Greensburg Country Club, says organizer John Mickinak. “Not everyone has the same taste, so there’s something for everyone,” he says. The show, which benefits...
Pittsburgh makes BBC Good Food’s 2019 foodie destination list
What does Pittsburgh have in common with Matera, a town perched on a rocky hilltop in southern Italy? According to BBC Good Food, both are Top 10 foodie destinations for 2019. Matera ranked No. 1 on the list compiled by the global food media brand that has a monthly magazine,...
W. Pa. theater, music groups set auditions for upcoming programs
These area arts groups have scheduled auditions for their upcoming programs: • “Peter Pan and Wendy,” Greensburg Civic Theatre Greasepaint Players production — 6-8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road. For the title roles, a boy or girl ages 10-16 with short...
Jackie Evancho, a child star no more, reflects on her ‘journey’Video
Pittsburgh’s singing sweetheart Jackie Evancho is all grown up — and she’s a Pittsburgher no longer. In a lengthy Facebook post today, the platinum-selling singer said she was using the new year, turning 18, moving to New York City and especially returning to NBC for “America’s Got Talent: The Champions”...
Pittsburgh events to mark International Holocaust Remembrance DayVideo
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls this year on Jan. 27, with these events: • Screening of the French drama “Korkoro,” 2 p.m. Jan. 27 at Regent Square Theater. The 2009 film tells the story of a Romani family traveling through France during...
‘Phantom of the Opera’ returning to Pittsburgh with new staging
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi-Tony Award winning musical, “The Phantom of the Opera,” will return to Pittsburgh for a run beginning Feb. 20 in the Benedum Center. Producer Cameron Mackintosh’s touring production features “newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design,” according to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The event is a season...
Louis C.K. booked for 3 shows at Pittsburgh Improv
If you like a healthy dose of controversy with your comedy, the Pittsburgh Improv has something for you this weekend. Comedian Louis C.K., who took a professional hiatus after 2017 allegations of sexual misconduct, will be back at the mike for three shows at the comedy club in Homestead. The...
Redstone offers trip to see ‘Hamilton’ and the sights in Chicago
Redstone Presbyterian SeniorCare has a deal for people who didn’t score tickets for the Pittsburgh run of the hit musical “Hamilton,” along with a chance to spend some time in the Windy City. “Because ‘Hamilton’ is in residence in Chicago for an extended run, the (CBIC Theater) makes a limited...
Strive for healthy eating ‘most of the time’
It’s still January. How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? Nutrition experts tell us our biggest challenge to long-term health is sticking to a plan for the long term. Not that our intentions aren’t honorable. It’s just that words like “routine” and “consistency” don’t often match life’s erratic and...
Megaticket sale coming for 7 country shows at KeyBank Pavilion
Sales for the 2019 Country Megaticket, including seven country music shows at KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 25. The date for the Rascall Flatts concert, announced Jan. 21 as Aug. 16, has been changed to Sept. 21. The updated schedule includes: June 7...
Make your bed, learn to act: Alabaster children’s theater teaches bothVideo
What does making your bed have to do with theater arts? Kids who participate in Mary McCormack’s Alabaster Children’s Neighborhood Theatre find out right from the start. At a Jan. 7 introductory session for an upcoming class series on “The Little Mermaid,” McCormack asked participants who had made their beds...
Out & About: Portrait artist dishes on clients at SAMA luncheon
Portrait artist Lisa Bane shared a little gossip about her clients during the Jan. 17 Lunch a l’Art program at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley. It seems that some of them aren’t opposed to a touch-up. “They’ll say, ‘Can you take off 10 pounds?’ or ‘Can...
Thoughtful shopping habits fight disorganization, clutter
No matter the topic of my articles, readers will invariably comment, “Just tell people to buy less stuff.” And although I couldn’t agree more that consumption contributes to clutter and disorganization, I’m also aware that telling someone to just stop shopping is not a realistic solution. A dietitian advises clients...
Kiddy lit: Early reading programs give learning a boostVideo
A group of toddlers gathered with parents and grandparents on Jan. 14 in Adams Memorial Library in Latrobe for a session of the library’s “Wee Read” early literacy program. It was a little like herding cats for children’s director Karen Herc until she captured their attention with a round-robin activity...
Out & About: Guest bartender event goes to the dogs … and cats
You don’t expect to be greeted by a dog when you go to J. Corks, but Jan. 17 was a special occasion at the upscale Greensburg eatery. It was guest bartender night to benefit the Humane Society of Westmoreland County, and the canine concierge was Mickey, an enthusiastic black-and-white pup...
Review: Shyamalan’s ‘Glass’ both frustrates and underwhelmsVideo
Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price, or Mr. Glass, as he prefers to be called, was by far the most compelling part of M. Night Shyamalan’s slow-burn comic book send-up “Unbreakable.” A brilliant, tortured manipulator and superhero enthusiast suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta (i.e. brittle bone disease), Glass is that kind of...
Entertainment planner: Jan. 17-30
Thursday Jan. 17 Aries Spears, Pittsburgh Improv, Homestead. Through Jan. 20. 412-462-5233 or improv.com/pittsburgh Cirque du Soleil “Corteo,” PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh. Through Jan. 20. 833-215-5121 or arenapittsburgh.org Rufus Wainwright, Byham Theater, Pittsburgh. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org Solo exhibitions by Lauren Semivan and Trisha Holt, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh....
Out & About: You Are Here Gallery reception is ‘snow’ problemVideo
Sometimes the best-laid plans of mice and men fall prey to a snowstorm. Such was the case for the Jan. 12 opening of “Stitches” in You Are Here Gallery in Jeannette, the evening that Winter Storm Gia blew through. Unlike previous openings in the new downtown art space, where guests...
Out & About: Art on Tap warms up a cold January night
It was cold outside, but warm and friendly inside The Westmoreland Museum of American Art for the Jan. 11 Art on Tap happy hour. The monthly gathering in the Greensburg museum features live music, an art scavenger hunt, light bites from Elegant Catering and beer from All Saints Brewing Co....
Out & About: Urban fantasy author visits Seton Hill writing group
A man walks into the Philadelphia airport and buys a Pittsburgh Pirates cap. It sounds like the beginning of a joke — or maybe a tragedy, given what we hear about Philadelphia sports fans. But that’s what urban fantasy novelist Kevin Hearne did on his way from his Arizona home...
Hotels sweat the details to help guests meet their fitness needs
It wasn’t the price or the points or the location that most influenced Ruth Furman to book a stay at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki in Honolulu last summer. It was the yoga. Namely, the free poolside yoga every weekday morning. Furman, who makes fitness a priority at home, knew...
