“You weren’t had, you were chosen.”

A young lady that was put up for adoption found her birth parents just by chance. Her boss at work was her birth mother. The July issue of Reader’s Digest features the story of Erie’s Missi Meely and Laurie Thompson. Thanks to former ETN reporter Peter Panepento for passing along this wonderfully written heartwarming story he wrote called Side by Side.

General Electric and their labor unions reach tentative contract terms. The terms cover GE workers in Erie, Pa; Arkansas City, Kan; Louisville, Ky; Lynn, Mass; Schenectady, NY; and elsewhere.

Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, will be the keynote speaker at The Ophelia Project’s 10th anniversary celebration on Thursday, Oct 18. This highly-anticipated event unites one of the world’s leading child advocates, herself once a target of public bullying, with an organization that has spent a decade creating safe social climates for youth and adults across North America. The event, titled “The Authentic Life,” will be held at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center, 7794 Peach Street, in Erie, Pa. A cocktail reception starts at 6 pm followed by the dinner at 7 pm and the Duchess’s address at 8 pm. Tickets for the event are $125 and will go on sale in August. A relational aggression seminar follows the dinner event on Friday, Oct 19, also at the Ambassador. Titled “It Has a Name: Relational Aggression,” the one-day event features educational workshops on relational aggression, cyberbullying, accountability, child and adolescent development and much more. The Ophelia Project is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Erie, Pa. Recognized as a leader in assessing social conditions and advocating healthy, safe relationships, the organization partners with educational, civic and community leaders to educate and empower kids and adults across North America. Visit www.OpheliaProject.org or call 888-256-KIDS (5437) to learn more.

Erie’s first Roar On The Shore motorcycle rally will be held the second weekend in August. While the Liberty Park Pepsi Amphitheater and the Bayfront District will serve as the hub of the rally, related events will take place throughout the entire Erie area. The Erie-Western PA Port Authority is working in partnership with several area motorcycle clubs, associations, vendors, restaurants, bars, campgrounds and hotels in programming activities, music, poker runs, bike shows and more. In addition to the Roar On The Shore weekend, the Erie Port Authority has also joined forces with Rocket 101, Erie’s Rock Station, to host the “Gett’n Ready to Roar” Bike Nights at local restaurants and pubs throughout an eight week period starting in June. Every Wednesday night a different location will host a Bike Night where patrons will have the opportunity to register to win a grand prize to be given away at the Roar On The Shore weekend.

Matt Joyce had perfect day at the plate and Mike Hollimon homered but the Erie SeaWolves could not combat two big innings from New Hampshire, falling on Sunday afternoon 11-5 at MerchantsAuto.Com Stadium. The ‘Wolves have an off-day on Monday and return to action on Tuesday night at Jerry Uht Park in doubleheader action against the Altoona Curve…5:05 First Pitch. RHP Andrew Kown (2-3, 4.35 ERA) makes the start for Erie in game one of the double-dip against LHP Josh Shortslef (1-6, 4.30 ERA).

Improvements to the Mercyhurst Ice Center have been completed and the facility is set to reopen for business this week. The College paid $175,000 to a Minnesota company for new dasher boards, glass, protective netting, player benches, and penalty boxes.

Allison Christie of East Syracuse-Minoa announced she will attend Gannon University in Erie to continue her academic and lacrosse careers.

The Erie Art Museum’s Kids Art Camp: Fantasy Week will kick off on Monday June 18 and run through Friday June 22 from 9 am – 1 pm at the Erie Art Museum, 411 State Street. Children ages 7-11 will get hands on experience dealing with art and exploring the galleries with Museum staff. Throughout the week they will develop a fantasy character they will create and design with costumes, accessories and headgear. By using fabric, paint, glitter, and other various crafty art supplies their unique character will come to life. For more information about summer classes please contact Kelly Armor or Barbara Crone at (814) 459-5477.

The Gem City Concert Band’s annual Spring Concert will be held on Tuesday, June 19th from 7:30 to 9:00 pm at St John’s Lutheran Church Parish Center Auditorium on Peach and 23rd. The 45-member band, under the direction of Betty McKinney and Assistant Director Brett Woomer, will perform such pieces as Lieutenant F J Ricketts’ Colonel Bogey March from the 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai; LeRoy Anderson’s Bugler’s Holiday, a trumpet trio feature; and Dimitri Shostakovitch’s Festive Overture. Special guests for the evening will be Bridge City Brass, a brass ensemble from Pittsburgh that will premier several new arrangements composed by ensemble members.
The GC Concert Band will also offer a similar program for Corry’s Thursdays in the Park Concert Series on Thursday June 21st at the Corry City Park Gazebo from 7:30-9:00 pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to enjoy the outdoor performance.

The Gospel group Harmonizers of Faith will perform at the Sprint Sunset Music Series on June 20. All free concerts are held on Wednesdays on Beach 1 beginning at 6:30 pm. A food and beverage vendor will be available for delicious snacks to enjoy during the show.

Join Szymanski Consulting for a dynamic event featuring the Microsoft Across America Mobil Event Experience. The Mobil Event Experience technology bus provides business leaders and professionals the opportunity to learn more about essential technologies that help small and medium-sized business operate more efficiently and successfully. The technology bus will be located at the Inter-Modal Center on June 21, 2007 from 10 am until 2 pm. The 27 foot bus is filled with computers loaded with the latest Microsoft software, a large display screen, a complete point of sales system and other equipment to demonstrate the technology that can assist businesses in saving time and money by increasing their productivity and efficiency. While having fun, enjoying a picnic lunch, and networking with area business professionals, you will have the opportunity to talk with Microsoft experts, and attend an overview presentation on the new Microsoft Vista. The Microsoft Vista presentation, co-sponsored by SCI and the Erie Network Users Group (ENUG), will be from 9 am until Noon inside the Inter-Modal Center. To RSVP for the Microsoft Vista presentation, please contact Cathy at 814-455-6069 Ext. 218 or cathy@szy.com. To RSVP for the technology bus, please click here.

The 2007 Erie Summer Festival of the Arts will take place Friday through Sunday, June 22-24. This is a FREE event and open to the public. It will again be held at Liberty Park on the Erie Bayfront. The theme will be “You Gotta Have Arts.”

“Defense Contracting for Small and Disadvantaged Manufacturers (SADM),” presented by the Small and Disadvantaged Manufacturers’ Consortium will be presented on June 25 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Days Inn, Meadville. Speakers at the consortium will review SBA programs, how to get sole source and set aside contracts, and marketing to the government and large defense contractors. There is a $190 fee for this event. Register online or by phone at (814) 652-6983 or (716) 462-4637.

Measuring up to the nonprofit management challenges of the future will the order of the day as leaders in the field examine the major trends that will impact life in the nonprofit world. The Nonprofit Partnership presents Erie’s 2007 Nonprofit Leadership Forum “Engage The Future” featuring keynote speaker, Bill Croasmun, a futurist with Social Technologies, Inc. Social Technologies is a global research and consulting firm, specializing in the integration of foresight, strategy and innovation. They serve the world’s leading companies, governments and nonprofits. “Engage The Future” will be held Tuesday, June 26 from 9-11 am in Gannon University’s Yehl Ballroom. RSVP to Amy Eisenberg at (814) 454-8800 or aeisenberg@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

Darren Williams, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will host a Summer Open House Night in Astronomy event at the college on Wednesday, June 27. Williams’ lecture, “What is a Planet? Why Not Pluto?” will begin at 8:30 pm in 101 Otto Behrend Science Building, and will be followed by astronomical viewing from the college’s Mehalso Observatory, weather permitting. Williams’ lecture and telescope viewing are intended for a non-technical audience, and are open to the public free of charge. For more information about Open House Nights in Astronomy phone the Penn State Behrend School of Science at (814) 898-6105.

The Erie Downtown Bike Nights will be held June 29 and August 31.

As part of the Erie Summer-Long Jazz Festival, the Gem City Jazz Ensemble will present a free jazz concert for the entire family on June 30th from 6:30 to 8:15 at the Blasco Library’s H O Hirt Auditorium. Parents are encouraged to bring the kids to the show to learn about and experience jazz firsthand! The first half hour of the program will feature familiar children’s songs with a jazz flare, including the Hokey Pokey, Theme From Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse. After a brief intermission, a one-hour jazz concert will be performed for the entire family, featuring such charts as Sidewinder, When You’re Smiling, New York New York, and Corner Pocket. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Blasco Library.

Mercyhurst North East will host its 15th annual Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration on Wednesday, July 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. The celebration will feature food and fun activities for the whole family throughout the evening, and will conclude with a fireworks display at 10 pm.

The 19th annual Panegyri Greek Festival will be held July 6- 8 at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 4376 West Lake Road. The hours are Friday, July 6, 2:30 until 11 pm, Saturday, July 7, 11 am until 11 pm, and Sunday, July 8, from 12 noon until 9 pm. Admission is FREE and there is plenty of FREE PARKING next to the Church.

Eight Great Tuesday’s is a free concert series on Tuesday nights at the Pepsi Amphitheatre inside Liberty Park. Here is the lineup for 8 Great Tuesday’s for 2007: July 10 – Big Leg Emma, Yankee Zydeco Company, Tiger Maple String Band, July 17 – Ana Popovic, July 24 – Devon Allman’s Honeytribe, July 31 – Dave Stevens Big Band, August 7 – PovertyNeck Hillbillies, August 14 – Jakes Blues, August 21 – Tab Benoit and August 28 – Big Brother and The Holding Company.

The summer Smith Carillon Concert Series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, begins Thursday, July 12, with a performance by Japanese carillonneur Toru Takao. The following Thursday, July 19, the featured musicians will be the duo Ana and Sara Elias, Portugese sisters who perform under the name Lvsitanvs. Tin-Shi Tam, university carillonneur at Iowa State, will close the series on Thursday, July 26. All three performances will begin at 7 pm, and are free and open to the public. Seating is on the lawn of the John M Lilley Library, so concert goers are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. Refreshments will be served.

The 14th annual Discover Presque Isle festival will take place July 27-29, 2007.

The Counting Crows, Live and Collective Soul will play a concert at Jerry Uht Park in Erie, PA on July 31 as part of “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Triple Play Ballpark Tour.” Tickets go on sale June 2 at 10 am. Tickets can be purchased at the SeaWolves box office at Jerry Uht Park and on SeaWolves.com. Children under 12 get in FREE with each paid adult ticket holder.

The Motorcycle, Car, Boat and Truck show called the Lake Erie Classic will be held August 3-5 at Erie International Airport, Tom Ridge Field.