Here are the bands that are eligible to play Celebrate Erie for the RockErie Music Awards based on voting as of Friday. Voting for the awards continues until August 19th at midnight. Bands will play from 3-10 pm on Friday, 8/17 and Saturday 8/18 and 2-9 pm on Sunday 8/19, 20 minute sets with a 20 minute set up time.
Blues: Jake’s Blues, The Duke Sherman Blues Band, Rick Magee and the Roadhouse Rockers; Country: Next of Kin, Tombstone, House of Cards; Cover: Nerds, Inc, Money Shot, Earthquakers: Hard Core: Deny The Sun, Bridge Burner, War of Ages; Hip Hop/R&B: Gangsta Dutch, Hectic, Familiar Spirit; Indie: Hello Kitty Death Squad, Matty B and The Dirty Pickles, Black Rose Diary; Jam: The Jungle, Spooner, One World Tribe; Jazz: Dave Stevens Big Band, Raven Band, Tri This; Metal: Waiting For Never, Pipeyard, Misery Bay; Rock: Super No 7, Mas Nova, Paper St; Tribute: Abbey Road, Key West Express, Hammerd.

Gannon University recently was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Charlotte W Newcombe Foundation. Scholarship recipients must be female students age 25 and older, as mandated by the Newcombe Foundation. In addition, the scholarships are awarded on the basis of need and academic achievement, and recipients must have already completed half the credits required for their degree. Newcombe Scholarships also are designed to aid women who, according to the foundation, “have exhausted other sources of funding, but who are close to realizing their academic goals and beginning their new careers.”

The Erie SeaWolves fell in the third game of a four-game set at Prince George’s Stadium by a score of 5-2 on Saturday night. The SeaWolves and Baysox finish up their four-game series on Sunday night at Prince George’s Stadium, 6:05 first pitch. RHP Eddie Bonine (10-4, 3.36 ERA) takes the mound for the ‘Wolves in search of his 11th win of the season against LHP Chris Waters (4-8, 4.89 ERA).

U S Hockey Report, a subscription web site, reported that John Rose of Mercyhurst College is to be the next assistant coach for the University of Alaska.

Waterford Heritage Days wraps up today in Waterford, PA.

The comedy “Moonlight and Magnolias” about the making of Gone With The Wind is being performed at the Erie Playhouse today and July 25-29. Showtimes are 7:30 pm with a 2 pm Sunday matinee.

The Greater Erie Youth Symphony Orchestra D’Angelo Summer Music Camp will be held July 23-27 at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. The camp is for beginning, intermediate, advanced string, bass, wind, percussion students ages 8-18. To register call (814) 898-6243.

The summer heats up on Thursday, July 26 for the BBQ, Blues and Brews Block Party benefit event for the Erie Art Museum from 5 pm to midnight. This FREE event features a smokin’ BBQ prepared by Pufferbelly Restaurant, live music and a scavenger hunt throughout the Museum’s galleries. The Museum’s 5th Street parking lot transforms into an outdoor dining courtyard from 5-8 pm. The event moves to State Street from 8 pm to midnight where State Street grooves to the music of One World Tribe and a performance by Erie’s African Dance Troupe, Sylla Kunda. Ol’ Dogs grills up their gourmet hotdogs. Of course the brews will still be on tap. A portion of the proceeds from the BBQ and beverage sales will be donated to the Erie Art Museum.

Tin-Shi Tam, the Cownie Professor of Music and university carillonneur at Iowa State, will close the summer Smith Carillon Concert Series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, with a concert on Thursday, July 26. Tam’s performance on the Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon will begin at 7 pm and is free and open to the public. Audience seating will be on the lawn of the John M Lilley Library, so concertgoers are encouraged to bring a blanket or chair with them.

Scott and Kim McClelland take the stage together this summer for the first time since 1996. The McClelland’s met 20 years ago in the summer of 1987 at the Erie Playhouse. As a way of celebrating their life in the theatre, they have created “Lovers Haters and Others.” The Roadhouse Theatre show is homage to the great love affairs written for the stage. Classic and poetic love stories will be paired with epic vicious battles between famous characters from theatrical history. “Lovers Haters and Others” runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm through August 4. Admission: $8 (student), $10 (regular), $12 (riser) and $15 (VIP) Box Office Phone: (814) 456-5656.

The Wattsburg Erie County Battle of the Bands and Music Festival will be held Friday evening July 27 and Saturday July 28 at the Erie County Fairgrounds.

Discover Presque Isle will be held July 27-29, 2007 at Presque Isle State Park. No matter what your age or interests, there is something for everyone. Admission and parking are FREE.

The Native American Festival will be held at the Wooden Nickel Buffalo Farm 11 am – 6 pm daily July 28-29. Admission is $3 per person, 3 and under are FREE. Parking is by donation to the Edinboro Lions Club. Opening ceremonies at 12 Noon each day. Intertribal dancing all day with special dancers performing at 1pm, 2pm, and 5pm.

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 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.

The 15th Annual Erie Art Museum’s Blues and Jazz Festival, the largest jazz and blues event in the Erie region, is a 2 day Festival held August 4 and 5 at Frontier Park in Erie, Pa. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. A variety of festival fare will be available from local vendors and restaurants. Admission to all Festival events is free.
Saturday August 4 – 12 pm One World Tribe with the UpRise African Drum and Dance Ensemble, 2 pm Familiar Spirit Band, 4 pm Geoff Achison, 6 pm Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials, 8 pm Junior Brown
Sunday August 5 – 12 pm Gem City Jazz Band, 2 pm Cats A Bear, 4 pm Babik, 6 pm Stew Cutler Trio, 8 pm Rashied Ali Quintet
Ongoing: WQLN Kids Tent, Festival Fare, LEAF Arboretum Tours/Green Tag

The Lake Erie Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association will host its 2007 steak fry on Saturday, August 4, at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The annual event, which will be held at the Wilson Picnic Grove on the campus of Penn State Behrend, begins with a social hour at 5 pm, followed by the dinner’s signature “grill your own” steak fry at 6 pm. The fund-raiser is open to all Penn State alumni. Proceeds benefit the Lake Erie Chapter’s Robert W Sparks scholarship fund, which has awarded more than $55,000 to local students in the past 16 years. Tickets for the annual steak fry fund-raiser are $19 per person. For more information or to RSVP, contact Phil Mobilia, president of the Lake Erie Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, at 814-725-1999 (home) or 716-483-7219 (office), or via e-mail at Phil.Mobilia@psualum.com. Please respond by July 30. Visit www.behrend.psu.edu/alumni for more information about the Lake Erie Chapter or to become a member.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania 25th Anniversary Celebration will be held Saturday, August 4 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. Tickets are $35. RSVP by July 27.

Representatives of the waterfowl organizations, individual sportsmen and the public are invited to attend a briefing on Friday, Aug 10, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Northwest Pennsylvania Duck Hunters Association, on the status of Atlantic Flyway waterfowl populations and proposed preliminary federal frameworks for the 2007-08 hunting seasons. The briefing will begin at 1 pm, in Room 112 of the Tom Ridge Education Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie.

Titled “Local Government and the Erie Economy,” the 2007 Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE) conference will address topics relevant to Erie and its surrounding communities, including the debate about consolidating the area’s local governments and the smoking ban. The institute’s sixth annual conference will be held on August 14, in McGarvey Commons, located in the Reed Union Building at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The cost to attend this year’s conference is $149 and includes printed materials, breakfast and lunch. A reduced rate of $75 is available for nonprofit, government and economic development officials. For more information or to register for the conference, call (814) 898-7149.