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Erie PA News and Events for Thursday February 8, 2007
Posted by Dennis on February 8, 2007
Kurt Buseck of Erie is planning a $20 million venture capital fund targeting young companies in Western Pennsylvania. Buseck is the founder and President of Full Circle Investments (FCI), a private equity firm based in Erie PA which owns and operates several manufacturing companies.
Gary Finney of Erie PA is being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, for treatment of broken bones in both his legs after he fell more than 25 feet in an ice climbing accident.
Tom Atkins sadi during the weather forecast on WJET-TV said that Lake Erie is now about 70 percent ice covered. Holy cow was that fast. It was all open water just days ago.
Mercyhurst College Director of Athletics Pete Russo announced that the college has extended the contract of head men’s and women’s soccer coach Keith Cammidge for four years. The contract runs through the 2010-11 school year. Although Cammidge had an offer to take over the men’s soccer team at Fort Lewis College, he chose to stay at Mercyhurst. Cammidge has a 70-20-7 record in five years as the men’s coach at Mercyhurst and a 67-24-5 record in the same time span as the women’s coach.
The Tigers traded outfielder Jeff Frazier to the Seattle Mariners for right-hander Yorman Bazardo on Wednesday. Bazardo was 6-5 with a 3.64 ERA at Double A San Antonio. He is expected to be assigned to the Erie SeaWolves.
Gannon University head football coach Jim Kiernan announced the addition of five student-athletes to the Gannon program Wednesday afternoon. All five student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Gannon in the fall of 2007. They are: QB Bob Bartley (Allison Park, PA/ Hampton), K/P Albert Benedict (Solon, OH/ Solon), QB Zach Boedicker (Northfield, OH/ Nordonia), LB Justin Reaves (Twinsburg, OH/ Twinsburg) and Jerry Smith (Westland, MI/ John Glenn).
Mercyhurst College piano faculty member Nathan Hess has asked two of his former colleagues at SUNY Fredonia to be his guests in the fourth faculty recital of the year, titled “Nathan Hess and Friends.” The recital is Thursday, Feb 8, at 8 pm in Walker Recital Hall; it’s free and open to the public. Father Sean Duggan, a concert pianist and a monk in the Order of St. Benedict, and cellist Natasha Farny will perform two works by Beethoven for cello and piano: the set of Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus and the Sonata in D Major, Op 102, No 2. Farny and Duggan are performing Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano throughout the region, and are excited to share their insights into his music with the Mercyhurst and Erie communities.
“The Piano Lesson” will be performed at the Erie Playhouse February 8-11and 14-18. For tickets call (814) 454-2852 ext 0.
First Class, an exhibit featuring exemplary works by Erie Art Museum instructors and students, will open at the Erie Art Museum’s Annex Gallery, 423 State Street, on Friday, Feb 9 and run through Feb 13. A free public reception for this exhibit will be held on Friday, Feb 9 from 7-9 pm. Art is a participatory activity. Through classes at the Museum, ordinary folks try their hand at artmaking, with the help of some of Erie’s most distinguished artists. Included are works in watercolor, jewelry, acrylic, photography and ceramics by Museum instructors Deborah Sementelli-Hoenes, Fran Schanz, Wilda Sundberg, Christine French, Kathy Umlauf, Aaron Young, Jan and Dan Neibauer, Art Becker, Esther Hong and their students. Opening night includes a two-hour delight of demonstrations and hands-on opportunities guaranteed to stimulate the inner-artist. Visitors can throw-clay on a wheel, watch a weaving or watercolor demonstration, see a bellydancer in action and much more. The Erie Art Museum is located a 411 State Street in downtown Erie, Pa. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11 am-5 pm and Sunday, 1-5 pm. Admission is free for members, free on Wednesdays, $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students and $2 for children under 12. One year memberships to the Erie Art Museum are $15 for students and senior citizens, $35 for individuals, and $65 for families. Guided group tours for adults or students are available for all major exhibitions.
Kids as Curators, an exhibit celebrating the stuff of youth will open at the Erie Art Museum Annex Gallery, 423 State Street, on Friday, Feb 9 and run through March 24. A free public reception for this exhibit will be held on Friday, Feb 9 from 7-9 pm. Musical instruments constructed of found objects, a sunset collaged with collected paraphernalia, brain maps and related silhouettes - these are the divergent paths taken by local middle school students from Wayne, St Boniface and Walnut Creek Middle Schools, while curating and designing a showcase featuring their personal predilections. “Since September, these students have worked with art, social studies, science and language art teachers learning how to apply the museum process to the basic concepts of their curriculum,” said Erie Art Museum Education and Folk Art Director Kelly Armor. “Their distinctive youthful playfulness spills out in their selection, evaluation, interpretation, and presentation of their objects of interest.”
Mezzo soprano Savanity Davis, a senior music education major at Mercyhurst College, will bring the sweet sounds of diversity to Black History Month with a concert of her own making on Friday, Feb 9, at 8 pm, in Walker Recital Hall. Since her freshman year, Savanity has embraced a personal mission: to learn as much as possible about the contributions of African Americans to the world of classical and operatic music. Now, just three months away from graduating, she hopes to share her discoveries with fellow students. Most of the songs Savanity will perform are either by black composers or are based on poems by black authors; for example, “Song to a Dark Virgin,” based on a Langston Hughes poem. Other concert highlights include poetry readings by friends and family, a slide show presentation, and commentary by Savanity’s grandmother, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine, Fla, in 1960. Mercyhurst assistant professor of music Louisa Jonason is advising Savanity on producing her event and will assist her in making commemorative CDs. Proceeds from the sale of the CDs will benefit Mercyhurst’s Diversity 101 organization.
Erie Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Bruce Morton Wright and in residence at Gannon University will present their annual “Guess the Composer Concert.” on Friday February 9 at 7:30 pm at Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, 512 Peach Street in Erie. You are cordially invited to attend this concert, which is free of admission charge. However, please be advised that seating is limited and on a first come, first service basis.
Penn State Behrend will host its sixth annual Spirit Against Cancer dance and cheerleading competition Saturday, February 10 from 10 am to 2 pm in the Junker Center. The event is expected to draw 800 participants from 50 teams from Pennsylvania and New York. Thanks to Spirit Against Cancer, the college has donated $26,500 to the American Cancer Society since the event began in 2001. Spirit Against Cancer was created in memory of Becky Hubler Decker, a former dance coach at Penn State Behrend. She also served as a cheerleading coach at Edinboro University, was captain of the Invaderettes, the dance team for the National Indoor Football League’s former Erie Invaders, and was a member of the Buffalo Bills’ Jills dance team.
The 2006-2007 Centerstage Series at Allegheny College will continue on Saturday, Feb 10 at 7:30 pm in Shafer Auditorium with an evening of comedy. Three comics will combine their talents and humor in a show recommended for adult audiences. Tammy Pescatelli, who emerged from NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” as one of the top five comedians, performs across the country at comedy and improv clubs. She has been featured on television shows such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Carson Daly” and has even had her own half hour special on Comedy Central. Pescatelli will be joined by humorist and storyteller Phyllis Colpitts, also known as Mama Krank, and rock comedian Mark Eddie, who remakes popular songs in an act that Robby Kreiger of The Doors has called “a rock concert with non-stop laughter.” For more information or to purchase tickets, call Conference and Event Services at (814) 332-3101.
Works by seven talented young choreographers will be featured when The Mercyhurst College Dance Department presents “Raw Edges IX” on Saturday, Feb 10, at 2 and 7 pm and Sunday, Feb 11, at 2 pm in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on the Mercyhurst campus. Tickets are $10 general admission and can be purchased at the door or by calling 824-3000. Each performance will include an intermission chat during which some of the young choreographers will speak about their new works and answer questions from the audience.
The Family Fun Movies in February at the Big Green Screen Theater in the Tom Ridge Environmental Center are Finding Nemo on Sunday Feb 11 and Monsters Inc on Sunday Feb 18. Showtimes are at 1:30 pm. Tickets $4 each.
Twelve years ago as the country of Rwanda descended into a 100-day orgy of human slaughter, one man found the courage to save more than 1,200 people. Paul Rusesabagina, dubbed by some as the “Oskar Schindler of Africa,” quietly sheltered them in the luxury hotel he managed in the central African nation. He will tell his amazing story, the basis of the Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda,” on Monday, Feb 12, at 8:30 pm in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Mercyhurst College. Rusesabagina’s visit, sponsored by Mercyhurst Student Government, is free and open to the public. Tickets are now available to the college community, with students afforded one free ticket, and faculty and administrators, two tickets. The general public may pick up tickets - three per person - beginning Tuesday, Feb 6, at the PAC box office. For ticket information, call 824-3000.
The Rodger Montgomery Blues Band will be performing Thursday, February 15 from 7-9pm at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center as part of the Hot Winter Blues and Jazz Series. Blues and Jazz music lovers will enjoy great music along with an assortment of light hors ‘d’oeuvres. BYOB - Bring Your Own Bottle of wine or beer to top off the evening.Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 at the Nature Shop and Gallery or at the door for $12.50 each. Call (814) 833-6050 for more details.
Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s Washington-based economics editor, will speak at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Thursday, February 22. Minton Beddoes’ address, “Fragile Prosperity: The Outlook for the US and World Economy,” is part of the college’s annual Speaker Series. It will be held at 7:30 pm in the Reed Union Building’s McGarvey Commons and is free and open to the public.
Roger Knacke, professor of physics and astronomy and director of the School of Science at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will discuss “Astronomy of the Maya” at the college’s next Open House Night in Astronomy. Knacke will speak at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 22, in 101 Otto Behrend Science Building. Admission to the open house is free and his non-technical lecture is suitable for ages 8 and older.
On February 24-25, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center will be the location of the 2007 Erie Winter Carnival, a fun-filled event weekend for all ages. Highlights include professional ice carvings, carved by some of the greatest ice carvers in the world! Watch the Speed Carving Competitions or check out delicate ice-art carvings created with chain saws and fine carving tools. Amazing pieces of art right created before your eyes! Take in one of the great featured films that weekend including Everest, Lewis and Clark, or the special weekend featured film, March of the Penguins. All on the BIG Green Screen. Children can also enjoy special activities including face painting, winter craft, storytelling and a magic show. Walk through the local artist Art Show and stop into the Nature Shop and Gallery for unique shopping options and great winter gifts. Check out all the great exhibits highlighting Presque Isle State Park. And remember to grab a bite to eat with specialty carnival-type foods and other great items from the Sunset Cafe.
On Feb 25, the Brewerie at Union Station in Erie hosts the Erie Illusion women’s football team Beer Fest.
The 25th annual Erie Sport and Travel Expo will be held at Family First Sports Park in Erie, Pa March 2-4. The show features fishing and hunting lodges, guides, outfitters, fishing charters and sporting goods vendors and boat and recreational vehicle dealers. General Admission $6 with children under 10 free.
The BrewErie at Union Station, The Erie Brewing Company, Southern Tier Brewing, Pennsylvania Brewery, Voodoo Brewery, The Flying Bison, Ellicottville Brewing Company, North Country Brewing Company, Hereford and Hops, Sprague Farm and Brew Works, The Buffalo Brew Pub, Magic Hat Brewing and the East End Brewing Company.
Posted by Dennis at February 8, 2007 7:10 AM
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