battles over artifacts, gallery openings, and Lego contests

The holidays are over, but there's a burst of artsy news and events:

Gannon University is accepting submissions for its 29th annual High School Poetry Contest. The deadline for submissions is Feb 1, 2006. Submissions should be sent to:
Berwyn Moore
Associate Professor
Department of English
Gannon University
109 University Square
Erie, Pennsylvania 16541.

All entries should be typed on plain, white paper and should include the student’s name, grade, address of high school, and teacher’s name. Up to three poems per student can be submitted. Original copies should not be sent. Cash prizes will be awarded, including a $100 first prize. Award winners will be announced during the university’s annual English Awards Night, scheduled for April 27, 2006. Dr Rafael Campo, an award winning poet and essayist, will be the guest speaker for the event. For more information on the contest, call the Gannon University English Department at 814-871-7725 or 814-871-7504.

Via the Erie Times News

The Erie County Historical Society is putting part of its collection of American Indian artifacts on the auction block, and that has infuriated the Erie Art Museum's chief administrator.Not only that, but the Erie School District might take legal action against the Erie County Historical Society over an upcoming auction of American Indian artifacts. The beauty of organizations working together for everyone's benefit.
Links To Erie Artifacts at Christies Auction (Via Erie blogger, "Erie's Argonaut".


The Erie Housing Authority 2006 calendar, the fourth in a series, features art created by residents of public housing, including children, teenagers, adults and senior citizens. The contributing artists range in age from 6 to 76.
For more information, or a copy of the calendar please call John Horan at 452-2425. The calendar will soon be posted on the Housing Authority’s Web site

In Greenville, the Mercer County Builder's Association is sponsoring the 6th annual Lego Building contest on Saturday January 14th from 10am to 11:30 am. Free entry, call Margie at 724-588-6400 for more information.

Lots of happenings in Meadville:
Youth and adult tryouts for "Oliver" at the Academy Theatre Tuesday and Thrusday 6:30-8 pm for kids 8-9 for the big kids at the MASH 814-720-6006

Opening reception for two Meadville art shows on the 6th. Meadville Fine Art Prints (231 Chestnut St) for their "New Releases" show from 6:30-9 pm and "A Field Trip Into Imagination" from the Meadville Council on the Arts on the second floor of the Market House from 6:30-9pm

Fibally, the Academy Theatre is shwing "Everything is Iluminated" on Jan 7h and 8th at 7:30 pm $6 adults $5 students (814) 337-8000
Allegehny gets nice front page coverage in Sunday's New York Times

Please, this year, keep Saturn in Saturnalia

Looking for some time away from the relatives? Here's the word from Big Jack Earl's Justin:
Friday, December 23 at 7 pm, at Summer House Coffee in Franklin, a group of local musicians will be joining together for a performance/jam/sing-along/all around good time. Jerome Wincek from Big Jack Earl, along with Nate Custer from Oil City, and Grace Lloyd, currently residing in Chicago, will perform original songs and more in a mellow setting with amazing coffee and atmosphere. There is no cover charge, so please make sure to come out and support local music.
Well said.

In the local media:
ErieBlogs.com is reporting Struck Down, a band from Erie PA, has signed with Indianola Records. Struck Down oringally formed in the spring of 2004. The band includes Jameson Jenkins on guitar, Adam Greenman on bass, Raymond Horton on drums and Gabriel Poland on vocals. Their debut CD, "Revolution" will be released on January 10th.


Please, this year, don't take the Kwan out of area Kwanzaa festivities.

This Titusville Herald article is interesting enough by itself - apparently all Venango County needs is the airshow to prosper in the new year - but the comment at the end is priceless.

Today's holiday song:
Jack Johnson - Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

What the heck, let's do two:
Last summer's Pittsburgh Art Fest's headliners, The Drive-By Truckers' frontman Patterson Hood's live rendition of "Mrs. Claus' Kimono"

Eric Day's Book, Gerson Leiber's art, and Big Jack Earl's Music (all this plus Xmas MP3s!)

Kismet! We mention Eric Day's book, The Fifth Crystal, as a pick for Christmas and the shows up in the News Herald. Read about his book here.










Being a dirty hippy, I'm all about recycling and reusing. Through in some craft skills and you have the Crawford County Conservation District's classes in "the district's new Saegertown nature center to learn the ins and outs of what the teaching team calls a greener wrapping, putting natural, recycled and reusable items to work for the holiday season."

The Titusville Herald has an article about "Gerson Leiber, who graduated from Titusville High School in 1939, went on to find fame as a cubist painter, residing in New York City."


It's a really nice piece about how the artist continues to stay in touch with his old alma mater and that his work will be on special display tomorrow evening from 7-9. But, then it gets strange. No where else can I find anything that says that Leiber was born in Titusville - everywhere else credits him with being born in Brooklyn. I don't doubt the Herald's article, but I do wonder why the discrepancy. I have my toughts - Brooklyn's "cooler" than Titusville, everyone knows where Brooklyn is, as oppossed to Titsuvlle, but maybe the bigger question is, why doesn't our area tout this connection more? Why hasn't Leiber been asked to come back to speak, or why isn't there any historical documentation in the town? If he had played pro football, would residents stand for a similar dearth of association? By the way, that first Leiber on the left is only $400 and would look great in my office ;)

But I digress, and this is the holiday season after all.
Venango Christmas Pick for the day? Roots, americana, alt-country, half-assed bluegrass band Big Jack Earl's epynomous CD - (like you didn't see that coming!) Visit their website here, or stream and then buy the album here.
"Big Jack Earl is a singer/songwriter conglomerate from Pennsylvania, making music that ranges from slow country waltzes to raucous stomps and reels. They utilize guitar, banjo, upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, harmonica, etc. to produce the tunes that frame intelligent lyrics, mixed with metaphors, puns, and personification . . .
Big Jack Earl's music is good for drinking, dancing, or just listening, whatever mood strikes your fancy."
I have an essay on my BJE fandom that I'm putting the final touches to, but in the meantime, their website has plenty of good reading.
Did I mention the CD's on sale right now for $13?

Finally, a Christmas tune for the hipsters:
Deerhoof - Xmas Tree
One for the yinzers:
Father Christmas - The Kinks
And one for the oldsters:
Handel's Messiah
Choose your stereotype.

Papa St. Nick: Beausoleil
This is from a fun album called Christmas Gumbo (via Keep the Coffee Coming)

According to the Titusville Herald:
Plans continue to move ahead to develop an arts revitalization program for the downtown shopping district in Oil City. The idea centers around bringing specialty stores with artisans to help bolster the cityÂ’s future as a destination point of shopping.

A non-profit group will now be formed to begin the process of converting vacant stores into new business establishments. The plan is one of nine economic possibilities that the city explored earlier this year as ways of creating new interest in the downtown area.

I think they'd be better off dropping the money from the transit building - for some odd reason this region has a sudden obsession about consultants. Everything I've heard about this plan though stinks - underfunded, little regional, as opposed to local, involvement, and saddled with a lack of understanding about local artists. The follow up announcement also revealed that the 19K Oil City government had originally promised no longer exists. Full disclosure - Two years ago I proposed a similar program to the Oil City mayor at the time - my proposal centered around recruiting out of state artists and luring them here with cheap real estate - I never heard back. Which of course, then, makes this sound like sour grapes - but it's a subject I thought out endlessly while preparign the proposal and everything I have heard about their plan suggests money pit, boondoggle, and disappointment.


Titusville however is a different story - they're going through a mini reniassance downtown with some artsy anchors such as Four Sons leading the way. Now, local potter Don Lombardo has moved his Brown Stone Studio to downtown Titusville (104 Diamond St) where he will offer original works of his own as well as those of other artists, crafters, jewelry makers and photographers.

Let's think about some last minute Venango Gifts - today I'm recommending Venango County Resident Eric Day's book. The Fifth Crystal. It's a sci-fi epic, written from the heart and, I also have no doubt, that Eric would be glad to inscribe it for gift giving purposes.

On a brighter note, what says Christmas more than Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis"?

Brooks And Dunn

The Meadville Trib reports that Brooks and Dunn will be at the 2006 Crawford County Fair. Not my thing, but....

Recycled Percussion will record its return performance Dec. 13 at Allegheny College for a musical video and DVD that will be distributed internationally. Check out some samples of their music here.

Movie Time!

Sometime ago, (this summer to be exact) I was writing here about the failure of the Academy Theatre's attempt to bring summer stock to the area. Although it fired up every local theatre person I know (they were, after all, paying their actors) I said that it seemed like there was some more going on that I didn't get. Luckily for us, the Meadvile Trib explains it all for us.

Where does the time go? The 2006 Eerie Horror Film Festival has already opened its call for entries and is seeking independently produced feature length and short horror/science fiction films and screenplays from around the world!

The great Pittsburgh show space The Mr Roboto Project gets called on the carpet for an allegedly racist show poster.

Speaking of Pittsburgh and movies, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Pittsburgh Filmmakers have merged.

Finally, a holiday-ish song to kick off the weekend, Allison Crowe's "In The Bleak Mid-Winter" . Is it cheesy and Starbuck-y? Yup. But my motto is start slow and finish strong and my holiday MP3s include James Brown this year!