Say what good you will about all the festivals in Venango County, they also leave huge piles of stinking, rotting trash that draw insects and bored , ill-mannered children (both of which are equally repulsive in my book). Now The Pittsburgh Green Music Festival group hopes to author an official set of rules approved by environmental experts for a festival being certified green. Lets hope the local authorities sit up and take notice so that we can market our area as an emerging green municipality.

I'll be MCing a poetry slam tomorrow, Thursday March 1st at noon in the Student Union of Butler County Community College. Drop by if you have a chance.

Speaking of our neighbor to the south, The National Players' production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" that was to have been performed on Saturday, March 24 at 8:00 PM at BCCC's Succop Theater has been canceled.

The Titusville Herald covers Polk's Main Street Market weekly bluegrass get-together.

The Meadville Tribune profiles local geocachers.

The Music Library Association and the Society for American Music are holding their annual convention in Pittsburgh this weekend. Paper tiles include "Get Hip Records and the History of Pittsburgh Punk" and "African American Opera in Pittsburgh: The Impact of the National Negro Opera Company".

Pittsburgh area tenor D. Kenneth Davies has released a new CD that benefits the future Welsh Nationality Room at Pitt


Salon asks, "Are cookbooks obsolete"? But the better question may be, "Are articles asking if books are obsolete obsolete?" Yes. Yes, they are.

Show Showdown is a blog detailing four guys racing to see who can see the most Theatre in 2007. I'm...stunned.

Benefit Show - I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

One of the great things about living in Venango is that everything is darn cheap. Last week I was invited to Pittsburgh's Bricolage, an event where 6 writers have 12 hours to write a 10-minute play inspired by a 90-minute journey on a city bus. The directors and actors have the next 12 hours to rehearse, memorize and stage each play to debut that same evening exactly 24 hours after the first meeting. It was a benefit for a theatre company and tickets cost $75. Ouch.
However, this Saturday the 20th, at 8:00, the Barrow will host a re-presentation of the production of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change .
As Director Peter Greene writes in Venangoland:

The show is a series of short vignettes capturing every aspect of meeting and mating from the very first moments of nervous first datery all the way through marriage, kids and, um, maturity. It is a musical about humor and love in everyday, ordinary life. The tunes are fun and, the characters are many of the people that we all know. The show does deal with mature themes and situations, but in a grown-up manner.The cast is composed of local theater veterans Steve Luxbacher, Jodi Hoover, Steve Teig and Suzi Ditzenberger, The musical accompaniment is provided by Kristen Criado and Jill Mattson.

It too is a benefit show, helping to the theater defray the cost of some new sound equipment. Prior to the production there will be a silent auction.

For $15. I'm serious. Only in Western PA. Call 437-3440 or 800-537-7769.

Speaking of Jill, this Saturday, January 20, at 1:00 pm Holly Nowak of the Arts Council of Erie and Oil City artist Jill Mattson will meet with artists in the Great Room of the National Transit Building to explain how to respond to the Arts in Education call for professional artists and become eligible for state-funded residencies and projects in schools and community organizations. Individual artists, companies, and ensembles may apply. The deadline is March 15. Call (814)676-5303 to reseve a spot.

Sylvia Coast and Kaycee Reib are looking for input on a book on Venango County's black history. Considering that everyone I talk to who owns an old house claims that it was a stop on the Underground Railroad, it's going to be a pretty big book.

The Titusville Redevelopment Authority is looking for a buyer for the Four Sons Brewery.

The RickDan Band is sponsering a big ol' music festival Saturday. 11 bands for $8 bucks at the Franklin Presbyterian Church 1250 Elk Street, Franklin, Pennsylvania 16323. Playing will be Signal Home, Loko Phylum, Hand in Hand, Nothing Unexpected, Hope on a Rope, and many others.

Although I think that the PA Lottery groundhog is one of the creepiest animatronics since 1950s Disney, Phil himself still has street cred (meadow cred?). Check out Groundhog Crossing for this year's build up.