The Age of Aquarius will dawn over Butler for a weekend in February.

Full of colorful art and music, one of the highlights of the festival will be a concert by original Woodstock performer Richie Havens.

Members of the Associated Artists of Butler County are busy putting the final touches on the event, which will benefit the After School Art Program for Youth at Risk.

The idea for the festival came from organizer Larry Sassone's 1997 visit to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. He's also the president of

the

AABC.

When Sassone left the "I Want To Take You Higher" show and exhibit, he said he felt like something was missing.

"My only real disappointment with the event was the lack of visual artists' work on display to enhance the music of the '60s, so I thought about doing a theme show to highlight the visual artists and the artwork of the '60s like the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame highlights the music and performing artists of that era," Sassone explained.

He and Age of Aquarius co-organizer Kathy Gregory-Steiner were chatting at a United Way function last February when the concept took shape.

"We were talking about the '60s, which was a decade that changed the course of a lot of things ... Two of those things were art and music," said Gregory-Steiner. "It was a bittersweet time for all of us baby boomers.She said Butler's Age of Aquarius will be a step back to a time that was 'far out!'"The 'winter of love' weekend in Butler is something that will be fun for anyone and everyone, and we are receiving a great response," she added.Similar to Woodstock, the 1969 music and art festival that featured three days of concerts in a small town in New York, Butler's Age of Aquarius will be an art and music festival with an emphasis on visual arts and artists' perception of that decade.Area artists can submit their work and compete for cash prizes. The art should interpret visually a time period in American culture when artists revolutionized the country through their art, according to Sassone. Artwork is being accepted through Jan. 25.Community involvement has been a real boost for the AABC, Sassone said."I am very humbled by the support this community has shown not only for the Age of Aquarius but everything we are trying to do through our organization," he said. "There are so many people, business, local government leaders, city, township, commissioner's office and friends that have taken the time to listen to me that I can honestly say that this community is very special."

Since February, Sassone, Gregory-Steiner and their committee have been working to weave a weekend full of the stuff of the '60s, visually as well as musically.In addition to local artists' work, on display at the AABC Art Center will be an Andy Warhol exhibit, courtesy of his Butler County cousins.The "15 Minutes of Fame Tribute to Andy Warhol" exhibit is from the private collections of Amy Passarelli and her sister, Christine Soley. They are both lifelong residents of Butler who remained close to Warhol throughout his life and career, with many personal conversations and numerous visits to his studio in New York City.Their private collection has been used extensively by writers, historians, and film companies, some as far away as Japan, as one of the finest sources of reference material compiled on Warhol, especially his early days of growing up in Western Pennsylvania."We sincerely thank Amy Passarelli and Christine Soley for sharing an extraordinary and wonderful private collection on their cousin Andy, truly one of the greatest innovative pop artists of the world," Sassone said.

Musically, the weekend will feature two headliner musicians performing at the Butler Days Inn. The concerts begin at 9 p.m. each evening, with doors opening at 8 p.m.Friday night will feature the sounds of Fire, a Jimi Hendrix tribute band featuring Tony "Wild T" Springer. His music has been recognized by the likes of David Bowie, Jeff Healey, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Arsenio Hall.Springer has toured with Bon Jovi and Deep Purple throughout North America and has performed thousands of club shows. Recently he was asked to portray Jimi Hendrix in the Monkee Movie for TMN because of his resemblance and showmanship.Saturday night will feature original Woodstock performer Richie Havens, whose song "Freedom" has become an American classic. His fiery, poignant and always soulful singing style has remained unique since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s.Live music by various local bands is also scheduled throughout the weekend at the AABC Art Center.

The Penn Theatre Community Trust will show the movie "Woodstock" during the weekend.Also, about 20 vendors, along with a few service-related businesses, will be set up at noon both days at the Days Inn. They will have items for purchase such as art, handmade jewelry, photographs, custom woodworking, clothing and posters.There will be a shuttle service to provide transportation between the AABC Art Center, Butler Days Inn, Penn Theatre and Maridon Museum, which will be open throughout that weekend.The Butler Days Inn is offering "Heads in Beds" hotel packages that include hotel accommodations, concert tickets, and some food and beverages.To buy Age of Aquarius items, the AABC has set up a Web site. Registration can also be handled online for concert tickets and the weekend hotel package. Visit www.butleraoa.org. or call 724-283-6922.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit a program that is dear to Sassone."I was very fortunate to be involved with our After School Art Program from the conception. If we are able to keep our youth involved in the benefits of art-based education, the long-term effect will be a positive impact on this community," he explained."We did a lot of research before we committed to this program. The ASAP is not intended to just be a place for youth to participate in arts and crafts, but a program based around a national accepted form of art-based education called 'Youth Art, Art Programs for Youth at Risk.'"We follow several best practices in field for this type of out of school time art based education."

WHAT: Age of Aquarius festival, sponsored by the Associated Artists of Butler CountyWHEN: Feb. 11 and 12, with exhibits continuing through March 20WHERE: AABC Art Center on Main Street and Butler Days Inn on Route 8 in Butler Township.ADMISSION: Free for AABC art exhibit. Richie Havens concert ticket is $30; Fire concert ticket is $25.INFORMATION: 724-283-6922