BEST BETS
"Die Fledermaus" combines Butler County Community College theater students, Blazing Star Choral Society singers, BCCC employees, and community members for the full three-act operetta with sets, costumes and pit orchestra.
The operetta, sung in English, will be presented at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 and 19 at Succop Theater on the BC3 campus.
Tickets for the show are $15. A dessert reception is included in the price of the Friday ticket. A dinner on Saturday is an additional $15. Both are being prepared and served by BC3 hospitality management students. The Saturday dinner is at 6 p.m. in the Convocation Center on campus.
For more information, call 724-283-4829.
CRANBERRY TWP - The 11th annual Blues for Food will take place Feb. 20 at Domenico's Ristorante and Pizzeria on Route 19.From 1:30 to 8 p.m., area bands will be performing to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The bands include Eugene and the Nightcrawlers, the Sidewinder Blues Band, the Waldo Young Band, the Jimmy Adler Band, and Gregg Krupa and the Boogie Monsters.Tickets are $10 at the door; children younger than 12 are admitted free. Non-perishable food items and paper and personal care products will be collected.For more information, call 724-553-0515.
The movie "Woodstock" will be shown at the Penn Theater over the weekend in conjunction with the Age of Aquarius art and music festival.The 1970 feature-length documentary from Warner Brothers tells the story of the event that was the culmination of the Age of Aquarius.Show times are midnight Friday, and 3 and 6 p.m. Saturday.Donations will accepted for admission. Concessions will be available.Call the theater at 724-287-7366 for more information.
PITTSBURGH - The 2005 Pittsburgh International Auto Show is slated for Saturday through Feb. 20 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 am. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and children ages 6 to 16 and free for children 6 and younger.For more information, call 866-575-3040.
HARMONY - Butler County A.B.A.T.E. has planned its third annual "Can't Make It to Daytona Party" for March 5 at the Harmony Moose.Food, games, music and door prizes will be available from 4 to 10 p.m.For more information, call 724-285-5260, 724-285-7038 or 724-452-5195.
PITTSBURGH - Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society will host a performance by Alvin Youngblood Hart at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Carnegie Lecture Hall in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.The Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer/songwriter has earned six Living Blues Awards and a Downbeat Critics' Poll for Blues Album of the Year.Opening will be Brad Yoder, a singer/songwriter who has produced five CDs and performs locally and nationally.Tickets are $25 in advance and $27 at the door; student rush tickets are $12. Call 412-394-3353 for tickets or 412-432-0333 for more information.
PITTSBURGH - World-renowned violinist Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra will perform in concert at 8 p.m. May 13 at Mellon Arena.Rieu is just returning from his tour in Europe and Asia.Tickets range from $31.50 to $57.75. Parking is $14.Call 412-323-1919 for tickets.
NEW CASTLE - The Harry M. Warner Film Festival will recognize independent filmmakers efforts' in the use of short film and video on April 21 and 22.The festival will have two sites: on the campus of Slippery Rock University and in downtown New Castle.Awards for the best films will be presented at the Cascade Riverplex in New Castle, the place where Warner Brothers established their first movie theater in 1907.Activities at SRU on April 21 will include "reel to real" discussions and viewing of selected films submitted to the festival.Activities in New Castle on April 22 will include a book signing of "Hollywood Be Thy Name" by Cass Warner, granddaughter of Harry M. Warner; a casual reception before viewing additional submitted films, and award presentations. A Night of Stars gala will conclude the festival.Filmmakers who want to submit a short film and/or video can contact Jon Shumway at SRU at 724-738-2714. An application is also available online at http://academic.sru.edu/warner.The deadline for submissions is March 1.More information is available by calling 724-738-2030 or 724-728-2373. Tickets to the festival are available by calling n724-738-2572.PITTSBURGH - The International Poetry Forum presents Martin Espada at 8 p.m. March 2 in the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.Espada was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1957. His seventh collection of poems, "Alabanza: New and Selected Poems (1982-2002)" was published by Norton in 2003 and received the Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement and was named an American Library Association Notable Book of the year.Much of his writing arises from his Puerto Rican heritage and his work experiences, ranging from bouncer to tenant attorney. He is a professor in the English department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he teaches creative writing, Latino poetry and the work of Pablo Neruda.Tickets cost $12 for general admission and $8 for students and senior citizens. Call 412-621-9893.
