Erie Home and Garden Show

The Erie Home and Garden Show will be held at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center Thursday, February 26 through Sunday, March 1. Tickets are $6 and will be available at the door.

NCAA Men's Basketball Division II National Championship

 

The NCAA Men's Basketball Division II National Championship will be held Wednesday, March 25 through Saturday, March 28 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Tickets are on sale now.
Wednesday, March 25, NCAA Div II Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals Session 1 - tickets.
Wednesday, March 25, NCAA Div II Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals Session 2 - tickets.
Thursday, March 26, NCAA Div II Men's Basketball Championship Semi-Finals - tickets.
Saturday, March 28, NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball Championship Final - tickets.

The Asbury Woods Nature Center Winter Camp is a winter version of the popular Summer Nature Camp. Weather permitting, the day will include snowshoeing, observing animals and plants in their winter habitats, live animal program, snow art and some great seasonal crafts.This one day camp will be will be held December 29 and again December 30. Appropriate for children Kindergarten - 5th grade. Cost: $15 per day for members, $20 per day for nonmembers.

The Lake Erie Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps hired W Roy Mitchell as Brass Arranger.

Boogie at the Bayfront

Boogie at the Bayfront will be held on New Year's Eve, December 31 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. Tickets are $40 per person. Sheraton Bayfront Hotel Packages available, 2 tickets plus room for $179, including tax. Tickets available only at the Erie Civic Center Box Office or by phone at (814) 452-4857. All net proceeds from the event benefit City of Erie Police and Fire departments.

Starting January 2009, Erie Brewing Company will be offering a FREE Craft Beer Training Course. The training course will include a power point presentation highlighting the history of beer, how beer is made, and information on beer styles, common beer myths, and tips on suggestive selling. The training course will also include a brewery tour and tasting (must be 21 years old with proper ID to taste beer). The course will take approximately 2 hours to complete. For more information or to sign up please email Becky Niemeyer or call her at (814) 459-7741.

History in the Making

WJET-TV ran a cool story on Linda and Bert Straub's business History in the Making. Linda gave a necklace to Governor Sarah Palin during her visit to Erie. Gov Palin wore the necklace the next day which was clearly visible in coverage of her campaign stops and interviews.

A Pittsburgh Steelers Sunset in Erie PA

Erie is known for having some of the most beautiful sunsets in the World but this one was special for Pittsburgh Steeler fans.

OK, in reality it's an image making the email rounds from SteelerAddicts.com.

Ice Center of Erie

When the Igloo Ice Arena closed it left a big shortage of ice time in the Erie area. After a sale of the rink and remodeling it has reopened as Ice Center of Erie (ICE). ICE is located at 3515 McClelland Ave, Erie PA 16510.

Boart Longyear Limited (ASX: BLY) announced the appointment of David W Grzelak as a non-executive director of the company effective November 12, 2008. Grzelak currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Komatsu America and has done so since 1999. Komatsu is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of construction and mining equipment. Prior to joining Komatsu in 1991, Grzelak held a number of positions within GE Transportation Systems over a period of almost 20 years. In addition, Grzelak has served as a director of the Alamo Group (NYSE: ALG) since 2006 and is currently a member of the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating committees. A native of Erie, PA, Dave Grzelak earned an industrial engineering degree from Penn State University before joining GE Transportation Systems in 1971. He later earned an MBA from Gannon University while working his way up the GE ladder. His last GE assignment was as manager, off-highway vehicles, where one of his customers was Komatsu.

LECOM - The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and School of Pharmacy

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine students and faculty, along with Millcreek Community Hospital residents and other regional participants, will display the results of myriad research endeavors today, Thursday, October 23, during the school's Research Day event. The event will include a morning poster presentation in the school's atrium, where onlookers can learn more about the results of the presenters' research endeavors. During the afternoon, presenters will deliver lectures about their research, and a panel of jurors will award prizes to the top researchers.

The Gem City Concert Band will present a fall concert Thursday, November 6, at the Blasco Library's H.O. Hirt Auditorium. The hour-and-half-long program will begin at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public, although a free-will offering will be accepted to benefit Gem City Bands. The 50-member band, under the direction of Dr. Scott Tomlison and Assistant Director Brett Woomer, will perform such pieces as Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F for Military Band; Clifton Williams' Variation Overture; James Sweringen's Seagate Overture; several familiar marches and Clare Grundman's Fantasy on American Sailing Songs. The concert is part of the 08-09 Blasco Library Concert Series and is sponsored by the Erie County Public Library and the Friends of the Library. For more information, visit the Gem City Web site at www.gemcitybands.org or phone 899-8467.

The Erie SeaWolves annual holiday card design contest for students throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania is now accepting entries. The winning artwork from the contest will be featured on thousands of official Erie SeaWolves holiday greeting cards. All elementary and middle school students in Northwest, PA are eligible to participate in the contest. The artist chosen as the grand-prize winner will receive a pizza party for their class with SeaWolves mascot "C Wolf." Artwork must be submitted to the SeaWolves by Tuesday, November 18, 2008. Submissions must include the student's name, contact information, school, grade and teacher's name.
Submit artwork to: Erie SeaWolves, Attn: Holiday Cards, 110 East 10th Street, Erie, PA 16501. The winner will be notified by Friday, November 21, 2008.

The talented, multicultural Harlem Quartet will perform at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, next month as part of Music at Noon: The Logan Series.

Harlem Quartet’s FREE performance begins at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 5. It is open to the public and will be held in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building.

The Harlem Quartet features a changing line-up of African American and Latino string instrumentalists who also are First Place Laureates in the Sphinx Competition, an annual juried performance competition held in Detroit, Mich., to encourage, develop and recognize classical music talent in the black and Latino communities.

While in Erie, Harlem Quartet also will give two mini-concerts for students at Diehl Elementary, Penn State Behrend’s Adopt A School partner. While Diehl performances are required of each Logan ensemble, the Quartet is particularly comfortable playing to schoolchildren, says Gary Viebranz, Logan Series director. “Harlem Quartet’s passion and mission is to advance diversity in classical music,” he notes. “The Quartet prides itself on seeking out new, youthful audiences that will respond to a repertoire that highlights works by minority composers. The Quartet’s presentation is sensational, so I expect both the Diehl students and noontime audience to be captivated by these exciting performers.”

Performing in Erie will be violinists Ilmar Gavilan and Melissa White, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez, and cellist Desmond Neysmith. In addition to their touring schedule, Harlem Quartet members serve as the principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, one of the premier independent arts preparatory schools in the world, and as visiting faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Music at Noon, an innovative program to introduce classical music in an informal atmosphere rather than an intimidating concert hall, was founded at Penn State Behrend in 1989 by Warren philanthropist and arts advocate Kay Logan. Its unique music outreach efforts were honored with an Adventurous Programming Award given by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The series receives major support from the Kay Logan Trust and additional funding from the Penn State Behrend Student Activity Fee, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts and the Erie Arts Endowment of the Arts Council of Erie.

Additional performers in the 2008-09 Logan Series will be Asteria on Thursday, Jan. 29, The Albers Trio on Tuesday, March 31, and Hot 8 Brass Band on Tuesday, April 14.

For more information about The Logan Series or The Harlem Quartet’s appearance, contact Viebranz at 814-898-6289.

Quartet New Generation

Quartet New Generation will perform a concert at 8 pm on Friday, October 24 at the Mercyhurst College Walker Recital Hall. The recorders played by the virtuoso musicians in Quartet New Generation come in all shapes and sizes, capable of sounds you may never have imagined this instrument could make. Up to six feet in length, these instruments neither look nor sound like the recorders you may remember from grade school. Tickets.

Erie County 2009 Budget Proposal

The Erie County 2009 Budget Proposal by County Executive Mark DiVecchio is now posted on the county web site.

Tap Into Erie

Tap Into Erie, a new initiative by the Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership, is actively seeking new businesses to bring to Erie County by tapping into our richest resource. The initiative will promote Erie’s abundant freshwater supply and offer special incentives for businesses to expand to Erie County.

During the current economic crisis of rising oil prices, escalating energy costs and looming water shortages, companies across the United States are fervently searching for new areas to expand their operations. As a result, Erie is strategically positioning itself as a smart and secure environment for businesses to grow.

Prior to the inception of Tap Into Erie, the Erie Chamber conducted a study to evaluate the Region’s competitiveness. The study determined which industries are the most water intensive and would benefit from the Region’s value proposition. With an excess of 36 million gallons of water per day, a high wastewater capacity, low water cost and a turnkey land solution, the Erie region is strategically positioned to target businesses struggling with existing water supplies and costs.

Water is an important initial attraction factor, but additional site factors such as logistics and costs of labor, land/lease and utilities as well as project-specific incentives, are true differentiators. Tap Into Erie will market aggressively to site location consultants to sell Erie’s value proposition so they consider Erie in site recommendations.

According to the study, Erie’s success in attracting companies in water-intensive industries will depend on its ability to aggressively reach out to targeted companies and marshal political, regulatory and private sector shareholders to work together to meet specific companies’ requirements on a factor-by-factor, incentive-by-incentive level.

As fresh, abundant water becomes increasingly scarce throughout the United States, more industries are realizing the need to expand their operations near large bodies of freshwater. Industries such as steel mills, data centers and breweries are particularly in need of large amounts of fresh water and are major targets of this campaign.

Today, the big drivers for data center site selection are water, land and electricity. Data centers are a water intensive industry due to a shift in the market to servers that use water to cool fiber optic lines. This method is believed to offer energy savings of 20 to 40% over current practices. This technology was introduced in 1995 but was not readily adopted because of low energy prices. As energy prices continue to increase, water-cooling will begin to experience substantial growth.

To attract prospective new businesses to the area, Erie Water Works is offering a special incentive package to new investments in Erie County. Benefits include a five-year - 40% discount on all water expenses, as well as custom building for all lease purchase agreements.

According to Jake Rouch, vice president of economic development at the Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership, “This is an outstanding opportunity for Erie to grow by attracting new employers to the region – employers that will complement our existing base and take advantage of our region’s assets.”

To kickoff the national Tap Into Erie initiative, Rouch will be in Atlanta on October 18-22 to speak with local business leaders and discuss how Erie has the resources they need for growth. For more information on this initiative visit www.tapintoerie.com.

Erie Weekend on PCN

PCN (Pennsylvania Cable Network) is a non-profit cable network, a Pennsylvania version of C-SPAN, covering PA House and Senate, PA History, business, books, sports, people, culture. PCN will feature Erie PA with special programming October 9-12. Shows include tours of the Museum of GE History, Presque Isle State Park, Flagship Niagara, Organ Supply Industries, Erie Maritime Museum and Presque Isle Wine Cellars. Other shows include a call in show with US Rep Phil English and liberal candidate Kathy Dahlkemper, a profile and interview of Mayor Joe Sinnott, a Journalists Roundtable with reporter of the Erie Times-News, and the Gateway vs Erie McDowell football game.

TREC or Treat 2008

TREC or Treat 2008 will be held 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday, October 25 at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle in Erie, PA. It's all FREE, no registration, no fee. If you think Halloween is full of tricks and treats, just wait until you find out what nature can do. See creepy-crawlies up close. Join in a costume parade and contest at 2 pm. TREC through our treat stations to learn why those Halloween creatures aren't so scary after all. Join us for a FREE Halloween movie on the Big Green Screen sponsored by the National Grape Cooperative and Welch's. Spookley (rated G) will be shown at noon and The Last Mimzy (PG) will play at 3 pm.

Have you ever been to a party and, even though the host requested “no gifts”, you felt obligated to bring a “token” gift? Or, have you ever had a party and asked people not to bring gifts, yet receive the “token” gifts yourself? Why not end the “token” gift exchange by having a Celebration Donation party? At Celebration Donation, we offer groups of friends an invitation to giving. Celebration Donation, a web-based nonprofit, is a convenient and easy way to plan a party AND raise money for charity. Look for them in December.

12th Annual Trail of Treats

The 12 Annual Trail of Treats will be held Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23 from 5 pm to 8:30 pm at the Millcreek Mall. Cost is $2 for advance tickets and $3 at the door. Tickets are available at the Millcreek Mall, the Erie Achievement Center and the Sarah Reed Children's Center.

The 2008 Pennsylvania Emergency Responders Conference will be held October 4-5 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.

The Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Party and Contest will be held Wednesday, October 29 at 7 pm at Horstman and Son's Dog Park, located at 3803 West 26th Street in Erie, PA (corner of 26th and Powell Avenue). Admission is FREE. Registration fee is $2 per dog. Registration starts at 6:15 pm. All proceeds benefit Therapy Dogs United.

The March of Dimes 5th Annual Rubber Duck Regatta will be held at Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park and Resort in Erie at 7 pm on Thursday, October 16. Floater ducks (different from the souvenir ducks) will be numbered to correspond with the raffle ticket numbers and released down the Big Kahuna at 7 pm. The first ducks to cross the finish line indicate the winners of the raffle. Several prize packages will be awarded. The grand prize this year is a two-person hot tub donated by Presque Isle Hot Tubs. The ticket sales benefit the March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit for pregnancy and baby health. Each raffle ticket is sold for a $5 donation, and purchasers get to take home a souvenir Super Duck. Tickets are on sale now at participating locations including The Breakfast Place, Curves, Erie Book Store, Erie Eye Clinic, Erie Federal Credit Union, E-Z Clean, Gerlach's Floral, Gohr's Printing, Hair Expressions, Kuhn's Picture and Gift Shop, Lorie's Wildridge Restaurant, Mike N' Dangelo's, Panache, Pinecrest Family Practice, Pulako's Locations, Rosebud Floral Shop, Sloppy Duck Saloon, Syd's Place, Two Friends Italian Market, Victorian Princess Office, March of Dimes Office, or by calling the March of Dimes office at (814) 833-4941. For more information, please contact Jessica Olmstead-Armant.

The Varnish Cooks, a Rochester quartet that refuses to let the dust settle on old-time American music, brings a passionate commitment to upholding the tradition of the string band to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. For their first performance in the Erie area, The Varnish Cooks appear as part of Penn State Behrend’s Music at Noon: The Logan Series. Their concert begins at noon on Thursday, October 9, in the McGarvey Commons of the college’s Reed Union Building; admission is FREE and open to the public.

Courtney E Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, a searingly honest look at the spectrum of physical obsessions undertaken in the name of unattainable perfection, will speak at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Tuesday, September 30. Her discussion, “Perfect Girls: How a Generation Was Told They Could Be Anything and Heard They Had to be Everything” begins at 7:30 pm in the worship space of the college’s Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel. Admission is FREE and open to the public, and a reception for Martin will follow the presentation.

The History Club of Corry High School had undertaken the project of the " Constitution Wall " in Corry, PA. which will be dedicated on September 19, 2008. The new Corry Elementary School has a retaining wall that looks like the " Vietnam Memorial Wall " in Washington, D.C. The Club has designed the wall to be a permanent memorial to those individuals who have served in the military in peace time as well as war-time, as well as Policemen, or Firefighters. Flags of each branch of the service have been purchased by various clubs in the school. The Honor Plaque states: "We Honor Those Who Serve Their Country, Preserving Our Constitution and Our First Amendment Rights."

Goodell Gardens and Homestead 3rd Annual Homegrown Harvest Festival

The Goodell Gardens and Homestead 3rd Annual Homegrown Harvest Festival will be held noon - 5 pm on September 21. FREE admission. 1 pm - 'Growing Yesterday's Gardens: Heirloom Seeds and the Pennsylvania German Tradition' by Dr Irwin Richman, a PHC Commonwealth Speaker.Highlighting how the conservation of antique seed varieties, and distribution of high-quality seed, preserves an important part of Pennsylvanian German cultural heritage. It will also describe the use of heirloom flowers and vegetables in traditional gardens and how they can be adapted to modern use. Dr Richman is a Professor Emeritus of American Studies and History at Penn State - Harrisburg and is Director of Research and Development for the Heirloom Seed Project of the Landis Valley Museum. 3-5 pm - Barn Dance in the restored Goodell Barn. The 2008 Harvest Festival will also include: crafts, a quilt display, food, kid's activity, garden tours (12:30 and 2:30
pm) and a Farmer's market with organic produce and pumpkins, baked goods, honey products, maple products, goat milk products and demos, plant and spring bulb sale. Quilt display, Crafts (painted furniture, quilted items and pressed flower art. Raffles for great items, food and more.

Monday September 15 marks the debut of Selena Wiles, the new co-anchor of JET-TV’s Action News 24. Wiles will join veteran anchorman Sean Lafferty at the news desk for the 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm, and 11pm newscasts on JET-TV. After a nationwide search, News Director Lou Baxter stated, “We’re very happy to have found an experienced anchor that has just the right mix of broadcast journalism expertise, education, passion, chemistry, and charm to continue Action News 24s tradition of trust.” Baxter added, “Selena Wiles is a welcome addition to Action News 24.” Wiles, 30, has spent the last five years reporting and anchoring the 5-6pm news at WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tn., television market 91. Wiles was also the education reporter at WJHL. Before that she was a reporter at WDTV in Bridgeport, WVa. While working for WDTV, she reported live on September 11, 2001 from the plane crash in Sommerset, Pa. Prior to her TV career, Wiles worked for the West Virginia Radio Corporation, anchoring newscasts on WAJR-AM. A graduate of the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University, home of the Mountaineers, Wiles is a West Virginia native and a diehard Mountaineer football and basketball fan.

Music at Noon: The Logan Series kicks off its 19th season at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, with a lunchtime performance by Boston Brass. The performance takes place at noon on Thursday, September 25, in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building. Admission is FREE and open to the public. While in Erie, Boston Brass will also give two mini-classes at Diehl Elementary, Penn State Behrend’s Adopt A School partner.

The first Buggin' State of the season will be held on Friday June 20. Buggin State is a cruise-in that give car owners and car clubs in the Erie PA area a chance to showcase their classic, custom and tricked-out vehicles. Thousands of enthusiasts come downtown to see the cars on display along State Street. FREE, live music with the Four Jays at Perry Square

The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership is the single point of contact for prospective companies, site selection consultants and corporate real estate executives considering the Erie, Pennsylvania region. To learn why investing in Erie is a smart business move, contact Jacob A. Rouch, vice president for economic development, at jrouch@eriepa.comor 814-454-7191.

Help support Read To Rebound and have a blast doing it. On June 7, many of the downtown Erie Bars will be hosting a pool tournament. No prior experience necessary - slop counts. A $20 donation to Read To Rebound gets you a scorecard, a T-shirt, and a chance to win all kinds of prizes. Just download a registration form for details and rules. Read to Rebound is a non-profit organization committed to making sure that no child has to face the challenges of life on their own. Through a series of books, an interactive website, and community resources, Read to Rebound will share the true stories of people who have faced, and overcome, adversity in their lives. By sharing these stories, Read to Rebound hopes to provide a compass for children navigating the difficult roadmap of life.

The 84th annual Lake City Fire Company Carnival will be held June 12-14 in Lake City, PA.

Preview dresses owned and worn by nationally-recognized celebrities like Martina McBride, Beyonce, Amy Grant, Ann Curry, Raven Symone, Patti LaBelle and many others from 12:30-3 pm June 1 at Lake Shore Country Club. The Celebrity Dress Preview event will benefit My Father’s House of Erie, a nonprofit transitional program for homeless/abused women and their children. The organization operates the retail store Bella Designs, 4801 Peach Street, in which women in the program have the opportunity to learn vocational skills and work experience. “These dresses are telling of the personalities who owned them ,” said Connie Miller, My Father’s House Of Erie, special projects administrator, “and this event will be a casual Sunday afternoon here in Erie by the lake to see them before they travel to Los Angeles for our live on-line fashion show auction in the Fall,” she added. The event will also feature guest speaker, Pete McDaniel, Senior Writer, Golf Digest Magazine and “Training a Tiger” co-author with the late Earl Woods, will entertain the audience with his storytelling and will auction four original Tiger Woods autographed photos from the legendary golfer’s PGA 20007 victory. Sponsored by Fishtank creative, an Erie-based marketing advertising and communications agency, powered by the Velocity Network, the host committee is comprised of Melanie Johnson, Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, Cynthia Phillips, Motivational Speaker, Alan and Angie Rossum, NFL San Francisco 49ers (formerly of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers), Shaun and Shonda Smith, NFL Cleveland Browns, and Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Thomas, St Vincent Health Center. Tickets are $35 per person or $50 per couple and available at the following locations: Bella Designs, 4801 Peach Street; All GE Federal Credit Union branches; and National City Bank, 801 State Street. For more information, please call (814) 879-0880

JR's Last Laugh Comedy Night Event to benefit Because You Care will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday, May 29. Comedian: Juston McKinney. Food and drinks are available before and during the show. Ticket price: $15.50 Juston McKinney is one of the hottest comedians in the country. Coming to us from New York City, he has headlined many of the clubs in NY such as Caroline's, Comic Strip Live, Dangerfield's, and Stand-up NY. He's been featured at the Toyota Comedy Festival and on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had his own show on Comedy Central. He is a US Comedy Arts Festival Award Winner, and delivers a funny, original, high energy performance, which has made him a huge hit all over the country. Call (814) 899-0061 to buy single tickets or blocks of tickets. Circle May 29 on your calendar today and plan to enjoy a great night of entertainment. Get your party together and share the night with friends and family! A big thank you to JR's Last Laugh Comedy Club for sponsoring the 6th annual Comedy Night event. The money raised will help Because You Care pay for the spay and neuter of the many kittens taken in during April and May.

The Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel is now accepting reservations for arrival on or after June 3. The hotel opens Thursday, April 10.

Music at Noon: The Logan Series brings Percussion Group Cincinnati to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, this month. The award-winning ensemble in residence at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati will perform at noon on Thursday, April 24, in the McGarvey Commons of the college’s Reed Union Building. Admission is FREE and the audience is welcome to bring a bagged lunch to enjoy with the performance, or purchase a meal from Bruno’s Cafe, which is located on Reed’s second floor.

Erie Free Taxes is a coalition of non-profit organizations that promote free tax information and the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program in order to assist individuals with low to moderate incomes, to achieve a tax benefit. The coalition is comprised of the Booker T Washington Center, GECAC, St Martin Center, Stairways Behavioral Health and WQLN Public Broadcasting.