Shirley McMarlin stories, Page 3

Double the fun There are two places for music lovers to party on Friday in Greensburg. A 21-and-older Art on Tap is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St. The event promises outdoor music by The Belladonnas, tailgate-inspired games, light...

Each Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix chooses a particular automobile as its Marque of the Year and showcases it throughout the event’s 10-day run. The 2023 Marque is the Italian luxury sports car Ferrari and the theme is “Rosso Corsa,” Ferrari’s signature red racing color. Other vehicles are designated for the...

With more than 300 juried sidewalk artist booths, a juried exhibition, multiple activity stations, eight entertainment stages, six locations to buy food and thousands of people milling about, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is a lot to take in. This year, organizers are making it easier for attendees...

“Nothing. Everything,” the first published novel by writer Virginia Montanez of North Huntingdon, takes place during the pandemic years. But don’t expect to find masks, covid tests or quarantining among its pages. “I was nervous about not writing the pandemic into this, because it clearly takes place during that time,”...

The current exhibit at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is titled “Block Party: Community and Celebration in American Art,” but chief curator Jeremiah William McCarthy warns that visitors won’t find a single image specifically depicting that phenomenon. Rather, the works explore themes and emotions that might be tied to...

Guests arriving at the Loyalhanna Watershed barn on June 30 were advised that “iced tea” was being served inside. In the spirit (hint, hint) of the event, it was code for something with a little more kick. No need to alert the feds that it was a Bootlegger’s Ball, said...

Editor’s note: Behind the Art is a recurring series highlighting artistic works throughout the county. The late Demetre Josebeck used himself as a model for his painting of a saxophone player in Art in the Alley in downtown Greensburg. The work was one of the first pieces created for the...

Everything was “by women and for women” at the Evening Social hosted by Women of Westmoreland on June 29 at Cavallo Fields Event Venue in Unity. First, the group comprises women members of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce. Second, the venue itself is woman-owned by sisters-in-law Annette Sackett and...

Business was boomin’ for Cannons and Cocktails on June 30 at Fort Ligonier. That’s because the annual event includes a mortar firing demonstration. Guests gathered outdoors as Assistant Director of Education Dan Swank gave a brief talk on the cannons, mortars and howitzers that would have been on hand during...

Art exhibits Receptions are planned this weekend for two exhibits by local artists: • “Bloom,” with works in various mediums by Suzanne Panchura of Greensburg, 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, 237 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg. The exhibit, running through July 25, is part of the...

Busy workers and shoppers have a new on-the-go lunch option in downtown Greensburg. Iceburgh’s Express opened June 12 at 15 E. Pittsburgh St., offering create-your-own salads and wraps, along with pre-made wraps, snacks, cookies and beverages. It’s the second Iceburgh’s venture for Skip and Alicia Majiros of North Huntingdon, who...

Walter Mizwa of Monongahela was accepted into the Westmoreland Art Nationals for a photo titled “Mr. Stump,” an image of a craggy face carved into a tree in Washington County’s Mingo Park. Unfortunately, viewers intrigued by the photo won’t be able to go find the source of his inspiration. The...

Westmoreland Cultural Trust hosts its signature Party at The Palace every winter at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg — but that doesn’t mean there’s not a party going on at other times of the year. A festive atmosphere prevailed as the TGIS series of free summer concerts returned to the...

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is joining in the Westmoreland 250, a yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Westmoreland County, with the exhibit,“Block Party: Community and Celebration in American Art.” Running through Sept. 17, the exhibit takes inspiration from the World War I-era innovation of...

Whether Gollum haunts the premises remains to be seen, but Gandalf greets visitors at the Ohiopyle Hobbit House. The “Lord of the Rings”-themed vacation rental property is newly open amidst 60 wooded acres southwest of the popular Fayette County adventure destination. A larger-than-life-size statue of the wizard character of J.R.R....

Big bang The pre-Fourth of July weekend starts with a bang at Cannons and Cocktails, from 5:30 to 7:30 Friday at Fort Ligonier, routes 30 and 711 in Ligonier. The casual outdoor event will feature artillery firings, music by fiddler Andy Bronkaj, appetizers by Carol and Dave’s Roadhouse and spirits,...

June 27 was a red-letter day for The Andy Warhol Museum, with the unveiling of a large-scale piece in its public art installation, The Pop District, and the announcement of a partnership with Citizens Financial Group Inc. in support of that initiative. Pittsburgh artist Mikael Owunna’s “Anatomy of a Human”...

Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s “Summer Sparklers” is always a bit of something old mixed with a bit of something new. Set for 7 p.m. Sunday in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park, the free concert annually celebrates the Fourth of July with a salute to the armed forces and a rousing finale of...

The Westmoreland Cultural Trust has parted ways with CEO April Kopas, who has led the regional cultural and arts organization since June 2019. The Trust issued a statement this weekend that Kopas left the Greensburg-based organization on June 20, but offered no explanation for her abrupt departure. “On behalf of...

Classical music lovers were presented with a casual concert experience at “Classics on the Rocks,” presented June 8 at West Overton Village in East Huntingdon. The “classics” part of the event was the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s cello ensemble playing a program of music by familiar composers such as Bach, Debussy...

A popular disco-era song said, “Express yourself/You don’t ever need help from nobody else/All you got to do now/Express yourself.” Sung by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, the tune could have been the anthem of Pride Prom, held June 17 at The Westmoreland Museum of American...

(Editor’s note: Behind the Art is a recurring series highlighting artistic works throughout the county.) “You pay taxes/Obey the law/Serve in time of war/And vote.” These lines are from “Civics,” a poem by David Joseph Kutcher that inspired an oil painting by the same name that is included in the...

There’s something about the music you like when you’re young that just sticks with you. So it was with the crowd who came to hear Chuck Blasko and The Vogues at the Amp Up Your Summer concert on June 18 in Hempfield Park. Many of them were fans of the...

Tony and Julia Taneja liked road trips that took them about four hours from their home in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. One of those trips took them through Greensburg, where they came upon a stately property for sale — a three-story brick edifice near downtown built in...