Out & About category, Page 15
Out & About: WCCC student artist’s work evokes the surreal
For the title of her exhibition in the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, artist Stephanie Oplinger of Hunker borrowed from the Bard. She tweaked Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” into “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” shifting the emphasis from the season and setting to the surreal, dreamlike quality of her acrylic...
Out & About: Greensburg artist’s ‘Cloudy Mind’ inspires new exhibitVideo
Greensburg artist Brian McCall dubbed his exhibition in the Greensburg Art Center “Shadows of a Cloudy Mind.” Questioned about the significance of that title during the July 13 opening reception, McCall said it refers to the starting point of all actions: “Why do you do anything? In making art, you...
Out & About: Party debuts 28th edition of ‘The Loyalhanna Review’
Editor Ruth McDonald said she took inspiration from Sen. Bernie Sanders for the 2019 publication of The Loyalhanna Review. For his presidential campaign, the Vermont Democrat shuns big money in favor of small-dollar donations. So, when funds were short to print the usual 1,500 color copies of the Ligonier Valley...
Out & About: Aspiring teacher shows artwork at Greensburg library
Most endeavors are easier when you know someone has your back. During a July 12 reception for her “Picture This” exhibition in the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, artist Sara Thomas of Southwest Greensburg was quick to acknowledge people who have supported her. Now entering her senior year as an art...
Andora offers historically modern dining in 2 locationsVideo
Dining at a former stagecoach stop, speakeasy, alleged brothel and hotel? Yes, please. The history’s all there at Andora Restaurant, tucked along a wooded residential section of Dorseyville Road in Indiana Township on the Fox Chapel border. Actually, there are two locations. An Ohio Township site opened 20 years ago....
Out & About: Bushy Run car cruise a lesson in automotive historyVideo
Visitors to Bushy Run Battlefield usually learn a particular kind of history. The 213-acre Penn Township historical complex was the site of a 1763 battle between British soldiers and Native Americans warriors during Pontiac’s Rebellion. On July 6, visitors got a snapshot of the history of the automobile during the...
Out & About: No ifs, ands or butts — goat yoga benefit sells outVideo
People practice yoga not only for the physical benefits, like increased strength and flexibility, but also for the mental and emotional health benefits — like a sense of calm and relaxation and a deeper mind-body connection. So who thought Goat Yoga would be a good idea? Goats aren’t exactly known...
Out & About: Historic Hanna’s Town provides July 4 history lessonsVideo
Out on the western edge of the Pennsylvania frontier, tiny Hanna’s Town still played a part in the American Revolution. Independence Day visitors to the Hempfield historical site heard about the Hanna’s Town Resolves, a 1775 declaration whereby area residents proclaimed their willingness to take drastic measures — even to...
Out & About: Guests don bow ties and pearls for Cal U gala
California University of Pennsylvania’s first Bow Ties & Pearls Ball brought a sellout crowd of 300 guests to the Washington County campus on June 29. Party-goers found the Convocation Center arena transformed into an elegant venue for cocktails and appetizers, followed by dinner and a dessert buffet. University President Geraldine...
Good things come in small batches at Saxonburg eateryVideo
Two best friends are cooking up success together — one batch at a time. That’s how Batch, a fresh food eatery and retail store in Saxonburg began five years ago — with buddies and business partners Meghan Pohl and Jessica Brewster making their specialty homemade jams and jellies in small...
Out & About: Westmoreland Art Nationals 2 opens at Twin Lakes
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival Executive Director Diane Shrader credited Chef Mark Henry’s hors d’oeuvres for helping draw a crowd to the opening reception for the second Westmoreland Art Nationals exhibition, held June 29 in the exhibition building at Twin Lakes Park in Unity. It was a lovely spread, to...
Out & About: Saint Vincent Summer Theatre Gala marks 30 years
Guests at the 30th annual Summer Theatre Gala stepped into an enchanted world to enjoy “a tale as old as time” — “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.” The production capped an evening of good food and fellowship for supporters of the professional summer theater that makes its home at Saint...
Out & About: Seton Hill student writers hear from fantasy author
Twice yearly, students in Seton Hill University’s MFA in Popular Fiction program gather from around the country — and sometimes from around the globe — for a week of intensive workshops on the Greensburg campus. One feature of the week is a lecture, Q-and-A session and book-signing/reception with a prominent...
Out & About: Loyalhanna Brewfest tops off perfect summer day
“Save Water. Drink Beer.” Well, you need water to make beer, but never mind — it’s still a great slogan and it adorned T-shirts worn by volunteers at the inaugural Loyalhanna Brewfest. Hosted by the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, the festival was held June 22 on the grounds of the Ligonier...
Out & About: Handbag bingo benefits WCCC scholarship fund
Some lucky ladies left Westmoreland County Community College on June 20 with swanky new handbags. They were the big winners of Heels and Handbags Designer Bag Bingo, hosted by the college’s Black Awareness Committee. There were no heels this year, but there were plenty of chic bags to be won,...
Out & About: You Are Here exhibit blurs lines of reality
There’s always some thought-provoking artwork on display at You Are Here gallery in Jeannette. The current exhibition is “Blurred Reality,” running through Aug. 4, with works exploring the point where reality morphs into legends and dreams. The artists explored the question, “Why are we here and what are we doing?”...
Out & About: Photo exhibit inaugurates new Hanna’s Town gallery
The gallery in the new History Education Center at Historic Hanna’s Town is hosting its first exhibition, “Scenes of Westmoreland: Visions in Light,” featuring photos taken by members of the Westmoreland Photographers Society. The show, running through the end of August, is a study in the beauty of Westmoreland County,...
Historic Hartwood Acres Mansion draws visitors for tours, special eventsVideo
One of the most recognizable mansions in Pittsburgh offers visitors a glimpse of life in the early 20th century. Hartwood Mansion, an English Tudor home designed by Alfred Hopkins for John and Mary Flinn Lawrence, welcomes thousands of visitors annually and is one of the most frequented attractions in Pittsburgh....
Out & About: Penn State New Ken goes ‘off the wall’ to support arts
Arts and culture are alive and well at Penn State New Kensington, evidenced by the third annual Off the Wall pARTy on June 14. Party-goers found themselves immersed in art, and the proceeds will benefit the cultural arts fund “to enhance arts and humanities programming and education,” according to Kary...
Out & About: Diners flock to summer’s first SupperMarketVideo
Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Into each life some rain must fall.” Especially, it seems, if you live in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Well, it fell June 5, delaying opening day for the Lincoln Highway SupperMarket at the Lincoln Highway Experience museum in Unity. June 12 was a better day, and a...
O&A: Latrobe Art Center Open Show has artists of all ages
One of the best things about the annual Latrobe Art Center Open Show, center director Lauren Buches says, is the opportunity it provides for young artists to show their work. And when they say young, they mean young. The show is open to artists beginning at age 3. Seeing a...
Out & About: Hat luncheon guests parade their fanciest chapeaus
Although hats are not the essential fashion accessory they once were, they still have their fans. Some of those fans, not surprisingly, were in attendance at the 18th annual Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra Hat Luncheon, held June 8 at Greensburg Country Club. Jill Briercheck says friends call her “the hat lady,”...
Out & About: Westmoreland Croquet Club hosts annual tournamentVideo
Few sounds are as satisfying as the thwack of the croquet mallet against the wooden ball — especially when it sends your ball through the wicket and simultaneously launches your opponent’s ball to kingdom come. Plenty of thwacks, with accompanying cheers and groans, were heard across the Westmoreland County Community...
Out & About: Hospital auxiliary honors scholarship recipients
The mission of the Westmoreland Hospital Auxiliary is to support Excela Health in its goal of “improving the health and well-being of every life we touch.” Part of that involves helping aspiring health care professionals to fund their educations through scholarships. The auxiliary hosted it annual scholarship luncheon June 5...
Out & About: The Westmoreland hosts acclaimed Native American chef
Chef Sean Sherman says that, although there are 573 Native American tribes in the United States, he is aware of only about 10 restaurants across the country that serve Native American cuisine. Through The Sioux Chef, his Minneapolis-based catering business, he and his team work to revitalize and spread the...
