Published: October 15, 2009 02:00 pm      

Events | Chiefs opener

BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

In the opening game of the season, the Johnstown Chiefs will go up against the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St., Johnstown.

Dave Hanson of “Slap Shot” fame will sell and sign copies of his book, “Slap Shot Original: The Man, The Foil, The Legend,” before the game from 6:30 to 7:15, and from the start of the first period to the start of the second period in the Slapshot Lounge.

There also will be a magnet giveaway.

Tickets for the game are $14.50 for adults, $12.50 for senior citizens ages 62 and older and military veterans and $8 for children and students.

Information: 539-1799.

Musical spirits

“Ghosts: The Musical” will haunt the area through Oct. 25 at Cresson Lake Playhouse, 279 Shapiro Road, Loretto.

The play is the story of an aging theater about to be torn down for a mini mall and the ghosts of the performers who have appeared there.

Showtimes are 8 tonight through Saturday and Oct. 22-24 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 25.

Tickets are $17 for adults and $10 for children younger than 12 years old.

Information: 472-4333.

Violin virtuoso

“Gala Opening,” the opening concert of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra season, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.

The highlight of the concert will be a solo performance by young violinist Bella Hristova, who will perform Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor” on a 350-year-old instrument thought to be in the Stradivarius family.

The concert will open with Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture.”

The major work of the evening, which will be performed in the concert’s second half, will be Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.”

Tickets are $26 and $22 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for students. A $4 service fee applies to all nonstudent tickets.

Information: 535-6738.

Interactive acting

“The Case of the Show-Stopping Nun Nabber” will be presented at 6 tonight at Ace’s, 316 Chestnut St. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

The interactive dinner-theater will be performed by members of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, 400 Pine St. in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown, and five other church communities.

The play has elements of mystery, humor, romance and spirituality.

Tickets, which include a buffet dinner, are $17.

Reservations: 255-8062 or 535-7150.

Amazing mazes

The corn maze at Weakland Farms, Route 164, west of Portage, will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 1.

The cost is $6 per person.



A fall harvest and corn maze at Barr Ridge Farms, Route 271, north of Nicktown, will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through Oct. 31.

The cost is $4 for adults and $3 for children.



The corn maze will be open at Faranda’s Farm at 1171 Penn Ave., Hollsopple, from 4 p.m. to dusk Fridays, 11 a.m. to dusk Saturdays and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30 and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 31.

Flashlight Nites will be held Oct. 16-17, 23-24 and 30-31.

Admission to the maze is $10 or $8 for groups of 20 or more.

Festive festivals

The 25th annual Autumnfest will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 24-25 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort near Champion.

Guests will be able to view fall foliage while taking a chairlift to the top of the mountain, and a traditional Bavarian-style buffet will be served.

There will be an arts and crafts bazaar and musical entertainment.

Chairlifts are $5 per person per ride and the alpine slide is $7.

Halloween happenings

Hallowboo will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 25 at Idlewild Park, Ligonier.

Guests will enjoy trick or treating through Story Book Forest and hay bale and hedge mazes.

Admission is $21.99 with guests ages 2 and younger admitted free.

Coupons for $4 off are available at participating Giant Eagle locations.

Information: (724) 238-3666.



Pumpkin Patch festivities will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday at Vale Wood Farms, 517 Vale Wood Road, Loretto.

Hayride farm tours will be available for $2 a person, with children ages 2 and younger riding free.

Admission is $2 per person, with children ages 2 and younger admitted free.

Information: 886-7171 or (800) 861-MILK.



Natural Biodiversity will hold a “haunted” open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at its new office at Windber Coal Heritage Center, 501 15th St., Windber.

The event will kick off with a chance to socialize and enjoy harvest foods and refreshments, and an Eerily Silent Auction will be held.

Kids’ Patch Halloween activities will begin at 6, with pumpkin painting and a web of life game. Those in costume will get a special treat.

A “haunted” tour of the coal heritage center will begin at 6:30.

Frightful hauntings

Hauntings at Huston’s Haunted Hollow Campground, Route 281, Rockwood, will be held from dusk to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31.

The hollow is not recommended for children younger than 7 or those with medical conditions.

There also will be 30-minute Hayrides of Horror that venture into the Evil Forest.

The cost is $13 for adults and $11 for children ages 10 and younger and group discounts.



Ghostly and ghastly spirits will take over Kennywood Park for Fright Nights from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31.

A special haunting will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday.

Fright Nights are not recommended for those 13 and younger.



Ghosts & Goblins Tours at Lincoln Caverns near Huntington will combine the good and evil of the season Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31.

Family-friendly tours will be offered from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, while haunted, scary adventures will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Tickets for the friendly tours are $11.95 for adults and $6.95 for children ages 4-12.

Tickets for the haunted cave tour and trail are $11.95.

Poe sighting

“An Evening with Poe” will be presented by the Parlor Players from 7 to 10 tonight and Saturday at Dillweed Bed & Breakfast, Route 403, Dilltown.

In celebration of the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday, Chris Collins of Ebensburg will present an interpretation of Poe featuring excerpts from “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat.”

Kyra Kozielec-Gilmore of Johnstown will present “The Raven”; Eric Shawley of Johnstown will interpret “Eleonora”; and Theresa Patrick of Indiana will present “The Premature Burial.”

A dessert and gourmet coffee hour will be held at 7, with performances at 8.

The cost is $16 per person, and advance reservations and payment are required.

Information: 446-6465.

Cruise for a cause

The first Thomas Car Cruise will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Thomas Honda, 107 Bantley Place, Windber.

The cruise is open to all makes and models of cars, trucks and motorcycles, and will benefit the United Way of Somerset and Cambria counties and 9-year-old Austin Nail, who is suffering from Cone-Rod Dystrophy, a rare, degenerative eye condition.

There will be music and live entertainment, Chinese auctions, food and refreshments and a car wash hosted by Windber Area High School.

A $10 donation is requested.

Information: 262-2140 or (866) 962-0312.

Immigrant songs

Portage Area Historical Society and Pennsylvania Humanities Council will host “Singin’ on the Rails” at 2 p.m. Sunday at Portage Station Museum, 400 Lee St., Portage.

Commonwealth speaker, songwriter and musician Ed McDade will sing and play guitar, banjo, harmonica and rhythm instruments as he performs the songs and tall tales of the Irish immigrant and African-American work gangs who built the railroads.

Admission is free.

Information: 736-9223.

Crafty benefit

A craft show to benefit Daisytown fire hall will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the fire hall at 139 Vogel St., Johnstown.

There will be 30 crafters and food such as pigs in the blanket, chili and baked goods.

Information: 536-0101

Fall fun

A Fall Bazaar, including a basket raffle and vendor fair, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Mount Hope United Methodist Church, 258 Mount Hope Road, South Fork.

Proceeds from the bazaar will benefit the church’s youth group.

Information: 539-1650.

Baby love

The Sounds of The Supremes will be presented at 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at Arcadia Theater, 1418 Graham Ave., Windber.

The group will feature Kaaren Ragland, a former member of Mary Wilson’s Supremes.

The show will feature more than 20 well-known hits by the Supremes.

Tickets are $39, $37 and $35.

Information: 467-9070.

Award-winning art

A Meet-the-Artist reception for Alan Rauch will be held from 7 to 10 tonight at Satori Gallery Studio, 155 Village St. in the Moxham section of Johnstown.

Rauch graduated from Cooper Union School of Fine Art in New York City and has recently moved to Johnstown.

His themes of dance, jazz and waterscapes have won awards in shows in the Northeast and south Florida.

Information: 659-1180.

Snapshot study

“Through the Lens,” an exhibit of photographs by members of Greater Johnstown Camera Club, will be on display through Oct. 23 at Community Arts Center of Cambria County, 1217 Menoher Blvd., Westmont.

Multiple entries from the group’s 30 members include landscapes, macro, portraits and wedding photos.

Admission is free.

Information: 948-5982.

Films and fitness

Two presentations of CineMuse Hi-Def Cinema will be held this weekend as part of the programming at the Children’s Museum at Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johns-town.

“Jack & the Beanstalk,” a comic retelling of the classic tale, will be presented at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Operation Dung Beetle” will be shown at 2:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The programs are free with museum admission or to JAHA members.

“Yoga for Kids,” a workshop for children ages 5 to 10 by Judy Hunter, a certified yoga instructor, will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Children should wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring a water bottle and beach towel.

The cost is $5 per participant and free to JAHA members.

Information: 539-1889.