Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

"Chef Ray" Patchkofsky of the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel explains the technical ascepts of ice sculpting as he starts working on the sculputre that you can see in its finished form below. W.R. Case & Sons offered free knife sharpening -- as they do every year. Folks browse through the Charlie's Cycle Center display. John Kelley explains why Quaker Boy calls are the best in the business. The Upper Allegheny Watershed Association talked to people about how, and why, to get their water tested.

Chuck Charnisky is the Summer Survivor and the winner of a Kymco ATV from Charlie's Cycle Center. Igor and Scott More pictures will be available soon from the incomparable Shawn Murray. http://photos.reflectingmemories.net/

There was some clowning around ... and some serious racing ... at the 3rd Annual Bradford Mastercraft All-American Soap Box Derby Saturday on Dorothy Lane. Hot dogs and meatball sandwiches were popular with some fans, while others preferred candy from the clown. This young lady can't believe he wants to charge $3 for Airheads. One of the young men reminded her, though, "He's kidding. He's a clown." On to the racing, and the prizes. Some people think it's not racing if there's not a wreck. Luckily, no one got hurt in this one. And the winners ... Mckenzie Smith, stock Janelle Housler, super stock

People took advantage of the free knife cleaning and sharpening offered by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. The Bragging Wall is always a crowd favorite at the KOTS. This year, it seems, it was more popular than ever. BACC Administrative Assistant Becky Plummer says she believes they raised more money this year than ever before. All the money raised goes to Hunt of Lifetime . This years winners are Randy Orrs (big game); Sean Barnart (fur bearer); Makensie Maverick and Randy Orss (fish); Tim Piller (fowl); and Chuck Knowlton (white tail). DJ from Sears of Bradford shows off some of the lawn and garden equipment, and outdoor merchandise, the Chestnut Street store has to offer. Also, in the background, is Charlie's Cycle Center -- now with locations in Limestone, NY, and Bradford. They also have several clothing lines. Tom Means, center, of Kinzua Outdoors poses with the winners of this year's casting contest, Bobby Pearson and Brianna Green. Smokey Bear was also on hand to spend...

The Ninth Annual Kinzua Outdoor and Travel Show, scheduled for Friday, February 26, 4 to 9pm and Saturday, February 27, 10 am to 6 pm at the Bradford Mall facility in Bradford, PA, offers a wide range of activities and events for everyone to enjoy. Prior to the official start of the show, individuals who wish to display a trophy mount on “The Bragging Wall” can sign in their large game, small game, or fish starting at 1 pm. Exhibitors representing sporting goods retailers, recreational vehicle dealers, travel and tourism destinations, and more; food court vendors; and other activities will be prepared to welcome the public at 4 pm. Friday at 5 pm, the children’s activity venue will feature the McKean County Conservation District program, “Down the Drain,” followed from 5:30 pm – 8 pm by LPX Gaming with a wide variety of sport and outdoor-themed video games to entertain youth of all ages. The Freedom Bike will be unveiled by the Kids and Cancer Committee at 6 pm at the Zippo/Case Mus...

The Ninth Annual Kinzua Outdoor and Travel Show, February 26th and 27th, offers a broad range of speakers and children’s programs with a wide variety of interests that appeal to all ages. The Show, held at the Bradford Mall, is scheduled for 4 pm to 9 pm Friday the 26th, and 10 am to 6 pm Saturday the 27th. “The 2010 speaker series and youth activity lineup will compel you to attend the event,” stated John Sullivan, event chair. “It is impossible to select just one to attend in either our main speaker area or the youth activity area.” The Speaker Series kicks off on Friday the 26th at 6:30 pm with Rick Esch and John Shinaberger of the Tuna Valley Trail Association to discuss Tuna Valley Trail Association: Past, Present, and Future. At 7:15 pm, Kirk Johnson of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness – Warren will present Preserving Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest. Both programs appeal to all ages interested in exploring and protecting the abundant natural resources thro...

Brian Larson solved the "Touchdown Scramble" and won two tickets to the Bills/Patriots game and a ride to & from the game from Premo Limousine. Thanks to our sponsors for making the contest possible: Tasta Pizza- Bradford, Fairway Ford- Bradford, Sportsman's Outlet- Bradford, Carpet Express- Olean, Charlie's Cycle Center- Limestone, Paul Brown Dodge- Olean, Heritage Suites- Bradford, Cavallaro's Paint and Decorating-Bradford, Bradford Furniture and Carpet- Bradford, Premo Limousine- Olean, Crosby's- Bradford, Lewis Run. But we still have more chances for you to win great prizes! Our Tops Tailgate at Home contest is still going on, so you have 3 chances to win a $100 gift card from Tops. Starting next week, you'll have chances to win scratch-off tickets from the Pennsylvania Lottery . And our winter contest is coming up, too. We'll have more details on that in a few weeks. Again, thanks to our sponsors ... and thanks to our listeners for being so e...

And ... the winner is ... Kevin McNamara! Kevin gets a thumbs up -- and the keys to a brand new 4-wheeler -- from Dusty Krepp of Charlie's Cycle Center. Kevin's son Kevin looks pretty happy about the grand prize, too. Competing with Kevin in the kayak race were Joe Whitney and Jeff Hardy. The rest of the top 10 finishers were Bob Baker, Eric Ezzolo, Brent Raabe, Nikki Cutlip, Troy Bailey, Pete Hardy and Kevin Parkhurst.

OLEAN -- The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a raffle for their Greater Olean Area Outdoor and Recreation Sports Show. The raffle includes a chance to win a 2009 Suzuki KingQuad 400 4x4 plus these great prizes: CUTCO Ultimate Set, 32 piece cutlery set with oak storage block (Retail Value $1999); KA-BAR Fixed Blade Hunter and KA-BAR Swing Guard Knives (Retail Value $600); KA-BAR Elephant Toe and KA-BAR Pig Sticker Knives (Retail Value $525); KA-BAR Becker Extreme and KA-BAR Becker Necker Carbon Stainless Metal Knives (Retail Value $450). Prizes were supplied by the show’s platinum sponsors: Charlie’s Cycle Center, Limestone, NY; CUTCO Cutlery Corporation, Olean, NY; and Ka-Bar Knives, Olean, NY. Tickets are available for a chance to win the KingQuad and a host of items from KA-BAR and CUTCO Corporation and are $20 with a limit of 1,000 tickets to be sold. The drawing will be announced on Sunday, September 13. Tickets are available to purchase before the event at...

The 8th Annual Kinzua Outdoor and Travel Show was a huge success again this year. Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Diane Sheeley says about 7,000 people attended the day-and-a-half long event. More than 100 vendors and exhibitors participated in the show. This year's major sponsors were the Zippo/Case Visitors Center, Edmond Chevrolet and Ed Shults Toyota-Scion, Centro Watt, Z & M Ag and Turf, Custom Turf, Charlie's Cycle Center and R & K Marina of Rushford, New York. John Sullivan was the event chair. Pictured, top, are Smokey the Bear and Eddie the Eagle from the National Rifle Association, who was a guest of the McKean County Sheriff's Department; bottom, State Representative Marty Causer and two of his children, Morgan and Matthew.