Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

John Heard, the actor who portrayed Kevin McCallister's father in a pair of Home Alone films, has died at the age of 72. The Santa Clara Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Heard's death, Variety reports. TMZ adds that the actor was found dead in his Palo Alto, California hotel room, just days after Heard underwent minor back surgery, his rep said. Read the full story here: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/john-heard-home-alone-actor-dead-at- 72-w493618

Now that you've got Melanie on your mind, did you know her new book "The Girls is the Picture" comes out in January? Check it out on Goodreads . The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin (Goodreads Author) 4.04 · Rating Details · 24 Ratings · 13 Reviews An intimate portrait of the close friendship and powerful creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female superstars: Frances Marion and Mary Pickford. An enchanting new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife. Hollywood, 1914. Frances Marion, a young writer desperate for a break, meets “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford, already making a name for herself both on and off the screen with her golden curls and lively spirit. Together, these two women will take the movie business by storm. Read more at Goodreads .

Mashmellow Overcoat will be performing tonight (Friday) at The Corner Bar & Restaurant in Bradford. Mick Marshall's band Marshall Law has been added to the lineup for the Kids & Cancer Benefit Block Party Saturday on Mechanic Street. Their special guests will be members of Smokin' Section from Pittsburgh. Also at the block party, Jim Ronan will be joining the No Name Trio. The No Name Trio is performing from 3 to 7 p.m.; Marshall Law from 7 to 11 p.m. From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Vapor will be performing at The Downbeat for its grand re-opening.

by Sean Kirst, Buffalo News The plaque, a replica of a gift to the people of Dunkerque, France, hangs in the second floor corridor of Dunkirk City Hall, a couple of blocks from Lake Erie. It has been there for decades, a gesture to emphasize a bond of deep affection, and Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas sees it as a daily reminder of civic purpose. "We need to remember," he said, "great things can happen here." The movie blockbuster of the summer, "Dunkirk," opens this weekend. It portrays the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from the French city, under dire threat from Nazi forces, in the early days of World War II. The film also resonates in the Chautauqua County city of Dunkirk, where an economically wounded Great Lakes community recalls how a collective effort to aid its staggered sister city, more than 70 years ago, gave it a moment of brilliant international attention. Read the full story here: http://buffalonews.com/2017/07/21/se...

by RACHEL ELBAUM In a case as eccentric as the man at the heart of it, the remains of the famed surrealist Spanish artist Salvador Dalí were exhumed on Thursday night following a paternity claim by a tarot card reader. Dalí, who died in 1989 at the age of 84, is buried under the crystal dome of the Dalí Theatre Museum in Figueres in the north of Spain, around 90 miles outside of Barcelona. His tomb lies where the theater's stage used stand. Read the full story here: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/salvador-dal-s-remains-be-exhumed-paternity-test-n784721

by JAMES GAVIN QUEEN OF BEBOP The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan By Elaine M. Hayes Illustrated. 419 pp. Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers. $27.99. For Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singing was a way to wallow in joy; Billie Holiday used it to confront her grief. And to Sarah Vaughan, it was a nirvana where everything was possible and nothing went wrong. Read the entire review here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/books/review/queen-of-bebop-sarah-vaughan-biography-elaine-m-hayes-.html?smid=tw-nytbooks&smtyp=cur New York Times photo

Friday Pack your camp chair and bring your friends to Red House Beach for an evening of FREE live music. This is a family friendly event. For more information please call 716-354-9101 ext 236 www.facebook.com/alleganystatepark Bradford Little Theatre's Kids Camp culminates with performances of "We Are Monsters" at Togi's Playhouse. Saturday The 20th annual Kids & Cancer Benefit Motorcycle Run ends with a block party on Mechanic Street featuring music from the No Name Trio. "We Are Monsters" at Togi's Playhouse Sunday Solid Rock Festival at the Bradford Township Community Club on Irving Lane from 1 to 9 p.m. featuring several Christian rock bands.

The McKean County Arts Council is holding its first-ever official, sponsored event. The organization is sponsoring the "Let There Be Art" show opening reception at the Landmark Cafe in Bradford from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, August 3. Three local artists -- Rick Minard, Greg Souchick and Ashley Wilson-Rew -- will be displaying their work. You can meet them as well as members of the newly formed arts council. The event is free and open to the public.

World Emoji Day on Monday 17 July 2017 marks the first time that the Royal Opera House has teamed up with a digital platform like Twitter to tell the stories of some of the world’s best-loved operas and ballets, engaging new audiences at giant scale for the first time. Throughout World Emoji Day, the Royal Opera House will share a series of tweets via its Twitter handle @RoyalOperaHouse, each one telling the story of a famous opera or ballet using only emojis. Twitter will support the Royal Opera House’s content, encouraging the initiative to trend. The Royal Opera House will support with additional activity on Instagram and Facebook throughout the day. The public will have the chance to win a pair of tickets if they identify any one opera or ballet told as emojis in any one of the tweets. With a new tweet for a new ballet or opera every 30 minutes throughout the day, there will be many opportunities to enter. Jeremy Paul, Head of Marketing Communications, Audiences ...

Maureen Ryan Griffin will take you on an exploration of the benefits that writing can provide—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Our time together will be ideal for beginners as well as for seasoned writers as we explore the renewal and deepening of our relationship with God, self, others, and the world. 814-945-6512 17 East Main Street, Ludlow, PA 16333 www.olmstedmanor.org/writing-workshop.html