There was an extra value meal at City Hotel Park yesterday.
\n\u201cAnd today we\u2019re even Super-sized.\u201d
\nThose were the words of Allan Robison, executive director of Blair County Community Action and the head of a singing group known as Big Mac and Fries.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re here to have a good time and give the good residents of Tyrone a show they won\u2019t forget,\u201d said Robison.
\nBig Mac and Fries played the final installment of the Tyrone Council of Arts \u201cAfternoon Delights,\u201d Summer Concert in the Park series, yesterday in City Hotel Park. Although rain threatened, the park was again full of lunchtime visitors wishing to hear an hour of entertainment.
\nThe band includes members Bill Hunter, John McKelvey and Robison. But yesterday\u2019s performance was of the \u201csuper-sized\u201d variety with the addition of musicians Don Osborne and Jack Servello.
\nDuring the concert, the group played a wide-range of numbers, from classic country to contemporary rock-and-roll.
\nAccording to Robison, a few years ago, employees of BCCA decided to get a few people together and start playing music at different functions in Blair County. Robison said the reason was two-fold.
\n\u201cNot only did we want to play music and have fun,\u201d commented Robison, \u201cbut we also wanted to get out and meet the citizens of the county and pass out information about our agency. Although we\u2019re based in Tyrone, we do serve all of Blair County.
\n\u201cThese kind of performances are perfect for us to get the word out.\u201d
\nThe Blair County Community Action Agency uses federal, state and local resources to address the multi-dimensional and dynamic influences which impact on the low-income and socially disadvantaged people living in Blair County.
\nBCCAA\u2019s philosophy is one of commitment to personal empowerment. Simply stated, people are equal and people have talent, but not all people have equal talent.
\nBCCAA\u2019s role is to encourage its constituents to develop their talents to better themselves, their family and their community. It assists its constituents in securing the tools and training necessary to meet their needs and to permit them to take a place in the mainstream of society.
\nTo advance this principal, economically disadvantaged people and those more fortunate, work side by side in shared planning and policy development.
\nThe five individuals that played yesterday afternoon were playing for the fifth time together. Robison said they recently played in Hollidaysburg and plan to play Duncansville Community Days later in August.
\n\u201cWe try to get out a few times over the summer and play for the people,\u201d said Robison. \u201cWe do it as a labor of love so to speak. It\u2019s truly a lot of fun for us.\u201d
\nRobison said the band and BCCAA appreciate small communities inviting them into their towns to perform.
\n\u201cWe really believe strongly in the little community,\u201d said Robison. \u201cWere just happy to be a part of it.\u201d
\nSteven Stoner, president of the Tyrone Regional Council of the Arts, said the second year of \u201csummer concerts\u201d have thus far gone extremely well.
\n\u201cI think everything went really well this year in the park,\u201d said Stoner. \u201cFor this only being the second year for the series, I like what we seen. As the weeks grew on and the weather got better, more and more people began showing up.
\n\u201cWe had some pretty good crowds and I think the people who attended really enjoyed themselves.\u201d
\nArea music lovers can now look forward to the upcoming Sunday concert series and \u201cIntown Tuesdays\u201d at Epworth Manor.
\nWhether it is the side-slapping beat of honky-tonk, the toe-tapping rhythm of swing or the melodious tune of Ireland, the Rustic Quality String Band will give you an evening of music you can\u2019t help but enjoy.
\nCelebrating its 26th anniversary, the Rustical Quality String band is one of State College\u2019s oldest and most loved acoustic groups performing today. From its emergence out of old-time music jams, RSBQ has diversified musically to include a blend of honky-tonk, swing, Irish and country.
\nThe band enjoys nothing more than delighting audiences with dance tunes and songs you won\u2019t hear many other places. A mainstay at the Central PA Festival of the Arts, the band has played for numerous festivals and receptions throughout the East Coast region.
\nBand members include Timothy Craven, Karen Hirshon, Michael Rovine, Celia Millington-Wyckoff and Michael Smyer.
\nThe Summer Sunday concert begins at 6 p.m. at the Reservoir park amphitheater and is free of charge. Audience members should bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. In the event of rain, the concert will be held in St. Matthew Hall, located at the intersection of Cameron Avenue and 12th Street.
\nThe music will then continue as the \u201cIntown Tuesdays\u201d series kicks off on July 15 with \u201cRevel: Straight from Australia.\u201d
\nBeginning at 6:30 p.m. in the air conditioned comfort of the Epworth Manor lobby, Revel Kemp will take his audience through a musical journey of popular tunes from the 60s to present.
\nAcoustic guitar and a beautiful voice is all Revel needs to pull you along, creating a large sing-a-long party. Revel recently moved to Tyrone from Australia, but his music reflects the songs we all grew up with in the states. The concert is free of charge.
\nThe Summer Concert Series is made possible by a grant from the PA Council of Arts, a state agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and Tyrone Borough.
\nFor additional information, call the Tyrone Arts Council\u2019s ARTS Line Office at 684-ART2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There was an extra value meal at City Hotel Park yesterday. \u201cAnd today we\u2019re even Super-sized.\u201d Those were the words of Allan Robison, executive director of Blair County Community Action and the head of a singing group known as Big Mac and Fries. \u201cWe\u2019re here to have a good time and give the good residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}