What's going on in and around Somerset County?
Local nonprofit to host 80’s-themed dance for all abilities
Black belt promotions
'A World of Wonder'
"A World of Wonder" presented by the Greater Johnstown Camera Club Oct. 3-29 at the Goldhaber-Fend Fine Arts Gallery, Community Arts Center, Johnstown. Opening reception 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 3. There are a total of 112 entries for this exhibition. A video tour of the artwork will be available at the CACCC’s YouTube after Oct. 6, along with an artist lecture being upload toYouTube after Oct. 15. The public is welcomed to visit the Goldhaber-Fend Fine Arts Center gallery, Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is based on a PWYD (Pay What You Decide) donation.
Fall Foliage Flights
Nulton Aviation Services is featuring Fall Foliage Flights, hour-long, Oct. 5-31. Enjoy the fall colors of central Pennsylvania. Common attractions are Prince Gallitzin State Park, Flight 93 Memorial and Horseshoe Curve. The flight comes with a cup of apple cider or hot chocolate and a bag of chips/pretzels. Call 814-361-3500, ext. 1 to schedule a tour.
Meyersdale's October events
Oct. 6: Homecoming Bonfire at Paul Fuller Playground. Parade route lineup on Broadway at 6:30 p.m. DJ Music Express will entertain. Oct. 15 from 12-5 p.m. Meyersdale Renaissance Inc. and 1st Summit Bank present Oktoberfest at Festival Park, 120 Meyers Ave. DJ Music Express kicks off at 11:30 a.m. 3rd Avenue at 1 p.m. And SO LOW from Cumberland, Mayland, will also perform. Several breweries, a cidery, and domestics will be available as well as two food trucks providing food. Oct. 29: Children are invited to the high school at 1 p.m. for trunk or treat. Line up on Broadway for the parade is at 2:30 p.m. Parade is at 3 p.m. Prizes and treat bags will be provided. Trick or treat will be from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
PumpkinFest
The 33rd annual PumpkinFest in Confluence is Oct. 7-9. The event features a wide variety of activities for the whole family to enjoy. PumpkinFest kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday with the PumpkinFest Queen Pageant and Crowning at the Turkeyfoot Valley School District. Craft and food vendors will be open between 2-10 p.m. Friday, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Various bands, including The Rugg Band, Part Time Cowboys, Allison Borek, Country Express and Stoneycreek Bluegrass, will perform in the entertainment tent Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
More:Pumpkins and more to enjoy at the annual PumpkinFest in Confluence
Springs Folk Festival
Springs Folk Festival featuring working juried artisans, PA Dutch Foods, continual music is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct 7 and 8, at 1711 Springs Road, Springs. 814-442-4594. www.springspa.org and Facebook Only service dogs permitted.
Tales of Music & Monsters
The Community Arts Center of Cambria County (CACCC) brings the premier of "Tales of Music & Monsters" by Christopher Collins and Tim Dabbs.This cabaret style production features original "chilling and terrifying" monologues, along with works of Edgar Allen Poe, all coupled with song. Each piece, from tale to melody, features dramatic storytelling. It is presented in the black box theatre of the M. Josephine Paul Family Museum of the Community Arts Center at 1217 Menoher Boulevard, in the Westmont section of Johnstown. Performance dates: 7 p.m. Oct. 7, Oct. 8, and 2 p.m. Oct. 9. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Community Arts Center of Cambria County at 814-255-6515 or visit the Community Arts Center’s website (www.caccc.org). Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. Proceeds from the event benefit the Community Arts Center of Cambria County.
Italian Night Dinner
Grace United Methodist Church, 320 Felgar Road, Somerset, hosts an "Italian Night Dinner" from 4-7 p.m. Oct. 7. Meals are available for takeout or eat-in at the church. The church will serve homemade spaghetti with meat or marinara sauce, lasagna, vegetable lasagna, eggplant parmesan, pasta alfredo, and homemade white clam sauce, with salad and a variety of homemade desserts. All proceeds will benefit Camp Allegheny in Buckstown, and the refurbishment of the Camp Center facility.
Annual Youth Pheasant Hunt
The Jenner Rod and Gun Club sponsors its annual Youth Pheasant Hunt at 8 a.m. Oct. 8, at the club’s main picnic grounds, 157 Geiger Road, Friedens. The hunt is free to youth hunters who have a junior hunting license. Pheasants, guides, dogs and lunch will be provided. Participants need to bring an orange hat and vest, license, shotgun and shells. Preregistration is required at https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/185860. Call or text Logan Lichvar for assistance in registering or with questions at 814-248-1640.
New Heart New Start fundraiser
New Heart New Start basket raffle and dinner to benefit Ansley Stigers, a local 13-year old leukemia survivor who now is in need of a heart transplant. The basket raffle is 12-3 p.m. Oct. 8 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 9, at Polish Hall, Main Street, Central City. The ham dinner is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 9. Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, applesauce, rolls, cupcake and drink. Take outs encouraged. Tickets can be purchased at the Polish Hall or by calling 814-754-1605.
"Crazy About You!"
The Roof Garden Barbershop Chorus will present the show "Crazy About You" at 2 p.m. Oct. 9, at the Grace United Methodist Church, 320 Felgar Road, Somerset. The theme of this year's show is "Crazy." It is a tale of an infatuated young man in pursuit of the girl of his dreams and it seems she is "Driving Me Crazy." He promises her that he wants to "Grow Old with You" and they will be "Happy Together." These are just three of the songs from the chorus' a capella repertoire directed by Philiip Parlock. The featured guest vocal group will be the Flight 93 Memorial Chorus, based in Cumberland, Maryland, but includes men from the tri-state area. It is under the direction of Jeff Avey. The chorus has performed before audiences from Altoona to Bedford to Morgantown, West Virginia, and for the past 11 years at the Flight 93 Memorial. Other groups appearing during the afternoon include the Heart and Soul Quartet, the Parlock Family and Dynamic Pressure, a quartet from the Forest Hills school. Tickets can be obtained from any chorus member or at the door.
Paddle Auction
Paddle Auction, sponsored by The Pius Spring Woman's Club to benefit J.B. Schrock Community Park, is from 2-5 p.m. Oct. 9, at the Berlin Borough Building, 700 North St., Berlin. Ticket includes light fare and beverages. Vendors include Country Petals, Log House Candies, Meadows Farm Apiary, Pampered Chef, Scentsy and Sparkle by Scintillare. Additional paddles can be purchased. Tickets available at Cup of Soul or by calling Cindy Flamm at 814-233-9045.
Antiques & Collectibles Sale
Historic Hanna’s Town will host the last Antiques & Collectibles Sale of 2022 Oct. 9. The sale takes place rain or shine. The gate opens at 7:30 a.m., and the market continues through early afternoon although some vendors are set up and selling by 1 p.m. Saturday. There is parking on site. Parking revenues are divided equally between the Forbes Road Volunteer Fire Department and the Westmoreland Historical Society who manages Historic Hanna’s Town for Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation. Vendor fees benefit the Westmoreland Historical Society’s history preservation and education projects. Historic Hanna’s Town is three miles north of Greensburg at 809 Forbes Trail Road. 724-836-1800 or www.westmorelandhistory.org .
Spaghetti dinner
The American Legion Post 946 spaghetti dinner is from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 13, at the Legion Home in Ursina. Menu will be spaghetti, meat sauce, salad, bread and dessert. It will be eat-in or take-out. Proceeds go toward the upkeep on the building.
Dinner and a seminar
The Area Agency on Aging of Somerset County Older Adult Protective Services Unit is hosting a dinner and seminar on "Will, Living Will and Power of Attorney, What is the difference?" by Attorney DeAnn McCoy, from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 25, at the Church of the Brethren, 606 Berlin Plank Road, Somerset. Dinner will be provided, but a reservation is required by Oct. 14. Call 814-443-2681. somersetaaa.org.
Buckwheat & Pancake Supper
The Ohiopyle Fire Co. Buckwheat and Pancake Supper along with crafts, is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 14-15, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16, at the Ohiopyle-Stewart Volunteer Fire Co. and Community Center.
Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular
Somerset Inc.'s Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular is from 12-7 p.m. Oct. 15, at Uptown Somerset, starting at 101 W. Main St., Somerset. Pumpkin carving, apple cider, hay maze, carriage rides, Halloween yoga. Magic show by Miss Dody-Jane at 1 p.m, the Mandibles from 2-5 p.m. and Red Law from 5-7 p.m. Showing local film Dark Shade 4 in the historic Schenk Building at 7 p.m.
OktoberFest
Meyersdale Renaissance Inc. presents OktoberFest from 12-5 p.m. Oct. 15, in Festival Park, Meyers Avenue. Food trucks, music and beer. DJ Music Express will kick off the afternoon, followed by 3rd Avenue and So Lo. Breweries, a cidery, Suder's for domestics, Out of the Smoke and Tollhouse BBQ.
Johnstown Concert Series
The Johnstown Concert Series brings world-class musicians to Johnstown. IUP Faculty Woodwind Quintet 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, at First Presbyterian Church, 309 Lincoln St., Johnstown. They have performed at multiple meetings of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, did a tour of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, playing at the Moscow Conservatory and the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory. Tickets available through the website www.johnstownmusic.org or at the door.
Fall Classic Jackpot
The Somerset County Beef Producers Fall Classic Jackpot is Oct. 15, at the Somerset County Fairgrounds, Meyersdale. Sign up on Showman App. Prize amounts for top five steers and heifers include Champion $750; reserve champion $500; third overall $250; fourth overall $125; and fifth overall $75.
Fall Community Vendor Event
The Pennsylvania Maple Festival Fall Community Vendor Event is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15, at the Meyersdale Community Center, 215 Main St., Meyersdale. Food and beverage items will be available for purchase. For more information or to register as a vendor, call 814-634-0213 or email pamaple@verizon.net.
Open house
The Somerset Volunteer Fire Department open house is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15, at the fire state, 340 W. Union St., Somerset. Activities include tours, fire truck rides, fire extinguisher prop, live fire demonstration at 1 p.m. National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 9-15.
Vegas-style Casino Night fundraiser
The Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Foundation will be hosting its first Casino Night fundraiser at 5 p.m. Oct. 20, at Sunnehanna Country Club. The college Foundation’s Black Bear Casino Night will feature authentic casino games with real card dealers (craps, blackjack, roulette, and poker), raffle prizes, 50/50 winnings, appetizers, drinks and assorted desserts. Attendees will be entertained with live music by Jazz in your Face. Raffle prizes range from a 50” flat screen smart TV, gym memberships, YETI prize packs, authentic Coach purse and matching wallet, Apple watch, and more. Every dollar raised goes back to the students at Penn Highlands Community College through the Supporting Scholars Fund. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.pennhighlands.edu/CASINO or call the Foundation at 814-262-6448.
‘Wellness Isn’t Scary’ Health Fair
The Cambria County Health & Welfare Council and Cambria County Suicide Prevention Task Force is featuring a "Wellness Isn’t Scary" Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22, at Greater Johnstown High School. The health fair will raise awareness about health and social services available to the public. Attendees will also learn how to take care of their physical and mental health. Parents are encouraged to bring their children dressed-up in their Halloween costumes to trick-or-treat at each of the vendor tables. There will be children’s activities, including a bouncy house. Event tote bags will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Lunch will also be provided on a first come, first served basis. Individuals who wish to attend the health fair but struggle with finding transportation are encouraged to contact CamTran to schedule a free “Reserve a Ride” or fill out the form at https://forms.gle/ad9SBjiDvAcekJJv6. Choose to be picked up directly at your front door or at a neutral location.
Oh So Artsy Halloween Party
The Bottle Works Arts on Third, 413 Third Ave., Johnstown, presents Oh So Artsy Halloween Party for l'il monsters and grown up ghouls, 3-7 p.m. Oct. 22. Kids crafts, treat bags, art vendors, pumpkin carving demo, pumpkin painting, drawing, sculpting, face paint and silent art auction. www.bottleworks.org. 814-535-2020.
8th annual "Eunice Smith" Coat Giveaway
Scalp Level Trinity UMC's 8th annual "Eunice Smith" Coat Giveaway is from 12-3 p.m. Oct. 22, at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 1800 Stockholm Ave., Windber. Nearly 2,000 coats have been distributed through the coat giveaway during the past eight years. Donations of new or gently used children's coats of all sizes are welcomed. Monetary donations as well as donations of hats, gloves and scarves are also appreciation. Bring donations to Scalp Level Trinity UMC by Oct. 17. Call 814-467-9051 for more information.
Berlin VFD Fall Toy Train Show
The Berlin Volunteer Fire Department Fall Train Show is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 22, at the Berlin Community Building, 700 North St., Berlin. Dealer tables, all scales, drawing for train set all featured. Food by Berlin Ladies Auxiliary. For more information, call Robert Metheney at 814-279-8883.
JSO concert
The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra (JSO) returns to the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22, for Homecoming: Opera Returns with Shawn Roth and Ravel’s Bolero. In addition to Shawn Roth, localsoprano Nicole Khouzami, will be joining him on stage for two duets and an all-star chorus of performers from Conemaugh Township High School and Richland High School. To purchase tickets or learn more information aboutSeason: 94 Hometown, visit http://www.johnstownsymphony.org or call the box office at 814-535-6738.
Blacksmithing Workshops
Compass Inn Museum will be offering the ever-popular "Hands-On History: Blacksmithing Workshops" for those wanting to try their hand at the trade, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1-4 p.m. Oct. 22. Participants will work with an experienced blacksmith to learn basic skills and create an item to take home. Classes will consist of safety training, fire skills, and discussion of tools used and metal properties. The instructor for this workshop is Ed Appleby of Crafty Apple Forge and a long-time volunteer for Ligonier Valley Historical Society. Participants must be 16 years of age or older. No previous blacksmithing experience is necessary. The workshop is help at the forge on Compass Inn Museum property and is limited to four participants in each class. Call 724-238-4983 or email at lvhscompassinn@gmail.com.
Safe, family-friendly trick-or-treating at the Somerset Historical Center
Trick-or-treat along lantern lit paths, visit historic structures and talk to costumed interpreters, and take a tractor-drawn wagon ride through the woods at the Somerset Historical Center Annual Historical Halloween, 5-8 p.m. Oct. 22, four miles north of Somerset on the Somerset Pike / Route 985. Follow the complimentary passport to get a treat at each station and be on the lookout for the infamous Robber Lewis. "Catch" him for a special treat. At the end of the trail, warm-up under the pavilion with hot chocolate and maple kettle corn and a taste of fresh-pressed apple cider from the working cider press. Costumes encouraged, but not required.
Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park
Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park, 236 Rolling Hills Estate Road, Uniontown, added three brand-new attractions for the 2022 season. The park will run weekend nights through Nov. 5. The most significant addition is Twisted Nightmare 3-D, a walk-through attraction that combines high-tech effects, horrifying, distorted clown characters, and Chromadepth 3D technology to produce a dizzying trip through a nightmarish funhouse. Also debuting at the park is a Mutant Paintball experience as well as Stalker Hollow Corn Field, where visitors must survive encounters with Cryptids. The Park’s creative team has added new walk-through sections to their “fan favorite” attraction, The House, as well as a new interactive “flashlight” element. Patrons brave enough to trek through the famed “Woods Trails” that gave the park its reputation in the 2000s, will experience new sections of path, new effects and several new scenes in “The Burial,” “Deadwoods” and “Sin Creek.” Order a “Scream Park Shake” or a “Twisted Nightmare Shake” at Day & Night Exotic Cereal Bar in Morgantown, West Virginia. Combining elaborately-decorated ice cream shakes with bits of Halloween-related Cereal, these menu items will be available at the High Street location until Oct. 31. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event. Guests can visit www.HauntedHillsEstate.com for tickets and more information.
Halloween hauntings/pumpkin carving
Hear spine-chilling stories with origins from the Valley of Ligonier in the annual "Halloween hauntings" event at Compass Inn Museum. This year is "Hair-Raising History: Frightfully True Stores from the Ligonier Valley." Listen to local eerie fables of the 19th century told by docents from 6-9 p.m. Oct. 28-30. The path to the museum will be illuminated with torches and newly-carved Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Inn will be lit by candlelight only for a very scary atmosphere. Tours will start approximately every 30 minutes. Child-friendly stories will be told from 6-7:15 p.m. and from 7:30-9 p.m. the spooky stories are designed for more mature audiences. Tickets may be purchased on-site, the day of the event or in advance through Eventbrite.
Drop off your ghouliest gourd between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Oct. 28, at the museum, 1386 U.S. Route 30 East, Laughlintown, for the seventh annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. Although pre-registration is encouraged, walk-in submissions will be accepted. Both families and individuals are encouraged to enter. Only carved pumpkins will be included in the judging this year. Painted pumpkins or pumpkins decorated any way other than carved will not be judged this year. Finished entries need to be free-standing. Only battery-operated flameless candles are allowed to light the Jack-O-Lanterns. Winners in each category will be chosen by popular vote during "Hair-Raising History: Frightfully True Stories from the Ligonier Valley" tours on Friday and Saturday evenings. Winners will be announced the morning of Oct. 30. Contest prizes include cash and each winner will receive two free tickets to "Hair-Raising History" Oct. 30. For those with questions, call at 724-238-4983 or email at lvhscompassinn@gmail.com.
Wine at the Mansion
Friends of the Meyersdale Public Library hosts the Wine at the Mansion from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 5, at the Levi Deal Mansion, 301 Meyers Ave., Meyersdale. This year’s event is dedicated to the late Kim Clapper, a long-time member of the Friends of the Meyersdale Public Library and of the library board of directors. A variety of wines will be featured along with local wines made by Wayne Miller and Ron Miller. Other refreshments will include cheeses from FireFly Farms Creamery and Market in Accident, Maryland, chocolates, fruit and crackers. There will be a silent auction and door prizes. The doors open at 3:45 p.m. With the limited number of tickets available, purchase tickets at the Meyersdale Public Library ahead of time. For more information, contact the library at 814-634-0512.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Check out these things to do and places to go in Somerset County
