Dinner for the arts

Bloomsburg University's Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is hosting a dinner celebration Sunday, Oct. 21, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Moose Exchange, 203 W. Main St.

The event, costing $30 a person, will feature Hors d'oeuvres, a three-course dinner, entertainment, art exhibit, and silent auction.

Learn more at cvpa.bloomu.edu or by calling (570) 389-4410. Get your tickets early. I've heard that seating is limited and reservations are due by Oct. 5.

Movies at the Moose

The Moose Exchange is hosting a Short Film Festival sponsored by Box of Light on Saturday, Sept. 15. Showtime is 8 p.m. in the ballroom upstairs.

Before the show, stop by the Stairwell Gallery and check out Images of the Susquehanna photo exhibit reception with light refreshments, music by Fricknadorable, a photo presentation with Doug Brubaker of Looking Back Studio, and river-themed readings with Melanie Simms and David Bauman.

The Cover of a Cover exhibit will return to the Moose this year. Reinterpret your favorite album cover. Deadline for submissions is Oct. 12.

The Moose will also host a murder mystery dessert Nov. 3 with a '50s vibe.

And because movies were referenced and I love King Crimson, here's their Frame by Frame in 7/8. —EGF.

I see creepy colored objects

Painter Kay Knight is exhibiting her work in Bloomsburg University's Haas Gallery of Art through Oct. 11.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm, Saturday from noon to 2 pm and closed Sunday.

A reception will be held Oct. 11 from 11 am to 2 pm.

Her online gallery is definitely worth checking out. At a glance her works are colorful and structured. But look just a moment longer and something unsettling creeps in. Cool. — EGF.

Talk roundup

A given lecture on a university campus won't be everyone's cup of tea ... but one of these may be the cat's meow for you. Here's a roundup of lectures, talks and presentations at Bloomsburg University, free and open to the public.

• Jung Park, “Using Identity and Passion to Find Success,” Wednesday, Sept. 19, 7 pm, Kehr Union, Multicultural Center.
• Sikh religion information program, Thursday, Sept. 20, 7 pm, Kehr Union, Multicultural Center.
• TJ Leyden, “Turning Away From Hate," Thursday, Oct. 4, 7 pm, Kehr Union, Ballroom.
• Olivia A.T. Frimpong Kwapong, "The Driving Forces for Women in a Developing Country in Africa," 7 pm, McCormick Center, room 2303.
• Engy Abdelkader, vice president of Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, "Islam: Popular Myths and Misconceptions," Monday, Oct. 8,  7 pm, McCormick Center, 1303.
• William Damon, Stanford University, "The Path to Purpose in Work and Life," Tuesday, Oct. 16, 7: pm, Kehr Union Ballroom.
• Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council, "US and Iran: Between War and Diplomacy," Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7 pm, Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

Of poetry and passion

Poets Gabe Welsch and Harry Humes will read from their works at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the Moose Exchange, downtown Bloomsburg, as part of the Bloomsburg University English Department’s Big Dog Reading Series. Welsch’s most recent collection is “The Death of Flying Things.” Humes, a graduate of the former Bloomsburg State College, often writes about the coal region and other Pennsylvania locales. The reading, open to the public free of charge, is co-sponsored by BU’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

 Motivational speaker Jung Park will present “Finding Your North Star: Using Identity and Passion to Find Success” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Bloomsburg University’s Multicultural Center. The program, open to the public free of charge, will focus on discovering your personal brand and reaching your goals.

Larry Ney joins Artspace

I was walking past the Artspace Gallery on Center Street about a week ago on my way to pick up chinese takeout and I spotted someone new at the counter inside. Larry Ney II has now joined the gallery as a member. 

I dig his work. A lot.

At a fast glance ... it's impressionistic and drawn from nature ... but that's just a starting point. The connection of brush to paint to canvas is so much more personal. Landscape is just an entry point for a very personal expression. When I see one of his paintings, I need to stop, to look, to reflect. They are really gorgeous.

—EGF.

When I'm working with student's trying to explain design concepts at BU, I often refer them to King Crimson as the musical (aural) equivalent of various visual ideas. Here's a live performance of Matte Kudasai. To my mind, it fits.

Road Trip: Anyone for poetry?

The Stillwater Poetry Festival will be held tomorrow, Sept, 8, from noon to 8 pm. (rain or shine) at the Stillwater Municipal Park. Rt. 487, 12 miles north of Bloomsburg. Admission is free.

Award winning poets from across Pennsylvania will read their work under a “revival style” tent. Headliners are Todd Davis (Penn State Altoona), author of four books of poetry, and Jimmy Cvetic, a 30 year veteran Allegheny County homicide and undercover narcotics detective from Pittsburgh. Cvetic, a Vietnam veteran, is sponsored by the VFW Fort Ricketts Post 8317 of Benton.

The complete schedule is ...

Noon to 12:30 Rachel Lyon (Bellefonte)
12:30 to 1:00 David Brooks (Hughesville)
1:30 to 2:00 Open Mic (bring a poem to read)
2:00 to 2:30 Caroline Ebeid (Bucknell Stadler Fellow)
2:30 to 3:00 Jamaal May (Bucknell Stadler Fellow)
3:00 to 4:00 “Jerusalem,” live acoustic music
4:00 to 4:30 Thad Rutkowski (NYC) schedule continues to next page
4:30 to 5:00 Open Mic (bring a poem to share)
5:00 to 6:00 “The Philosophy of Never Rushing,” live acoustic music
6:00 to 6:30 Angel Hogan (University of Pennsylvania)
6:30 to 7:00 Todd Davis (Penn State Altoona)
7:00 to 7:30 Jimmy Cvetic (Vietnam Veteran and retired Pittsburgh homicide and undercover narcotic detective).

Miscellanea: Culture on campus

Painting Exhibit 
Painter Kay Knight will exhibit her work September 14 through October 19 in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Gallery of Art. There will be an artist's reception Thursday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with gallery talks at 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Reminder: Vaudeville silliness 
The Handsome Little Devils present “Squirm Burpee" at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. General admission tickets for the show are $34.50. For information, call (570) 389-4409. The show is part of the Celebrity Artist Series.

Films from afar 
The French film “Sarah’s Key” will be shown Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 2303, as part of a series sponsored by the Gender Studies Minor, Department of English and College of Liberal Arts. Admission is free.

River Poets reading Thursday

The River Poets will have a reading Thursday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 pm at the Bloomsburg Public Library, Market St. The featured reader will Sue O’Donnell of the Bloomsburg University Art Department and a volunteer member of the Bloomsburg ArtWalk committee. She will read the poetry of her late husband, Mike. Open reading follows. The theme is “the concept of journey. Consider journey as a loosely defined passage of time: real or imagine, physical or emotional, fleeting or life-long.” MC is Paul Loomis