Sunday, May 11, 2025

CALENDAR & NEWS ~ May / June 2025

At Liberty Park, on the Bay
BIKE
May is Bike Month!

The Erie Bike Co-op: Building Community on Two Wheels  (Erie Reader/Erin Phillips )

Bike to Work Day at Perry Square 4:30-5:30pm "Join us and BikeErie for a happy hour and reception for National Bike to Work Day in Perry Square! We'll meet up, chat, enjoy some refreshments, then all head home on bike after work on Friday, May 16th." Host: Erie Downtown Partnership
 

Kids Bike Rodeo 4-6pm East Middle School Erie (Host: PennDOT)

Lake Erie Cyclefest July 24-27 "Cyclists of all ages and abilities will participate in self-supported rides on routes that feature Erie’s vast terrain...Proceeds from 2025 rides will benefit Asbury Woods, Because You Care Inc., Bike Erie, Erie Downtown Partnership, Northern Allegheny Mountain Bike Association and the Presque Isle Partnership." 

Rideshares and Rentals
Jeremy Peterson announced that EMTA has been meeting with local bike advocates to set up a bike rideshare program (announced at EMTA April 2005 board meeting 4/28/2025) EMTA also has bike racks on their fixed route buses.
CATA has a bikeshare program for Meadville, Lake Wilhelm and Conneaut Lake 

ARTS & READS

Susannah Faulkner new executive director of Erie Arts & Culture (EAC) "An advocate, artist, and community leader, Faulkner joined the EAC team in March 2025 as Executive Director."

Spring into Spring Book Sale Blasco Library Admiral Rm Erie PA. May 15-17. Times on event page. All proceeds directly benefit programming at Erie County Public Library. The Great American Book Sale: At Flo Fabrizio Ice Center at the Erie Zoo | 527 W 38th St  June 15 -  June 19: 10am – 8pm Friday June 20: 10am – 3pm
  
Dramashop presents Scripted: A Dramatic Works Discussion Club May |17 "White" by James IJames Werner Books 3608 Liberty St, Erie, PA

Mother Earth Day at Poetry Park, May 17 from 2-3 p.m. at 636 East 22nd St. in Erie. Poetry Park was a vision of Erie Benedictine Sister Mary Lou Kownacki, she and Sister Mary Miller made it a reality.

Miss Mabeline Presents: Poetry X-Change Night Open Mic Night May 18 at 7pm at Werner Books 3608 Liberty St, Erie, PA

AmeriMasala Festival July 19 Perry Square Erie PA.11am. Parade at 12 noon " The AmeriMasala is movement that presents multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural arts events to promote cross cultural respect and value of all peoples. " 

Benevolent Beers: PACA  July 31 5:00-8:00 pm Erie Ale Works 416 W. 12th St. Erie, PA "Join the Staff and Board of PACA for good beer and community. Every purchase between 5PM-8PM will count toward a donation to PACA. We will be hosting a fun basket raffle, 50/50 and merch sale too!"

Chautauqua Institute events of possible interest: Chris Hayes  June 27 Lewis Black July 2 Kwame Alexander & LeVar Burton August 4 @ 10:45am Mary Chapin Carpenter and Brandy Clark Aug 8 Bonnie Raitt September 5 Also Execution of Justice July 17-25 2025 presented by CTC. 

Jon Stewart at National Comedy Center Jamestown NY August 9

Ani DiFranco  August 31  Outer Harbor 225 Fuhrmann Blvd Buffalo, NY "the title Unprecedented Sh!t is not only representative of how much of a sonic departure the 11-track album is from Ani’s other work, but also a political and social commentary on the current state of the world." -

"Tyranny" original version The Stabilizers (1985) Authoritarian scenario from an underappreciated Erie-based 80s band. This was apparently the original version, using a distorted male voice in the bridge, giving it a darker interpretation than the one used for the MTV version. Still ends up with a (sort of) happy ending. 

DEMOCRACY

No Kings June 14 "On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else... "   Erie area details are still being worked on. 

EARTH

Jenny Tompkins speaks to Meadville City Council about the native plant pollinator gardens and property maintenance issues (Armstrong Neighborhood Channel) 0:40
 
Ralph Hecker was a committed environmentalist and enthusiastic hiker who lost his life in the 1985 tornado outbreak. There had been a hiking trail or loop named in his memory, but in recent years I haven't been able to find the trail. Does anyone know its status?

Climate Conversations and NE Climate Club Various dates Hosted at Holy Cross Church in North East PA 51 W Main St, North East, PA

"Trails & Tales: Journey Through PA's State Parks & Forests” Presenters: Chris Seeley & Katie Wickert May 18 at Unitarian Universalist Church of Meadville 346 Chestnut, Meadville. "PA's natural areas still serve as an oasis for those needing to get away, as evidenced by our journey to visit each and every one of them. From 2018 - 2024, we hiked, sweated, cried, fought, and laughed our way across the state, in our own personal Odyssey of self-discovery, hitting every park and forest along the way."

"An Evening with Doug Tallamy" May 20, 2025 (5:30 PM-6:30 PM)  Penn State Behrend, Reed Union Building, McGarvey Room 4701 College Drive Erie "The presentation will cover ways to restore ecosystem function in spaces where people live, work, play, and farm—from backyard gardens to community spaces. A question-and-answer session with Dr. Tallamy will follow the presentation.."

Church of the Wild Chautauqua Institution June 22 2025 @ 4:00 pm Free Sunday, outdoor class. "Kriss Young Miller and her husband Gary manage the Quaker House. Kriss is a 2022 graduate of Earlham School of Religion with her Master of Arts in Peace and Social Transformation. Kriss is currently a student of Victoria Loorz in the Seminary of the Wild Earth at the Center for Wild Spirituality." 

ELECTIONS & GOVERNANCE

Marcus Atkinson interviews Joe Schember and Daria Devlin Candidates are interviewed separately, about an hour each. 

Top priorities for Erie County executive candidates (AJ Rao/Erie Times-News) Candidates give written responses to questions.

Rush, Monella in race to replace retiring magisterial district judge in Erie's 1st Ward (Tim Hahn/Erie Times-News) 
 
Erie City Council Dem candidates (Kevin Flowers/Erie Times-News) 

PA Primary Elections 2025 (Ben Speggen/Erie Reader)


FOOD

Barb Newcamp addresses Meadville City Council about Grow Meadville, a local network of community gardens 4:14 (Armstrong Neighborhood Channel) Grow Meadville website

Profile of Thelma Blanks-Howard Cafe 7-10 baker and mother of Cafe 7-10 owner Mabel Howard. (Erie Times-News) Cafe 7-10 owner on effects of tariffs (Erie News Now) 

CommUnity Seedling Swap/Sale May 18 10am-2pm 1020 Collective 1020 Holland Erie PA 

 
Erie County Farmers Markets (Erin Phillips/Erie Reader)


HOME

Apartment Assoc. members public comments about Tenants bill of rights at Erie City Council 5/7 Public comments were predominantly members of AA speaking on their behalf. Also two speakers who were speaking on behalf of tenants, and Melinda speaking on need for fairness for both.

At 4/16 City Council Susannah Falkner updated on the Tenants' Bill of Rights amendment, and discussed effects on housing from what is going on at the Federal level.



INDIGENOUS

New York Oral History Project of National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) in Rochester, NY, May 19-23, 2025 "This project works toward the creation of a permanent national oral history collection. If you attended a federally supported Indian boarding school before 1970, we would love to hear your story"  NABS Project information 

JUNETEENTH

June 14 - Erie's Juneteenth Perry Square Erie PA 11am to 8pm 

June 19-22 - Jamestown Juneteenth Festival   Jamestown NY multiple venues.

June 21 - Juneteenth at John Brown's Tannery and Historic Site & Cemetery 1pm at 17620 John Brown Rd, Guys Mills, PA Contact: John Brown Heritage Association,  johnbrownheritagecc@gmail.com Donna Coburn, 814-720-2873 Event by Meadville 1825

JUSTICE

US Dept of Justice: Then & Now June 5 at Robert H Jackson Center Jamestown NY. Speakers: Barbara L. McQuade, University of Michigan Law School Professor and former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (2010-2017), will share her insights alongside John Q. Barrett, Benjamin N. Cardozo Professor of Law at St. John’s University and Elizabeth S. Lenna Fellow at the Robert H. Jackson Center.

Educator Retreat: Justice and Humanity July 8-11 at Educator Retreat at Robert H Jackson Center, Jamestown NY 



May 17  - Gays Eating Garlic Bread In The Park Nate Levy Jaycee Park, E 2nd and Holland St, Erie, PA) 12 PM. "Hang out for the sake of hanging out, and of course garlic bread." Host: Anna Lindvay

Why May 16 is a day to honor our LGBTQ+ elders | Opinion (Aging with Pride/Erie Times-News)

Local Pride month events
June 7 - Jamestown Pride Jamestown NY 

SCHOOLS & YOUTH

(Spotlight PA) 

Marc Brown: I created 'Arthur.' Trump's PBS funding cut is a loss for kids everywhere. | Opinion (USA Today) Erie native and children's author Marc Brown sounds off about Trump's PBS cuts.

SPIRIT

 "The History of Stone United Methodist Church," May 17, 1:30 - 2:30 pm 346 Chestnut St, Meadville PA Sanctuary. Meadville 1825 event

Potluck Nation: Why We Need Each Other to Thrive June 21-28 theme at Chautauqua Institution
In partnership with Interfaith America, includes  The Rev Jim Wallis (weekly Chaplain)

Erie SSJs on new Pope (Erie Times-News)

Reclaiming Pennsylvania’s Religious Anarchy (Jesse J. Turri /Belt Magazine) "As I reflect on Pennsylvania today, however, I must conclude that this commonwealth in which I reside has gotten much too far away from its origins as a sanctuary for the oppressed."
 
VIETNAM WAR

Pennsylvania Wall of Faces April 30, 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) ) aka "Vietnam Wall" created The Wall of Faces to provide a face and story to the 58000+ fallen US soldiers whose names appear on The Wall. In 2019 the the project found photos for all 3,150 Pennsylvanian military who lost their lives due to the war.  The Wall is a non-partisan project. "The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War."  

GEMISH

Water Taxi service begins May 23 Visit presqueislewatertaxi.com

Community Baby Shower for Chautauqua Co. running thru June 12. (WRFA) Numerous drop off sites. Collects new baby items for local at-risk mothers and their newborns.

Stuff Swap Basement Transmissions May 18 11am-6pm 145 W 11th Erie PA "A fun, eco-friendly event where you can exchange your gently used items." Details on event page

Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum is open for 2025. 1603 Walnut Blvd. Ashtabula, Ohio


Cascade Creek
 

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)