All events are held in the Robert W. Rhoades Center at Clarion University–Venango Campus and are free and open to the public, with the exception of the December 4 event.
SPEAKERS
Ellen Gootblatt
Meeting, Dating, Relating and Mating: 25 Important Questions to ask Before You Go Further in a Relationship
September 2 at 7:00 pm
Ellen Goodtlatt, the relationships and motivational speaker, was the creator and host of the number one rated talk radio relationships show on WABC in New York, where she interviewed top celebrities. She was also a Harlem junior high school and high school teacher for 22 years. Ellen speaks to college, association, and corporate audiences on a variety of topics, including friendship, family, self-esteem, values and ethics, women's issues, men's issues, abuse issues, career, diversity, leadership, and sexuality.
Amy Bach
Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court
October 4 at 7:00 pm
Hosted in collaboration with the Oil City Library
Amy Bach will discuss her 2009 book, Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court. Bach is a member of the New York Bar, has written on law for The Nation, The American Lawyer, and New York magazine, among other publications. For her work Ordinary Injustice, Bach received a Soros Media Fellowship, a special J. Anthony Lukas citation, a Radcliffe Fellowship, and the 2010 RFK Book Award.
DARE TO CARE WEEK ACTIVITIES:
September 13th through 15
September 13
Cultural Fair — 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Experience the food, art, and music of various cultures from around the world. Hosted in collaboration with the Clarion University International Association and other regional cultural groups.
Simple Gifts — 3:30 - 4:30 pm and 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Three women plus twelve instruments equal one good time when Simple Gifts takes the stage. Drawing on an impressive variety of ethnic folk styles, this award-winning trio plays everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer frailachs and haunting Gypsy melodies, spicing the mix with the distinctive rhythms of Balkan dance music, the lush sounds of Scandinavian twin fiddling, and original compositions written in a traditional style.
Wacongo Dance Company — 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The WACONGO Dance Company is a traditional ensemble of master drummers, musicians and dancers, residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who perform the ancestral songs and dances of Central Africa.These talented artists have extensively toured Europe, Asia and North and South America. In its performances, WACONGO explores music from 400 ethnic groups, including Luba, Mongo, Kongo, Mbala, Chokwe, Pende, Kuba, Mbunda and many more. WACONGO's mission is to inspire and educate audiences about African heritage and culture.
Ohona of Polynesia — 7 pm - 8 pm
An authentic Polynesian luau entertainment group based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area enchants audiences with beautiful hula dancers, pulsating Tahitian dancers, Aloha Lei Greeters, Maori Poi Ball spinners, Hawaiian drummers and, of course, the mesmerizing Samoan Fire Knife Dancers! From the Polynesian Islands of Tahiti, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand, experience a showcase of spectacular non-stop exciting authentic dances, music, and costumes.
September 14 at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Film and Discussion: Paper Clips
It began as a lesson about prejudice... what happened next was a miracle. Out of a desire to help students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley, the school's principal, Linda Hooper, created the "Paper Clips" project to help her students grasp the enormity of human suffering during the Holocaust. The idea was to collect six million paper clips - one for each of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, an idea that touched a chord among Holocaust survivors, their families and even world leaders and celebrities as word of the project spread.
Linda Hooper
The Power of One
September 15 at 7 pm
Linda Hooper's speech, "The Power of One," tells the moving story of how the students behind the Paper Clips Project responded to what had been to them a completely unfamiliar chapter in human history - the Holocaust. In 1998, the children of Tennessee's Whitwell Middle School took on an extraordinary project inspired by their principal, Linda Hooper. The Paper Clips Project grew out of a sense that the students in the homogenous community weren't learning about the lives and experiences of other groups.
PERFORMANCES
Paul Ramsay, Hypnotist
October 22 at 7:00 pm
Paul Ramsay believes that hypnotism is more than a way to entertain people, and his stage show reflects that. Paul has the utmost care and respect for volunteers at his show. "I believe that being hypnotized can change your life for the better, even if you're doing it for the very first time on stage and making people laugh. It's fun, but it's also powerful."
Namoli Brennet
October 29 at 7:00 pm
Singer songwriter Namoli Brennet has a technique that draws on a wide range of influences, everyone from Shawn Colvin and Jonatha Brooke to Patty Griffin and Joni Mitchell, and she's equally at home on the piano or mandolin. But beyond the technical and the influence is something way more important: Brennet has an innate understanding of the language of music, and she skillfully uses it to communicate insights that are both poetic and powerful.
Harold Betters Trio Dinner Show
December 4 at 6 pm at the Arlington Hotel in Oil City
(Reservations required)
For ticket prices and more information, please call (814) 678-3017
Presented in cooperation with the Oil City Arts Council
Harold Betters is a remarkable man who has enjoyed a career spanning over four decades and is admired and respected by fellow musicians, friends, and fans nationwide. With over a dozen albums and CDs to his credit, Harold can be heard on jazz radio stations and in many area clubs. He continues to be a favorite of sports fans and plays regularly at Pittsburgh Steeler games.
