C M Y K

For the weekend of Oct. 7-9, 2011

A weekly guide of things to doOut About&

Ellicottville Seneca-Allegany Casino

Timeworthy

Page B-12

OLEAN — The fourth annual Gem-Mineral-Fossil Show will run from Saturday to Monday at the his-toric Rock City Park in Olean.

Rock enthusiasts will have the opportunity to view, purchase and learn about rare and common rocks from around the world at the show during Columbus Day Weekend.

Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, vendors will display rocks, gems, minerals, jewelry, rock information and more. Hot food and drink items will be for sale. The park and Gem Show are available to the general public.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 a.m. at Rock City Park, 505 Route 16 South, Olean. General park admission of $4.50 per person will include the Gem Show. Group and senior dis-counts are applied at the entrance.

Rock City Park is home to one of the largest natural displays of quartz conglomerate in the world and attracts thousands of global visitors each year. For vendor registration,

contact Theresa Smith at rockcityp-ark@hotmail.com or (716) 560-8562. Park information, history, directions

and general rates can be found at www.rockcitypark.com or by calling (866) 404-ROCK or 372-7790.

Alle Brasse, a quintet of brassers from Western New York’s Southern Tier, will make its Jazz Vespers debut at 7 p.m. Friday. The ensemble is a relatively new collaboration of sea-soned professional musicians led by hornist, Dr. Brian Casey, direc-tor of Instrumental Activities at the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College.

Dr. Casey is assistant professor of conducting and horn as well as con-ductor of the Houghton Symphonic Winds and Philharmonia.

Playing tuba for Alle Brasse is James Caneen of Arkport. Mr. Caneen is a founding member and serves as the president of the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble, is past president of the

Association of Concert Bands, and is tubist for the Southern Tier Symphony. A veteran pilot and flight instruc-tor, Mr. Caneen is owner of Sterling Airways.

Houghton College senior compo-sition major, Stephen Cledgett, hails from Hinsdale and is the quintet’s trombone player. Mr. Cledgett has had wide-ranging experience in jazz, wind, brass and orchestral ensembles. He is preparing for a career in film composi-tion.

Dr. Christopher Foster (trumpet) is assistant professor of music and direc-tor of bands at Alfred University. In addition to his teaching, Dr. Foster has an extensive background in profession-al performance and as a conductor.

Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam music education gradu-ate, Clayton Morgan, is also a trum-peter with Alle Brasse. Mr. Morgan, of Alfred, is hornist in various area ensembles and musical productions.

Alle Brasse is the first brass ensem-ble to be featured in this performance series and brings a unique program to the Jazz Vespers venue introduced in this area by local musician and band leader, Lance Anderson.

Jazz Vespers is a non-denomina-tional outreach to local musicians and music lovers hosted at First Baptist Church, 133 S. Union St., Olean. Presentations are scheduled the first Friday of each month, September through April.

E’ville to hold Fall FestivalBy Rick MillerOlean Times Herald

ELLICOTTVILLE — Tens of thousands of visitors will descend on Ellicottville this weekend for the 36th annual Fall Festival.

As in past years, the vil-lage will be closed to vehicles Saturday and Sunday, as traffic is rerouted around the down-town area. Signs will direct traf-fic to parking — either free park-ing and shuttle service at nearby Holiday Valley Resort, or at sev-eral parking areas where pro-ceeds go to nonprofit groups or the Ellicottville School District.

Students from the school play a big part in the Fall Festival. They run parking lots and help keep the streets clean, as well as residents’ front lawns. The Ecology and Varsity clubs are both involved in weekend fes-tival activities. In return, the Chamber of Commerce gives a donation to the school district.

“It looks like a great week-end,” said Brian McFadden, exec-utive director of the Ellicottville Area Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates Fall Festival Weekend with Holiday Valley. “The weather forecast is for 75 and sunny. There is something for absolutely everyone,” he adds.

“We ran out of space for ven-dors again this year and lodg-ings are all booked up,” Mr. McFadden said. “We’re sending people to Olean motels now.”

New this year is the Shults Auto Group presentation of Ellicottville Idol at the gazebo in front of the Town Hall on Sunday. Registration starts at 10 a.m. at the gazebo. Pre-quali-fiers’ performances begin at 11 a.m., and finals will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. There are prizes and gifts for winners 21 and over and 20 and under.

The food court will be along Jefferson Street between the Post Office and Town Hall, while the carnival will be in the parking lot at Coffee Culture.

OTHER DOWNTOWN EVENTS INCLUDE:

® SATURDAY AND SUNDAY — Art Show and Sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Washington Street.

® SATURDAY AND SUNDAY — Craft Show and Sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Washington and Jefferson streets.

® SATURDAY AND SUNDAY — Curb Market, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Visitor’s Center, Monroe Street.

® SATURDAY AND SUNDAY — Kids Carnival Rides, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Washington Square.

HOLIDAY VALLEY EVENTS INCLUDE:

® Ski Swap Check-in, Creekside Lodge, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday; 3 to 5 p.m. pickup.

® Junior Ski Team Snowboard swap, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Creekside Lodge.

® Mountain Shop Golf Sale, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m .

® Ski High Aerial Park, Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tannenbaum Lodge.

® Chairlift Rides, $2, Mardi Gras Express, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

® Mountain Top Cookout, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

® 5K Race, 1 a.m. Saturday, Clubhouse Chalet

® Mountain Bike Race, Sunday, 10 a.m. (9:30 registra-tion), Mountain Sports Center.

DUKE CENTER, Pa., — A Christian music concert to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Duke Center United Methodist Church.

All are invited to enjoy the ministry of many talented local musicians. Refreshments will be served immediately follow-ing the program. A love offer-ing will be taken to continue research that can make a real difference in the lives of those living with cystic fibrosis.

For more information, call Susan Krall at (814) 362-1622.

By Rich PlaceSpecial to the Olean Times Herald

SALAMANCA — When Jon Lovitz was four years old, he watched a movie about legend-ary performer Al Jolson and knew that‘s who he wanted to be like.

Over the next couple decades, Mr. Lovitz focused on finding his niche in the performing world acting in plays, singing and danc-ing in musicals and eventually getting into the comedy business.

Now, the 52-year-old former “Saturday Night Live “ cast mem-ber will be performing his own comedy routine at the Seneca Allegany Event Center Sunday.

During his teenage years, Mr. Lovitz had to make a decision between two of his greatest loves: baseball or performing.

“I liked both but I was more obsessed with baseball from when I was 7 to about 15,” Mr. Lovitz said in an interview. “When I turned 15 I realized I had so much school work and I couldn’t do both. I realized I wasn’t going to be a pro baseball player so I just got into acting.

Those acting roles began with high school plays before Mr. Lovitz majored in drama at University of California Irvine. After graduating, he continued to take classes at local theaters. At one workshop, he met Phil Hartman, who would become a fellow SNL cast member.

Mr. Lovitz’s big break came

when he joined the cast of SNL in 1985. Prior to that, he had never appeared in a major motion pic-ture. Since 1986, he has been in more than 40, most notably “The Wedding Singer,” “Little Nicky” and “The Benchwarmers.”

During his time on SNL, Mr. Lovitz became well known for many characters. He said although his role as Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar was the most successful ( Yeah! That ‘s the tick-et!), his most enjoyed his time playing Master Thespian.

“It was not the most successful but I loved doing it,” Mr. Lovitz said. “It was all about acting.”

When Lovitz started his own stand-up comedy about a decade ago, he tried to incorporate his old SNL characters into his per-formance.

“It wouldn’t work,” he admit-ted. “So I just started talking as myself. It’s my personal sense of humor and what I think is funny.”

Most recently, Mr. Lovitz was one of the actors poking fun of friend Charlie Sheen during a roast that was presented by Comedy Central in September. Mr. Lovitz got the invite from Sheen’s manager and he quickly agreed.

“I had a good time, it was fun,“ Mr. Lovitz said about the roast. It’s fun when you do jokes you write or perform and they get laughs. And Charlie was laugh-ing so I’m glad about that.

Former SNL star to host comedy show at casino

Photo submittedJohn Lovitz will perform at the Seneca Allegany Casino Sunday.

Now, Mr. Lovitz’s comedy extends beyond the physical world and onto the Internet, where has a comedy club named after him that produces podcasts.

“They get huge audiences all over the world,” Mr. Lovitz said, adding that he also likes doing his stand-up gigs. “Stand-up is myself and I write my own material and perform it, so that’s fun and it’s a live show.

And although he graduated from SNL over two decades ago, Mr. Lovitz said he still tunes in to the late-night sketch comedy

show whenever he gets the opportunity.“It‘s the same as when we did it,” he

said. “The cast is super talented and I think they are just doing their sense of humor and what they think is funny. Some sketches are better than others and some work and some don’t.”

Jon Lovitz will be performing his stand up comedy routine at the Seneca Allegany Event Center at 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $20 and are available at all Seneca Casino box offices and Ticketmaster locations.

Alle Brasse to perform at Jazz Vespers Friday

Michael Hastings/Olean Times HeraldTom Ennis hands a small mexican geode to Rachel Renninger and Gail Eakin (right) after cracking the rock formation using a special tool to reveal the inner crystals in October 2010.

Rock City Park slates Gem-Mineral-Fossil show

Concert to benefit cystic fibrosis group

Led By the Blind to send off Buffalo band

BUFFALO — Led By The Blind will perform Oct. 15 at Xtreme Wheels, 356 Hertal Ave., to send off The Bunny The Bear on tour. The event has been organized and promoted with the help of After Dark Entertainment and Victory Records. The show will also include A Stranger to Remorse, Titan, With Life Comes Death, and Might for the Masses.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. All ages will be admitted. Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 the day of the show. For tickets, text LBTB to 353-0171 or 790-1820. Tickets are also available online at www.ticketweb.com and at the After Dark Office, 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.