Eight & 322 Art Blog

Franklin invites everyone to come create Art in the Park

9/22/2026

Saturday’s forecast is 69 and sunny – perfect for hanging out in the park and, if you are so inclined, creating some art.

Franklin will host its first Art in the Park event from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday in Fountain Park and everyone is invited to come create.

“There’s no class, no judging, and no expectations,” said Ashley Zaccari, one of the event organizers.

The goal is to simply give people a common place to create, no strings attached.

It’s an idea that was partially inspired by this summer’s activities at the nearby bike trail.

“I keep thinking about the success of the Trail Mix bike club this summer, where bike riders have been invited to meet at the Saltbox on Wednesdays and go for a group ride. It gives people who already enjoy biking an easy way to find other people who enjoy it too and feel connected or have to ride alone,” Zaccari said. “Of course, anyone can get a group together and ride, but people don’t naturally do that anymore and there has been great success from the AVTA posting a meet up. People need to be invited.”

And Zaccari is one who would know. She is the leader of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s Be Here initiative, a member of the Franklin Fine Arts Council and a City of Franklin councilperson.

To her, an important aspect of the Art in the Park event is that it’s open to all skill levels. Just make sure to bring your own supplies.

“I can picture a family spreading out a blanket with coloring books while nearby a professional plein air artist is painting. Maybe someone is crocheting on a bench, another person is journaling, and someone else is walking around with their camera… everyone creating (simultaneously),” she said. “The Franklin Fine Arts Council is inviting everyone to bring whatever they’re working on and create alongside their neighbors.”

If two hours seems too short, Zaccari suggests making a day of it. “We also want people to enjoy downtown while they’re here,” she said. “Come early and explore the shops, grab a coffee or a snack, join us in Fountain Park from 4 to 6 p.m., and then stick around for dinner afterward.”

Here's a little impression to get you thinking about possibilities for Saturday. Photographer Richard Sayer grabbed these shoots of the Egbert Fountain in 2024. See more of them in his short story - Oh that wonderful light in that wonderful town.

Phew! Art, art, art and more art... a useful discussion

8/25/2026

Not long ago a comment came across my radar having to do with the tearing down of buildings in a town, frankly, people, or more exacting, enough people, stopped caring about long ago.

Tearing down St. Stephen's and maybe the Odd Fellows buildings are the result of the powers that be not giving enough early enough to make sure the decay didn't become fatal.

The 7 Ps principle applies – Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

If we want things to last we have to give a crap, and not waver in this.

Europe is full of centuries old buildings.

Why?

Well, because they've been around for centuries for starters.

But more importantly, it is because they have taken the steps to preserve them. Hell they even preserve the ruins.

Because they give a shit!

The comment I read under one of the post was something akin to saying Oil City has become artsy, but there is no longer any "useful" things downtown. It alluded to tearing down buildings instead of bringing "useful" things to town is bad.

As an artist, this was a punch to gut with a counter to the chin followed by a knee to the groin.

Nothing useful?

First, art is perhaps the most useful communicative device we have.

Pictures replace words to indicate bathrooms. Graphics help us locate pathways to hospitals. We drink from glasses and cups made by designers.

Art is the difference between a fast food burger assembled from buns likely made days earlier, meat shipped frozen, perhaps even cooked weeks ago, ketchup squished out of a hopefully recently clean plastic bottle and a wimpy pickle to a burger prepared by a trained chef who's honed their understanding of seasoning and flavor. It difference between living and just getting by in life.

Now the commenter didn't deserve our artsy wrath, but they did bring up a point that needs to be discussed.

What is "useful" stuff in a community?

Do we need more dollar stores? Those tend to pop up in droves in areas where the median incomes have been on the down slope.

Or do we need an active, growing community of people sharing what their passions are?

Oil City is a great place with a growing contingent of people dedicated to their craft – whether it is world-class coffee; sustainable farm- to-table thinking; creating individually, creating together and supporting other creators; grassroots publishing for emerging writers; or baking sweet treats and feeding less privileged.

So what does any of this have to do with these photos?

They're from two recent events that show arts and the arts community are not giving up on the hope for a city mostly abandoned by the oil conglomerates. A city that has not only more life in it but a fresh take on what life can be.

The 2026 Wearable Art Fashion Show in Pipeline Alley was a fun way to showcase expression and come together as a community exalting in the glory of place and time, and a message of shining hope.

Mural Fest was the same with the idea of producing sustainable art to be enjoyed for years – a gift to all who pass by.

These two events and Oil City's upcoming Allegheny River Music and Arts Festival are indeed useful. They not only give the city a chance to show off its wares and that within a community there is energy to be harvested for the betterment of humankind.

And what could be more useful than that?

Travel under the sea this weekend at the Barrow

7/9/2026

The Barrow-Civic Theatre has gadgets and gizmos a-plenty and created whozits and whatzits galore as they bring to life Disney's The Little Mermaid this weekend and next. They even rented a thingamabob to fly some cast members above the stage.

The fishy fable includes memorable musical numbers from the popular 1989 animated movie, such as "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl" and "Part of Your World."

Alyssa Whalen plays the title character. She is joined on stage by Kyel Harry as Price Eric. Andrea Fenske brings villain Ursula to life. Drew Martz as Sebastian, Matthews James of King Triton, Lillian Bawden as Flounder, and Ryan Dawley as Scuttle round out the major roles in a cast of more than 30.

The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 10. Additional shows will be held at 7:30 p.m. on July 11, 17 and 18, and 2 p.m. on July 12 and 19. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office, which opens an hour before each show.

Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen's most beloved stories and the classic animated film, Disney's The Little Mermaid is a hauntingly beautiful love story for the ages. Ariel, King Triton's youngest daughter, wishes to pursue the human Prince Eric in the world above, bargaining with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to trade her tail for legs. But the bargain is not what it seems, and Ariel needs the help of her colorful friends, Flounder the fish, Scuttle the seagull and Sebastian the crab to restore order under the sea.

One more photo, keep scrolling.

Juniors take to the bandstand stage in new era of Taste of Talent

7/2/2026

Taste of Talent Jr. 2026 contestants are:

Riliegh Sires
Kinsley Dick
Baylie Zacherl
Anna Shaffer
Taylor Barnhart
Maren Hawks
Eryn Moore
DeEtta Carr
Jacob Long
Danae Hansford

Taste of Talent Jr., a younger version of the annual Taste of Talent Vocal Competition will operate on a theme each of the first four weeks.
Week one was a Disney theme.
Week two will be themed based on jukebox music from the 50s through the 70s.
Week three contestants get to choose a modern song of their choosing.
Week four will be a song based on what songs they've lived with at home from their parents or guardians.

The six week contest will end with one contestant receiving $1,000.

The Secret Garden comes to Colestock stage

6/23/2026

Titusville Summer Theater will open at 7 p.m. Thursday with "The Secret Garden," There are two other shows also at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Colestock Auditorium at Titusville High School.

Below are photos from dress rehearsal Monday evening.

Bard on the bandstand

6/2/2026

The classical humor and beloved storytelling of William Shakespeare comes to Franklin’s Bandstand Park this weekend and next as the Barrow-Civic Theatre presents Comedy of Errors for free public performances on June 5 to 7 and 12 to 14.

A two-hour adaption of Shakespeare’s early work, 14 players bring to life this madcap comedy of mistaken identity as two sets of long-lost twins unknowingly converge in the same town and a whirlwind of chaos erupts, bringing with it confusion, slapstick humor, and heart.

It is a performance sure to be appreciated by longtime fans of The Bard as well as those who have never experienced the classic playwright before.

“Comedy of Errors is the quintessential farcical tale,” said director Andrew Ritsig. “Think The Parent Trap times two with the physical comedy of The Three Stooges and all in iambic pentameter.”

Ritsig designed an abridged version of the play with a goal run-time of two hours to ensure the performances will end before the sun goes down.

The show will be performed rain or shine, though inclement weather will displace the action from the park to the Barrow-Civic Theatre main stage just up the road.

Any change in location will be announced through the theatre’s social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

Regardless of the location, the performances will be free, with donations being collected during the show.

There will also be concessions available and a raffle of a necklace used on stage throughout the entire run.

Shakespeare in Bandstand Park will be held at 7 p.m. on June 5, 6, 12 and 13, and 2 p.m. on June 7 and 14. Attendees should bring chairs as limited bench seating is available.
“Come, laugh, and experience culture in a lovely outdoor setting,” Ritsig said.

Words and art collide at Red Brick Gallery

5/29/2026

Words and art have been mixed in many ways for centuries, most commonly in music where lyrics help melodies along telling stories.

Or is it in reverse?

Words also have made their way in to much of the art world with some descriptors in pre-renaissance paintings to more modernist works like Rene’ Magritte’s “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” or “This is not a pipe” written under a painting of a pipe.

More recently, famed post-modernist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat’s drew words, letters, number and a variety of marks that were drenched with symbolism and social meanings to invoke responses by his viewers.
Hundreds of artists use words.

Artists and writers have often even collaborated from illustrated books to inspired pieces created by poets and painters alike.

Two years ago the Red Brick Gallery and Gift Shop in Foxburg hosted a fairly unique exhibition to this area when they invited artists to submit works to be interpreted by writers. An artist's work, mostly paintings, was then given to a writer who had over a month to create a poem, or short story based on their reaction to the work.

Some were more literal than others but they were all presented in a show titled “Ekphrasis,” a term meaning a work of writing created as a description or in reaction to a work of art.

According to gallery director Jason Lewis that show that featured over two dozen artists and writers was one of the best attended shows the gallery has had in many years.

The writers were mostly from the Bridge Literary Arts Center, a Venango County based collective and selected artists from northwestern Pennsylvania.

Reception from 2 to 4 p.m Saturday May 30 with poetry reading at the Red Brick Gallery in Foxburg, Pa.

This year Lewis proposed a “Reverse Ekphrasis” exhibition where the writers submitted a piece for the artists to create a work. Two months were given for the creation process and all who agreed completed their work.

Reverse Ekphrasis opens today (May 30) with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. that will include poetry readings in the gallery with the art works as a backdrop.

15 artists, many from Oil City and Meadville, as well as 15 poets from all around the region are included in the exhibition in a wide range of artworks from a mixed media sculptural piece by Meadville teenager Leah Hyatt who painted directly on an old record that she mounted on an old phonograph player displayed on a pedestal to a painting/jewelry collaboration between Rafi Perez and Klee Angelie, a couple from Oil City.
Writers Phil Terman, former professor at Clarion University, and founder of the Bridge Literary Arts Center and the husband and wife writers Hilary and Brady Buchanan, who each submitted separate works, all weave personal experiences into their expressive poems.

The show will run through July 5 at the gallery located at 17 Main Street in Foxburg. Gallery hours are Fridays 1 to 6 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays noon to 5 p.m.

More information: visit the website at alleghenyriverstone.org/eventand look for the Reverse Ekphrasis exhibition.

Bridging the Arts: Publication submissions sought

5/17/2026

Visual art and the written word come together in many ways. Northwest Pennsylvania celebrates this with a variety of collaborations from open mic nights, inviting a jazz trio to accompany readings, art exhibits like the one coming up in Foxburg's Red Brick Gallery and the annual publication of a literary arts journal.

Recently poets and short story writers met in the newly renovated theatre at the Oil City Library to read their works with the trio CATRO providing the vibe behind the expressive reading. Dozens attended this reading with many getting up to read their own personal works.

Bridge Literary Arts Center founder Phil Terman used the event to also promote the journal and encourage entries of poems, short plays, prose and artworks. The journal provides space for the visual artists to intermingle with the pages of words. Photography, digital copies of paintings, drawing and even 3-D pieces are welcome.

The journal returned last year after a long hiatus that was not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic. But they are back on track ready to put out another collection with a publication date in September in time for LitFest which will coincide with the Allegheny River Music and Arts festival in Oil City.

They are currently accepting art and writing until June 1.

Submissions are open to everyone, though the organizers are particularly interested in local participation as they continue their mission to establish northwest Pennsylvania as a literary center and destination. “Given our mission, we encourage writers and artists from or with a connection to Clarion, Venango, Armstrong, Butler, Crawford, Warren, Forest, Lawrence, Jefferson and Mercer counties,” the group posting on their website.

Guidelines allow for prose and plays under 2,000 words per piece and individuals can submit up to two pieces in these categories. For poetry, writers may send up to three individual poems.
For visual art, The Bridge will accept photography as well as pictures of paintings, line drawings, collages, graphic design, typography, calligraphy, and other media. Visual artists can submit up to three pieces.
Individuals are permitted to submit in more than one category but works should be emailed [email protected]. Work should also be accompanied by a profile/bio of less than 150 words.
There is no fee for applying and artists/writers retain all rights to their work. Accepted artists/writers will receive one free copy of the journal.

The 2026 Bridge Literary Arts Journal is expected to be published in September with a launch during the second annual Allegheny River Music & Art Festival and Bridge LitFest in Oil City on September 12.
For more information visit: www.bridgeliteraryartscenter.org/journal.

Also coming up is the art exhibition Reverse Ekphrasis, a followup to the Ekphrais show two years ago at the Red Brick Gallery in Foxburg. In that first show visual artists submitted works that writers were then given to create poetry or prose to accompany the work. Gallery director Jason Lewis said the show was a success with one of the larger turnouts the gallery has experienced in recent years.

This time the writers submitted works in which visual artists were given one written piece each to create something based on interpretation or reactions from their reading.

This show will run from May 29 to July 5 with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on May 30 that will feature readings from the authors.

Below are more images from their open mic at the library.

There's a 101 reasons to go to the Barrow this weekend

5/6/2026

The Barrow-Civic Theatre has turned into a puppy plantation as more than 50 kids bring to life the canine caper "101 Dalmatians Jr." this weekend.

The show is a condensed version of the classic Disney tale of a fury-crazy villain and her dim-witted henchman who carry out the kidnapping of a pack spotted pups. The would-be winter wear saved thanks to "their pets" Anita and Roger and the dogs of London.

Music is a mixture of songs from the 1961 animated film, including "Cruella De Vil" and "Kanine Krunchies" and some written specific for the spotted spectacular like "My Beautiful Coat" and "Twight Bark."

The pack of puppies will take the stage today for a pair of shows for area school. The public performances start Friday night (which is nearly sold out already) and wrap up with a trio of shows on Saturday.

Tickets can be ordered online at barrowtheatre.org or at the box office.

It is a show by kids for kids with a running time under 40 minutes without an intermission.

It is fast paced with a lots of dancing and fun costumes, making it ideal for younger audiences.

"101 Dalmatians Jr." is the first of three youth theatre experiences planned at the theatre this year. Earlier this month the Franklin Civic Operetta's annual youth summer camp, slated for July, filled up in a single day.

In the fall, the theatre will hold auditions for "It’s Sad, So Sad When an Elf Goes Bad," a Christmas centered show open to ages 8 to 16.

The Show Must Go On

5/1/2026

AC Valley students find new performance space in old school

Its a little of the old mixed in with the new as the curtain opens tonight on AC Valley's rendition of "Once Upon a Mattress" at the Crawford Center this weekend.

The musical is a new twist on the old-fashioned fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea. And the performance is the first high school show at the nearly 100-year-old building in more than five decades.

First-time director Sara Black arranged for the show at the community building due to ongoing renovations at the high school in Foxburg. It was a decision that brought with a set of challenges and a little extra energy from the cast.

"The first day we toured the Crawford Center (formerly the Emlenton School) and had rehearsal, the kids were astounded at all the relics they saw. We sat and imagined what musicals may have been performed on that stage," Black said. "It definitely added to the energy (among the students)."

Finding the space to use was just the first hurdle to making the show a reality for Black and the young cast.

"For me, it was about meeting the right people," Black said. "Once Paul Newbury showed me in early January that the Crawford Center could handle sound equipment, I knew we could have a show." From there, community members and parents picked to help with a variety of tasks from lighting and costumes to assisting with rehearsals and putting together the program.

"For the (students), the aha-moment was one of our first Saturday practices when everyone was working hard to learn the choreography to 'Opening for a Princess.' They all leaned on each other and put in the work. This was the moment I knew that we, as a group, could do this," she said.

The cast call was open to sixth through 12 grade students. Twenty-six students signed on, many from the lower grades. "I have a young cast and they have been very open to learning dynamics, blocking and choreography. The growth of these kids has also been astounding."

"Once Upon a Mattress" tells the story of an immature prince who is looking for a spouse, an overbearing mother who doesn't want to see him marry, and a nontraditional princess who succeeds in winning his love. Throw a mute king, a few silly jesters and a minstrel, and a love-sick couple into the mix and the story is a whimsical tale of a reimagined, forgotten time. Shows will be held at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Overflow parking and shuttle service will be provided from several lots in the community, including the ball fields, local churches and the bike trailhead.