It was a successful kickoff for the weekend event now in its six year. Bailey most likely would've been smiling ear to ear with this year's turnout.

​The event continues today kicking-off around 4 p.m. on the long Veterans Bridge and is expected to go on rocking until 10 p.m.

On the calendar are The Dogs of March who will start things off at 4 p.m. as crafters, and other tables line the length of the bridge along with beer and wine vendors. Find the Arts Council canopied table to learn out how to partake. 

Like clockwork, The Time Keepers will take over the music duties at 6 p.m. and play until around eight when the last band has the elixir to cap off the fun festival.  Uncle Ben's Remedy willl  play from eight to close at 10 p.m.

Director Steve Johnston said this will be a fairly routine year with no big planned trips, though they will be fundraising for another trip to Washington D.C in 2025.

He said just ask a band member about the fundraisers and how you can get your hands on  frozen cookie dough before Thanksgiving to enjoy whenever you need a chocolate chip cookie fix.

​They will also hold an October hoagie sale and a couple more fundraisers in the spring. The fundraisers help with several band needs. But the main purpose is to help provide what Johnston calls "a once-in-a-lifetime experience" - marching in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C. So they are looking for lots of hoagie loving, cookie craving, music supporting friends to get ahold of a band member to support their efforts. 

The Franklin Silver Cornet Band will wrap up its Thursday night concert of the season at 7 p.m. on August 17 in Bandstand Park. The series is sponsored by the Franklin Fine Arts Council.

The 167-year-old group, which is one of the nation's oldest volunteer community bands, will hit the road to play at a one-day festival to mark the region's oldest commercial oil wells.

The Drake Day - Music in the Park, which marks the 164th anniversary of the Drake Well oil strike event, will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 26 at the Drake Well Museum. Admission fees will be collected. 

Silver Cornet Band will play at noon. Mitch Littler, Mostly Brass Band and the Queen City Community Band are also on the schedule for the day. 

There are always tears shed at the annual livestock auction at the Venango County Fair. The young 4Hers raise their animals and, though they know why, it doesn't stop them from getting attached.

But the tears Friday night were also for the memory of Maddie Johnson, who passed away in an accident in December. The auction organizers decided to have a couple animals auctioned for a fund in Maddie's name that will help with the future of the fair and its participants.
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Maddie Johnson loved her brown Swiss dairy cows, her friend Madison Doyle said. She showed Maddie's cows this year and the benefits from the cheese yield auction from one of her cows went to the fund. 

Maddie had also begun raising a beef cow named Lucky. Her brother Kyle took over the project and showed Lucky all spring and summer up to the auction.

The proceeds from Lucky's sale as well as others Friday night will go to the Maddie Johnson Memorial Fund to be used on improvements to the fairgrounds, sponsorship awards and scholarships.

Maddie's mom Holly said that around $40,000 was raised in Maddie's memory.

You only turn 30 once, so it should be a big celebration.

The Barrow-Civic Theatre is marking their 30th anniversary with a collection of songs from "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat."

​They are inviting everyone to come help mark this milestone, see some quality local entertainment and be a part of starting the next three decades.

There will be four performances over two weekends -  7:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, 12 and 19 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 20.

For an hour before each show,  a reception will be held in the Barrow's Little Theatre with a cash bar, refreshments and brand new merchandise.

There are still plenty of tickets for show, which is a fundraiser for the theater that replaced its stage flooring this past year.

​Below are some more photos from our tech week sneak peak of the performance.

"Once we figured it out, I looked at mt mom and was like, 'what do you want me to do? I don't want to make you drive three hours if you don't want to,' but she has always taught me that once you commit to something there's no going back," Gilson said. "So we drove three hours for six weeks." 

​It was worth the trip.

It's fair week in Venango County.

The annual agricultural event officially started Saturday with entry and animal check-in and a rodeo. Sunday had a laid-back schedule that ended with a queen crowning and a vigil in memory of  Maddie Johnson, a long-time 4H member who died in a car accident last winter.

Today, the main events are the goat shows at 9 and 11 a.m. and the sheep show at 3 p.m. There will also be horse shows at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m, as well as judging of non-animal entries in several buildings. ​

At Franklin's Taste of Talent, judges offer critiques but the audience has the final say.

The panel of judges offers commentary after each performer finishes their song offers advice and acknowledges strengths. Their comments are not always a clue as to who will the one voted off each week. That is just the nature of the Taste of Talent Vocal Competition in Franklin.

"You were spot on with your pitch," judge Rachael Mellor said right after contestant number one Iris Callahan finished her version of "High and Dry" by Radiohead. "I want a recording of your version of this." 

Fellow judge Tammi Dahl Matthews echoed Mellor in her praise. "I just love that you make each song you do, your own."

Based those glowing accounts it might have been a surprise to audience members that Callahan was the one who won't be performing this weekend in the Taste of Talent semi-finals Saturday after she was eliminated based on 850 overall vote collected on Thursday.

Those who moved on have already picked out their song for Saturday. Likely they are also practicing two additional songs in case they are one of the four who make it to Sunday's final where they will perform two songs each.

"Very impressive, let me remind everybody, for a 17-year-old voice," emcee Randy Morehead said about Lexi Gilson. "You have so much control of your voice," Matthews said. "Not everyone has that kind of control," Mellor echoed.

Jessica Gahr sang "Stay with Me," a Sam Smith tune that Mellor said was right inner wheelhouse. "That was a lovely performance, right in your comfort zone," she said.
"Great song choice," Matthews agreed. "I loved how you used your falsetto. It was really pretty."

Tim Craver didn't go far off-script for his proclivity for the country ballad. A Scott McCreary tune called "Five More Minutes" gave him a subtle way of saying he wanted more time to entertain the Taste of Talent audiences. "You are becoming quite the storyteller with your song choices," Matthews told him. "You're good at picking songs that pull at your heart strings," Mellor added. She also complimented him on changing his usual routine of going into the audience, rather moving from side to side of the stage. "You hit every part of the crowd."
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Alexander Karg had many in the crowd singing along with Elton John's "Rocket Man" that her performed to a backing track instead of having his brother on guitar. Mellor said "We were down here vibing," Matthews said nodding in agreement with Mellor "Terrific song choice. I loved your confidence with your falsetto."

Morehead looked at Ruth Herrick after she sang "Out Here On My Own" and simply said "You're always having fun."

Matthews said, "We are just so blessed to have you, you interpret songs so beautifully."

Mellor touched on the emotion Herrick puts into her performances. "You feel it so much, so we feel it."
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Another 17-year-old Matthew Myers got some oohs and ahh when he announced his choice of song, "A Million Dreams" from "The Greatest Showman." It also drew ahh after he sang it.

Mellor exclaimed "YES! I loved it. Your voice is so beautiful. I'm happy you chose to show us a little more of your range."
​Matthews waved her hand toward the crowd and said, "Obviously the reaction of the crowd says it all, That was an awesome job."

Oil City's Lindsay Crabtree belted out a version of "Toxic" while playing an acoustic guitar.

"I really love what you bring to the table each time, the stage loves, you," Matthews said,

​"Your smile lights up the whole park and that ending was "I'm doing it my way and I don't care'," Mellor said.

Alexis Jack was the last performer of the night and she chose the second Adele song of the night "Rolling in the Deep." Jack also changed up her normal routine this week, singing to a track instead of playing an instrument. The judges took notice even complimenting her little dance moves as she sang.

"It was nice you showed us more," Mellor told her. "I really loved how you changed it up with Adele."

Matthews put her motherly cap on for a minute and said "Great song choice young lady."

Though Morehead said he doesn't like the point in the show where someone is voted off, but otherwise it was perhaps his favorite week of performances of the summer.