What do a musician, a dreamer, a doctor, an educator, and a politician have in common? They're all part of Easton's 'famous five' being brought to life with "Living History: Art Show & History Tours" on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., in the chapel of the historic Easton Cemetery, 401 N. 7th St. The subjects are: Thomas Coates, The Musician; C. Norvin Rinek, The Dreamer; Traill Green, The Doctor; William W. Cottingham, The Educator, and Andrew Horatio Reeder, The Politician. All played a significant part in Easton’s past and are buried in Easton Cemetery.
The event also will highlight original watercolors of the famous five by noted Easton artist and visual storyteller, Preston K. Hindmarch, whose art and prints will be available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Easton Cemetery.
Hindmarch brought history alive at the cemetery in March 2014, when his art focused on some of Easton’s legendary residents in the presentation, "History Lives Behind the Gate."
On-site guides will be on hand Sunday for tours of the graves of the famous five and a short history on each as follows:
Liz Pisciotto, president of the Easton Municipal Band, will speak on Thomas Coates, born in Easton around 1803. A musical prodigy, Coates was gifted with the French horn. He directed Pomp's Cornet Band in 1852, which later became known as the Easton Band. In 1861, when the Civil War began, the band became a regimental band for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Coates is considered by many to be the "Father of Band Music in America."
Highlights of the life of C. Norvin Rinek will be shared by Paul Luongo, actor and advocate for the Lehigh Valley's growth and economic development. Rinek was born in 1888 into one of Easton's most successful and influential families that founded Rinek Cordage Company in 1840. He inherited an entrepreneurial spirit by building his own biplane-type aeroplane, and also a small-scale railroad in his College Hill home.
Attorney Jim Zulick is actually a descendent of his choice, Traill Green. Born in Easton in 1833, Green was a man of many accomplishments including medical doctor, teacher, botanist, geologist, chemist, professor, humanitarian, and author. He was named professor of chemistry at Lafayette College, where he served as a dean, trustee and acting president. He was instrumental in the establishment of Easton Cemetery, where his statue stands at the Seventh Street entrance.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto gets into the act with William W. Cottingham who, in 1853, began serving as superintendent of Easton schools for some 60 years. He is credited with bringing Easton from the era of the one-room schoolhouse to the prototype of the future of education. No new schools were built in the district prior to this time; one was built on average every four years thereafter. The high school was built in 1893.
Pa. Rep. Robert L. Freeman (D-Northampton) will share facts about Easton lawyer and activist Andrew Horatio Reeder, best known for his role as the first territorial governor of Kansas in 1854, during the turbulent time leading up to the Civil War. Reeder fought for the Free-State cause, eventually having to escape back to Easton. In 1861, President Lincoln offered to appoint him as a brigadier general, a post he refused. He resumed practicing law and remaining active in politics on a national and local level. He died in Easton in 1864.
Members of the newly-formed volunteer group, Friends of Easton Cemetery, will be at the event to acquaint the public with the value of preserving the site. The cemetery, established in 1849, is still a working cemetery. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Admission is free to the event. Light snacks and drink will be available from Two Rivers Brewing Company and local restaurants.
For further info: 610-253-3133 (event); 610-252-1741 (Easton Cemetery)
ARTS ROUNDUP
This year's 35th annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival in Allentown premieres a pre-festival concert by Grammy winner and 13-time Native American Music Award winner, Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida, on Friday at 7 p.m., at the Museum of Indian Culture, 2825 Fish Hatchery Rd. Gates open at 6 p.m.
The festival continues Saturday and Sunday, with gates opening at 10 a.m. and grand entry at noon. Highlights include American Indian drumming, singing, dancing, Native American marketplace, children's craft area, cooking demonstrations, and fire-roasted corn.
Live music and dance performances include the Youngblood Singers, White Buffalo Singers, and Aztec fire dancing by the Salinas family of Mexico City. Master of ceremonies is George Stonefish, Delaware from Canada.
For further info: museumofindianculture.org
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Today's an important day for Peter C. Dent of Allentown, who's in Sheridan, Wyoming, to speak about Leonardo da Vinci and the Horse during the unveiling of a new, eight-foot-tall replica horse sculpture outside the Downtown Sheridan Association building. The work was commissioned by the Wyoming Community Foundation on behalf of the Sheridan Public Arts Committee as part of the city's commitment to the arts.
A live videocast can be viewed tonight at 7 Eastern Time (5 p.m. Mountain Time) at davincisciencecenter.org/live, during the Downtown Sheridan Association's monthly Third Thursday Street Festival.
Dent's uncle, the late Charles C. Dent, founded Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc. (LDVHI), a nonprofit organization in Allentown that actualized the vision of Leonardo da Vinci, who died in 1519 without ever realizing his cutting-edge vision for a 24-foot-tall bronze horse sculpture in Italy. Charles Dent actualized that vision on Sept. 10, 1999, by placing a 24-foot-tall bronze horse in Milan, Italy, based on Leonardo’s design.
LDVHI merged in 2003 with the Discovery Center of Science and Technology, then based in Bethlehem; the merged organization is now the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, which owns the intellectual and licensing rights for the Leonardo's Horse sculpture. Additional replicas are in Vinci, Italy; at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan; at The Baum School of Art in Allentown, and at the Da Vinci Science Center.
Peter Dent led LDVHI as president, CEO, and trustee after the passing of his uncle, and also served as chairman of the Da Vinci Science Center's board of trustees from 2006-2010.
The Da Vinci Science Center has served as project manager for the Wyoming Horse. Based upon master sculptor Nina Akamu's 1999 original piece, the project was designed by Glasson Sculpture Works in Gardiner, New York, and fabricated by Bollinger Atelier, an art foundry in Tempe, Arizona.
Also accompanying Dent for tonight's unveiling is Lin Erickson, executive director and CEO of the Da Vinci Science Center.
Footnote: The Dent family will be honored at the Baum School's fall gala on Oct. 17, for three generations of support. Special guest will be visiting artist Gary T. Erbe with "Mystery & Magic: The Trompe L'Oeil Vision of Gary T. Erbe."
For further info: davincisciencecenter.org baumschool.org
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Allentown's very own Cadets Drum Corps completed its 82nd season of competition ranking fourth in the world at the Drum Corps International world championships held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Aug. 6-8.
The Cadets put the cap on a brilliant season, according to Sean King of Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!), the parent organization of The Cadets based in Allentown. He said their performance of “The Power of 10” with a demanding musical score by Dmitri Shostakovich led to the high score in the Best Brass Caption. They received the prestigious Jim Ott Trophy for Best Brass Performance as measured over the three nights of competition.
The Cadets are 10-time World Champions recognized for their classic military-style uniform, updated for 2015 from the traditional maroon and cream to all-black. They are a program offering of YEA!, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the development of young people into magnificent human beings through their participation in the arts.
Programs of YEA! include The Cadets and Cadets2 drum corps, USBands, the largest scholastic music service organization in the country, and the Urban Arts Center featuring the Xcape Dance Company.
Auditions for the 2016 Cadets will be held Nov. 20-22 at a location to be determined in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey region.
For further info: cadets.org
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The work of local emerging young artists is on display at the fifth annual children's art exhibit, titled "The Sounds of Vision V," at the Easton Hospital Gallery at the State Theatre in Easton. The work is by participating children from toddler through school age from the Spring Garden's summer day camp, done in collaboration with local artists, teachers and volunteers.
A reception will be held tonight from 6 to 8 in the gallery. The exhibit also is accessible weekdays, by appointment, through Aug. 28.
Children focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities and took field trips to local nature parks and museums, art galleries and summer theater productions.
Spring Garden Children's Center Inc., is a full state-licensed facility that has served the Easton area since 1955.
For further info: statetheatre.org
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Neil Simon's musical comedy, "Sweet Charity," opens Friday through Aug. 30, at the Washington Crossing Open Air Theatre at Washington Crossing State Park, 355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, New Jersey.
Jaimie Geddes stars as Charity Hope Valentine, the girl who wants to be loved so much that she has lost sight of who she is. She sings, dances, laughs and cries her way through romances; her world is the all-too-real world of Times Square, with the people who pass through her world as deceptively charming. Cy Coleman's rhythms and Dorothy Fields' lyrics capture the sounds and vernacular of New York City in the 1960s.
Geddes played previous seasons at Washington Crossing as Velma Kelly in "Chicago the Musical," June in "Gypsy," and Brooke Wyndam in "Legally Blonde the Musical."
For further info: downtownpac.com
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