Planning your weekend in the State College area? We’re here to help. StateCollege.com highlights many of the region’s scheduled activities every Friday in Weekend Plans. For even more suggestions, check out our calendar of events and our weekly newsletter.
Friday, May 20
Movies
Danny Green was a longshoreman union representative who went on to become a tough-to-kill leader in the Italian mob of Cleveland. The 2011 film ‘Kill the Irishman,’ starring Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer, chronicles his rise and fall. It shows at the State Theatre at 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday; at 7 p.m. Monday; at 7 p.m. Monday; at 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m. May 28; and at 4 and 7 p.m. May 29.
In ‘Bridesmaids,’ showing in other local theaters, lovelorn Annie tries to bluff her way through bridesmaids rituals with a rather oddball group.
Meanwhile, in ‘Fast Five,’ also showing locally, Dominic and a crew end up on the wrong side of the law once more, trying to switch lanes between a drug lord and a federal agent.
At the Cinema 6 discount theater — where admission is $1 apiece — ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ is still showing this weekend. It features a mysterious force that keeps apart an in-love politician and ballerina, played by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, respectively.
Complete movie listings throughout the weekend are available here.
Theater
‘Epic Proportions,’ a live-theater production set in the 1930s, features two brothers who play extras in the epic ‘Exeunt Omnes.’ Both brothers fall in love with the same woman during this comedy, which also includes gladiator battles. State College Community Theatre is putting on the show, which will begin at 8 p.m. at the Boal Barn Playhouse in Boalsburg. Additional shows are scheduled through May 28.
Food
The State College Downtown Farmers Market continues on Locust Lane (across from the HUB lawn) between College Avenue and Beaver Avenue. The market is held Tuesdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Most of the fruits and vegetables sold are seasonal. Some of the vendors sell baked goods, canned goods and crafts all season long. All vendors produce or grow what they sell.
Other area farmers markets are included in the StateCollege.com community calendar.
Sports
The Penn State women’s softball team hosts Fordham at 5 p.m. in the NCAA Regionals at the Nittany Lion Softball Park.
Bars and Clubs
Indigo in State College will feature happies from 10 p.m. to midnight, plus Local Motion’s DJ Manik Mike. Guided Sound will bring reggae and soul to the Autoport starting at 8 p.m.; happies there will run from 5 to 7 p.m. And Lowjack will play Bar Bleu starting at 10:30 p.m.; its happies will run from 9 to 11 p.m. For more complete bar specials and entertainment listings, visit StateCollege.com’s Bar Tour page.
Special Events
The Central Pennsylvania Regional Career Fair is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Admission is free. The event is geared toward Penn State adult learners, students and other local residents looking to work in central Pennsylvania.
The 2011 Grange Fair Car Show and Spring Festival will kick off. It includes an interstate tractor pull, to begin at 7 p.m. at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall. A flea market, crafts and cars and motorcycles of just about every vintage will be at the fairgrounds this weekend. More details about the multi-day event are listed here.
Saturday, May 21
Special Events
The Centre County Master Gardener Plant Sale and Garden Fair, featuring thousands of potted plants, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ag Progress Days grounds in Rock Springs. Perennials, annuals, herbs, houseplants, vegetables and native plants will be among the featured items. A Garden Fair and featured vendor booths, exhibits, demonstrations, children’s events and gardening talks also are planned. Admission will be free, and refreshments will be available for sale.
A wood-bending demonstration by Steve Strouse is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Gallery Shop, on Pike Street in Lemont. Strouse is slated to demonstrate how to bend wooden bands to make Shaker-style boxes. Admission will be free.
The 2011 Grange Fair Car Show and Spring Festival will continue, including with a truck pull at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall. The truck pull is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.; admission is set at $7 apiece. More details are posted here.
Music
Kevin Gordon will play starting about 8 p.m. at Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, on Main Street in Millheim. Based in Nashville, Gordon is a songwriter whose work has been recorded by musicians including Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Levon Helm of The Band, Imma Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins and Webb Wilder. A $10 cover charge for this event applies. Additional event information is online here.
In State College, Dave Zenter will play the Autoport starting at 8 p.m.; Bill Filer will play the Allen Street Grill starting at 10 p.m.; and Scott Mangene will play P.J. Harrigan’s starting at 9 p.m. Full State College bar entertainment listings are available via the StateCollege.com Bar Tour page.
Theater
Singing Onstage will present ‘Little Women’ at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. at the State Theatre. The musical follows the March family as it weathers life during the U.S. Civil War. Tickets costs $10 apiece. Additional shows are scheduled for 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at the State.
Sunday, May 22
Special Events
‘A Celebration of Service: Honoring Pennsylvania Veterans,’ a U.S. Army reunion and memorial service sponsored by the Pennsylvania National Guard, will commemorate the Pennsylvania Citizen Soldier. The event, to be held on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, will include a military band concert and a distinguished speaker. It’s scheduled for 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Penn State law professor Ellen Dannin will present a discussion — ‘Privatizing the Public’s Infrastructure: Is There a Free Lunch?’ — at 3:30 p.m. at Congregation Brit Shalom in State College. She will discuss what makes infrastructure-privatization contracts attractive to private investors.
DVD Releases
Among the movies released on DVD the week of May 16 is ‘The Rite,’ an Anthony Hopkins supernatural thriller that follows a young seminary student. The student is drafted into an Exorcism School and confronted by dark forces.
Also new to DVD is ‘The Moon,’ about an emotionally unstable college freshman obsessed with her roommate. It’s directed by Danish director Christian E. Christiansen.
