The Update | Muralist Selected for Grohl Alley; Mall to Display Dream Playhouses

WARREN, Ohio – Royce Umberger of Boardman is the winner of the Dave Grohl Alley mural contest presented by The Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County.

Umberger’s work was selected from submissions by more than a dozen local artists.

The mural will be painted on the walls of Dave Grohl Alley, downtown, this summer.

The project has a $12,000 budget, according to Jessica King, president of the Fine Arts Council board.

Eastwood Mall Playhouse Contest Winners

NILES, Ohio – The imaginary playhouses of children are about to become very real inside Eastwood Mall.

The winners of the Imagination Creation Contest have been selected, and local contractors will use the designs to construct one-story playhouses that will be displayed in the mall beginning June 12.

In the contest, children ages 6 to 14 drew their own designs for the best playhouses they could dream up. A panel of judges selected 10 designs, divided by age group. 

Once the houses are completed and on display, there will be information available near each house on how to bid on it in an online auction through Aug. 17. Proceeds of the auction will benefit Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. Imagination Creation is sponsored by iHeart Media and The Cafaro Foundation. 

The winning designers are Giavanna Hafely, Melody Bartlett, Olivia Mazzola, Antoinette Davis, Brianna Kleismit, J.J. Hether, Dakota Moore, Alana Moore, Zander Kosmo and Alison Smith.

They each received Eastwood Mall gift cards, and their colorful playhouse drawings will also be on display in the mall.

The contractors who are building the playhouses are Jimmy Trenga of Trenga Woodworking, Christopher Milo Construction and Chip Pullen of Pullen Construction. 

Versatex Building Products of Aliquippa, Pa., Kirila Contractors of Brookfield, Carter Lumber of Cortland and North Jackson, Warren Glass & Paint, Denman Construction of Cortland and Stratton Creek Woodworks of Kinsman donated manpower, building materials and delivery services. 

Green’s Floral Shop in Hubbard will provide landscaping. 

DeSalvo Construction will deliver the playhouses to the winning bidders.

Drive-in Plans Horror Fest in October

WARREN, Ohio – Skyway Drive-in will present Sinister Horror Fest in October, according to a Facebook post by the drive-in.

The dates for the two-day event have not been determined yet, but it will be a Friday and Saturday.

The festival – a collaboration with Dead Ink Apparel – will feature eight classic horror movies, two on each screen each night. The films are: “The Thing,” “Night of the Creeps,” “From Dusk Til Dawn,” “The Frighteners,” “Dawn of the Dead” (2004), “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003), “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” and “Trick R Treat.”

Featured vendors at the festival so far include Time Bomb Toys, Acathla Clothing, James Holko Art, Time Capsule Toys, Kerri Rickard LLC, MurderCide Peculiarities, Yoccult Bootique, Conjure Arts and Doll Massacre. To become a vendor, email [email protected].

Independent filmmakers interested in having their films screened at the festival can also send an email to the above address.

The event will also likely include a trick-or-treat session during the day and pumpkin carving. The Laser Tag area will be open.

Art Summer Camps for Kids at The Hoyt

NEW CASTLE, Pa. – Arts & Education at the Hoyt is offering half- and full-day art camps for children ages 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12. 

Each week will explore the art and artifacts of a period – past and future – to shed light on the similarities and differences from the culture from which it was created. 

Options include:

• July 11-14: Treasures from the Tomb, with the pyramids of ancient Egypt (2700-1069 BC) as the focal point;
• July 18-21: Imperial Artistry of China (1200-1800 BC);
• July 25-28: Mediterranean Masterpieces (32 BC-395 AD);
• Aug. 1-4: Medieval Marvels (476-1450);
• Aug. 8-11: Out of this World (centuries into the future).

Classes will meet Tuesday through Friday, with options for morning (9 a.m. to noon) and all day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) registration. Students can register by the week or for the full program. The cost ranges from $60 to $120 per week for Hoyt members and $75 to $150 per week for nonmembers. Scholarships are available.To register, go to hoytartcenter.org/artcamp or call 724 652 2882.

Lecture on Victorian Era Quack Medicine

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Milk transfusions, smoking cigarettes to cure asthma, giving alcohol and morphine to a baby for teething, taking cocaine to cure allergies – these are just a few of the “quack” medical ideas that were used during the Victorian Era.

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society’s Bites and Bits of History lecture series will present “Victorian Quack Medicine and the Birth of the FDA,” featuring Cassie Nespor, curator of Melnick Medical Museum, at noon June 15 at Tyler History Center, downtown.

The presentation will cover some popular patent medicines and home health devices used at the turn of the 20th century and the federal government’s efforts to regulate them. Many of these issues are still being discussed in health care today.

Pictured at top: This is an artist’s rendering of the winning mural design by Royce Umberger as it will look after it is painted in Dave Grohl Alley in Warren this summer.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.