The Update | Songwriter Showcase at Rust Belt; Chalk on the Walk Returns
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Rust Belt Theater Company will present “With Pride: A Songwriter Showcase” at 8 p.m. Friday, June 23, with original music written and performed by members of the LGBTQ+ community.
This is the second year for this event, which introduces new music and explores the process of writing songs from the queer perspective.
It will feature the work of Shiloh Hawkins, Rick Jacob, Josh Taylor and Robert Dennick Joki. There will also be an open-mic segment of the evening for local songwriters who would like to showcase music of their own.
Admission is $5 at the door.
The Rust Belt Theater Company is located inside Club Switch, 221 Belmont Ave., downtown.
Chalk on the Walk on Courthouse Square
WARREN, Ohio – The Fine Arts Council of Trumbull’s annual Chalk on the Walk will take place Saturday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Courthouse Square, downtown.
Admission is free.
The event will include free chalk for children to use in drawings, a DJ in the gazebo, approximately 50 arts and crafts vendors, free doughnuts for the first 100 children courtesy of Nova Coffee, Spider-Man and Princess Ariel performers and a chalk muralist.
Lit Youngstown Presents Poetry Reading
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Lit Youngstown’s First Wednesday Readers Series will present poets Stephanie Ginese, Stephanie Kendrick and Julio Montalvo Valentin at 7 p.m. July 5 in the lower level of Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave.
Ana Torres will co-host the free reading, which will be followed by an open mic.
Ginese, of Lorain, is an author and stand-up comedian. Her debut collection of poetry, “Unto Dogs,” was released in 2022.
Kendrick is the poet laureate of Athens, Ohio, and author of “Places We Feel Warm” (2021).
Valentin of Buffalo, New York, is the author of three chapbooks, including “Those Who Pray to Rice” (2019).
Pictured at top: Shiloh Hawkins, left, and Rick Jacob will perform at the “With Pride: A Songwriter Showcase” event.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
