Weekend Entertainment | From Simply Slavic to REO Speedwagon
Bummed out because you couldn’t score tickets to one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Pittsburgh this weekend?
Shake it off by drowning your sorrows in haluski and kielbasa at the Simply Slavic festival in downtown Youngstown on Friday and Saturday.
The event will take place on East Federal Street, between Central Square and Champion Street. Admission is $5.
Simply Slavic, which runs from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and noon to midnight Saturday is not the biggest festival, but is one of the most fun. Of course, there will be a wide array of Slavic food and drink, plus dancing and live music.
It culminates in the Vatra, or bonfire, which will be lit after dark Saturday night, with music by the Harmonia folk band.
And contrary to what you might have heard, not every street in downtown Youngstown is closed for reconstruction.
Click HERE for information.
REO Speedwagon
Looking ahead to next week, REO Speedwagon will return to town for a concert Wednesday, June 21, at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.
The rock band – often referred to as “The Taylor Swift of the ’80s” (by no one) – will pelt the audience with a flurry of classic pop-rock smashes. The list of hits includes “Keep On Loving You,” “Take It On the Run,” “Ridin’ the Storm Out,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “Time For Me To Fly,” “Roll With The Changes” and “Don’t Let Him Go.”
Opening for Speedwagon will be Nashville-based act Levon, which was pressed into service after Donnie Iris had to bow out.
Tickets range from $39.50 to $122. Click HERE.
Theater and More
At The Youngstown Playhouse, a production of “The 39 Steps” will open a two-weekend run, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
To learn more, click HERE.
There are a few other interesting items on the schedule.
The 1976 Led Zeppelin concert film “The Song Remains the Same” will be screened at 7 p.m. Friday at the Robins Theatre in Warren ($7).
And the always-fun Disco Inferno will take the stage, with their outlandish ’70s get-ups, Saturday night at The Warren Amphitheatre. Admission is $10. Opening act Old Skool will start at 5:30 p.m.
The annual Juneteenth festival continues through Sunday, with a cultural festival Saturday and Sunday at Wean Park in downtown Youngstown. It will feature food trucks, vendors, musical performances, cook-offs and other activities. Parking is free at the adjacent Covelli Centre. For information, click HERE.
For a complete look at everything going on in the Mahoning Valley, check out The List.
Pictured at top: REO Speedwagon, with founder and lead singer Kevin Cronin, second from right, will come to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre on Wednesday, June 21.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
