Poetry Aloud, Fashion Show, THE FLAT and More Set for First Today at Ware Center Today

The Ware Center has quickly become known as a center which offers a performance for the public virtually every night of the week. However, this coming First Friday, the Center is out doing its usual busy self. Today, April 5th, the Ware Center, located at 42 North Prince Street, is jammed packed with a smorgasbord of entertainment, nearly all of them free.

"Downtown Artists" Exhibit features exceptional art from several well-known and highly regarded Lancaster city artists, including works by Christiane David, Tom DePaul, Claire Giblin, Susan Gottlieb, Gail Gray, Liz Hess, Jon Johnson, Lisa Madenspacher, Fred Rodgers, Freiman Stoltzfus and Julia Swartz. The exhibit also features a rarely seen three-panel, nine foot wide painting by the late Sheba Sharrow, "Stirrings". The exhibit is on preview from 6 - 8 PM and is FREE to the public. It runs through the end of April. (To the left is artwork by Julia Swartz.)

Poetry Aloud is a hugely popular poetry slam. Last year, more than 200 people streamed in and out of the Grand Salon for the performances. Traditional readings begin at 6 p.m. The Poetry Slam Competition begins at 7 p.m., followed by a performance by Anis Mojgani.

Anis is a spoken word poet, visual artist and musician based in Austin, Texas. Mojgani has been characterized as a "geek genius" with "fiercely hopeful word arias". Mojgani was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, moved to Georgia and graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sequential Art and an Master of Fine Arts in Performing Arts. Mojgani is able to earn an income as a touring poet.

Mojgani won back-to-back titles in the National Individual Poetry Slam in 2005 and 2006, was interviewed in 2006 on KUOW-FM's The Beat, and was in the documentary Slam Planet: War of the Words. In 2007 Mojgani was on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and placed 2nd in Poetry Slam, Inc.'s 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam and won first place at 2007 World Cup Poetry Slam held in Bobigny, France as part of the French National Slam Championships among 16 National Poetry Slam Champions.

To read or participate in the slam, contact Tyler Barton at tylerstevenbarton@gmail.com. The event is free and open to the public.

Music for First Friday will be played by musician Douglas Thomas. Douglas Thomas has been tagged as an "indie-chamber singer-songwriter" with romantic yearnings and comparisons in vocal style to The Kings Of Convenience and Jeff Buckley. Featured on WXPN in June 2012, Thomas is also the organist and pianist at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster and often performs jazz piano in the area. He will be performing in the Lyet Lobby during First Friday in between the fashion show (below) from 6 -8 PM. The lobby music is free and open to the public.

Starting at 6:30 The Ware Center will host the Downtown Designs Fashion Show. Annaliese Kambouroglos is coordinating the show, which will feature fashions, stylings and props from In White, Fillings, Pappagallo, Chestnut House, Festoon, Sonia Rose, Deja vu, Reruns 4 Little Ones and Art and Glassworks. Lobby show times are at 6:30 PM, 7 PM and 7:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

At 8 PM The Ware Center Film Series, co-sponsored by Carmen & David's Creamery. presents the multi-award winning documentary "The Flat." At age 98, director Arnon Goldfinger's grandmother passed away, leaving him the task of clearing out the Tel Aviv flat that she and her husband shared for decades since immigrating from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Sifting through a dense mountain of photos, letters, files and objects, Goldfinger begins to uncover clues that seem to point to a greater mystery and soon a complicated family history unfolds before his camera. Tickets: $7 adults, $5 seniors and students. Call 717-872-3811 or Millersville.edu/MUARTS.

Throughout the evening between 6-8 PM, SEASONS, a new retail store on King Street that features a stunning array of gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegars will be holding free tastings for Friday Night guests.

Discounted parking passes are available at the Ware Center front desk for the Prince Street Garage at the corner of North Prince and West Orange Street. Now there is NO EXCUSE for not coming to town.

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