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WEEKEND MATTERS | Gaffigan bringing comedic ‘Fun’ to Covelli

By Mahoning Matters staff
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Here are some of the events happening around the Mahoning Valley this weekend. For more events, check out our events calendar and sign up here for our Weekend Matters newsletter.

YOUNGSTOWN — At last, comedian Jim Gaffigan brings his "Fun Tour" to the Covelli Centre, 229 E. Front St.

Gaffigan's 2020 appearance was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He'll take the Covelli Centre stage at 7:30 tonight.

Tickets cost $49.75 and $59.75, plus fees, and are available at Ticket.Master.com and at the Southwoods Health Center Box Office at the arena.

Music of ELO, Chicago to be featured at River Rock at the Amp

WARREN — River Rock at the Amp, 321 Mahoning Ave. NW, will celebrate the music of the Electric Light Orchestra and Chicago on Saturday.

ELO Tribute Show will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. Opening will be Brass Metropolis, which spotlights the music of Chicago's early years.

For ticket information, click here.

Lit Youngstown offers YA Fantasy Book Club

YOUNGSTOWN — Lit Youngstown will debut its YA Fantasy Book Club at 1 p.m. Saturday on Zoom.

Participants will discuss Leigh Bardugo's novel "Shadow and Bone" (book one). To register, click here.

The series continues on the third Saturday of each month. Upcoming dates and books are:

  • Sept. 18 — "The Belles" (book one) by Dhonielle Clayton​;
  • Oct. 16 — "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi;
  • Nov. 20 — "The Bone Witch" by Rin Chupeco;
  • December-May — TBD (group members' choice).

Historian and YSU professor Martha Pallante to discuss new book

LIBERTY — Martha Pallante, a local historian and Youngstown State University professor, will discuss her new book, "East Meets Midwest: What Makes Italians in the Mahoning Valley Midwesterners," at 10 a.m. Saturday at Kravitz Deli's meeting room, 3135 Belmont Ave.

The discussion is part of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society's Memories of a Lifetime lecture series.

Pallante has been teaching history at the university level for 33 years. In 2020, she was named the first Charles Darling Endowed Faculty Chair in American Social History at YSU.

Admission to the lecture is $5 for historical society members and $6 for nonmembers. Refreshments and live entertainment will be provided, and a 50/50 raffle will be held to benefit the historical society's education mission. Reservations are suggested, but walk-ins will be admitted based on seat availability. For reservations or more information, call 330-726-8277.

Cast your vote for the Valley's best pasta at Sunday Sauce Showdown

BOARDMAN — A panel of celebrity judges will assess the Mahoning Valley's best pasta dishes at Southern Park Mall at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Guests are invited to sample pastas from local restaurants and cast their votes in the Sunday Sauce Showdown.

Antone's Kitchen, Bogey's Bar & Grill, Café 422, Carchedi's Café, Donavito's Restaurant and Catering, Red Plum Pizza and Pasta, Salvatore's Italian Grill, Station Square, Sunrise Inn of Warren and Tino's Italian Kitchen will bring their best-selling pastas.

Greene Eagle Winery, L'Uva Bella and Woodland Cellars will be sampling wine.

Celebrity judges include WKBN-27 anchor Stan Boney; Judge Scott Krichbaum; Kelly Warren of Kelly Warren & Associates; Jim Taylor, vice president of Western Reserve Building Trades; and Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti.

The Avanti Band from Cleveland will provide live entertainment.

Tickets are $25 per person and include a sample of each restaurant's pasta, three wine samples and a salad. Tickets can be purchased here. They will not be available for purchase at the door.

Proceeds and a basket raffle will benefit Potential Development School for Students with Autism.

Some quick hits …

This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 4:11 AM with the headline "WEEKEND MATTERS | Gaffigan bringing comedic ‘Fun’ to Covelli."