On Stage: Venerable acts headline locally this weekend

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor The Legendary Pink Dots There are five musical acts playing around the Delaware Valley on October 12 that are very, very different musically but have one major aspect in common – longevity. The Legendary Pink Dots – an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in 1980 – have found a genre all their own. Although far outside the mainstream, LPD...

What To Do: Chili Cookoff in West Chester

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times On October 13, West Chester will be the site of a special event to determine who can make “The Best Darn Chili in Chester County!” — the site of the West Chester Rotary’s 17th Annual Chili Cookoff (Gay and High streets, Downtown West Chester, www.westchesterchilicookoff.com). All-you-can-eat wristbands are just $12. There will be more...

On Stage: ‘Cabaret’ comes to West Chester

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Cabaret The Resident Theatre Company (RTC) at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (236 North High Street, West Chester, http://www.rtcwc.org) has embarked on its third season and has started the journey with a musical that is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser – “Cabaret.” “We took an email survey last season to find out which shows audiences...

Scary teeth are for Jack-O-Lanterns

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times Scary teeth may look great on Halloween night but they never look great the next day. Here are a few tips and tricks that may take a bite out of all that Halloween candy. Safety first, when that sack of candy comes home after Trick-or-Treating, always take a few minutes to sort through all that loot. Throw away any candy or treats that are...

What To Do: Find your HAPPY PLACE in KOP

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times HAPPY PLACE There are a lot of family-oriented fun events on the calendar that come back year-after-year such as outdoor fairs and carnivals, ethnic festivals, Halloween attractions, holiday bazaars, and seasonal food festivals. Every once in a while, an event comes along that is special – a one-time affair that is not an annual occurrence. There...

Op from the Ed: GOP, Insurance industry causing move toward single-payer

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Do no harm. That is the first precept of modern medical care. This doesn’t mean standing there while someone is bleeding out, of course, which is the current state of American health care. I was happy to give Guy Ciarrocchi, the president of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, his say last week about not expanding government’s role in health...

On Stage: Grayscale has deep Chesco roots

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Grayscale Grayscale is celebrating the release of its sophomore album, “Nella Vita,” with a show on October 5 at the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com). It will be a homecoming for the Philadelphia-based band after a brief stateside tour and the lone area gig prior to an ambitious...

What To Do: Unionville Fair means fall is here

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Unionville Community Fair Each year, a sure sign that autumn has arrived is the weekend when the annual Unionville Community Fair (101 East Street Road, Unionville, http://www.ucfairinc.org) is held – the first weekend in October. The fair, which is running now through October 6, is a real down-home country fair with a cow milking contest, farm...

On Stage: Collective Soul celebrates 25 years

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Collective Soul Collective Soul, an Atlanta-based rock band, is celebrating its first quarter-century in music this year with its “25th Anniversary Tour,” a tour that will touch down locally on October 3 at Xcite Center at Parx Casino (2999 Street Road, Bensalem, 888-588-7279, https://parxcasino.com). Formed in 1992, Collective Soul released...

Don’t retire, ReFire: Don’t fit in….stand out!

By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times At this time in the world, we are discovering more and more how important being ourselves and expressing our individuality is. We are coming to the realization that we all possess unique gifts that, once recognized, must be developed and shared with the world. Imagine one never ending string of precious gems, each with its own special powers.