This week I visited Mellon Park in East Liberty, The August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown Pittsburgh, Calvary Baptist Church in the Hill District, Kenny’s Place in the Hill District and the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty. My first stop was at the August Wilson Center where House of Manna Ministries presented a Father’s Day Celebration & Juneteenth Recognition “An Evening of Comedy and Performance” which featured WGBN’s Sherri Lynn Johnson as the host along with comedians and singers. Wadria and friends hanging out at the Shadow Lounge at the event called “Energy.”
(NNPA)—Dear Gwendolyn: I have been employed at the same company since graduating from college I am now at a six-figure salary. My husband’s sister works for a job agency. At present he is upset with me because I will not accept a job she told me about. I told him I did not wish to change. Gwendolyn, what do you think?—Vanessa
You’ve been doing it since you were a teenager, maybe before. A certain look sideways, eyes lowered. Unconscious flex of muscles beneath a flashy T-shirt. A smile, a glance, a wiggle of hips or lips or brows. Where would you be without a little flirting? Married? Hooked up? Maybe not. But attracting the opposite sex is how our species perpetuates.
Friday 2 Smooth Jazz Club Duo presents Smooth Jazz Friday’s from 8 p.m.-2 a.m. at the Holiday Inn University Center, 100 Lytton Ave., Oakland. DJ Sly Jock will play music for one’s dancing pleasure and Roland Ford will also get the evening started with line dancing. This is an over 30 event and patrons cannot wear timberlands, jeans and sneakers. The admission is $10. For more information, call 412-734-8470 or visit www.clubduopgh.com.
NEW YORK (NNPA)—Smiling broadly, the spirited petite woman named Sylvia weaved through the ballroom crowd at the Sheraton New York Hotel, holding a camera ready to aim. She snaps two or three pictures; then excitedly heads back to her seat, leaning back into her husband’s arm. After only a moment, she bounces back up and heads back toward the stage. EDDIE LEVERT Tapped on the back by a friend trying to greet her, she suddenly swings around, her face beaming. Yelling over the jamming music of Eddie Levert, the lead singer of the O’Jays, she says, “Oh, I’m fine, girl! I’m here! And Eddie is here! And I am having a good time!” Once again she disappears into the crowd toward the stage. Her husband relaxes at the table, chuckling at her enthusiasm.
Several of Pittsburgh’s famous faces put on their boogie shoes and sashayed for charity during the third annual “Dancing with the Celebrities of Pittsburgh” last month. Much like the popular “Dancing with the Stars” television program, this event paired 14 celebrities with local dance instructors. The couples trained for about three months, displaying their skills at the benefit program held at the Westin Convention Center. CELEBRITY DANCERS—Danielle Nottingham, with Chris Roth, dance instructor, after they finished dancing the American Cha Cha. They finished third in the competition. Event celebrities ranged from television and radio personalities such as WPXI news anchors/reporters Danielle Nottingham, Peggy Finnegan, and WPXI chief meteorologist, Julie Bologna; Jim Lokay, KDKA traffic and transportation reporter, Jennifer Antkoviak, KDKA news anchor; Michele Michaels, WDVE radio personality; Kate Guerriero, Tribune Review columnist, to Lou Guarino, owner of Louis Anthony Jewelers, and Ziggy Murin, master hair colorist/stylist of Izzazu Salon, just to name a few.
On June 26, from 2-3 p.m., the Carnegie Museum of Art Theater will host a taping before a live audience for an episode of “Humanities on the Road,” the new television initiative presented by Pennsylvania Humanities Council and broadcast on Pennsylvania Cable Network. This “Humanities on the Road” episode features University of Pittsburgh professor Laurence Glasco, Ph.D., presenting the work of Charles “Teenie” Harris, a photographer who chronicled the events and daily lives of African-Americans for one of the nation’s most influential Black newspapers, the Pittsburgh Courier and the New Pittsburgh Courier. TEENIE HARRIS
This week I visited the Northside Elks in the Hill District, the cast party of “Jitney” in the Hill District, CJ’s in the Strip District, Babylon in the Strip District, Tim’s Lounge in the Hill District and Club 21 in the Strip District. My first stop was at Tim’s Lounge in the Hill District where Booda aka Lil Ike celebrated his birthday with family and friends. He is the son of the legendary Sean “Ike” Harris of the Hill District. All the ladies came out to Babylon in the Strip District at Red Carpet Fridays.
Dear Gwendolyn: I have a lot on my mind. I need your help. This is the problem: I have a woman on the street that I’ve been with for over five years before I got locked up. I’ve been down four years now. In the last year a lot of stuff has happened. She told me she now has a baby. She said that she still wants to write to me and wants to be with me when I come home, which won’t be until 2019.
You should’ve seen it coming. You knew the economy was bad. You saw friends losing their jobs, houses, their savings. Yet, when everybody else was slapping checkbooks shut, you didn’t worry. Your ship came in years ago and you figured you were okay. But then, faster than a tsunami, you were drowning in debt. How did that happen? Sunk like the Titanic, your finances under water—suddenly, you’re broke. So how can you keep your dignity, image and lifestyle afloat in lean times? Start by reading “Divanomics: How to Still be Fabulous When You’re Broke” by Michelle McKinney Hammond.
