The Johnstown Area Heritage Association hosts a broad range of special events throughout the year. Check back often for updates on our calendar of special events, and other JAHA news.

Special Events & News
Updated March 5, 2010 Visit the Press Room section of this Web site to access media articles about JAHA museums, programs and activities, as well as an archive of downloadable press releases in PDF format; scroll down below the Calendar of Events for more JAHA news.
Upcoming events at the Heritage Discovery Center - Details about all upcoming events will be posted here as they become available. All events, including children's museum programming, are listed on our Calendar of Events for easy reference. To stay up-to-date on JAHA events and news, to sign up for our e-newsletter, join our Facebook page below, and/or follow us on Twitter.
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All events listed below will take place at the Heritage Discovery Center unless otherwise indicated. Currently, our schedule includes:
Saturday, March 6, 1:00-5:00 pm -- Dr. Seuss Day at the Johnstown Children's Museum -- A full afternoon of Dr. Seuss-related fun at the children's museum! We'll have activities, games, reading, crafts, coloring and more. For a full description of all we have planned, visit the Workshops & Special Events page on the Johnstown Children's Museum website. Saturday, March 13, 10:30 am-12:00 pm -- Penguins for Preschoolers -- A fun workshop for kids 2-4 and their parents that's all about penguins! For more, visit the Workshops & Special Events page on the Johnstown Children's Museum website.
Wed., March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day at the Ethnic Social Club featuring Gordy Haluska -- Join us for an early-evening St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Ethnic Social Club! Gordy Haluska will provide live acoustic music, and special Irish food, beer and drinks will be available for sale -- stay tuned for details. Doors open at 5:00 pm, with music starting around 5:30. No cover.
Sunday, March 21, 2:00 pm -- Public Matters: "Popcorn and Patriotism--Johnstown and the Movies during World War II" -- Most historians believe Hollywood movies played an important role in the war effort, providing information and boosting morale. To test this theory on a local level, Dr. Robert Matson of Pitt-Johnstown has been working on a case study of Johnstown's movie-going habits during the war. He studied where the movie houses were (downtown boasted 15, including the Majestic Theatre pictured here), ads for movies in the newspaper, and even interviewed about 200 Johnstowners who remember going to movies here during World War II. Join us for an illustrated presentation of his research. Free and open to the public. Dr. Matson is a professor of history at Pitt-Johnstown. He is a member of the World War II Studies Association and the International Association for Media and History, and has served as senior associate editor of the journal Film & History. Public Matters is a partnership between Pitt-Johnstown and JAHA, where Pitt-Johnstown professors present their research to the community.
Friday, March 26, 5:00 pm -- Last Friday in the Ethnic Social Club featuring Tree-- Join us for March's Last Friday! Tree is a group of Johnstown musicians who combine elements of traditional Irish, Celtic rock, bluegrass, and old-time music into a lively and unique sound that is truly all their own. With instrumentation including guitar, fiddle, bass, and drums, this tight-knit group creates a barrage of up-beat and eclectic music that is sure to have your toes tapping from the first note to the last. Maintaining a vigorous practice and performance schedule, Tree has performed at a wide variety of local venues and festivals since their debut in early 2005 -- including the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival 2009. For this band, success comes with the sheer enjoyment of the music they play, which shines through each time they hit the stage. Tree consists of Matt Harnett on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jen Harnett on fiddle, Jason Pinto on bass, and Mike Dixon on drums. Doors open at 5:00, with music beginning around 5:30. No cover.
Saturday, April 10 -- Heritage Preservation Awards -- The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is launching a new tradition - the annual Heritage Preservation Awards, honoring those who have made significant contributions to preserving, celebrating or promoting Johnstown's heritage. The first awards will be given at a dinner held at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center on April 10, 2010. More details about this event at the link.
Friday, April 16, 5:00 pm -- Day after Tax Day at the Ethnic Social Club featuring Dave DiStefano-- Dave DiStefano, who was scheduled to play February's snowed-out Last Friday, will join us for a special mid-month Friday at the Ethnic Social Club! Dave has been playing music, both originals and covers, in the area since 1994. Currently he plays drums with The Chi, and guitar with FlowerChild. He also plays original and cover music shows on acoustic guitar, and is well-known locally as the host of two open mics in the area -- Tuesdays at the Windber Hotel, and Wednesdays at Dively's Tavern. A music teacher for 10 years, Dave has an art gallery in Moxham named Satori, where he hosts arts events, teaches music, and runs a recording studio. He plans to release a full-length CD this summer, with hopes of touring with his band The West Hills All-Stars along the east coast this fall. Doors open at 5:00, with music beginning around 5:30. No cover.
Friday, April 30, 5:00 pm -- Last Friday in the Ethnic Social Club featuring White Shadow-- April will feature live music from the White Shadow Band, which bills itself as "the longest-running rock and dance band in Western Central PA." The band is known for its strong vocal ability, harmony, and dancability. The song list is now made up of hundreds of songs from the 50's to the 90's. An occasional classic country song may also be heard. Music from Elvis, The Beatles, The Rockabilly Stars, The Beach Boys, All the Classic 60's, The Doobie Brothers, BTO, The Who, Grand Funk, Lynyrd Skynrd , Steppenwolf, All the Classic 70's, An Entire Night of 80's, and much, much more! Doors open at 5:00, with music starting around 5:30. No cover.
***JAHA News***
JAHA announces "A Young Artist's Vision of Johnstown's Heritage"student art exhibition and contest -- As part of the first annual Heritage Preservation Awards, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association is holding an art contest and exhibition for students in 7th-12th grades. Students may enter up to three works in any medium, with the general theme of Johnstown heritage; deadline is April 3. Click here for complete entry guidelines, as well as a downloadable entry form.
AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival to be held Aug 6-8 -- JAHA is pleased to announce that the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival will be held August 6-8! JAHA would also like to thank AmeriServ Financial, which has been the festival's title sponsor since 1994. Visit the 2010 Festival News page, festival Facebook page, or Twitter feed to keep up with the latest..
Johnstown Film Festival to be held June 16-19; call for entries issued -- The Johnstown Film Festival is back for its fifth year! The word "wine" has been dropped from the festival name, and a new logo has been created. But the format of the festival will remain largely the same, including a social time before the best films are shown on Saturday evening, featuring craft beer tastings. Stay up to date with the latest at the Festival News page.
Johnstown Discovery Network brochure printed -- JAHA is proud to unveil a new brochure promoting the Johnstown Discovery Network. The brochure, which was designed by A to Z Communications of Pittsburgh, includes information on all attractions in the network (Johnstown Flood Museum, Heritage Discovery Center, Johnstown Children's Museum, Wagner-Ritter House & Garden, and Inclined Plane) as well as the National Park Service sites of the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and Allegheny Portage National Railroad. The brochures are available at JAHA museums and will soon be distributed through Pennsylvania welcome centers and other outlets. Public service announcement about Heritage Discovery Center premieres -- A new public service announcement about the Heritage Discovery Center and all its amenities has begun running on WJAC Channel 6 and Atlantic Broadband cable channels. The PSA was produced by Chuck McIlhenny of Chazzbo Media. JAHA extends its sincere thanks to WJAC, Atlantic Broadband, and Chazzbo Media for donating their time and effort to help promote all we have to offer. Click here to see the PSA on YouTube.
Johnstown Children's Museum to premiere CineMuse programs for kids -- In October we are proud to premiere CineMuse Hi-Def Cinema, presenting high-quality children's programming! The programs will be regularly shown in the Iron & Steel Gallery, and are free with museum admission (which means, of course, that JAHA members get in free). CineMuse programs for October are listed on the Workshops & Special Events page of the Johnstown Children's Museum site, and on the new JAHA Calendar of Events. Check back often for updates and additional showtimes.
National Archives honors 20-year anniversary of "The Johnstown Flood" -- On Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m., the National Archives and The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. presented a screening and panel discussion of "The Johnstown Flood," the Academy Award-winning film by the late Charles Guggenheim. The film was commissioned by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (then known as the Johnstown Flood Museum Association) for the 1989 reopening of the Johnstown Flood Museum. Following the screening, there was a panel discussion featuring Grace Guggenheim, president of Guggenheim Productions, Inc., and the film's executive producer; Richard Burkert, JAHA executive director; Catherine Shields, the film's editor; and Skip Sorelle, the film's sound designer. Click here to read more about this event; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also ran a brief item in the "People" column, here.
Johnstown Flood Museum documentary remastered -- On September 16, a digitally remastered, high-definition version of the Johnstown Flood Museum's Academy Award-winning documentary will be installed, along with a new projection system, enabling a perfect presentation every time! The film is now captioned for the deaf and hearing impaired as well. These vital improvements to the visitor experience were made possible by the Robert S. Waters Charitable Trust and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.
Johnstown Flood Museum featured in AAA World Magazine -- The Johnstown Flood Museum was one of six museums featured in "The Hidden Gems of Pennsylvania Museums," an article in the Sept/Oct issue of AAA World, a bimonthly color magazine published by AAA. The article also mentions other attractions in the Johnstown Discovery Network, including the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden, Heritage Discovery Center, and new Johnstown Children's Museum.
Wagner-Ritter House & Garden closes for the season -- On Nov. 1, the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden closed for the season, and will reopen on April 1, 2010; in the meantime, the house will open for groups that call ahead (814-539-1889). jaha.org gets a facelift- jaha.org is sporting newly-designed banners on various sections of our website ! These banners will also greatly improve the appearance of our e-newsletter. They are the work of A to Z Communications of Pittsburgh, a full-service design, advertising and marketing agency. In addition, the website now has a much-improved navigation system, courtesy of JAHA supporter Conference Archives. JAHA gratefully acknowledges A to Z Communications and Conference Archives for their work on these and other JAHA projects. JAHA forms partnership with Greater Johnstown School District -- On Friday, March 20, JAHA and the Greater Johnstown School District held a press conference at the Heritage Discovery Center to announce a partnership designed to increase GJSD students' access to JAHA museums, especially the Johnstown Children's Museum. Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, spoke at the press conference. To read a press release about this event and the partnership, click here.
JAHA events and museums featured in Pursuits magazine -- JAHA has a strong presence in the summer issue of Pursuits magazine, the official tourism magazine of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival is featured in an article entitled "Three PA Music Festivals Strike a Hot Note With Fans." The article, which also includes Musikfest (Bethlehem) and Billtown Blues Fest (Williamsport), features a photo of Rusty Gun Revival playing the festival in 2008. In addition, the Heritage Discovery Center, Johnstown Flood Museum and Wagner-Ritter House & Garden are spotlighted in a sidebar article entitled "A Flood of Memories," detailing Johnstown attractions available for those visiting Thunder in the Valley (June 25-28), the motorcycle rally produced by the Johnstown/Cambria County CVB. The magazine has a circulation of 200,000 and is distributed to people who sign up for it on the VisitPA.com website.
HDC courtyard named for James V. Saly -- The courtyard in at the Heritage Discovery Center was named for the late James V. Saly, a longtime JAHA supporter. A sign reading "James V. Saly Courtyard," along with a photograph of Mr. Saly, was unveiled in a short ceremony attended by Mr. Saly's relatives and other dignitaries on May 31, 2009. The courtyard is used for special events like the Johnstown Film & Wine Festival.
Path of the Flood brochure now available -- A new brochure mapping a trail that follows the path of the 1889 flood is now available! The trail is surfaced by limestone and is intended for hiking and biking. Six wayside exhibits and kiosks give detailed histories of various sites along the way. The Path of the Flood trail is a cooperative effort of the National Park Service (which owns and operates the Johnstown Flood National Memorial in St. Michael, the site of the dam that failed), Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority, and JAHA. Support was provided by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the National Park Service Rivers & Trails Program. Copies of the brochure are available at the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and the Johnstown Flood Museum, as well as at the Ehrenfeld Park Trailhead and Staple Bend Tunnel parking lot.
MetLife Foundation supports JAHA capital campaign -- The MetLife Foundation has made a $10,000 donation to the JAHA capital campaign, "Preserving Our Heritage: Revitalizing Our Community," in support of the upcoming Johnstown Children's Museum. JAHA gratefully acknowledges MetLife for its support!
"Press Room" added to www.jaha.org -- JAHA is working to make this Web site a valuable resource to anyone interested in our museums, programs, or themes covered in our museums. Recent additions to the site's content include a revamp of the Press Room section to include a hotlinked archive of media articles about JAHA museums, programs and events.
Help JAHA every time you do an Internet search! -- The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is now a member of GoodSearch, an Internet search engine that makes a direct donation to us for every Internet search our supporters perform! The concept is simple: all search engines are funded through advertising revenue, and GoodSearch directs 50% of its advertising revenue to the charities designated by its users, including JAHA. You can even download a special toolbar so that GoodSearch (which is powered by Yahoo) becomes your default search engine, and profits are automatically directed to JAHA. Visit www.goodsearch.com to get started -- just type "Johnstown Area Heritage Association" in the box that says "Who do you GoodSearch for?" You can bookmark the page, or download the toolbar to have GoodSearch available at the top of your browser window. Thank you!