Bands, booms, blocks coming your way

Rightfully enough, there's lots of music, parades, booms over bays, and celebrations going on this weekend.


We've got stories on a bunch of them, including the first of our 8 Great Tuesdays with New Riders of the Purple Sage and Key West Express (Page 10), Boom Over the Bay (Page 12), and Sherman, N.Y.'s Great Blue Heron Music Festival (Pages 23 and 24).


They're all quickly coming up, but don't forget about tonight's downtown block party featuring Man's Room Band. The band will play at 6 p.m. outside Scully's Pub between Fourth and Fifth on State State.


Then, of course, on Wednesday the Sunset Music Series will serve up Acoustic Buffet and Just Plain Trouble on the peninsula's Beach 1 starting at 6 p.m.



> > What with all the July Fourth excitement, Lawrence Park doesn't want to be left out, and indeed they won't be.


Its Party on Main will be held Saturday from 2 to 10 p.m. on Main Street in Lawrence Park in front of the fire hall.


On hand will be live music, food vendors, pony rides, prizes, and family fun. Admission and parking is free.


Between the parade at 2 p.m. and the fireworks at 10 p.m., five bands will perform. Here's the schedule:



3:30 p.m. Antyx


5 p.m. Romantic Era


6:20 p.m. Spike T. Punch


7:30 p.m. Mainstreet


8:45 p.m. Natural High



> > Two area filmmakers are acing their screen tests. Penn State Behrend professor Mark Steensland will attend the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal from July 9-27 for the screening of his latest short, "The Ugly File."


The 18-day horror festival features nearly 400 films from more than 35 countries and pulls in 80,000-plus guests. Steensland calls Fantasia "the Sundance of genre festivals."


"The Ugly File" will be shown July 15.


"I'm opening for a movie called 'Grace,' which purportedly caused people to pass out when it screened at Sundance this previous year," Steensland wrote in an e-mail.


Meanwhile, John C. Lyons continues to ride high with his Alzheimer-themed film, "Schism." It'll be the featured film at Summer Show 2009, a live music, film, and performing arts festival in State College. "Schism" shows Friday and July 11 at noon at State College's State Theatre.



> > Dave Richards is vacationing this week, and so too is our Dr. Rock Wants to Know poll. It will return with Dave next week. Coincidence? Could be.