'American Idol' tryouts

'American Idol' tryouts
NILES -- Local auditions for "American Idol" are from 4-9 p.m. Thursday at McMenamy's Restaurant and Banquet Center, U.S. Route 422. Registration begins at 3 p.m. Fox 17/62, KISS FM radio and Shooting Star Entertainment guarantee one finalist an audition for the next "American Idol" television show. Participants must be between age 16 and 24 and have no record, management or entertainment contract. Visit wyfx.com for more information.
Army Band concert
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mill Creek MetroParks will present the 338th Army Band in concert at 7 p.m. Thursday at Judge Morley Pavilion, located at Wick Recreation Area at Belle Vista Avenue and McCollum Road. The musical celebration will be a tribute to American troops and their families. Concerts are alcohol-free. For information, call (330) 702-3000.
Movement theater
ALLIANCE -- The John T. Hutson-John D. Brumbaugh Nature Center offers an afternoon workshop with Mark Thompson, an internationally known movement theater artist. "Moving With Nature" will be from 1 to 5 p.m., with a 7 p.m. performance, on Aug. 24. The cost of the afternoon workshop, open to people of high-school age and above, is $10. The 7 p.m. show is free. Call (330) 823-7487 to register. The nature center is 6 miles south of Mount Union College on Daniel Street just off state Route 183.
Jazz and swing tickets
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tickets are available for "Swingin' Down Memory Lane," featuring jazz and swing vocalist Terry Blaine, at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 in the Grand Ballroom at Stambaugh Auditorium. Tickets are $20 and include finger foods that will be served in a supper-club setting. Blaine focuses on music from the late 1920s to 1940s. Make checks payable to Stambaugh Pillars and mail to Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown 44504. Call (330) 747-5175 for details.
'Big' production delayed
NORTH CANTON -- The opening of "Big," a production of the North Canton Playhouse Center for the Performing Arts, is postponed until Thursday because of technical difficulties. The show dates and times are Thursday-Saturday and Aug. 21-23 at 8 p.m., and Sunday and Aug. 23-24 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call Julia Underwood at (330) 494-1613 or Era Lynn Tripp at (330) 494-3423.
Community orchestra
BOARDMAN -- The Boardman Orchestra Summer Community Orchestra will present its 2003 concert at 7 p.m. today in the Boardman Performing Arts Center at Boardman High School, 7777 Glenwood Ave.
Frank Dispenza, BOSCO conductor, said the concert includes "Danse Macabre," "Barber of Seville" Overture, Brahms' "Hungarian Dance No. 5," "Tritsch-Tratsch Polka," "The Syncopated Clock" and "America the Beautiful." BOSCO consists of Boardman Orchestra students, alumni and any other interested musicians living in Boardman Township. This year, Professor Stephen Gage of Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music has joined the conducting staff of Dispenza and Rick Smrek.
Parking is free. Audience members are asked to use the north entrance of the high school to get to the auditorium.
Racers to visit speedway
HARTFORD -- Dave Blaney, Kyle Petty and Ken Schrader will visit Sharon Speedway on Saturday to sign autographs and raise funds for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a retreat for seriously ill children and their families. Regular admission prices will apply: $10 for adults, $5 for children age 12-15, free for children 11 and younger. Gates open at 4 p.m., with hot laps beginning at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.
Chorus seeks members
NILES -- Sounds of Square County chorus is seeking females age 11 and older who are interested in singing four-part barbershop harmony to become members of the group. Beginning Sept. 3, practice will be at 7 p.m. each Wednesday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 56 N. Chestnut Ave. For more information or bookings, call (330) 759-7059 or (330) 544-2252.
Irish festivities
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Gathering of the Irish Clans is Aug. 17 at St. Maron's Recreation Area, 1555 S. Meridian Road. Gates open at 10; Mass will be at 11. Irish entertainment begins at noon and will feature the Shaffer Brothers, Callahan and O'Connor and the Burke School of Irish Dance. A seisiun, a gathering of musicians, is at 6 p.m.
Contests, crafts and food will be featured. Admission is $5. Children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult admission. For more information, call (330) 533-7542.