BATTLE OF BANDS

Battle of bands
The Jillian's battle-of-the-bands competition will get under way June 26. In a three-week open microphone competition, musicians will vie for a chance to open for such major artists as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, LL Cool J and Yerba Buena.
Winners from weekly contests will advance to city finals. The grand prize for city finals is $500 cash or an equivalent reward. Bands will be videotaped at the city finals and the footage will be delivered to a panel of judges who will select which band will open for Amsterjam on Aug. 19 in New York City.
Doxology of Seattle won the national title in the 2005 competition and beat out more than 250 acts.
Area competition dates and sites are: July 2, 9 and 16 with city finals July 23 at Jillian's at Southern Park Mall in Boardman; June 30 and July 7 and 14 with city finals July 21 at Jillian's in Akron; and July 6 and 13 and finals July 20 at Jillian's in Cleveland. For more information visit www.jilliansonline.com.
Blue Oyster Cult
NILES -- Blue Oyster Cult will open for David Lee Roth on July 3 at Eastwood Field. Tickets are $29.50 to $58.50. Children under 13 are admitted free with a paid adult.
BOC is best known for its 1970s hit, "Don't Fear the Reaper." David Lee Roth was the front-man for Van Halen.
Cartoonist to playwith dinosaurs
CLEVELAND -- Cartoonist and author Phil Yeh will participate in family activities associated with the exhibition, "Dinosaurs Across America: Cartoons of Phil Yeh," at Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Families will join in painting a mural from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. June 25. Among assistants will be Brenda Murphy, who is known as the "candy queen," and makes art out of candy.
Yeh and his organization, Cartoonists Across the World, have conducted more than 850 mural painting events . This will be Yeh's second mural in Cleveland, where he also painted a mural in honor of Superman's 50th anniversary in 1998.
The activity is free with museum admission. To register, call the museum's education department at (800) 317-9155, Ext. 3214.
Visit encampment
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Today's the last day for the fifth annual pre-1840 Mountain Men Rendevous at Beaver Creek State Park. Step back in time with the trappers, tradesmen and settlers of the pre-1840s and enjoy a variety of activities such as a live muzzleloader shoot by the mountain men.
Other programs will be "What Lies Beneath Beaver Creek?" at 1 p.m. at the iron bridge and an interactive game, "Oh Deer!" for participants from 4 to 12 years old at 3 at Wildlife Education Center, which will be open from 1 to 4. For information, call the park at (330) 402-6906.
Polar Express will run
PENINSULA -- A dispute between a railroad and a Hollywood studio has been settled, allowing the Polar Express to run in this year's holiday season. The nonprofit Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad had announced it was ending the Polar Express-themed rides because it could not afford to pay licensing fees to Warner Bros., which owns the rights to the popular children's book and movie.
The railroad near Akron said it would find a new theme for its holiday train ride. Then, an agreement this week allowed railroad to keep the Polar Express name on the attraction. Terms of the deal were not released.
Railroad president and CEO Doug Cooper announced that ticket prices for children were increasing $5, making fares $20 regardless of age.
Free for dads
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will celebrate fathers of all kinds from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, and dads will be admitted free. Families can "meet" Walker, a Masai giraffe, and Patrick, a colobus monkey.
Zoo staff will present "Get Close" animal programs with some of the zoo's most interesting and interactive animals.
New exhibits
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Marshall Building, 6300 Fifth Ave., will host five new exhibits through Aug. 20. They are: "Figure/Ground" paintings, drawings and photography by Karen Antonelli and Maura Doern Danko; "Found Art: Pittsburgh and New York" mixed media sculptures by Jean McClung; "Inside and Out-Big and Small" by Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors; "Migrations of the African Diaspora" by Women of Vision; and "Zimbicki Roars" paintings by Kathleen Zimbicki.