Empty Bowl Project with Pure Cane Sugar and Chris Rattie

Friends of PASA presents: The Empty Bowl Project, a fund and food raiser for area local food banks.
On Friday, Jan. 23, Pure Cane Sugar and Chris Rattie and the Brush Valley Rumblers will perform full band shows and there will be an auction of 4 bowls handmade by local artists Scot Paterson, Simon Leach, Mark Risso & Joshua McCracken.

Admission is $10 + a canned good (stay tuned for appropriate food donations). Money raised from the auction and food collected at admission will go directly to the Centre County Food Bank.

Admission also gets you a bowl of vegetarian soup made by EcoVents & the Bremen Town Ballroom.

It’s going to be another great night in Millheim, so be sure to come out!Empty Bowl Project final jpg

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tues, Dec. 23

CharlieBrownChristmas1I can’t think of a better way to get in the mood for Christmas!  Join Christine Smith, Bill Stetz, Gary Gyekis, and Huck & Gus Tritsch play Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” live and in its entirety.

The Bremen Town Ballroom hosts the event and will be serving a festive holiday menu.  Dinner costs $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 years.

Dinner starts at 6pm and the performance starts at 7pm.  Please rsvp to ecovents@gmail.com for dinner!

From Hillbilly to Rockabilly: The Country Roots of Rock-N-Roll with Jerry Zolten

This Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7pm at the Bremen Town Ballroom:

This special event is part of our “Rural Renaissance” Series at the Bremen Town Ballroom benefiting the East Penns Valley Library.

Music historian, producer, and Penn State professor Jerry Zolten offers an entertaining visual and musical excursion into the early days of country music and the artists who profoundly influenced rock ‘n’ roll. Through historic performance clips, Zolten brings to life captivating stories of artists such as Jimmie Rodgers, Uncle Dave Macon, and Bill Monroe, and shows how they pointed the way to supercharged rock & rollers such as Elvis Presley and his rockabilly contemporaries. Presented in partnership with Pennsylvania State University’s “Research on the Road” program.

$20 includes dinner, which starts at 7pm!From Hillbilly to Rockabillyjpg

Giving Thanks!

It is that Thanksgiving time of year and here I sit, thankful as ever.  After a successful event, I can take up to three days to recover (recover meaning that  the dishes get done, the floor gets swept, and I can start answering emails again).  Our most recent event was the Millheim Record Bazaar, and I’m still basking in the glow of all that glory.

The Record Bazaar, much like other events we’ve hosted, reaffirmed that (how luckily) we can take almost any idea and make it a success, even in our one stop-light borough full of horses and buggies.
Our business model is a bit strange or even—you could say—non-existent.  We’re throwing spaghetti ideas at the wall and seeing if they stick.  For the most part they are.  A tribute to accordions? Why not?   Men’s Pie Contest?  Of course!, Vinyl Record Sale?  Hell yeah!  Sheep and wool?  Duh!  Baaaaaaa!

Folks! We couldn’t do this without you .  Most of you are starting to trust that when you come to the ballroom, you’re going to leave feeling better than when you came in.  You’ll probably have a new friend (it might be my son Booker, who’s followed you around for the entire event, or Roscoe, who’s loved that you held him).

Not only are you coming to our events, you are participating in a way that is pretty unique to the ballroom.  You do the dishes, stack the recycling, you hold our babies, and you try to be part of this. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Something true about local businesses—when you are supporting EcoVents, you are directly benefitting our family, and we are doing our best to reinvest whatever money we make back into our community.  Honestly, it’s less about investing money and more about investing our time and hard work.  And, many events partner to directly benefit local community endeavors, such as the fledgling local radio station, WSOV (through a live music/variety show), the East Penns Valley Library through the new Rural Renaissance Series, and PVCA (by providing zero-waste management).
The ballroom also doubles as a pop-up market-a place where local farmers, crafts people, and other businesses can grow and find support.

Thanks to you and your support, we’ve been able to offer these types of events:
Indoor Farmers Market
Dance Parties (Polka, Swing, 2-Step & more!)
Halloween Parties
Live Music Shows (Accordion Fest, Mike Swavely Reunion Show, etc.)
Listening Room and Rock Show experiences
Fiber Fest
Special dinners, lunches, brunches and catering!
Private weddings, card clubs, Red Hats, birthday parties,
Herbal Healing Series with Jennifer Tucker
Handmade Holiday Market
MayFly Festival Food & Craft Mart
New Year’s Eve Party!
Yoga Classes

Moving forward, we have a lot of work to do! Think of what could happen here!
Pop-up kitchen/Supper Club with guest chefs, Cooking Classes, yoga, Shamanic Training, Kids playgroups, Sunday Morning Dance Class.  Whatever you’d like to see…. We’d love to hear your ideas!

And in case I haven’t done it enough, I want to thank you again for being such a top-notch, open-minded group of people.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The First Ever Millheim Record Bazaar Nov. 22 2-6pm

Marah & Stax of Trax Present the First Ever Millheim Record Bazaar!
Shop for records, stereo equipment, musical instruments, and vintage clothing and accessories all in one place—the MIllheim Record Bazaar, Nov. 22 from 2-6pm at the Bremen Town Ballroom in Millheim, PA.  Local collectors and businesses are opening up their record collections for your listening and buying pleasure just in time for the holidays.

Brought to you by Josh Ferko’s Stax of Trax and Marah’s Dave Bielanko & Christine Smith, the first Millheim Record Bazaar has everything the novice and long-time collector will need- Records, 45s, record equipment, vintage clothing, and more!

And, the Record Bazaar will also have a buyer on hand! If you have some records you’re interested in selling, Stax of Trax will be the exclusive professional buyer on hand paying instant cash for your records! (Please, no Classical, Easy Listening or Soundtrack music.)

Dave Bielanko & Christine Smith, musicians and long-time record collectors wanted to sell off some of their records and thought that hosting an event at the Bremen Town Ballroom in Millheim, would be a great way to share all kinds of music—from  old School Country and Western, Early New Orleans Jazz, 60’s Garage bands, EastCoast Doo Wop, 50’s Rockabilly, Stax! Motown!!, surf instrumentals, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, Primative Country Blues, Rock-N-Roll, Bluegrass, pre-war field-recordings! John Coltrane and Miles Davis, PUNK! Sinatra and Little Richard.

Don’t have a record player?  For those of you looking to buy your first or next record player, Paul & Tony’s Stereo will have some used and vintage record players for sale at the Record Bazaar.  All of these record players are guaranteed to be in working order at affordable prices.

Rag and Bone Vintage Shop will be selling vintage clothing and gifts as well as records.  Gus Tritsch will also be selling his handmade Cigar Box Guitars and Diddley Bows.  Be sure to get a demo from this 11-year old prodigy.

Hang out with us and listen to music—either at the deejay booth or at a private listening station.   And be sure to order some food from EcoVents’ full lunch menu.

“In an effort to fight back against the ‘big box’ corporate giants idea of what Holiday Shopping is supposed to be, we have yet again swept in….and saved Christmas 2014!”

Back Roads & Big Dreams–Here’s the Dinner Menu!

Back Roads & Big Dreams draft jpg

Here is the menu for Wednesday night! Dinner starts at 7pm. Please reserve your spot at ecovents@gmail.com:

Kale, Quinoa, & Chickpea Salad with Ginger Tahini Dressing
French Lentil Soup with Caramelized Onions (Vegan, GF)
Root Vegetable & Mushroom Pie with Rosemary Biscuit Topping (Vegan & GF Avail)
Homemade Bread
White Wine Apple Crisp

We will also have non-alcoholic drinks available. BYOB.

Oct. 10: Teri Joyce and the Men of Millheim Pie-Bake Off

Friday, Oct. 10, join EcoVents at the Bremen Town Ballroom in Millheim for an evening of bonafide Texas music and a pie-baking contest like no other you’ve seen.

Spitfire and songwriter extraordinaire Teri Joyce provides the music for the evening.  All the way from Austin, Texas, Teri brings her own brand of country and traditional honky tonk songs that’ll keep you two-steppin’ all evening.

Teri Joyce is currently on a tour of the Northeast United States promoting her new album “Kitchen Radio.” John Conquest from Third Coast Music says of Teri and her new album, “
“She’s about as tall as a shotgun, but she’s larger than life behind a microphone. Kitchen Radio solidifies her reputation as a country songwriter.”

Although Teri is small in stature, she likes a big show, and she looms like a giant to those who remember a time in country music when you could still cheat in a song and smoke in a bar.

When Teri rides into Millheim, she’ll be backed by some great local musicians, including Bill Wilgus on guitar, Steve Buckalew on fiddle, John Kennedy on bass, and Kevin Lowe on drums.

Not only will guests see some great Texas music, but they will witness the men of Millheim duke it out to see who bakes the best pie in all of the valley. This contest is greatly anticipated, with men all over town already planning their strategies.

A burrito bar dinner begins at 7pm and the pie-baking judging begins at 7:15.

Local dance expert Annie Mascelli will be giving two-step dance lessons at 7:30.  Even those with two-left feet are sure to come away with some new dancing skills that they can use all night long.  Dance lessons will start at 7:30pm.

Dinner costs $10 and the concert costs $10.  Voting tickets for the Pie-Baking contest are included with dinner or can be purchased for $5.

For more information and pie-baking contest rules, please visit brementownballroom.com.

Teri Joyce Men of Millheim jpg

Men of Millheim Pie Contest Rules

Contestant and Pie Maker must identify as a man, and said man must work alone to make his pie.
Please submit 2 pies (1 for judging and one for auction).  It would probably be smart to use a disposable pie pan.
Men who submit pies get free admission for himself and one guest (kids get free admission).
This is a pie contest.  When you enter a pie, it must be a pie, including a bottom crust and a filling of your choice.
All pies must use homemade pie crust.
Any kind of pie can enter (seasonal, fruit, savory, custard, funky, etc).
One entry per person
Contestants must live or work within 15 Miles of Millheim Borough
We encourage contestants to rsvp to ecovents@gmail.com
We encourage contestants to  wear an apron.
ALL PIES MUST ARRIVE AT THE BALLROOM NO LATER THAN 7:00PM ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10.

How it will hopefully work:
Everyone who buys dinner for the event gets one ticket that they can use to vote for their favorite pie.  Those who do not buy dinner, can purchase a tasting ticket for $5.  The pie with the most tickets wins.  (We are working out how to win in other categories as well).

In the event of a tie, our special guest Teri Joyce will be the final judge. .

The second pie will be auctioned off and the prize money will be split among the winners and the band (‘cause we need to pay the band, y’all!).