Ellicottville, New York, became the epicenter for girl power as the third annual Women’s Weekend was held this past June. Activities included a Wine and Cheese Reception, yoga, cooking classes, fly fishing, and beer tasting.  For information on the event, visit www.ellicottvilleny.com.

The American Cancer Society hosted their third annual Dancing Under the Stars event on May 22. More than 200 people filled the dance floor at Erie’s Rainbow Gardens, raising nearly $10,000 for the organization. For more information on the American Cancer Society visit www.cancer.org.
 

The Mercy Center for Aging was recently converted into an art gallery as it displayed this year’s entries in the annual Senior Art Exhibit. The exhibit was held from May 3 through 10 and over 180 pieces of art in various mediums including paintings, sculpture, and photography were on display. This year, Erie Life Magazine Publisher Réna Tran helped judge the event. Read more about the Senior Art Exhibit, including a list of winners, in the June issue of Erie Life Magazine.

For more information on the Independent Council on Aging call (814) 824-2214.
 
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On April 22, Panache Salon & Spa found their place in the national spotlight as their hairstylists gathered for a salon contest inspired by Vogue magazine. Read more about this unique opportunity in the June issue of Erie Life Magazine.

For more information call (814) 838-3333 or visit panacheerie.com
 
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Country music legend and Erie Life Magazine April cover Clint Black played to a crowd of over 3,500 people in the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena on Friday, April 24, and Erie Life was there to enjoy the concert. A special thanks to Mike Ferguson and the staff at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena for making the night possible. 
 
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Working on Erie Life Magazine, I have had the pleasure of eating some truly great food. Apricot glazed pork chops, tempura salmon rolls, hand breaded catfish…just a few of the fantastic meals that I probably otherwise never would have mustered up the courage to try if it weren’t for a work assignment. But to be honest, the foods I have always been the most excited about are the “man’s foods.” For our first Man Issue I devoured what felt like my weight in over two-dozen different flavors of chicken wings. For this year’s April issue I battled sandwiches that could feed a family of four. And sandwiched in between those two issues, I had excursions with pizza slices the size of my face; hot sauce so spicy it was nearly fatal; and some of the best Greek burgers, dogs, and fries I ever had, just to name a few. 
 

Since entering the realm of the white-collar 9 to 5 crowd a year and a half ago, I have somewhat perfected my morning routine. Shower, dress, make lunch while breakfast (usually an English muffin) prepares in a toaster, and out the door – all typically under 30 minutes. The soundtrack to my daily ritual? CNN – although I will admit it is hard to focus on what the newscasters are saying when I’m busy brushing my teeth, ironing my shirt, and trying to find a match to my sock. But recently one bit of information made me stop dead in my a.m. tracks. First Lady Michelle Obama gave the Queen of England an iPod while visiting Buckingham Palace during the G-20 World Peace Summit. That’s what was going in the world that morning. No talks about what progress was being made at the Summit itself or whether or not reports that North Korea are fueling their missiles for “testing” are true (although the news ticker at the bottom tried to briefly fill me in).