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Buys Listings: Nov. 4 to 10, 2016

Luzerne County Community College to hold an open house

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A live music series will be held on the city&#8217;s River Common for 10 consecutive weeks next year, provided enough area residents support the notion by participating in an online voting contest.</p><p>&#8220;This is an opportunity to take action,&#8221; said John Maday, executive director of the Riverfront Parks Committee. &#8220;Everyone can make a difference with their vote.&#8221;</p><p>The committee and three area partners &#8211; Diamond City Partnership, The Luzerne Foundation, and the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts &#8211; have applied for a Levitt AMP Grant Award, vying to become one of up to 15 winners to receive a grant of $25,000.</p><p>Levitt AMP bestows the prizes on nonprofit organizations that serve small to mid-size towns and cities, allowing them to produce their own music series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s proposal is posted on the Levitt AMP website for public voting, and supporters can register and cast their votes at <a href="http://grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page/" target="_blank">bit.ly/2fiVDxC</a>. After finalists are publicly selected from among 52 nominees, the Levitt Foundation will announce up to 15 winners on Jan. 5, according to a news release.</p><p>Voting continues through 2 p.m. Nov. 21.</p><p>Receiving the grant could create a model for other local organizations to accomplish similar things, Maday said, and would reintroduce certain area residents to the <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/features/586156/cavalcade-of-jazz-in-wilkes-barre-celebrates-1951-dixieland-jazz-festival" target="_blank">River Common</a> and the Susquehanna River.</p><p>&#8220;If we get the grant, we will have to conduct 10 concerts during consecutive weeks, so that, in itself, is an undertaking,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But we have the knowledge and experience to do this.&#8221;</p><p>The goal is to have as much variety in the music series as possible, said Maday, and the committee&#8217;s members already are looking into attracting jazz, rock &#8217;n&#8217; roll, folk and classical acts.</p><p>Charles Barber, president and CEO of The Luzerne Foundation, said receiving the Levitt Grant would be a great win for Wilkes-Barre and Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ve ever attended the classical or brass performances at sunset on the River Common, it&#8217;s phenomenal,&#8221; Barber said. &#8220;We typically can only do a few performances a year, but the Levitt Grant would create the resources for us to put together a whole series of concerts.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Internationally acclaimed jazz drummer and area native Steve Fidyk, second from left, and band members Jack Synoski on bass, left, Joseph Henson on saxophone, and James Collins on piano perform a summer jazz concert at the River Common Amphitheatre in Wilkes-Barre in 2014. The amphitheatre would host a series of 10 concerts in 2017 if the Riverfront Parks Committee receives a Levitt Grant. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL072914RiverJazz_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Internationally acclaimed jazz drummer and area native Steve Fidyk, second from left, and band members Jack Synoski on bass, left, Joseph Henson on saxophone, and James Collins on piano perform a summer jazz concert at the River Common Amphitheatre in Wilkes-Barre in 2014. The amphitheatre would host a series of 10 concerts in 2017 if the Riverfront Parks Committee receives a Levitt Grant. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre group vies for $25,000 grant to conduct concert series on River Common