Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

They’ve played in New York’s subway, and in some 25 countries around the world.

On Saturday you’ll be able to hear Lucky Chops in downtown Wilkes-Barre, for free, when the band brings its brassy funk sound — provided by trombone and trumpet, tenor sax and tuba and such — to the city’s 64th annual Fine Arts Fiesta.

“It will be exciting; they have a great story, ” Fiesta executive director Brian Benedetti said, predicting the Fiesta crowd will thoroughly enjoy the headliner act, whose members have been playing together since they were students at Manhattan’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

Lucky Chops is scheduled to perform on the Fiesta’s main stage at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Earlier Saturday, another highlight of the main stage schedule is the Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble from Philadelphia, who will perform at 1 p.m. “They are such a dynamic group,” Benedetti said. “They have so much energy.”

The Fine Arts Fiesta also gives local performers — from school orchestras and choruses to dance ensembles — a chance to shine.

The schedule includes:

MAY 17, Main Stage

10 a.m. Wyoming Valley West Middle School Orchestra

11 a.m. Wyoming Valley West Middle School Chorus

Noon: Dallas Middle School Select Chorus

1 p.m. Dallas High School Concert Band

2 p.m. Cross Valley Combo

4 p.m. PATAsphere

5 p.m. Leadership Wilkes-Barre Learning with Books Little Free Library dedication

7 p.m. The Alexis P. Suter Band

May 18, Main Stage

11 a.m. Joan Harris Dance Center

Noon: The Conservatory of Dance

1 p.m. Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre

2 p.m. Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble

4 p.m. Perfect Harmony Singers

5 p.m. The Anne Chairge School of Music

6:15 p.m. Rockology Music Academy

8 p.m. Lucky Chops

May 19, Main Stage

12:30 p.m. Rising Stars

1:30 p.m. YOUniversal Suzuki Strings

2:30 p.m. The Mozart Club

4 p.m. Dot Gov

The Osterhout Free Library schedule in the Family Activity Center tent includes:

May 17

Storytelling at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and make-and-take book mark crafts at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

May 18

Storytelling at 11 a.m, 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and make-and-take bookmarks at 1:30 p.m.

May 19

Storytelling at noon and 2:30 p.m. and make-and-take bookmarks at 12:#0 p.m.

Artists in residence include Tim Weaver demonstrating watercolor and painting on Public Square from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today , from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday; and Robert Gaetano en plein air pastel drawing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Saturday.

Also, from 5 to 8 p.m. today, you can visit with artists Matthew Howell and Jennifer Brennan, whose work will be on display at 47 N. Franklin St., a short block away from the Fiesta. “She does papier mache, so she creates art by adding, and I carve, so I start with a block of wood and create art by subtracting,” Howell noted.

The band Lucky Chops will bring their brassy funk sound to Wilkes-Barre’s Fine Arts Fiesta for the headliner performance 8 p.m. Saturday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_lucky.chops_.jpg.optimal.jpgThe band Lucky Chops will bring their brassy funk sound to Wilkes-Barre’s Fine Arts Fiesta for the headliner performance 8 p.m. Saturday. facebook.com

Members of Lucky Chops, who have been playing together since they were high school students in Manhattan, will bring their music to the Fine Arts Fiesta at 8 p.m. Saturday in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_lucky.chops_.band_.jpg.optimal.jpgMembers of Lucky Chops, who have been playing together since they were high school students in Manhattan, will bring their music to the Fine Arts Fiesta at 8 p.m. Saturday in downtown Wilkes-Barre. facebook.com

Kulu Mele will bring the dance and drumming of Africa to Wilkes-Barre’s Fine Arts Fiesta at 2 p.m. Saturday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_kulu.mele_.jpg.optimal.jpgKulu Mele will bring the dance and drumming of Africa to Wilkes-Barre’s Fine Arts Fiesta at 2 p.m. Saturday. kulumele.org

A colorful mural painted by students and members of the community at Meyers High School in Wilkes-Barre celebrates the joy of the Fine Arts Fiesta.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_artwork-001.jpg.optimal.jpgA colorful mural painted by students and members of the community at Meyers High School in Wilkes-Barre celebrates the joy of the Fine Arts Fiesta. Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Kulu Mele, many other artists to perform live

By Mary Therese Biebel

[email protected]