Archive for Events
Rysons Titanic Rememberance 100 Years
Posted by: | CommentsOn a bitterly cold night in 1912 the liner Titanic struck an iceberg leaving only 705 survivors huddled in twenty lifeboats. All around them 15oo men, woman,
and children drowned or froze to death before rescue could come.
Rysons has been serving the Niagara Peninsula for 74 years teaching music and we wish to honour with a little memorial for the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic .
A special tribute to the band : Leader Wallace Hartley, Bricoux Clarke, Hartlley, Hume. Krens, Percy Corneluis Taylor, and Wesley Woodward. Shortly after midnight lifeboats began to load, Hartley assembled his band in first class lounge and began to play. Many people in the lifeboats commented on how strange it seemed to be wearing a life jacket while the band continued to play. All eight band members were lost and the last song they played Nearer My God to Thee.
At 10.30 on Saturday April 7th we hope you’ll join us at Rysons’ where we will be remembering the Band and all the lost passengers and crew. If you wish to dress up or just join us in the history, music and social event which will be held at the studio which will be the boat for the day.
Many special guests and speakers will share stories of this historic, tragic event and tell us of the local Niagara connections. We’ll give away a movie , and book , and a scene from the movie framed package. to a lucky winner. The front of Rysons store will be decorated to look like the Titantic. There will be people dressed in periodical attire, and tables with historical materials, music and special guests.
Gone but not forgotten even after 100 years and the band played on.
Musically yours Anne.
Niagara Music Award To Marty Allan, Dave Tufford, and Corey Richards…
Posted by: | CommentsCongratulations to Marty Allan, Dave Tufford and Corey Richards for winning the Niagara Music Award. What a great group! Come and 
see the Good Rockin’ Tonight show, featuring Marty Allan. It is always a great time when these guys perform.
You won’t want to miss them at Fiddlefest;
The 3rd Annual Car Show, Fiddlefest and Step Dancing competition will be held July 10th in Downtown St. Catharines. Come out to a fun day with many activities. People are coming from all over Ontario to compete. One participant is in town from Brussels to visit family and wants to be a part of the fun. There will be a barbeque put on by the Silver Spire Church.
Mostly Comics will be featuring a SuperHero day with costumes and great deals. Come and get your picture taken with the largest Incredible Hulk I’ve ever seen.
Over 300 antique cars and trucks will be parked throughout St. Paul street. There are bouncy castles for the kids, entertainment by Marty Allan and the Good Rockin’ Tonight band, a street dance from 4-6 pm, square dancing with a real caller, and performances from the Golden Hammers as well as the Rock’n Daisies.
Applications for the fiddle and step dancing contests are available at Ryson’s Studios. Come out and have a Fiddlin’ Good Time!
Rysons Summer Music Camps Coming in July!
Posted by: | CommentsRyson’s Summer Music Camps will begin after Canada Day.
There will be several camps available:
• Rock Band Camp
• Ukulele Camp
• Musical Theater
• Keyboard
• Brass/Woodwind
The fee for the camps is $35 daily (10:00 am – 4:00 pm) or $125 for Monday-Thursday. This is a great way to learn to play in a group.
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to have some musical fun. Sign up today!
Ryson’s Students Clean Up at Canal Days Idol!
Posted by: | CommentsCongratulations To Natalie Vurro a voice student at Rysons Studio who won the Port Colborne Junior Idol again this year. Well done Natalie, we’re all proud of you here at Rysons.
Another winner for the Mini Idol is Kayla McGowan a student at Rysons. All the best to Kayla from all the staff at Rysons and your many friends at the studio.
Rockin Daisies debut was a great success at Lock 8 a great crowd pleaser . Always a rockin good time with the Golden Hammers who keep the audience moving and dancing to the beat.
Especially thanks to our visitors who joined us from Italy relatives of Lucas Venneri. A big thank you and a round of applause to Cheryl Spada for inviting the Golden Hammers and the Rockin Daisies to perform at your great event, and hope we can join you again next year.
How Musicians Can Change Lives
Posted by: | CommentsI think that one of the wonderful things about many musicians is their willingness
to help others in a time of need.
Brian Roman, a Toronto Vocalist, is trying to help out a little boy, Justin Grant, who’s going through a very bad time.
Justin has cancer, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his father died just months ago.
Brian Roman heard about Justin and decided to do a benefit concert to raise funds for him and his mom. It looks like the concert will be a sell-out and they could raise as much as $100,000.00.
What a wonderful story to share with our music students. Sure, it’s great that the’re learning to play an instrument for their own enjoyment, or perhaps, they have higher goals. But imagine what our music students can accomplish when they understand how they can actually help people who really need it through their musical talents.
I’ve never met Brian, but he’s obviously a guy with a huge heart.
I hope you’ll join me in applauding his effort to help Justin and if you’re so inclined, you might want to contribute to the Justin Grant benefit. Here’s the story; Justin Needs Our Help.
The Brian Roman Story is a must-read for every music student. You can read it here; Brian Roman.
Brian, if you ever read this I want you to know that you are a credit to the music industry, and I sincerely hope that young musicians everywhere will pay attention not only to your incredible personal story, but to the selfless manner in which you share your talent to benefit those in time of need.
Anne
P.S. I hope everyone who reads this will pass it on to others. You can help Justin by simply letting others know about this story.
Niagara Music Thanksgiving Events, and more…
Posted by: | CommentsMusic Niagara has been plentiful for wine festival and well received.
Niagara Music events for October and beginning of November:
October 5: Niagara Symphony Association-Elgar’s Celebrated Cello Concerto-Denise Djokec Master 1
October 25th and 26th: Niagara Symphony Tribute to Arthur Fiedler-Zoltan Kalman Pop 1
November 30th: Mozarts Basson Concert- Eric Hall Masters 2 Information: www.niagarasymphony.org
October 18th: Niagara Music Forum- Four Points Sheraton -Saturday 10:00am www.niagaramusicforum.com
October 19th: Heidehof-The Sun Record Story with Dave Tufford at Rysons Studios- show 7:00pm. www.rysonsmusic.com
October 2nd-4th: Styx – Fallsview Casino www.casinoniagara.com
October 9th-10th: Tony Bennet – Fallsview Casino
October 17th: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone – Fallsview Casino
October 20th-November 2nd: Spirit of Broadway – Fallsview Casino
November 15th-November 30th: Spirit of Christmas – Fallsview Casino
Downtown Association Movies: www.stcathdowntown.com Movies are free, bring a chair. You can bring your own refreshments, or purchase refreshments to help support the Aid Foundation.
October 16th – 7:00pm Ghostbusters 9:00pm Amityville Horror
October 23rd – 7:00pm Young Frankenstien 9:00pm The Excorcist
October 30th-7:00pm Beetlejuice 9:00pm Rocky Horror Picture Show (Props are being sold)
November 15th: Scott Woods Old Time Christmas – 7:00pm Rockway Community Centre – Seasonal Songs, sensational step dancing, smwoods@sympatico.ca
Walking Ghost Tour: Every full moon, walking tour to exlore a history and haunted tails of downtown. 7:00pm through the winter. First One is October 14th. This time it’s at 8:00pm. www.stcathdowntown.com
November 7th: Rysons Goldan Hammers - Grimsby Legion concert for Red Hats Society 7:30pm. www.rysonsmusic.com
Thanksgiving Festival at Balls Falls: October 10th-13th. 10:00am-5:00pm. Many Artisans (140 +) Crafters live entertainment, Heritage tours, festive treats, face painting, many activities for kids. Crafters come from all over. http://www.mestern.net/festivals/ballsfalls/index.php
October 26th: Monster Mash Party at Balls Falls 12:30-3:30 $10.00 per child (age 6-10) Woodcrafts, party, lots of fun!
Have a Great Thanksgiving! Thanks for visiting our event page. Anne
Days of Elvis Festival Niagara Falls
Posted by: | CommentsElvis will be appearing in Niagara Falls!
Actually there will be several of them as the 2008 Days of Elvis Festival gets underway on Queen St. Niagara Falls.
For Elvis fans this 3 day event shouldn’t be missed.
Today, Friday September 5th, the event kicks off at 1:00pm with the first annual Elvis Film Festival. Elvis’s drummer, D.J. Fontana will be on hand for a meet and greet, as will the world famous gospel group, the Stamps Quartet who also performed with Elvis.
Then tonight at 8:00pm the Elvis Extravganza Concert will begin featuring performances from many award winning tribute artists;
Shon Carroll, Selvis, and Douglas Roy to name a few. The finale will feature Anthony Von with the Stamps Quartet.
Douglas Roy is one of our own here in Niagara and one of the most respected Elvis tribute artists in the business. He’s also the only tribute artist ever to have actually performed on stage with the King himself. The story goes that Doug was at an Elvis concert in 1976 when a friend tossed Doug’s latest single recording onto the stage at Elvis’s feet. Elvis picked up the record, read the label, and called Doug up to sing Hound Dog with him.
Douglas Roy’s tribute show, “Douglas” was all the rage in the mid ’70′s, in the days when the real King of Rock ‘n Roll was still alive. More than thirty years later, Douglas Roy is still one of the best tribute artists in the business. Certainly worth seeing his show at the Days of Elvis Festival.
For the full schedule of this weekend’s events, visit;
Days of Elvis website.
Grape and Wine Festival September 19th to 28th
Posted by: | CommentsThe Grape and Wine Festival will take place from September 19th to 28th.
This annual 10 day event features many of the world class Niagara wineries proudly showcasing their vintage along with several local culinary establishments.
In addition to great food and wine, the Grape and Wine Festival is filled with excellent entertainment programming.
Over the years many high profile entertainers have taken the center stage at Montebello Park where the main activities are held.
Some of this year’s Grape and Wine Festival attractions will be;
Crash Parallel
Faber Drive
Sarah Slean
The Wheat Kings
The Philosopher Kings
The Caverners
And many more…
Don’t forget the Post Parade show on September 27th @ 2:00pm, featuring Ryson’s rock ‘n roll student band, the Golden Hammers, with Natalie Vurro on vocals. These kids are really terrific and worth catching.
To get a copy of the Official Grape and Wine Festival Guide,
Click Here.
Niagara Grape and Wine Festival: Post Parade Activity.
Posted by: | CommentsThe Niagara Grape and Wine Festival will feature entertainment by the Golden Hammers, a young rock group from Ryson’s Studio. This event will be a part of the Harvest Festival take place at the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival Office (8 Church Street) on September 27th at 2pm, following the Grape and Wine Festival Parade.
Bring the family and say ‘hi’ to the band: Dexter, Evan, Lucas, Tyson, Trent and Jared.
Special appearance by Ryson’s student and Canal Days Junior Idol Natalie Vurro.
Hope to see you there!
Anne.