Tickets are now sale for the return of The Oak Ridge Boys as the weekend headliners for the 2023 Porter County Fair in Valparaiso. The iconic country music performers, boasting a half-century career of entertaining behind those beards, are in the grandstand stage spotlight for one concert 5 p.m. Sunday, July 23.
Tickets range from $20 to $40 available at portercountyfair.com.
For more than three decades, the Oak Ridge Boys were annual audience favorites at Star Plaza Theatre, usually hosting a New Year’s Eve concert, until the Merrillville venue closed in 2016 with the Oak Ridge Boys performing the final headliner concert on Dec. 18, 2016. These gents were also among the first stars to play the stage, around the same time the space launched in 1979 with a roster of other noted concerts which included Donna Summer, Mitzi Gaynor and Rosemary Clooney, the latter who teamed up with Helen O’Connell, Margaret Whiting and comedian Rose-Marie billed as “Four Girls Four.”
As members of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall Of Fame, the core members of The Oak Ridge Boys have remained consistent throughout the decades. Richard Sterban, the bass singer, celebrates his 80th birthday April 24, and has been with “the Boys” for 50 years, not far behind William Lee Golden, who joined the group in 1965. Lead singer Duane Allen joined shortly after in 1966. Joe Bonsall has been a member since 1973.
Among the groups many hit songs are “Elvira,” “Bobbie Sue” and “American Made.” They will be joined on stage by special guest opener Tracy Byrd. Other entertainment announced for the 2023 Porter County Fair includes Jon Pardi on July 20 and Jelly Roll on July 21.
A meaty issue
This year, St. Patrick’s Day — March 17, 2023 — lands on a Friday during Lent, a Catholic observance which asks for practicing Catholics age 14 to 60 to fast, and abstain from eating meat as a penitential obligation.
While church leaders are given the opportunity to dispense with the obligation to recognize the menu tradition of corned beef and cabbage served to celebrate the holiday, don’t expect any wide-sweeping dispensation for Northwest Indiana Catholics.
Bishop Robert J. McClory for the Diocese of Gary is leaving the decision for any “special extenuating circumstances” which might merit a dispensation from the Friday Lenten obligation, to be determined by the individual priests of each parish.
This was the same case in 2017 with McClory’s predecessor Bishop Donald Hying, who served the diocese until April 2019. The Gary Diocese began to move away from granting a general dispensation during years when St. Patrick’s Day happened to be on a Friday, way back in 1995, when Bishop Dale Melczek, who died at age 83 in August, explained he found such a ruling “needless,” clarifying “it is more important to observe Lent than observe St. Patrick’s Day tradition.”
‘Talent’ winners
Congratulations to all of the wonderful contestants who competed in the 2023 Munster’s Got Talent contest on Feb. 24 in the Munster High School Auditorium. I served on the judging panel along with WJOB radio personality Tony Panek, dance iInstructor Alexandra Marich and singer-songwriter Jodi Rosenthal Pesich. Prizes included a $250 first place top honor. The 2nd Place Winner, as well as the “People’s Choice donation vote award,” was the singing talent of Judah Butler, and 3rd place winner was a piano tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis by Jo-Han Martinez. A Bollywood song and dance medley was named 1st Place Winner consisting of Aanya Patel, Abhiram Kandregula, Animesh Kar, Aryan Patel, Dhara Patel, Diya Patel, Krish Patel, Krisha Patel, Shalin Shah, Suvali Giridaran, Tanvi Torgal and Vijay Dasari.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.
