BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

Jigu: Thunder Drums of China will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.

This troupe of drummers and percussionists is from China’s Shanxi province.

Jigu means beat or touch the drum in Chinese.

Tickets are $10 to $35.

Information: 269-7200, (800) 846-2787 or www.upjarts.com.

Christian celebration

Michael W. Smith’s “New Hallelujah World Tour” is coming to Johnstown at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St.

Smith is known for songs such as “Breathe,” “Above All,” “Forever,” “Heart of Worship,” “I Will Be Here for You,” “Place in This World” and “Healing Rain.”

Other performers are Matt Maher, composer of “Your Grace Is Enough”; Christian singer Meredith Andrews; and Phil Stacey, a Top 5 finalist on season six of “American Idol.”

Tickets are $49 for floor seating.

Information: 536-5156 or (800) 243-8499.

Holiday treat

“Welcome the Holidays,” a fundraiser for the Garden Club of Johnstown, will be presented at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sunnehanna Country Club, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Westmont.

There will be a boutique featuring handmade decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, a luncheon, a fashion show and a presentation on “Holiday Designs You Can Do.”

Proceeds will be used for the garden club’s civic beautification projects throughout the Greater Johnstown area.

Tickets are $30.

Reservations: 262-0041.

Holly and jolly

The 39th annual Holly Bazaar and the fifth annual Festival of the Snowmen will open Saturday at Community Arts Center of Cambria County, 1217 Menoher Blvd., Westmont.

The Festival of the Snowmen will be on display through Dec. 20, and the Holly Bazaar will be on display through Dec. 24.

The festival will feature 10 originally designed snowmen figures, which will be sold by silent auction.

The bazaar will feature the works of 85 juried craftsmen.

Singer-guitarist Paul Stephenson will perform holiday tunes from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, and a bakery cafe featuring apple dumplings and gobs will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Admission is free.

Information: 255-6515.

A lot of trot

The seventh annual Turkey Trotter Dance to benefit Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy will be held Saturday at Richland fire hall, Scalp Avenue, Richland Township.

Doors will open at 8 p.m., and Ribbon Grass will play from 9 to midnight.

Admission includes appetizers and beverages.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Tickets are available at Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy, 119 Jari Drive; Precious Metals and Diamond, 1011 Eisenhower Blvd.; and AmeriServ Financial office at The Galleria, all in Richland Township.

Information: 262-9600, ext. 301.

Christmas opening

“Welcome to a Woodland Christmas,” a holiday open house, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Dillweed Bed & Breakfast, Route 403, Dilltown.

A tour of the bed and breakfast will feature Santa figurines, nostalgic pictures and heirloom treasures.

All guests will be eligible for drawings to win a gourmet food basket and an overnight stay at Dillweed, including a full breakfast.

Information: 446-6465.

Musical stories

“Heroes, Villains and Witches” will be presented by Johnstown Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.

Tickets: $26 and $22 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for students. A service fee of $4 applies to all nonstudent orders.

Information: 269-7200 or (800) 846-2787.

Young voices

Cambria County Chorus Festival will be held Tuesday at Richland High School, One Academic Ave., Richland Township.

The festival is for middle-school and junior-high singers from Cambria County, and more than 180 students from 10 school districts are registered.

Singers will rehearse in two groups.

Those in sixth and seventh grade will work with Christopher Kiver from Penn State, while those in eighth and ninth grade will be led by Brian Winnie from Pennington, N.J.

A concert will be performed at 7 in the performing arts center.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

Information: 266-6081, ext. 1235.

Cheer celebration

The 15th annual Pitt-Johnstown Cheer and Dance Classic will be held Saturday at the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center, Richland Township.

Doors will open at 9 a.m., and the competition starts at 10:15.

Twenty-seven local cheerleading teams will compete, including teams from Conemaugh Township Area, Ferndale Area, Conemaugh Valley, Richland, Bishop McCort, Forest Hills, Chestnut Ridge, Portage Area, Somerset Area, Windber Area, Saltsburg, Central, Bishop Guilfoyle, Greater Johnstown and Turners All-Stars.

Competition categories from each school will be peewee, elementary varsity, junior high, small varsity, medium varsity and large varsity.

The event is sponsored by the Pitt-Johnstown Cheerleaders.

Tickets, which will be available at the door, are $7 for adults and $5 for students.

Basket benefit

A YWCA Basket Party will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Therese Activity Center, Decker Avenue in the West End section of Johnstown.

Doors open at 12:30.

Tickets are $5, which includes lunch and 25 chances.

Information: 536-3519.

In the swim

The Johnstown YMCA Swim Team will hold a horse-race fundraiser at 7 p.m. Saturday at Riverside fire hall, 615 Liberty Ave., Johnstown.

Proceeds will help send the swim team to compete in the YMCA National Swim Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in April.

Tickets are $10 per horse, and includes admission, food and drink. Doors will open at 6.

Tickets may be purchased in advance from aquatics director Sharon Giles at the YMCA or by calling 207-0011.

A limited amount of tickets will be available at the door.

Book bargains

The fifth annual used book sale will be held today and Saturday at St. Andrew School, 1621 Ferndale Ave., Johnstown.

Selections will include best sellers, adult fiction and nonfiction and children’s and youth books.

Hours are 4 to 8 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Information: 288-2811.

Benefit dance

The 2009 Tom Hoover Sr. Memorial Scholarship Benefit Dance will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at Seward VFW Post 7022.

Requirements to receive the scholarship include being a senior member of the United boys or girls varsity basketball team, maintaining a GPA of 3.0 and being active in community service organizations or projects.

Hoover was a basketball coach at United from 1983 to 2006 and president of United Little League Baseball from 1973-1984.

He started the United Youth Basketball Program in 1983 and was a PIAA official for football and basketball and a baseball umpire.

Admission is $5 with proceeds going toward the Tom Hoover Memorial Excellence Award.

Vintage drama

Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer” will be presented by the English and fine arts department at 8 p.m. Thursday through Nov. 21 at Alumni Hall, Mount Aloysius College, Cresson.

The one-act play, one of Williams’ lesser-known works, made its off-Broadway premiere in 1958 and its Broadway premiere in 1995.

Tickets are $5 and will available at the door.

Information: 886-6531.

Student aid

St. Francis University in Loretto will host an open house Saturday for prospective students and their families.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. in the JFK Student Center lounge.

Information: (866)-342-5738, www.francis.edu/visitus.htm or admissions@francis.edu.

Lovely display

“Love at Home and in the Universe,” a collection by local artist Wendy Laney of Northern Cambria, will be on display through Nov. 20 at the Wolf-Kuhn Gallery at Mount Aloysius College, Cresson.

Barn building

“The Pennsylvania Barn in Somerset County” will be presented by Fred Will of Somerset at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Folk Meeting House on Route 669, 1711 Springs Road, Springs.

Information: 442-4594, 662-4366 or www.springspa.org.

Seasonal benefit

A pre-Christmas Fair and spaghetti dinner to benefit the Carmelite Community of the Word will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Bishop Guilfoyle High School, Altoona.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children.

Fall frolic

A Harvest Festival will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

Activities for children ages 4 to 12 will include themed games, harvest food, storytime and crafts.

Information: 539-1889.

Artistic opening

An opening reception for “Facets in Culture, Faces in Government, Portraying the Essence of People and Places,” an exhibit by Marcene Glover, will be held Nov. 21 at Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center, 411 Third Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

Information: 536-5399.