We photographed licence plates and found sixteen different states attending the festivities, here’s some of the further out that we saw.

You can check out photos and video at www.goerie.com/roar

Be looking for all of our coverage of Celebrate Erie next week!

This past weekend was the annual Panegyri Greek Festival at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church.  Our Street View photographer Dan Smith stopped by on Saturday and snapped photos of festival goers.

You can visit the full gallery online by clicking here. The Young Peoples Chorus of Erie (YPC) competed recently in the World Choir Games in Cincinnati, OH.  They collectively brought home two gold medals and one silver medal.  They were greeted by family and friends in the Penn State Behrend parking lot.

You can visit the full gallery online by clicking here.

We also shot a video of their arrival and mini-performance for the crowd.

This was a very special day for the YPC choristers because it was their first official competition.  The day was a mixed bag of emotions because director and founder of the YPC, Jason Bishop, is moving on to another position in New Jersey.

Next week is Roar on the Shore, Erie’s annual bike rally.  This year show coordinators expect over 100,000 bikes to converge on the city over a four day period which is almost a 30% increase over last year.  We’ll have all four days covered, both in photos and video so be sure to check back!

The show is produced by R and R fireworks, a company from Central PA.  They have been producing the show for the last 5 years.  It’s a fast paced show with varied size fireworks.  The crew from R and R light the show with road flares so it’s interesting to watch them operate at the cannon level on the ground.  A word of caution to those with younger children, this show is LOUD and lengthy (this year it clocked at 27 minutes).

For more great summer events and festivals visit the Street View page on GoErie.com.  Next week we’ll have a recap of all of the 4th of July festivities as well as some festivals in the area.
Do you have an event you want covered by Street View?  Email us!

- Rob

Street View stopped by to get some images of the event.  They had a great turnout and they even performed a part of their routine for the crowd.

This is the second year in a row that Dance Vibe has received a bid for worlds.  They placed 5th in the world in 2011.

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The whole gallery shot by the Street View team can be viewed here.  If you have an event that you’d like Street View to cover, contact us at streetview@goerie.com

Check out our Halloween page, GoErie.com/halloween.

There you can watch videos about where to go and what to do during the season, look through user-submitted photo galleries of Erie’s Halloween favorites, post your own photos, and find times for trick-or-treating.

Scan local tweets about Halloween, and post your own pictures if your neighbor’s house is decked out for the night of fright. We’re looking for submissions  of the area’s spook-tacular homes.

Have any ideas? Let us know at @GoErieEvents or @GoErie, or on our facebook page.

Make sure to follow us on twitter @RockErie for updates from the show. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7pm at the Bayfront Convention Center. Returning from last year to host, is the hilarious Tammy Pescatelli. Get pumped for the show, check out the 2011 nominees at RockErie.com to and find out more about Erie’s music scene.

Check back soon for photo galleries, video, and more from the REMA’s. Good luck to all the nominees and congratulations to all the winners!

Parker's Garbage Fries at the Crawford County Fair. This is BEFORE I took a crack this massive pile.

What: Garbage Fries at Parker’s Concessions

Description: I’d seen the bowls all over the fair. Piled high with everything from bacon and cheese to sour cream and pork, these bowls of freshly cut fries went by many names, depending on what topped the dish. Porktato, Garlic, Garbage, Loaded, Buffalo, Hillbilly, just scratched the surface of fried possibilities.

Over at Parker’s Concessions, they specialize in these and many more varieties, and they promised me a mighty–but still meatless–pile of fries.

I opted for one of the traditional favorites: Garbage Fries (although they tell me Loaded is one of the most often ordered due to it’s “simplicity.”) This “veggie” version included sauteed onions and peppers, cheese, ranch, banana peppers, and I added ketchup and salt and pepper.

Testimonial: “Why don’t I give you a fork, … or two!” said Parker’s Concessions worker Gary Lee when he served up my hot bowl of fries. “That way you can just dig right in.”

Two towering "large" 16 oz. orders of fries at Parker's Concessions.

It seems most people split their orders with multiple people. It’s just a chore eating it on your own–these overflowing bowls are best eaten with a fork.

Cost: A “small” 12 oz. bowl is $8, while a “large” bowl is $10.

Verdict: Garbage Fries 1, Ginny 0. Training for a 5K, I have just about had my fill of fair food, and when I stopped on my bowl of Garbage Fries, it looked like I had hardly made a dent. I liked the combination of the flavors blending together, but after you get down to the center, everything starts looking–and tasting the same.

A good fair food pick, but unless you don’t plan on eating anything else for the rest of the week, split with a friend–or four.

***

That’s the end of my Crawford County Fair Food tour! Find more photos in my gallery. Thank you to everybody who told me their favorite foods to try!

If you have any photos from the fair, submit your own at GoCrawfordCounty.com.

What: Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake at General Store Concessions

Description: “It tastes like a Reese’s cup shake,” said server Brittany Sala. Blend chocolate soft serve, two big spoonfuls of Peter Pan peanut butter, and milk for a shake so thick, sipping through a straw is a challenge.

Testimonial: “They’re wicked good,” said Andrew Hooghkirk, “dough man” and pizza chef at Campi’s Pizza, the adjacent stand. “Who wants a shake that’s just ‘good?’ I have a different flavor (of milkshake) every day.”

I admitted yesterday that I was a huge ice cream fan, and when I heard the words “peanut butter chocolate milkshake,” it was too good to pass up.

A steak sandwich is one of the popular food items at General Store Concessions, although I opted for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake.

General Store Concessions is run by Ron and Janice Sala of Erie, who run the General Store on Sterrettania Road. They take their stand on the road, gaining a following with their unique fair food. Their steak sandwich has made a fan out of Hooghkirk, who got his sandwich, as I was eating my milkshake.

“It’s got the right mixture of everything, steak, onions, peppers, mushrooms, white American cheese, and a little sprinkle of cheddar on top,” said Hooghkirk.

Brittany, daughter of Ron and Janice, said she invented their best selling milkshake flavor. The Chocolate Peanut Butter combo also brought fans from another concession stand. Over from Parker’s, a stand specializing in over-topped fries, Gary Lee and Rhos Tolle ordered two of the famed shakes.

“It tastes like real peanut butter, so it’s real good,” said Tolle.

Cost: I walked away with this one for free.

Verdict: This creamy mixture did have that Reese’s taste, but it was a little too thick to be sipped out of a straw. I love thick shakes, so I happily ate the Peanut Butter Chocolate Milkshake with a spoon. Try any of their other milkshake flavors or slushie combinations.

***

I’ve upedated our Crawford County Fair Food gallery, check out photos of Campi’s Pizza’s Andrew Hooghkirk making that delicious crust.
If you have any food photos, submit your own at GoCrawfordCounty.com.

Have a favorite fair food? Let me know, so I can try it, too!

Just out of the gate at Dave Martin's Bullride Mania.

12-year-old Zack Parker of Conneaut Lake has a passion that not many other kids his age share: bull riding. Parker started riding two years ago, inspired after seeing a woman ride a bull at a rodeo: she got bucked off.

“The bull flipped over her, I watched it when it happened,” he said, “And I thought, it just looks like a cool sport.”

And he does well at that sport. Despite his age, however, Parker did well enough to place in the top five after the preliminary round with a score of 68. Parker earned that score, riding with several other older professional riders at Dave Martin’s Bullride Mania Thursday night at the grandstand at the Crawford County Fair.

The show, emceed by a Porkchop the clown, included a Little Buckaroo Rodeo, bull riding, and Girls’ Barrel Racing, although the bull riding was the main event of the night. The Little Buckaroo Rodeo was part of the pre-show, and allowed kids under six to try their best to ride the rodeo sheep, clinging to their wooly backs. See photos of these Buckaroos in our photo gallery.

Riders lined up for the Girls' Barrel Race.

The Girls’ Barrell Race, which took place in between bull riding rounds, required riders to race around three strategically placed barrels in the ring and then back to the starting line.

Ashley Beverage, of Meadville, has been racing for five years. She said she loves the adrenaline rush she gets, but that barrel racing takes more than that.

“It takes a lot of dedication from the horse and rider,” said Beverage, who was riding her horse Quiggly, “A lot of people think it’s all about speed, but they really need heart.”

The night’s big show was all about bull riding, and had some young fans excited about the action. “Watching them flip off,” said Kendra Green, of Erie, is her favorite part of the show.

“It’s a big adrenaline rush,” said Joe Parker (no relation to Zack), who’s been riding bulls for seven years.

After so many years, he says he no longer feels that rush, but that he still loves the sport. Parker, from Greenville, has been riding with Dave Martin for five years.

“You call the gate, it opens, he bucks, the bull is bread to buck,” said Parker, explaining the process of bull riding. “Tie one hand in–one hand is up in the air and can’t touch for eight seconds. You’ve got to get a good hold on with your legs, too.”

Watch Michael Lane of Dave Martin’s Bullride Mania, listed as one of the best professional riders in the world, tell GoErie.com what happens inside the ring.

Ever seen a rodeo live? Watch this rider at Dave Martin’s Bullride Mania at the Crawford County Fair.

See the Little Buckaroo Rodeo stick horse race, as part of the pre-show offered, for kids under six. Be sure to catch the high-fives at the end!