Search ErieReader.com
DonateBest of Erie40 Under 40TicketsAdvertiseDistributionIssuesAboutContactEventsNewsletter
Close
Donate!
Best of Erie 2025
40 Under 40
The Reader Beat
Tickets
Newsletter Signup
Erie Reader Business Quarterly
City Guide
Events
Opinion
Features
Issues Archive
Events Calendar
Advertise
More
Arts & Culture
Business
Columns
Community
Environment
Film
From the Editors
Gem City Style
Local, Original Comics
Music Reviews
News & Politics
Recipes
Sports
Theater
Distribution Locations
About Us
Contact Us
Issue Archives
Internship Opportunities
Write for Us
Share:
Arts & Culture / EntertainmentCommunity

Weekend All Things Erie: Christine Olivier and the Art of Programming

New MIAC programming director talks about taking the reigns, booking up-and-coming acts, and one very, very, very, very big harp.

by Ben Speggen
View ProfileFacebookTwitterGoogle+RSS Feed
August 26, 2014 at 2:36 PM
Anais Mitchell

Spoiler alert: I get pretty geeked out during the latest episode of my community affairs-based radio program Weekend All Things Erie on WQLN.

First, I'm always excited to see young, talented people in leadership roles -- like Christine Olivier, who's the new programming director at the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts and Culture.

Second, I monopolized a bit of the conversation talking about Anais Mitchell, Ben Sollee, and Jose James -- NPR darlings and indie musicians with diverse talents getting national hype and acclaim, who I happen to think really rock and are really great gets for Erie.

As in, they're coming to Erie. To play here. In front of us.

I could drone on for days talking about them -- as well as the other acts Christine has lined up, like the official Blues Brothers Revue and a live-action graphic novel -- but I'll let the episode here do the talking for me, because Christine was a great interview, providing insightful comments and remarks on the growth happening at MIAC, the art of programming, and one very, very, very, very big harp that will be strung in the Mary D'Angelo auditorium.

Happy listening, Erie.

For printed word stuff, Ben Speggen can be contacted at bSpeggen@ErieReader.com. For spoken words over radio airwaves, he can be reached at Ben@WQLN.org. To deliver messages in the form of 140 characters via birds, follow him on Twiter @ERBenSpeggen.

miacchristine olivieranais mitchellben solleejose jameswilliam closeblues brothersmartha grahammercyhurst

Featured Events

Today Tomorrow This Weekend

The Ones that Got Away: A Playhouse Cabaret

Performing Arts
Aug. 25th, 6 PM

8 Great Tuesdays 2026

Music
Aug. 25th, 6:30 PM

Little Italy: A Dream Remembered

Community & Causes
Aug. 25th, 7 PM to 8:30 PM

The Power And Potential Of Personalized Medicine: Discussing Hereditary Cancer Risk

Community & Causes
Aug. 26th, 12 PM to 1:30 PM

Happy Appy Food Tour In Downtown Erie

Food & Drink
Aug. 26th, 5 PM to 7:30 PM

Submit Your Event   View Calendar

August 2026: Erie Gives
Erie Reader: Vol. 16, No. 8
View Past Issues
In This Issue
Erie Reader Best of Erie City Guide 2023-2026

Popular This Week

COVID-19 Cases Rise Slightly In Erie County, Across Country

xRepresentx, Vice, Counterfeit, Cop Torture at BT

Ludacris Shows Behrend Some Southern Hospitality

Best of Erie 2014 Finalists

Hangin' Out at the South Pier

Related Articles

A Sense of Place: NPAA Brings Landscapes to Local Show

by B. Toy8/17/2026, 8:00 AM
1020 Collective hosts melange of work from regional artists

Pennsylvania Claims Cuts to Arts Bureaucracy, Artists Lose Funding Instead

by Casey Corritore, Capacity Building Lead at Erie Arts and Culture6/6/2026, 12:00 PM
Rural areas suffer funding losses to flush metropolitan sectors

Blues and Jazz Fest Announces Acts on Main Stage

by Alana Sabol6/3/2026, 3:30 PM
Genre-bending bands featured at the weekend event

Stream of Consciousness: Hidden Creeks Links Art, Environmental Awareness

by Liz Allen5/15/2026, 8:00 AM
Exhibit explores how 1915 Mill Creek Flood transformed Erie

WhatARTu Doing on May 16?

by Gretchen Gallagher-Durney5/12/2026, 8:00 AM
Come see array of art and support Opened Eyes

A Common Thread

by Cassandra Gripp4/15/2026, 10:45 AM
The Lake Erie Fiber Arts Guild Opens Art Show
Member of Reporters Shield
© 2026 Great Lakes Online Media
PO Box 10963  //  Erie, PA 16514
Editorial Standards Terms of Use Privacy Policy