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Health & Fitness

Simsbury celebrates the legendary Diana Ross ahead of her return to The Bushnell.

Most people can remember the first concert they ever saw. For me, that concert was Diana Ross. I was ten years old and I can still remember the way the whole room vibrated when the pounding bass from her #1 dance hit “Take Me Higher” began the show. No sooner had she appeared on stage in a red chevron Bob Mackie gown with her signature maine of gorgeous cascading curls, than I became her fan for life.

 Diana Ross has the ability to command a stage, fully own whatever room she plays, and hold her audience in the palm of her hand for the duration of her performance the way very few other performers are able. She possesses a magnetic energy that is regal and grand  while simultaneously grounded and vulnerable in equal measure. With a versatile talent and knack for lyric interpretation, Diana is able to take her audience on a musical journey through her long and illustrious career, moving seamlessly from the Motown  to jazz, to R and B, disco and pop in the span of just one concert. She will rise to that task on Tuesday, August 13 at 8PM when she takes the stage at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford. 

Ahead of Diana’s concert in Hartford this Tuesday I am proud to present “A Celebration of Diana Ross: The Diva, The Legend, The Voice.” at the Simsbury Public Library at 11 A.M. The event will be a special panel discussion about the career of Diana Ross, featuring behind the scenes stories from the fans who were there. I was inspired to hold this event after making the acquaintance of author Tom Adrahtas online through my campaign to “Bring Diana Ross To Simsbury.” The event will focus on Tom’s book, “The Divas & Her Tribe - Diana Ross - The Ultimate Collection.”  The book is a collection of fan written essays, curated and narrated throughout by the author. The essays tell the stories of Diana Ross’ career through the eyes of her fans. For a fan like myself whose experience of Diana’s vast career is primarily retrospective, the book helps to elucidate the kind of details that live in the experiences of fans. They are the details of the eras and moments of a storied career that can’t be found in any album liner notes or general biographies.

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 Joining me on a panel to discuss various topics of Diana’s career are Gregg Simon and Dustin Fitzharris. Both are featured prominently in the book. Gregg has been a fan of Miss Ross since the beginning and can still remember the first time her heard The Supremes landmark number 1 hit, “Baby Love.”  “That was the thunderbolt!” He recalls. In the early 1990’s Gregg realized that Diana did not have an existing official fan club, so he founded “Reach Out International.” He told me over the phone recently, of his efforts sending out newsletters to fans, “I wanted her to know that she was appreciated.” Gregg has followed Diana this country and others on tour and his numerous interactions with Miss Ross and the stories that have resulted from his adventures on the road are truly captivating. 

   Dustin Fitzharris is a writer and journalist currently living in New York City. He is the associate producer of  “All My Children.” He has a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia university and has had his work published in such prestigious publications as EssenceOutAdvocate, HuffingtonPost and ABCNews dot com. His detailed interviews with productions staff from Diana’s historic Central Park Concert are invaluable pieces of literature for fans and music historians alike, on a concert that is named one of the greatest moments of Rock N’ Roll history. 

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    Tom Adrahtas is a native of Chicago who currently lives in the suburb of Wheeling, IL. Tom received his Bachelor’s Degree in History from North Central College. He has coached ice Hockey for 30 Years and currently coaches at Robert Morris University. Tom is an accomplished author with 5 published books ranging in topics from hockey to dogs to of course Diana Ross. Tom’s first book on the topic of Diana Ross, “A Lifetime to Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl” was published in 2006. Tom is flying into Bradley on Tuesday and hopes to be able to join us at some point during our event, if travel goes smoothly. 

      I’ve learned a great deal from reading the essays in Tom’s book. One of the most interesting and relevant among the things I learned was that The Bushnell was the last theatre that Diana Ross and The Supremes played on their final national tour in 1969 before Diana Ross stepped out on her own to pursue her solo career. At the time her success wasn’t a sure thing, she’d have to prover herself all over again as a solo artist. On Tuesday night, four decades later, Diana will take the Bushnell stage by storm once again. With well over 100 million records sold, 70 career hit singles, named the "Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard magazine the Kennedy Center Honoree has more than proven herself. 

*For Tickets to Diana's Show at the Bushnell on Tuesday August 13th at 8PM, Visit Bushnell.org or call 860-987-5500

*A Celebration of Diana Ross: The Music, The Legend, The Voice" is free and open to all at the Simsbury Public Library. The event begins at 11AM on Tuesday August 13th! 

**For More information about either event visit Facebook.com/DianainSimsbury 

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