Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

• The Rotary Club of Youngstown would like to turn “Dry January” into a 30-day-event for 2026.

The Rotary’s Groundhog Craft Beerfest will be Jan. 31 this year at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.

The eighth annual event will feature two sessions — an afternoon session from 1 to 4 p.m. and evening event from 5 to 8 p.m. — and this year’s event will feature some home brewers in addition to professional brewmasters.

For non-beer drinkers, wines from regional producers have been added to the lineup of beers and ciders available in the past. Non-alcoholic beers also will be available for sampling as well as a chocolate bar serving non-alcoholic beverages operated by Gorant’s Candy.

For those who cheat a little on their Dry January resolution, at least it’s for a good cause. Since the event started, it has raised more than $130,000 that the Rotary has distributed to such beneficiaries as Dorothy Day House, St. John’s Church, Wick Park Pavilion restoration, Youngstown City Schools’ Operation Warm and Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties.

Last year’s event raised $42,000, and this year’s goal is $50,000.

Tickets for each session are $60 general admission, which includes beer samples and live entertainment. Non-alcohol / mocktail tickets are $40. A limited number of preferred tickets are available for each session for $100 and include a lounge with rare beers, gourmet charcuterie and brewmaster visits.

Tickets are available at the Stambaugh box office, online at stambaughauditorium.com and by calling 330-259-0555.

• Considering how many times the Butler Institute of American Art has exhibited his work, some folks might have forgotten that John Mellencamp also makes music.

And Mellencamp is one of those performers who follows his own muse. He’s recorded massive radio hits that millions can sing along with and darker, more introspective songs that aren’t intended to get an arena crowd dancing.

I”m a fan of both, but my favorite of the many Mellencamp shows I’ve seen over the years may have been his 2019 performance at Stambaugh, which definitely leaned toward the latter. Not everyone felt the same way. I heard from more than a few readers grumbling that the theater wasn’t filled from beginning to end with rockers like “Hurts So Good” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”

Mellencamp’s summer tour is geared to them. Mellencamp’s “Dancing Words” tour is billed as a greatest hits show.

According to the news release, “Fans can expect to hear Mellencamp’s best known songs,including ‘Pink Houses,’ ‘Jack and Diane,’ ‘Small Town,’ ‘Hurts So Good,’ ‘Authority Song,’ ‘Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First),’ as well as beloved tracks that he hasn’t performed live in 10-plus years, including ‘R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,’ ‘I Need a Lover,’ ‘Wild Night,’ ‘Ain’t Even Done With the Night’ among other long unplayed gems.”

The tour includes a July 21 show at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 23. VIP packages also are available.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.