Home sales dipped, prices rose slightly in September in Harrisburg area

October 10, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

A house for sale in Harrisburg

Harrisburg-area homes sales declined but prices inched higher in September, in the latest report on sales of previously owned homes.

For the three-county region, 542 homes sold, compared to 685 in the year-ago period, as the median sales prices rose to $260,575 from $254,900, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

In Dauphin County, 258 houses sold in September versus 317 a year ago, while the median price was nearly steady at $229,900, GHAR stated.

Cumberland County had 257 sales, a drop from 324 the prior September, as the median sales price rose to $310,000 from $275,000, GHAR reported.

In Perry County, 22 homes sold, a dip from 40 in the previous year, as the median price rose to $257,000 from $217,450, according to GHAR.

The pace of home sales remained unchanged from a year ago, with the “average days on market” holding steady at 21 days.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Bob’s Art Blog: Spooky Things that Go Bump in the Night

October 10, 2023 | by Bob MacGinnes

A longstanding love affair with October stems from my childhood—the anticipation of waiting an entire month for its very last day to dress up and be whatever you wanted to be…can life be any more exciting for an 8 year old?

The year was 1959 and the world was relatively safe back then. Neighbors dropped in unannounced, doors were left unlocked, and kids could play outside without fear. My favorite show was the brand new “Twilight Zone.” “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (episode 22) wouldn’t air for another few months, but monsters were on my mind. A lot of kids from my generation shared the zeal for plastic replicas of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy and the Wolfman.

Back then, the best thing about Halloween was the event lasted a week. With different towns celebrating the holiday on different nights, we traveled to neighborhoods close by. Progress, Penbrook, Paxtang, minding our P’s, but where were the Q’s? We walked together as friends with bags overflowing. It was like Christmas morning in October.

“Two Sisters” by Tina Berrier, at HIVE artspace

Keeping that childlike innocence alive today regarding All Hallows’ Eve can be a real challenge, but, this October, HIVE artspace in York pulls out all the stops with a chilling show entitled, “The Annual Spooky Art Show.” Susan Scofield is the mistress of ceremonies, stirring her cauldron at 126 E. King St., with Kate Rush right by her side. Eye of newt and batwing broth may sound a bit much to swallow but, believe me, if you enjoy being spooked, or playing pranks, Susan and Kate and Heather Greenough are your “charmed” hostesses through Oct. 28. October’s theme for art at HIVE is timeless: the annual show speaks to their tradition as happens every October. It features an entire medley of mediums: pyrography, mosaic, felted wool, assemblage, painting, handmade art dolls, collage and photography. “Spooky” will make you want to jump over the candlestick!

“Hellebore and Death’s Head Moths” by Nicole Smeltzer (photo: Jana MacGinnes)

Susan edited hundreds of submissions down to a magical 100 throughout the gallery. Highlights include the return of Justin Ritmiller, paying homage to classic film monsters of the past, surely my kind of guy. “Of Monsters and Men,” his acrylic on canvas is a tribute to iconic director, James Whale, who immortalized Frankenstein and his bride from the 1930s, as well as Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula for his “Romanian Nobility,” an acrylic on wood panel—is that a stake by any chance?

Daphne Watts burns an image of Elsa Lancaster on a wood plaque in her iconic role as the Bride of Frankenstein. Beverly Hunter’s Nosferatu cuts to the quick with shards of ceramic, glass and mirrors. The ubiquitous Tina Berrier, (yes, that Tina of Millworks fame and the Nothing Pretty gang and the She Serpents) brings legerdemain with her mixed media assemblage piece, “Hellion.”

“Edgar” by Alana Beall (photo: Jana MacGinnes)

Nicole Smeltzer recently completed a wonderful, whimsical mural for the new Royal Square Mural Park. Her piece is “Hellebore and Death’s Head Moths,” an acrylic on canvas. Monique Kelly mixes media into heady potions with bottles assembled to suit her purpose. Sarah Liles may have you fawning over her watercolor, ink and acrylic marker, “Trick or Treat.” Gretchen Nevin keeps “Tradition” alive with her classic pumpkins, oil on canvas. Lastly, Alana Beall has my heart with a too cool for school acrylic and mixed media piece entitled, “Edgar,” the one and only E.A. Poe.

Be sure to check out the other 91 works as their bones are rattling to see you. As for Susan S., I knew when we first met and discussed Walpurgis Night (the eve of Beltane) “that spooky was a moniker that fit her well.” In keeping with the classic monster’s story arc for this exhibit, the carriage driver in Tod Browning’s 1931 “Dracula,” shuddered “do not cross the Borgo Pass on Walpurgis Night or you will never be seen again.” For me, I will wait for All Hallows Eve when the veil between two worlds is the thinnest.

Goes Bump

Illustration by Rob Sheley

The third edition of illustrator Rob Sheley’s “Things That Go Bump in the Night” at Metropolis Collective in Mechanicsburg gave me pause. I started writing this blog back in July as October holds a special appeal that dates back to the 1950s, as you are now aware of…for TheBurg this marks my fifth annual October paean. The 4th of July had just ended when I wrote the title, “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” When Hannah Dobek, gallery director and artist in residence at Metropolis, sent me notice for this show two weeks ago, a big smile crossed my lips. In truth, this phrase had its origin in the 19th century in literature. There is truly nothing new under the sun. The moon, now that is a different story…

“Things That Go Bump in the Night III” fills the eyes with macabre mayhem maniacally manipulated, maudlin and melancholy. Like myself, Rob has an abiding reverence for the “Famous Monsters of Filmland” (Frankenstein’s monster and his bride), making them the centerpiece of his solo exhibition for the new show. In the artist’s own words, “Through color, line, shade and composition,” new life is breathed into classic images formerly seen only in black and white. Rob’s empathetic point of view allows for a richer appreciation of the “monsters” we treasure from the Golden Age of Cinema in the 1930s and ’40s. The show’s fall run encompasses two full moons through its last day on Nov. 25. Rob is a Harrisburg native and has done album work for Elvis Costello, Drive by Truckers, Old 97 and a host of others, including Eastman Kodak. His work over three decades is legendary and begs to be viewed in person for full appreciation of his art. As illustrators go, he is in a class by himself with the images, photographic in detail, yet are not, become otherworldly. Contact the artist robsheley.com.

October Art Events

Arts on the Square, Sunday, Oct. 15, Market Street Presbyterian Church. Opening reception 12 to 1:30 p.m., featuring the works of fiber artist, Gloria McPherson

3rd in the Burg, Friday Oct. 20

Susquehanna Art Museum’s “Shifting Forms: 5 Decades of Abstraction” and “Diane Arbus: Ten Years” Both shows run through Jan. 21

Art Association of Harrisburg’s “Art Is” (members show), through Nov. 2

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Burg Review: Complexity across time, generations infuses Gamut’s deeply human, “I Don’t Speak Spanish”

October 8, 2023 | by Gina Napoli

In the autobiographical confession, “I Don’t Speak Spanish,” local playwright David Ramón Zayas offers audiences a generational extrospection of his Mexican culture, exploring the distance he feels from his ancestral roots, leading him to feel unmoored in his contemporary sense of self.

While this is the story that only Zayas can tell, many elements may feel familiar to Americanized descendants of immigrants. It’s an American story of our melting pot–one that seems to boil over every time another cook adds a spicy ingredient. In this case, it’s a bottle of tabasco sauce.

For those who are sometimes “othered,” cultural discussions arise more frequently if your skin looks a few shades darker than the Caucasian default, if you have been accused of “passing” after someone meets one of your brown parents, if you’re saddled with an impossibly ethnic name, or if you have an accent. Othered people straddle two worlds, with simultaneous pride and shame often driving the inner conflict. You can pride yourself on making your mother’s restaurant-quality enchilada recipe, but feel shame that the other kids laugh when you bring your mother’s enchiladas for lunch.

The imperfect people who nurtured us, fed us, and formed us are the same people who both shared their hopes and dreams for us and instilled their generational traumas within us. And they were formed by their own ancestral collective, complete with all their humanity. And so on. It’s with this ambivalent recognition that Zayas writes his own story within the context of his family story, fraught with all the stigma and societal issues that come from having a Mexican heritage in the United States over the centuries.

The above prologue is long because this play is long, just as our ancestry is long.

The play is structured as six vignettes that span from the first ancestor in 1528 to present day Tony (Zayas), the hero of this story. Although Tony is married to Michael (Thomas Weaver), who studies and lectures on Latin American culture for a living, and they both seem immersed in the Hispanic culture, Tony feels shame that he cannot speak Spanish. His acquaintance, Gustavo (Aldo Longoria), confronts him, and this leads Tony to confront his mother, Samantha (Nelly Torres). This sets the prequel on its journey back through the generations, making historically significant stops in South Texas during the Mexican Border War, in Los Angeles during World War II, and in New Mexico during 2011. We’re along for that ride, and all the mixed messages that come with it.

Although those cultural messages and themes grow to become bigger than the characters themselves, that in no way diminishes the actors’ performances.

Zayas is adorable as Tony, and we watch his character struggle as he searches and grows, finding his way through all the people and events who came before him, as well as navigate his marriage. Weaver plays Tony’s husband, Michael, as doting, with just a touch of self-recognized pomposity. The interplay and dynamics between the husbands feels genuine.

Kiryat Jearim Castillo infuses her character, Raquel, with a bratty flair. As her story develops, we feel her shame, her need to distance herself from the pervasive violence commonly inflicted on her culture within her time and place. Her dance moves with Cleo (Longoria) flowed nicely, too. Longoria delivers to the audience proud men in Cleo, Gustavo and Manuel, all of whom are not looking for a fight, but aren’t backing down from one, either.

Showcasing her range with playing strong female roles, Nelly Torres brings grit to a treasured family aunt, Maria Refugio, an independent woman full of resolve. Torres is daunting as Adela, an intimidating mother who gets about three inches from her daughter’s face and wags her finger well before her daughter has had a chance to do anything wrong. And she is hilarious as Samantha, who could be any of our own overly Americanized mothers.

Diego Sandino brings an intensity to all of his character portrayals, playing Robert, the table-side philosopher, Silverio, the brutish father, and Tomás, the border refugee with equal amounts of passion.

For many reasons, I like this play. I saw the table read in January 2022, so I have a second-row seat while watching the play evolve, improve. Although I’m a writer first, the editor in me sees places where the author can further tighten this script, should he choose to continue developing it.

For example, while it is important for the audience to understand the respective current events as the timeline hops around, I think planting context clues, character dialogue, or even the family overhearing news on the radio would have more impact than turning local officials into characters to deliver monologues. If part of the reason for the monologues was to show the disjointedness the playwright feels, then I get that, and I’ll shush about what I think. But I feel as if they interfere with the playwright’s personal relationship with the story, snipping the generational thread tying the vignettes together, in much the same way his ancestral heritage was interrupted along the way.

I can sense the author getting closer to his subject matter between last year and in this rendition. And I feel honored to have met Zayas’ family. May this play inspire you to think about your own ancestors, as well as your successors.

“I Don’t Speak Spanish” runs until Oct. 22 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4^th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit https://www.gamuttheatre.org/i-dont-speak-spanish.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Burg Review: Open Stage’s “The Exorcist” will grip, possess you

October 7, 2023 | by Gina Napoli

A scene from “The Exorcist” at Open Stage

I wish I could share with you some of my imitations of the hellish noises I heard during “The Exorcist.” I would snarl a demonic throat whisper so chilling it would make your scalp shiver the way mine did. Or I would crack my neck as I tried to spin it all the way around.

But I must leave unsettling sound effects to the professionals. Open Stage ratchets up the tension to create a disturbing and fearful experience that grabs you, possesses you.

William Peter Blatty’s award-winning novel, based on a true story, adapted for the stage by John Pielmeier and directed by Open Stage’s Stuart Landon, “The Exorcist” isn’t just a play to watch. The cast presents the audience with a sensory experience overladen with gore and terror. You smell the air blowing through the rusty casement window. You feel the vibrations from the quaking bed. You sense a presence skulking just offstage, somewhere in the shadows. The stage has an energy around it, like a foggy force-field serving as an imaginary barrier of safety. Then when you hear thunder clap or footsteps behind you, that safety melts away. The special effects surround you, penetrate your sensibilities, make you grab onto the arm of your plus-one for comfort.

In perfect keeping with Open Stage’s “Out of the Darkness” theme for its 38th season comes a story that preys on the blackest parts of the dark arts – in the struggle of good and evil, of things holy and unholy, where children don’t belong. Yet our 12-year-old main character, Regan MacNeil (Emily Reusswig), finds herself shackled to her bed, possessed by a demon that will only leave if he takes someone back to hell with him.

Reusswig delivers an impressive performance that showcases extremes in her range. She gives her voice a pining quality to evoke the audience’s sympathy for a lonely little girl. She swivel-chairs between that helpless and naïve sweetheart to a gnarled, revolting, belligerent beast. Tommy Dougherty plays The Demon, complete with threatening voice and aggressive presence.

Regan’s mother, movie star Chris MacNeil (Tara Herweg), plays a tired single mother who doesn’t believe in God. When her daughter’s soul is overtaken, Herweg transforms her character into a passionate fighter, believing in whatever she has to believe in to save her daughter, bringing the audience along to feel the depth of her desperation.

MacNeil’s director, Burke Dennings (Josh Dorsheimer), provides a touch of comic relief to this play, even adding a few contemporary jokes. The humor isn’t enough to lighten the play overall, but it does add a few smiling moments. Dorsheimer seems to naturally generate chemistry and rapport with the other actors.

Representing the pope, Father Damien Karras (Jeff Luttermoser) and Father Lancaster Merrin (Ted Hanson) both play the main priests exorcising the demonic spirit from Regan. Luttermoser delivers the audience a convincingly tortured and guilty man, shaky in his own beliefs, dealing with grief over his mother’s recent death. In contrast, Hanson’s onstage presence serves as a disruptor to the other characters, carrying a concrete and credible presence. (The feeling zaps me right back to Catholic school when a nun or priest would walk in, and all the students would immediately start behaving. Hanson was in charge.) Both priests say enough Latin and portions of the Mass during the actual exorcism that I feel like I’ve checked my box for the weekly attendance requirement dictated by the Catechism.

I must also praise the evil geniuses who set off every disgust-ometer in downtown Harrisburg with the play’s sinister special effects (Karen Ruch, John Kern, Chris Gibson, Jen Kilander, and Sammi Leigh Melville), frightening lighting design (Tristan Stasiulis), scary sound design (Josh Rhodes), petrifying property design (Becky Arney), and spine-chilling production stage management (Stacy Reck). Together this crew make the setting become its own terrifying character in its own right.

After the house lights come back on, you have to make your way through dim city corridors to find your way home in the dark (unless you attend one of the play’s two matinee showings.)

As with any art form, there’s always the opportunity for artists to offend even the sturdiest of viewers. To honor all that is decent within you, may the power of Christ compel you to leave your minor children at home for this play. And whoever your plus-one is, consider that you have to make eye contact with them at intermission after experiencing some severely lascivious material together. Or you could avert your gaze and spin your head all the way around.

“The Exorcist” runs Oct. 7 to 31 at Open Stage, 25 Court St., Harrisburg. For more information, check their website at https://www.openstagehbg.com/show/exorcist.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

October 6, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Officials cut the ribbon on the Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flag Education Center.

This week’s stories brought news of unique art exhibits, ribbon cuttings and development projects. If you missed any of our coverage, don’t worry, it’s all listed below.

The Broad Street Market rebuild may be a years-long work in progress, but local officials are busy proposing ideas and planning its reconstruction, our magazine story reported. In the meantime, the city will provide a temporary location for displaced vendors.

A community comment from local group Strong HBG discusses the need for safety improvements to State Street in Harrisburg. Click here, to read about the changes they’re proposing.

Concerts in Harrisburg this month will not disappoint. Our music columnist has a great October lineup, here.

“The Exorcist” is coming to Open Stage, bringing the horror to Harrisburg, our magazine story reported. This new adaptation, penned by John Pielmeier, will run during the 50^th anniversary of the original movie’s release.

Family Fishing Day will return to Harrisburg’s Italian Lake on Oct. 7, our online story reported. The city’s event will offer residents the chance to learn the basics of fishing.

The Farmland Preservation Artists of Central Pennsylvania have artwork on display in the state Capitol this month, our online story reported. The group hopes to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the state’s farmland.

Gamut Theatre, starting this weekend, will host the world premiere of “I Don’t Speak Spanish,” a new work by local playwright David Ramón Zayas. In our magazine story, read more about the show, which is Zayas’ most personal play yet.

Harrisburg City Council weighed a proposal for a downtown apartment project on Tuesday, our online story reported. New Jersey-based developer, Yasser Hellel, has proposed turning the former Federal Building into 162 apartment units.

Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC announced its 2023 Catalyst Award winners. Click here, to find out which local leaders, businesses and community members were honored.

October events are aplenty this month, with lots of ways to enjoy fall. Find special autumn events in our Community Corner section, and all the theater, music and educational goings on in Happenings.

The Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flag Education Center opened in Harrisburg this week, our online story reported. The center houses the commonwealth’s over 400 flags and features an interactive exhibit.

Our publisher, in his column, shares his thoughts on Harrisburg as a 15-minute city. He appreciates that, in the city, most daily necessities are within a short walk or bike ride.

Revolutionary Hot Sauce Eatery recently opened in Mechanicsburg, our magazine story reported. The shop sells owner Tim Myers’ hot sauce, as well as a menu of lunch and dinner offerings.

Sara Bozich has a great roundup of ways to spend your weekend in Harrisburg. Find them all, here.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not, sign up here!

Support quality local journalism. Join Friends of TheBurg today!

From Stubborn to Statin: A Cholesterol Journey

October 5, 2023 | by Jerry Reimenschneider, THINK Capital Blue Cross

Jerry Reimenschneider, his wife, Terese, and daughter, Alyssa, this spring

I bristled at my doctor.

“A statin?” I huffed. “For me?”

It was during a telehealth appointment in 2021, months after a medical exam for my new life insurance policy flagged an elevated overall cholesterol level of 244 and an alarming LDL (or “bad cholesterol”) level of – gulp – 167. As reference points, anything above 200 overall or 100 LDL is considered high.

Naturally my doctor was concerned, particularly after we’d worked together the previous few years to control my cholesterol through diet. He told me that since that hadn’t worked, it was time to put me on the statin, a well-known class of drugs that can lower cholesterol by blocking a substance the body uses to produce it.

I should have felt good about taking a medication I already knew was affordable and wildly effective. Instead, I was frustrated – and felt like a failure.

Over the previous four years, I’d dropped more than 30 pounds to get to the healthy weight my doctor wanted; intensified my exercise; and limited my intake of high-LDL culprits like cream and cheese.

And still I needed these pills? Weren’t statins for people struggling more with their weight, exercise, and diet? Weren’t they for smokers?

My doctor doubled down.

“Jerry, listen,” he said. “This could just be something out of your control. I can tell you just by looking at your cholesterol number and your demographics – your age (55 at the time), your race, your gender – that your probability of having a heart attack or stroke over the next decade is something like 12%. It shouldn’t be higher than 5%.

“It’s time to take the statin.”

Sufficiently terrified, I finally took the statin.

Not Always about Lifestyle

Turns out I’m far from alone.

My story serves as a reminder that while high cholesterol is often the result of the aforementioned lifestyle factors, it can simply be hereditary.

That’s the case for me and tens of millions of Americans, and a reason the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends all adults 20 and over have preventive cholesterol screenings every four to six years.

An estimated 12% of Americans, about 94 million, have high cholesterol. Because it comes without noticeable symptoms, it’s particularly perilous if left untreated – excess LDL can build and ultimately block a coronary artery, triggering heart disease and strokes.

Costly but Containable

An AHA-funded report found that high cholesterol would cost the United States $276 billion in lost productivity by 2030. But it need not cost so many lives and so much money, because experts agree on several effective approaches:

Take medications when prescribed. I finally succumbed to reality and did what was best for my health. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45% of U.S. adults who could benefit from cholesterol medications don’t take them.
Maintain a diet low in saturated fats. Saturated, or “bad,” fats are the main culprits leading to high LDL.
Manage your weight. Excess body fat often means higher cholesterol.
Don’t smoke. It makes LDL “stickier,” and more likely to clog arteries.

Health insurance that covers screening, counseling, and treatment is critical to containing high cholesterol.

Capital Blue Cross offers a variety of preventive services with no cost share to members who have standard benefit coverage. Services related to healthy cholesterol levels may include:

An annual preventive visit to review health, as well as family and personal risk factors.
Preventive medications such as statins. See a full covered medication list at capbluecross.com.
A lab test, called a lipid panel, to check cholesterol levels.
Blood pressure screenings.
Screening and behavioral counseling for cardiovascular disease prevention.

So My Statin Worked

My statin – a generic of Lipitor – slashed my numbers to healthy levels within months, making me feel silly for being so prideful and waiting so long.

I’m lucky the issue didn’t create chronic problems, or worse, before I started the prescription, and urge anyone whose doctor recommends medication to take it as prescribed, in addition to doing the other good stuff: Eat healthy, exercise and kick those cigarettes to the curb.

High cholesterol can cause huge problems. But as my journey shows, there’s really no need to let it reach that point.

THINK (Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

October 5, 2023 | by Sara Bozich

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find:

For something new: Open Stage’s THE EXORCIST | live on stage Worth noting: HU Presents JAWNY at XL Live; Pilates Yoga Fusion at Zeroday; Cocoa Creek Chocolates will be one of many vendors at this month’s HBG Flea! Things on my agenda this weekend: youth baseball, Jawny, football — probably eke in some fall fun!

For your weekend(ish) planning

See Jawny on 10/7
The Best Farmers Markets around Harrisburg
How to help the Broad Street Market and its displaced vendors
See what else you missed on the blog

Below are options for your weekend.

A Look Ahead

Win tickets to see Gus Dapperton on Oct. 19
Harrisburg Book Festival is this month!
Fall Music Syllabus – Harrisburg University Presents September Lineup
Submit your events for the Weekend Roundup

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Local artists highlight farmland preservation in exhibit featured in state Capitol

October 4, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Farmland Preservation Artists of Central PA members in the state Capitol building

This fall, visitors to the state Capitol building can get a glimpse into the region’s natural beauty, as seen through the eyes of local artists.

Artwork by the Farmland Preservation Artists of Central Pennsylvania is on display in the Capitol in October, to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the state’s farmland.

“To have our artwork here is such an honor,” Martha Grout Taylor, president of the arts organization, told TheBurg, following a press conference. “What we are hoping is that our elected officials will see the art and say, this is important to Pennsylvania, and that it will raise awareness of farmland preservation.”

Art featured in the Capitol

The exhibit, on display in the Capitol’s East Wing Rotunda, features 51 works of art by 14 Pennsylvania artists. Each piece depicts a scene from central Pa. farmland.

The arts organization was formed in 2005 as a joint effort by the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania and the Centre County Farmland Trust. The group works to promote the preservation of the land through their art, as well as raise money for the two organizations. According to Taylor, the farmland preservation artists group holds around three exhibits each year.

Art included in the October exhibit at the Capitol is for sale and a portion of the proceeds will support the art alliance and farmland trust.

“These artists inspire us to work toward their vision to help the central Pennsylvania region and all of Pennsylvania preserve farmland,” said Dan Guss, president of the Centre County Farmland Trust. “Together, with preservationists and legislators, we will collaborate to make their vision a reality.”

For more information about the Farmland Preservation Artists of Central Pennsylvania, visit their website.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Harrisburg Chamber names 2023 Catalyst Award winners, honored for promoting positive change

October 4, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Corrie Lingenfelter

Seven people and organizations will receive one of the Harrisburg area’s most prestigious annual awards, as the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC announced its 2023 Catalyst Award winners.

Corrie Lingenfelter, executive director of Downtown Daily Bread, will receive the Catalyst Award itself, for her contributions to the community. Harrisburg-based Downtown Daily Bread serves as a shelter and kitchen for the homeless and food insecure.

The other award recipients are:

Athena Award: Virginia Roth, Color & Culture
Diversity Influencer of the Year: TE Connectivity’s African Heritage ERG-PA Chapter
Entrepreneur of the Year: Jonathan Bowser, Steel Works Construction
Government Leader of the Year: state Sen. Greg Rothman
Small Business of The Year: Burn 30
Volunteer of The Year: Michael Burke, PNC Bank

Each year, the Catalyst Awards recognize recipients for their commitment to leading positive change in the region, creating more opportunities for business and building a brighter future in the region.

TheBurg received the Catalyst Award in 2018.

“We are incredibly proud to honor this dynamic and diverse group of visionary individuals and businesses for their dedication and commitment to improving our region,” said Ryan Unger, president & CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC. “The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC’s core values include being inclusive, collaborative and positive. This year’s winners strongly demonstrate these values in their work, and we are proud to honor them this year for that work.”

The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC will host the Catalyst Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Hilton Harrisburg. For more information and to register, click here.

Commonwealth cuts the ribbon on Civil War Battle Flag Education Center in Harrisburg

October 4, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Rep. Patty Kim (D-103), former state senator John Gordner and others affiliated with the project cut the ribbon on the Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flag Education Center.

For the first time, the community can learn about the Commonwealth’s historic flags in an interactive exhibit.

On Wednesday, officials cut the ribbon on the Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flag Education Center in Harrisburg.

“This education center provides an immersive experience to our guests,” said Rep. Patty Kim (D-103), chair of the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee. “We are very excited for you to see this.”

The preservation committee, formed in 1981, has worked to preserve about 403 Civil War and Spanish-American War flags that are in the state’s possession and spearheaded the project to create the education center.

The new center, located in a Department of General Services Building at 2221 Forster St., now not only houses the flags, but allows visitors to view them and learn about their history through an exhibit.

Inside the education center

Formerly, the flag collection was stored at a location on Market and N. 10^th streets, from 1985 to 2020, when the flags were relocated. Since then, the committee has worked to create the exhibit, which includes interactive touch screens with flag information, as well as additional artifacts like war equipment, uniforms and soldiers’ personal items.

According to Kim, the collection is one of the largest state-issued collections of flags in the nation.

“These flags were incredibly important tools of war. Amidst the confusion of battle, they provided direction and inspiration for soldiers,” said Andrea Lowery, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. “And these flags here illustrate the immeasurable sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.”

A flag on display in the education center

The education center will hold an open house for the public from Oct. 4-6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., each day. The center will resume normal tours on Oct. 10, by appointment only.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flag Education Center, visit the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee’s website.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find:

For your weekend(ish) planning

A Look Ahead

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like