Kitty Fix: Trap Neuter Release programs depend on dedicated volunteers—and funders

June 29, 2023 | by Molly Pavlovich

Photos of feral cats cared for by The Nobody’s Cats Foundation

Nearly every day for the last nine years, Christine Arnold, the founder and managing director of The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, visits a cat colony that lives in a local wooded area.

She fills their feeder with a large bag of kibble, plates a few cans of wet food, and rinses and refills drinking bins with six gallons of water.

Often, a few furry and familiar faces make an appearance, glancing at Arnold from a distance before satisfying their empty stomachs. The oldest of the bunch is nearing 9 years old—from the colony’s original litter—while the youngest, now 4 years old, was the last kitten born into the colony.

“This particular area was a horrible dumping ground for as long as I can remember,” Arnold said. “But thankfully, we’ve had far fewer abandoned animals in recent years, and through our commitment to spaying and neutering the population, we’ve successfully decreased the number of cats from more than 50 to around 20. And we’ll keep working our way down to, hopefully, zero one day.”

The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, located in Camp Hill, helps prevent the suffering of free-roaming domestic feline populations in south-central PA through its high-volume “Trap Neuter Release” (TNR) strategy.

“By spaying just one female cat, you’re potentially preventing 12 to 18 kittens from being unnecessarily born in a year,” Arnold said. “Of the 45,000 or so cats we’ve spayed or neutered since opening the clinic 10 years ago, around 25,000 of those are female, and that totals thousands and thousands of kittens who would otherwise be born into a difficult free-roaming life if it weren’t for TNR.”

Their goal for 2023 is to perform 6,000 spay and neuter surgeries on feral and stray cats. As one might imagine, the costs to cover this wide-reaching impact add up, and it’s the dedicated hands and hearts of volunteers behind the scenes and community partners like the Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) that are the funding forces.

“SNAP partners with other providers, including The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, to subsidize the cost of spays and neuters for both cats and dogs, to ensure the cause has continued funding,” said SNAP’s President Essie Petrovich. “We also offer significantly reduced spay and neuter surgery prices to pet owners, thanks to the generosity of several local veterinary clinics.”

Through the TNR process, cats get a second chance—living healthier and oftentimes longer lives than they otherwise would have. And as docile cats that were once someone’s house pet and newborn kittens are found roaming busy streets or seeking shelter in neighborhood yards, they’re not only neutered and spayed but they’re connected with rescues like Lemoyne-based Loving Care Cat Rescue that help them find homes.

“If we don’t take those kittens, in five weeks we have a much less chance of socializing them, and they are essentially committed to being outside for the rest of their lives,” said Lisa Snyder, who founded Loving Care Cat Rescue in 2013. “But if we take them in and spend eight to 10 weeks with them, their lives could be entirely different. What are eight weeks compared to possibly 18 years of life?”

Currently fostering 19 cats, 15 of which are kittens, Snyder chooses the latter as frequently as she can. While she understands that fostering this many animals is not something everyone is capable of, she believes everyone can do something—whether it be fostering one, spaying or neutering your pets, donating time or funds to a local rescue, or learning how to TNR.

“I believe that it’s our job as humans to help take care of these animals who can’t take care of themselves—to show compassion to all living things,” Snyder added. “Together, we are all a part of the solution.”

To learn more about The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, Spay Neuter Assistance Program or Loving Care Cat Rescue, visit their websites or find them on Facebook.

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

Take Down, Build Up: For Julia Parkins, jiu-jitsu has a far deeper meaning than just sport

June 29, 2023 | by Jeff Falk

Photos courtesy of Giselle Villasenor Photography.

Julia Parkins didn’t intentionally set out to become a jiu-jitsu champion.

Her initial interest in the martial art centered on fulfillment.

But in March in Kissimmee, Fla., at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s Pan American Championship, Parkins accomplished the rare feat of capturing two gold medals in her age, weight and class category. Since taking up jiu-jitsu nearly four years ago, the Harrisburg-area resident has competed in about seven similar tournaments.

“Competition has always been a part of my life, but it’s more about me putting my skills to the test,” she said. “If I’m going to put my heart and soul into something, I want to see how it holds up. I always want to improve and learn. I have the most fun when I’m learning from different people.”

A 41-year-old married mother of three boys, Parkins suffers from type-one diabetes. The challenges associated with balancing the extensive training required for jiu-jitsu competition and her home life are no less intense than the ones she faces on the mat against skilled opponents.

“At first it was like, ‘Let’s try it—why not?’” Parkins said. “I remember the adrenaline dump and sort of blacking out and coming to during the match. The adrenaline dumps affected my blood sugar. I just remember the feeling after the match.”

Jiu-jitsu can serve as both a means of exercise and an outlet for competition. Parkins’ training regimen leading up to a competition can include weightlifting, sparring, hiking, running, dieting and resting. She often trains at Deepwater Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Colonial Park, usually around five times a week.

“When you say ‘jiu-jitsu’ to most people, they think of karate,” she said. “What I do with it, jiu-jitsu is a sport. You start standing, and you try to get the other person on the ground, and you fight on the ground. It’s making good use of your skills and using the other person’s body weight against them. But there is no kicking or punching.”

Something Clicked

In 2019, in her late 30s, Parkins sought out jiu-jitsu as a way to lose weight, stay healthy and learn self-defense. It didn’t take long for her competitive nature to kick in.

“Jiu-jitsu changed my life,” she said. “The initial change was I lost 70 pounds. I became super aware of my health and my body. With the confidence it gives you, you essentially learn how your body moves in space. It kind of opened a door for me.”

Or re-opened one.

Growing up, Parkins was an accomplished, three-sport scholastic athlete in basketball, softball and field hockey. After graduation, she matriculated to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she became a member of the Hawks’ Division One rowing team.

That may have been the first time in her life that she stepped out of her comfort zone to stoke her competitive fire.

“When I first signed up for jiu-jitsu, I asked very specifically, ‘Do I have to compete to move up the belt rank?’” Parkins said. “That’s how it was until they offered this really fun in-house tournament. Then I was hooked. Something clicked. Something happened. I’m just highly serious about things.”

It’s a seriousness that can be molded and channeled into positive energy. That’s a skill that Parkins has learned as she has evolved as a jiu-jitsu competitor.

“When I’m ‘in the bullpen’ 20 minutes before fights, I’m usually doing my breathing or listening to music that makes me happy,” she said. “What makes or breaks these fights is your mental state. My fight face is much different than my everyday face. Some people say it’s mean, but it’s not. To me, it’s super focused.”

An ancient martial art, jiu-jitsu dates back to 16th-century Japan. But more recently, interest has spiked, in part, through the increased popularity of mixed martial arts and ultimate cage fighting.

“I think it used to be obscure,” Parkins said. “But jiu-jitsu is growing, and more people know about it. I’d like to think jiu-jitsu can be done at any age, and there are people starting in their 50s, 60s and 70s. But it’s hard on your body when you’re rolling around on a mat. It’s not for everybody.”

For Parkins, the novelty has yet to wane. But how much longer she can continue to pursue it may depend on her training, the recuperative powers of her body, and her ability to balance her life.

“My life very much revolves around my children, but, for me to be healthy, I had to carve out something for myself,” Parkins said. “The short-term goal is to continue to compete. I know I’ll always do jiu-jitsu, but I don’t know if I’ll always compete.”

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

Sweet Dream: Valeria Garcia has overcome numerous challenges in her quest to open a French-style bakery

June 29, 2023 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Valeria Garcia. Photos courtesy of Valosh.

It hasn’t been easy, but Valeria Garcia is finally on the way to attaining her dream.

Valosh Pâtisserie opened in early May in downtown Elizabethtown, offering beyond-the-ordinary baked delights, such as rhubarb and strawberry millefeuille, lemon and lavender cake and peanut brioche.

At Valosh, Garcia, 27, creates fine French pastries flavored with a kick of her native Puerto Rico. For now, she employs no other workers but aspires to hire some staff by the end of the year.

“(My) pastries are made in low sugar,” she said. “The Puerto Rican part is using certain spices and such fruits like mango, passion fruit and figs in some recipes. The custards are technically French.”

Garcia studied her craft at École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in France, enrolling in a pastry arts program “that my mom and dad helped me pay, with much sacrifice,” she said. During her studies, French classmates translated Garcia’s first name as “Valosh,” today the source of her bakery’s moniker.

Unfortunately, soon after starting the program, things took a turn for the worse. That same month, in September 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, an event that “changed my family’s finances,” she said. As a result, she could only complete one year of the school’s three-year pastry program.

“I tried to search for loans, grants, scholarships and millions of other ways to fund my last two years, but I didn’t have any luck,” Garcia recalled. “After that, I had a hard time accepting it, and I felt like a failure for one or two years.”

Despite not finishing the school’s full course, Garcia had learned enough to acquire some serious baking chops.

“I still had the hope that my pastry shop would come one day,” she said.

She soon moved to Maryland with a friend, but, after awhile, surmised there was “nothing there” for her and relocated to Harrisburg with her boyfriend, Luis Melendez.

In Harrisburg, Garcia, who had studied accounting in Puerto Rico, got a job working in banking. She already knew English well after attending bilingual school in Puerto Rico, so language wasn’t a barrier.

In the meantime, she never let go of her dream. In 2021, she began selling her pastries online from her home in Harrisburg, which proved to be a success.

“Valeria is the kind of person who keeps on doing stuff until she gets what she wants,” said her older sister, Gabriela Garcia. “She’s very creative. Since she was a little girl, she’s always wanted to bake.”

After a year in Harrisburg, Garcia decided that she “wanted to get out of the city and live in the country.” So, she relocated to Elizabethtown, where she was able to secure financing to establish her dream brick-and-mortar bakery in the quaint borough.

“Elizabethtown has a certain vibe like my hometown in Puerto Rico,” Garcia said. “It has a downtown where you can walk around. It has hospitality.”

As much as she loves her craft, Garcia readily admits that, sometimes, it’s not easy to run a bakery all by herself. So far, her biggest business challenge has been “getting used to the amount that I have to bake.”

“Yesterday, I made three different desserts, and it took me 12 hours to get it all done,” she said.

At that point, she still was in the process of mixing all of her recipes by hand and using a single-capacity oven, limiting her yield. However, she was in the process of purchasing a mixer and a double oven for her business.

For the time being, Garcia’s only help at the bakery is Melendez, who runs the cash register until staff is hired, hopefully later this year.

Despite her many challenges past and present, Garcia maintains an unwavering love for creating fine pastries.

“With baking, I can disconnect from everything,” she said. “It’s a form of therapy that allows me to be in the moment. Then when you serve it to people, seeing the expressions on their faces is just amazing.”

Valosh Pâtisserie is located at 23 E. High St., Elizabethtown. For more information, visit www.tastevalosh.com.

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

Italian-Style Summer: Try a light fish dish for a perfect July meal

June 29, 2023 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

One of my fondest memories of our 2012 trip to Italy was the day we visited Positano.

Positano is a cliff-side village on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. With its narrow cobblestone streets and pastel-colored buildings, it is a place that you might picture in your mind’s eye when you think of a holiday along the Mediterranean.

It was a perfect, sunny afternoon in May when we found an open-air restaurant practically on the pebbled beach lined with boats and sun-lovers. I have never really gotten used to eating in the middle of the afternoon. But friends we traveled with had lived in Italy for some time, so that was their custom.

So, there we were overlooking the sparking water, and I decided that all I wanted to eat was fish. Without looking at the menu, I asked the waiter if the kitchen could prepare a simple mild fish roasted with potatoes and fresh rosemary. They did, and I remember it as one of the best meals I ever had.

Seafood is popular and abundant along all the coastlines of Italy and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, as well. My father, born in the little town of Vieste on the Adriatic Sea, lived to eat the shellfish he remembered as a child, mussels and clams especially. (To my mother’s dismay, he also loved eel, octopus and smelts!)

Liguria is a province of northwestern Italy. Sitting on the Ligurian Sea and crossed by the Alps, it is part of what is known as the “Italian Riviera.” Although far from the sunny waters of the south, Liguria has a long coastline and is home to wonderful fish, too, including sea bass, cod and tuna. The recipe below is a classic one from Liguria: sea bass with potatoes and olives, or “Sprigola al Forno.” It reminds me of the lovely dish I had sitting by the sea in Positano.

SEA BASS WITH POTATOES AND OLIVES

Ingredients

4 portions of mild white fish like cod, sea bass or halibut (6 to 8 ounces each)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram or oregano
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 lemon slices
2 pounds “waxy” potatoes, peeled and sliced (I like yellow golds)
½ cup Mediterranean-style black olives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Dry the fish well with paper towels and, using a sharp, heavy knife, make a few shallow slashes on top of each piece.
In a small bowl, stir together the parsley, marjoram or oregano, 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Rub the mixture over all sides of the fish and place a lemon slice on top of each piece. Cover and let stand while you prepare the potatoes.
Place the sliced potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Place the potato slices in a heavy roasting pan large enough to hold them in a fairly shallow layer.
Roast the potatoes until they begin to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Then turn them, stir in the olives, and place the fish pieces on top.
Continue to roast the fish and potatoes until the flesh is opaque and the potatoes are tender.
Place the fish pieces on a platter and surround them with the potatoes and olives. Garnish with sprigs of any fresh herbs and serve. Roasted asparagus goes very nicely with the fish and maybe lemon sorbetto for dessert.

If you are adventurous, you might try making this recipe with whole, heads-on fish, such as branzino or red snapper, which have been cleaned by your fish vendor. You can add a few garlic cloves or sliced sweet onions to the potatoes to ramp up the flavor. And, if you are into sheet-pan cooking, you could give that a try.

All you need now is some chilled white wine, an outside table, a few lit candles, and a soft summer breeze. Enjoy these fleeting summer months.

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

Sounds on the Water: Riverfront Park rocks again as HU Presents Summer Series returns

June 29, 2023 | by Skye Leppo

Past concerts at Riverfront Park. Photos courtesy of HU Presents.

Few sensations pair better than a gentle summer breeze from the Susquehanna River and hearing the opening chords of a live song from one of your favorite bands.

Starting this month, live music fans again will get to have this experience as the Harrisburg University (HU) Presents Summer Series brings an eclectic mix of prominent musicians to the area.

The series will feature at least five concerts, including R&B legends The Roots, indie rock band Mt. Joy, Phish legend Trey Anastasio and indie folk band The Head and the Heart.

Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit return to the stage at Riverfront Park on July 26, opening the series. The band, currently on tour supporting the June release of the outfit’s sixth LP, “Weathervanes,” last performed in the capital region in August 2021.

Frontman Isbell, formerly part of the rock band Drive-By Truckers, has carved out a unique place for himself as one of the most celebrated talents in the singer-songwriter community, bringing a handcrafted touch to mesmerizing melodies and lyrics that may linger with you long after you’ve hit “repeat” on your playlists a few dozen times.

“Jason Isbell—I think he’s iconic,” said Frank Schofield, HU’s director of live entertainment and media services. “He really speaks to the integrity and fabric and the cloth that we try to drive for at Harrisburg University.”

The Summer Series at Riverfront Park, now in its fifth year, has drawn audiences of 4,000 to 5,000 music lovers to the waterfront for shows that have featured bands like Lord Huron, Cage the Elephant and The National, among others.

“We’re very confident of the capacity that we’ve set forth to have fun shows in a safe environment,” Schofield said, before adding jokingly, “We don’t charge the pontoon boats. They come in kayaks, too.”

John Harris, the talent buyer for XL Live and head of production management for the HU Presents concert series, echoed the excitement of bringing acts to the riverfront that generally play to much larger crowds.

“There’s this thing in the music industry we refer to as an ‘underplay,’” Harris said. “The band is big, and they shouldn’t be playing our small venue. So, when we get an underplay, it’s very exciting. We’re starting to attract that type of thing, and we’re building a reputation in this market.”

Harris added that HU has an advantage with having both the indoor XL Live and the outdoor Riverfront Park venues.

“Once an artist plays the venue, they might be inclined to come back,” Harris said. “Look at Jason Isbell and The Roots — they had a good experience, and so did we.”

Comes Together

The benefits of the concert series stretch far beyond the enthusiastic crowd, too.

The six shows together have an economic impact on the region of some $3.75 million, according to the Visit Hershey Harrisburg Economic Impact Calculator.

Partnerships with governmental entities, with artist agencies and with area companies and organizations are something else that the HU team is proud of, Schofield said.

“We’re very proud of the different teams that are organized underneath the Riverfront series, because there’s a backstage team, a front of house team… food trucks, sponsors,” he said, counting PSECU and Tröegs among the new partners. “We’re deeply indebted to Dauphin County and the others that continue to believe in our safe and reliable shows for a great night of fun in the city.”

Harris provided a greater level of detail about what goes into making each show come together.

“For every person on stage, there’s 15 to 20 people involved,” he said.

On the production side, he’s more focused on what’s happening on the sidelines, comparing the process to being a little like “Groundhog Day” for crews managing the stage, the sound, the catering, and the power, for what can sometimes amount to an 18-hour day.

“I look forward to the challenges of the bigger shows,” Harris said. “It’s beautiful when it all comes together.”

For more information and tickets for the HU Presents Summer Series, visit HUPresents.live.

Listen Up

The HU Summer Series features at least five concerts this year:

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Wednesday, July 26
The Roots, Saturday, July 29
The Head And The Heart, Saturday, Aug. 26
Mt. Joy, Saturday, Sept. 16
Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB, Sunday, Sept. 17

All shows to be held in Riverfront Park.

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

Let’s Make It Weird: The Fringe Festival lands in Harrisburg

June 29, 2023 | by Gina Napoli

Chris Gibson & Bri Dow

How fitting that a celebration of weird performance arts found its way to Harrisburg in the form of the unique experience that is a “Fringe Festival.”

Full of diverse, creative talent, Harrisburg is a smaller city on the fringe of being more renowned than we currently are. Despite our convenient accessibility to major cities, we’re often out-skirted, on the fringe of the mainstream. We’re all a little mad here.

Harrisburg’s first-ever Fringe Festival is slated for this month, borrowing many of its elements from those held in larger cities to distinguish it from a typical town to-do.

“There is no 15-second elevator speech to explain a Fringe Festival, so a large part of what we’ll be doing is educating,” said Fringe Festival’s co-producer Chris Gibson. “The best way to describe it is a call to artists to show up and do something weird. And for the community to show up and see something they wouldn’t ordinarily see.”

Although the quality of being weird (in a good way) is subjective, co-producer and 717 Arts Board Treasurer Bri Dow said that we can expect to experience art that “takes risks, pushing boundaries beyond the mainstream in a traditional sense.”

The Fringe Festival evokes a sense of magic for Gibson, partly because of its completely blurred lines between performers and attendees. That doesn’t necessarily mean audience participation pieces. It just means the artists are accessible, with everyone immersing themselves in a festival atmosphere vibe.

“You’ll find the artists at the beer tent, mixing along with everyone else,” Gibson said. “With building relationships with everyone on the circuit year after year, I’m blown away when I recognize so many volunteers.”

Safety Net

Harrisburg’s Fringe Festival will give artists opportunities to launch their weird works and fly their freak flags, providing them wider exposure for their art. The festival is un-juried and uncensored, to give the vibe an “almost anything goes” feel. (If you’re bringing younger kids, there are separate sections cordoned off and clearly marked.)

Gibson and Dow purposefully structured the Fringe Festival to level the playing field for artists who wouldn’t otherwise have access to the expensive things that performing artists need.

For a relatively small investment from the artist, the festival provides a network of venues, props, technical support, publicity and other overhead. Partnerships with sponsors help to defray costs, with 100% of ticket sales given to the artists. Gibson likened it to producing theater with training wheels, with having a safety net in place.

“We recognize the limitations in accessing resources, and we’re especially interested in lifting the voices in underserved communities to invest in the quality of life in Harrisburg,” Gibson said.

A lottery system for applications helps keep the selection process as fair and unbiased as possible, with 30% of space reserved for under-represented groups. The structure will enable artists to be successful in a way that’s beneficial to them. Without any popularity network, new artists can more easily gain a platform.

All the shows last 60 minutes or less, with tickets selling for no more than $10. There’s also a live-streaming option with a Q&A period leading up to the event.

“This might be an artist’s big break,” Gibson said. “Then again, not everyone will knock it out of the park, and that’s OK.”

More Talent

The original Fringe Festival started in Edinburgh in 1947, when several poorer performing arts companies ran their own separate festival parallel to an official festival only meant for its elite citizenry. It didn’t take long for the hoi polloi to climb their way through the upper crust, pop through the top, and stomp holes in it, surpassing the city’s official festival in international popularity. You can find other Fringe Festivals in certain larger cities, like Orlando, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Harrisburg’s upcoming, four-day festival comes on the heels of a pilot fundraiser event, “Fringe in a Day,” held in August 2022, a 24-hour festival where artists were challenged to create works based on a surprise theme. In contrast, works performed at the upcoming Fringe Festival “will be a lot more thought out,” Dow said.

“Artists spend a ton of time putting [their performances] together,” Dow said.

Gibson and Dow have big goals for future fringe festivals, including international outreach. But for their initial run, they’re keeping plans manageable and expectations grounded. Dow sees the festival as a way to simultaneously grow and reflect the diverse community of Harrisburg.

“If we don’t keep it basic and give ourselves room to grow, we won’t get out of the starting gate,” Gibson said.

So, for this year, they’re going with what’s available, accessing some key resources and model elements from the Orlando Fringe Festival.

“This city is ripe with so much potential, but we don’t have time to showcase everyone,” Gibson said. “We’re marketing all over the world for artists to come here, to put Harrisburg on an international stage. With so many great venues and Black excellence we’ve invested in, we have more talent than we deserve.”

The Harrisburg Fringe Festival takes place July 6 to 9 at various venues in the city. For more information, visit www.hbgfringe.com.

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

Musical Notes: Sounds of Summer

June 29, 2023 | by Skye Leppo

The heat of summer is ablaze on stages throughout the capital region this July, as Harrisburg’s concert offerings are sure to get you on your feet—or in the Ticketmaster queue (insert groan here). Check out our top picks below, or slide into our DMs if there’s a great gig coming to the area that you feel we’ve overlooked—we may just have to check it out for ourselves.

DON’T MISS

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, 7/26, HU Presents Summer Series, Riverfront Park

Falling somewhere between the subset of outlaw country acts and Americana rock is Jason Isbell, who perhaps could be called one of, if not the greatest, songwriter of his time (and this endorsement is coming from a diehard Swiftie). Isbell, a talented instrumentalist in his own right, is bringing his band, the 400 Unit, to Riverfront Park for what is sure to be a memorable performance in support of their latest album, “Weathervanes.” For those who aren’t familiar with Isbell’s music, I’ll suggest the beautiful single, “If We Were Vampires,” from 2017’s “The Nashville Sound” album, and “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World (featuring Brittney Spencer)” from 2021’s “Georgia Blue.” The show is the opener to the Harrisburg University Presents Summer Concert Series.

FOR NOSTALGIA’S SAKE

Joyce Manor & Tigers Jaw, 7/12, H*MAC

A cursory glance at the syllabus for “Pop Punk: A History” should include at least some mention of the emo/pop-punk music scene from circa 2008-13, when a slew of millennials who grew up with influences of Simple Plan and Blink-182 started creating their own innovative projects (see also: Modern Baseball, Pine Barons, The Wonder Years, et al.). The California-based outfit Joyce Manor, and Tigers Jaw, who hail from Scranton, would certainly make at least the footnotes of this chapter for me, having caught both bands a few times in the early 2010s on small and large stages alike throughout the tri-state area. This is listed as an all-ages show. This writer recommends wearing closed toe shoes for what will surely result in some form of light mosh pit.

ENCORE

The Roots, 7/29, HU Presents Summer Series, Riverfront Park

I don’t think I need to convince you to go see The Roots. Literally listen to any of this band’s incredible array of work from the last four decades and let the music do the persuasion. This show at the Harrisburg waterfront will be an amazing return for Questlove, Black Thought and the rest of the Philly-based hip-hop group, who delivered an incredible set at the same venue in 2022 that left all of us wanting more (or from my vantage point, resulting in a terrible case of FOMO after failing to plan accordingly). Don’t be me. Plan accordingly.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Tori Amos, 7/6, Hershey Theatre

Tori Amos is bringing her “Ocean to Ocean” tour to Hershey Theatre this month for an intimate evening with the trailblazing songwriter. As a sad girl music fan, I feel an obligation to highlight this opportunity to see the legendary Amos, though tickets for this show are scarce.

Honorable Mentions

Zac Brown Band, 7/1, Hersheypark Stadium

The Struts, 7/14, XL LIVE

Willi Carlisle, 7/19, H*MAC

Bayside, 7/21, H*MAC

Declan McKenna, 7/22, XL LIVE

Spetters, Babel Map and Winona Davenport, 7/23, West Shore Theatre

Please check bag and entry policies for venues before you go.

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

More Catharsis than Comedy: It may not be a perfect movie, but “The Miracle Club” elicits a “strange draw”

June 29, 2023 | by Sammi Leigh Melville

Image courtesy of Sony Classics.

Years ago, a scandal arose in a small village on the outskirts of Dublin. And now, following the death of a woman and a local charity talent show, the past is about to resurface.

Except it’s not “now.” Director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s film, “The Miracle Club,” takes place in the late ‘60s, a setting that seems to accentuate the broiling drama of the working-class Irish women at the film’s core.

Chrissie (Laura Linney) said that she would not return to Ireland until her mother had passed, and now that she’s there, she realizes that everyone has forgotten that wasn’t her decision. When she was just a teenager, she got pregnant, and her mother, her best friend, Eileen (Kathy Bates), and her boyfriend’s mother, Lily (Maggie Smith), turned on her. The result (in a nutshell) was that Chrissie moved to America, and her boyfriend drowned in the sea.

Now, 40 years later, Eileen has a lump on her breast, Lily has one leg that’s longer than the other, and their friend, a young woman named Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), has a mute son. And the three of them are trying to win a trip to Lourdes, France, where rumor has it the Virgin Mary visited and caused a domino effect of miracles throughout the years. Father Dermot (Mark O’Halloran) convinces Chrissie to make the trip for a chance at more emotional healing, and so three generations of women are off on a tangled and complicated journey that brings out every skeleton in their closet. These women go searching for miracles and discover their own miracle of love and reconciliation.

It’s a bit tricky to pin this one down in terms of a review. Was it a good film? Well, it has a good story, though the writing isn’t always great—and good acting, though there are some weak points in the directing that could have strengthened the performances. And funnily enough, the film’s marketing may be a hinderance. Though every promotional site calls the film a comedy (one even describes it as “joyful and hilarious”), “The Miracle Club” could be better described as a story of four women processing their grief and trauma, with some comedy around the edges.

From this reviewer’s perspective, the comedic bits are not, by far, the most compelling parts. For instance, the entire purpose of the husbands in the film is comic relief, as they realize they need to survive for a week without their wives. But the film would not have faltered for a second without their inclusion (my suspicion is that they wanted to add Stephen Rea into the supporting cast). Nor did it greatly need Dolly’s fourth-wheel story arc. Though she is an endearing character and O’Casey is an on-screen delight, it does feel like she is wholly separate from her friends’ tangled web.

That being said, the film has a strange draw to it, and, in just an hour and a half, it will provide some major catharsis to its audience. It’s got good bones and a good cast, and that, really, is all a film needs to stand on its own these days. “The Miracle Club” will play at Midtown Cinema this July.

Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com.

July Events At Midtown Cinema

Music on the Patio
Every Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m.

Harrisburg Fringe Festival
July 6 to 9

Film Openings
“Miracle Club”
Friday, July 14

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”
Friday, July 21

“Theatre Camp”
Friday, July 28

Down in Front! Presents
“Grizzly 2: The Revenge!”
Friday, July 14, 9:30 p.m.(ish)

Free Outdoor Films
“Jaws”
Saturday, July 15, sundown

“Cabaret”
Thursday, July 27, sundown

3rd in the Burg Movie Night
“The Last Unicorn” (1982)
Friday, July 21, 9:30 p.m.

National Theatre Live
“Good”
Sunday, July 16, 5 p.m.

“Best of Enemies”
Sunday, July 23, 5 p.m.

“Fleabag”
Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m.

Trivia Night on the Big Screen
Tuesday, July 25, 7 p.m.

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

The Painted Word: For an artistic experience, Venture down to York

June 29, 2023 | by Bob MacGinnes

Susan McDaniel, JoAnne Schiavone and Karen Paust

The Three Musketeers, protagonists of the Alexandre Dumas novel published in 1844, focuses on the exploits and adventures of this legendary trio as protectors of the King of France.

King Street in York is home to a vibrant art scene as an anchor of the Royal Square District, joined by Queen Street, forming a vanguard of variety ranging from galleries to shops, restaurants, bistros, taverns and breweries. It is home to an eclectic courtyard and even boasts a grand hotel, the Yorktowne.

If you’re looking for a jumping off point, start at Venture, a unique fortress of “craft.art.design” led by York’s version of the Three Musketeers. Only this trio of gendarmes is female, with Susan McDaniel, Karen Paust and JoAnne Schiavone comprising this modern-day version of the Gascon swashbucklers. It was Susan who enlisted Karen and JoAnne, all friends for years, to join her in a pop-up shop in 2018 at the space where Venture is found today. The genesis for that project was an offshoot of the Parliament Art Organization in York, encouraging Susan to “go for it.” Together, the three “wunderkinds” were all in for the adventure.

When one enters Venture, a portal to the “World of Art Imagination” flings open far and wide. Taking in its Technicolor vista of beauty, what the eye beholds first is not always what it appears to be upon closer inspection. Trompe l’oeil is at play throughout this art salon, tickling the senses. Prolific flowers are actually made of paper, yet one swears they are real; logs for the fireplace are actually knitted out of wool. Wall art, wearable art, jewelry and more float into the ether of fantasy unbound. There is so much to drink in at Venture that it may trip sensory overload.

As the founder of Venture, Susan’s philosophical approach encompasses “gathering dreamers in the area to craft and share in a communal hand-making process, all in the name of art, while providing an environment where people can come and appreciate and participate equally.”

Power couple, Susan McDaniel and her husband, award-winning furniture-maker, Peter Danko, Venture forth together in their artistic endeavors. Susan is a fiber artist, weaving worlds of wonder, whimsical and wild. Peter’s contributions to the interior’s mix include chairs and tables unmatched yet united by a certain flourish of fantasy. Danko is not physically a presence in the gallery and yet his touches are ever present. His works are represented in major museums like the Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Boston Museum of Fine Art.

Multitalented Karen Paust dabbles in so many mediums and art forms that, at times, it seems that she invents them as she goes. Her forte as a “bead artist” is recognized throughout the United States. Her repertoire includes jewelry, fiber scarves, art cards and a panoply of products from A to Z. She also has a fine art gallery, Mobilia, in Cambridge, Mass. She shared that, “The key ingredient to life is the ability to make something out of nothing.” Growing up in rural America, she confessed, “Childhood remembrances of the best kind were imagination’s thrall, leading to creativity unbound. Using so little in way of materials somehow sprung forth wondrous treasures.”

JoAnne Schiavone sculpts magic out of paper by turning wood pulp, cotton fiber, wasp nests, mulberry tree bark and wastepaper pulp into art. As the paper sculptress queen, JoAnne adds pixie dust sprinkles, sweeping the gallery’s nooks and crannies with her magical creations. Paper flowers adorn a desktop defying the laws of nature as they are crafted artisanally and not grown in a garden. Books of all sorts made by the artist’s hands beg to be handled with care, as each page is a treasure to behold. Exquisitely buoyant bound books become collectibles with closures of twine and button and others sleeping in their own slip box. From her college days, JoAnne was eco-conscious before it came into vogue. Her paper looks as if she threw the best of nature in a blender and hit the “dream” switch, surreal as dreams become, in pieces and fragments begging to coalesce and make sense. What may not seem clear in the subconscious mind comes into crystal clarity with her paper presentations fully realized.

Expanding the trio’s diverse creations, the picture’s completed with collaborators that include the arresting acrylic paintings of Andi Simpson and the unique jewelry of silversmith Patty Kline Green. April Moon Peacock (an artist name like none other) fashions fantastic baubles from industrial found objects while Laurie Brooks of Spool in Columbia, Pa., creates fiber pendants detailed by depth of color rich and saturated. Venture is a gateway to dreams and imagination, a land of enchantment, energy and enlightenment.

For five years, these “Queens of King” have joined forces to establish the corner square of E. King, taking it by storm. Heroines brandishing art mediums with aplomb, no parapet too high to scale, their grand design of an adventure turned into Venture, a gallery worthy of a king’s ransom. Collectively, the ladies bring a certain Zen to their gallery that visually paints an ever-changing backdrop of seasonal sensuality. One cannot help but be moved when taking in the beauty surrounding the interior.

Venture forth to partake of each vignette created by an ever-changing roster of artists to find the appeal in the level of craftsmanship brought to everything they create. Swords are sheathed and muskets mounted as tools of their trade supplant weaponry for beauty’s charms. This venturous threesome with derring-do bravado, like the Musketeers of yore, shares the motto: “All for one and one for all.”

Venture is located at 128 E. King St., York. For more information, visit www.ventureroyalsquare.business.site or their Facebook page.

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

Harrisburg City Council tweaks proposed use of American Rescue Plan Act funds, approves affordable housing development

June 28, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

A past Harrisburg City Council meeting

At a legislative session on Tuesday, Harrisburg City Council made adjustments to the mayor’s proposal to use a large chunk of federal COVID relief money.

Council voted to make several changes to Mayor Wanda Williams’ proposed allocation of $28.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding—deciding to put money towards assisting seniors, supporting job training and funding emergency housing.

The proposal to use a large portion of the city’s total $47 million from ARPA incorporates major projects such as constructing a new pool facility in the Hall Manor neighborhood at a cost of $8 million and using $8 million to fund affordable housing projects.

Council voted in favor of changing the administration’s original proposal of building a spray park at the site of the Hall Manor pool, which has been closed, to instead replacing the pool.

“Listening to the hundreds of residents throughout our town halls […] it’s clear as day […] a pool is so needed,” council member Ralph Rodriguez.

Most other amendments made by council don’t change the city’s original proposal, but rather propose the use of several million dollars in remaining ARPA funds that Williams had not yet earmarked for use. Council voted in favor of adding to the proposal $1 million for a workforce development/internship program for city youth and $1 million to address short-term and transitional housing needs.

Another $500,000 would go towards creating “community connection hubs” for workforce development at locations around the city and $250,000 would support nonprofits that assist the elderly. An additional $150,000 would support a pilot program for assisting local corner stores in providing fresh produce.

If the final proposal is approved by council, almost all of Harrisburg’s ARPA funds would be allocated. Council already approved the use of $15.6 million in June to reimburse the city for lost revenue during the pandemic, to replace the HVAC system in the city’s Public Safety Building and for one-time bonuses to uniformed personnel in the Harrisburg Fire Bureau and Bureau of Police.

Under ARPA rule, all funds must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

Council is slated to vote on the final proposed ARPA spending plan on Wednesday, July 5.

In other news, council also approved a land development plan for JMB Gardens, a 41-unit affordable housing project planned for the 2200- and 2300-blocks of N. 6^th Street. The plan includes constructing several rowhome-style buildings on currently vacant lots.

Harrisburg-based Vice Capital, owned by former NFL running back LeSean McCoy, is the developer of the project and officials said that they plan to break ground on the development in August.

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

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like