Mind Games: STEM Discovery Boxes offer play with a purpose

March 30, 2023 | by Susan Ryder

Illustration by Aron Rook.

Draw with electricity, create a hydraulic-powered excavator using Pascal’s principle, or learn about hydrophobic sand.

Local entrepreneur Carrie Bryson’s STEM Discovery Boxes for kids include all three of these experiments in just one box.

Bryson started her STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) box subscription business in 2016 after spending too much time and money creating experiments for her own children and their Boy Scout troop—or buying experiments that didn’t include all the supplies.

“I couldn’t even figure out where to get all the stuff or it cost too much to buy just a dab for this experiment. Some of the chemicals we use you’re not just going to go to Walmart and pick up,” said Bryson, clarifying that they’re not dangerous, just hard to source.

The neatly packed, colorful boxes, designed by Bryson, include full directions and explanations of scientific terms like capillary action, evaporation and kinetic energy. They include experiments for all ages.

“I purposefully have different levels of abilities for projects in each box since I want stuff that younger kids can do by themselves,” she said. “I also want something that an adult helps with, because I really think it’s important that adults participate.”

Tai Prince, an engineer with TechnipFMC, an energy company, praised the thoughtfully put together boxes.

“It’s being able to learn in the best way to learn,” Prince said. “When you’re a reader, you have instructions, and you see what happens. If you’re a doer, you need to be hands on. You have the hands-on piece, and it’s more trial and error.”

TechnipFMC has used STEM Discovery Boxes for its own STEM day, which hosts local students, for three years.

Prince said that they also decided to use Bryson’s company for the exceptional customer service, which included personalization for their event, attended by 300 children from kindergarten through 12th grade. The boxes are available typically through a monthly subscription, but like TechnipFMC, schools, scout troops and the like also order them for special events. Bryson ships 750 to 1,000 boxes a month.

Bryson’s boxes have received awards from Popular Mechanics, Amazon and Cratejoy to name a few, and she even found her way to the semifinals of the TV program, “Shark Tank.” Bryson had to make a video for the show.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.

That’s quite a statement since she is running this business out of her Etters home while raising five children—three teenage sons and twin 2 year olds, with husband Chan.

As difficult as it was, Bryson learned much from the experience

“I learned the [financial] numbers that I didn’t know, and you had to have it organized and calculated, and I think that was good to do,” she said.

Despite the challenges, Bryson would eagerly consider taking another stab at making the finals, she said.

Her kids have participated in the evolution of the business, offering critiques of different STEM box projects, often interjecting with, “what if we do it this way, and what if we did that,” Bryson said.

The business, though her third foray into entrepreneurship, has been an overall learning experience. She once exceeded the 1-pound-per-box shipping limit and quadrupled her shipping costs. She also didn’t anticipate all the certifications required to be on Amazon.

“I didn’t know that, and that’s the learning lesson,” she said. “Now, I know, and it felt catastrophic and then I realized, I can do this.”

The hardest part of owning her own business?

“There’s nobody to pass the buck to, when something goes wrong,” she said. “It all comes to me.”

But one of the benefits is the satisfaction that it’s making a difference for students and for the expansion of STEM.

“STEM is in everything,” Prince said.

At their STEM day, TechnipFMC pulls in every department, from accounting to legal, to show the relationship between STEM and each job.

“Touching it early, they’ll be better off learning what they want when they go to school,” Prince said.

Bryson also gets feedback from parents that their kids are waiting at the mailbox for their boxes and that grandparents buy them so that the grandkids have something fun to do when they visit.

Play has a purpose. Bryson’s STEM Discovery Boxes introduce children to STEM activities and help them and their caregivers discover what they like and how they learn, all under the guise of fun.

For more information on STEM Discovery Boxes, visit www.stemdiscoveryboxes.com.

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Mural Magic: Katie Trainer recently completed a grand painting, but that work just scratches the surface

March 30, 2023 | by Molly Foster

Katie Trainer and her mural at the PA Department of Labor & Industry.

On the fifth floor of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) building in downtown Harrisburg, where many department employees gather to enjoy a midday break during the work week, a 400-square-foot mural stretches across the wall.

From iron mines to railroads, agriculture, factories and COVID-19 frontline workers, it tells the state’s story of labor throughout history.

“Murals make people take ownership of spaces,” said artist, author, magician and all-around creative, Katie Trainer, who built an idea into an eye-capturing piece of art. “It takes a blank wall and transforms it into something not to turn your head away from, but to turn your head toward.”

Take a closer look at the wall-to-wall painting, and you’ll see evidence of the care and intentionality that went into it. Each image in the scene was a real moment in time—a photograph that Trainer resurfaced from the PA State Archives during her countless hours of research. Vibrant greens blend into yellow, blues, smokey blacks and a rainbow of colors in between with the careful brush strokes of 200-plus government employees who, as part of the department’s ongoing story, helped paint it.

“Katie was great about working with everyone and meeting them where they were so that they could be a part of the project. Her artistic eye laid the framework, but she gave the employees freedom to make it their own, which was fun,” said Tara Schlenker, director of transformation for L&I. “Then, seeing the pieces come together—taking a step back and seeing the whole mural—it was breathtaking.”

Facilitated by Perry County Council of the Arts (PCCA) and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, with which Trainer is a teaching artist tasked with engaging communities in hands-on artistic experiences, this project for L&I was mural number 97 since she serendipitously started in 2017.

“She has created a lot of murals with the help of other people, and I think that is really fantastic because it shows her not only as an artist but also as an art advocate and a leader,” said PCCA Arts in Education Coordinator Rachel Barron. “Her creative process truly comes from a love of art and a love of people.”

Do Everything

Much like a mural that is layered into a masterpiece, Trainer is multifaceted in her creative endeavors, eager to try a little bit of everything. She dabbled in acoustic rap, traveled the world doing magic as a street performer, wrote a philosophical travel novel titled “What are the Chances?” and then pivoted to art when sickness and injury slowed her down.

During this time, she created an art series called “Theoretical Science Meets Art” and informally exhibited it on central Pennsylvania streets, asking for small donations in exchange for her artwork. While sharing her creations in West Reading, she crossed paths with a mural developer who expressed interest in one of her pieces, a graphite-and-ink drawing that Trainer titled “Fibonacci Shell.”

“I want you to make this into a mural,” she remembered him saying.

Not the type to turn down a challenge, she got to work metamorphosing her small sketch into a large-scale painting, and nearly six years later, she’s still thinking big.

“I went from being a homeless magician to an award-winning muralist in a year,” Trainer said, shaking her head, still in blissful disbelief.

In 2018, the Cherry Street Mural Corridor in West Reading, which included Trainer’s first mural, won a Pennsylvania Downtown Center Townie Award for “Best Revitalization of a Public Space.” Recently, she was also recognized for her artistic abilities by the Lebanon County Commission for Women and will be a 2023 inductee into the Lebanon County Women’s Hall of Fame.

Murals may have taken Trainer by surprise, but curious and wandering in nature, she knew she never wanted to land in a traditional 9-to-5 office job. At the core, she admits it’s not all that surprising.

“There’s no way I want to do any one thing for the rest of my life,” Trainer said. “I want to do everything all the time.”

For her, it’s less about what she does and more about why she does it.

“I’m passionate about figuring out how to make my life’s energy go the furthest it can. How can I either inspire or create something that’ll stimulate future expansion or positivity?” Trainer said. “You never really know how far your energy is going to go when you work with other people, which I like to refer to as ‘inspirational rendezvous.’”

For now, murals are the means through which Trainer is investing her energy, and she’s committed to giving it the time and space needed to radiate as far as possible. Painting in 33 states so far, she hopes to embark on a mural tour soon to check off all 50—meeting new people along the way and remaining open-minded to where life may lead her next.

“I don’t think ‘muralist’ is the end of the story for me,” Trainer said. “I feel like there’s something else that will emerge alongside being a muralist. Maybe I’ll interweave magic and murals somehow. Maybe I’ll write another book. I’m not really sure what the rest is yet, but when the time is right, I’m sure I’ll find it. Or, it will find me.”

For more on Katie Trainer’s artistic endeavors, follow her on Facebook: Katie Trainer Murals.

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Reflection & Regret: “The Worst Thing We’ve Ever Done” takes a personal perspective at injustice in the justice system

March 30, 2023 | by Harvey Freedenberg

Carol Menaker

When Harrisburg native Carol Menaker was selected as Juror No. 4 in a high-profile criminal trial in Philadelphia in June 1976, she never imagined that her memories of that experience would resurface four decades later in a way that would profoundly affect her life.

That’s the story she tells in her spare but eloquent memoir, “The Worst Thing We’ve Ever Done: One Juror’s Reckoning with Racial Injustice.” It’s a sobering account of the case of Freddy (Muhammad) Burton, a Black man convicted in the stabbing deaths of two white prison wardens at the former Holmesburg Prison, a notorious Pennsylvania correctional facility once known as the “Terrordome,” which was shuttered in 1995.

Menaker spoke via Zoom from her gingerbread-trim Victorian home in the tiny California town of Nevada City, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where she’s lived in retirement since 2012 after a career in public relations and journalism. She’s soft-spoken but passionate in describing how her misgivings about the fairness of Freddy Burton’s conviction led her to turn her experience of jury service into this book.

Sequestered in a Center City hotel for two weeks before the trial even began, Menaker felt as if she began to understand, at least partially, something of the experience of incarceration. By the time the six-day trial ended, however, she joined without protest with her fellow jurors to convict Burton of second-degree murder after a mere three hours of deliberation.

But along with Menaker’s account of her experience in the trial, which resulted in a life sentence added to the one Burton already was serving for the murder of a Philadelphia park policeman, based, his lawyers have argued, on coerced testimony and a concealed grant of immunity to the intimidated witness, she connects his story to the larger narrative of racial injustice in America.

It’s one that’s as old as slavery and as disturbingly fresh as the deaths of Black men like George Floyd and Tyre Nichols at the hands of police officers.

As Menaker explained it, a jury summons in 2017 coincided with her awareness of increased media attention to police killings of Black men in the United States. Recalling that these accounts “just really sickened me,” she said that the combination of her “inability to understand how that could happen kind of dovetailed with my looking into this.” How did it happen in this case, she wondered, as she looked back, from the perspective of four decades, on her role in the Burton guilty verdict?

Living This Case

In her book, Menaker frankly describes her “picture-perfect growing up” in a world almost empty of Black people save for the cleaning women who worked at her house. She felt herself “shrouded in a 360-degree circle of Jewishness” in her Uptown Harrisburg neighborhood, which contributed to the unacknowledged white privilege that warped her view of Freddy Burton.

Menaker’s own family was deeply engaged in the life of the local Jewish community and, after she and her two older sisters moved away, both her parents took on prominent roles in Harrisburg life.

Her mother, Miriam, was the first woman elected to public office in the city as a member, and later president, of Harrisburg City Council. The plaza in front of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City Government Center commemorates her service.

Menaker’s businessman father, Mortimer, served as chair of the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. In August 2022, an apartment building on S. 2nd Street was renamed in his honor.

But Menaker doesn’t focus solely on her own role in the Freddy Burton case. She also describes her connection with Jonathan Gettleman, a lawyer who practices in Santa Cruz, Calif., and currently represents Burton.

He inherited that fight from his parents, who first represented Burton and others in an action against the Pennsylvania prison system in 1977 for excessive use of solitary confinement. The Gettlemans became so invested in Freddy’s cause that they made him Jonathan’s godfather.

Reached by phone at his law office, Gettleman said that he’s been “living this case since I was born.” He called Menaker’s book a “fascinating self-study in the growth of consciousness,” and praised how she portrays herself “struggling with very challenging aspects of how a person comes to understand the conditioning that they lived under and gains a broader awareness of other factors that contributed to the culture she came from in which she participated in convicting Mr. Burton, who she now recognizes, with a greater understanding, didn’t do it.”

More than half a century since Freddy Burton, now 76 years old, was incarcerated, he remains imprisoned in the State Correctional Institution at Somerset, with his latest request for appellate review pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Neither Menaker nor Gettleman hold out much hope for his eventual release, but Menaker pointed out that, “There are laws that make these things happen, and those laws should be looked at and changed.”

In that effort, Menaker has become a supporter of the organization FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), a nonprofit that has advocated, among other reforms, for the creation and expansion of compassionate release programs for elderly prisoners like Burton who pose no threat to public safety.

Menaker observed that the experience of writing her book has “made me much more sympathetic and empathetic to African Americans and other people who are marginalized.” Noting the crucial role her own conditioning played in the verdict she’d now reverse if she could, she hopes some readers will say, “Maybe I need to look at myself, too, and understand whether I have any of these biases.”

“The Worst Thing We’ve Ever Done: One Juror’s Reckoning With Racial Injustice,” She Writes Press, is slated for release on April 11. For more information on Carol Menaker visit www.carolmenaker.com.

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The Painted Word: Meet Joan of Art

March 30, 2023 | by Bob MacGinnes

Joan Maguire

Taking a page from the 15th-century saint, Joan of Arc, modern-day gallery owner Joan Maguire agrees with her quote, “Life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it and then it’s gone.”

In the vernacular of our day—live your dream while you can.

Hershey is a far cry from Orleans, France, where Joan of Arc led a momentous victory against the English in 1429 during the Hundred Years’ War. For Joan Maguire, that battlefield fades in the background of history as she hopes to gather the troops to visit a much more genteel setting. The troops are a battalion of art lovers marching to her newly opened art emporium housing the many moods of the artist mere yards from her home.

As a self-taught artist specializing in watercolors, Joan splits time between her Hershey home/gallery and summers spent in the Outer Banks painting beach scenes, flora and fauna all brightly colored, capturing the joie-de-vivre that infuses and informs her art.

The gallery’s inviting ambiance begins upon entering the haven that incorporates a farmstead kitchen, retrofitted with a vintage refrigerator as well as modern-day amenities. Its cozy charm comes full cycle as the hostess puts you at ease immediately, with eyes twinkling and a generous smile.

Pine Creek Construction literally raised the roof creating an expansive studio gallery/shared space, perfect for the artist’s aesthetic, with beauty and backdrop blending as one. As one works through the rooms, the unique layout promises hospitality downstairs and delivers a warm atmosphere upstairs. You may feel transported to a leisurely stroll along the Seine with artists and their paintings lining the river’s banks. In the upstairs gallery, surrounded by a bevy of floral paintings framed for future homes and businesses, Joan creates a bouquet of beauty much like the scene on the Seine.

Joining in the esprit-de-corps are woodworker Jason Smeltz and artisan Jason Lyons, whose forte is repurposing sculpture. Jewelers are comprised of Patricia White, Lynn Shirk and Jan Lipensky, all offering different treatments in their edited collections. Specializing in artisanal, herbal soaps and culinary salts are Jana MacGinnes and Barbara Kline, who round out the coterie with élan. Bath scrubs and soaks made by Joan complete the picture. It all makes for “A Movable Feast,” as Hemingway referred to his years in Paris as a young man.

Replete with a comfortable white sofa, the second floor showcases Joan’s plentiful watercolors that line the perimeter’s walls and complement the bounty of art books. Visitors are encouraged to sit and browse and drink in the surroundings while enjoying refreshments. Being in the moment of peace and discovery simultaneously completes one’s sense of contentment. Joan’s gracious demeanor encourages art lovers to escape the outside world, if only for the time they are part of the experience. The warmth of American chestnut and wormwood used by Pine Creek kept historic features in the building intact with additional restoration by Joan and husband Tom, leading up to the soft opening in December. That weekend enabled them to fine tune presentation and promotion.

As a former restaurateur, Joan instinctively knows that relationships are what make the world go round, and the natural manner extended to first-time visitors exudes genuine warmth and caring for all. In her 20-year career as an artist, Joan has made watercolors her calling card and stock in trade. Amidst images of beaches and oceans, sea life and floral, colors explode on the canvas, buoyant and joyous. An invitation to travel exotic waters or walk through lush gardens of imagination becomes the focus, allowing serenity to seep in and soothe the soul. Experimenting with different surfaces, key elements become visually distinctive, dependent upon choice of paper, board, wood and Yupo. A grand opening celebration this month will offer some surprises in store for art lovers and first-time gallery-goers. Classes in various mediums of painting, collage and more will take place once the gallery is in full swing.

To paraphrase Joan of Arc, Joan of Hershey states, “When you find out what makes you happy, you are a very fortunate person.” Her good fortune becomes ours as we enter the world of Joan of Art.

Hershey Art Gallery and Studio is located at 1077 Swatara Rd., Hershey. The grand opening takes place April 15 to 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Joan Maguire and her artwork, visit www.joanmaguireart.com.

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Raised by Wolves: “The Jungle Book” and growing up with Gamut’s Young Acting Company

March 30, 2023 | by Francesca Amendolia

Anjali Mishra as Mowgli in “The Jungle Book”
Photo courtesy of John Bivins Photography

Think you know what “The Jungle Book” is all about? If you’ve only seen the Disney movie, think again.

Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 stories about a “man-cub” abandoned in the jungles of India and raised to adulthood by the animals who live there are darker, richer and more complex than the animated film (or the live remake). There’s no lazy Baloo the bear teaching Mowgli about the bare necessities or King Louie singing about how he wants to be like “you-oo-oo” (you’re welcome for the earworms). Instead, there are real dangers, important lessons to learn about the “Law of the Jungle,” and bullies to face down.

Kipling’s Mowgli stories explore what it means to be “civilized,” the importance of found family, and the pain and exhilaration of growing up. It’s these stories that local playwright Sean Adams first adapted in 2012 for Gamut Theatre’s Young Acting Company (YAC), a script he has revised for the 2023 production, which will be the first full-blown, 50-young-actors YAC show since 2020, when COVID shut down “Cinderella.” (That show was turned into a podcast that you can still listen to).

After last year’s “Panchatantra Tales,” directors Melissa Nicholson and Rachita Menon were eager to extend a collaboration that both artists had found rewarding and invigorating. That production, which told several of the stories sometimes described as the Indian equivalent to Aesop’s fables, combined Gamut’s tradition of classic theatre with classical Indian dance and music. The result was a beautifully rendered synthesis of cultures, talents and energies.

Looking for another project that would benefit from their diverse training, expertise and cultural backgrounds, they decided upon “The Jungle Book,” a story set in India and one that draws, according to Kipling, on the Panchatantra.

Nicholson, executive director of Gamut Theatre, wanted to do a few things differently from the 2012 production. First, Mowgli would be a girl—not just the actor, the character.

“I wanted to see what happens if you change the gender of this character,” said Nicholson.

Turns out, it doesn’t change much—it’s still a complex coming-of-age fable about figuring out who you are and where you belong.

A more pervasive, if subtler, change was giving Mowgli a stronger voice.

“I noticed, in the first version, people spent a lot of time telling Mowgli who he was and where he belonged,” Adams said. “This time around, people do a lot more listening.”

That’s important, Nicholson and Adams agree, because young people—the people telling this story—are very invested in figuring things out for themselves.

“It’s also funnier,” said Adams, which gives the actors (whose ages range from 6 to 18) something to dig their comedic teeth into.

There are several other rewarding challenges for this cast, Nicholson points out—there’s dance and movement and vocal work. How can actors use their voices to create distinctive animal calls? How can they stand or move like a wolf, a monkey, a snake, a tiger? Actors must tell the stories with their bodies as well as their voices.

That’s also true for the dancers in “The Jungle Book,” whether they’re classically trained or just beginning to learn. Menon, founder and artistic director of the Rasika School of Dance, explains how, in Bharatanatyam, a classical form of Indian dance, there are specific hand gestures to describe the natural world: vines, flowers and trees. Her choreography also echoes the various jungle inhabitants: tigers, bears, snakes, peacocks, deer and so on.

While certain dances (such as the opening piece) will be performed by trained Bharatanatyam dancers, Menon is also teaching the young actors two Indian folk dances: Kurathi Attam from south India and a north Indian dance called Garba, where dancers use colorful skirts to create patterns and formations. Accompanying the dancers (and adding weight to their steps in the Elephant Dance) will be a trio of djembe drummers from Studio Solomon.

Stories and plays about people figuring out who they are and where they belong are enduring for a reason—self-discovery is a journey everyone takes. Mowgli discovers that she fits in nowhere—not in the jungle with her wolf family or bear teacher but also not in the village with humans. To grow up, she realized that she will have to create her own definition of family, that what matters most is not who you were born to be but rather who you choose to become.

“The Jungle Book” performed by Gamut Theatre Group’s Young Acting Company, runs March 31 to April 2 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-238-4111 or visit www.gamuttheatre.org/yac.

UPCOMING EVENTS At Gamut Theatre
www.gamuttheatre.org
717-238-4111

“The Jungle Book”
Young Acting Company
April 1 to 2

“Macbeth”
April 14 to 16

The Gamut Gala
April 23

“Rollicking Ripsnorters”
Popcorn Hat Players
April 29 at 1 p.m.

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Make Yourself a Priority: Self-care can help you help others

March 30, 2023 | by Gretchen Day, MPH, MCHES

When I was in college, my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia.

Some days, assisting her was relatively simple—just finding things she had misplaced around the house or reminding her of names. But other days were harder, such as those occasions when she didn’t recognize us or saw people who weren’t there. Our immediate family became my grandmother’s constant caregivers—giving her medications, staying up at night with her when she couldn’t sleep, taking her to doctors’ appointments.

Every day across the United States and beyond, individuals and families are adapting to similar caretaker tasks and roles—sometimes with assistance, often alone.

It struck me recently, when hearing about a friend dealing with a very sick parent, just how often many of us fill the caregiver role for others, whether it’s caring for an elderly parent, a sick child, a significant other, a neighbor or a friend in need. I’m certain many who are reading this have been or are currently in similar situations of caring for a loved one. This can be stressful, exhausting or, at times, even overwhelming. Being a caregiver can challenge us mentally, emotionally and physically—and even lead to burnout.

According to a report from the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP, “Caregiving in the U.S. 2020,” the number of family caregivers in the U.S. increased by 9.5 million during a five-year span beginning in 2015, before COVID-19. “Family caregivers,” the report found, “encompass more than one in five Americans. The study also reveals that family caregivers are in worse health compared to five years ago.”

As caregivers, we are so focused on caring for others that too often a very important person is overlooked or forgotten: ourself.

In a recent podcast from the Cleveland Clinic, staff psychologist Adam Borland emphasizes that, “oftentimes, we misconstrue this idea of attending to our self-care as somehow being selfish. And it’s not the same; it’s really not. And oftentimes, I remind my patients that in order to be the best friend, or spouse, or parent, or child, or whatever it might be, you have to attend to your self-care. If your tank is empty, you can’t be the type of person you want to be to these others in your life.”

I agree with Dr. Borland: Self-care isn’t “self-ish.” Self-care is about maintaining our own wellness so that we can have the mental and physical health to support and care for others. Even small acts of self-care can have significant impacts on our overall wellbeing.

If you are in a caregiving role, or feeling stressed or experiencing symptoms burnout, here are some strategies for practicing your own self-care:

Find someone to talk to. This could be someone you feel close to who can provide you non-judgmental opportunities to simply just “spill.” If you feel like this might be too much for a family member or friend, seeking help from a professional who is trained to offer a safe and non-judgmental setting is perfectly OK.
Find ways to refill your tank. Maybe, if you’re like me, getting lost in a book for a while is a way of recharging your battery. Maybe you simply need alone time to rest or you prefer socializing with others to help re-energize. Find the ways that help you feel rejuvenated, and make time for those activities when you feel low.
Set healthy boundaries. Give yourself time, and commit to it, when you can take care of your own physical wellbeing. Set aside time to exercise, sleep and maintain a healthy diet. Define your boundaries to others, but also ensure that you recognize the importance to yourself.
Write it out. Writing your thoughts and feelings in a journal provides a safe outlet for emotions that might otherwise be bottled up. Journaling also offers our brains a way of problem-solving, of taking big problems and breaking them down into parts to make them more manageable.
Practice gratitude. In a world where it is so easy to find negativity and pessimism, it may take work to identify the good that we can feel thankful for. Expressing gratitude—whether verbally, mentally or through journaling—can have enormous benefits in reducing depression and anxiety, improving sleep, and resulting in better personal relationships. Practice counting your blessings each week, coming up with a few things that you are grateful for.
Practice compassion. Whether directed toward yourself or others, small, deliberate acts of compassion may help reduce feelings of burnout and make you feel better about yourself. Sometimes practicing something like this five-minute self-compassion break can help us accept that we don’t always have to be perfect.
Lighten your load. It’s OK to ask for help. It’s a tough thing to do, but you’d be surprised how much your community and social network is willing to step up and help you.
Focus on what you can control. Recognize that we cannot always control everything happening around us. What we can control is how we react, through our behaviors and interactions.

The most important advice for your self-care is to advocate for yourself and make caring for yourself a priority. Embracing these acts of self-care, no matter how small, is not selfish but rather an essential step toward making us a healthier version of ourself.

Gretchen Day is vice president of health innovation and advanced strategies at AIA, Alera Group, a community publisher for TheBurg. For more information, visit www.aia.aleragroup.com.

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Alluring April: New concerts are in bloom this month

March 30, 2023 | by Belle Frank

April is about new growth and moving forward. And although we may want to discover new artists and bands, it doesn’t mean we can’t go back to the classics. Who doesn’t want to be transported back to the 1990s while listening to “Fancy” by Reba McEntire? There is nothing like music to bring the nostalgia back. And although some of the artists visiting Harrisburg this month aren’t as classic as Reba, the mid-2010s are still nostalgic for some.

Reba McEntire, 4/16, Giant Center, 6:30 p.m.

Reba wasn’t named “The Queen of Country” for no reason. The singer started her career in 1975 and is still rocking the stage in 2023. Country artist Red Steagall discovered her at a rodeo where she was performing then helped get her signed to PolyGram/Mercury Records. Her career really took off in 1991 after the release of her album, “For My Broken Heart.” McEntire wrote the album after eight of her band members tragically died in a plane crash. That album is one of her bestselling to this day. After establishing her music career, Reba appeared in TV, film and on Broadway. The beloved singer has a classic country voice that never seems to get old. Her smooth vocals have barely changed over the years, making this show a must-see.

Houndmouth, 4/20, XL LIVE, 8 p.m.

This alternative blues band got its start in 2011 in Indiana, recording a self-titled EP. Shortly after, the Guardian named them “Band of the Week.” Houndmouth’s sound is rustic, roots and rock all mixed together, the slow and soulful music tugging at your heartstrings. One of Houndmouth’s top songs is “Sedona,” which was released in their 2015 album, “Little Neon Limelight.” Since then, the band has released two more albums, “Golden Age,” in 2018, and “Good For You,” in 2021. With over 2.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the band has certainly made a name for itself.

Father John Misty, 4/27, The Forum Auditorium, 8 p.m.

After leaving the band Fleet Foxes in 2012, Joshua Michael Tillman ventured out on his own and assumed the stage name of Father John Misty. He released his first album, “Fear Fun,” later that year. Since the start of his solo career, he has released five albums. In addition, the indie-folk singer has contributed to the albums of other artists, such as Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi and even Beyonce. Tillman’s most notable song may be the single, “Real Love Baby,” released in 2016. In contrast to the many slow and sad melodies that Fleet Foxes performed, Father John Misty keeps his music more upbeat and fun, along with a folk-rock twist.

Mentionables

Hiss Golden Messenger, April 4, H*MAC
Snarky Puppy, April 15, H*MAC
Natalie Grant, April 16, Christian Life Assembly
Joywave, April 18, XL Live
The Last Ten Seconds of Life, April 18, Lovedraft’s Brewing Co.
Easton Corbin, April 22, PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center

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Happenings: Our April Calendar of Events

March 30, 2023 | by Missy Smith

Museums & Art Spaces

AACA Museum
161 Museum Dr., Hershey
717-566-7100; aacamuseum.org

“Racing to the Finish Line,” through April 22

“Corvettes Celebrate 70!” through April 22

Art Association of Harrisburg
21 N. Front St., Harrisburg
717-236-1432; artassocofhbg.com

“Reinterpretions/Beware of Thoughts That Are Not Your Own,” four-artist invitational of mixed media and sculptures by Jeffrey Equality Brooks, James Gallagher, John Guarnera and Joseph Mayernik, through April 20

Arts on the Square
20 S. Second St., Harrisburg
717-257-1270; marketsquarechurch.org

Paintings by Irene Appleyard, through May 28

Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC)
38 W. Pomfret St., Carlisle
717-249-6973; carlislearts.org

Celebration of student art, showcasing the talents of Carlisle Area School District students, through April 15

“Flavors of Here,” a CALC Collaborative exhibition created by students in Artworks, April 21-May 27

Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters, April 21-May 27

The Cornerstone Coffeehouse
2133 Market St., Camp Hill
thecornerstonecoffeehouse.com

April artist of the month

Gallery on the Square
Millersburg Area Art Association
226 Union St., Millersburg
Facebook: Millersburg Area Art Association

Upper Dauphin Area High School Student Art Show, through April 8

Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen, April 8-May 20; reception, April 16, 3-5 p.m.

HACC
1 HACC Drive, Harrisburg
www.hacc.edu

“67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in PA,” photography exhibit, April 20-30; reception: April 20 at 6 p.m. (sponsored by PA Breast Cancer Coalition; www.PABreastCancer.org)

Hershey Area Art Association (HAAA)
hersheyareaartassociation.com

HAAA Rotation Exhibit Galleries, April 8-June 10

Backstage at the Allen Theater, April 1-May 31

Luhrs Performing Arts Center
1871 Old Main Dr., Shippensburg
717-477-7469; luhrscenter.com

“Traveling While Black,” April 10-May 8

Messiah University
One University Ave., Mechanicsburg
717-766-2511; messiah.edu

Senior Exhibition II, Final work from senior students in the BFA studio art and graphic design programs, April 15-30; reception: April 15, 4 p.m.

Juried Student Art Show, April 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Millworks
340 Verbeke St.; Harrisburg
717-695-4888; millworksharrisburg.com

New works by Tara Chickey, Averill Shepps, Rebecca Adey, Paul Gallo and Richard Sauders, through April 16

New Cumberland Public Library
1 Benjamin Plaza, New Cumberland
717-774-7820; newcumberlandlibrary.org

Capital Area School for the Arts Student Exhibit, April 1-30

Pennsylvania National Fire Museum
1820 N. 4th St., Harrisburg
717-232-8915; pnfm.org

Exhibits dedicated to Pennsylvania firefighting history

Perry County Council of the Arts (PCCA)
PCCA Gallery, 1 S. 2nd St., Newport
717-567-7023; perrycountyarts.org

“Director’s Choice,” a selection of noteworthy student artwork from Youth Art Day 2023; reception, May 6, 1-3 p.m.

“Stillness & Motion,” a solo exhibition by Louise Thomas, April 14-June 24

The State Museum of Pennsylvania
300 North St., Harrisburg
717-787-4980; statemuseumpa.org

“Game Changers: Pennsylvania Women Who Made History,” celebrating women from across the state in diverse fields and detailing the contributions they made and challenges they faced in their lifetimes.

Susquehanna Art Museum
1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-233-8668; susquehannaartmuseum.org

“Ju Yun—Hybrid Identity,” features vibrant mixed media pieces that take inspiration from the popular culture found in both Korea and the United States, April 20-June 25

“Souls Shot Portrait Project” brings attention to and memorializes the lives lost and altered due to gun violence, through April 16

“The Hidden Museum, 2018,” installation in which viewers are challenged to locate “hidden” works of art, through Dec. 31

The Trout Gallery
Dickinson College
240 W. High St., Carlisle
717-254-8159; troutgallery.org

“Noise,” drawings, paintings, prints and photographs by Dickinson Professor Emeritus of Art Ward Davenny, through April 15

“Memory and Modernity,” modern Japanese woodblock prints of the natural world, April 15

The Ware Center
42 N. Prince St., Lancaster
717-871-2308; artsmu.com

“ART: Fresh from the Studio—New work by MU Art & Design Faculty,” April 7-28; reception: April 7, 6-8 p.m.

Read, Make, Learn

Appell Center for the Performing Arts
50 N. George St., York
717-846-1111; appellcenter.org

April 1: “The Play’s the Thing—Why Shakespeare? Workshop (ages 8-13), 2 p.m.

Capital Blue Cross Connect
4500 Marketplace Way, Enola
www.capitalbluecrossconnect.com

April 3, 17: Adult Art Class, 11:05 a.m.
April 3, 17: Kids’ Art Class, 12:05 p.m.
April 3, 10, 17, 24: Virtual Pilates, 5 p.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Virtual Yoga for Back Health, 10 a.m.
April 6, 20: Fit Chicks in-store and virtual, 4:15 p.m.
April 7, 21: Virtual Booty Blast, 9:30 a.m.
April 13, 27: Boomer Fit Zoomer in-store and virtual, 4:15 p.m.
April 14, 28: Virtual Barre Intensity Express, 9:30 a.m.

Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC)
38 W. Pomfret St., Carlisle
717-249-6973; carlislearts.org

April 4-25: Beginning Oil Painting—Cloud Study/Twilight, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 4-25: Processing Photos in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop (Zoom), Tuesdays, 6:30-8 p.m.
April 4-25: Intermediate/Advanced Painting (ages 16-adult), Tuesdays, 1-3:30 p.m.
April 6-27: Worsted Socks, Thursdays, 6-8 p.m.
April 10-May 6: Raku, Try it You’ll Like It!, 6-8 p.m.
April 11-May 16: Modifying & Handbuilding Ceramics, 6-8 p.m.
April 10: Eucalyptus Magic & Cotton, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
April 15: Copper Enameling Workshop (ages 13-adult), 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
April 18: Abstract Mixed Media, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
April 22: Indigo Eye Lab for Earth Day, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 29: Vintage Tin Earrings (ages 13-adult), 1-3:30 p.m.
April 8: Plant a Rock Garden (ages 5-12), 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Dauphin County Library System
dcls.org

April 8: Reading the Rainbow Book Club at Elementary Coffee
April 14: Getting to Know Your Computer—Using Your Mouse and Keyboard at Millersburg Area Senior Center, 12-1:30 p.m.

East Shore Area Library
4501 Ethel St., Harrisburg
717-652-9380; dcls.org

April 3, 17: Paws 2 Read, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 6: A Garden of Senses, 5:30-6:15 p.m.
April 12: Let’s Discover Art, 5-6 p.m.
April 19: A Tabletop for the Season, 5-7:30 p.m.
April 20: Sip & Speak, 3-4:30 p.m.

Elizabethtown Public Library
10 S. Market St., Elizabethtown
717-367-7467; etownpubliclibrary.org

April 6, 13, 20, 27: Knitter’s Group, 5-7 p.m.
April 8: Fiber Artists, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.
April 11: STEM Stations, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
April 13: Fiber Artists, 3-5 p.m.
April 15: Dog Tales, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
April 18: Musik Times, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Fort Hunter
5300 N. Front St., Harrisburg
717-599-5751; forthunter.org

April 1: Archibald McAllister’s Birthday Celebration, 1-3 p.m.
April 6: Spring Break Boredom Buster—Native Americans, 10-11:30 a.m.
April 6: Spring Break Boredom Buster—Dairy Farming, 1-2:30 p.m.
April 12: Virtual Illustrated Talk—American Red Cross: A History of Serving the Community, 7-8 p.m.
April 22: Earth Day Tin Punching Workshop, 10-11:30 a.m.

Fredricksen Library
100 N. 19th St., Camp Hill
717-761-3900; fredricksenlibrary.org

April 3: Roots & Shoots Program, 6-7 p.m.
April 3, 10, 17, 24: Book Explorers (ages 3-6), 5:30 p.m.
April 3, 17: Frederickson Writes on Zoom, 6:45-8:45 p.m.
April 4: Curl up with the Classics—“The House of the Seven Gables” 10-11 a.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Natalie D. Crauer Writer’s Workshop, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
April 4, 18: READ to Dogs, 6:30-8 p.m.
April 5: Moving Forward Book Group w/ Hospice of Central PA, 1-2 p.m.
April 5: Teen STEAM Meetup, 4-5:30 p.m.
April 5, 12, 19. 26: Spring Children’s Story Time, 11-11:30 a.m.
April 5, 19: Tween STEAM Meetup, 5:15-6 p.m.
April 6: Tween Epic Comic Club, 6-7 p.m.
April 6, 13, 20, 27: Language at the Library—Spanish, 10-11 a.m.
April 6, 13, 20, 27: Meditation to Calm the Mind, 12-12:30 p.m.
April 7: Chess Club, 6:30 p.m.
April 8: Young Explorers (ages 6-8), 1:30-2:30 p.m.
April 13, 20: Meet and Greet Library Pups, 10-11 a.m.
April 15: Tween LEGO Club, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 16: Teen Crafternoon, 1-2:30 p.m.
April 19: Computer Basics, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 20-23: Friends of Fredricksen Spring Book & Media Sale
April 26: Device Advice, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 28: Peaceful Poses Yoga Storytime, 10-10:45 a.m.
April 28: Family Paint & Pix!, 6 p.m.

Gallery on the Square
Millersburg Area Art Association
226 Union St., Millersburg
Facebook: Gallery on the Square

April 1: Needle Felted Rabbit, 1-4 p.m.
April 2: 3-Piece Jewelry Collection, 2-4 p.m.
April 5: Easter Cookie Decorating, 6-8 p.m.
April 13: Field Landscape Painting Workshop, 6-8:30 p.m.
April 15: Mixed Media Workshop, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
April 16: Wind Chimes Workshop, 12-2 p.m.
April 22: Solid Bottom Basket, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
April 23: Resin & Alcohol Ink coasters, 2-4 p.m.
April 28: Welcome Porch/Deck Wood Sign, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
April 29: Paper Quilled Heart in a Shadow Box, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Harrisburg Improv Theatre
1633 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
hbgimprov.com

April 4-May 23: Level 2—Game of the Scene

Hershey Public Library
701 Cocoa Ave., Hershey
717-533-6555; hersheylibrary.org

April 1, 22: Chess Club, 1 p.m.
April 1, 29: DIY Card Making, 11 a.m.
April 1, 29: Local Author Talks, 2 p.m.April 3, 17: Movie Monday, 3 p.m.
April 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27: Penn State Hershey—Mothers & Babies, 10:15 a.m.
April 4, 18, 25: Girls Who Code, 6 p.m.
April 5: LEGO Club, 4 p.m.
April 6, 20: Hershey Quilters, 12:30 p.m.
April 10: Storytime for Everyone, 11 a.m.
April 10, 17, 24: Books and Babies, 10:15 a.m.
April 11: Philosophers’ Round Table Discussion Group, 2 p.m.
April 11, 18, 25: 1, 2, Whee!, 10:15 a.m.
April 11, 25: Silent Book Group at Starbucks in Hershey Towne Square, 10-11:30 a.m.
April 12, 26: Artisan Wednesday, 3 p.m.
April 13, 20, 27: Storytime for Everyone, 10:15 a.m.
April 15: Cocoa Area Fiber Enthusiasts, 10 a.m.
April 15: Friends Children’s Program—Composting for Kids, 2 p.m.
April 22: Kevin Wilson Author Visit, 2 p.m.
April 24: Adult LEGO Club @ Troegs, 6:30 p.m.

Joseph T. Simpson Public Library
16 N. Walnut St., Mechanicsburg
717-766-0171; simpsonlibrary.org

April 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26: Rhyme Time (18 months and older), 10:15-10:35 a.m.
April 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26: Toddler Time (18 months-3 years), 10:45-11:05 a.m.
April 3, 17, 24: Storybook STEAM, 6-7 p.m.
April 4: Kindergarten Readiness, 1 p.m.
April 4: Teen Tuesday, 6-8:30 p.m.
April 4, 6: Kindergarten Readiness, 6 p.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Tea & Stitches, 10 a.m.
April 6, 13, 20, 27: Mah Jongg, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
April 7, 14, 21, 28: LEGO Time, 10:15-11:15 a.m.
April 8: Block Party, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
April 8: Puzzle Party, 11:35 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 10: English Conversation Club, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
April 11: Tween Scene, 6-7 p.m.
April 12: Mad About Mysteries on Zoom, 7-8 p.m.
April 15: Discovery Club, 10:30-11:15 a.m.
April 15: Adventure Club, 11:30 am.-12:15 p.m.
April 15: Teen Squad Meeting, 3-4 p.m.
April 17: Monday Night Book Club, 7 p.m.
April 20: Thursday Morning Book Club, 10-11 a.m.
April 20: Teen Third Thursday, 6 p.m.
April 22: Trivia at Home—2022 in Review, 6-8 p.m.
April 25: Tea & Stitches Extended Edition, 12-3 p.m.
April 25: Tabletop Game Night, 6-8 p.m.
April 27: STEAM Club (grades 1-2), 6 p.m.
April 27: STEAM Club (grades 3-5), 6 p.m.
April 29: Creation Station Maker Space, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Kline Library
530 S. 29th St., Harrisburg
717-234-3934; dcls.org

April 1: Kline Friends Book Sale, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
April 8: Knit One, Crochet Too!, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 12, 26: Paws 2 Read, 5-6 p.m.

The LGBT Center of Central PA
717-409-5781; centralpalgbtcenter.org

April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Passageways, 2 p.m.
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: Young Adult Group, 4 p.m.
April 5, 12, 29, 26: Common Roads (ages 12-17), 6-8 p.m.
April 8: QTPOC Advisory Group, 6-8 p.m.

Majestic Theater
25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg
717-337-8200; gettysburgmajestic.org

April 27, 28: Opera Workshop, 7:30 p.m.

McCormick Riverfront Library
101 Walnut St., Harrisburg
717-234-4976; dcls.org

April 6: STEM Technology Open House, 4-6 p.m.
April 13: Let’s Build STEM, 5-6 p.m.
April 18: A Garden of Senses, 2-2:45 p.m.
April 21: Book Spine Poetry, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Middletown Public Library
20 N. Catherine St., Middletown
717-944-6412; middletownpubliclib.org

April 3, 10, 17, 24: Teen STEM Club, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
April 3, 10, 17, 24: STEM Club, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Storytime and Craft, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Tales with T.A.I.L.S., 6-7 p.m.
April 6: Book Club, 6-7 p.m.
April 6, 13, 20, 27: LEGO Club, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
April 7, 14, 21, 28: Online Science Fiction Book Club
April 7, 14, 21, 28: Star Trek Rewatch online group

Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe
1302 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-236-1680; midtownscholar.com

April 4: An Evening with Alex Mar and Todd Allen, 7-8 p.m.
April 6: An Evening with Matthew Hongoltz and Karen Hendricks, 7-8 p.m.
April 13: Robert Dugoni at Calvary Church, Lancaster, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 19: An Evening with Martha Hall Kelly and Meghan Kenny, 7-8 p.m.
April 27: An Evening with Rainn Wilson at the Strand Theatre, York, 7-8 p.m.

The Millworks
340 Verbeke St.; Harrisburg
717-695-4888; millworksharrisburg.com

April 1: First Saturday, 2-5 p.m.
April 2: Mindfulness Art Forms Workshop, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
April 7: Macramé Plant Hanger, 6-8 p.m.
April 8: Beginning Knitting, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 15: Fluid Art, 12-3 p.m.
April 21: Linocut Printmaking, 7-8:30 p.m.
April 30: Candle making, 1-3 p.m.

National Civil War Museum
One Lincoln Circle, Harrisburg
717-260-1861; nationalcivilwarmuseum.org

April 13: A Civil Conversation with Peniel E. Joseph, 7-8 p.m.

Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art
176 Water Company Rd., Millersburg
717-692-3699; nedsmithcenter.org

April 29: Spring Bird Walk, 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 29: Watercolor Paint-Along, 1-4 p.m.

New Cumberland Public Library
1 Benjamin Plaza, New Cumberland
717-774-7820; newcumberlandlibrary.org

April 1-30: Beanstack Challenge—Kids Cocoa Club (ages 0-18)
April 1-30: Rhyme Time Scavenger Hunt (ages 0-12)
April 3, 10, 17, 24: Storytime & More (ages 2-5), 10:30 a.m.
April 3, 17: Monday Great Books Discussion Group, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 4, 11, 18, 25: Book Babies (ages 0-2), 11:15 a.m.
April 5: Musical Mornings (ages 2-5), 10:30-11 a.m.
April 6: Ruth’s Mystery Discussion Group, 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 7, 21: Movers & Groovers (ages 2-5), 10:30-11 a.m.
April 8: Teen Take & Make (ages 13-17), 10 a.m.
April 11: Book Review Program, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
April 11: Tales for Tails (ages 6-12), 6:30-7:30 p.m.
April 12, 26: Wednesday Great Books Discussion Group, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 13, 27: Block Party! (ages 0-3), 10:30-11:30 a.m.
April 14, 28: Dungeons & Dragons (ages 13-17), 4-6 p.m.
April 15: Couponing for Extreme Savings, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 15: Children’s Book Writers Critique Group, 2-4 p.m.
April 18: Weather STEM Stations (ages 7-12), 6-7 p.m.
April 26: PennWriters Writing Group, 6-9 p.m.
April 29: Crafty Crafters Club, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Palmyra Public Library
50 Landings Dr., Annville
717-838-1347; palmyra.lclibs.org

April 5, 12, 19, 26: Strength & Stretching for Ages 50+, 10-11 a.m.
April 5, 12, 19, 26: Smart Start Storytime, 12:15-12:45 p.m.
April 10: Palmyra Public Library Book Club, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 11: iPhones Part 2, 6-8 p.m.
April 18: Tech Help, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
April 24: BYO Craft Nights (adults 18 and older), 4:30-6:45 p.m.

The State Museum of Pennsylvania
300 North St., Harrisburg
717-787-4980; statemuseumpa.org

April 1-30: Who Am I?
April 1-30: Oasis in Space
April 8, 29: Discover PA with the Giant Map, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
April 13: A Place for All Gallery Tour, 11:30 a.m.
April 19: Celebrate Earth Day—Plant a Tree, 11:30 a.m.
April 21: Virtual Learn at Lunchtime: Pennsylvania Lagomorphs (Rabbits and Hares), 12:15 p.m.
April 22: Storytime, 10:30 a.m.
April 22: Celebrate Earth Day—Plant a Tree, 1:30 p.m.
April 26: Tonight’s Sky Live Chat, 2 p.m.
April 27: Wheels Go Round, 11:30 a.m.

Susquehanna Art Museum
1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-233-8668; susquehannaartmuseum.org

April 12: Landscapes, 6-8 p.m.
April 15: Kid’s Art Club—All Things Polka Dots (ages 5-10), 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 26: Open Figure Drawing, 7-9 p.m.
April 29: Kid’s Art Club—Clay Coil Hearts (ages 7-12), 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The Ware Center
42 N. Prince St., Lancaster
717-871-2308; artsmu.com

April 11: Hope as a Tool to Overcome Childhood Trauma, 5 p.m.
April 20: 10th Annual Global Well-Being and Social Change Conference: Achieving Sustainable Change in an Evolving World, 5:30 p.m.

Wheel of Light Studio
3738 Peters Mountain Rd Halifax
wheeloflightstudio.com

Most Thursday and Friday evenings: Intro to Wheel classes
April 8: Second Saturday Workshops and Artist Demonstrations, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
April 28: Spring Paint Party, 6-8 p.m.
April 29: Intro to Hand Building with Clay, 1-4 p.m.

Wildwood Park
100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg
717-221-0292; wildwoodlake.org

April 1: Penn State Extension Spring Symposium, 9:30-11 a.m.
April 2: Art in the Wild—Meet the Artists, 1-3 p.m.
April 4: Fort Hunter Conservancy Hike, 2-4 p.m.
April 5: Wednesday Wellness Walks, 1-2 p.m.
April 5, 12: Penn State Extension Master Gardeners’ Veggie Series, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 7: Kids Discover—Birds and Their Nests (ages 5-10), 10-11:30 a.m.
April 8: Birds & Coffee, 10-11 a.m.
April 8: Volunteer Work Day, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
April 12, 26: Wednesday Wellness Walks, 1-2 p.m.
April 1, 236: Redbud Tree Sale, 1-3 p.m.
April 19: Preschool Storytime—Spring at Wildwood, 10-10:45 a.m.

April 19: Wednesday Wellness Walks, 1-2 p.m.
April 20: Kids Discover (ages 5-10), 2-4 p.m.

William H. & Marion C. Alexander Family Library
200 W. Second St., Hummelstown
717-566-0949; dcls.org

April 12: A Garden of Senses, 5-5:15 p.m.
April 15: Crafternoon, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Live Music

American Music Theatre
2425 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster
717-397-7700; amtshows.com

April 1: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone w/The Grass Roots
April 2: The Concert—A Tribute to ABBA
April 13: Josh Turner
April 14: The Temptations and the Four Tops
April 19: One Night of Queen with Gary Mullen and the Works
April 20: Clint Black
April 28: Scotty McCreery
April 30: RAIN—A Tribute to the Beatles

Appell Center for the Performing Arts
50 N. George St., York
717-846-1111; appellcenter.org

April 6: Morgan James, Kirk Thurmond
April 7: Jazz in the City
April 8: Ashanti
April 15: A Brother’s Revival
April 22: York Symphony
April 29: The Wallflowers

Blair Music Center, Lutz Recital Hall
Lebanon Valley College
101 College Ave., Annville
717-233-8668; lvc.edu

April 2: Symphony Orchestra
April 3: Side by Side Band Concert with Ephrata High School
April 4: Deborah Fortna
April 11: Percussion Ensemble
April 19: String Ensembles Concert
April 20: Small Jazz Ensemble
April 23: SAI Pickwell
April 24: Chamber Choir
April 25: Touch of Brass
April 26: An Evening of Woodwinds
April 29: Flute Ensemble Reunion
April 30: Symphonic Band
April 30: College Choir

Carlisle Theatre
44 West High St., Carlisle
717-258-0666; carlisletheatre.org

April 28: Tops of the World Carpenters Tribute

Cumberland Singers
www.Cumberlandsingers.org

April 14: Concert at Community United Methodist Church, New Cumberland
April 15: Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley, Boiling Springs
April 16: St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Mechanicsburg

Elizabethtown College
1 Alpha Dr., Elizabethtown
717-361-1212; www.etown.edu

April 16: Elizabethtown College-Community Orchestra

The Englewood
1219 Research Blvd. Hummelstown
717-256-9480; englewoodhershey.com

April 13: Livingston Taylor

Greystone Brew House
303 Golf Club Ave., Dillsburg
717.347.0632; greystonebrewhouse.com

April 7: Aaron Daniel Gaul
April 14: Erica Lyn Everest
April 21: Joe Cooney & Friends
April 28: SOC Duo

H*MAC
1110 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-441-7506; harrisburgarts.com

April 1: Kingsmen
April 2: Pinkshift
April 4: Nothing More
April 4: Hiss Golden Messenger
April 6: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
April 6: nothing,nowhere.
April 7: Unique Legion
April 8: Twiddle
April 9: The Plot In You
April 14: Dopapod
April 15: Snarky Puppy
April 21: Trixter
April 22: Xiu Xiu
April 22: Slaughter To Prevail
April 27: Chelsea Grin/Carnifex

Harrisburg Scottish Rite Theatre
2701 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-238-8868; valleyofharrisburg.org

April 22: Atlanta Rhythm Section

Harrisburg Singers
www.theharrisburgsingers.org

April 29: Concert at Trinity Lutheran Church, Camp Hill
April 30: Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Mechanicsburg

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
The Forum at 5th and Walnut St., Harrisburg
717-545-5527; harrisburgsymphony.org

April 1: POPS 5—“Dancing in the Street”
April 15, 16: Masterworks—Beethoven and Sibelius

Harrisburg University Presents
concertseries.harrisburgu.edu

April 6: Wilder Woods at XL Live
April 8: Lucius at XL Live
April 18: Joywave, Elliot Lee at XL Live
April 20: Houndmouth at XL Live
April 21: The Mountain Goats at XL Live
April 27: Father John Misty at The Forum
April 29: Alec Benjamin at XL Live

Hershey Theatre
15 E. Caracas Ave., Hershey
717-534-3405; hersheytheatre.com

April 12: Chicago
April 22: Natalie Merchant
April 23: Brit Floyd
April 30: Alice Cooper

Hollywood Casino
777 Hollywood Blvd., Grantville
717-469-2211; www.hollywoodpnrc.com

April 1: Midnite Riot
April 7: Hooligan
April 8: Downtown Sound
April 14: Jess Zimmerman Band
April 15: Dance Fever
April 21: Smooth Like Clyde
April 22: Stampede
April 28: Renegade Radio Rocks
April 29: Cazhmiere

Luhrs Performing Arts Center
1871 Old Main Dr., Shippensburg
717-477-7469; luhrscenter.com

April 1: Travis Tritt
April 2: Shippensburg University Wind Ensemble and Concert Band
April 15: Get the Led Out
April 23: Shippensburg University Community Orchestra
April 27: The Collingsworth Family

Majestic Theater
25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg
717-337-8200; gettysburgmajestic.org

April 14: Symphony Orchestra
April 16: Symphony Band
April 22: Jazz Ensemble

Mansion Concerts
2917 N Front St, Harrisburg
mansionconcert.com

April 1: Steve Baughman, Robin Bullock

Market Square Concerts
www.marketsquareconcerts.org

April 29: Stuart and Friends

Messiah University
One University Ave., Mechanicsburg
717-766-2511; messiah.edu

April 3: Messiah University Chamber Ensemble
April 4: Messiah University Brass Choir and Symphonic Winds
April 14: Messiah University Symphony Orchestra Concert
April 22: Messiah University Handbell Choir
April 22: Messiah University United Voices of Praise
April 23: Messiah University Wind Ensemble
April 26: Messiah University Choral Showcase
April 28: Messiah University Jazz Ensembles
April 27: Messiah University Musica Nova—Student Compositions
April 28: Handel’s “Messiah” April 30, 4 p.m.
April 21-22: Culmination ’23—Spring Dance Concert

Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art
176 Water Company Rd., Millersburg
717-692-3699; nedsmithcenter.org

April 15: The LeBlancs
April 30: Stuart Malina & Friends

Perry County Council of the Arts
Landis House

67 N. 4th St., Newport
717-567-7023; perrycountyarts.org

April 29: Callanish

Pine Street Presbyterian Church
310 N. Third St., Harrisburg
717-238-9304; pinestreet.org

April 11: Loreto Aramendi

The Susquehanna Folk Music Society
717-745-6577; sfmsfolk.org

April 2: Open Mic Night
April 15, 16: The Faux Paws
April 16: April Jam & Song Swap
April 23: Spring Coffee House
April 27: É.T.É
April 30: Golden Shoals with Brad Kolodner & Alex Lacquement

The Ware Center
42 N. Prince St., Lancaster
717-871-2308; artsmu.com

April 7: We the People First Friday—Ever Sandoval & Friends
April 29: Club 42 Series—Victor Provost Quartet
April 30: Concert Band & Wind Ensemble

West Shore Theatre
317 Bridge St, New Cumberland
717-759-5464; www.westshoretheatre.org

April 11: Harrisburg Jazz Collective
April 23: The Wind Down
April 27: Erich Cawalla presents the music of Sinatra, Bennet, Darin, and more
April 29: The Maxwell Project

XL Live
801 S. 10th St., Harrisburg
717-409-8975; xlhbg.com

April 1: Crazy Train The Ozzy Experience, Road Case, LeadFoot
April 6: Harrisburg presents Wilder Woods
April 7: Space Bacon, Hexbelt & Flux Capacitor
April 8: Harrisburg University presents Lucius
April 12: Dirtwire, Mystik Fool
April 14: Cabinet
April 15: Bob 94,9 Birthday Bash
April 18: Harrisburg University presents Joywave, Elliot Lee
April 19: Star Kitchen, Jen Hartswick
April 20: Harrisburg University presents Houndmouth
April 21: Harrisburg University presents The Mountain Goats
April 22: Badfish—A Tribute to Sublime
April 29: Harrisburg University presents Alec Benjamin

The Stage Door

Appell Center for the Performing Arts
50 N. George St., York
717-846-1111; appellcenter.org

April 12: “Jesus Christ Superstar”
April 14: Joey Callahan, Bill Chiang, Daphne London
April 19: “The Gruffalo”
April 25: CapComedy Night Fundraiser for Cultural Alliance of York County
April 27: Rainn Wilson

The Belmont Theatre
27 S. Belmont St., York
717-854-3894; thebelmont.org

April 21: “A Fox on the Fairway”

Blair Music Center, Lutz Recital Hall
Lebanon Valley College
101 College Ave., Annville
717-233-8668; lvc.edu

April 13-16: “On The Town”

Carlisle Theatre
44 West High St., Carlisle
717-258-0666; carlisletheatre.org

April 1-2: “You Can’t Take It With You”

Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre
510 Centerville Rd., Lancaster
717-898-1900; DutchApple.com

April 1: “Sister Act”
April 7-May 20: “Footloose the Musical”

Gamut Theatre Group
15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg
717-238-4111; gamuttheatre.org

April 1-2: “Jungle Book”
April 14-16: “Macbeth”
April 26-May 13: “Rollicking Ripsnorters” w/Popcorn Hat Players

Harrisburg Christian Performing Arts Center
1000 S. Eisenhower Blvd, Middletown
717-939-9333; thehcpac.org

April 14-16: “Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder?”
April 22: “Dancing with our Stars”

Harrisburg Comedy Zone
110 Limekiln Rd., New Cumberland
717-920-5653; harrisburgcomedyzone.com

April 1: Chris Harvey, Wyatt Cole
April 7: Divas Down Under present “The Evolution of Drag Show”
April 7, 8: Shawn Banks, Tommy Torres
April 14, 15: Comedy Hypnotist Rich Guzzi
April 21, 22: Tammy Pescatelli

Harrisburg Improv Theatre
1633 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
hbgimprov.com

April 1, 2: HITSTRAVAGANZA!
April 2: Level 1 Class Show
April 7: Level 1 Class Show, Hoagie’s Heroes, Ham Juice, Frankenstein’s Monster!, Bandito
April 8: Kid Friendly Mixer, Solo Sleepover, Baby, Love Triangle, Barn Bitches, Uncomfortable, Tiny Town
April 14: Free Improv Jam, Is That Beef?, Team Z, Leg of Lamp, Phil’s Arcade, Holding Hand w/ John and Tyler—A Late Show w/ John and Tyler
April 15: Free Mixer, This Show Will Self Destruct, Mary Todd Lincoln: The Real Babe-raham Lincoln, Barbra, Tiny French Cigarettes
April 21: Free Improv Jam, Hoagie’s Heroes, Ham Juice, Cosmic Trash, The Bondfire Society
April 22: Free Mixer, Baby, Sunday School, Rockstar Goes Supernova, JODY, Barn Bitches presents The Haircut
April 28: Free Improv Jam, Is That Beef?, Team Z, Midtown Funk, Merely Players
April 29: Free Mixer, Dark Horse, Original Six, Elderprov
April 30: Kidprov Class Shows

Hershey Theatre
15 E. Caracas Ave., Hershey
717-534-3405; hersheytheatre.com

April 4-9: “Hadestown”
April 15: Joe Gatto

Keystone Theatrics
The Playhouse at Allenberry
1559 Boiling Springs Rd., Boiling Springs
717-258-3211; www.keystonetheatrics.com

April 21-May 7: “Cinderella”

Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg
915 S. York St., Mechanicsburg
717-766-0535; ltmpa.com

April 21-May 7: “Doubt—A Parable”

Luhrs Performing Arts Center
1871 Old Main Dr., Shippensburg
717-477-7469; luhrscenter.com

April 13: “Stomp”
April 28: “Whose Live Anyway”
April 29: “The Pout-Pout Fish”

Open Stage of Harrisburg
223 Walnut St., Harrisburg
717-232-OPEN; openstagehbg.com

April 7: EFF Live!, 7:30 p.m.
April 12-16: “Charlotte’s Web”
April 21-May 7: “Tiny Beautiful Things”

Theatre Harrisburg
513 Hurlock St., Harrisburg
717-232-5501; theatreharrisburg.com

April 28-May 14: “Sideshow” at Whitaker Center

West Shore Theatre
317 Bridge St, New Cumberland
717-759-5464; www.westshoretheatre.org

April 2: “Crying on the Camino”
April 4: “Jesus Christ Superstar”

Whitaker Center
222 Market St., Harrisburg
717-214-ARTS; whitakercenter.org

April 1-2: Central PA Youth Ballet presents Alan Hineline’s “Giselle”
April 28-May 14: Theatre Harrisburg presents “Sideshow”

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

Keys & Conflicts: A music legend struggles in “Little Richard: I Am Everything”

March 30, 2023 | by Sammi Leigh Melville

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

“You ain’t supposed to hide nothing—you’ve got it. God gave it, show it to the world!”

These are the words of Little Richard, the flamboyant father of rock ‘n’ roll. Many men have claimed that title over the years—the “father” part, not the “flamboyant.” But Lisa Cortés’ documentary, “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” makes one hell of an argument in his favor. And not only that, but it gives us a glimpse at the tumultuous relationship that he had, not with music or drugs or sex, but with God and himself.

The film takes us through Little Richard’s life decade by decade, from the 1930s when he was a little boy in Macon, Ga., aspiring to be a minister, all the way to his death in 2020. We learn about Sister Rosetta Tharpe inviting him onto the stage for the first time ever. We learn about his drag persona, Princess Lavonne. We learn about the cleaned-up lyrics of “Tutti Frutti.”

Audiences Black and white flocked to him—at a time when it was dangerous for Black and queer people to have that sort of affection publicly projected towards them. He projected sex in a non-threatening way, but was still overshadowed by white musicians who copied his music and were the “safer” choice for white audiences.

The film continuously comes back to Little Richard’s faith. As a queer Black man in the era that he lived, it was unfortunately inescapable that he would find conflict, not only from the public eye, but within himself.

Cortés shows the constant back-and-forth that Little Richard had with the desire to be who he was and who his God wanted him to be. The documentary shows outright renouncement of his queerness. At other times, he admits to the struggle he has, and yet at other times, as quoted in the film, “It’s hard to tell how much is running towards God versus running away from himself.”

The film is an incredible insight into who Little Richard was, with plenty of celebrity surprises and a killer soundtrack to boot. The magic that he brought to his music and to the stage is given physical attribute via visual effects—a move that at first seems like it comes from nowhere, but feels like a good fit by the end of the film. In several scenes, we “see” the music in gusts of glitter, practically brandishing a god-like tone around the legend of Little Richard as his story plays out. This extra shading by Cortés makes his struggle with his faith even more fascinating.

If nothing else (and that is overlooking a lot), the film gives us an insightful, 360-degree view of who Little Richard really was: the father of rock ‘n’ roll—the king—the god himself—and everything else he worked so hard to be.

“Little Richard: I Am Everything” will play at Midtown Cinema in April.

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

April Events At Midtown Cinema

National Theatre Live presents

“The Seagull”
Starring Emilia Clarke
Sunday, April 2 at 5 p.m.

“Little Richard: I Am Everything”
Documentary Screening
Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Down in Front! comedy riffing presents
“Killer Fish” (1979)
Friday, April 14 at 9:30ish

“Miss Congeniality”
Describe your perfect date.
Tuesday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Studio Ghibli Festival
April 21 to 27

Friday, April 21
“Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” 7 p.m.
“Spirited Away,” 9: 30 p.m.

Saturday, April 22
“Ponyo,” 2 p.m.
“Spirited Away,” 5 p.m.
“Howl’s Moving Castle,” 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 23
“Howl’s Moving Castle,” 2 p.m.
“Spirited Away: Live on Stage,” 4 p.m.
“Ponyo,” 5 p.m.
“Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 27
“Spirited Away: Live on Stage,” 7 p.m.

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

Community Corner: Notable April Events

March 30, 2023 | by Missy Smith

Spring Gardening
April 1: Penn State Extension Master Gardeners hosts its Spring Gardening Symposium at Wildwood Park, 100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg, 9:30 to 11 a.m. This session’s topic is “Creating Healthy Garden Soil.” www.explorewildwoodpark.org

Craft Sale
April 1: Central Dauphin High School Band Boosters hosts its 31st annual craft sale at 437 Piketown Rd., Harrisburg, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Shop for handmade items from more than 150 vendors. Proceeds benefit high school band programs. www.cdramband.org

Retirement Workshop
April 1: Dauphin County Chapter of the PA Association of School Employees will host a pre-retirement workshop at Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, 1280 Clover Lane and on Zoom, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., for Dauphin County public school employees eligible for PSERS benefits and planning to retire within four years. www.dcpasr.org

HBG Flea
April 1: Shop the HBG Flea for local art, vintage treasures, curated curios and unique gifts, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Strawberry Square, 320 Market St., Harrisburg. The mission of the HBG Flea is to create a platform for community growth by bringing artists, small businesses and patrons together. www.hbgflea.com

Book Sale
April 1, 15: Friends of the New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, hosts pre-owned book sales on the first and third Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Foundation House. Find books, vintage items, jewelry, music, puzzles, kids’ books, vinyl records and more. www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org

Bowling Benefit
April 1-28: Register your bowling team for Bowl for Kids’ Sake to raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region’s one-to-one youth mentoring program. Enjoy pizza, drinks, raffle prizes and bowling. More details are online. www.capbigs.org

Art in the Wild
April 2: Take a self-guided, 3-mile trail walk to meet “Art in the Wild” artists as they put finishing touches on their trailside installations and observe their processes of creating outdoor art, 1 to 3 p.m. www.wildwoodlake.org

Egg-Stravaganza
April 2: Families with kids ages 2 to 8 are invited to New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, for a community Easter Egg Hunt, 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Crafts and games will be available, and prizes will be awarded. www.newcumberlandlibrary.org

Girls who Code
April 4, 18, 25: Hershey Public Library, 701 Cocoa Ave., Hershey, hosts Girls Who Code, a program for girls in grades 6 to 12 to use computer science to impact their community, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Girls will build skills in teamwork, confidence, time management, communication and more. www.hersheylibrary.org

Health Summit
April 6-8: Latino Connection will host the 2023 Latino Health Summit at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 701 Penn St., Reading, with a theme of “Restoring and Transforming Health in Our Communities.” Network with and learn from thought leaders, private and public-sector organizations and community members. www.latinoconnection.org

Church Service
April 7: Salem United Church of Christ, 231 Chestnut St., Harrisburg, will host a Good Friday service at 12 p.m. Special music will include selections by the St. Thomas Dulcimer Society. www.salemuccharrisburg.org

Volunteer Day
April 8: Enjoy the outdoors and help with park and habitat enhancement projects at Wildwood Park, 100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tools and work gloves provided. www.explorewildwoodpark.org

Creative Workshops
April 8: Stop by Wheel of Light Studio, 3738 Peters Mountain Rd., Halifax, for Second Saturday workshops to create ceramic faerie houses, macramé bunny ears, and hand-painted birdhouses, and to try your hand at Earth Day papermaking, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event also features artisan demonstrations. www.wheeloflightstudio.com

Alzheimer’s Fundraiser
April 8: Harrisburg Beach Club, City Island, hosts “The Longest Day—an Island Getaway” fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Association, 4 to 7 p.m. Relax along the river and enjoy live music, contests, prizes, cornhole, mini golf, food, beverages and more. www.harrisburgbeachclub.com

Plein Air
April 12-19: Artists will paint outdoors on both sides of the Susquehanna River during the 3rd annual River Towns Plein Air event hosted by Marietta Art Alive. The public is invited to observe artists at work. The 8-day painting period culminates in an exhibit opening on April 21 at 5 p.m. at Marietta Community House Studio 264. www.mariettaartalive.com

Food Rally
April 13: Enjoy fresh, savory foods at the New Cumberland Food Truck & Restaurant Rally every second Thursday of the month, 5 to 8 p.m. Grab dinner from area food trucks or New Cumberland restaurants and enjoy shopping and promotions at local businesses. www.newcumberlandpa.org

Civil War Presentation
April 13: National Civil War Museum, 1 Lincoln Circle, Harrisburg, hosts “A Civil Conversation” with Peniel E. Joseph, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, 7:30 p.m. www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org

Guitar Show
April 14-16: Artisan Guitar Show will be held at Best Western Premier and Conference Center, 800 E. Park Dr., Harrisburg. Visit with handcrafted guitar exhibitors, attend master classes and enjoy a concert series. www.artisanguitarshow.com

Travel Fair
April 15: Where & When Pennsylvania hosts the 5th Annual PA Family Travel Fair at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Rd., Lancaster, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Discover fun and affordable PA vacations, and participate in raffles and giveaways, kids’ activities and exhibitors, entertainment and mascots. www.whereandwhen.com

Dance Class
April 15: Dwennimmen, a local, community-based African dance and drum company, presents Souleymane Solos Sana Traditional Malian Dancer Master Dance class at 5 Bridges Health & Fitness, 4450 Oakhurst Blvd., Harrisburg, 2 p.m. All levels are welcome. Facebook: Dwennimmen African Dance Community

Gettysburg Museum
April 15-16: Adams County Historical Society’s new museum, Gettysburg Beyond the Battle, 625 Biglerville Rd., will open its doors to the public, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enjoy self-guided museum tours, special programming, book signings, living history, live music, kids’ activities and more. www.achs-pa.org

Earth & Art Fest
April 16: Join New Cumberland Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, and New Cumberland Collective for the first New Cumberland Earth & Art Festival with educational sessions, plein air painting, a sustainable fashion fair, art and goods market, food trucks, music, a student art show and more, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.newcumberlandlibrary.org

Earth Day
April 19, 22: Kids and families are invited to the State Museum of PA, 300 North St., Harrisburg, to learn more about the trees in Pennsylvania, how they make our lives better and take a seedling home to plant. www.statemuseumpa.org

Discover Pollywogs
April 20: Kids ages 5 to 10 are invited to Detweiler Park, 1451 Peters Mountain Rd., Dauphin, for a day of pond/creek exploration, 2 to 4 p.m. Using nets, kids can catch and release tadpoles and other critters. www.explorewildwoodpark.org

Taste of the Chamber
April 20: West Shore Chamber of Commerce hosts “Soiree at the Farm,” with live music, dancing and hors d’oeuvres by the water at Farm 1840, 101 State Rd., Mechanicsburg, 6 to 9 p.m. Wear your best formal attire. www.wschamber.org

Bagels & Bingo
April 21: Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg to enjoy a bagel, cream cheese, and light refreshments, while playing rounds of bingo, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Attendees will have a chance to win door prizes including raffle baskets and gift cards. The event is free for members. www.jewishfedhbg.org

Gospel Concert
April 21: Bethel AME Church, 1721 N. 5th St., Harrisburg, hosts a Women’s Day Benefit Spring Gospel Concert with Nicholas Carter and Divine Connection at 6 p.m. Admission is $25. Facebook: Bethel AME Church

3rd in The Burg
April 21: Explore the best of Harrisburg during 3rd in the Burg, the monthly arts and culture event, where you can visit and enjoy galleries, restaurants and art spaces throughout downtown and Midtown, 6 to 9 p.m. www.thirdintheburg.org

Fundraising Event
April 21: Vision Resources of Central PA hosts the 23rd Annual Visions of Monte Carlo benefit fundraiser at the Sheraton Harrisburg/Hershey, 4650 Lindle Rd., Harrisburg, for a dinner, auction, raffles, music, dancing, casino-style games and more, 6 to 10 p.m. www.vrocp.org

Litter Cleanup
April 22: Help make Harrisburg a cleaner and safer place to live, work and play by participating in the 11th annual Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup, alongside hundreds of volunteers, 8 to 11 a.m. www.cactricounty.org/ghlc

Cleanup Event
April 22: Wildheart Ministries will host a cleanup event at 333 S. 13th St., Harrisburg, and throughout South Allison Hill, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. followed by lunch, as part of the Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup. www.lovethehillpa.com

Odd Ones
April 22: The Millworks, 340 Verbeke St., Harrisburg, hosts its annual Spring Odd Ones Bizarre, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vendors will set up throughout the building and on the rooftop. Shop for unique and handcrafted gifts at this alternative arts and crafts event. www.millworksharrisburg.com

Earth Day Fest
April 22: Stop by Elizabethtown Fairgrounds, 900 E. High St., to celebrate Earth Day with food, live music, kids’ activities, a makers’ market, environmental information tables and more, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. www.facebook.com/earth2etown

Gamut Gala
April 23: Gamut Theatre hosts its annual fundraiser, The Gamut Gala, 4 to 7 p.m., at its home at 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. The event features great food, open bar, entertainment and live and silent auctions. www.gamuttheatre.org.

Tonight’s Sky
April 26: Families are invited to join the planetarium director at the State Museum of PA, 300 North St, Harrisburg, at 2 p.m. to explore the night sky. Learn about the basic motions of the sky, visible constellations and planets and special celestial events. www.statemuseumpa.org

Junior Foodies
April 27: New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, hosts Junior Foodies—Fruit Pie Challenge for ages 6 to 10, 6 to 7 p.m., in conjunction with Longwood Gardens’ Community Read selection, “Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie: A Story about Edna Lewis.” www.newcumberlandlibrary.org

Plant Sale
April 29: Friends of the New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza, hosts their annual plant sale at Foundation House, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Shop for annuals, vegetables, herbs, perennials and more. Event includes a free workshop on growing and using herbs at 10 a.m. www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org

Wetlands Festival
April 29: Celebrate Wildwood Park’s treasured wetlands with a day of free, fun and educational activities at the 23rd Annual Wetlands Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy live music, food trucks and wildlife exhibits, and interact with members of environmental organizations. Visit www.explorewildwoodpark.org

Ukrainian Music
April 29: Prometheus Ukrainian Male Chorus will sing at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral, 221 N. Front St., Harrisburg, 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $25 or $5 for students and may be obtained at the door or on the website below. There will be a freewill offering to support humanitarian relief in Ukraine. www.musicbytheriver.org

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

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