The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

August 19, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Community members and artists painted and hung a mural on Pastorante’s boarded-up window in Midtown Harrisburg.

As fall inches closer, there are several great ways to enjoy the last bit of summer in Harrisburg this weekend. HU Presents is set up for two concerts this weekend in Riverfront Park, Dauphin County’s Cultural Fest will take place on City Island and 3^rd in the Burg is happening tonight! Before you head out, catch up on this week’s news, linked below.

Bethesda Mission celebrated the opening of its new women’s mission on Thursday, our online story reported. The newly constructed building offers a place for Harrisburg women in crisis to find refuge and support.

The Broad Street Market is featured in a new Apple TV series, “Stuffed with Steve Ford,” our online story reported. The show, created by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, will premiere at the market on Friday night, in the courtyard.

Dauphin County’s Cultural Fest will return to City Island in Harrisburg this weekend, our reporting found. The event will include musical and dance performances, as well as ethnic food trucks and other vendors.

The Dauphin-Middle Paxton Historical Society is working to rebuild after a fire destroyed its building and much of its historical artifacts. In our magazine story, read about what’s next for the organization and about its gala planned for next month.

Our editor, in an editorial, shares how despite PennDOT’s new efforts to deter trucks from driving under the Front Street railroad bridge, many trucks are still getting stuck. PennDOT isn’t doing enough to address the issue, he says.

Gamut Theatre honored a former student actor who passed away in 2020 by naming a legacy fund in her honor, our online story reported. “Lily’s Legacy Fund” will support the Harrisburg theater’s efforts to increase its accessibility.

Harrisburg City Council re-opened the application for its Youth Commission, our online story reported. The commission will now include 11- to 18-year old students who will help advise the city on youth-related issues.

Harrisburg’s Keystone Capital Chorus and York’s White Rose Chorus will come together for a “Back to Barbershop! 75^th Anniversary Celebration” at the Scottish Rite Cathedral next month, our online story reported. The performance represents more than just an anniversary, but a newfound unity and a coming together to preserve the musical genre.

Harrisburg and state Rep. Patty Kim will hand out free backpacks and school supplies to 100 students at the city’s final summer movie night on Friday, our online story reported. At 8 p.m., the city will show “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”

Junior Achievement’s BizTown provides a field trip experience to a simulated town where students test-drive a real workday. In our magazine story, read more about the York organization that prepares students for work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Pastorante, a restaurant in Harrisburg, is looking a little brighter after community members and artists hung and painted a mural on the front of the building, our reporting found. The mural covers a window that was boarded up after a shooting incident shattered the window last week.

Sara Bozich’s Weekend Roundup is full of music, food and entertainment options for your weekend. Take a look, here.

Sprocket Mural Works recently completed another mural in Harrisburg, capping off the renovation of the “Carpets & Draperies” building at 1507 N. 3^rd St., our online story reported. The bright and colorful mural was painted by local artist Tara Chickey.

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Harrisburg’s Gamut Theatre honors student actor, increases building accessibility

August 19, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Gamut Theatre staff and actors, Lily Jordan’s family and others cut the ribbon on both the “Lily’s Lift” elevator and “Lily’s Legacy Fund.”

A Harrisburg theater is taking steps to become even more accessible for visitors and performers.

During a bittersweet celebration on Friday, Gamut Theatre honored a young actress who passed away in 2020 as it announced a legacy fund in her name to improve the accessibility of the theater.

“We are so excited about this fund launching,” said Carolina Nicholson, Gamut’s public relations manager. “Any amount is so helpful for us. Every little bit helps us to help others be able to access our property.”

“Lily’s Legacy Fund” is named after Lily Jordan, a local teenager who performed at Gamut Theatre, before passing away from cancer. Jordan, who used a wheelchair, often rode in the theater’s elevator to get from the stage to the dressing room and rehearsal room space. On Friday, Gamut named the elevator “Lily’s Lift.”

While Gamut is fully accessible by wheelchair, the organization wanted to make its building and programming even easier to access.

Nicholson said that she hopes that the new fund will support scholarships for students to attend their Popcorn Hat Players’ Camp and Gamut Theatre Academy. Funds may also support building updates, reduced ticket prices for lower-income residents and additional support staff.

“It’s created in the memory of Lily […] and how she always strove for excellence and never allowed her disability to get in the way of achieving her hopes and dreams,” said Gamut student actor Kennedy Commissiong, who was a friend of Jordan’s. “Lily’s Legacy helps Gamut to give back to the community in a meaningful way.”

For more information on Gamut Theatre’s Lily’s Legacy Fund or to donate, visit their website.

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Community Comment: Loneliness Can Threaten Lives

August 19, 2022 | by Capital Blue Cross

Senior man sitting on bench in garden.

It’s not as if loneliness had never been on health researchers’ radar before COVID-19.

A 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation report found that nearly 60 million Americans – or 22% – often or always felt lonely or isolated. The problem is particularly poignant in adults over 60, 43% of whom reported feeling lonely.

And in 2019, just prior to the pandemic’s outbreak in America, the Health Resources & Services Administration cited a staggering warning that social isolation can cause as much harm as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Loneliness spiked to crisis status during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from Harvard University’s Making Caring Common Project, which found more than a third of all Americans – 36% – feel “serious loneliness.” That includes 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with younger children.

“Emotional and physical Isolation were already underreported problems prior to the pandemic,” says Karie Batzler, Capital Blue Cross director of behavioral health. “But the pandemic escalated them to an epidemic that carries long-term consequences that could potentially damage, or even cost, countless lives. It’s imperative, collectively as communities, that we work together to lessen loneliness, especially for those most susceptible to it, such as seniors and young adults.”

The issue has health implications that go beyond mental wellness. Several analyses have reported that loneliness carries a higher mortality risk than obesity.

Lessening the Loneliness

The good news is we can all help fight our feelings of isolation by:

Creating group activities – at work, with family, or with friends – that that help build a bigger sense of community.
Educating ourselves and those close to us on how to cope with isolation. The Harvard report suggests “including strategies that help them identify and manage self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that fuel loneliness.”
Extending the commitments we have to ourselves to the well-being of our family, friends, and co-workers, particularly those we sense may be vulnerable.

Capital Blue Cross helps through a variety of behavioral health initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the health insurer unveiled a behavioral health toolkit for employer groups, and helped bring to market a new mobile app that helps users improve their mental wellness.

“We can help by understanding that what lonely friends, family, or coworkers need more than anything is to connect and reach out to others, and for others to reach out to them,” Batzler said. “But sometimes the shame that accompanies loneliness pushes them in the other direction, and that can spiral downward quickly. Regularly scheduled things like group activities, providing information about how to cope with loneliness, and guidance toward available programs or tools to handle it are critical.”

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

Bethesda Mission celebrates completion of new women’s shelter, expanding services for Harrisburg’s unhoused

August 19, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Bethesda Mission staff and board members, Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams, City Council President Danielle Bowers, and project contractors cut the ribbon on the new women’s mission.

A seven-year-long project has reached completion and will provide a new home to Harrisburg’s women in need.

On Thursday evening, Bethesda Mission celebrated the completion of its new women’s mission building, which houses women experiencing homelessness, addiction and abuse, among other struggles.

“I am so excited,” said Shelley Brooks, director of the women’s mission. “When someone comes into our shelter, they can find the love and support that they need.”

In June 2020, Bethesda began demolition of the previous women’s shelter, a pair of 120-year-old former school buildings that the organization had occupied for 37 years. The buildings increasingly faced maintenance issues and deteriorated over the years. On demolition day, Brooks ceremonially took a sledgehammer to one of the buildings. They had served the mission for years, but she was ready to see them go.

The staff and guests of the mission moved into the new building in November 2021, according to Scott Dunwoody, executive director of Bethesda Mission.

“Isn’t the new building beautiful?” Brooks asked visitors at the celebration for the new, 18,400-square-foot building.

Bethesda’s Women’s Mission

Throughout the night, staff and volunteers provided tours of the four-story building, a project that cost about $4.5 million. Bethesda Mission raised the funds through donations and grants, but is still about $50,000 short of its goal.

The first floor of the building serves as a living space for shorter-term residents who may stay from six months to a year. The second floor houses women in recovery from addiction who will stay for a longer term of one to two years. On the third floor, the mission runs a new young adults program for 18- to 24-year-olds in need of a place to stay. The basement level includes a kitchen, chapel, fitness room and playroom for children who live in the shelter with their mothers.

In total, the shelter has space for 51 women and children. Currently, only about 20 women live in the new shelter, as Bethesda only recently reopened the program to new guests.

A living room space inside Bethesda Women’s Mission

According to Dunwoody, the long-term commitment aspect of the shelter is Bethesda’s “distinctive difference.” It gives the staff time to help guests address the root of their problems, he explained. They do that through recovery, life skills, mental health and religious programming, among others.

“They need love, direction and support,” Brooks said.

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams attended the celebration, reading a mayoral proclamation and helping staff and donors cut the ribbon on the new facility.

“I hate the idea that they [women] have to come, but I love the place they get to come to,” Brooks said.

For more information about Bethesda Mission’s Women’s Mission, visit their website.

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Free backpacks, school supplies to be distributed at Harrisburg’s final summer movie night

August 18, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

The bandshell at Reservoir Park is home to Harrisburg’s outdoor movie nights.

As the academic year rolls back around, Harrisburg and local officials will help out students in need of school supplies.

The first 100 children to attend the city’s free movie night at Reservoir Park on Friday will receive a backpack with books and supplies.

The giveaway comes in partnership with state Rep. Patty Kim (D-103) who annually hosts the event. This is the first year it will happen in conjunction with a city event.

“The city, my office and the local American Legion are coming together to give one last hurrah for the students here in Harrisburg,” Kim said. “We want to make sure that they feel loved, that they feel supported, and give them a good time with food and a movie night, to make sure that they have a great start for the school year.”

The city will hand out the 100 backpacks at 7 p.m., followed by a showing of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” at 8 p.m. Free popcorn will also be available.

The city encourages attendees to bring their own seating and blankets. Portable toilets are located on site. No alcohol is allowed.

This is the last movie of Harrisburg’s summer movie night series.

The movie nights have been a hit this summer, according to Antoine Eubanks of the city’s parks and recreation department. Starting on June 24, six family-friendly films were shown at the Reservoir Park bandshell. Two were canceled due to inclement weather.

“It’s been overly a great success this summer, and any time we can partner with [Rep.] Kim’s office to get more people out here, it’s great,” Eubanks said. “We’re hoping that [Friday] will be just as good as the whole summer turned out, so that next year it’ll be even bigger.”

For more information, visit the city’s website.

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Artists, community paint mural on Harrisburg restaurant’s boarded-up window after gunfire damage

August 18, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Artist Vivian Sterste (in background) and community members paint a canvas to cover Pastorante’s boarded-up window.

The community is getting creative to help a Harrisburg restaurant look a bit brighter.

On Thursday, local artists and community members gathered at Pastorante, a restaurant in Midtown, to hang and paint a canvas on the front of the building. The artwork covers a boarded-up window that was shattered during gunfire last week.

“It’s great,” said owner Sri Kumarasingam of the mural. “The community always comes through.”

Early in the morning on Aug. 12, the restaurant’s window on the 1000-block of N. 3^rd St. was hit during a shooting incident. Pastorante was closed at the time, and no one was injured.

However, Kumarasingam now must replace his window, which will likely take two to three weeks, he said. He does not know yet what his insurance will cover. In the meantime, he launched a GoFundMe page to raise money. By Thursday afternoon, the page had raised nearly $5,000.

Harrisburg Artist Vivian Sterste, owner of Midtown gallery Vivi on Verbeke, decided to help in the best way she knew how—through art. On Thursday, Sterste organized a community mural project to cover the boarded-up window.

According to Kumarasingam, business was slow over the weekend, which he believes was due to the building’s appearance. The mural, which is in progress, will help with that, he said.

“This will definitely help business,” he said. “It will be a talking point, and it will look pretty outside.”

Sterste said that over a dozen people stopped by to leave their mark on the mural by Thursday afternoon. She expects to continue painting for the next day or two, or whenever the mural is complete. The inspiration for the painting came from Kumarasingam’s request for an image of a field of flowers.

“This is an effort to support the community and get people involved,” Sterste said. “It’ll be colorful and hopefully encourage business and bring some joy.”

Midtown resident Tonya Andrews dined at Pastorante before and loved their black squid ink pasta. On Thursday, she came to help paint after seeing Sterste’s post about the project on Facebook.

“I have the time and I want to help,” she said. “It’s always good to help out. And I like this restaurant.”

Pastorante is located at 1012 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.

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Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

August 18, 2022 | by Sara Bozich

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA! Scroll down or use the menu links to find ideas for your weekend.

What you’ll find:

For your weekend planning
Top Weekend Recs
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Like this content?

For something new: Check out Chatty Monks Brewing and/or KLYR Rum tonight and Friday in SoMa Harrisburg. Stuffed at Broad Street Market on Friday! The “Anyone Can Cook” competition at Greystone Brew House Saturday looks super fun. And on Sunday, the Inaugural Harrisburg River Rescue Float.

Worth noting: BIG changes are coming in this space! Check out my private Facebook community, Cheers Harrisburg to get the first peeks.

Things on my agenda this weekend: Sip in SoMa. To market, to market. A pool visit, perhaps.

Don’t forget to support your local brewery! Click here to find one near you.

For your weekend planning

SoMa Sips Aug. 18-19 | Pop-Up Tasting Rooms
3rd in the Burg in SoMa Harrisburg
Add to calendar: SoMa Block Party Aug. 25
Get tickets now! Plants + Pints Aug. 27
View my local Restaurant Directory or Local Brewery, Winery, & Cidery Directory
See what else you missed on the blog

Below are options for your weekend.

Things to Do in Harrisburg + Central PA | Weekend Roundup | Sara Bozich

Top Weekend Recs

WIN tickets to Plants + Pints on Aug. 27
WIN tickets to see The National on Sept. 24
Check out what’s next in HU’s Summer Concert Series
Make travel plans (with a discount + perks)
Submit your events for the Weekend Roundup

What are you doing this weekend around Harrisburg? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Like this content?

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Broad Street Market featured in new PA-focused TV series, hosted by HGTV personality Steve Ford

August 16, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

The Broad Street Market

Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market soon will be ready for its close-up.

On Friday, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office will host a showing of its new Apple TV series “Stuffed with Steve Ford,” which features the market and its vendors. The free event will take place in the market courtyard at 8 p.m., during 3rd in the Burg.

“We are so excited to finally be bringing this special program to the public,” said Carrie Fischer Lepore, deputy secretary for marketing, tourism and film.

Within the four episodes of the show, eight businesses from the commonwealth are spotlighted. HGTV’s Steve Ford hosts the show, talking with business owners, touring their facilities and tasting their products.

Featured businesses include:

Talking Breads (Mechanicsburg)
Broad Street Market (Harrisburg)
Urban Village Brewing (Philadelphia)
Isgro’s Bakery (Philadelphia)
Hollabaugh Brothers (Biglerville)
Ploughman Taproom (Gettysburg)
Thirsty Farmer (Biglerville)
Round Barn & Market (Biglerville)

“The Broad Street market speaks to so much of what makes PA an interesting destination,” Fischer Lepore said. “It has great history, many different cultures are represented and it helps tell the story of Pa. through taste and smell.”

In the show, co-owner Timishia Goodson of Raising the Bar bakery, a market vendor, shows Ford around both the brick and stone market buildings. In the episode, they stop to talk to owners and employees of Fisher’s Deli and Bakery and Lil’s Pretzels, before tasting treats from Raising the Bar.

“It was a good chance to show the history of the market,” Goodson said. “It was a fun experience.”

For the screening event on Friday, the market will stay open late, until 9:15 p.m. Raising the Bar plans to make some special desserts for the showing, Goodson said. The Midtown Cinema is also a partner in the event.

Pittsburgh-native Ford, of HGTV’s “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again with the Fords,” will attend Friday’s event at the market.

According to Fischer Lepore, the series can be found on the new “Pennsylvania TV” Apple TV channel, which will include other shows featuring businesses and entrepreneurs around the state. The channel launches Aug. 19.

“Stuffed with Steve Ford” goes hand-in-hand with the tourism office’s “Culinary Trails” that launched last fall, Fischer Lepore explained. All of the businesses shown in the episodes are stops on their “Baked: A Bread Trail” and “Picked: An Apple Trail.” The Broad Street market is featured in an episode within the bread trail.

Ultimately, Fischer Lepore hopes the show encourages people to visit the state’s many small businesses.

“Our greatest hope is to help drive traffic to all of the small businesses along our many trails in PA,” she said.

For more information on Pennsylvania’s Culinary Trails, visit their website.

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Burg View: Stuck Trucks, Run Amok

August 16, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda

This sign was installed two weeks ago at Front and Chestnut streets.

Two weeks ago, Harrisburg touted a new solution to a very old problem.

It announced that, along with PennDOT, it had erected two new signs warning high-profile vehicles away from the low-clearance rail bridge on Front Street.

The city hoped the signs would help solve what TheBurg has called “The Big Crunch,” trucks getting stuck beneath the bridge at the dip in Shipoke.

So, what happened next?

Crunch, crunch and crunch.

To maybe no one’s surprise (certainly not to our readers), the signs–and the associated threat of a fine–have not worked. Since then, several semis have gotten wedged beneath the bridge, which, in turn, has snarled traffic and caused the city to waste valuable police and fire resources unsticking the stuck trucks.

To me, this “solution” was right on-brand for PennDOT. Faced with big traffic and safety problems on its state-owned roads in Harrisburg, the state agency typically punts, drags its feet or does as little as possible.

The stuck truck problem is not unique to Harrisburg. Many older cities, in particular, are faced with this issue and some have implemented robust responses to it.

Flashing lights, rumble strips, infrared sensors and lasers have all been tried with some success. Some of our readers have suggested hanging plastic strips above the road before the bridge at clearance level, an effective, if not particularly elegant, solution.

Well, PennDOT is staffed with transportation professionals—they should know better than I, right?

I’m certain that they do, but, unfortunately, in Harrisburg, action usually comes little and late. A few years ago, I suggested numerous ways to slow down traffic flying off the Harvey Taylor Bridge to reduce the ridiculous rate of serious crashes at the light at Front Street. So far—nada.

Less than two weeks in, the sign experiment has failed already. This meek response hasn’t stopped the problem of trucks crashing into or getting lodged beneath the Shipoke rail bridge. So, I ask, PennDOT, what comes next?

Lawrance Binda is co-publisher and editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

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In Harmony: Two local barbershop choruses unite to celebrate 75 years of singing

August 15, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

The York White Rose and Harrisburg Keystone Capital choruses

For two local barbershop choruses, an upcoming anniversary performance is more than just a celebration of legacy, but of newfound unity.

Harrisburg’s Keystone Capital Chorus and York’s White Rose Chorus will come together for a “Back to Barbershop! 75^th Anniversary Celebration” at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on Sept. 10 at 3 p.m.

“It’s going to be a big show,” said Scott Zumbrum, the show’s chairperson and member of both choruses. “It’s really the first collaboration between two local chapters. That’s a big deal.”

Zumbrum has sung for both choruses throughout his 43 years as part of the Barbershop Harmony Society. However, the two local chapters have been hesitant to partner over the years, he admitted.

But as the society’s membership has slimmed down as singers age and fewer people join, the choruses realized the strength that comes in numbers.

“Neither of these chapters are going to survive if we don’t start playing together,” Zumbrum said.

For their 75^th anniversary performance, which both chapters are celebrating this year, the choruses will perform as one. Other award-winning Barbershop Harmony Society choruses and quartets will perform, as well. Additionally, the Cedar Cliff High School choir will perform, as part of the organization’s youth outreach program.

“You’re going to be exposed to a whole lot of different types of singing,” Zumbrum said. “There will be something for everybody.”

Combined, the White Rose and Keystone Capital choruses have about 30 members, ranging in age from 16 to 82 years old. It’s a far cry from their days of having nearly 100 members in the early 2000s, but the groups are fighting to keep the art form alive. For these choruses, that includes welcoming anyone who wants to join regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation or race, Zumbrum explained.

“To us, it’s important that we encourage people to continue to join,” he said. “It’s something that’s been around for 150 years as an art form. It’s a unique art form.”

Those who attend the anniversary performance will hear a wide range of acapella barbershop music, from “way back when” songs to more current tunes.

“You’ll hear good music,” Zumbrum said. “You’re not going to be disappointed.”

The Scottish Rite Cathedral is located at 2701 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For more information about the 75^th anniversary celebration show or to purchase tickets, click here.

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What you’ll find:

For your weekend planning

Top Weekend Recs

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Like this content?

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