Harrisburg plans to open Jackson Lick pool next week after a year without swimming

July 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

File photo of the Jackson Lick pool

It looks like Harrisburg residents can pull out those bathing suits after all.

The city announced on Friday that the Jackson Lick pool at 1201 N. 6^th St. will open next week with a modified schedule.

The pool will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 2:30 p.m. and again from 3:30 to 6 p.m. During the midday break, staff will clean the pool and perform routine maintenance. Residents who leave the first session can return for the second session without additional costs.

According to the city, the pandemic and a shortage of certified lifeguards delayed the pool’s opening, which was originally supposed to happen in late June.

A maximum of 100 people will be allowed in the pool at a time, with entry on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Hall Manor pool will remain closed due to maintenance issues, the city said in a statement.

Both Harrisburg pools were closed last year due to the COVID pandemic.

Over the years, the city has tried to figure out a way to keep the 53-year-old pools open, patching and repairing where they could, but ultimately faced financial constraints.

The future of the pools is uncertain, but at least residents can enjoy some swimming to close out the summer.

For more information, visit the city’s website.

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Burg Review: Sankofa’s poignant “Pretty Fire” unveils warmth, humor, amid troubled times

July 30, 2021 | by Gina Napoli

Its program cover art is shaded black, with smoky amber flames eating away at worried eyes.

Therefore, I expected “Pretty Fire,” a new work from Sankofa African American Theatre Company, to take me on a traumatic, drama-filled journey to the Jim Crow South. And it did, for a scene or two. But I certainly didn’t expect the belly laughs and cozy memories that rippled throughout the rest of the story.

Told in the form of a memoir spanning from birth to pre-teen, playwright Charlayne Woodard (Sharia Benn) tells her life story through the African oral storytelling tradition called griot. The play is mostly a one-woman show, with the characters in Charlayne’s life story playing on the upper stage, symbolic of the way memories inhabit the corners of our minds (played by Megan Ruoro, Johntrae Williams and Meredith Greene).

We first meet Charlayne in her living room, playing an old blues record on her phonograph, digging through her hope chest and holding her family pictures close to her heart. Thus unfolds the set of stories, which begin with her family coming together around her seriously premature birth in Albany, N.Y., going to a mostly white school, and being called the n-word for the first time. (Spoiler alert: Mama helps take the sting out of that word, to take its power away.)

Then we go along with Charlayne and her sister Allie (Ruoro), who catapult us into the Deep South in the time of Jim Crow to summer with their grandparents. The memories are mostly cozy: singing “Dixie” among the pecan trees and peach trees, squishing red clay mud between her toes in the rain, and getting baths with her sister in grandma’s washtub. The bell ringing when opening the door of the corner store made my own memories rush back. I was suddenly 8 years old again, clutching a dollar bill, and trekking down the road to buy a few needful things.

Woodard’s vignette about singing in the church choir should be a play all by itself, perhaps a musical. This story perfectly encapsulates the experience of all-day church, complete with a matron wearing an enormous hat who glares and clears her throat to silence the children.

Benn delivers a gripping and authentic performance. I won’t soon forget her interpretations of both grandmothers, with their funniest flaws and all their love so obviously pouring forth. Although it would be easy to meld both together, Benn voices each with a distinct personality. Along the way, we learn lessons: front porch wisdom and how to guilt the grandma way.

The writing is full of poignant imagery that jolts you to a place in time, even if you’ve never been there or lived through it. Director Lyeneal Griffin describes the play as vivid and visceral, full of “personal memories that will feel like home for so many of us.”

“Pretty Fire” runs July 30 through Aug. 8, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. The play is presented through a partnership between Sankofa African American Theatre Company and Gamut Theatre, where the play will be performed in adherence with all COVID-19 protocols. Order tickets through the website at www.sankofatheatrehbg.com.

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Jamaican restaurant to open in Uptown Harrisburg as Broad Street Market vendor expands

July 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Porters House plans to open soon at 2001 N. 6th St.

A freshly painted bright red, green and yellow roof stands out in the Uptown landscape.

The flag painted on the front says it all–Jamaican food is headed to the neighborhood.

A long-time Broad Street Market vendor, Porters House, known for its authentic Caribbean food, will soon get cooking in its first standalone restaurant at 2001 N. 6^th St. The building formerly housed a KFC and later Kennedy Fried Chicken.

For fans of Porters House’s market stand, don’t sweat it, they aren’t leaving.

Having operated her eatery since 2012, owner Nadine Graham said that she was ready for a new venture and a chance to serve her cuisine more than the three days per week that the market is open.

“I was getting too relaxed and stagnant,” Graham said of her decision to expand. “I just felt like I needed to do something more. I’m nervous, but if you’re not nervous, it’s not good.”

Nadine Graham at her Broad Street Market stand.

Originally from Jamaica, Graham moved to New York before making her way to Harrisburg with her kids. When she set up shop in the Broad Street Market, there were only a handful of vendors, she said.

“The market has endured so much,” she said. “I still love the market. I wouldn’t give it up for nothing.”

At Porters House’s new location, customers will find the same dishes that Graham serves at the market, but with even more menu options. Oxtail, jerk chicken and Jamaican beef patties are a few customer favorites, Graham said. To get the most authentic ingredients, many of which are hard to find in the region, Graham travels to New York and Baltimore regularly.

“When I came here, there was not much Jamaican food and I saw a need for that,” she said.

There have been ups and downs with the business, and weathering the pandemic wasn’t easy, but Graham’s passion for what she does keeps her moving forward.

“I love cooking; I love people; I love serving,” she said. “I love what I do.”

For years now, Porters House has taken leftover food on Saturdays to Downtown Daily Bread for residents in need. Graham said that they are looking for a volunteer to deliver the food, in order for them to keep the tradition going.

She is also looking to hire employees as they finish up renovations to the building and plan to open in the coming weeks.

Graham is hopeful that she’s headed in the right direction with the business.

“Uptown is changing; hopefully I made a good move,” she said. “I’m hoping that I get a lot of support from my customers. I’m just walking in faith.”

Porters House will open its new location at 2001 N. 6^th St., Harrisburg. Their stand at the Broad Street Market is located in the stone building. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

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August Editor’s Note

July 30, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg is a place of comings and goings.

Recently, the city lost two wonderful 20-somethings to the winds—TheBurg’s former city reporter Lizzy Hardison, who departed for Texas, and our former feature writer Yaasmeen Piper, who now makes New York her home.

Over the past few years, we’ve lost several other wonderful young reporters to the Big Apple. Harrisburg’s loss, Gotham’s huge gain.

In a way, that’s the nature of capital cities—young people come, stay awhile and then move on to opportunities in other places.

Some have relocated just across the river, while others have moved to other states, even other countries. I’ve lost count of the number of people I once saw regularly about town—shopping at the Broad Street Market, having coffee at Little Amps—who now exist only in a memory.

Harrisburg is better for having had them, and I hope they feel the same about the little city where they spent a few years of their young lives.

My apologies for the nostalgia. August can make me that way, as the summer deepens and sparks so many memories of my own youth spent on beaches, in shared houses, at temporary jobs, thinking about the life ahead.

Speaking of young people—our August issue typically shares a thread of stories devoted to youth and schools, and so it is this year, as well. Among these pages, you’ll find stories about local teachers, schools, programs, etc., among our regular mix of community features, food, culture and the great outdoors.

Before I go, I have to note one more departure.

About six years ago, we ran a story about “office pets,” and, in this space, I mentioned that TheBurg had our own office pet—a wonderfully gentle, ridiculously friendly Rottweiler and Golden Retriever mix named Bernie.

Bernie was the sidekick of our creative director, Meg, which is how he came into our lives. When Meg brought him into the office, the world (and the work) would stop as he scampered about, moving from desk to desk. If someone stopped stroking his long, soft fur, he’d happily move along to the next person and lean against them until he got his quiet, panty way.

In June, Bernie passed away after a long, content dog life spent with Meg and, on occasion, with us, too. We were awfully lucky to have him. He helped make our lives a little bit better, which is the most, I think, that a person can ask of anyone, or any dog.

Lawrance Binda
Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Click here to read our August issue.

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Going Paperless: Is there a future for local news?

July 30, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

I read a lot of stories about the news industry.

That’s no huge surprise, given that I run a newspaper and serve on the board of the state press association.

However, recently, one story struck me because it didn’t blame the usual suspects for the sorrowful state of the industry— i.e., the tech giants, the vulture capitalists and the newspapers themselves (all deserving of their fair share).

This article, which appeared in Politico, laid the blame squarely on newspaper readers. So, are you, cherished reader, responsible for the national flushing of the newspaper industry?

In his opinion piece, Jack Shafer, Politico’s senior media writer, essentially stated that local coverage is the broccoli of news—few people actually want to consume it.

“It’s not that nobody wants to read local news,” Shafer wrote. “It’s just that not enough people do to make it a viable business.”

Now, I love both broccoli and local news. Give me a heaping plate of green florets and a ripping-good zoning board article, and I’m all set for the night. But, sure, I can understand that not everyone shares my unusual affections.

I thought that Shafer made a fair point. Few people ever subscribed to the local newspaper because of its school board coverage. They subscribed to the local newspaper for a hundred other reasons, plus, maybe—maybe not—the broccoli-like school board coverage.

Back in the 1970s, when I was a kid, few things were greeted in my house with more enthusiasm than the Sunday newspaper. Who got the sports section first? The Sunday magazine? The comics?

At our kitchen table, we were like a pack of hyenas ripping into a gazelle. By noon, you could hardly tell where the world news section began and the lifestyle section ended. And, damn, my sister already got to the word jumble!

Perhaps ironically, I was little interested in the local news section. Then again, what 10-year-old wants to read about bond deals and sewer problems?

My point is that local news, standing alone, was never a newspaper’s profit center. People subscribed for the totality of what a newspaper offered: the news plus the sports plus the crossword plus the TV guide plus the food column plus the obits plus . . . everything else.

Newspapers may have devoted most of their expensive editorial staffs to covering local news, but that was mostly a civic-minded obligation. It’s where they spent their money, not where they made it.

We now live in a world where readers don’t have to wait until the next morning to find out how their stocks did or if their sports team won. At the click of a mouse or swipe of a screen, they have a universe of information available to them—and in real time.

Local news is about the only unique thing left to the local newspaper. You often can’t find it anywhere else, but, as Shafer argues, how much of a market is really out there for local news divorced from the rest of what we once called “the paper?”

Thirteen years ago, when we started TheBurg, many of the distressing trends that have now overwhelmed the industry had already begun.

Advertising was moving away from print, destroying the local paper’s revenue model. In response, newspapers cut costs, which reduced their staffs, which debased their products, which alienated their readers—which led to even greater revenue losses and, in some cases, distress sales and closures. A vicious cycle had been set into motion.

Nonetheless, we sought to build something new based entirely on local information, events and people. If local was the only real value left to the newspaper, we may as well embrace the trend, not fight it.

So, we launched a print news product based upon three “senses.”

Sense of knowledge: We would feature reliable, neighborhood-level information that you often couldn’t find anywhere else—and make it available to all.

Sense of place: We would be unabashedly about one community—Harrisburg, Pa.

Sense of surprise: We would try to make local news informative, fun, attractive and interesting.

Over the years, many people have asked me how we managed to launch and grow a print newspaper at a time when local news is dying. That’s how we did it—plus vital community support and close attention to the bottom line.

In fact, over time, we even added and expanded our daily online, free news reporting, which I routinely call a “charity” since it’s most certainly not a profit center. But we also consider daily local reporting to be an important community service.

Many people have told me that we should launch a Burg-like newspaper where they live—that it’s needed in their city or town.

I like to believe that TheBurg could serve as a model for a new type of local news product. To some extent, maybe the future of local news is like TheBurg: hyper-local, attractive, focused and integrated into the community.

So, yes, it’s possible, I tell them. But it does require extraordinary local commitment, on-the-ground talent and enough financial support to sustain it over time.

The era of the local newspaper is dead. Long live the local newspaper.

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

Illustration by Rich Hauck

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Harrisburg & Harlem: Programs spotlight three local women hailed as Harlem Renaissance poets

July 30, 2021 | by M. Diane McCormick

Esther Popel

I pledge allegiance to the flag—
They dragged him naked
Through the muddy streets,
A feeble-minded black boy!

—“Flag Salute” by Esther Popel

This pretty futile seam,
It stifles me—God, must I sit and sew?

—“I Sit and Sew” by Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Oh, little brown girl, born for sorrow’s mate,
Keep all you have of queenliness,
Forgetting that you once were slave,
And let your full lips laugh at Fate!

—“To a Dark Girl” by Gwendolyn Bennett

Esther Popel, Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Gwendolyn Bennett were three major voices of the Harlem Renaissance—lost to time, in part, because those voices belonged to women.

All three poets had ties to Harrisburg. Now, 100 years later, Harrisburg artists, civic leaders and historians are educating a new generation of students who find inspiration in their stories.

In an age rededicated to equity, lessons about the artists of the Harlem Renaissance confirm the imperative of paths to opportunity and promise.

“With learning about yourself, about your culture, you are definitely able to propel your community and become your full self, knowing who you are and being comfortable in your skin, being an African American,” said Courtney Brown, president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter, Harrisburg, which is educating students about the Harlem Renaissance and the three poets. “This allows for that, to say you have forefathers who have been in poetry, art and dance, and you’re able to continue on that legacy and be glad in it.”

Alice, Esther, Gwendolyn

Harrisburg. Harlem Renaissance. Safe to say, the two are rarely linked. Until now.

The Harlem Renaissance was the flowering of African American culture in the 1920s and ‘30s. The likes of Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Marcus Garvey and Josephine Baker flourished amid a literary, musical, activist and intellectual environment devoted to creativity, free expression and Black empowerment.

In the years before the Harlem Renaissance, Harrisburg had its thriving 8th Ward, where African Americans joined a diverse mix of cultures and faiths to build homes, businesses and places of worship. By the 1920s, it was gone, demolished to make way for the expansion of the state Capitol grounds.

On the Capitol grounds, the Commonwealth Monument now commemorates the civic and economic vitality of the Old 8th. Among 100 names listed of the residents who gave the 8th Ward a place in history, three are poets whose voices battled injustice.

Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935): Author, poet, playwright, publisher, peace activist. Indefatigable suffragist whose 1915 speaking tour across Pennsylvania—including an audience of 1,000 at Harrisburg’s Wesley Union AME Zion Church—challenged men, in the words of one headline, “to Present Real Argument Why Women Should Not Vote.” Her poem, “I Sit and Sew,” seethes against an African American nurse’s only pathway to contributing to the World War I effort while men died “in that holocaust of hell, those fields of woe.”

Harrisburg tie: The marriage to her first husband, poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, fell apart amid his abuse and alcoholism. After his death in 1906, she married prominent Harrisburg publisher Robert Nelson and split her time between Harrisburg and Wilmington, Del.

Esther Popel (1896-1958): Poet, writer, educator, editor of African American periodicals. The academically gifted Popel (also known as Esther Popel Shaw) was the first Black woman to graduate from Dickinson College, which named the Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity in her honor. Popel’s searing “Flag Salute” juxtaposes lines from the “Pledge of Allegiance” with an account of a highly publicized Maryland lynching (“With Liberty—and Justice—They cut the rope in bits/And passed them out/For souvenirs, among the men and boys!”).

Harrisburg tie: Born and raised, a graduate of Central High School.

Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981): Poet, artist, commentator, a founder of the Harlem Renaissance. Langton Hughes, Countee Cullen and Zora Neale Hurston conversed in the salons that Bennett hosted.

Harrisburg tie: Born in Louisiana but kidnapped by her father after her parents divorced, she grew up in the 8th Ward and excelled at Harrisburg schools.

As the Commonwealth Monument project accelerated, local historians and artists spotted the ties between the three women.

“These are really significant women,” said Messiah University Professor Jean Corey. “It’s not like Gwendolyn Bennett was a little bit of Harlem Renaissance. She helped start the Harlem Renaissance.”

The creative lights of the Harlem Renaissance, including Harrisburg’s contributors, form the centerpiece of an arts-education initiative meant to fill gaps in African American cultural history caused by cuts to the arts in schools, said Brown.

The service sorority’s in-school programs planned for this fall could culminate in performances that provide “opportunities for students to showcase their talents and maybe develop their gifts in a way that they didn’t realize their ancestors before them have already done here in America.”

“It’s not something new,” Brown said. “It’s something that they can continue.”

“This Happened Here”

For students, shining a light on women from Harrisburg who built national followings through uncompromising words inspires the realization that others have blazed a path, said Brown.

“They can be engaged in the arts in this way, and it gives them some commonality to say, ‘I can lead from where I am because other people have done it,’” she said.

For girls, Brown added, the women offer “mentorship through history. They’re seeing themselves, and they’re also seeing that there’s opportunity, especially when times arise again that you’re looking at the difficulties of sexism in America. They’re able to see that they can propel through those difficulties and obstacles and stand on top of their fields, be it athletics, be it science, be it entertainment.”

Bennett and Popel definitively answer the question, “Can anything good come out of Harrisburg School District?” said Sharia Benn, founder, president and executive artistic director of Sankofa African American Theatre Company.

“This happened here,” she said. “Esther would not have been what she became if she had not been here. I continue to be amazed. In the face of exclusion and adversity, she still rose. These women are phoenixes.”

Give today’s students the same access and opportunity, Benn added, and they, too, can develop “creative legacies of honor and legacies that honor our present, our past and will reflect our future.”

Conduits for Education

Benn had a “wait a minute” epiphany while developing her play, “Voices of the Eighth.” It was approaching 2020, a year of elections and census. Culling sources from the 100 Voices/Commonwealth Monument Project, she spotted the three poets and the parallels to our times.

“These women spoke to the importance of being counted,” Benn said. “They addressed the importance, as a woman, of being seen as a valuable member and contributor to their society and to politics and to policymaking.”

Benn wrote Bennett and Popel into “Voices of the Eighth” (a.k.a. “VOTE”), presented for students and audiences throughout the area. As a pandemic-year follow-up, Benn created a virtual presentation, “Do You Know Me?” featuring Dunbar-Nelson and her most famous poem, “I Sit and Sew.” That presentation, with talkback and study guide, reached 2,500 students and teachers.

The women’s poetry—including Bennett’s powerful “To a Dark Girl”—enraptures students already accustomed to word slams and rap, said Benn.

“Being able to use those rhythms presented with words is engaging,” Benn said. “They’re hearing history that they’ve never heard before, never encountered before, didn’t even think was possible.”

Brown experienced the power of that connection with a group of St. Stephen’s School boys, seemingly too cool to engage in a workshop with renowned poet Nikki Grimes. Then they used the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance to inspire their own raps, and they were all in.

“This was a way to showcase their talents, to show that music is not only rhythmic, but it’s also a way to express yourself as a writer,” Brown said.

In the coming year, Benn hopes to explore the characters more fully in a “VOTE Part Two,” Because their calls for human rights and dignity continue.

“It’s sad but true,” she said. “They’re calling out for equality, for compassion, for justice and also to other African Americans, particularly women, to fight for freedom, to recognize the beauty that is in us as a people, to celebrate that. It’s also an appeal to humanity to live and fight for the marginalized, to recognize that an inclusive and respectful society is the most healthy and progressive and successful society.”

For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Epsilon Sigma Omega Chapter, visit www.akaepsilonsigmaomega.com.

For more information on Sankofa African American Theatre Company, visit www.sankofatheatrehbg.com.

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Past & Praise: Salem UCC celebrates its history, considers new ways to serve

July 30, 2021 | by Susan Ryder

Clothing Closet

In May 1787, delegates gathered, argued and debated in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention.

At the same time, a log church was being built in Harrisburg, then a city of about 600 people, with land given to them by city founder John Harris Jr.—lot number 187 on Chestnut and 3rd streets.

“They brought their faith with them, and they worked hard,” said Rev. Sue Schmidt, Salem United Church of Christ’s pastor. “It was a group of hard-working people.”

Those early immigrants helped build Harrisburg, with the church originally serving both German Reformed and German Lutheran congregations. The present building, erected in 1822, today stands as the city’s oldest place of worship.

Over the years, the church has witnessed much history, even housing soldiers and serving as a hospital during the Civil War. At the war’s end, its bell pealed as President Abraham Lincoln’s body arrived on April 21, 1865 to lie in state at the Capitol.

Last December, Schmidt became the church’s new pastor, another part of the long and prestigious history of Salem serving worshippers and the Harrisburg community.

Meeting Needs

The church, steeped in history, large by any standard, could be inconspicuous among the tall buildings, traffic, construction and busyness of Harrisburg.

But looking up, one is jolted by the presence and beauty of it—the federal architecture, white-washed brick exterior and 110-foot bell tower with its domed, octagonal cupola, twinned by two, three-story towers.

The people of Salem are proud of this history and, in 1975, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

“When you ask about Salem, the first thing people say is, ‘We’re historic Salem. In 1787, John Harris set apart some land for church, and so we got that land,’” Schmidt said.

Like with many urban congregations, church attendance has declined over the past decades. And because of this, some historic churches in Harrisburg have been put to other uses.

For instance, the First Church of God on N. 4th Street, originally built by a breakaway group from Salem, now is the home of Gamut Theatre.

“We’re very committed as a congregation to continuing to be open as a place of worship,” Schmidt said.

And, like many city churches today, Salem also uses its building to serve the community.

The second floor holds a clothing closet, with an entire room dedicated to children’s needs. The challenge with an old church like Salem UCC, according to Schmidt, is keeping it functional. Not just in the physical sense, but in the community sense

“How can we help our community flourish?” she said. “What resources, what opportunities, what parts can we offer downtown Harrisburg that aren’t already being offered?”

Groundwork

Salem’s cavernous basement offers another outreach opportunity.

The hall, with its soaring ceilings, has hosted many basketball games. An abandoned, net-less hoop hangs as a witness to the past.

The church is renovating this space with the goal of community use. Schmidt brainstormed that the space could be used as a tech center, nonprofit business or space for immigrant communities.

“God is doing the groundwork,” she said. “How can we bless the community with this space?”

These aged churches provide value to the community even beyond practical use.

“Throughout history, worship spaces have been the greatest examples of architecture, greatest expressions of craftsmanship, design and creativity,” said David Morrison, executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association.

Even as Schmidt and the congregation search for new ways to serve Harrisburg, the building holds something more than just usefulness.

“I think they [old churches] hold sacred space,” Schmidt said. “Not that God can’t be found everywhere. But there’s something about a community of people that follow God. And that is their heart for years and years and years of prayers for the city.”

For nearly 200 years, the Salem church has housed a worshipping community in Harrisburg. Its walls have supported many generations and, today, help tell the history of the people of Harrisburg.

“It’s a living testimony,” Schmidt said. “It’s a living witness.”

For more information about Salem UCC, visit www.salemuccharrisburg.org or tour the building at a future Historic Harrisburg Associations Candlelight House Tour.

Thanks to Salem UCC for lending the resource, “A History Salem United Church of Christ (German Reformed) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from 1787 to 1989,” which was used for historical reference.

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Where the Trees Are Tops: State forests (somehow) keep a low profile

July 30, 2021 | by Karen Hendricks

Many Pennsylvanians don’t realize that state forests exist.

“It’s something that’s maddening,” said Tim Ladner, district forester for the six-county Weiser Forest District, which includes Dauphin County. “We have an identity crisis—people don’t always think about going to the state forest for recreation.”

It’s kind of ironic, considering that the very name of our state, “Pennsylvania,” is derived from German, meaning “Penn’s woods.”

It’s also ironic, given that outdoor recreation has never been hotter. Visits to Pennsylvania’s state parks increased more than 26% between 2019 and 2020, primarily because nature provided a pandemic escape and refuge. Exact state forest figures are harder to determine. Officials like Ladner agree that forest visitation increased by the thousands, but didn’t reach dramatic peaks like the parks.

Natural Resources

While many Pennsylvanians are familiar with state parks such as Gifford Pinchot, Codorus or Little Buffalo, our state forests of soaring treetops somehow keep a lower profile. Both operate under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), but their missions are distinctly different.

“It’s real simple—state forests manage the natural resources sustainably and we do dispersed, low-density recreation,” Ladner said. “State forests offer more of a solitude experience. You’re not going to see or hear as many people, you bring your own water, find your own firewood. You’re more on your own, but you’re hopefully going to see more nature.”

While state parks can attract crowds to their lakes, pools and campgrounds—where there are hot showers, access to electricity, and concessionaires offering everything from boat rentals to ice cream cones—you’ll find none of the above at state forests. What you will find are trails, simple wooden signs, a handful of campsites over thousands of acres, and trees as far as the eyes can see. Admission to both state parks and forests is free, but visitors pay for the privileges the parks offer, such as campsites. Everything the state forests offer is free—even camping, although a free permit is required.

State forests are kind of a paradox: no-frills, natural beauty. Peace and quiet, amid nature. It’s that simple.

“I think most people who visit state forests are just looking to get away,” said Ladner.

Off the Grid

Camping in a state forest is often called wild camping or dry camping because there are no services such as running water. There’s a “carry in, carry out” policy because another thing you won’t find in state forests are trashcans. Tent camping is widely available, and some state forests also offer larger campsites—really, clearings in the woods—for vans or RVs. When RVers park—or dock—without hooking up to water, sewer or electric, it’s called boondocking. Many RVs and vans are designed to go off the grid and create their own power through solar panels.

And that’s exactly what I did a few weeks ago. My husband, college-aged daughter and I—along with our dog—boondocked our small RV in northern Dauphin County, in the Haldeman Tract of the Weiser State Forest. It’s 5,300 wooded acres on Broad Mountain near Halifax. Driving there, we saw more deer and wild turkeys than humans.

In a tiny clearing, perched partway down the mountain, we occupied one of only five campsites across the entire acreage. A mixed forest of pines and oaks, mosses and ferns—all various shades of green—surrounded us.

Access was off a former logging road of packed gravel that twisted and turned down the mountain. The night we arrived, a sudden thunderstorm turned its gullies into rushing waterways. As the storm subsided, we were left with the sound of water, trickling and echoing down the hill, as night fell.

Not only were we off the electric grid, but we had no internet or cell service. That was fine with me—state forests are great places to disconnect from devices and connect with nature.

We hiked and ran on trails where the only sounds were our footfalls on the path below, songbirds and rustling leaves in the wind above. I couldn’t remember the last time I had really listened to the sound of rushing wind through the treetops.

It was the long 4th of July weekend, and while we didn’t see the holiday’s traditional fireworks, we likely saw one of the darkest skies in Dauphin County, scattered with bright, twinkling stars. The Haldeman Tract includes a prime “dark sky viewing area” and hang-gliding site with a beautiful vista—all at an elevation of 1,700 feet. Tiny, sparkling and rock-strewn streams crisscrossed the entire mountain.

Finding Balance

Speaking of water, Weiser State Forest includes hundreds of islands in the Susquehanna River.

“There are over 500 islands we’re responsible for, between Harrisburg up to Berwick,” said Ladner. “We have 20 designated campsites on the islands that get a fair amount of use, from kayakers to church groups, on a first-come, first-served basis—no reservations needed.”

Across the state, there are 2.2 million acres of state forestlands divided into 20 districts; Weiser is one of those districts.

“Wildlife, recreation, solitude, wood products, water—forests do a lot for us. One of the reasons we manage forests is because of human demands,” said Ladner, who puts the importance of tall trees into perspective—without forests, we wouldn’t have clean air or water. It’s all a balancing act of land management, with development of our towns and cities offset by forests.

Just as a journey deep into the woods can help us strike balance in our own lives.

It was pioneering naturalist John Muir, credited with convincing the government to create and preserve national parks, who perhaps said it best: “Into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”

For more information on Pennsylvania’s state forests, see www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateForests.

Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA.

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Head Start: Lindsay Bowman readies for her first year leading Harrisburg Academy’s Middle and Upper Schools

July 30, 2021 | by Rachel Curry

Lindsay Bowman

Weeks before she officially started her new role in July, Lindsay Bowman sat in a classroom on a hot summer’s day, taking meetings and preparing for the months to come.

She had just finished her eighth school year as a history teacher at Harrisburg Academy and was transitioning to her new position as the institution’s Head of Middle and Upper Schools.

“I’m so eager to learn whatever it is that I need to learn to be helpful and successful and useful,” said Bowman, amid her preparations for her first school year in the role.

To the casual observer, Bowman’s eagerness is obvious, but it extends much further than a single summer’s day sitting in the classroom. Bowman and her identical twin sister were raised in Mountain Top, Pa., by enthusiastic parents.

“My parents were always doing their best to encourage us to be curious about the world around us,” she said. “My dad would quiz us on state and country capitals at the dinner table.”

Ultimately, both twins grew up to be teachers.

Bowman completed her undergraduate degree at Dickinson College, during which she spent a summer working at an all-boys boarding school in New Hampshire called Cardigan Mountain School.

“I was just really drawn to the ways in which teachers in environments like that can be involved in their students’ lives in different ways,” Bowman said, referring to their ability to teach, coach and have lunch with students, all in one day.

Bowman carried that inspiration to Linden Hall School for Girls in Lititz, then to Tampa, Fla., while she worked in development. But she eventually found her home at the 237-year-old Harrisburg Academy, where she was able to teach middle school history, coach girls’ sports, oversee the senior internship program and travel abroad with students. While Harrisburg Academy is a day school, Bowman said that it holds that same camaraderie of a boarding school.

Bowman eventually completed the Klingenstein Center’s two-summer master’s program in educational leadership at Teachers College at Columbia University. When a leadership role opened up at Harrisburg Academy, she knew she had to apply.

“All the stars aligned,” she said.

Unheard Of

As job seekers know, no position is a given—even for a qualified internal candidate. But Bowman entered the process in a strong position.

Mary Kate Henry is a member of the academy’s board of trustees and a parent to three girls who have had Bowman as a history teacher over the years. She participated in the hiring process for the new Head of Middle and Upper Schools.

“I think there was just incredible consensus that Lindsay was the person to kind of guide the academy to the next level in providing an international-based education to students,” Henry said.

The interview process involved faculty, staff, parents and even students themselves. Henry said that it’s important to get a student’s viewpoint, especially in a role as broad as Bowman’s.

“They have to be able to connect with an 11-year-old,” she said. “They have to be able to connect with a 17-year-old.”

Even friends of Henry’s daughters, who didn’t take Bowman’s class, found themselves drawn to her.

“Lindsay took them under her wing and got to know them,” Henry said. “They would be running down the hall to tell her about their college acceptances or about their latest trip.”

Henry is in academia herself and said that a community-wide consensus is practically unheard of, but Bowman’s application was always at the top of the stack.

In her new role, Bowman plans to help the community recalibrate following shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, middle school students worked in pods and some students remained virtual. Her key areas of focus will be “building those relationships, really focusing on the student experience and making space for all voices to be heard.”

Academically, Bowman looks forward to expanding the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at the school. The academy is on the path to be a fully authorized IB continuum school. It’s been practicing the IB diploma program for upper school students for a decade, and the primary years program went into place a few years back.

Now, as the younger students matriculate to the middle school, Harrisburg Academy will begin to implement IB there, too. Eventually, all students will learn under the IB umbrella, which, according to Bowman, “doesn’t really change what you learn, but it changes how you learn, really focusing on critical thinking, problem solving, having a global mindset and encouraging students to be curious.”

As Bowman prepares for her first school year in her new post, she’s taking an inclusive leadership approach, with communication holding a pivotal place in the process. Once a classroom teacher with a focus on making history come alive, she’s shifting to a place where she can expand her platform.

“She is a lifelong learner who really instills in her students that same love of learning,” Henry said.

For Bowman, it boils down to serving and “allowing the students to have opportunities that I certainly never had as a student.”

Harrisburg Academy is located at 10 Erford Rd., Lemoyne. For more information, visit www.harrisburgacademy.org.

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Happenings: Our August Calendar of Events

July 30, 2021 | by Missy Smith

Museums & Art Spaces

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

“Minibike Mania,” a display of more than two dozen miniature motorbikes, through Oct. 16

“Keep on Truckin’: Light Duty Trucks,” an exhibit focused on the history of pickup trucks, through Oct. 22

“Iconic Chevrolets,” an exhibit presented by the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America, through Oct. 22

“Hershey’s History: Before & After Chocolate,” through Oct. 22

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

93rd International Annual Juried Show, through Sept. 2

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

“Left Behind,” photography by Michael Hower and sculptural work by Steve Dolbin, Aug. 6-Sept. 18

“Lunchbox Moments,” an exhibition by Korean-American artist, Amie Bantz, memorializing a collection of stories from the AAPI community by painting their narratives on a series of lunchboxes, Aug. 6-Sept. 18

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

August artist of the month

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

“Remnant: Studio Majors Thesis Exhibition,” featuring projects by senior studio art majors under the direction of Rachel Eng with Todd Arsenault, Anthony Cervino and Andy Bale, through Sept. 11

“In Light of the Past,” an exhibition considering how we experience photographs, through Oct. 9

Hershey Area Art Association (HAAA)
hersheyart.org

HAAA Member Art display at Hershey Public Library, through Oct. 10

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

New works by Ann Benton Yeager, Paul Vasiliades, Rebecca Adey, Mary Gelenser, John Davis and Amie Bantz, through Aug. 15

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 Gallery, 1 S. 2nd St., Newport
717-567-7023; perrycountyarts.org

“Art of a Pandemic,” group art exhibition examining the challenges and isolation, reality adjustments and new experiences lived during the COVID-19 pandemic, through Sept. 18

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

“Why Not in Pennsylvania? Campaigning for Women’s Suffrage in the Keystone State,” through Jan. 2

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

“Persephone/Persephone,” a multi-panel collaborative installation by Elody Gyekis and Joanne Landis, through Aug. 8

“Mobility to Movement,” etchings by Isabel Bishop, Aug. 13-Oct. 17

Artistic Expressions Summer Academy exhibition inspired by SAM’s “Circle of Truth,” through Aug. 22

“Project Pattern” multimedia display of photography, painting, sculpture and installation by artists Nate Ethier, Nicole Herbert and Luke Murphy, through August

“Circle of Truth: 49 Paintings Ending with Ed Ruscha,” like a childhood game in which a message is whispered in the ear of a first person, then relayed to a second, a third and so on, through Sept. 19

“Meanderings,” a collection of variable collagraphic prints by artist Valerie R. Dillon, who illustrates her journey of shifting between known and unknown spaces, through Oct. 17

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

“Art in the Wild,” an exhibit of naturally inspired trailside installations created by artists using mostly natural materials and inspired by the theme “reimagining,” through Sept. 30

Read, Make, Learn

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

Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Sept. 4: Obvara (Baltic Raku) Alternative Firing Techniques
Aug. 11: Collage & Paint, 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 14: Vintage Tin Earrings, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dauphin County Library System
dcls.org

Aug. 2, 9: Art Club, 4 p.m.
Aug. 2, 9: Born to Read on Zoom, 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 3, 10: Discord Hangouts—Gaming, 3-5 p.m.
Aug. 3, 10: Family Storytime, 6 p.m.
Aug. 4, 11: Virtual Toddler Storytime, 10 a.m.
Aug. 4, 11: Young Adult Book Club on Zoom, 4 p.m.
Aug. 5: What Makes Us Blue?, 7 p.m.
Aug. 5, 12: Discord Hangouts—Chat, 3-5 p.m.
Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27: Preschool Storytime on Zoom, 10 a.m.
Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27: Discover Tabletop Role Playing Games online, 4 p.m.
Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27: Tween Dungeons and Dragons on Zoom, 4 p.m.
Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28: Teen Dungeons and Dragons, 3 p.m.
Aug. 10, 12: The Next Chapter Book Club, 4 p.m.
Aug. 10: Virtual Reading the Rainbow Book Club, 7 p.m.
Aug. 11: Supporting Your Garden’s Pollinators, 7-8 p.m.
Aug. 12: Virtual Dungeons and Dragons, 7 p.m.
Aug. 12, 26: Librarians on Twitch, 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 17: Novel Thoughts Too!, 1-2 p.m.
Aug. 18: Role Playing Games Sampler Series, 6:30-8 p.m.
Aug. 19: Make a Book, 6 p.m.

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

Aug. 2, 9: Baby Time, 10:30 a.m.
Aug. 2: Make It! Mondays, 12:30 p.m.
Aug. 3: Teen SummerZine 2021, 4 p.m.
Aug. 4, 11: Toddler Time, 10:30 a.m.
Aug. 5, 12: Family Storytime, 10:30 a.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Fiber Artists, 3 p.m.
Aug. 10, 12: STEM Stations, 2 p.m.
Aug. 12, 26: Knitter’s Group, 5 p.m.
Aug. 14: Fiber Artists, 10 a.m.
Aug. 14: Make It, Break It, 11 a.m.
Aug. 17: Teen SummerZine 2021, 4 p.m.
Aug. 21: Knitter’s Group, 10 a.m.

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

Aug. 2, 16: STEM Grab & Go, 9 a.m.
Aug. 2, 16: Zoom—Frederickson Writes on Zoom, 6:45 p.m.
Aug. 3: Zoom—Curl up with the Classics on Zoom—” All Creatures Great And Small,” 10-11 a.m.
Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31: Virtual Get That Job! Workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m., 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Aug. 3, 17: Master Gardener Plant Clinic, 6 p.m.
Aug. 4: Zoom—Moving Forward Book Group w/ Hospice of Central PA, 1-2 p.m.
Aug. 4: Amazing Aquarium and Fish Facts on Zoom, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 6, 13: Zoom STEM Storytime, 10 a.m.
Aug. 9, 23: Teen Grab and Go Bag (ages 7-12), 9 a.m.
Aug. 12, 26: Virtual Resume Writing Workshop, 10:30-11:30 a.m., 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Aug. 23: Virtual Fredricksen Reads, 7-8 p.m.

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

Aug. 13: On the Porch with Don Lebo, 10 a.m.
Aug. 14: On the Porch with MJ Lauder Stained Glass, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Aug. 21: Basket weaving, 9 a.m.

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

Aug. 3-13: Popcorn Hat Players’ Camp (ages 6-12), 1-4 p.m.

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

Aug. 5-Sept. 23: Sketch Writing, 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 16-Oct. 11: Level 2—Game of the Scene, 7-10 p.m.

Harrisburg Young Professionals
hyp.org

Aug. 5, 12: HYP Kickball, 6-9:45 p.m.
Aug. 9: Heart of the Community Garden Clean Up, 5-7 p.m.

Hershey Area Art Association (HAAA)
hersheyart.org

Aug. 6-8: Watercolor Workshop
Aug. 19: Photographing Your Artwork, 6-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28: Basic Fluid Art, 1-4 p.m.

Hershey Gardens
170 Hotel Rd., Hershey
717-534-3492; hersheygardens.org

Aug. 7: Anthony Haubert Trio

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

Aug. 1, 15: YouTube—Kids Carry & Craft, 10 a.m.
Aug. 1, 15: Carry & Craft Teen/Adult, 11 a.m.
Aug. 3: Read Stampede Walking Group, 9 a.m.
Aug. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26: Penn State Hershey—Mothers & Babies Together, 10 a.m.
Aug. 5, 19: Hershey Quilters, 12:30 p.m.
Aug. 16: bAd aRt Night, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 17: Crafts in the Reading Garden (teens & tweens), 6:30-8 p.m.
Aug. 21: Cocoa Area Fiber Enthusiasts, 10 a.m.
Aug. 24: Blood Drive, 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 26: Fear of Commitment Book Group—Short Fiction Only at Cassel Vineyards, 6 p.m.
Aug. 28: Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors Family Book Group—Crown & Don’t Touch My Hair, 2 p.m.

Historic Harrisburg Resource Center
1230 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
historicharrisburg.com

Aug. 7: Landmark Bus Tour Historic Shipoke, Steelton and Midland Cemetery, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

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

Aug. 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30: Rhyme Time in the Park, 9 a.m.
Aug. 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30: Toddler Time in the Park, 9:40 a.m.
Aug. 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30: Story Time in the Park, 10:20 a.m.
Aug. 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30: Rhyme Time, 5:15 p.m.
Aug. 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30: Toddler Time, 6 p.m.
Aug. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: Storybook STEAM, 6:45 p.m.
Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31: Tea and Stitches, 10 a.m.
Aug. 4, 11: Kindergarten Readiness, 6:45 p.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Mah Jongg, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Toddler Time, 10 a.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Story Time, 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Rhyme Time, 12 p.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Tales for T.A.I.L.S., 6 p.m.
Aug. 9, 23: English Conversation Club, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 11: Mad About Mysteries on Zoom, 7-8 p.m.
Aug. 13, 27: Dungeons & Dragons (grades 6-12), 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 14, 28: Block Party!, 10:30 a.m.
Aug. 16: Monday Night Book Club, 7-8 p.m.
Aug. 18: Watch the Skies Book Club, 7 p.m.
Aug. 19: Thursday Morning Book Club, 10 a.m.
Aug. 19: Teen Third Thursday, 6 p.m.
Aug. 21-22: August Book Sale
Aug. 24: Tabletop Game Night, 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 25: Apple Users Group, 1 p.m.
Aug. 18: Trivia at Home—Gilmore Girls, 6-8 p.m.

Kalpa Bhadra Kadampa Buddhist Center
251 Wiconisco St., Harrisburg
717-232-2700; meditationpa.org

Aug. 1-Sept. 4: 21 Meditations—On-Demand Series

The LGBT Center of Central PA
1306 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
717-920-9534; centralpalgbtcenter.org

Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Young Adult Group, 4 p.m.
Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25: Common Roads (ages 12-17), 6 p.m.
Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28: Passageways, 2 p.m.
Aug. 10, 24: Queers and Quests game night, 6 p.m.
Aug. 12: Aging with Pride Luncheon, 12 p.m.
Aug. 13: Open Mic and Coffee Café, 6 p.m.

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

Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31: Tales with T.A.I.L.S., 6-7 p.m.
Aug. 4, 11: Wagging Tails Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27: Online Science Fiction Book Club
Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27: Star Trek Rewatch online group

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

Aug. 4: Courtney E. Martin in Conversation with Jamia Wilson, 7-8 p.m.
Aug. 25: An Evening with Meghan O’Gieblyn—God, Human, Animal, Machine, 7-8 p.m.

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

Aug. 6-8: Hazy Glaze of Summer acrylic painting
Aug. 7: First Saturday, 2-5 p.m.
Aug. 11, 25: Kids Class on the Roof, 5-7 p.m.
Aug. 21, 22: Fluid Art, 12-3 p.m.

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

Aug. 7: U.S Grant, the Meaning of the Civil War, and the Election of 1868,” 1-2 p.m.
Aug. 14: From Gettysburg to Little Big Horn—The George Armstrong Custer, Civil War and Indian Wars 2021 Symposium, 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m.

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

Aug. 10: Gooey Art Grandparent & Me Camp, 9:30 a.m.

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

Aug. 9: Book Club, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

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

Aug. 4, 6, 8, 20, 21, 22, 25: Animal Adaptations Tour, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25: Explore! (grades 3-5), 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Aug. 5, 12, 19, 26: Curiosity Kids (grades K-2), 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Aug. 6: Virtual Artists Conversations—Lauren Litwa, 12:15-12:45 p.m.
Aug. 6, 21: StoryTime, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Aug. 8: Virtual Tonight’s Sky—A Live Chat with the Planetarium Director, 2-3 p.m.
Aug. 12: Virtual “Bring Your Dead Online” Webinar, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 13: Adventures in Nature Lab (in-person and virtual)—PA Turtles, 12:15-12:45 p.m.
Aug. 20: Learn at Lunchtime—Curator’s Choice, 12:15-12:45 p.m.
Aug. 27: Learn at Lunchtime—Curator’s Choice, 12:15-12:45 p.m.

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

Aug. 9-13: A Cool Week in August (Kids Camp), 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Aug. 18: Life Drawing Class, 6-9 p.m.

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

Aug. 13: Spoonful of Jazz solo jazz dance class, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

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

Aug. 3-5: The What @ the Ware free art workshops for kids, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

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

Aug. 4, 12: Kayak the Swatara with Cocoa Kayaks, 5:45-7:45 p.m.
Aug. 5: Greenbelt Connector Walk, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Aug. 10: Wild Edibles Program, 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 11: Preschool Storytime—Summer at Wildwood, 10-10:45 a.m.
Aug. 14: Volunteer Work Day, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Aug. 14: Natural Tie-Dye, 12-3 p.m.
Aug. 15: Flower Walk—Heat Tolerant Plants, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Aug. 21: Kids Discover—The 10 Essentials (ages 5-10), 9-11 a.m.
Aug. 21: Art Heals, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Aug. 24: Kids Discover—Monarchs (ages 5-10), 9-11 a.m.
Aug. 28: Run Wild for Wildwood 5K/10K, 9-11 a.m.

Live Music

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

Aug. 1: The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Aug. 4: One Night of Queen—Gary Mullen and the Works
Aug. 5: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Aug. 7: The Golden Boys starring Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell
Aug. 12: Chris Janson
Aug. 13: The Man in Black—A Tribute to Johnny Cash
Aug. 19: Gene Watson, The Bellamy Brothers
Aug. 20: Stayin’ Alive—One Night of the Bee Gees
Aug. 22: Herman’s Hermits, Peter Noone, The Buckinghams
Aug. 29: Air Supply

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

Aug. 7: The Lone Bellow
Aug. 12: Gordon Lightfoot
Aug. 27: Ben Folds
Aug. 28: York Symphony’s Open Air

Boneshire Brew Works
7462 Derry St., Harrisburg
717-469-5007; boneshire.com

Aug. 5: John Rossey

Central PA Friends of Jazz
friendsofjazz.org

Aug. 13: Gretna Grooves—Tuba Skinny

The Englewood
1219 Research Blvd. Hummelstown
717-256-9480; [email protected]

Aug. 1, 10, 22, 29: Jazz Brunch with Central PA Friends of Jazz
Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25: Wednesday Jazz Series
Aug. 7: The Stable Shaker
Aug. 15: Cracker
Aug. 21: The Sorters
Aug. 27: The Wild Hymns
Aug. 28: Hall Williams Band (Pre-Dead & Company show)

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

Aug. 27: Sunset Series, Susquehanna Folk Music Society presents Colebrook Road

Gretna Music
gretnamusic.org

Aug. 1: Hermitage Piano Trio
Aug. 13: Tuba Skinny
Aug. 14: Nora Brown
Aug. 15: All-Mozart String Trio
Aug. 29: Miranda Cuckson

Harrisburg University Presents
www.concertseries.harrisburgu.edu

Aug. 14: Pvris, Royal & The Serpent (XL Live)
Aug. 24-25: Brit Floyd (Hershey Theatre)
Aug. 25: All Time Low (XL Live)
Aug. 27: Young the Giant (Riverfront Park)
Aug. 28: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Riverfront Park)

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

Aug. 13: Open Mic

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

Aug. 6: Squeeze—The Nomadband Tour
Aug. 24-25: Brit Floyd

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

Aug. 5: Freeway
Aug. 6: Alesana
Aug. 7: Hinder
Aug. 8: Scott H. Biram
Aug. 10: Phish 2-Day Afterparty Extravaganza
Aug. 12: Completely Unchained
Aug. 14: Big Gorgeous
Aug. 14: G-REX & SWARM
Aug. 18: Brendan Kelly
Aug. 19: Steve Hofstetter
Aug. 21: Sam Grow
Aug. 21: Ozzfest Tribute Festival
Aug. 22: King 810
Aug. 27: Liliac
Aug. 27: Thick
Aug. 28: Dieselbag the Destroyer
Aug. 28: Garrett Shultz, Bobby Law, Benjamin Beiler, Tyler Short
Aug. 29: Red Not Chili Peppers

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

Aug. 7: Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root with Dirk Miller
Aug. 21: Shotgunn

St. Thomas Roasters
5951 Linglestown Rd., Harrisburg
717-526-4171; stthomasroasters.com

Aug. 7: Rhodes & Putt
Aug. 14: Grit
Aug. 21: Craig Bonner
Aug. 28: Just Dave

Susquehanna Chorale
One College Ave., Mechanicsburg
717-533-7859; susquehannachorale.org

Aug. 22: Music for a Summer’s Evening at Mt. Gretna’s open-air Tabernacle

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

Aug. 11: Bringing it Home—Beautiful Gestures
Aug. 13: Tuba Skinny

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

Aug. 31: Drive-By Truckers

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

Aug. 6: Colt Wilbur
Aug. 7: Nate Myers, Bobby Gentilo, Ben Brandt
Aug. 13: Shwayze
Aug. 14: Pvris, Royal & The Serpent
Aug. 25: All Time Low

Zeroday Brewing Co.
250 Reily St., Harrisburg
717-745-6218; zerodaybrewing.com

Aug. 4: Shrimp Ryan Jig Band
Aug. 11: Side of Yams
Aug. 25: Mark Santanna

The Stage Door

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

Aug. 21: “Stomp”

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

Aug. 13: Kelly Collette and Buddy Harris

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

Aug. 5-Sept. 4: “Grumpy Old Men”

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

Aug. 13: Sunset Series—Open Stage of Harrisburg Broadway Cabaret

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

Aug. 7, 14: Popcorn Hat Players present “Thumbelina”

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

Aug. 6: Divas Down Under “Sizzling Summer” Drag Show

Hershey Area Playhouse
830 Cherry Dr., Hershey
717-533-8525; hersheyareaplayhouse.com

Aug. 1: “Rock of Ages”

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

Aug. 5: Zoom—”Aesop’s Fables” with Bright Star Theatre
Aug. 19: Zoom—”Mother Nature” with Kit’s Interactive Theatre

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

Aug. 1: Queens Who Brunch

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

Aug. 1: “Grease”

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

Aug. 6: We The People First Friday—Asian Culture Celebration

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

Aug. 20: Anthony Rodia

Zeroday Brewing Co.
250 Reily St., Harrisburg
717-745-6218; zerodaybrewing.com

Aug. 19: Boozie Bingo with Felicia O’Toole

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