A Time for Gathering, Distantly, Virtually: Faith communities adjust, adapt as the pandemic shifts traditions

November 30, 2020 | by M. Diane McCormick

When the first candle burns on the Pennsylvania menorah outside the Capitol this year, a new, virtual audience will join those attending a commemoration normally held indoors.

“The message from the Capitol that goes out to the state is that we have to illuminate and make the world brighter, kinder, gentler,” said Rabbi Shmuel Pewzner, originator of the annual Hanukkah celebration. “That’s what Hanukkah is all about.”

This year, Harrisburg’s faith institutions are preparing for holidays like no other. They have learned from eight months of lockdown how to assure full inclusion of all who want to worship and celebrate. For the holidays, they will be sharing messages of overcoming a grim year through perseverance and hope.

Wide Net

Earlier this year, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church resumed Mass by opening its sanctuary, basement and gymnasium and broadcasting the service to all three places.

“We have some parishioners, they’re wonderful, and they came with the ideas for that part,” said Pastor Orlando Reyes of the Allison Hill institution.

The church also livestreams some Masses and added Friday and Saturday Masses, in both English and Spanish, to spread out the congregants. And like the church’s Lady of Guadalupe celebration this year, Christmas services and church access will extend from midnight to evening-time.

As pandemic restrictions took hold, Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church built a virtual outreach arsenal as leadership realized that different audiences and varied Sunday school and Bible study sessions required different platforms.

“Now we’re on YouTube, two Facebook pages, Instagram, GoToMeeting and Skype,” said James Jackson, pastor of the Olde Uptown-based church.

And young adults are meeting via Zoom.

“We threw the net wide to try to get a platform that worked for everyone, so everyone in the church could feel like they had their own community,” Jackson said.

In many African-American churches, a New Year’s Eve “Watch Night” tradition dates to Dec. 31, 1862, when enslaved people of the United States prayed through the night while waiting for Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Goodwin Memorial canceled this year’s black-tie New Year’s Eve party—“when everybody in their tux gets on their knees, and we light a candle and pray the New Year in”—but will celebrate Watch Night virtually.

Harrisburg’s annual early-December Kwanzaa celebration is considered a go, even as organizer Nate Gadsden, poet and pastor of Imani Redeemed Church of God, searched for a venue. Each night of Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, services will be held virtually. Participants will encounter speakers, poetry readings, guests explaining Kwanzaa’s seven principles, and interactive activities.

Since the early 1990s, Pennsylvania’s annual menorah lighting ceremony, at sunset on the first day of Hanukkah, has migrated in and around the Capitol Complex. It finally found an indoor home in the East Wing Rotunda. For 2020, the menorah will shine on the 3rd Street steps.

“In recent years, we’ve had a large crowd inside the Capitol,” said Pewzner. “You couldn’t social distance. We figure it’s much safer to move it outside and celebrate Hanukkah.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg has adhered all year to its mission as a unifier, offering its events and services in-person, virtually and in take-home versions. Each accommodates participants adhering to their COVID comfort zones.

Like other federation events, the annual “Family Chanukah Extravaganza” was to have been offered in live and take-home options. However, as COVID-19 rates surged and indoor capacity restrictions grew, the federation canceled the live version. Instead, every family that registers for the “At-Your-Leisure” program can pick up a party kit of treats and enjoy an at-home party with edible menorah, dreidel games, and Hanukkah crafts.

“We’re really trying to bring community together, to see that they’re part of something larger than themselves, but we’re also respecting everybody’s personal comfort level,” said Associate Executive Director Lori Rubin. “We want everybody to be a part of the story.”

Through all the changes, said Jewish Federation Executive Director Jennifer Ross, staff members have been “superstars.” The Jewish Federation also plans a Dec. 2 Hanukkah virtual cooking class with renowned chef Michael Solomonov. On New Year’s Eve, elderly members will get boxes of hats and noisemakers, for a virtual countdown at noon.

Be Not Afraid

Faith leaders have been amazed to see the reach of their virtual services. Goodwin Memorial found members who gravitated from Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. St. Francis parishioners joined services from the countries where they were deported to, because “they have beautiful memories,” said Reyes.

But it’s the holidays. What about the decorations and the food?

When Reyes pared back on decorations for a Peruvian festival earlier this year, parishioners noticed. Hence, Christmas decorations will return.

“They pay attention to all those details,” he said.

Pewzner was still working out the details of this year’s menorah lighting—perhaps such traditional Hanukkah food as the latkes will be prepackaged—“but it’ll still be a great celebration.”

Goodwin Memorial would normally be decorated “from top to bottom,” said Jackson. Children would pick out gifts arrayed under decorated trees.

“How we do that, I’m not quite sure,” Jackson said. “But we’ll try to have the same wonder and awe about Christmas.”

Whether with or without trappings, the faith leaders of Harrisburg have holiday messages to share as a year roiling with progress and pain passes into history.

Work for peace, said Reyes. And in a year that has laid bare the needs of so many people and community institutions that are just trying to pay the bills, share your gifts, including monetary donations.

“To me, it’s do not be afraid,” said Reyes. “Not to be afraid. Life is so fragile. Life is so short. Just live our lives with dignity, with love, with unity. In this moment, we need to be instruments of peace and reconciliation.”

Gadsden expects to share a Kwanzaa message of survival and adaptation. Celebrate Kwanzaa 24/7, he will tell listeners.

“The principles are designed that they should be lived, every single day,” he said.

Pewzner will draw parallels between the Maccabees who took a spiritual stand and wouldn’t use defiled oil in the place of ritually clean oil to light the temple they had recaptured. COVID times offer impediments, he said, but “that soul that we have is a pure flask of oil deep within us, and if we reach a little deeper and search, we will find it.”

“This is a universal message,” he said. “A message of hope. A message of a bright future that we have to focus on that little brightness we can find within us, and make that shine and come forth and illuminate the world around us.”

This COVID year’s Hanukkah message reflects dedication and renewal, said Rubin, of the Jewish Federation. And perseverance, added Ross. “That does tie into the traditional story.”

Jackson fears that facemasks have become a tool for detachment from the needs of others. His holiday message will focus on shared humanity and a “hope that we’re going to get through this.”

“We, as Christians during these dark times, need to show more patience, need to show more love, need to show more consideration,” he said. “We’re still one nation under God, whichever God you serve. They call us to be kind to one another.”

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Theater Revival: A renovated Midtown Cinema re-opens with new seats, better sound, more beer

November 30, 2020 | by Sammi Leigh Melville

It has taken nearly a year, but renovations have finally come to a close at Midtown Cinema.

Back in February, Wohlsen Construction Co. began improvements to the building, with the goal of completion in June. The year 2020, though, had other plans.

“It was time to reimagine and reinvent ourselves for the comfort of our patrons,” said Stuart Landon, Midtown Cinema’s director of community engagement. “Although, I think we did a pretty good job infusing our Midtown Cinema culture into our new look.”

With designs by Richard Gribble of Camp Hill-based By Design Consultants, the new space features an expanded concessions area, a new Zeroday Brewing Co. outpost, an outdoor patio, new signage and new seating and soundproofing for the theaters.

“We’ve always aimed to offer our patrons an incredible experience that they can’t get at home or the megaplex,” added Adam Porter, director of operations. “[The renovation] shines the spotlight on why we think the moviegoing experience is so enjoyable and important.”

The cinema, owned by Lift Development, was initially going to remain open during the renovation, continuing limited screenings, but the coronavirus pandemic abruptly halted that plan. Both screenings and construction were stopped with the hope that the schedule would continue after two weeks, though those weeks quickly multiplied.

“Like many other arthouses, we took our programming virtual until we could reopen,” Porter said.

Many films were (and continue to be) offered on-demand through the cinema’s website, and staff hosted film discussions through Zoom to keep patrons engaged.

As for the prospect of re-opening in a COVID-consumed world, “our renovations really did work in our favor,” Landon said.

As the community went into lockdown, the team was able to revise the plans to ensure a safe and sanitized space, “with very few adaptations to our design,” according to Landon. One of these changes was the inclusion of HVAC bipolar ionization, which uses the latest technology to purify the air in each theater independently.

Now, as renovations have come to an end, the cinema has opened its doors for private screenings for groups of 10 people or fewer in an attempt to bring the joy of the movies back to the public while still being responsible in the face of COVID. The day for public screenings is somewhere in the future, Landon promises.

“I just don’t know the date yet,” he said. “Maybe sooner than we think.”

A visit to Midtown Cinema will reveal a smaller staff and a doubling down of cleaning procedures. You still can get popcorn, soda and more from the expanded concessions, though due to mask protocols, cinema staff asks that patrons wait to eat their concessions until they’re sitting in their designated theater. And, now, a trip to Midtown Cinema also includes a chance to drink beer from the new Zeroday Outpost located inside.

“Our partnership with Zeroday was the driving force behind the renovations,” said John Tierney, owner of Lift Development.

As Zeroday’s business has exploded in recent years, owner Theo Armstrong said that he is excited to take that partnership to another level. Zeroday has converted its old taproom, located just behind the cinema, into dedicated production space while it awaits the opening of a larger taproom on N. 3rd Street in early 2021,

“The Outpost at Midtown Cinema is a way for us to keep a retail presence in the Engleton neighborhood while offering Midtown Cinema’s patrons a more cohesive beer and film experience,” Armstrong said.

The new Outpost features a selection of beers that can be paired with food from the new gourmet hotdog bar in-house, or taken “to-go” and enjoyed in Midtown Cinema’s theaters.

The pandemic has left the question of how many more changes the community will have to endure before returning to normalcy, but the cinema staff has high hopes for the coming months.

“It’s hard to predict where the movie business will head next,” Porter said. “But we’ll continue to offer the engaging, important stories on our screens that our patrons love.”

Midtown Cinema and the Zeroday Brewing Co. Outpost are located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com and www.zerodaybrewing.com.

Editor’s Note: Midtown Cinema is temporarily closed due to the governor’s most recent order on coronavirus restrictions.

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Boujee in the Burg: Fashion Empire gives you a taste of the area’s style

November 30, 2020 | by Maddie Conley Gittens

Tia Wise

It was a night that could hardly be described.

Words like, “epic,” “amazing” and “successful” came to Ebone Turner’s mind, but it was the look in her eyes that really told the story.

Models strutted down the grand double staircase to the beat the DJ spun. They struck a pose and cameras flashed. The room in the National Civil War Museum in 2018 was packed, sold out to be exact.

After the last model walked, stylists Turner and Tia Wise reluctantly made their way out from behind the scenes to face the cheering crowd. This was their show—they did it.

“We thought, if we could do this on our first project, imagine what we could do,” Wise said.

In March, the pair opened their own retail shop along with fellow clothing brand owners and stylists Anthony Dailey, Donald Hill and DJ Turner. They named it after what they knew they were building—Fashion Empire.

But their store on Front Street in Steelton is really just a window into an “underground” world—one that, if you’re not a part of, you may not notice.

“It’s a community. It is its own world,” Turner said. “I feel like together we could take over this city.”

New Standards

After leaving their desk jobs to pursue their passion, Turner and Wise started their own clothing brands with a goal of inspiring confidence.

“Standard size clothing is available everywhere,” Wise said. “When you go into a store, there’s always just a little tiny section for plus-size clothes.”

Wise started her brand, “Jessica’s Dream,” now, “Tia Lynnette Style,” in 2017 to provide a local fashion option for plus-size women.

Wise’s line is half professional and half street-style, all with a little edge. However, she explained the difficulty of finding clothing that isn’t oversexualized.

“There’s a shortage of plus-size in this area,” she said.

Turner also started her own brand, “Fashion Over Foolishness,” in 2014, but what she really loves is making people “look good.”

“A lot of people don’t think they need a stylist until they get one,” she said.

Turner puts together outfits for people to wear during photoshoots, fashion shows or any other big events. She often works with Dailey, a fellow stylist and one of the co-owners of Fashion Empire. The duo forms “Street Couture,” Dailey bringing the fancy and Turner with the edge.

“It’s a confidence thing,” she said. “We just want people to feel good. I want to help their self-esteem.”

Combined, the Fashion Empire crew has held five fashion shows.

While styling, Turner has witnessed clients cry, so happy with how they look.

“That’s what it’s about,” she said. “There’s so much pleasure in it.”

World of Style

Dailey’s life has always revolved around fashion. His great grandmother hosted fashion shows, his grandma always had an event to dress up for and his uncle James—he was Dailey’s fashion icon.

“I’ve always loved getting dressed up and looking nice,” he said. “I was the 5-year-old that wore a suit to school.”

When Dailey started his brand, “Anthony James,” and began styling with Turner, it just made sense. Fashion was his world.

When most people think of fashion epicenters, Harrisburg probably isn’t the first place to come to mind—Los Angeles or New York maybe, not Harrisburg.

“It’s a smaller city, and it definitely gets overlooked,” Dailey said.

But once you meet one member of the fashion world, the rest starts unraveling.

There’s Maisha Webb of Mean Girl Style Boutique who knows the Fashion Empire team down the street. Wise and Turner namedrop Keya Wilson, who, according to them, is the most well known designer in Harrisburg. Then there’s Tracy Johnson and Jennifer Ruiz, who are current vendors at Fashion Empire. And you can’t forget Dimitra Diggs of Urban Snob in Midtown.

The list goes on.

“In this city, you really have to prove yourself,” Turner said. “We are not allowing people to walk past us.”

Ultimately, she doesn’t see the local fashion scene as a competition.

“It’s like that Ne-Yo song, ‘I’m a movement by myself but I’m a force when we’re together,’” Turner said. “I want people from Philly to be like, we need to get down there.”

Fashion Empire is located at 39 N. Front St., Steelton. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

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Being a Spark: How three women, dubbed “Carlisle Citizens Who Care,” are helping others

November 30, 2020 | by Karen Hendricks

Martha Thomas, Marian Elby and Kathleen Niedermayer

For nearly 30 years, Marian Elby has been a regular visitor at central Pennsylvania prisons.

“People need someone,” said Elby, 77. “Ever since I was little, I had a heart for those who didn’t have.”

Two friends joined her prison ministry program at the Cumberland County Prison twice a month for the past three years—Kathleen Niedermayer, 71, and Martha Thomas, 69. All three women are Carlisle residents.

Back in March, COVID-19 stopped their prison ministry in its tracks—but not for long.

“We don’t let much grass grow under our feet,” said Niedermayer, of their grassroots efforts.

With restrictions in place, halting visitations to prisons amid the pandemic, the three friends prayed for a new way to help others.

Elby, who spent the first 50 years of her life in Harrisburg, was in the city when inspiration struck.

“I was downtown, when one woman caught my eye. She was homeless, sitting on the steps of a church, and I just knew we had to do something,” Elby said. “She just looked so sad sitting there, that I ended up crying—she touched my heart.”

She formed a plan with her friends—a plan to collect warm gloves and hats for the homeless. Then they put out the word. Friends, businesses and church members responded, and soon the three women had a collection of 30 hats and 30 pairs of gloves—plus about 30 blankets and 30 pairs of thermal socks.

The timing was perfect—fall temperatures were about to dive and winter was approaching. So, they made the rounds and visited several area churches and locations where they could connect with the homeless, including Harrisburg’s Market Square on a sunny but brisk Saturday in October.

“Handing out gloves, seeing their faces and smiles, saying, ‘This is a gift—this is something we want to help you with,’” Thomas said, “It’s a way of serving and ministering to them by giving them something tangible that tells them someone is thinking about them.”

And the three friends even saw the woman who sparked Elby’s idea.

“I called out to her, calling her ‘my friend,’ and she smiled and said, ‘Hi friend,’ right back,” Elby said.

Two brothers, currently living out of their car in Cumberland County, met the women at a socially distanced homeless ministry at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in New Kingstown.

“The hats and gloves are a big help, especially during the colder nights,” said Jim, one of the brothers.

And while the women appreciated hearing the kind words, they’re really listening to a higher calling.

“When we do things, we feel like we’re getting a call from God to do whatever service is specifically needed,” Thomas said. “The Bible says to consider the least of us, and that’s what we feel like we’re doing.”

Their actions caught the attention of Taro Landis, chief of police at the Carlisle Police Department. He dubbed them, “Carlisle Citizens Who Care.”

“They’re just a remarkable group of people—they put their money where their mouth is, as well as their time and their hearts,” said Landis.

He recalled how the women recently brought lunch to the 32-member police department.

“They cared enough about the cops and went out of their way to say thanks, during a time when some people were saying bad things about the police,” Landis said.

Their kindness didn’t end there. At the station, the women met several people who had been victims of a crime.

“These three wonderful women prayed with them. It’s very impressive that they take the whole idea of being Christian and Christlike a few steps further,” said Landis.

Niedermayer, who is certified as a chaplain, said their friendship is more like a sisterhood that “supersedes” their different races.

“We’ve just naturally all come together as friends, as sisters in Christ—it’s a whole different level of relationship,” Niedermayer said.

Elby said that she developed her ability to talk to everyone and anyone during her 28 years as a receptionist for the Pennsylvania governor’s Office of the Budget.

“I loved my job, because the Lord used me even on the telephone,” Elby said.

Thomas is a retired daycare provider—but she doesn’t think of retirement as a time of rest.

“I don’t want to sit at home,” Thomas said. “God is placing us where we’re needed—our instructions come from him.”

As for their next project, the women are focusing on spreading holiday cheer. They’re accepting donations of homemade, bagged Christmas cookies they can give to the homeless.

“There’s a humbleness about this—I would never stand up and say, ‘Look at me,’” Niedermayer said. “But the reason we agreed to this story is so that we could encourage people to pass it on. All of us have the ability to reach out to another person. So, if I can be a spark, let me be a spark.”

To donate homemade, bagged Christmas cookies to the women’s holiday outreach efforts, contact Marian Elby by emailing her at [email protected].

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Harrisburg Words: Local authors have been busy, just in time for Christmas

November 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

This year, most of us are spending more time at home than ever before. Some are using that extra time not to binge Netflix, but to put pen to paper (or, more accurately, pixels to screens).

Harrisburg-area authors recently have released a bevy of books, more than I’ve ever seen issued in such a short period. We’re going to summarize some of them on this page and encourage you to read—or gift—a locally written novel, narrative or memoir this holiday season.

Forgotten TV: 101 TV Shows You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
By Kevyn Knox
Experimental Forest Press

You may know Kevyn Knox as the man behind the bar (and the glasses and the bowling shirts) at H*MAC, or maybe as a pop artist or exhibiting photographer. A cinephile, he even wrote a movie column for TheBurg way back when. Well, this quadruple-threat is now an author, as well, releasing a tome that courageously explores the flights and flops of 70 years of very uneven American television. “Forgotten TV” reflects on programs fondly remembered and, sometimes, best forgotten, with Knox as your hyper-knowledgeable tour guide, offering context, critique and the occasional sharp tongue. If you enjoy TV history, and a good peruse with a guy who revels in the obscure, the weird and the wacky, this book should be on your gift list.

Missing
By Don Helin
Headline Books

Lancaster’s Don Helin is proof that retirement doesn’t have to be retiring. Following a lengthy military career, Don fired up his desktop and began writing novels, with his military knowledge serving as a jumping-off point for several award-winning thrillers. His latest, “Missing,” is the sixth featuring protagonist Col. Zack Kelly, who, this time, finds himself enmeshed in a high-stakes electoral conspiracy that could decide the fate of the country (and is chillingly timely). During 2020, the indefatigable Helin even found the time to edit an anthology called “Faces of the Pandemic,” a collection of memoirs from people, such as health care workers, educators and entertainers, whose lives were especially upended by COVID-19. Helin also has been known to contribute stories to TheBurg, exploring people and places around central PA. Oh, and this—I can personally attest that Don is both a fine writer and a heckuva guy.

The Hidden Code
By Dr. Dale Dangleben
Austin Macauley Publishers

Dr. Dale Dangleben is another local author who has creatively used his professional knowledge to spin out a thriller. In his debut novel, the Mechanicsburg resident tells the story of a young doctor on a quest for the secret of eternal youth. The determined protagonist sets off on a journey that takes him halfway around the world, stuck between noble intentions on the one hand and deception and greed on the other. The medical thriller has long been a favorite sub-genre of mine, as the best examples not only fascinate, but educate. Buckle in for a wild ride through the speculative possibilities of human potential.

One Woman in the Himalayas
By Tracy Pawelski

In 2018, Tracy Pawelski, a Harrisburg-based communications specialist, brought us her first travel narrative, “One Woman’s Camino,” recounting a mother/daughter ramble across Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago. She’s now back, halfway around the world, writing of another spiritual adventure, this time deep in the Himalaya Mountains. In her new book, she tells of a journey along the Annapurna Circuit, a renowned path within the mountain ranges of central Nepal. Readers follow Pawelski as she persists along the arduous trek, endures setbacks and revels in moments of enlightenment and joy. If, in the process, you get a vicarious lesson about life, that may be intended, as we all must endure, one step at a time.

The Collection of Colors & Etc.
By Zora Thomas

In the introduction to her collection of poetry, author Zora Thomas writes, “This is for the person that goes through grays and decides to go on anyway.” It’s an apt start to a slim volume steeped in nuance, wonderment and expression. Thomas, a Youth Advisory Board member at GLO Harrisburg, offers readers different styles of poetry—some in rhyme, some free verse; some bite-sized, others longer. The sentiments expressed, however, share a common thread of a search for explanation and meaning. Thomas may have more questions than answers as she ponders both the big picture and the smallest details, addressing everything from water bills to past loves to issues of identity. But isn’t that the truest distillation of both poetry and life?

Who Will Be a Witness? Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love and Deliverance
By Drew G. I. Hart
Herald Press

Messiah University Prof. Drew Hart is issuing a call to action—a call to action to his fellow Christians. In his first book, “Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism,” Hart urged white Americans to open their ears and their minds to the perspectives of the Black community. He now offers practical ways for faith communities to move toward compassion, solidarity and reconciliation, with the teachings of Jesus serving as the foundation. It’s time, he writes, for Christians to cast aside a long history of religious nationalism and embrace community, justice and meaningful social change.

How I Discovered My Purpose: A Practical Guide to Faith and Finding Happiness in Uncertain Times
By Christine Titih
Spears Books

You may know Christine Titih as the founder of Oaks of Central PA or perhaps as the CEO of CT Home Care Services. She now applies the lessons she’s learned along her life’s fascinating journey to a new book, “How I Discovered My Purpose.” This part-memoir, part-advice book offers practical lessons on how to weather life’s stormiest days, using examples from Titih’s personal story, which begins as a girl in the country of Cameroon in central Africa. Her discovery of purpose may just help your own as we all seek to ground our lives and move forward in the most practical and meaningful ways possible.

These books can be found online and at local bookstores.

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Drive-Thru Joy: Christmas Spirit Light Show may be the perfect holiday outing for our times

November 30, 2020 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Traditions may be upended this year, but some seem better suited than others for a holiday focused on smaller gatherings and distanced interactions.

Christmas Spirit Light Show, an annual, drive-through light show in Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, is a great example.

Husband-and-wife proprietors Chris Brink and Yana Banova-Brink of Middletown not only want you to visit this year, but they hope it becomes a holiday tradition even when we’re able to gather together again in large groups.

“We hope that people can create memories of bringing their families together here every year,” Chris Brink said. “We’re striving to create the most exciting light show in central Pennsylvania.”

Christmas Spirit Light Show first opened to the public in 2017 at Manheim Community Park. That changed, though, when Mike Reynolds, general manager for the Lancaster Barnstormers, happened to stop by. Reynolds was so impressed by the displays that he invited Chris and Yana to move their show to his team’s home, Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Chris and Yana are touting this year’s mile-long, drive-thru show as their largest yet, with a total of 500,000 brilliant bulbs set inside the stadium and throughout a rear parking area.

The drive lasts 20 minutes from start to finish, transporting visitors through six dazzling tunnels lit to synchronize with holiday music favorites for all ages. Most of the displays comprise pixel smart lights programmed across “hundreds of thousands of channels that can make any colors you want,” Chris said.

Though a naturally distanced event, even Christmas Spirit Light Show needed to adjust to the unfortunate realities of the pandemic. This year’s event is drive-thru only. Santa visits and refreshments sales on the stadium’s field won’t be open this year.

In retrospect, designing a large-scale, public light display wasn’t a far stretch for Brink, a 12-year mechanical engineering veteran at Lower Swatara Township-based Phoenix Contact, a developer and manufacturer of industrial electrical and electronic technology products. He was inspired to create his display after touring a similar light show in Nashville. It was the first light show he ever saw synchronized to music.

“There was nothing quite like it in our area,” he recalled.

So, he decided to make one of his own.

Soon, the do-it-yourself light/music show became a joint venture for Chris and Yana, a self-described “artist by nature” who attended art school in New Orleans. Both were interested in starting a home business together.

As it turned out, this was a home business that sprouted in the family’s cellar.

“All our structures were made in our basement or outside in our yard,” Yana said. “We made it all.”

Today, it takes Chris, Yana, extended family and a hired crew around six weeks to set the stadium alight for the holidays each year.

To assemble metal light display frames, the couple learned how to weld. Same for the show’s display and power boxes. As the couple progressed, son Ruehl, 10, and daughter Amelie, 8, chipped in, accompanied by son Silas, 5.

“With three children, we know this is a precious moment for families,” Yana said. “People lean out of car windows when they leave and yell to us that the show was amazing.”

Each year, Christmas Spirit Light Show donates a portion of its proceeds to a selected charity. This year’s recipient is Clare House, which provides housing and financial stability to homeless women and young children.

Through Silas, who was born with Down Syndrome, Chris and Yana realized that children with special needs often are especially receptive to their productions and encourage special-needs families to visit.

“I like that, in some way, we’re contributing to people’s happy holiday experiences,” Yana said. “We don’t do it for the money. We feel very fortunate knowing we can do something this year (in the pandemic).”

Christmas Spirit Light Show runs through December at Clipper Magazine Stadium, 650 N. Prince St., Lancaster. Days and times vary. For more information, visit www.christmasspiritlightshows.com.

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Walk This Way: Cove Mountain Preserve expansion to benefit nature, naturalists, communities

November 30, 2020 | by Rebecca Johnson

Hikers, rejoice! You’ll soon have new trails to blaze.

The Cove Mountain Preserve has plans for a major expansion—an extension that will offer new opportunities for recreation, hunting and other activities—and create a 14-mile stretch of protected land along the Kittatinny Ridge. The preserve is in Marysville, just north of the capital city.

The Pennsylvania and Delaware chapters of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) recently announced the purchase of former timberlands that will quadruple the size of the protected area and connect existing trails on Cove Mountain to PA state game lands, the Appalachian Trail and the borough of Marysville.

The conservancy acquired 353 acres at the southeastern end of Cove Mountain in late 2017, an area that had been eyed by developers for years. Now, it plans to purchase 1,100 additional adjacent acres, which will protect the land from development and fragmentation, while offering visitors pristine views of the Susquehanna River Valley.

“We want to strike a balance between preserving nature and providing access and economic opportunity,” said Keith Fisher, director of conservation programs.

Fisher said that TNC is working with the PA Game Commission, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and communities and local development authorities to evaluate existing conditions and devise the best plan to improve forest health and support individual benefit.

“We want to protect biodiversity and help nature adapt,” Fisher said. “The Kittatinny Ridge is a critical corridor running north to south. It provides diverse microhabitats and the ability to move between them, so its disconnection would be detrimental.”

TNC will continue to manage the area to support forest health and climate resilience and as habitat for native wildlife that need unfragmented forest corridors to survive, like black bears and bobcats. This landscape will become even more important as temperatures rise and species move further north or to higher elevations. TNC will continue to manage the forest for timber harvesting, too, part of TNC’s “Working Woodlands” program.

Amplifying the area’s importance and value is its benefit to local communities. Outdoor recreation and tourism are an important industry for Perry County, and this expansion holds promise that local businesses can grow to meet this demand.

Michelle Jones of the Perry County Economic Development Authority is excited about the expansion, as she spearheads the downtown revitalization of the county’s nine boroughs. She said that one factor identified in economic studies is the opportunity for outdoor recreation.

“Our primary goal is connectivity of these nine towns that are quite lovely,” Jones said. “We want to focus on bolstering and accentuating our downtown areas for families and small businesses, while maintaining an authentic connection. And we are nailing it right now, moving in the right direction.”

Perry County’s recent “Return on Environment” report found that the county brought in nearly $60 million from outdoor tourism in 2019. Dwarfing that number is the money saved and resources provided by Perry County’s protected areas—functions like pollination, erosion control, flood protection, carbon sequestration and water purification.

These factors add to the area’s climate resilience and its value as a natural respite.

“The goal and hope is to make sure people are aware of this opportunity in their community and take advantage of it—and become aware of how it fits in locally and in the larger picture,” Fisher said.

The authority has all nine boroughs participating in the PA Downtown Center Main Street Coordinating Program, a community-based approach to downtown and business district revitalization.

Jones said that the focus now is how to provide better access, and she has plans in the works that “dovetail beautifully” with Cove Mountain Preserve’s expansion, including the connection with the AT and a waterway expansion on Sherman’s Creek.

“It’s all tying together wonderfully,” she said.

The Kittatinny Ridge is one of the most important natural landscapes in the mid-Atlantic, running more than 200 miles through 11 PA counties and into New Jersey and New York. Known locally as Blue Mountain, the ridge is the eastern edge of the Appalachians and a highway of biodiversity. It has been designated a “Conservation Landscape” by PA DCNR and is an internationally important corridor for migratory birds and birds-of-prey.

“We have more than we realize,” Jones said. “You forget what’s in your own backyard.”

To learn more about Cove Mountain Preserve, visit the Nature Conservancy’s website at www.nature.org.

Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA

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Joyous Reprise: Joy to the Burg returns to offer musical comfort, fight homelessness

November 30, 2020 | by Barbara Trainin Blank

Christyan Seay

What do you do when a pandemic nixes your holiday concert?

You make adjustments.

For instance, “Joy to the Burg” will be different this year, but still will be devoted to spreading joy and strengthening community.

Now in its second season, the community artist program—which raises funds for homelessness programs provided by Christian Churches United of the Tri-County Area—is more vital than even before, said Darrel Reinford, CCU’s executive director.

“The program especially benefits vulnerable populations, like people on the street or families who have lost their jobs and housing during the pandemic, to get back on their feet,” he said.

Joy to the Burg features an album/CD of Christmas songs by local musicians and bands, as it did last year.

“People in the arts are particularly suffering financially,” said Sheldon Jones, founder and executive director of the program. “But the music community of central Pennsylvania has united around this cause with tremendous excitement and enthusiasm.”

This year, 17 musicians and bands will perform the songs, all in the public domain. And this year, in lieu of a live concert, “Good Day PA” will feature a special “Joy to the Burg” show on Dec. 15 from 10 to 11 a.m., featuring a mix of live interviews and stories with pre-recorded band performances.

Last year, Joy to the Burg —combining proceeds of the album and concert ticket sales — raised nearly $24,000 for Christian Churches United. CCU used part of the funding to establish a new women’s shelter, which opened the week of Christmas in the Grace Methodist Church in downtown Harrisburg.

Building a shelter is only the first step, according to CCU, which supports people facing homelessness, poverty, crisis situations and incarceration.

“You also need to make sure they’re safe,” said Reinford. “A lot of planning goes into it.”

To serve the homeless and populations at risk, CCU partners with churches, businesses, concerned neighbors and local government partners.

One such partner is the Rotary Club of Harrisburg, a sponsor of Joy to the Burg. The Rotary is involved in the community artistic program on two levels this year, lending financial support to CCU but also music.

Rotary president James Good is part of a band called the Goods. With a repertoire of country music, bluegrass and blues, he plays dobro and steel guitar, while his wife Karen plays keyboards. The band will be singing and playing “Children, Go Where I Send Thee,” an old spiritual that James heard as a child.

“Being part of Joy to the Burg seemed a natural fit with the Rotary’s commitment to service, to make the community a better place,” he said.

Each winter, the club provides volunteers who help staff two winter overnight shelters—one for men, and one for women—run by CCU.

Another song on the album is “Ave Maria,” as arranged by composer Franz Schubert. It will be sung by tenor Christyan Seay, accompanied on keyboard by Caleb Flick.

“Schubert’s Ave Maria has become a staple during the Christmas holiday season, since the text translates the announcement to the Virgin Mary of the coming Christ child,” said Seay, the artistic director of the Capital Area Music Association, a community choral organization that performs music of African American composers and African American culture. “I love the music of this composer and thought this would be a good musical contribution to this project.”

Another CCU partner is Karns Foods, which will have the Joy to the Burg CD available for sale at several locations within its stores, including the customer service desk and select checkout registers.

“Joy to the Burg is filled with wonderful seasonal sounds, but the most important thing is that folks can pick up the recording,” said Andrea Karns, vice president of marketing and sales. “Now more than ever, as a community, we need to get creative, join together as partners and find solutions to help one another out.”

In addition to the CD, patrons can buy drop cards with a code on the back for downloading.

Between the Christmas music and the help Joy to the Burg gives to those in need, the pandemic cannot dampen the holiday spirit.

“It is always a joy to be in the company of my musical colleagues doing what feeds our souls—making music,” Seay said. “The needs in the coming year will be greater, and, thus, we will do our part to share resources and provide relief.”

For more information about Joy to the Burg, visit www.ccuhbg.org/joy-to-the-burg/joy-to-the-burg.html. On Dec. 15, “Good Day PA” will air a special “Joy to the Burg” program on ABC 27 from 10 to 11 a.m.

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December Editor’s Note

November 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

One of my reporters calls herself “the COVID whisperer.”

She’s written so many stories about the coronavirus that I now have to apologize when I send her yet another assignment that somehow involves that horrible ailment.

In my three decades as a journalist, I’ve never seen one story so dominate the news.

COVID businesses? COVID vacations? COVID arts? Yup, we’ve done all of these—and many, many others. Hey, COVID Christmas, anyone?

So, my apologies to readers who may be exhausted by COVID “insert subject here.” However, the pandemic has shaken the foundation of our lives, has become the sea we’ve all had to swim in (or, more accurately, tread water in) for most of 2020.

In this issue, you’ll find a story or two or three that again references the pandemic, especially how it has reshaped our annual traditions. Each December, we feature a section on holiday celebrations, so, unfortunately, the subject couldn’t be avoided.

However, our stories, I believe, tend to take the glass-half-full approach, highlighting the incredible resiliency of our community and our traditions. In addition, this issue contains genuine signs of hope—for instance, new businesses that are opening despite the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.

Having said this—I will be delighted when I never have to type those five capital letters again. Nothing will make me happier than when these stories are no longer necessary.

So, just for a moment, let’s think about next year. Let’s imagine a December 2021 with raucous holiday parties and huge family gatherings and hugs and kisses for the new year—all done without fear of catching or spreading this microscopic menace.

And that’s my holiday hope for all readers of TheBurg.

Lawrance Binda
Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

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Artist in Focus: Vivi on Verbeke

November 30, 2020 | by TheBurg Editor

If you know TheBurg, you probably know Vivian Sterste.

Our arts writer Bob has featured Vivi, her partner Jackson “Jeb” Boyd, and their artwork numerous times in his blogs and columns.

An arts educator by training, Vivi today holds forth from her eponymous studio and shop, Vivi on Verbeke, in the shadow of the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. There, you’ll discover a treasure trove of creations—paintings, pottery, photographs and other constructions and imaginings.

And, as Bob has stated repeatedly, you’ll also find some very warm people and great conversation.

On this page, we’re proud to showcase a sample of her work. But we urge you to drop by her storefront studio for the full Vivi and Jeb experience and, while there, purchase something truly special, crafted with care and skill.

Vivi on Verbeke is located at 258 Verbeke St., Harrisburg. To schedule a visit, contact the owners on their Facebook or Instagram page by private message (Vivi on Verbeke), email at [email protected] or call 717-961-9826.

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