May We Dance? Latin styles pick up steam in the Harrisburg area.

June 4, 2018 | by Mhelaney Noel

Instructor Jennifer Mercado and a student dance at Leonetti Entertainment’s Latin Night.

Latin dancing and Harrisburg may not seem like natural partners, but local dance studios say that interest in salsa, bachata and other styles is on the rise.

Two years ago, Jennifer Mercado and Ben Heikenfeld created Leonetti Entertainment, a studio that teaches Latin dance classes and holds monthly Latin nights with a local DJ at Camelot Ballroom Dance School in Steelton. Their students range from ages 14 to 74, a mix of ethnicities from all over south-central Pa.

“We really take our time with teaching you,” Mercado said. “It’s a family environment where you can build relationships with everyone.”

Their students have performed at events like the Allison Hill Multicultural Festival and with Alma Latina, a dance team founded in Tijuana, Mexico, with chapters in several cities across the United States and Mexico.

Across the river, Always Time for Dancing, a studio in Camp Hill, teaches Latin and ballroom lessons. Led by Mandy Kuhn Iglesias, the venue also holds monthly Latin nights, in which students take a class in a specific dance and stay for a dance party.

“I feel that few people have a place that they can call their own, where they can feel comfortable,” Iglesias said. “So, we’re still doing the ballroom classes and things like that but also creating a community connections-type of studio.”

In Harrisburg, Level 2 has become the go-to venue for Latin dance with its Latin Fuzion Fridays, featuring such DJs as Nestor (June 8) and El Nino (June 15). June 15 also happens to be 3rd in the Burg, when Iglesias teaches Latin classes at Level 2. The classes, which precede the event, are an hour long, and, afterwards, many students stay to dance the night the away. This month, the two classes, which begins at 9 p.m., will focus on beginner and intermediate salsa.

But you can discover more than standard dance forms. Modern Latin dance also thrives, heavily influenced by the music industry. Newer dances like kizomba and zouk were made for clubs, and dance studios are incorporating those styles into their offerings, as well.

“Don’t be afraid to try something new,” Mercado said.

Camelot Ballroom Dance School is located on 913 4th Ave, Steelton. Always Time for Dancing is located on 941 Kranzel Dr., Camp Hill. Level 2 is located at 215 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg.

This Job Could Be Yours: HBG schools CRO to retire, replacement needed.

June 1, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

The Harrisburg school district’s Lincoln administrative building.

The search is on for the Harrisburg school district’s next chief recovery officer.

Audrey Utley, who was appointed as the district’s CRO in 2015, will retire when her contract with the district expires on June 30, she confirmed today.

She submitted her letter of resignation to school board President Judd Pittman last week.

As CRO, Utley was charged with overseeing the implementation of the district’s five-year recovery plan, which outlined more than 100 initiatives to bolster its academic success and fiscal health. Utley oversaw an amendment to that plan shortly after she took office, but said that she never planned to serve after its expiration in June 2018.

“When I accepted my position, I understood that the plan was for five years, and I would finish the last three,” Utley said.

Utley was employed with the district on a year-to-year contract. Her salary was capped at $144,000 per year, according to a PennLive report.

She expects that 80 percent of the recovery plan initiatives will be complete by the end of her tenure in four weeks.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city is working with the school board and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to find Utley’s replacement. The new CRO could become the district’s state-appointed receiver, if the state decides to put the district into receivership later this summer.

Even if the state rules against receivership, the district is required to employ a CRO as long as Harrisburg retains its Act 47 designation as a financially distressed city, Utley said.

Papenfuse praised Utley in 2015 when a panel of local and state officials unanimously appointed her to the CRO seat. But, today, he said that she did not choose to exercise the full power of her position.

The mayor hopes that the next CRO will be “someone who will hold the administration accountable and promote transparency in the school board, and who will not accept another day of fiscal mismanagement and academic failures of this district.”

Utley dismissed the mayor’s criticisms of her job performance. She said that the district has a standards-aligned curriculum for the first time in its history, which will help propel academic growth.

“I’m not sure what part of my job he would say I did not execute,” she said. “I was hired to monitor the implementation of the recovery plan, and we pushed the district along as quickly as we could.”

In addition to serving as CRO, Utley served as acting superintendent of the school district for fewer than two months in 2010. She left that post to become superintendent of Steelton-Highspire School District.

Harrisburg gets state grant, will begin major Paxton Creek reclamation project, mayor says.

June 1, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Artist’s rendering of part of the proposed Paxton Creek Park in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg has received a $2 million state grant to begin its ambitious Paxton Creek Reclamation project, Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced today.

The funds from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant will make only a small dent in the project’s anticipated $60 to $90 million cost, but will allow the city to begin initial work of removing bridges and buildings that restrict the creek channel.

Papenfuse announced the grant at his annual “State of the City” speech, which he delivered to a coalition of nonprofit leaders at the Harrisburg Crowne Plaza Hotel this morning.

The yearly address is typically an opportunity for the mayor to recite campaign-trail talking points and administrative achievements. But Papenfuse used today’s event to announce several new initiatives, including the construction of the city’s first traffic circle and a new summer festival in Reservoir Park.

He highlighted multiple infrastructure projects in his 30-minute speech, particularly those that will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. That includes the Paxton Creek Reclamation project, which aims to widen the Paxton Creek and lower its floodplain elevation, making hundreds of blighted, industrial acres more attractive for development.

The project will also create recreation areas along the creek and increase connectivity between the downtown and Allison Hill neighborhoods. Papenfuse said that a new segment of the Capital Area Greenbelt trail, which runs for 20 miles in and around Harrisburg, could be constructed along the creek once the project is complete.

The city also requested $14 million in RACP funds to build a bridge over Division Street in Uptown Harrisburg, which would connect HACC’s main campus to Uptown Plaza. That application was denied, but the mayor was optimistic that the city could successfully re-apply in October.

Papenfuse also unveiled new plans for multi-modal transport along 7th Street, which will complement the construction of the new federal courthouse at 6th and Reily streets. The renderings call for sheltered bike lanes along the length of the 7th Street office corridor, as well as the construction of Harrisburg’s first traffic circle at 7th and Reily.

“This is all to ensure safe transportation and… encourage less car dependency in the city,” Papenfuse said.

With the exception of vehicle-related accidents and deaths, almost every category of violent crime has fallen in Harrisburg since Papenfuse took office. He pointed to that statistic as one of the hallmark achievements of his administration, along with growth of jobs and investment in the city.

Those investments have included corporate sponsorships for community events and festivals. The city hosted its first annual Fire and Ice Festival downtown this March, and Papenfuse said that the first-ever Weekender Festival will take place in Reservoir Park later this summer.

Papenfuse also said that that the city’s population seems to be growing, given a recent rise in revenues from the city’s local service and earned income taxes. After decades of decline, the city’s population began to stabilize with the 2010 census, ticking up by 1.2 percent, and Papenfuse believes the 2020 census will show additional growth.

The mayor assured the audience that, as the population grows, his administration is “mindful of our responsibility to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table.”

Papenfuse addressed education only briefly in his speech, when he said that the city is working with the Harrisburg school board and the state Department of Education to find a new chief recovery officer to oversee the school district’s recovery efforts.

Current CRO Audrey Utley will retire when her contract expires on June 30.

Click here to learn more about the Paxton Creek Master Plan.

Vidjam: A world where filmmakers have 48 hours to make a decent movie.

June 1, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Cinematographer Matt Nease and actor Lisa Budwig on the set of “Hot Fizz,” a Vidjam entry from last year. Photo by Claire Collison.

In 2015, local filmmaker Sam Miller and a few friends had a very creative idea.

Block out a long weekend, fan across central Pennsylvania and see who can make the best movie in 48 hours.

Lights! Camera! Go!

Since then, “vidjam” has turned into an annual event, one that returns this weekend to Harrisburg as the city turns into one big movie set, supervised by increasingly bleary-eyed filmmakers.

But vidjam has become so much more than a two-day filmmaking frenzy. Miller institutionalized the concept under Vidjam (capital “V”), which, today, works to connect filmmakers and other artists to the community through workshops, monthly meetups, filmmaking competitions and a new community series. Though Harrisburg-based, Vidjam’s members include artists from throughout central Pennsylvania.

“Filmmaking has always been something that is really important to me,” Miller said.“I always said I’ll work and then I’ll save up enough money and go to film school. [Vidjam] has kind of nicely subverted that because we’re building our own community of filmmakers and having that experience of working on a film here.”

Miller got the idea of creating an organization after the first vidjam event, where filmmakers have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit their films. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars for registration in larger competitions, Miller said he wanted to create an organization so that filmmakers could put that money toward making their art instead.

“The last two years, we’ve had about 15 teams each year, and the theater sells out,” Miller said. “It’s cool to be able to have people have their films screened.”

Since he was 6 years old, Miller has been behind a camera, he said. In high school, he created short films with his core group of friends after being inspired by works by Kevin Smith and the original “Evil Dead.”

While in college, he joined the Harrisburg Improv Theatre, where he saw an abundance of unused talent.

“There was just all this talent there, and we didn’t have anyone using it outside of improv,” Miller said. “So, that was when I did the first Vidjam. That first Vidjam was like the catalyst for finding our community.”

Start to Grow

After digging deeper into the filmmaking community, Miller met Sammi Melville. After earning her degree in film at Messiah College, Melville moved to Harrisburg in search of more film buffs and project opportunities.

“At the time, I thought, ‘There are so many people who want to be involved in film but don’t because they don’t have the resources or the know-how,’” Melville said.

So Melville started her own filmmaker meetups in 2016 with the hopes of networking and bouncing ideas off other artists.

“I just wanted to meet more people who are interested [in film],” she said. “If we actually get people in the same room then maybe we could start to grow as a community.”

Eventually, she was contacted by Miller, and they decided to adopt the meetups under Vidjam. From there, they also started workshops, each taught by a community member with a different specialty, such as writing, production and lighting.

“We found that the community in this area, they are really excited to work with each other,” she said. “The more people you know the more of a chance you can put together a production.”

Filmmakers gathered in startup Harrisburg during last year’s competition. Photo by Somers Compton.

Community Series

Ashleigh Pollart met Sam Miller after she planned the first TEDx Harrisburg event. She was already familiar with the organization since she worked as an actress for her videographer boyfriend for Vidjam’s filmmaking competition.

Since then, in her six months of volunteering, Pollart has created “Vidjam Community Series,” a documentary-style short film series.

“For each series, we want to focus on an ‘issue’ in Harrisburg,” Pollart said. “Something that the typical resident of Harrisburg may not be aware of.”

This year, as its first Community Series, Vidjam decided to focus on homelessness in Harrisburg. Pollart and her team will follow three homeless families and document what their life is like behind the scenes.

“Homelessness would be a very interesting thing to cover in the winter, but also I think there is something to be said about it in the spring and summer and fall,” Pollart said. “People forget about the fact that people are homeless. The media doesn’t cover it, people aren’t collecting as many funds for it. So, I think it’s actually an interesting time to focus on it during the summer months.”

Pollart said they have not started shooting yet, but hope to have the screening in the next four to six weeks at Midtown Cinema. All proceeds from the film will go to Downtown Daily Bread, an organization through Pine Street Presbyterian Church that provides shelter, food and other resources to the homeless.

According to Pollart, Vidjam already has a list of future topics that participants wish to cover through the series.

“We’re trying to highlight issues that have multiple factors because—one—how is it affecting people overall and—two—how is it affecting Harrisburg specifically?” Pollart said. “Issues change. Even from here to Lancaster issues are different.”

Unique Mark

Miller said working with Melville and Pollart has been an inspiring process.

“It’s cool to see something you created sort of grow to where other people can have a stake in it and have ideas about where it can go and what it can be,” he said. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to find people who want to help build this community and make their own unique mark on it.”

Vidjam is still on their journey to becoming an official non-profit organization. According to Miller, with more grants and funding, Vidjam will be able to give members more tangible items and ways to show their work. Still, Miller says he and his crew work hard to enforce typical production standards and provide resources for local filmmakers.

“I just want to provide filmmakers with a platform to share their work with the community,” he said. “I also want to give the community a chance to celebrate those filmmakers.”

Melville said that she hopes the organization branches out to include not only writers and filmmakers but a variety of different members of the community.

“In no way is filmmaking just this art in a box,” she said. “It takes so many different resources and assets. It’s a communal thing. I think a lot of people are scared to actually participate because they think, ‘Well, I’ve never done it before. My skills don’t fit into there.’ But, just give them a shot. What do you have to lose?”

The 48-hour vidjam competition begins 7 p.m. today, June 1, but registration is open until Sunday, June 3. The screening will be held on June 7 at 7 p.m. at Midtown Cinema. To watch previous vidjam winners, visit vidjam.org, you can register for the competition here.

Savage Shopping: New clothing, accessories shop debuts in Harrisburg.

May 31, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

During the last night of their pop-up shops in Midtown Harrisburg, Jeremiah Ross and his partner, Jeannine Harbin, turned to each other with a similar thought—they wanted to create this feeling forever.

“I looked at her and said, ‘I want to sell really dope clothing,’” said Ross.

Nearly three months later, Harbin and Ross (pictured left, with dog Bruce) are preparing for the grand opening of their store, Savage Habit. Located along the 3rd Street retail corridor, Savage Habit features recycled clothing, handbags, shoes and other accessories.

“We’re all about recycling clothing,” Ross said. “It can be new and used stuff. Just because we have a green imprint doesn’t mean we can’t make our own stuff.”

Though they have their certain styles (Ross more urban and centric; Harbin more casual with a splash of street style), they try to keep a different mix within the store.

The shop carries around 250 items, which Ross refers to as “savage,” costing $5 to $100. The clothing and accessories range from casual to urban, with some elegance, too. There are a few sections of customized items, as well as pieces they have picked up from local, New York and West Virginia shops.

“We just love the hunt for fashion and finding pieces that are really trendy and eye-catching,” Harbin said. “What it’s really about for me is finding those pieces and bringing them all together in one place so that people can come into our shop and just find things that make them feel good about themselves. I’m really about empowering other people.”

The fashion buffs met while they were employed at a clothing store called White House Black Market. According to Harbin, that store focused on personal styling, which they both loved and had experience in.

“What really turned into me wanting to [create Savage Habit] was seeing the way you can help people feel better about themselves just through what they were wearing,” Harbin said.

Harbin and Ross attempt to give back to their community by keeping their store stocked with high-end quality items without necessarily a high-end price tag.

“The reality of it is most people are living paycheck to paycheck,” said Harbin. “You don’t have a huge budget to be going out spending money on clothing. But, at the end of the day, we all want to look good, we all want to feel good.”

The team hopes that, in the next few years, they can grow their brand by customizing more pieces using their unique sense of style.

With the grand opening on Friday, Ross and Harbin are still working to make their presence known in Harrisburg and create a pulse in the fashion community.

“Savage Habit is the hottest brand ever,” Ross said with a smile. “You should come out and support your local business and get some fresh clothing.”

Savage Habit is located at 1004 N. 3rd St. Their grand opening is Friday, June 1, 1 to 9 p.m. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook at @savagehabitexchange.

Photos by Mhelaney Noel

Summer in the City: Dauphin County announces summertime event, festival series.

May 31, 2018 | by Mhelaney Noel

Dauphin County will host outdoor movies as part of its summertime festival lineup.

The Harrisburg area’s annual lineup of summertime fun returns in June, as Dauphin County announced yesterday that it will host a string of cultural and music festivals.

Throughout the summer, the county will hold the Music and Wine Festival, the Sunset Music and Movie Series, Brewfest, the Cultural Fest and the Jazz and Wine Festival.

First out of the gate is June’s Music and Wine Festival, which includes grammy-nominated artist Mindi Abair, as well as other music from pop, rock, funk, blues, country and jazz artists.

“The major music festivals will feature two stages, 10 wineries from the Hershey-Harrisburg Wine Country, 20 national recording acts and 18 of the area’s elite performing artists,” said Carl Dickson, program director for the county Parks and Recreation Department.

The Sunset Music and Movie Series also begins in June. It features outdoor movies shown on a giant screen at Fort Hunter Park and other venues, as well as two concerts later in the summer.

“If you have children or grandchildren and you’re not going to this, shame on you!” said county commission Chairman Jeff Haste.

In July, Brewfest is back, and patrons can sample beer, enjoy live music and gourmet food and learn about the brewing process.

Grammy-nominated artist Angie Stone will perform at the Cultural Fest, a block party that takes place in early August in downtown Harrisburg. The Jazz and Wine Festival, slated for September, will wrap up the summer series, featuring headline acts Jonathan Michel and Bobby Broom.

“It’s important for our community to be able to come together and just put down whatever the barriers are and enjoy themselves,” Haste said.

2018 Special Events:

Music and Wine Festival: June 9 and 10, Fort Hunter Park
The Sunset Music and Movie Series: various dates, Fort Hunter Park and two other locations.
Brewfest: July 21, Fort Hunter Park
The Cultural Fest: Aug. 5 at 2nd and Market streets, Harrisburg
Jazz and Wine Festival: Sept. 7, 8 and 9, Fort Hunter Park

Click here for more information on the upcoming festivals.

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

May 31, 2018 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

It’s a yard sale weekend in my ‘hood – weather pending, anyway (for me, not the sale). Sunday, we’re brunching with friends and the babe. I have like 100 things I want to do, including Shakespeare in the Park — but it’ll have to wait until next weekend while I’m in the middle of an office revamp and so much more.

What are you doing this weekend?

(more…)

Path to Success: A beloved fixture, the Capital Area Greenbelt is poised for greater (and greener) days ahead.

May 31, 2018 | by M. Diane McCormick

Scott Shepler says hello to everyone he passes on the Paxtang Parkway. The woman walking a collie gets a hello. The midday jogger gets a hello.

All these people might not even know that this stretch of the Capital Area Greenbelt is called the Paxtang Parkway, but they are enjoying it for exactly the reasons that Shepler strives to keep it from washing into the creek.

“I view these natural areas as respite areas from city living,” he said. “It’s important for us to maintain it.”

As the Harrisburg region looks toward a multi-million-dollar upgrade of the Greenbelt, the Paxtang Parkway—the stretch that could be credited with launching the Greenbelt movement in the first place—gets its piece of the action.

First, where is the Paxtang Parkway? Just where its name implies. Pop into a parking lot behind City Line Diner on Derry Street, where Harrisburg adjoins Paxtang, and you’re at the gateway of a 1.3-mile stretch of wooded, creekside path. This stretch has always been meant as an urban respite. Around 1900, renowned landscape architect Warren Manning envisioned a “necklace” of naturalistic, “wild garden” parkways, accessible by pedestrians and carriages, linking city parks.

Only two of those parkways were built, and the Paxtang Parkway, dating to 1906, was one of them. Vehicles actually drove it until Hurricane Agnes wrought devastation in 1972. The parkway went dormant until 1989, when two state foresters, Norm Lacasse and Ellen Rhone, were conducting a tree inventory and discovered this forgotten parkway. In 1990, they formed the Capital Area Greenbelt Association to revive Manning’s vision. By 1999, the Greenbelt was essentially complete.

CAGA board member Shepler remembers when cars drove on the Paxtang Parkway. In recent years, he despaired over its deterioration. The parkway snugs into a kind of ravine along Spring Creek West’s meandering Paxtang tributary. Runoff from the forested hillsides and output piped from the Kline Village Plaza storm water system were washing away the asphalt walking trail. Erosion on the waterway was pushing back the creek bed almost to the point of touching the trail. Manmade features such as encasements around sewer pipes were deteriorating.

At one creek bend, Shepler pointed to a small hill.

“When I started this, many years ago, that little point was much more pronounced,” he said. ”I’ve seen that thing walk back maybe six to eight feet. All the soil was washed away. It’s all gone.”

Rapid erosion means that large quantities of sediment wash into Spring Creek, with its precious wild trout population, and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay, creating cloudy water that hampers the growth of underwater plants essential to young fish and shellfish.

In 2015, Shepler teamed with Todd Moses, an environmental restoration specialist with engineering and environmental consultant firm Skelly and Loy, to write a plan of preservation and protection.

“The Paxtang Parkway is a microcosm of the problems plaguing older urban greenspaces,” the plan noted.

Here to There

Conditions were detrimental to water quality and infrastructure, but restoration could offer “immense quality-of-life benefits” for residents with limited access to natural areas.

Phase 1 of the plan is underway this spring as part of the Greenbelt upgrades—a $500,000 project to stabilize the most egregious erosion sites. CAGA raised $60,000 from the Kline Foundation, Trout Unlimited, the city of Harrisburg, the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority and its own coffers to leverage a $490,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Skelly and Loy donated in-kind services for planning and funding pursuits.

“You have to start out with money,” Shepler said. “Nobody will give you any money unless you have money.”

Within the overall Greenbelt upgrades, the parkway project adds “another area where we have an opportunity to prepare and preserve the Greenbelt,” Shepler said. “It’s hard not to be excited about all the improvements.”

These improvements, kicked off in March by state and local officials, total $7.5 million. Along with the Paxtang Parkway streambank restoration, projects include:

Six intersections enhanced with such safety features as flashing lights, ADA-treated crosswalks and pedestrian crossing buttons. Shepler often takes children from the Boys & Girls Club on Greenbelt bicycle rides through Trips for Kids Harrisburg. “When you have a group of kids ages 8 to 16, crossing some of these intersections is really hairy, so I’m really happy about that,” he said.
A long-awaited connector from Wildwood Park to Fort Hunter. Pedestrians and bicyclists will avoid heavy traffic via a 1.5-mile path from Industrial Road, under Linglestown Road and along the river at Front Street.
Resurfacing near the PennDOT building on a former rail bed along Cameron Street between the Five Senses Garden and Paxton Street and from Rutherford House to Park Drive.

Along with the DEP’s $490,000 grant for the parkway project, the Greenbelt upgrades are funded with $5 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, $1 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, $230,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and $310,000 from Dauphin County gaming grants.

“You’re talking about a recreational resource from a biking and walking perspective, but it’s a community resource, too,” Shepler said. “People use it to get from here to there for various reasons, out of necessity and not just out of enjoyment.”

Not Tolerable

The parkway project also tackles the thorny issue of invasive plants.

All along the creek and in the woods, Shepler pointed to invasive plants, shrubs and trees. The tree of heaven is “really the tree of hell” for its aggressive reproduction and tendency to block nearby plants from growing. Japanese knotweed creates a tangled rhizome underlayer “that’s as impervious as concrete.”

It’s just a start, but Phase 1 plants reconstructed areas with native plants and funds planning for invasive plant control.

“The key word is ‘plan,’” Shepler said. “Implementing the plan, that’s a different story,” because control often requires the use of herbicides that only municipal employees—and not CAGA volunteers—can handle.

Still, it has to be done.

“If we don’t have native plants, we won’t have native insects,” Shepler said. “If they don’t survive, our birds won’t survive.”

Pointing to a meadow along the parkway that looks somewhat scruffy in the early spring but is planted with wildflowers and hosts a pair of bluebird boxes, Shepler has a message for those who like their nature manicured.

“Aesthetics, for some people, is the main issue, and we’ve got to get away from that,” he said. “It can’t be just about how things look.”

A couple with a toddler walked past, and Shepler said, “Hello.” Then he continued. “If it’s just about how things look, then kiss it all goodbye. It’s impossible.”

Future phases of the parkway project, it’s hoped, will reconstruct sewer casements and culverts, repave the trail and improve rainfall infiltration to reduce storm water runoff.

As many as 100,000 to 400,000 users, on average, enjoy different sections of the Greenbelt each year. Shepler believes that he and CAGA, an all-volunteer nonprofit, are at work for all of them.

“It’s saving a historic parkway,” he said. “If no one did anything about this particular problem, eventually it would have to be closed and a vital link in the Greenbelt would be gone. That’s not tolerable. It’s not something anyone wants to think about. We want to preserve and protect this valuable community resource.”

For more information about the Capital Area Greenbelt, visit www.caga.org.

Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA.

Green Days: Thanks Nat Geo, but please come back in a few years.

May 31, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck

Is Harrisburg really one of America’s “top-10” greenest cities?

According to National Geographic, it is. The stalwart nature magazine recently named Harrisburg as a top city in the nation for the amount of green space in its limits.

On a grass/dirt/tree basis, Harrisburg does do pretty well. The city is a mere 12 square miles, and tucked within it are several large, gorgeous parks: Riverfront Park, City Island, Italian Lake, Wildwood and Reservoir parks. Four square miles is water, similarly beautiful, with an abundance of wildlife and flora spreading across the Susquehanna River and over to Wildwood and Italian lakes.

I don’t wish to diminish this natural splendor or take away from the City Beautiful visionaries, 100 years gone, who are largely responsible for our bounty.

However, on a daily basis, Harrisburg doesn’t feel particularly green. In fact, it often seems quite the opposite—with block after block of asphalt and concrete, cars and hardscape.

This is because, while the city is abundantly green in total acreage, much of that natural wonder is confined to its edges, particularly near and along the river.

So, one can walk east, away from Riverfront Park, and encounter nothing but sidewalks, streets and curbs until, if you aim correctly, you might run into Reservoir Park a half-hour later. But you also might get stopped cold, since the lower part of the city and Allison Hill are mostly cut off from each other by the hard steel of railroad tracks and the imposing car canyon of Cameron Street.

Also, while Harrisburg’s parks are green, its streets are not. Its tree canopy is thin, its traffic-choked roads are forbidding and too many areas, particularly near Cameron Street, are loud, blighted and unpleasant.

So, we have a lot of work to do. But the good news is that the wheels are in motion for a much greener city.

As reported in TheBurg in April, Harrisburg is engaged in a multi-year effort to restore its tree canopy. Moreover, groups like Friends of Midtown, the Capital Area Greenbelt Association, Capital Region Water and others have long-term projects to help soften the landscape. Road improvements, such as the current 3rd Street corridor project and the proposal to turn 2nd Street back to a two-way flow, contain greening and traffic-calming components, which should make Harrisburg more livable and less auto-addled.

The most promising development is also the most ambitious.

In March, the state released the Paxton Creek Restoration Master Plan, which envisions a restored, more natural creek, banks and bed. That plan would free the waterway from its century-old, concrete tomb, turning much of the immediate area into parkland. This would add a vital strip of green to the center of the city, breaking up the harsh urban landscape and helping to tie together the city’s two opposing sections, now sliced apart by Cameron Street. The plan also would remove 133 acres from the 100-year floodplain, making the blighted brownfields in and around Market Street developable again.

Also in March, TheBurg reported that the Capital Region Economic Development Corp. (CREDC) had purchased 21.3 acres of industrial brownfields off of Cameron that once housed the sprawling Harrisburg Steel Co. Under the Paxton Creek Plan, that land will become part of the future Paxton Creek Park, a plan that the city is enthusiastically embracing.

According to the state, this plan will take four to five years of preliminary work before construction can even begin. But that would be a game-changer for a greener, more livable and more unified Harrisburg.

I feel a little guilty about the National Geographic ranking. I can imagine some wide-eyed eco-tourist coming here this summer, that beautiful Nat Geo picture of a lazy Susquehanna swimming in his head. Then he hits the light at Cameron and Market, stares at the trucks, traffic and post-industrial blight, and thinks to himself, “Am I in the right place?”

So, maybe, on paper, we’ve earned the title of green city, but, on the ground, we still have a long way to go. I just wish I could tell that disillusioned visitor that, yes, someday we will own that honor.

We finally will complete the painful, decades-long transition from smoke-belching, steel-making powerhouse to a small, clean capital city that complements its river, lakes and parks. It is fitting that the most radical evidence may be a free-flowing Paxton Creek, set off by a meandering strip of green, located in the hard heart of the city’s industrial past.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Community Corner: Notable June Events

May 31, 2018 | by Missy Smith

June Community Corner

Patio Party
June 1: Join Harrisburg Young Professionals for its “Kick Off the Summer Patio Party” at the Hilton Harrisburg, 1 N. 2nd St., 6 to 9 p.m. Come out to enjoy live entertainment, cocktails and a special food menu, while getting to meet with friends and fellow HYP members. For more information, visit hyp.org.

Free Shakespeare
June 1-16: Don’t miss the 25th annual “Free Shakespeare in the Park” event with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The Gamut Theatre production runs June 1-9 and June 13-16, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg. Visit gamuttheatre.org for more details.

Spring HBG Flea
June 2: Shop the HBG Flea for local art, vintage treasures and curated curios outside Midtown Cinema, 250 Reily St., Harrisburg, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit hbgflea.com for all the details.

Garden Day
June 2: Penn State Master Gardeners in Cumberland County will host Family Garden Day at the Penn State Extension office, 310 Allen Rd., Carlisle, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Explore and learn about birds, bees, animals and gardening, with free family activities recommended for kids in pre-K through elementary school. For more information, visit extension.psu.edu.

Fun Fest
June 2: Slate Hill Mennonite Church, 1352 Slate Hill Rd., Camp Hill, hosts its 5th Annual Community Hilltop Fun Fest, 4 to 8 p.m., rain or shine. Bring the whole family for carnival foods, kids’ activities, a petting zoo, games, a bounce house, prizes and more. Free parking is available at the Christian Life Assembly, 2645 Lisburn Rd. Visit hilltopfunfest.com.

Tour de Belt
June 2-3: The Capital Area Greenbelt Association will host its 18th annual Tour de Belt bike ride, which starts at 9:30 a.m. at HACC and follows the 20-mile Greenbelt trail. Lunch, a T-shirt and post-ride activities are provided to riders. Proceeds go to Greenbelt restoration and maintenance. Visit CAGA.org for all the details.

Art & Adventure
June 4-8: Carlisle Art Learning Center and Diakon Wilderness Center present an Art & Adventure Camp for kids ages 9-14, at the wilderness center. Outdoor activities include hiking, low ropes and high ropes courses and canoeing. Art projects will be interwoven throughout each day with thought-provoking projects utilizing nature. Get more information at carlislearts.org or diakon.org.

Family Fun Night
June 5, 19: Over the summer, New Cumberland Public Library will offer a free picnic dinner followed by a family movie in Foundation Hall on select Tuesday evenings beginning at 5:30 p.m., with the movie starting at 6:30 p.m. Titles for the movies are available in the library or by calling the children’s desk at 717-774-7822. Visit newcumberlandlibrary.org.

Health Fair
June 6: Brightwood Career Institute in Harrisburg will host a free Community Health Fair at the campus located at 5650 Derry St., Harrisburg, 2 to 5 p.m. The event includes refreshments, campus tours and a variety of health-related checks and activities for all ages, including weight checks, blood pressure checks and glucose screenings. For more details, visit brightwoodcareer.edu.

Women in Tech
June 6: The Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania presents the 2018 Women In Technology Awards Gala at Spring Gate Vineyard and Winery, 5790 Devonshire Rd., Harrisburg, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. For more event details and to register, visit tccp.org.

Mixer
June 7: Join the West Shore Chamber and other local business professionals at the June Afternoon Networking Mixer, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Home 2 Suites, 300 Bent Creek Blvd., Mechanicsburg, 4900 Woodland Dr. The event is free and open to chamber members. Visit wschamber.org for details.

Swords & Shakespeare
June 7: Start your summer with a bang and a clang at “Swords and Shakespeare: Scenes of Conflict and Combat,” at Central Penn College, 600 Valley Rd., Summerdale, 6:30 p.m. This free event features fight scenes from some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, including “Macbeth” and “Romeo and Juliet.” Visit centralpenn.edu for details.

Business Networking
June 7, 14, 21, 28: BNI Capital Region 1 invites business owners, tradespeople and professionals to its weekly networking breakfasts on Thursdays mornings, 8 to 9:30 a.m., at Dodge City Steakhouse, 2037 Paxton St., Harrisburg. More information can be found at bnidvr.com.

Summer Reading
June 7-Aug. 4: Sign up for New Cumberland Public Library’s Adult Summer Learning Club, “Libraries Rock.” Register online or at the library using the catalog computers. For more details, visit newcumberlandlibrary.org.

Color Run
June 9: Join in the fun at The Color Run Hershey, which will be held at Giant Center, 550 W. Hersheypark Dr., beginning at 8 a.m. Guests are encouraged to run, walk, dance or cartwheel their way through the larger-than-life course as they are doused in a rainbow of colored powder. For more information, visit thecolorrun.com/locations/hershey-pa.

Project for Dad
June 9: Kids ages 4 to 12 are invited to build a bird feeder for Father’s Day with Penn State Master Gardeners in Cumberland County at the Penn State Extension office, 310 Allen Rd., Carlisle, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Master Gardeners will also help children make a special card for dad and teach kids about different bird species. To register, visit extension.psu.edu.

Kids Club
June 9: Head to Harrisburg Mall, 3501 Paxton St. with the whole family for “Sing Along and Story Time.” Sofeya from Sofeya and the Puffins will sing and play kids music and interactive songs. Kids Club events are free and are held on the second Saturday of each month, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Visit shopharrisburgmall.com.

Bloom Fest
June 9: The Shippensburg Area Chamber of Commerce presents the “Bloom Festival,” 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in downtown Shippensburg, on West Burd Street in the borough parking lot. The children’s area is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with kids’ activities, music, crafts, retail and food vendors and more. For more details, visit shippensburgbloomfestival.com.

Celebrate Reading
June 9: Kick off Fredricksen Library’s summer reading program with an outdoor celebration at the library, 100 N. 19th St., Camp Hill, 1 to 4 p.m. Enjoy live music, a photo booth, crafts, face painting, balloon animals and more, and sign up for the library’s summer reading program for all ages. More information is at fredricksenlibrary.org.

Cancer Benefit
June 9: Head to Bucks Valley Winery and Vineyards, 333 Meadow Grove Rd., Newport, for the 4th annual “Toasting a Cure at the Vineyard,” benefitting PA Breast Cancer Coalition, 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will feature Alicia Richards from ABC27 as emcee, a wine tasting, live music, a cornhole tournament, silent auction, delicious hors d’oeuvres and light fare. Visit pbccbenefit.com.

Music & Wine
June 9-10: Enjoy listening to live music from national and local recording artists at the Dauphin County Music & Wine Festival, 4 to 9 p.m., at the Centennial Barn at Fort Hunter, 5300 N. Front St. Try free wine samples from Central PA wineries and explore craft and food vendors. Bring lawn chairs and picnic baskets. Outside alcohol is not permitted. Visit dauphincounty.org.

Kids Art
June 9, 23: Take the family to The Millworks, 340 Verbeke St., Harrisburg, for a free kids’ art workshop on the roof, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Enjoy lunch while some of The Millworks artists teach your little ones about different art techniques. Visit millworksharrisburg.com for more details.

Museum Night Out
June 9: Susquehanna Art Museum at the Marty and Tom Philips Family Art Center, 1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, will host “A Night at the Museum,” a festive gala benefit with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, 6 to 9 p.m. Visit sqart.org for details.

Plant Swap
June 10: Head to Fredricksen Library, 100 N. 19th St., Camp Hill, for a Community Plant Swap, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Bring as many plants as you would like to take home. Plants should be divided into containers in advance. Penn State Extension Master Gardeners will be on hand to assist. Visit fredricksenlibrary.org for more information.

Concert Series
June 10, 24: Harrisburg Young Professionals kicks off its free Italian Lake Concert series at Italian Lake, N. 3rd and Division streets, Harrisburg, with Mark DeRose & the Dreadnaught Brigade on June 10 and The Singer’s Lounge on June 24. Concerts are held from 6 to 8 p.m. Bring a lawn chair, blankets and snacks. Visit hyp.org for more details.

Garden Camp
June 12-Aug. 7: Penn State Master Gardeners of Cumberland County will host a Summer Garden Camp for kids ages 7 to 12 at the Penn State Extension office, 310 Allen Rd., Carlisle. There will be five sessions of growing, learning, hands-on fun on Tuesday mornings, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Get the full details and dates at extension.psu.edu.

CEO Roundtable
June 15: Harrisburg Young Professionals will host George Nahodil of Members 1st at its June CEO Roundtable Series at Ad Lib, Hilton Harrisburg, 1 N. 2nd St., 7:30 to 9 a.m. This ongoing series is for HYP members, featuring Harrisburg-area CEOs, who speak about their professional journeys and provide insight to young professionals. Visit hyp.org.

3rd in The Burg
June 15: Enjoy the best of Harrisburg during 3rd in the Burg, the monthly arts and culture event at galleries, restaurants and art spaces throughout downtown and Midtown. Check out all the action at thirdintheburg.org.

Butterfly Workshop
June 16: Penn State Master Gardeners in Cumberland County will celebrate National Pollinator Week with a Butterfly Container Workshop at the Cumberland County Extension office, 310 Allen Rd., Carlisle, in two sessions: 10 to 11:30 a.m. and 12 to 1:30 p.m. For all of the workshop details, visit extension.psu.edu.

Health Event
June 16: Black Girl Health, a women’s health outreach and awareness platform, hosts its annual Kickstart Health & Wellness Expo at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Harrisburg, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event includes access to health and fitness workshops, food, prizes and health screenings. Visit BlackGirlHealth.com for more details.

Summer Soirees
June 16, 30: The Art Association of Harrisburg will host two summer soirees at residences in Harrisburg, hosted by David Skerpon and Chris Baldrige on June 16, 5 to 8 p.m., and Mark and Sheri Bennington on June 30, 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Visit artassocofhbg.com for more information.

Father’s Day
June 17: Take dad to Hershey Gardens, 170 Hotel Rd., Hershey, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., to celebrate Father’s Day, with free admission for all dads. For more details, visit hersheygardens.org.

Business After Hours
June 21: Mingle with business professionals at Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC’s free networking event, hosted by Harristown Enterprises, Inc., 320 Market St., Harrisburg, 5 to 7 p.m. Visit harrisburgregionalchamber.org.

Civil War Days
June 22-24: Immerse yourself in local history during a three-day event focused on the Harrisburg area’s role in the Civil War. Go on a battlefield tour, visit a re-enactor encampment and enjoy socials, among other activities. Get more details at the Facebook page: Civil War Days Harrisburg.

Free Museum Day
June 23: National Civil War Museum presents its Community Free Day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join staff and volunteers to celebrate Civil War Days with a day of activities designed to present history in a fun and educational setting. Visit nationalcivilwarmuseum.org.

Day Camp
June 25-29: Wildwood Park, 100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg, will host Wildwood Way Day Camp for children ages 6 to 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Children will explore nature and the diverse wildlife at Wildwood Park. Registration fee is $135 per camper and is required in advance. Visit wildwoodlake.org more details.

Petapalooza
June 30: More than 30 rescues and shelters will participate in the 8th annual Petapalooza, featuring animals that need adoption. The event, with live music, food trucks, vendors, raffles and a “Parade of Pets,” runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Penn College, 600 Valley Rd., Summerdale. For more information, visit petapaloozaPA.com.

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