Tag Archives: City Island

In Play: This month, the City Islanders begin the 2017 season—and prepare for big changes ahead.

March 31, 2017 | by Kate Morgan

Burg in Focus: City Islanders from GK Visual on Vimeo.

Tiago Lopes is a man with a big personality and big plans for Harrisburg’s professional soccer team.

Lopes, 34, had his own career in professional soccer before leaving his native Portugal to work as a consultant with teams around the world. In 2014, he was invited to an exhibition game in Harrisburg. A few meetings later, he was moving his family to the United States to work as one of the youngest team presidents in the world.

“I was only 30 years old, and for me to be a president was quite remarkable,” Lopes said. “It was a huge responsibility, one I didn’t want to turn down.”

The City Islanders play in the United Soccer League (USL), a Division II professional league. The 30 teams from cities around the country are essentially soccer’s minor-leaguers. For many players, it’s the last stop before Major League Soccer or the U.S. National Team.

In his first year, Lopes, alongside head coach Bill Becher, led the City Islanders on what Lopes calls “a magical run,” storming through the playoffs and into the final. The next year brought another successful season, but, in 2016, Lopes stepped away.

Tiago Lopes

“Leaving was not an easy decision,” he said. “We were having a lot of success, with record fan attendance and a remarkable playoff run. But I felt at the time that the club was refreshed, and the groundwork was laid. I needed a little more time to myself and time with my family.”

Lopes stayed busy during his year away, enrolling at (and graduating from) Harvard Business School. As the 2017 season approached, it became clear he belonged back in the world of soccer.

“I realized I was missing the unique stress that comes with professional soccer,” he said. “That’s hard to explain, but you feel this unique pressure, and that’s something I love.”

He’s returning to a team coming off a difficult season. In 2016, the City Islanders lost star forward Aaron Wheeler to an injury halfway through the regular season schedule and failed to make the playoffs.

This season, Wheeler will be back on the field, along with six other powerhouse members of last year’s roster. They’ll be joined by Brandon Miller, the USL’s 2015 “Goalkeeper of the Year.” Head coach Becher foresees a successful season ahead for the more experienced team.

“We had struggles last year. It was a very young team,” he said. “This year, we’ve brought back a good core and added in guys with experience from around the league. I feel very good about what we’ve assembled.”

Becher is also glad to have Lopes—with his wealth of experience on and off the field—back in Harrisburg.

“He brings a lot of experience to the table,” Becher said. “He’s worked with clubs all over the world, been with some of the biggest clubs overseas, and I’m excited that now he’s back with us.”

Though soccer has long been the most popular sport in his native Europe, Lopes said he jumped at the chance to work in America’s burgeoning market.

“Soccer is the fastest-growing sport in the United States,” he said. “In many states, it is the No. 1 sport in terms of youth participation. That’s quite remarkable if you look back five, 10 years ago.”

For Lopes, that growth represents a lot of potential for Harrisburg’s home team, and he has ambitious plans to capitalize on it.

“You can look at the industry and see that there is an economic impact, a growth and a quality that is sustainable,” he said. “These kids who are playing the game right now will become, in 10 years, the consumers of soccer.”

It’s not just about the economics. In fact, for Lopes, the bottom line is more of an afterthought. He’s focused on more elemental principles: community, hometown pride and the love of the game.

“I always go back to my deepest roots; my love for the sport,” he said. “You have to love what you do. That’s truly important. I’ve played the game. I turned pro playing the game, and I have a deep relationship with the sport.”

Lopes wants the rest of the region to have the same relationship, which is why, he said, this will be the City Islanders’ final season before a bottom-up rebranding.

“It is our firm belief that we need to rebrand the entire club,” he said. “We need a new identity, new name, new everything. And this journey of rebranding is not to be determined by us. We want the community, the fans, everyone to participate and have a hand in what we’re going to create.”

To that end, Lopes said, the 2017 season will be full of community-outreach events and the establishment of new partnerships. Ultimately, the team plans to have 50,000 kids in the region playing on affiliated youth teams.

“We have to be more than a soccer club,” he said. “We have to be a community organization. We truly want fans to embrace a new story, something they haven’t heard or felt before, that will make them feel proud to be from this region.”

The other major priority, Lopes said, is constructing a soccer-specific stadium. Currently, the team shares FNB Field, City Island’s baseball stadium, with the Harrisburg Senators AA minor league team.

“By 2019, we would like to have that stadium built and be hosting soccer and non-soccer events, bringing thousands and thousands of families to Harrisburg,” Lopes said.

At the end of the day, Becher said, it’s all about inspiring pride and loyalty in the fans.

“We want to continue to get our dedicated fans in the seats and also attract new fans,” he said. “We’re confident that, when people come see us, they’re going to want to come back.”

The Harrisburg City Islanders open at home on April 15 at FNB Field in Harrisburg. For more information, including the 2017 schedule, visit www.cityislanders.com.

Author: Kate Morgan

Another Round: Let’s all toast the return of Harrisburg Beer Week.

March 31, 2017 | by Ann Beth Knaus

The craft brew scene has been bubbling over in recent years, with several new breweries and tasting rooms popping up throughout the midstate.

So, just when beer lovers didn’t think it could get any better, along comes Harrisburg Beer Week, which runs the last week of April. The event promises high-end connoisseurs and weekend beer warriors alike more events, new brewers, an expanded homebrew battle and the opportunity to take classes in the art of beer-making.

And did I mention drinking beer?

Now in its third year, Harrisburg Beer Week, the brainchild of Sara Bozich, Chelsie Markel, Colleen Nguyen and Tierney Pomone, has helped to promote local beer tourism by drawing visitors to the capital area for a chance to imbibe, celebrate, learn and support charity. From its inception, the event has grown greatly in participants and customers.

This year’s event features several new kids on the block, like a mini golf outing on City Island, as well as the usual fan favorites, such as the Little Big Beer Fest and Battle of the Homebrewers. And, throughout the week, there’s no end to the beer pairings, tap takeovers, brewery collaborations and firkin nights.

Dizzying Array

The fun starts on April 21 with a VIP kickoff party in a new venue—the historic Pennsylvania Room of the Harrisburg Transportation Center. But, even if you can’t make it there, numerous local bars, restaurants and breweries will host their own celebrations on that first night.

The next day is PA Flavor, the longstanding festival that matches our state’s homegrown food with natively brewed beer. One participant will be HACC, which developed a certificate in brewing science program last year, and Beer Week will help showcase the results.

“HACChiato, created by the students in our Brewing Science Program, will be spotlighted in collaboration with Zeroday Brewing Co.,” said Abigail Peslis, director of corporate and business services at HACC. “Additionally, we will hold mini brewing education sessions—‘Brewing Abridged’—on April 25, instructed by local brewing experts.” The classes will be held at HACC’s Midtown campus.

Next-door neighbor Zeroday will play host to a dizzying array of events. Its biggest event, “Freaky Friday” on April 28, is a switcheroo that will transform Zeroday’s tasting room into Carlisle-based Molly Pitcher Brewing Co., while Molly Pitcher makes over its tasting room into Zeroday, with each brewery’s respective libations on tap at the other place.

“This is the first year something like this has been done,” said Brandalynn Armstrong, Zeroday co-owner and Lindsay Lohan stand-in.

Zeroday also will feature a collaboration brew with Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. and Middletown-based Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works. The brewers worked together to design the recipe for the beer—“Marketing Gimmick,” a juicy, hopped saison—but will be brewing the same recipe independently with an official release on April 26 at the Midtown Tavern in Harrisburg. The new beer will be available for sale in the breweries’ tasting rooms, and guests will receive a punch card that is included in the Harrisburg Beer Week brochure. Customers who visit all three breweries during the week will get a specially printed, 32-ounce growlette.

“We really want to encourage travel to all three places,” Armstrong said.

Rich Heritage

Once again, Harrisburg River Rescue is the beneficiary of Beer Week proceeds. The organizers hope to top last year’s windfall of $40,000, which was double the inaugural year amount, to improve the rescue’s facility.

To that end, Garlic Poet in New Cumberland will offer tickets to its exclusive Chef’s Table Beer Dinners. These dinners will provide guests with the opportunity to eat and discuss the beer-making process, as well as meet Executive Chef Kurt Wewer.

The Garlic Poet’s sister restaurant, Grain + Verse Bottlehouse, located right next door, features more than 300 different craft beers. The unique bottle shop will hold a number of events, including the first-ever Tröegs beer trivia night, featuring a limited scratch beer to be tapped at the start of every round of trivia. Tröegs’ very own Ffej Herb will emcee the event.

“We have a rich heritage of producing beer in Pennsylvania, and this week celebrates it,” Wewer said.

Some new sponsors and features have been added to this year’s roster. Among the sponsors is Weis Markets, which will host events in the pub of its new flagship store on Valley Road in Hampden Township. Among the new events: the inaugural Mini Golf outing on City Island (hint: both putters and beer may be involved).

One of the most popular annual events, “The Battle of the Homebrewers,” has moved and expanded. It will be held April 23 at the Broad Street Market. Market vendors will be open during the competition, and 35 home-brewers are slated to participate for top prizes. Attendees will receive a commemorative tasting glass to sample the brewers’ creations and will be treated to live music.

“Beer Week is a wonderful addition to the area, and the organizers are truly dedicated to making Harrisburg a cooler, more worldly place,” Wewer said.

Harrisburg Beer Week runs April 21 to 29. For more detailed information and a full listing of Harrisburg Beer Week events, visit www.harrisburgbeerweek.com.

Author: Ann Beth Knaus

Past Ball: Negro League Conference comes home to Harrisburg.

January 31, 2017 | by M. Diane McCormick

“Giants Come Home,” a painting by Dane Tilghman, depicting Harrisburg Giants players throughout the history of the team.

In the late 1930s, Calobe Jackson, Jr., often went with his grandfather to City Island.

There, he saw players whose legends still live today—Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella, the colorfully named Double Duty Radcliffe. The baseball was tremendous, but even as a child, Jackson recognized the unjust premise behind it.

“We realized most of the Negro League players were good enough to make the Major Leagues, but we saw the discrimination,” he said.

As a Negro League baseball hotspot, Harrisburg hosted most of the greats, and, this July, the legacy will be relived as the city hosts the 20th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Research Conference. Also known as the Society for American Baseball Research Negro League Committee Conference, it’ll be the event’s fourth appearance in Harrisburg—the original host city—since its launch in 1998.

Study of Negro League history reveals “the evil of segregation and discrimination,” said Ted Knorr, the Harrisburg-area resident who founded the conference. The conference agenda includes speakers on teaching Negro League history in K-12 education as part of American history, not separated into the category of African-American History Month subjects.

“No baseball fan can tell me with a straight face that they know baseball history in the first half of the 20th century unless they have a good working knowledge of the Negro Leagues,” Knorr said. “Forty percent of the game was outside of the Major Leagues. The audience for this conference is not a pigeonhole. It’s anyone who wants to know the rest of the story.”

Like many great endeavors, the conference was born late at night, over beer. Knorr and colleagues at a Society for American Baseball Research conference—all members of SABR’s Negro League Committee—were sharing Negro League stats and stories. It was the sort of sidebar meeting that happened at every SABR conference, and one of them said, “We really should have our own conference focused strictly on the Negro Leagues.”

Knorr took the ball and knocked it out of the park. He organized the first conference, in 1998, in Harrisburg. Since then, it has rotated among other cities, including Kansas City and Newark, and returned to Harrisburg in 2000 and 2003.

The conference includes a tour of notable Negro League sites in and around Harrisburg. At City Island, attendees will see the diamond and home plate on FNB Field, which haven’t changed location since 1890. On 16th Street, they’ll see the still-standing home of Negro League legend Oscar Charleston—player, manager of teams including the Harrisburg Giants, and husband to the daughter of a Harrisburg minister. They’ll visit the Steelton grave of Herbert “Rap” Dixon, the first African American to hit a home run in Yankee Stadium.

When it comes to Negro League baseball, Harrisburg is “not quite Kansas City or Homestead, but it’s on the map,” said Knorr. According to Jackson, the city’s place in Negro League baseball dates to 1867, when journalist and educator Thomas Morris Chester and his brother founded the Harrisburg Monrovians, named after the capital of Liberia, where Chester had studied.

The Monrovians played a game against the Philadelphia Pythians—Jackson has the box score—and the Pythians are famous for being denied an application to play in the Major Leagues of the day, “one of the first instances of discrimination against black ballplayers,” Jackson said.

As a regional transportation hub, Harrisburg found itself in a sweet spot for Negro League play, said Jackson. Teams now legendary—the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the Homestead Grays, the Philadelphia Stars, the Baltimore Giants, including Campanella—found it easy to come to the city and play in the ballpark by the river.

“They remembered it because of the flies and the bugs,” Jackson said. “Nothing changes.”

Negro League history deserves study because it shows “how things have changed through the years and the opportunities that have come about for us through their vigilance,” said Jackson.

Although some 19th-century teams were integrated, a “gentleman’s agreement” late in that century blocked African Americans from Major League play, said Raymond E. Janifer, Sr., Shippensburg University professor of English and Ethnic Studies and a conference presenter. From there, Negro League history reflects the U.S. reliance on the Supreme Court’s “separate but equal” doctrine for legal cover that justified segregation, discrimination and Jim Crow laws.

Negro League games “were very well attended,” he said. “People went to those games saying, ‘Those guys should be in the Major Leagues.’”

American Literacy Corp. Executive Director Floyd Stokes worked with Knorr to develop a children’s activity book on Negro League history and will help present the conference. Negro League players “achieved great things,” he said. “Their stats, their history, their achievement is just as important as anybody else who played in the Major Leagues. They just didn’t have the opportunities because of the color of their skin.”

That, he added, is American history “that needs to be told. The stories need to be told because the young people just don’t know the great folks right here in our yard. Not just our backyard. In our yard.”

After panels featuring researchers, biographers and a 1950s Negro League player, the conference will wrap with an awards banquet, plus music by the Crawford All-Stars—a combo featuring a player whose father played Negro League baseball.

“This is family,” said Knorr. “Many of these people were there years ago, white and black, male and female, old and young. We still gather together to break bread and talk baseball.”

The Jerry Malloy Negro League Research Conference takes place July 27 to 30 based at the Hilton Harrisburg. To learn more, visit www.sabr.org/malloy.

Author: M. Diane McCormick

Giddy-up: City Island’s Newest Tenant Welcomed with Ribbon-cutting Today

November 21, 2016 | by Danielle Roth

South Mountain Carriage Company has operated at City Island’s Carriage House since May.

If anyone is looking to get rid of a sleigh, tell Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

City Island’s newest tenant could use one.

After successful summer and fall seasons operating out of City Island’s Carriage House, the South Mountain Carriage Company and Papenfuse officially cut the ribbon today.

“We love being here and hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do,” said Cynthia Michaud, co-owner alongside husband David Binner of South Mountain Carriage Company

Since May, South Mountain Carriage Company offers horse-drawn carriage rides around City Island, Riverfront Park and other Harrisburg neighborhoods from noon to dusk most Saturdays and Sundays.

“You both have brought such energy to the island. You recognize the wonderful asset we have here and I think that your perspective and your experience is contagious,” Papenfuse said to the owners.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse put out a public call for a sleigh, as the carriage company enters winter.

Papenfuse celebrated the installation of a new modern roof, costing the city and private funders more than $28,000 to install. The neighborhood group Friends of City Island played a crucial role in the renovation, Papenfuse said.

The previous tenant, Fred Lamke’s Harrisburg Carriage Company, left City Island’s carriage house in tattered conditions. The city booted the company in January after five years of unpaid rent and eight years of operating without a permit. The company accrued more than $6,000 of debt to the city since 2010 when the company stopped paying a $100 monthly rent.

Before South Mountain Carriage Company moved in, cobwebs, dust and dirt covered the barn. “You couldn’t even tell there were lights,” Papenfuse said.

Michaud said they spent more than 60 hours with a ShopVac cleaning up the space. Now, the space, cleaned up and organized, can comfortably accommodate their two draft horses and a miniature pony named Banjo on the weekends.

Now that the roof has been fixed, Michaud looks to improve the rest of the barn, provided they can raise enough funds. Michaud said that the windows need repairs, the walls could use fresh paint and lights need replaced.

Michaud and Binner have been operating in central Pennsylvania since 2014. The husband and wife team has five adult children, but no grandchildren yet.

“So we spoil our horses,” Michaud said.

For more information about South Mountain Carriage Company, visit their Facebook page.

Author: Danielle Roth

Buddy the Elf and Santa will reunite for Nov. 19 Holiday Parade

November 1, 2016 | by Danielle Roth

Halloween may have just ended, but Harrisburg is well underway in preparing for this year’s Holiday Parade.

The parade will step off at noon on Nov. 19 from City Island and follow a two-mile route through downtown.

The parade, with the theme of “Making the Season Bright,” will include Harrisburg High School and Central Dauphin marching bands, floats, vintage and classic cars and helium balloons. The city expects 10,000 people to attend the free event.

City of Harrisburg officials and partners announced the 2016 Harrisburg Holiday parade today.

From left to right: Megan Roby, City Marketing and Events Manager; Devan Drabik, City Business Development Director; Santa; Buddy the Elf; Mayor Eric Papenfuse; Jeffrey Briel, Sigma Resources; and Shawn Baile, PSECU.

Attendees will be entertained by local celebrities and musical acts, including No Last Call, Harrisburg’s “hit and run” street band. Characters from Cinderella, the Nutcracker and Star Wars will make guest appearances.

“This will be one of the best Star Wars displays in the midstate,” Mayor Eric Papenfuse said.

Nonprofit groups and community organizations can apply to participate in the parade. Applications need to be submitted by Nov. 4. Nonprofits and military units do not need to pay a fee to participate.

Parade-goers can take advantage of free parking sponsored by PSECU from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Market Street Garage. Attendees can use the code “LUVHBG” on the Pango App to get four hours of free street parking.

After the parade, festivities will continue in Strawberry Square, where children can visit Santa and his elf helpers. An awards reception at 3 p.m. will recognize the top step and drill teams, and high school marching bands will receive cash prizes.

The parade will cost $40,000 to produce, the amount split between the city and sponsors.

Author: Danielle Roth

Car Models: The beautiful, the sleek strut their stuff for Supercars on State Street.

June 30, 2016 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Not every exotic car show is a memorial tribute to a friend’s mother, but that’s exactly what motivated Evan Ross to start Supercars on State Street.

Ross, a 2011 Central Dauphin High School graduate now living in Florida, began the annual event in 2010 to benefit the American Cancer Society in honor of Patti Burkhardt, who lost her life to breast cancer at 42. She was the mother of Evan Ross’ close friend, Sarah Burkhardt.

“It’s a labor of love,” Ross said of the car show.

This year’s event, scheduled for July 30, features makes of cars—Maserati, DeLorean and Lotus, for example—not often seen on the streets of Harrisburg. The show quickly has become one of the largest exotic car shows in the northeast. Last year, 350 registrants hailed from 11 states, numbers that organizers expect to top.

“You typically don’t see a lot of Lamborghinis and Ferraris around Harrisburg,” said Ed Ross of Susquehanna Township, who organizes Supercars with son, Evan. “Other car shows in the area are for cars that are antiques, classics or muscle cars.”

Evan Ross never knew Patti Burkhardt because she died months before he and Sarah Burkhardt met as sixth-graders at Linglestown Junior High. What he did know, however, was that his young friend bore a painful grief from her mother’s early death that would never totally ebb.

Today, Sarah Burkhardt, a first-grade teacher in the East Pennsboro School District, carries memories of her mother that are warm and wistful.

“As soon as you walked into a room, my mom could make you smile,” she said. “She was the glue that held the family together. She was always good at bringing out the best in people.”

Passion for Cars

As teens, Sarah and Evan began taking part in fundraisers like car washes and the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk held each year on City Island to benefit the Patti’s Light Foundation, named in honor of Sarah’s mother.

Then Evan came up with the idea to hold a car show fundraiser that would benefit the American Cancer Society in Patti Burkhardt’s honor. Supercars on State Street was born.

“I just always had a passion for cars,” Evan explained. “It sparked my interest. I thought (the car show) would be fun and a surprise for Sarah with a check in her mother’s memory. I thought it could be something that she was involved with and not have to do a lot of work.”

Sarah said she didn’t know anything about what was happening until Evan told her to come to State Street one Saturday morning in the summer of 2010. That’s where she spotted 60 exotic cars lined up near the state Capitol complex for what was the first Supercars on State Street.

“She was shocked,” Evan recalled

“I was really surprised. I had no clue,” Sarah recounted. “Evan just told me to that I had to be at State Street. He didn’t say anything about a car show. He was just one of those people who was always there for me. It was just such an honor that he would do this.”

For the first year, Supercars on State Street raised $2,100 for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the show raised around $10,000, pulling in a total of more than $30,000 in its first five years. Ed Ross said he hopes this year’s show earns $20,000.

Ed Ross, who lives in Lower Paxton Township, said that he does most of the “local duties,” while Evan takes care of the show’s website from Florida.

“My son and I have always been interested in cars,” he noted. “We’ve been to a lot of car shows, so we had some idea of what it involved to organize one. However, a lot of cars shows are held at fairgrounds. They don’t have to deal with a lot of logistics that we do.”

Many Friends

The show runs on State Street from Front Street to 3rd Street, and on Front Street from Forster Street to the Walnut Street Bridge. For the first time this year, cars also will be shown on N. 3^rd Street from South Street to North Street, which includes 120 parking spaces situated near the steps leading to the Capitol.

One of Ed’s many duties is wrestling with several local agencies to clear parking for the event, which includes pre-show parking on City Island. This year, the job has been made a little easier, said Ed, because Standard Parking has become an event sponsor. Until now, the Rosses were forced to buy out parking meters in the area of the show.

Ed also makes the show’s trophies, which are comprised of a wood base topped with various used car parts. This year’s award categories will highlight five Ferrari classes, with the remainder being People’s Choice awards.

Over the years, the Rosses have made many friends through the show, including Adam Frank of Monroe Township. Frank said he helps out and has participated in the show for the past three years after first learning about it on social media.

“Today, I was passing out show flyers in the State Street area,” he said. “I like being at the show and seeing people from all over the country with their support. I heard that this is one of the biggest car shows on the whole East Coast. We love to do charity.”

Supercars on State Street takes place in downtown Harrisburg on July 30, noon to 5 p.m. Vehicle check-in runs 8 to 11 a.m. For more information, visit www.supercarsonstatestreet.com.

Color for a Cause: How one family’s struggle inspired the biggest race in the midstate.

May 31, 2016 | by Cathy Jordan

Noelle and Nicole Karnash

It started with the joyful news of a baby.

Twenty years ago, Nicole and Stan Karnash called their family to announce the birth of a healthy, beautiful daughter, Noelle. Six months later, though, something didn’t seem quite right.

“Noelle wasn’t looking toward my voice anymore,” Nicole said. “As time went on, I noticed she became—floppy—and missed developmental milestones.”

The couple called their pediatrician, and Noelle was diagnosed as delayed. She received early intervention but wasn’t improving.

With a second baby in tow, Nicole took Noelle to more doctors.

Noelle’s head wasn’t growing at a regular rate, and, at 2 years old, she had picked up a repetitive hand movement, constantly darting from mouth to hair.

“Feeding her became a nightmare because her hands were always in her mouth,” said Nicole.

Nicole and Noelle visited umpteen specialists before a correct diagnosis was made. A doctor stared at Noelle and said, “That movement with her hands—it’s stereotypical of Rett Syndrome.” That was just the beginning.

Getting to Yes

Rett Syndrome, named after the Austrian physician who first described the neurological developmental disorder, is a rare genetic mutation.

Found on the X chromosome, it’s the most severe disorder on the autism spectrum. Characterized by developmental regression, slowed head growth, distinctive hand movements and seizures, the diagnosis was clinical until the gene was discovered in 1999.

Through Rettsyndrome.org, Nicole met Kristy Kramer, a local woman whose daughter also had the disorder. Together, they kicked off the first Strollathon—a 1-mile walk to raise money and awareness—at Harrisburg’s City Island. Since then, Nicole has led four Strollathons, three galas and three Color Runs raising more than $500,000 for Rett Syndrome.

Wait—the Color Run? Yes, Nicole Karnash brought this 5K—one of the biggest races in the country—to central PA.

While playing Bunco one night in 2013, a fellow player mentioned that she had just completed a 5K in Baltimore called the Color Run. It sounded fun and exciting, but Nicole wasn’t sure if they would team up with a charity.

She filled out a form on their website, and they replied, saying that, even though they’re a for-profit organization, they prefer to partner with charities. The charity is paid for volunteers, keeps all sponsor donations and fees, and is eligible to receive money from ticket sales.

Nicole, along with the regional race director for the Color Run, visited the Farm Show complex, HACC, City Island and the Parkview Golf Course in Hershey (now a PIAA cross-country course). They settled on the latter because the adjacent Giant Center had the largest parking accommodations. Hershey, however, was concerned about traffic and the mess from colored cornstarch being thrown about the cross-country course. Ultimately, Hershey said yes, and Nicole’s real efforts began.

Towards a Cure

Starting from scratch, Nicole needed everything—sponsors, publicity, promotion. She also needed at least 200 volunteers for race day to work the gates, check in runners, hand out packets, throw color and toss prizes. Along the way, she had to continue explaining what a Color Run was and what Rett Syndrome was about. She heard the same question from Hershey, her sponsors and her volunteers: Would the tickets sell?

Sales opened, and the run sold out in seven days to 10,000 runners. They added Sunday, which sold out three weeks later to another 10,000.

“I didn’t expect that,” Nicole says.

She laughs.

“I had to be there Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. with the Color Run people,” she says. “I remember, as the sun was coming up, a gazillion Port-a-Potties arrived on trucks, and then all these people started trickling in.”

She was determined to make the run handicapped accessible. Noelle communicates only through eye-gaze and is locked in a body that won’t allow her to express her needs. Despite needing 24-hour care, she is still a happy, sociable young woman. She enjoys outdoor strolls in her wheelchair, swimming, going to movies and music. However, as Noelle has gotten older, her body has outgrown the kiddie rides and children’s activities she enjoys.

“Fundraising has been the avenue where our family really connects,” said Nicole. “There are so few things we are able to do together, as a family, with a disabled child. We all went tubing over the summer. Oh…it was so hard, but worth every effort!”

After the race, the Color Run guys brought all the girls with Rett Syndrome on stage in their wheelchairs. Nicole addressed the crowd about how the money raised is helping to achieve breakthroughs, including the cure of Rett Syndrome in mice.

Sadly, that following January, Kristy and her family were killed in a car accident in Pittsburgh. Their deaths—and the tragic loss of her mentor—hit Nicole hard. Though stunned, she persevered in her efforts to carry on with a second Color Run. A third event will be held this month.

Charities have called Nicole, asking her what she did to raise so much money. The answer is simple—she has a passion called family. She took her passion to a degree she didn’t anticipate and has no doubt that, one day, she will receive a phone call and hear someone say, “We found a cure.”

The Color Run takes places June 4 and 5 at the Giant Center in Hershey. For more information, visit https://thecolorrun.com/locations/hershey-pa.

To learn more about Rett Syndrome or to make a donation, visit www.rettsyndrome.org.

River Dance: There was a time when Harrisburg tripped the barge fantastic.

April 29, 2016 | by Olivia Cunningham

It’s May, which means that the Harrisburg riverfront again comes alive with walkers, bicyclists and runners, with summer festivals not too far behind.

The waterfront, though, was once a hub of nightlife, as well. A century ago, local entrepreneur George K. Riest launched his first dance boat, testing whether city residents wished to mingle and dance on the river. They did, in large numbers.

What began as a boat equipped with a small dance floor soon expanded to a former coal barge outfitted with a band shell at one end, a nightclub at the other and a dance floor in the middle. A 1940 article in the Harrisburg Sunday Courier reported that the boat, which launched every year on Memorial Day, carried thousands of dancers up and down the Susquehanna during summer months.

According to anecdotes and newspaper archives, the boat was docked at the foot of Locust or Market streets. For a dime, revelers could dance the night away. The dance barge would go up to either Harris or Reily streets, a distance of about a mile, and float back. When the water was low, it instead would moor off of City Island. Smaller boats might drift closer to better hear the music, which would be provided by one of the fashionable orchestras in the area, led by the likes of Dan Gregory, Kay Kyser, Ted Brownagle or Red McCarthy.

Kansas City musician Andy Kirk described the experience of performing on the barge in his 1989 book “Twenty Years on Wheels.”

“On one of our dates, we were afloat,” he wrote. “We played on a barge, Reese’s [sic] Houseboat, on the Susquehanna River. We’d start at 8 o’clock in the evening, move out into midstream, then return at 9:30. We played at the pier before shoving off, and after coming to port while passengers came on and got off.”

Harrisburg danced on the river for several decades. Riest operated the barge until 1934. The USO took it over during World War II and ran a “floating club” at the foot of Locust Street each night, the Courier reported.

Riest, an avid riverman who sponsored the Kipona boat races for 25 years, died in 1940 at the age of 46.

“He was best known as the proprietor of the string of boathouses that remained docked along the riverfront off Locust Street throughout the summer months and for the operation until 1934 of a popular river dance boat,” The Evening News reported in his obituary. “The greater part of his life was spent on the river, and he was one of the originators of recreation on the Susquehanna.”

The boat is remembered fondly, if infrequently. The Dauphin County Historical Society’s records consist of a slim manila folder with five sheets of typing paper, and most memories are anecdotal.

Rabbi Carl Choper first heard about the dance barge from a 100-year-old woman in the course of his work as a chaplain at the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg.

“She started telling me about life for young people in the 1920s in Harrisburg,” Choper said.

She told him that the youth of the city would gather in Riverfront Park or at the three local dance halls: the Madrid, the Casino and the Coliseum.

At least one romance was kindled aboard the barge. Ken Frew, a historian at the Historical Society of Dauphin County, said his parents first noticed each other across the dance floor. His father was playing trumpet in the Dan Gregory band, and his mother was out dancing with her girlfriends. Later, they were introduced at one of the dance halls downtown.

Fae Morrison, 88, remembered only photos and her husband’s stories of playing the piano on the dance boat with his band, Al Morrison Music.

“I was a little girl at the time, and I knew there was a boat, but I wasn’t allowed to go. I was too young,” said Morrison, who said she was 10 or 12 at the time the boat was popular. She and Al, whom she describes as “one of Harrisburg’s favorites,” were married in the 1950s.

According to historian Erik Fasick’s recent book “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River,” the barges also sometimes held events for children, including trips to the beaches on City Island and “kiddie hour dances.”

The early 20th century was a period of growth and development for Harrisburg’s riverfront, and Riest’s business sense served him well. The boat’s popularity coincided with city efforts to improve the steps at the foot of Locust Street and the walkways near the river, the Sunday Courier said.

The Susquehanna is still a focal point of recreation in Harrisburg. These days, however, sports—both individual and professional—hold sway over nightlife, making it difficult to believe that, for decades, an old coal barge carried happy dancers up and down the river.

Slow Me the Money: Millions, just out of reach.

March 31, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

Welcome to Harrisburg, Pa., site of the world’s slowest gold rush.

In this case, the gold is not the glittery stuff measured in one-ounce bars, but a $13 million pot of cash controlled by Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit set up as part of the city’s economic recovery plan.

It’s been nearly three years since the concept was unveiled, but Impact Harrisburg has yet to dole out a dime. Basically, it’s been a victim of its own awkward, cautious creation, which has resulted in a slow, bureaucratic creep that threatens to further delay the city’s recovery.

Back in 2013, Impact Harrisburg emerged as one of the more novel ideas of the state-sponsored recovery plan. The state receiver’s team rightly identified two areas—infrastructure and economic development—that could use additional, longer-term funding to get Harrisburg on track towards sustainable progress.

So, it took $13 million from the parking lease deal and dumped it into an account that would be controlled not directly by politicians, but by an independent, nonprofit corporation, which would make decisions on which projects to fund—and how much to fund them.

In theory, this sounded like a great idea, a creative way to avoid a Reed-style stranglehold over the city’s finances—and ensure that money that’s supposed to go to infrastructure and economic development actually does. In practice, however, things have not gone well, at least not so far.

The process of setting up the nonprofit, appointing the nine-member board of directors, getting the go-ahead from the Commonwealth Court and hiring an executive director ate up almost two years. Now, the group is undertaking the drawn-out process of creating application and decision-making guidelines. Once those guidelines are complete and publicized, it finally can begin accepting, considering and approving applications.

The delay wouldn’t be too disconcerting if the city didn’t need access to the money—its own money, by the way. But Harrisburg has decades of unmet infrastructure and other needs that are waiting to be addressed.

The city has identified several priorities for the money.

First, it wants $3.6 million for its ongoing, citywide streetlight upgrade. City Council approved this project last year to remedy the epidemic of streetlight failures, replacing traditional lights with long-lasting LED fixtures. Currently, the project is financed through a bank loan and backed by a guaranteed savings agreement with the contractor. The administration has said that paying for the project upfront would allow it to free up money that could be deployed elsewhere.

Secondly, the administration wants $3 million for matching funds that would allow it to access a larger, $6.7 million PennDOT grant. The nearly $10 million sum would fund a “multimodal transportation project,” which would improve several key roads in the city, including a few hazardous intersections on Allison Hill, and return much of N. 2^nd Street to two-way traffic.

Lastly, the administration plans to ask for $6.5 million for buyouts and remediation on behalf of residents of the sinkhole-ravaged 1400-block of S. 14^th Street. Interestingly, it plans to make this request from the economic development fund, not from the infrastructure fund, which already would be emptied by the streetlight and transportation projects.

Neil Grover, city solicitor and chairman of Impact Harrisburg, seems confident that the board can act quickly once its procedures are finally in place. He said that infrastructure money should be doled out before the end of this year. He also expects the economic development fund to be drawn down pretty quickly, by the end of 2018.

In general, I support Impact Harrisburg moving quickly to disperse funds once it’s finally able to do so. It’s particularly vital that it approve the $3 million match for the transportation project, which could be a game-changer for the city.

The lighting proposal is, in my view, of lesser concern, due to the city’s guaranteed savings agreement with the contractor. It’s a decent use of the money, but, honestly, those dollars could be used for countless other unmet needs, including water/sewer projects from Capital Region Water, which also is eligible to apply for funding from the infrastructure bucket.

The sinkhole remediation proposal is less convincing, as there’s little clear connection between economic development and turning a part of south Harrisburg into a grassy field. Nonetheless, the residents of S. 14^th Street have a real need and a sympathetic cause. Perhaps that money could be split, with some millions going to help the sinkhole victims and the rest for shoring up city-owned assets, such as the Broad Street Market and City Island, which are indeed important attractions and economic generators for Harrisburg.

Back in 2013, Impact Harrisburg seemed like a good idea, as did the thought that its fund would last at least five years. Time, though, has worn away its allure. It now seems more like a bureaucratic slog, an indirect, tedious way of giving the city back its own money—only minus some significant administrative costs (such as $100,000 a year for an executive director).

“I find Impact Harrisburg to be one of the greatest failures of the Strong Plan,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said recently.

That’s a strong statement, given the many now-evident shortcomings of that plan (parking revenue, anyone?).

Still, it’s a point well taken. What once seemed like a surprisingly fresh, innovative idea has not aged well, slowed to a crawl by process and procedure.

There’s gold in the hills of Harrisburg. Now, if only anyone could get his hands on it.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

We’ll Have Another: From firkins to pairings to contests–Harrisburg Beer Week is back.

March 31, 2016 | by Andrew Dyrli Hermeling

Last year, four local women put their heads together in an effort to rectify a grave injustice being perpetrated here in Harrisburg.

Despite boasting a number of critically acclaimed local breweries, the area was not celebrating the barley, yeast and hops concoction with nearly as much fervor as it deserved.

Thus, Harrisburg Beer Week was born.

Returning for its second iteration, Harrisburg Beer Week, which runs the last week of April, looks to build on last year’s momentum.

The founders—Sara Bozich, Chelsie Markel, Colleen Nguyen and Tierney Pomone—have brought in some fresh faces to help make the process of putting on a multi-venue celebration a little easier. But they’ve also stuck with what made last year’s fête so great–a commitment to raising funds to help make the city a better place.

Riding the Wave

Considering the success of last year’s Beer Week, doing it again this year was a no-brainer. And, while 2015 might seem hard to top, the founders didn’t hesitate to assess what worked and what could be improved.

“Our thought this year wasn’t necessarily to top the quantity of events (though that happened), but to fine-tune our key events and encourage venues and breweries to be even more creative,” said Bozich.

The biggest difference, added Nguyen, was they didn’t need to convince anyone that their idea was for real.

“Last year was such an overwhelming success that we are able to focus more on developing our fundraising effort instead of explaining what we’re doing and why,” she said.

Perhaps the best example of this increased energy can be seen in the changes made to one of last year’s best-received events, the Little Big Beer Fest, where brewers compete over who can make the best full-flavored and high-alcohol beer.

“The Little Big Beer Festival is going to be bigger and better,” said Markel. “More breweries, more collaborations and way more beers all created specifically for this event. This year, the breweries are competing against each other to see who can create ‘the crown jewel’ of LBBF as voted by event-goers.”

Expanding the Team

While the core of the Harrisburg Beer Week brain trust remains, the team has grown.

In addition to the four founders, Jimi Werner, Lauren McPherson, Asheleigh Forsburg and Chris Harvey have joined up. The need for more help serves as a testament to the enormity of planning Beer Week.

Werner, lovingly referred to as “intern Jimi,” has become essential for making sure the logistics are dealt with smoothly, although he readily admits that he’s learning as he goes.

“As Beer Week grew, so too did my role,” he said. “I went from running errands and folding shirts to writing our emails and working on social media strategies. That’s not to say I don’t still run errands. Someone has to do the grunt work.”

Harvey has come on board as a liaison with other home brewers. As a member of area homebrew club Sons of Alchemy, he provided the energy behind last year’s successful Battle of the Homebrew Clubs. Harvey now helps Beer Week strike a balance between established professional brewers and those exploring new beer frontiers in their kitchens and backyards.

This year, the competition is moving to FNB Field, a welcome expansion as far as Harvey is concerned.

“I have always envisioned being at City Island,” he said. “It’s an amazing venue, a great meeting spot between the East and West Shore. We will be on the party deck this year and will feature three food trucks, live music and over 50 beers being poured by local home brewers.”

Harrisburg River Rescue

Charity at Heart

Once again, the real heart of Harrisburg Beer Week—beyond celebrating beautiful brews—is raising money for Harrisburg River Rescue. Tony Reigle, who heads up fundraising for the organization, is excited about another opportunity to join as a partner.

“HBW certainly was a unique and innovative way to make deeper connections with the city and community that we serve,” he said.

The partnership also provided very concrete benefits.

“The monies raised during last year’s event were utilized to help offset the cost of building renovations,” Reigle said. “We expanded the bay areas for increased and more efficient equipment and apparatus storage, allowing decreased emergency response time.”

This year, Reigle hopes for an even better return, which would allow the group to expand its presence further.

“We hope to further renovate our building in order to be fully operational as a gathering place for community events and meetings, training center and emergency shelter,” he said.

Bozich is equally bullish on Beer Week’s fundraising ability.

“Last year, we were able to give Harrisburg River Rescue $20,000 and, while I’m hesitant to put out a specific goal number, I feel confident we’ll exceed that substantially this year,” she said.

In all, it seems that Harrisburg Beer Week’s planners are taking the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” to heart, with one small caveat—they aren’t afraid to do some tweaking. From the looks of it, Harrisburg Beer Week will once again bring two great things together: beer and community.

“By looking at our events list already, you can see that people not only ‘get’ it, but have embraced it and have really gone above and beyond to create interesting, fun and educational events that will get people out and about to support their community,” Bozich said.

Harrisburg Beer Week runs April 22 to 30 at venues throughout the greater Harrisburg area. For a full schedule of events, visit www.harrisburgbeerweek.com or the Facebook page.

On Tap

Harrisburg Beer Week is so packed with things to do that it’s hard to single out the highlights. Still, here are some of the major events:

VIP Kick-off Party, April 22, Appalachian Brewing Co., 5 to 10 p.m.

The (Maybe) 5k, April 23, Zeroday Brewing Co., 10 to 11 a.m.

PA Flavor, April 23, Farm Show Complex, 1 to 5 p.m.

Battle of the Homebrew Clubs, April 24, FNB Field, 2 to 5 p.m.

F’n Midtown Beer Mixer, April 24, Zeroday Brewing Co., 3 to 5 p.m.

Battle of the Brewers, April 26, Grain + Verse Bottlehouse, 4 to 10 p.m.

Harrisburg River Rescue Open House, April 27, Harrisburg River Rescue, 5 to 8 p.m.

Brews and Baseball, April 28, FNB Field, 6 to 8 p.m.

Little Big Beer Fest, April 30, Appalachian Brewing Co., 2 to 5 p.m.

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