Tag Archives: Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District

Go Downtown: New report focuses on amenities, progress of downtown Harrisburg

September 22, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Did you know that there are 55 restaurants and eateries in downtown Harrisburg?

That’s just one nugget of information you’ll learn from a just-released publication titled “The State of Downtown Harrisburg: 2023/2024.”

The 28-page, full-color report highlights the many businesses, projects and activities in and around the downtown. It’s a joint product of Harristown Development Corp., the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District and Visit Hershey Harrisburg.

“You don’t realize all the great things going on in the city until you bring them all together in this type of report,” said Brad Jones, CEO and president of Harristown.

The glossy publication begins with an introduction by Mayor Wanda Williams. It then segues into high-gloss photos and short explanations of downtown’s businesses, restaurants, shops, venues, attractions and medical and educational facilities, among other amenities.

The report includes a myriad of interesting facts, such as the number of downtown hotel rooms (over 620), theater and live music venues (12) and residential units (over 1,500).

“This report reaffirms the themes that VHH promotes to leisure guests, meeting planners and and sports and special events operators,” said Mary Smith, CEO and president of Visit Hershey Harrisburg. “Harrisburg is an exciting place to visit, stage and host vibrant and successful events.”

This is the third “State of the Downtown” report over the past decade, with TheBurg providing much of the design and production work for each one.

The 2023-24 version includes sections on the Harrisburg Arts District, the Harrisburg Mural Trail, the many office-to-residential conversions and the Harrisburg University and Soniqs e-sports teams.

Jones said that this publication is especially meaningful to Harristown, which will celebrate its 50^th anniversary next year.

“I’m sure there are even more fantastic things happening throughout Harrisburg,” he said. “This document gives a snapshot of all the hard work that is being done right here to revitalize downtown.”

Click here to view the digital version of “The State of Downtown Harrisburg 2023-2024.” Hard copies are available from Harristown by contacting Julie Shade at julieshade@harristown.net or 717-255-1038.

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Harrisburg brings back downtown al fresco dining for “Second Saturdays in the City”

July 5, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Outdoor dining in downtown Harrisburg during the summer of 2020

The need for social distancing may be behind us, but the appeal of al fresco dining has remained and is back again for the summer in Harrisburg.

The city announced on Wednesday that it would bring back outdoor dining downtown on N. 2^nd Street for three nights this summer, in partnership with the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (DID).

“We’ve heard a lot from people that they really enjoyed when the city closed down 2nd Street on the weekends for dinner during the pandemic,” said Mayor Wanda Williams. “Our businesses up and down 2nd [Street] have been tremendous, and we want to thank them for participating because we think this will give them a little boost in business for a few extra Saturdays this summer.”

Harrisburg first started weekly street dining in 2020, in response to the pandemic-mandated shutdown of indoor dining. The city re-launched the initiative for the summer of 2021, again offering al fresco dining every Saturday during the season.

After a year off, this summer’s “Second Saturdays in the City” will allow people to dine at several downtown restaurants in the street from 6 to 10 p.m. on July 8, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9.

Restaurants participating in the July event will include Arooga’s, Bacco Pizzeria & Wine Bar, Brick Haus, Café Fresco, Carley’s Ristorante & Piano Bar, Federal Taphouse, JB Lovedraft’s, McGrath’s Irish Pub, Palumbo’s and Stock’s On 2nd.

N. 2nd Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from Market to Pine streets, as well as Locust and Walnut streets up to N. 3rd Street from 5 to 11 p.m.

“There has been a demand to bring [street dining] back,” said Todd Vander Woude, executive director of the DID. “This is an opportunity for the restaurants to embrace their creativity and explore different dining options, while also allowing the community to enjoy great food in a unique setting.”

In the case of inclement weather, Second Saturdays will not be rescheduled.

For more information, visit Harrisburg’s website.

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Downtown Rebound: Harrisburg-based nonprofit helps PA towns envision a brighter tomorrow.

May 31, 2022 | by Norah Griffiths Johnson

Julie Fitzpatrick

For the past 35 years, a unique nonprofit has quietly been making a difference in hundreds of cities and towns across Pennsylvania.

Based in Midtown Harrisburg, the PA Downtown Center (PDC) is powered by a staff of urban and regional planners, preservationists and designers passionate about working with communities and community organizations to help them undertake strategic revitalization plans.

With PDC’s help, communities strive for such important goals as increased quality of life, sense of place, long-term sustainability and competitiveness.

Julie Fitzpatrick, PDC’s executive director, said that her greatest job satisfaction comes with helping communities progress in their revitalization goals.

“It’s not always about making it easy for them,” she said. “Sometimes, it might actually be about causing a ruckus because it’s about expanding and growing. But it really is about us helping them be the best versions of themselves.”

Fitzpatrick has been with the Downtown Center since 2005, assuming the helm in mid-2019 following the tenure of long-time executive director, Bill Fontana. During this time, she has built a national reputation as an expert in community revitalization and development, with a knack for connecting with people and helping communities and towns re-discover their own personal brand of magic.

Todd Vander Woude, executive director of Harrisburg’s Downtown Improvement District, said that he has worked with Fitzpatrick and PDC for many years.

“Julie has great knowledge of downtowns and other Pennsylvania communities,” he said. “She’s so easy to talk to and is great at connecting communities to help them solve issues.”

He then added, with a chuckle, “And she knows and remembers everything.”

Host of Services

At its core, PDC is a membership organization. Member communities can tap into a host of network-based meetings and educational opportunities—anything from governance training, financial review processes, partnership building, volunteer development and preservation basics to zoning, budgeting and events.

While communities don’t have to be members to work with PDC, the benefits are persuasive.

“Once you engage in what we offer, it’s just such a host of services and offerings that I really can’t imagine doing this sort of work and not plugging into us,” Fitzpatrick said. “It just helps so much.”

Due to the long-game nature of most community improvement efforts, the field is not for the fickle or faint of heart. Later this month, close to 300 people who have chosen to undertake this difficult work will convene at the Hilton Harrisburg for PDC’s annual conference and 35th anniversary celebration.

Vander Woude, who sits on this year’s conference planning committee, shared his excitement about the event.

“It means a lot to have the conference come here,” he said. “Harrisburg has a great story to tell. The city is really walkable, so we’ll be highlighting some great projects and can’t wait to share ideas and really tell the story of what we’re all about in Harrisburg.”

In addition to the many conference sessions scheduled and an awards dinner, attendees can take advantage of mobile workshops highlighting the city’s various redevelopment projects, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, murals, rain gardens and stormwater management solutions.

Garry Gilliam, founder and CEO of the Bridge Ecovillage (and a Harrisburg native and former Seattle Seahawk) will deliver the opening keynote on the critical role of investing in urban communities to achieving sustainability targets.

Author Philip J. Merrill, CEO and founder of Nanny Jack & Company, an African American heritage consulting business, will present a breakfast keynote titled, “Telling the Fuller Story.”

Wednesday’s closing luncheon will include a panel discussion by the 2022 gubernatorial candidates.

The PA Downtown Center’s tagline long has been, “Helping you make your town a better place.” In our conversation, Fitzpatrick stressed the community-based, ground-up approach critical to success in revitalization efforts.

“Most people who enter this field want to make a difference,” she said. “It’s not about the individual or their ego. It’s about collaboration, relationship building, incremental progress and patience. But with this type of work, you really do get out of it what you’ve put into it.”.

The Pennsylvania Downtown Center is located at 1230 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.padowntown.org or phone 717-233-4675.

The Pennsylvania Downtown Center’s 2022 conference and 35th anniversary celebration takes place June 26 to 29 at the Hilton Harrisburg, 1 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. For conference details, visit www.padowntown.org/conference. Readers of TheBurg can use the code BURG22 for 50% off the conference’s day registration rate.

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Stepping Out: TheBurg Podcast, May 2021

May 13, 2021 | by Karen Hendricks

Do you have a spring in your step?

Harrisburg’s street dining is back, with Saturday Nights in the City. Todd Vander Woude, executive director of the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District explains how dining alfresco may become a regular thing, post-pandemic, in the capital city.

The return of minor league baseball is major news for many. Kevin Kulp, president of the Harrisburg Senators talks about what it means to play ball once again.

May is when we see an uptick in tick activity. Whether you’re venturing out in your backyard or hitting the trails, your chance of coming into contact with a tick carrying Lyme disease is unfortunately on the rise in PA. Amy Tiehel of the PA Lyme Resource Network has tips on how to stay safe this spring and summer.

Plus: Lawrance Binda, editor of TheBurg, casts his vote for May’s “Most Harrisburg Thing.”

Because “there’s more to the story,” this episode expands several stories from the pages of May’s magazine: Dining to Return to Harrisburg Streets / Back in the Swing of Things / Lyme Lessons

DYK? TheBurg Podcast recently received two prestigious awards:

First place, Excellence in Journalism Award, Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter

Honorable mention, Keystone Media Award, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation

TheBurg Podcast is hosted and produced by Karen Hendricks, a lifelong journalist who also dabbles in PR/Marketing. Visit her website here.

TheBurg is a monthly community magazine based in Harrisburg, Pa.; Lawrance Binda, co-publisher/editor.

Interested in sponsoring TheBurg Podcast? Contact Lauren (lmills@theburgnews.com).

Meet some of the Harrisburg area’s most fascinating people, and hear their own authentic stories, expanded from every month’s magazine, on TheBurg Podcast—because there’s always “more to the story.”

Calling All Artists: Sprocket Mural Works welcomes hometown talent for upcoming Harrisburg Mural Fest

April 29, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Artist Aron Rook works on a recent mural at the new location of Zeroday Brewing Co. in Harrisburg.

Are you a local artist? If so, Sprocket Mural Works wants to hear from you.

The Harrisburg-based mural arts group today issued a “call for artists” for the 2021 Harrisburg Mural Festival, which takes place this summer.

Artists are invited to apply online at sprocketmuralworks.com/call-for-artists-2021 beginning May 1. The deadline to apply is May 31.

The festival will be Sprocket’s third biennial event. Projects include celebrating Black lives through mural art, reconfiguring the unused Patrick Alley into a mural-lined pocket park, and transforming the Mulberry Street Bridge with murals—pending additional fundraising.

“Additionally, we are excited to announce a special new mural project—with the nonprofit Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg—being added to the summer festival lineup,” said Megan Caruso, Sprocket co-founder.

A fundraising campaign for Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg’s new mural launches in May, which is National Bike Month, on both organizations’ social media platforms and websites, sprocketmuralworks.com and rbhburg.org.

“We adore Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg and their work in the community,” Caruso said. “They are a worthy organization, and we look forward to making their new home on Allison Hill more beautiful with vibrant art. This project is a special one for us—one of Sprocket’s first murals was located at their previous Uptown location.”

The focus is on hometown artists, for the 2021 Harrisburg Mural Festival’s first project launch in May, according to Sprocket.

Harrisburg-based artists will paint 15 large, rectangular planters on Derry and Market streets in the Allison Hill neighborhood as a summer beautification project in partnership with Tri County Community Action.

In the past, Sprocket has painted planters and electrical boxes downtown in cooperation with the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.

Sponsorships by businesses of all sizes, grant-writing and fundraising campaigns are underway, and donations are welcomed, Sprocket stated. Businesses and corporate donors interested in sponsoring summer murals can contact Sprocket at hello@sprocketmuralworks.com.

The festival’s budget includes artist stipends and supplies—paint, canvas, paintbrushes, insurance and lifts that allow access to mural locations. Each gallon of durable, highly pigmented mural paint costs $165, according to Sprocket.

For more information, visit sprocketmuralworks.com.

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Dining to return to Harrisburg streets with re-launch of “Saturday Nights in the City”

April 20, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Diners crowd N. 2nd Street in Harrisburg during last summer’s “Saturday Nights in the City.”

Harrisburg’s restaurants may have reopened, but one pandemic innovation will return for a second year—dining in the city’s streets.

For a second straight year, Harrisburg will close several downtown streets to traffic so that patrons can enjoy dining al fresco. Conoy Street in Shipoke also will close.

“We are pleased to bring back this summer initiative,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “I encourage residents to come support their favorite restaurants.”

“Saturday Nights in the City” re-launches on May 1 and is slated to run each Saturday throughout the summer, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The initiative, shared by the city and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID), began last year in response to the pandemic-mandated shutdown of indoor dining.

Most restaurants have now reopened, with the commonwealth recently permitting 75% maximum capacity for indoor dining, as well as bar service. However, the city and the HDID deemed the program to be a success, so decided to bring it back with the return of warmer weather.

The list of participating restaurants includes Stock’s on Second, Carley’s Ristorante and Piano Bar, Ad Lib Craft Kitchen and Bar, Bourbon Street Saloon, Zembie’s, Arooga’s, Taste Key West, Cork & Fork, Federal Taphouse, Rubicon, Mangia Qui, Los Tres Cubanos, JB Lovedraft’s, McGrath’s Pub, The Brick Haus and Café Fresco.

For the weekly event, a number of streets will close. These include:

2nd Street, from Market to Pine streets
State Street, from Church to N. 2nd streets, westbound
North Street, from Susquehanna to 3rd streets
Conoy Street

Street closures will begin at 3:30 p.m. and run until 10 p.m., the city said.

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Year in Review: TheBurg’s most popular stories of 2020, click by click

December 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

It’s that time again.

Each year, during the final week, we take a look back to our most-read online stories and share what got the most clicks, views and reads.

We post all of our copy online, including our magazine features. However, our most popular online articles tend to be those that we publish as web-only.

And so it was for 2020. The most-read list was dominated by local business and development stories, with a heavy dose of COVID thrown in (more on that below), resulting in the most page views in our 12-year history.

So, assuming you can stomach a quick review of this universally loathed year, we present our most-read online stories, in reverse order.

No. 10. Poetic Departure. In April, our arts writer, Bob MacGinnes, penned a blog post that showed just how fast life can change. A few months earlier, he had written with great admiration of local poet Joe O’Connor after attending a book reading at One Good Woman in Camp Hill. O’Connor died several months later, an early victim of the coronavirus pandemic. Bob’s subsequent tribute to Joe was widely shared, resulting in our No. 10 story of the year.

No. 9. Vitriol & Video. Outside of COVID, only one bona fide hard news story broke into our top-10 list this year—an early November confrontation between a Shipoke resident and a city police officer following a noise complaint. Mayor Eric Papenfuse released police bodycam footage of the incident, saying it exonerated the officer. However, some residents believed differently and circulated a petition calling for the officer’s ouster. Late in the year, several neighborhood groups joined forces to appeal for understanding and ask residents to try to resolve disputes without involving the police.

No. 8. FireHouse Redux. For years, the FireHouse was one of the most popular restaurants in Harrisburg, located in the historic Hope Fire Station on N. 2^nd Street. It closed in mid-2019, but, after some updating, reopened last summer under new ownership. We broke the story of the reopening, including what the new operators said they planned to offer to customers.

No. 7. Fit for a Queen. If we’ve learned anything from our annual lists, it’s this–Harrisburg likes its food. Every year, restaurant stories take at least a few top spots. Case in point: an early January story on Queen’s BBQ & Southern Cuisine, as it opened for business. A few months later, we doubled down by publishing a magazine feature on Queen’s, but it was this original news story that scored big page views with online readers.

No. 6. Hudson Revival. Development proposals often rank high on our annual list, and so it was for a June story that the long-blighted Hudson Building had been bought. New owner Adam Maust told TheBurg that he wants to turn the cavernous structure into a mixed-use building, with proposed amenities for the Camp Curtin community.

No. 5. Who Moved My Beer? At about this time last year, we learned that Harrisburg’s homegrown brewery, Zeroday Brewing Co., planned a big move to the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street. We finally broke the story on Leap Day, not knowing that, soon enough, this project, along with the rest of life, would come to a screeching halt. The good news is that the build-out revved back up in late spring and now is slated for completion in early 2021.

No. 4. Eat Your Veggies. A big shout-out to Stefan Hawkins, who’s responsible both for this popular story about his new restaurant, House of Vegans (along with co-owner Laquana Barber, also pictured), and also for our No. 2 story below. This story was the only magazine feature that we published in 2020 that also made our top-10 most-viewed online list. What else do you have cooking, Stefan?

No. 3. Street Eats. As both the weather and the pandemic heated up in late May, the city and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District announced plans to close down much of 2^nd Street for outdoor dining on Saturday nights. This news story was the first of several on the welcome al fresco event, which proved a popular option through September as restaurants remained closed.

No. 2. A Cup & a Read. An early October news story featured a plan for a Black-owned coffee/tea shop and book venue called Good Brotha’s Book Café in Midtown Harrisburg. Expect the grand opening in early 2021, again thanks to serial entrepreneur Stefan Hawkins.

No. 1. Nothing but COVID. This year, we had to break our normal ranking rules, actually smash them to bits. In truth, seven of our top 10 stories (and 15 of the top 20) were all coronavirus-related, mostly detailing the grim daily numbers during the first few months of the pandemic. We’re wrapping up those stories into this single entry for the sake of simplicity—and everyone’s sanity. But, in case you really want to read our actual, No. 1 news story for the year, here it is from early April, some 600,000 diagnoses ago, when we were shocked–shocked–that PA could possibly have 10,000 total COVID cases.

Honorable Mention: In the news biz, a late-breaking story sometimes ruins the best of plans, and with just three days left in the year, TheBurg reported on Monday that a Harrisburg resident has a plan to turn the local landmark, “Carpets and Draperies” building, into a small apartment building. This story quickly gained thousands of page views and could break into the top 10 by New Year’s Eve, earning it an honorable mention here for 2020.

For a different take on 2020, our editor will have his annual list of top local news stories in the January magazine, which drops on Dec. 30. Does his list differ from that of our readers, who voted with their clicks? Return on Wednesday to find out!

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Harrisburg plans for virtual New Year’s Eve celebration, countdown

December 1, 2020 | by Maddie Conley Gittens

A past New Year’s Eve celebration. Photo: ExploreHBG

This year, Harrisburg is hoping residents ring in the new year at home.

The city’s in-person New Year’s Eve celebration was dropped this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they’re opting for a virtual celebration.

There will be a virtual countdown to midnight featuring “iconic Harrisburg locations and organizations,” the city’s website said. They are inviting members of the community and businesses to submit short videos to be included.

There will be no live fireworks, but rather, a video compilation of fireworks from past years.

On Harrisburg’s website, families can reserve free balloon drop kits to celebrate with at home. There will also be a countdown video for the kids, featuring the Harrisburg Senators’ mascot, Rascal.

Harrisburg will compile a list of local restaurants’ dining and takeout options, as well as any specials they are running for the holiday, Megan Roby, the city’s director of special events said.

The event is sponsored by Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, Explore HBG and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.

In past years the city would celebrate New Year’s Eve with a large gathering downtown, including music and dancing. The tradition was to drop a giant strawberry from the top of the Hilton Harrisburg, followed by fireworks.

This year, COVID changed the plans, as it did to many of Harrisburg’s other holiday celebrations. Most recently was the Reverse Holiday Parade on Nov. 21. In their vehicles, spectators drove by parade participants stationed on City Island.

For more information on Harrisburg’s New Year’s Eve Celebration, visit https://harrisburgpa.gov/nye/.

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Walls of Hope: Despite COVID, Harrisburg has five new murals to gaze upon

November 30, 2020 | by Ayanna Totten

While COVID-19 and social upheaval continue to ravage the nation, Harrisburg artists are atop scissor lifts and three-story walls to restore joy through the city’s well-known medium: murals.

Most of 2020 has been a dry spell for art in Pennsylvania’s capital, but it was a matter of timing and opportunity.

Through collaborations with Make Something, Zeroday Brewing Co., Harristown Enterprises and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID), Sprocket Mural Works was able to produce five new murals between September and October.

“Public art has always been proven to be a sign of a healthy city,” said Megan Caruso, Sprocket president and co-founder. “The whole point of why we’re doing this is to make people feel good and make people proud.”

Artist Samantha Sanders kicked off the season in late September, painting a mural in the rear courtyard of Zeroday Brewing Co.’s future location in Midtown. October started with Steve ESPO Powers’ mural, an extension of his Early Bird Vote project with Make Something.

Then, as part of HDID and Harristown Enterprises’ partnership with Sprocket, three murals were painted along Blackberry Street by artists Dizz Gavins, Tara Chickey and Emily Matusz.

“As we become an even more attractive destination, these murals really add a level of interest that most communities don’t have,” said Brad Jones, president and CEO of Harristown.

The artists, some of whom have worked with Sprocket previously, had significantly different creative visions and were eager to undertake a new challenge.

Samantha Sanders

Found right off N. 3rd Street, Sanders’ mural for Zeroday Brewing Co. is an autumnal forest scene highlighted by a neverending creek that bends space and time.

The piece was Sanders’ first solo mural, presenting the opportunity to further explore her plant-based art style.

“It’s kind of like getting a college degree in all of eight days,” Sanders joked.

Sanders wants the mural to transport visitors beyond the courtyard. The creek, inspired by the hometown waters she played in with her niece, doubles as a trail, and all the elements are born from the sun, making the mural seem bigger than it is.

Steve ESPO Powers

Splashed along the 1000-block of N. 3rd Street is Powers’ mural. In contrast to the season’s other work, his piece is more of a community tribute.

“He’s a fickle cat,” said Aaron Rose, Make Something co-founder. “He doesn’t like to give up too much information about what he’s going to do before he does it.”

In an Instagram video posted by Juxtapoz Magazine, Powers explained how the mural became a diary of his conversations with the community. Specific elements, such as the hair clippers and Chinese takeout container, represent local businesses.

Dizz Gavins

Gavins’ mural is a melting, multicolored wall that stays true to his “dripped gawd” moniker.

Finding his niche through doodling, Gavins began experimenting with texture and the “drip-style” in 2008, and it took a life of its own.

Like much of his work, the mural isn’t intended to convey a specific message.

“It’s just there to help you explore your own creativity,” he said. “So, whatever I created is not necessarily what somebody else sees.”

Tara Chickey

Chickey’s mural is an abstract landscape inspired by dreams and travel memories.

For example, the geometric shapes at the bottom represent a motif she discovered on the edge of a cliff in Iceland.

She also reimagines landscapes through vibrant color selections.

“I think it’s because I have a 4-year-old daughter, and she’s just full of joy and vibrancy,” said Chickey “And even in this dark time, she brings such beauty to my life.”

Chickey hopes her mural holds the same joy for others.

Emily Matusz

Defined by the unwavering glare of a peregrine falcon, Matusz’s mural is an ode to a nearby treasure. For 20 years, falcons have nested in the same spot on the 15th floor of the nearby Rachel Carson building.

The mural is sharp, veering away from abstractions and reflecting Matusz’s background in realism and digital illustration.

However, she also hopes the mural raises environmental concerns.

“I just want [people] to feel at ease, more connection to nature,” Matusz said. “Who knows how long those falcons will perch out there?”

Looking Ahead

Sprocket’s next project is an indoor mural at GLO-Harrisburg, a community resource center for LGBTQ+ men of color and trans women of color. The mural will be painted by Dionn Reneé, an artist who has been longing to create a larger piece with Sprocket.

Reneé’s approach to the GLO mural considers the community’s values first.

“I look at: Where’s their heart? What is their purpose?” she said. “Developing a concept and theme and color story for them is going to be based off of…the heroes. What are they fighting for?”

Aware of the exclusion that sometimes occurs among different sectors of the LGBTQ+ community, Reneé hopes her completed mural promotes inclusion, empowerment and encouragement.

Caruso explained that the remainder of 2020 will be dedicated to finding new walls and funding, then there will be a call for artists in spring for the 2021 Harrisburg Mural Festival.

The plan is for more murals to go up, but the process might look different due to COVID-19. An outdoor mural festival might not be possible because of the high number of attendees, and the small businesses that normally contribute to Sprocket are recovering from financial losses.

“So, our plan is to do our best, fundraise, shoot high, and see where we land,” said Caruso.

Sprocket Mural Works is planning a summer 2021 Harrisburg Mural Festival, with fundraising efforts beginning on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 1, with tax deductible donations welcomed. For more information about Sprocket or to contribute, visit www.sprocketmuralworks.com and follow @sprocketmuralworks on Instagram.

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Harrisburg soon will have 5 new murals to add to cityscape, mural trail

October 18, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A new mural by Dizz Gavins (left) complements an existing mural along Blackberry Street.

During these pandemic days, we all can use more color in our lives.

Fortunately, Harrisburg residents soon will have five new murals to help cheer them up even as the cold and dark of winter approaches.

The mural action started late last month, when artist Samantha Sanders brought bright colors and a beautiful landscape to a wall off of James Street, just behind N. 3^rd Street, in a rear courtyard for the future home of Zeroday Brewing Co.

Artist Samantha Sanders last month at work on her mural.

The projects continued in early October when renowned Philadelphia-based muralist, Steve “ESPO” Powers, working with the arts group, Make Something, used inspiration from the community to paint a wall on the 1000-block of N. 3^rd Street.

Steve “ESPO” Powers used community suggestions for his whimsical mural.

And, now, three more murals are going up downtown, under the auspices of Sprocket Mural Works and in collaboration with Harristown Enterprises and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID).

Those three murals are all along Blackberry and Dewberry streets, two alleys off of Market Street. They’re being painted by York-based artist Dizz Gavins, Gettysburg-based artist Emily Matusz and Harrisburg’s own Tara Chickey.

“We are extremely excited to have these three local artists add to the portfolio of work in our neighborhood,” said Todd Vander Woude, executive director of the HDID.

The murals by Sanders, Powers and Gavins are completed. Matusz began work on her mural last week, and Chickey will start her project this week, said Brad Jones, Harristown’s president and CEO.

“Our partnerships with the Downtown Improvement District and Sprocket Mural Works strengthen and beautify our community,” Jones said. “With the addition of these three murals, Blackberry Street will now become a central corridor for the mural trail.”

Artist Emily Matusz works on her mural on Blackberry Street beneath the Chestnut Street parking garage.

The McCormick Foundation has also contributed to some of the projects, Jones said.

Over the past few years, Sprocket has painted, commissioned and collaborated on some 85 mural projects in the greater Harrisburg area. This includes two, 10-day long mural festivals that resulted in dozens of works of new art throughout the city.

“Murals promote a sense of identity, belonging and attachment, strengthening community identification,” said Megan Caruso, Sprocket president and co-founder.

For more information about Sprocket Mural Works, visit their website.

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