Pennsylvania Arts -- Creative Opportunities for Young People

The remarkable thing about creative expression is its resilience. Before you've learned how to multiply and divide, you have the ability to tell a story. Long after your blurry vision has forced you into a pair of reading specs, you can write a poem. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that believed in early artistic training. My sister and I were taking piano lessons before we were tall enough to ride a roller coaster. Every summer we took arts and crafts classes that taught us how to create things in different media. It took a long time to finally figure out what kind of career I really wanted to pursue. But in my professional life, I've continued working to help promote creative educational opportunties for young people.

These efforts led to my involvement with the Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School in Philadelphia. Years after helping to found this school, I am now seeing the tremendous fruits of that labor. Next week we are having a party to celebrate our students' accomplishments and introduce them to professionals from a wide variety of careers. The reception will be held in the Suzanne Roberts Theater on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts on Monday, March 2 from 6-8 PM. Youth musicians from MBA will be performing that night. They call themselves the Barking Bulldogs. I can't wait to hear them. Tickets are $25 and proceeds go towards helping the school provide college scholarships, technology and educational programs for students in 6th through 12th grades. Come out and help us celebrate!

Local Color -- Polar Bears in the Poconos

Today was the day for a real Pocono treat. Before I had my coffee I could hear the chain saws humming in the mournful key that tells you someone is cutting ice. Since the top two or three feet of Henning Pond was frozen solid, the saws groaned for about an hour as they sliced out a slab big enough to let the Polar Bears jump into the water. This year the Polar Bears included about 30 crazy swimmers decked out in nutty costumes. The real festivities began at about 1 PM when the first candidates leaped into the water. There were lots of older guys who obviously spent the winter growing nice big beer bellies. Then there were some younger guys dressed as Blue Man Group and a few teenage girls in tutus and bikinis. A bunch of little kids in front of me kept yelling: "Do a belly flop, we want to see you throw up!" There were lots of bellies and a few belly flops. But the crowd did not get to see anyone throw up.

Tourism Around Pennsyl Pointe -- Pottsville, PA

Parking lots at the local restaurants were overflowing last night. The bars are packed with skiers and holiday tourists toasting winter's final 3-day weekend. The slopes of Big Boulder and Jack Frost are full, even though my once white lawn is beginning to show some grass around the edges. When the tourists take over my favorite local spots, I like to get out of town and be a tourist elsewhere. Today I'm taking a ride to Schuylkill County to see an art exhibit in Pottsville at the newly renovated Many Worlds Gallery. It's a nice day trip from Pennsyl Pointe. Last month I wrote an article on winter day trips. Here's a link to the piece which appeared in Blue Mountain Moments, a Carbon County publication. I'm hoping today's trip gives me a little material for my next piece.

Writing in the Pocono Snow

Snow. It’s coming. White, fluffy, thick, heavy. It’s down batting over concrete. Where’s the sidewalk, the road? It’s comprehensive. Birds hide, Trees shake. Cars and fences disappear. It’s blameless, pure -- absolution for the city, adornment for the woods. It’s a school day on the couch, hot chocolate and cartoons. It’s a back ache, a collision, wet shoes. At night, it's a blanket that quiets the streets and sweeps our dirt beneath a pristine rug. By Sunday, it will be an urban memory, drowned in slush. But in the Poconos, it’s a tale that never ends. A childhood friend, an engine’s enemy. Whatever it is, it wakes me up and moves my pen.

Conversations with Pennsylvania Artists

Last week I spent a great evening talking with some creative artists from around the region. It's amazing how every artistic medium is changing in response to the growth of the Internet and its many communication tools (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Like online technology, our conversation moved very quickly and in a thousand different directions. One result of our chat was that I made a commitment to learn more about the online works my friends are developing. Click here for a link to a blog for Angie Jordan, who happened to be part of this conversation. I confess that she is my cousin, but she is also an award winnning artist and a pioneer in the field of digital caricatures. Michelle Gallagher, a Carbon County writer was also there. We're both looking forward to my writing workshop in Jim Thorpe next Sunday. Check out the flyer -- Angie used her gifts to create my logo!