July 1998 Press Releases

For Immediate Release
July 1998 Press Releases

Electric Factory Concerts Presents Dave Matthews Band
In 1998 Summer Concert Series

Hershey, PA – Dave Matthews Band, presented by Electric Factory Concerts will perform at Hersheypark Stadium on Wednesday, July 29, 1998 at 7:00 p.m. An opening act for the band will be named at a later date.

Tickets for the show at Hersheypark Stadium are presently on sale at Hersheypark Arena Box Office 534-3911 and at all Ticketmaster locations 693-4100 including Hecht’s and Boscov’s. Ticket prices are $29.50 for both Reserved and General Admission.

Echo Valley Art Group Annual Exhibition offers Alphabet Soup

Lancaster, PA – The Echo Valley Art Group will present their annual exhibition July 31-September 13 at the Lancaster Museum of Art. The Echo Valley Art Group was founded in 1945 on the Cleves Dodge farm "Echo Valley" located south of Neffsville. Peggy Dodge and several other friends met weekly in a farm building to study art. Local artists have continued to join the Echo Valley Art Group to present their works in group exhibitions and to share ideas, techniques and experiences.

One portion of the exhibit at the museum will focus on Alphabet Soup as a common theme. Each member drew a letter and created a new piece which will be grouped alphabetically within a gallery at the museum. Members will also exhibit other current work in addition to the alphabet pieces. An opening reception will be held on Friday, July 31 from 5-8 p.m. Museum hours are Mon-Sat 10a.m. to 4p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Literacy Council Offers July Tutor Training

Harrisburg, PA—Central Pennsylvania Literacy Council announced today that adults who want to become prepared to tutor in the one-to-one adult Dauphin and Cumberland county program will have an opportunity to learn how, in July, at the new John Crain Kunkel Center for Women and Children, home of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg.

Dates for the Fridays at the "Y" tutor training class will be July 10, 17, 24 and 31, from 1-4 p. at the John Crain Kunkel Center at 1101 Market Street, Harrisburg.

Persons who would like to enroll in the free, twelve-hour preparation course may contact the Central Pennsylvania Literacy Council Office daily at room 114, Whitaker Hall on the HACC campus.

Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area Starts Building Keystone Cares Home

Harrisburg, PA—Financial Trust and Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area officially started construction of their Keystone Cares home, a unique partnership project which will help a Dauphin County family realize the dream of owning a home.

The Harrisburg project is part of a program called Keystone Cares, which was created by Financial Trust’s parent company, Keystone Financial, Inc. Keystone Cares is pledging more than a quarter of a million dollars in costs and services to build a Habitat for Humanity home in each of the seven regions served by its affiliated banks in Central Pennsylvania and in Maryland.

Additional information on Financial Trust and Keystone Financial is available at the company’s web site: www.keyfin.com.

MSD and Whitaker Center Complete Letter of Agreement

Harrisburg, PA – The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts and The Museum of Scientific Discovery announced the signing of a formal Letter of Agreement. Selected assets of The Museum will be acquired by the Whitaker Center for inclusion in the new Science Center. MSD plans to continue to operate until May 31, 1999.

Mayor Stephen Reed of Harrisburg noted, "This is an important milestone for the Whitaker Center. We are delighted that the traditions established by The Museum will become an integral part of the Whitaker Center."

United Cerebral Palsy ANNOUNCES 13th Annual Golf Tournament

Harrisburg, PA—Schmidt & Ronca, a law firm with offices in Harrisburg and Lewistown, will once again sponsor the United Cerebral Palsy Golf Tournament. The tournament will be held at the Blue Ridge Country Club in Harrisburg on Wednesday, August 5, 1998.

Great prizes, provided by the Golf Shoppe, will be awarded to both men and women participants during the prize ceremony and reception in the following categories: low gross, low net, longest drive, and closest to the pin. Also, a hole-in-one competition will be held for the chance to win a brand new car.

The tournament’s schedule of events is as follows: Registration and lunch—11:00a.m.; Shotgun start, scramble format—12:30 p.m.; Reception and awards ceremony—5:30 p.m.

For more information about UCP or Casual Day, please call Marie T. Ledger at 737-3477.

Whitaker Center Undertakes Area-Wide Ticketing Operation

Harrisburg, PA—Beginning July 1st a new computerized ticketing and reservation service for Capital Region cultural and civic groups will open on the street level of Strawberry Square. It will be known as "THE BOX" and will provide patrons of theater, music, recreation and special events a convenient location, extended hours of operation and a single phone number (214-ARTS) to access a variety of their entertainment needs. THE BOX is a program of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts and is meant to be the precursor to the box office operation of the cultural center, which is scheduled to open September 1999.

Capitol Trailways Offers Summer Service to Hersheypark

Hershey, PA—Residents of Harrisburg, Lebanon, and Reading can ride directly to Hersheypark, the 110 acre theme park which recently debuted GREAT BEAR—the first steel, inverted looping roller coaster in the state of Pennsylvania—via Capitol Trailways.

The schedule, in effect for its second year, offers daily service between Hersheypark and Harrisburg, Lebanon, and Reading. Discounted tickets for Hersheypark are available at all three terminals. People 65 years old and older can ride for free Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all day Saturday and Sunday.

For more information on scheduled arrivals and departures please call Capitol Trailways at 233-7673.

Workshops at the State Museum

Harrisburg, PA—Summer is here, and the State Museum’s summer workshops are almost filled, but there are still some openings.

Children 9-10 years old are invited to bring their imaginations as Pennsylvania’s past comes alive in the workshop "Time Travelers," July 14th through 17th. Discover people and events that have shaped our state and nation. If you think your 9-10 year-old might be the next Andy Warhol or Mary Cassatt, then the workshop "Art Attacks," July 21st through 24th, is designed for them. If you are interested in these classes or want to learn more about our other workshops, call The Friends of the State Museum at 787-6590 for a detailed brochure.

HCT to Cast Revival of Noises Off

Harrisburg, PA – On Sunday evening, July 12th at 7:00 p.m. the Harrisburg Community Theatre will hold open auditions in the sanctuary of the Jubilee Covenant Church at 229 Lewis Street (corner of Lewis & Green Streets) for its upcoming production of the farce hit Noises Off. Artistic director Tom Hostetter will conduct the auditions for this production which will open HCT’s final season at its 6th & Hurlock Streets facility prior to moving to the Whitaker Center. The comedy is scheduled to be presented September 18th through October 4th at HCT.

Noises Off, a critically acclaimed and immensely popular British farce by Michael Frayn, was first produced at HCT in 1988. It focuses on a second-rate touring company of actors as they rehears and perform a luckless farce called NOTHING ON. Only three roles will be cast (2 women, 1 man) since 6 members of HCT’s 1988 production will return to reprise their roles. Roles open include Brooke (a vapid young actress), Poppy (a harried young female stage manager) and Tim (an exhausted, slightly vacant technician). Ages of these characters may include actors from 20-32. For further information call Tom at 232-5501.

First Fridays in Harrisburg

Harrisburg, PA - First Friday is a nationally recognized networking event targeting black urban professionals and a chapter has been formed in Harrisburg. It was felt that Harrisburg needed a base for such purposes. With the growing number of African American professionals in the Harrisburg area, a place for them to meet and greet was needed. So, the St. Moritz was chosen and the inaugurating First Friday was on July 3, 1998. First Friday will continue to be held at the St. Moritz every first Friday in the month. It is not just for African Americans, but for those who want to expand through business and social networking with the vision of finding other opportunities and venues. Admission is $5.00 For information call 232-9949.

Allied Arts Fund Hits 80% of Goal in United Campaign for the Arts

Harrisburg, PA - The Allied Arts Fund’s 1998 Campaign Leaders announced that they had reached the 80% mark of their goal to raise $1,020,000 for Central Pennsylvania’s leading arts and cultural organizations through the region’s united campaign for the arts.

Founded in 1986, the Allied Arts Fund serves as the coordinated fund-raising resource for participating arts and cultural organizations in Central Pennsylvania. In its first campaign in 1986, the Allied Arts Fund raised $230,000 for arts and cultural organizations in the community. Since then, the Fund has raised over $5.5 million. This year’s $1,020,000 goal is the highest in the Fund’s twelve-year history.

Dollars raised through this year’s campaign will help to support the work of 26 of the region’s leading arts and cultural institutions including the Art Association of Harrisburg, Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz, and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet to name a few.

For more information about the Allied Arts Fund and how you can participate in the challenge grants or otherwise play your part in the 1998 Campaign, call 233-1694.

Summer Public Astronomical Observing at Naylor Observatory

Lewisberry, PA - The ASH Naylor Observatory near Lewisberry will be open, weather permitting, at 9:30 p.m. every Sunday night during the summer (until August 31st) for free public viewing of such celestial objects as planets and moons, binary stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies. Members of the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg (ASH) will be present to operate various large telescopes and answer questions about the science of astronomy. In case of questionable weather, interested parties are advised to call 938-6041 at 9:00 p.m. to confirm that observing will occur.

WorkNet and ProCare to Host Open House in Harrisburg

Harrisburg, PA - The Alliance Health WorkNet Occupational Medicine Services and ProCare Rehabilitation are hosting an open house on Wednesday, July 15, 1998 from 8 to 10 a.m. The open house will celebrate the one-year anniversary of WorkNet’s Harrisburg location and the opening of ProCare’s newest site at 99 South Cameron Street in Harrisburg. Area businesses, employee health nurses, risk managers, safety officers and other interested individuals are invited to attend. There will be an opportunity to meet with experts to discuss hot topics in Worker’s Compensation, learn strategies for reducing employee injuries and acquire tips for keeping employees healthy. Persons interested in attending should call WorkNet at 697-5522.

Leed’s Announces Grand Re-Opening

Harrisburg, PA - Leed’s Restaurant on Eisenhower Boulevard announces its grand re-opening on July 31st. The new renovations, totalling over $250,000, feature two new large dining rooms with 15 foot ceilings, a granite fireplace, and seating for over 150 people. Two private banquet rooms were added, as well as a new foyer with genuine tin-ceiling, and a beautiful new building exterior. Along with a new kitchen comes a new summer menu featuring soft shell crabs.

In these short two years, the new owners have taken Leed’s to new heights in dining.

Contact Diane Lewis 564-4654 for catering, banquets, and dinner reservations.

Hands-on Guitar Workshop

Lemoyne, PA - Recording artist/performer Christopher Shaw will hold a free hands-on acoustic guitar workshop on Monday, July 27, 7p.m. at Gullifty’s Downstairs in Camp Hill. The workshop is being presented by Wray’s Music House in Lemoyne.

Joining Chris will be Tony Markellis, who plays a Taylor acoustic-electric bass.

For more information, call Wray’s Music House at 761-8222.

Additional Parking Spaces for City Island

Harrisburg, PA - Mayor Stephen R. Reed announced that an additional 248 parking spaces area available on Harrisburg’s City Island. A radio tower that has been in the southern part of the Island since the 1970s has been torn down and the area graded with a layer of binder but in place. The 20 year lease on the tower expired this past December 31 and the Mayor declined to renew it since the land was needed to accommodate the growing number of visitors to the more than 20 facilities built by the city on the Island’s 63 acres.

Reed said this brings the total number of parking spaces to 1428. Additional spaces will be created when parking decks are built starting late this year in part of the area between the Walnut and Market Street bridges.

Harrisburg Community Theatre Announces its 73rd Season

Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg Community Theater announces its 73rd season with six Mainstage productions and a new Family Series of shows. The 1998-99 Mainstage season opens with the uproariously funny Noises Off (September 18-October 4). This farce about a troupe of has been and never were actors in their final, frantic rehearsal for a new show features missing contact lenses, misplaced sardines, philandering lovers and a lethally swinging ax.

Noises Off will be followed by Guys and Dolls (November 6-22), Having Our Say based on the best selling book of Sadie and Bessie Delany (January 8-24), Nunsense II: The Second Coming the sequel to this season’s smash Nunsense (February 26 – March 14), The Man Who Came To Dinner (April 16-May 2) and The Man of La Mancha (June 11-27).

The Family Series includes: a summer production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (July 30-August 2); the holiday classic A Christmas Carol (November 29) presented at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center on the campus of HACC; A Visit With President Lincoln (January 31) featuring the nationally renowned James Getty, live Civil War music and dancing, and authentically costumed soldiers; and The Reluctant Dragon (March 21), a dramatization of Kenneth Grahame’s classic using life-size puppets including a spectacular 10-foot fire-breathing dragon.

Tickets are now on sale. For a free, full-color brochure or additional information, call the HCT business office at 232-5501.

Two businesses open in midtown market district

Harrisburg, PA - The Bead Tree and Potter's House have opened in Harrisburg's Midtown Market District. The Bead Tree, formerly located in Strawberry Square is located at 921 N. Third Street. The beautifully decorated shop sparkles with a wide assortment of imported glass and metal beads, along with stringing supplies. Repairs and restringing are other services of the Bead Tree. Angela Stanton, the owner, has started a class to teach interested patrons how to design and make jewelry.

Potter's House, located at 1008 N. Third Street, is a full service barbershop specializing in cuts for men, women and children and other unisex services such as facials and eyebrow shaping. Henry Wimbush is the proprietor.

Susquehanna Art Museum Features Summer Workshops for Young Artists

Harrisburg, PA – The Susquehanna Art Museum, located in Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg, will feature summer camps from June – August 1998. The camps encourage young artists to expand their creativity and build their talents. These fun and educational workshops are designed to meet the needs of participants of all ages and abilities. The Museum’s award-winning programs connect children to great works of art. Children are encouraged to view the works on display in our galleries. A limited amount of need-based scholarships are available. Call 233-8668 for more information, including registration and prices.

New Susquehanna Water Trail

Harrisburg, PA – The new "Susquehanna River Trail: An Island Adventure" recently opened. The River Trail is the first water trail in the Chesapeake Bay region and one of a growing number of such projects in North America. The opening marked the culmination of nearly two years of work spearheaded by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and enthusiastically supported by organizations, stage agencies, and community partners in the Harrisburg area.

The Susquehanna River Trail extends 24-miles from Halifax to Harrisburg, incorporating 4 access sites and 10 river islands designated for day use and primitive camping. The trail will be managed in partnership by the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, the PA Fish & Boat Commission, the City of Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (in time, a nonprofit Susquehanna River Trail Association will be established).

For a copy of the River Trail guide, more information on the conference or to help with the continuing work on the Susquehanna River Trail, contact the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay at 717-236-8825. Donations in support of the Water Trails project can be made to the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay at 225 Pine Street, Harrisburg, PA.

Midtown Market District Recipient of Two Awards for Outstanding Achievement

Harrisburg, PA – The Midtown Market District received two awards "Outstanding Achievement" from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) at its eighth annual conference June 4th. The award is given for excellence in downtown improvement efforts. The Midtown Market District won in the categories of organization and public relations. The Midtown market District’s recruitment package and Web site at www.MODEweekly.com/midtown was the winner in the category of public relations. The Tromp L’oeill or mural on the Furlow building at 1224 North Third Street won under the category of organization. Margaret Danner, President of the Midtown Market District said, "We are truly excited to win these awards."

Art Association of Harrisburg Announces Summer Art Classes

Harrisburg, PA – The Art Association of Harrisburg will offer a wide variety of classes for both youth and adults during July and August, both at the 21 N. Front St. facility and the studios in Reservoir Park.

The six-week semester of classes for adults and children that meet once per week begin July 20th. Art in the Park, the popular program for children ages 5 through 12, will be held in Reservoir Park in two segments, one from July 27 through August 7 and the second from August 10 through the 21st. Art in the Park classes will be held five days per week from 10 a.m. to noon with each two-week session priced at $150, supplies included. Children ages 5 through 12 may register for either pottery or drawing and painting. Each two week exhibit will conclude with an informal exhibition for students’ family and friends.

There will be a number of new adult classes for the summer, most notably the landscape painting course by John David Wissler in Reservoir Park on Saturdays.

For a full class brochure, with descriptions and tuition costs, call the Art Association at 236-1432 or stop in at the gallery at 21 North Front Street in Harrisburg. Scholarships are available for inner-city residents.

Tenth Annual Harrisburg Gallery Walk Announced

Harrisburg, PA – The tenth annual Harrisburg Gallery Walk will take place on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, September 13, from noon to 5 p.m., with 26 galleries participating. Now bigger and better than ever, Gallery Walk has expanded its venue to a two-day event, with more galleries than ever before for area art-lovers to enjoy.

Strawberry Square will have additional sites included in this year’s Walk: Ideas & Objects, RetroRaintree, Tangerine, Susquehanna Art Museum, Open Stage, and the Perry County Council on the Arts are all in the Square.

Most sites will have musical entertainment, at least on Sunday, and a trolley will provide free transportation on Sunday. Validated parking in the Walnut St. Garage will be offered to Gallery Walk patrons by the merchants of Strawberry Square, and free parking is available all weekend in Midtown and on most downtown streets. Call 236-1432 for more information.

Community Entertainment Continues at Sweet Passions

Harrisburg, PA – Sweet Passions of Harrisburg, 1006 North Third Street, Harrisburg has a full calendar of events every month, all in the intimate setting of a coffee house with a beautiful waterfall courtyard for enjoying the great outdoors!