Help Support the Vitamin D Fund

Help Support the Vitamin D Fund

In this time of crisis, we could all use a little sunshine in our lives – especially those businesses who have been forced to close at the sake of the global pandemic we currently face.
At the Danville Business Alliance, we are working to be able to bring some of the ‘light’ – both figuratively and literally – back to our local businesses that have been unable to open their doors.
The DBA is working with local entrepreneurs in launching a new initiative that we are calling the “Danville Vitamin D Fund.” This fund is meant to bring our community together to support the small businesses that support us, not just during the hard times, but all year round.
Through generous donations from community members, we will be able to help small business owners who are struggling during this uncertain time. The money that is donated to this fund by the community will be equally distributed among active members of the Danville Business Alliance.
Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. If you are unable to donate at this time, but still want to support this fund, please consider sharing this video to help raise awareness.
DANVILLE ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS ANNUAL ABC FASHION SHOW 3.0 ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27

DANVILLE ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS ANNUAL ABC FASHION SHOW 3.0 ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27

The Danville Arts Council’s third annual “Anything but Clothes” fashion show will be held at the Pine Barn Inn on Thursday, February 27.

The Danville Arts Council in partnership with Geisinger’s GPRIDE will present ABC Fashion Show 3.0 on Thursday, February 27 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the Pine Barn Inn, 43 Pine Barn Place, in Danville. The third annual “Anything but Clothes” fashion show will benefit the Danville Arts Council. Participants will create an outfit from anything but clothing, such as recycled or repurposed materials. Groups of up to three people can register their outfit to be modeled on the runway. The models compete for prizes, including the People’s Choice Award, the Judge’s Choice, and Honorable Mention. Admission to the event includes a buffet, light refreshments, a vote for the People’s Choice award, and a cash bar.

Model, Mitchell Andjeski, flaunts outfit entitled “Choose Your Vice,” created by Black Diamonds team members, Nicole Polanichka and Mitchell Andjeski. The Black Diamonds team took home the first place award at last year’s ABC Fashion Show 2.o. Their outfit will be on display for inspiration at the Danville Business Alliance (620 Mill Street) until February 29th.
Tickets are on sale for $35 presale and $40 at the door. Admission for participants modeling ormaking outfits is $20 and is free for students (with a valid student ID). Tickets may be purchasedat the Danville Business Alliance (DBA) office at 620 Mill Street in Danville or online at www.danvilleartscouncil.org/abcfashionshow.

“I am excited to see participants clean out their recycle bin or their old basket full of scraps and transform them into fashion.” says emcee Ann Mooney. “And all for a good cause, supporting the Danville Arts Council.”

Nancy Dennehy, model and artist, walks the runway in her encyclopedia dress crafted from the “M” encyclopedia. Dennehy was presented with the Honorable Mention award during ABC Fashion 2.0 in 2018.

The judges for the show are Meredith Re’ Grimsley, Ben Hartman, and Joanne Landis. Meredith Re’ Grimsley is a faculty member in the art department at Bloomsburg University. She received her MFA in Fabric Design from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Her work reflects moments of meditation over spiritual growth, faith, sacrifice and a pursuit of grace and has been shown in numerous national venues. Ben Hartman is the owner of a local costume shop, and a lifelong cosplayer, haunted house actor, and costume enthusiast. Joanne Landis worked as a fashion illustrator in NYC for years, where she also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology and at Drexel University. Joanne currently works as a painter. Justin D. Aurand will provide live musical accompaniment to the fashion show. Justin is an accomplished musician from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. In addition to performing numerous concerts, Justin has also recorded 3 albums of original music and unique arrangements. Currently, Justin performs with Off The Record Live Band Karaoke and plays services for Zion United Methodist Church as well as solo concerts.
Geisinger is a generous sponsor of the ABC Fashion Show 3.0. The Danville Arts Council, a subcommittee of the Danville Business Alliance, formed in 2013, pursue their mission to promote and support regional art, artists and artistic culture for the citizens of Danville, Pennsylvania. Comprised of volunteer members from the community, Danville Arts Council partners with other community organizations to host or participate in events throughout the year, including the Summer Concert Series, ABC Fashion Show, Danville Arts Council Gallery, and Movie Nights at the Booth Theatre. The work of the Danville Arts Council is supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Community Partnerships, and Geisinger, among others.

G‐PRIDE (Geisinger ‐ People Ready for Inclusion, Diversity and Equality) works to foster a welcoming, caring, inclusive environment for Geisinger employees of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. G‐PRIDE serves many roles, including functioning as a source of support to LGBTQ employees in the system as well as educating and enhancing understanding around important LGBTQ issues. https://www.geisinger.org/aboutgeisinger/diversity‐and‐inclusion/employee‐resource‐groups

For more information about the ABC Fashion Show 3.0, email Tom Seay, Danville Arts Council Member, at [email protected], or contact Kayla Gross, Executive Assistant at Danville Business Alliance at 570‐284‐4502.

WVIA Art Scene interview with Oren Helbock about Destination Blues Festival

WVIA Art Scene interview with Oren Helbock about Destination Blues Festival

Destination Blues Festival weekend is upon us! The 6th Annual festival will feature more than 25 acts at 18 different venues spanning two counties. No cover charges at any of the performances and all ages are welcome! There will be a shuttle bus among all the venues. Executive Director of The Exchange, Oren Helbok, recently sat down with Erika Funke from WVIA radio to talk more about this great event that is happening in our community this weekend! Give a listen!

Behind the Scenes of the Anything But Clothes Fashion Show

Behind the Scenes of the Anything But Clothes Fashion Show

Anything goes this Thursday at the upcoming Anything But Clothes 2.0 fashion show at The Pine Barn Inn which benefits the Danville Arts Council. We sat down with Tom Seay from the Arts Council to find out what is in store for this unique event happening in Danville.

Art of PA: So Tom, I understand one of your biggest fundraisers for the year is right around the corner. Can you tell me more about ABC 2.0?

Tom: Absolutely. The Anything But Clothes event is entering its second year and we have a great evening of entertainment featuring a red carpet runway fashion show, recycled items, music, drinks and appetizers. The only stipulation for the fashion show is that any non-purchased item may be used in the creation of some alternative clothing. It’s like upcycling for the sake of fashion.

AoP: That sounds awesome. So since this is your second year, will we see some of last years participants again?

Tom: It’s actually a nice mix of new and returning participants. Submissions keep coming in so I’m always excited to see the sense of creativity in our community, every time I check our groups email.

AoP: And I understand you’ll be awarding some prizes and bragging rights for the best dressed?

Tom: That is correct, we are allowing teams of up to three members to collaborate on their fashion pieces. Teams will receive t-shirts and the Grand prize and all the bragging rights will go to the team whose ensemble has the most votes. The only catch is that all voters, including friends and family must be present. We also have an expert judge, Karen Anselm who is a Professor of Theatre with a specialization in Costume Design from Bloomsburg University, to help oversee everything.

AoP: That is great that you have an expert on hand. So how did the idea of using anything but clothes for fashion come about?

Tom: Well as an Art Council we’d put on some sort of an annual event as a way to thank our sponsors, but the format usually involved asking artists for art donations that we could raffle off. As an artist, that gets kind of old as artists are always being asked to donate their work. So the Arts Council put their heads together and looked around on the internet for creative fundraising event ideas. They found a group up in New York that puts on an annual non traditional fashion show. With that concept in mind, we turned it into a fun upcycling type of an event. It is a must see event that is well worth the price of admission.

AoP: Ah yes, we didn’t go over ticket prices. Can you elaborate on how much they are and where they can be purchased? Also where does the money raised from the event go?

Tom: Tickets are $15 in advance and are available at the Danville Business Alliance 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday at 620 Mill St, Danville PA, or can be purchased at the door for $20. We’ll also have a $1 raffle that features donations of gift cards and goodies from local businesses. All of the money raised from the event goes to the arts council. This fundraiser helps us to continue to host events that promote the arts in our region. We host dances, movie nights, and visual arts exhibitions for adults and students alike. We are nurturing the creative spirits of adults and children, supporting artists in every possible way, and celebrating their successes. We will stand as the partners and supporters of arts education and, by embracing the heritage of our region, we are proud to add to its growth and vitality.

AoP: Well that sounds like a great event supporting a great cause. Thanks for taking the time to chat and I hope you see a lot of familiar and even some new faces at The Pine Barn Inn.

Tom: Thanks, we can’t wait til Thursday and can’t wait to see the creativity on the runway!

Happy 10 Years Old Forge Brewery

Happy 10 Years Old Forge Brewery

Did you know that the Old Forge Brewery is 10 years old today? For the rest of the month they have a great schedule of live music and events in store. Check out the following image for more details.

YATP is gearing up to put you in the Holiday Mood with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

YATP is gearing up to put you in the Holiday Mood with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

YATP, also known as The Young Artists’ Theatre Project of Danville, is gearing up for an exciting holiday production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson. The entirely student run production is about a Christmas story of a woman who gets roped into running the church Christmas pageant. A family of juvenile delinquents in their town decide to participate, taking over and putting their own unique stamp on the Christmas story. Everything appears to be going terribly wrong with the pageant, including some fights and a fire scare, but in the end, it turns out to be terribly right. It’s warm and funny, and guaranteed to bring people together in the spirit of the holidays. This production opens on November 30th and runs until December 2nd and benefits the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.

We at ArtofPA.org sat down with Kathi Beiter, the YATP Director, to learn more about this holiday production.

ArtofPa.org: What made you choose The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson for this years production?

Kathi: This show is fantastic on so many levels. I think the first thing that brought it to mind was the venue where we performed The Crucible last summer, the Jane DeLong Memorial building. The directors want the building to be used, but very few people even know it’s in Washingtonville. The board of directors and the building manager were so welcoming and helpful, and as the summer progressed Mr. Dombroski (building manager) said he would like us to do other shows there. Not every show would work in the space, but this one popped into my mind and I saw it would work in the space. Then, as we rehearsed for The Crucible, I kept imagining how this show could be set in the space and how the space would highlight the show as well. Then the show itself—it’s so funny and yet so heart-warming. It’s relatively easy to produce because no special effects, elaborate set or period costumes. The cast is large, but comprised of many children. We hadn’t yet done a show that could be performed by kids as young as 7 or 8, so it offers an opportunity to reach to even younger actors in the community. It just seemed like it had everything going for it; the perfect show for us.

Art: Can you talk about how excited you are to be performing The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson? Any notable stories for some of the cast members?

K: I am very excited to be working on this project. I love working with kids and seeing them develop, over a show or over multiple shows. They have energy, as any parent or teacher knows, but trying to get them to channel it is always a challenge. I direct youth theater because I love giving kids a chance to try something new, getting them to connect with the audience and seeing them succeed—that’s exciting!

We have several YATP veterans involved in the show– they had such a good time over the summer, that they wanted to come back right away and do it again. They are playing Mr. Bradley, Mrs. Bradley, Alice Wendleken, Rev. Hopkins and Imogene Herdman.
Four out of those five had never been on stage before last summer. They tackled a difficult script. Someone expressed serious doubt about the wisdom of doing The Crucible with children, about any young person’s ability to connect with such subject matter as the Salem witch trials and characters like the judges or John Proctor. Far from being unable to connect, those kids studied and worked and audience members told me they left the theater with goosebumps.

A: How did you get involved in YATP?

K: In 2017, the high school chose to cancel the high school show over a parent complaint and my daughter, who was then a high school junior, disagreed with the decision. She wanted to show the community that kids were mature enough to handle varied subject matter and to show the subject matter wasn’t as controversial as it was alleged to be. So her father and I helped her to connect with a local community theater, RiverStage, and they provided a parent organization for the group and several other community members formed a new board of directors under RiverStage. Having formed out of a young person’s idea for doing theater, the group that coalesced decided that, if the group were to continue, it would continue as a theater group for younger theater enthusiasts. Many of the founders are still active in the organization, but we also gain new members with each show.

A: In the past, your group has raised money for organizations like The Gatehouse and Delong Building. Do you have a charity in mind for this years production? If so, what made you choose this charity/organization?

K: Our chosen charity for this show is the Danville-Riverside Food Bank. The idea of raising money for the community actually grew out of the first show we did, Avenue Q: Student Edition, where one of the sub-plots involves a homeless character begging for some money for food, followed by a song during which actors receive donations from the audience. We realized that this was a great idea and could really be a way that young people could feel they were helping their community while enjoying their time performing. In Best Christmas Pageant…, the Herdman children who take over the church’s pageant are notorious in their town for their wildness, but we also find out they have a very difficult home-life and are under the care of Child Welfare services. They tell how they get a basket of food for the holiday, and we knew that was the perfect connection. We could draw attention to the Food Bank which will be doing exactly that for the Christmas season, providing holiday food baskets for those of our own community who need a little help.

A: Can you talk about the venue that you’ll be performing in?

K: The Jane DeLong Memorial building is an old, 19th century church that was converted to a performance space in 1928. Back then Frank DeLong bought it, renovated it and donated it, along with a school building, to Washingtonville, for “providing opportunities and facilities for the moral and recreational welfare of the young people of the borough and outlying community.” It’s an unusual space by today’s performance standards—the stage is small and still has footlights. There is no sound system. There are no lighting facilities other than on and off. There are no wings to hide offstage actors. But it’s big and open, with architecture and lines that still recall the church it used to be. The acoustics are beautiful, with even soft sounds carrying throughout the space. The kids can learn how to project clearly and loudly, without relying on microphones that all too often crackle and squeal, distracting from the actors and their story. Music in the space is just lovely. For this show, the space will feel just like a church at Christmastime making the audience feel like the congregation watching a pageant on Christmas Eve. The Delong building is a gem in and of itself and is a truly splendid performance space particularly when we can incorporate its vintage beauty into the show itself.

A: What are some of the positive things that you hope people will take away from seeing this performance? Do you think shows like this will really put people in the holiday mood?

K: This show IS the holiday mood! To start with, it’s funny, just flat out funny. Everyone can relate to the frustration of getting roped into volunteering and of dealing with frustrating people and situations. And what’s funnier than a kid when she says whatever pops into her head (this Christmas pageant is play is full of them). But it is warm and touching at the same time, and it reminds us all of the true meaning of Christmas. It sounds corny but you walk away with a renewed belief in the innate goodness of others, of our similarities rather than our differences, of the universality of the human experience. The show lets you see through someone else’s eyes, like theater is supposed to. The audience will walk out feeling good, and what better way is there to start the holiday season?

For those interested in attending “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson
Show dates and times—
Fri., Nov. 30, 7:00;
Sat., Dec. 1, 3:00
Sat., Dec. 1, 7:00
Sun., Dec 2, 3:00

Jane DeLong Memorial Building
7 Church St.
Washingtonville, PA 17884

Tickets are $15/ adults, $8/ Students, 6 and under, free
Available at the door or in advance through riverstagetheatre.org
Follow us on facebook at Young Artists’ Theatre Project