Snow! And Other Stuff

The February program page has info on events coming up between now and the end of the month.

Ephrata Cloister in the snow, Feb. 9 (photo AKF)

The forecast for my part of PA didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was enough to cover us with a lovely blanket of snow. And disrupt routines a bit. Since I spent Thursday at Ephrata Cloister, I was able to take a few photos.

The Sisters' House (right) and Bakery (photo AKF)

Congratulations are due to one of our sibling blogs here at PHMC. This Week in Pennsylvania Archaeology has been listed as one of the Top 50 Anthropology Blogs by Feedspot, based on search and social metrics. TWIPA reports on activities of the State Museum's Section of Archaeology and their work to promote an understanding of the role of archaeology in the study and preservation of heritage.

The When You Work at a Museum blog has announced the schedule for "Museum Dance Off 4: A New Hope." As you may know, this is an international contest (although most of the entries come from the U.S. and Canada) in which folks from galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) pick a song and produce a dance video that highlights their institution's collections, exhibits, programs, or other activities. The rest of us get to participate by voting for our favorites and learning about other institutions in the process. Entries for this year's contest are being accepted through 11:59 PM EST on March 31. The organizers will begin posting videos for competition on April 17 (each round of voting lasts 24 hours). (Read more about submitting an entry or voting on the blog.) I'll include links in Trailheads as things get rolling in April.

I spent much of last weekend learning how to make candy at Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum. Under the skilled instruction of Dr. Susan Richman and assistance of Virginia LaFond and Shayla Carey, a small group of us learned to make toffee, salted caramel, buttercream, marshmallow, and coffee truffle fillings. Then we learned how to temper chocolate and enrobe the fillings. The basic class (as well as an advanced class) will be offered again as part of this year's Summer Institute (June 20-23), and I highly recommend it. Here's a little chocolate to sweeten your weekend.

(top) Working the buttercream filling (photo Shayla Carey, LVM)
(middle) One method for tempering chocolate (photo AKF)
(bottom) Dipped chocolates - they may not look perfect, but they taste sublime (photo AKF)