Geez, It's Hot!

Keystone College Iron Pour at Scranton Iron Furnaces via Facebook

Speaking of hot, Scranton’s Keystone College has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town program. The grant will support their efforts to teach local students the art and science of working with molten iron—they are a key partner in the Arts on Fire Festival at the Scranton Iron Furnaces. You can read more about the grant award here. “Through Our Town, the NEA supports creative placemaking projects that help transform communities into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. Projects encourage creative activity, develop community identity and a sense of place, and help revitalize local economies. All Our Town grant awards are made to partnerships that consist of at least one nonprofit organization and a local government entity.” Congratulations to Keystone College and their partners on this grant.

Ephrata Cloister is offering visitors behind-the-scenes tours of the collections storage building with curator Kerry Mohn on Fridays this summer, 1-3 pm. The tours are included in regular admission and are part of an effort to explore new ways for visitors to experience the site. (On a somewhat related note, archaeological studies going on at Ephrata this summer have found some interesting stuff—you can read a brief report on the “Chronicle Ephrata” blog here.)

There was some nice press recently for Pennsbury Manor’s Colonial Camp program (click here). Last I heard there were still a few spaces available for Old Economy Village’s history camp, being held the next two weeks (go here for details).

L to R: Oliver Hazard Perry, C. Wolf, Chief Mate Billy Sabatini (photo by Megan Sabatini)

Oliver Hazard Perry (aka Joe Lengieza, Flagship Niagara League’s Marine Operations Manager) threw out the first pitch at the Erie Seawolves game on July 12. The players wore special “Don’t Give Up the Ship” jerseys that were to be auctioned to benefit Flagship Niagara (read more about that here or like Flagship Niagara’s Facebook page to see photos). This is the 2013 season’s third (that I know of) intersection between minor league baseball and Trails of History sites—on July 12 the Wilmington Blue Rocks game benefitted Brandywine Battlefield, and Eckley Miners’ Village was featured at a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders game on June 11 (see photos here).

Events this weekend—
Ephrata Cloister: Family Picnic Fun Raiser, Sun. July 21, 4-8 pm; performance by Steven Courtney and the Suitcase Band, 6:30. $5 per family.
Graeme Park: Celtic Heritage Festival, Sat., July 20, 10 am-7 pm, Sun., July 21, Noon-6 pm. Age 13-17, $5 per day; Age 18+, $10 per day.
Pennsbury Manor: Preserving the Harvest (open hearth cooking demonstration), Sun., July 21, 1-4 pm. Included in regular admission.
Pennsylvania Military Museum: VIETNAM Revisited, Sat.-Sun., July 20-21, 10 am-4 pm. (For images and info from previous years, click here.)