June 2018

june 2018

by Christine Lake

FREE

The Simon Silk Mill complex in Easton, PA provides the perfect live work location with apartments, retailers, nearby arts trail and easy access to major highways. VM Development is doing a phenomenal job at transforming this former manufacturing site into a creative community and regional destination. photo by Michelle L. Corby

Easton’s Simon Silk Mill has seen many changes in the last six to eight months, and all of them are worth checking out for yourself. The process of taking an abandoned silk mill and turning it into a mixed use residential and business facility has taken over 10 years, and the feeling of excitement about the transformation is palpable around the complex.

Built in 1883 by Herman Simon and his brother Robert, the mill eventually employed over 1,200 people at its peak. Unfortunately, the mill closed in the 1960s; the Lehigh Valley silk industry, once the second largest producer in the world, could no longer compete with overseas competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics. The site sat abandoned and unused until 2006, when the Easton Redevelopment Authority purchased it for $2.5 million. A series of studies followed regarding the feasibility of turning the space into an arts community. VM Development came on board after a competitive bid process in 2010 and began construction on the site in 2015, after the laying of the first new public street in Easton

in 30 years and water, sewer and gas line installation. Interior reconstruction began at the center of the complex at building J, which focused on 33 high-end apartments as well as studios to create a livework community for artists, and the first 30,000 square feet of retail space. The first retailers moved in and opened in 2016, including Elaine Zelker Photography, Zeke Zelker filmmaking studio, Salon at the Silk, Alisha Nycole & Co. (hair and makeup for special events), KLO Events, and Trinity Fitness.

The first apartments began leasing in April of 2017.

Phase two of the redevelopment involved more apartments and additional retailers. Buildings N and K had their first vendors moving in between May and November of 2017. Karen Ford, Certified Balloon Artist, and her Events by BalloonWorks, LLC made the move to the Silk after 26 years of being home based. “My five children grew up in balloon chaos…in the living room, the dining room, the continued on page 3

SUMMER FESTIVALS

by Christine Lake As we approach summer and the days lengthen, that extra sun means extra outdoor activities. The Lehigh Valley has a full slate of fantastic options to keep you busy from early June to August. Here is a sampling of all the events that can make this summer seem endless, in the very best way.

Blues, Brews and Barbecue June 9, 12 PM to 10 PM Downtown Allentown Hamilton District This annual festival is expanding in its 11th year to include six stages of free music that stretch from 9th & Hamilton to 6th Street. Performances begin at 1 PM and go until 10 PM, with different performers at every venue, including headliner Samantha Fish and local favorites like Alex P. Suter, the Regina Bonelli Band, the BC Combo and many more. There will also be craft vendors and of course various beers and all styles of BBQ from across the US. Admission to the event is free.

More info at downtownallentown.com/events/blues-brews-and-barbecue.

Easton Farmers’ Market “Special Days” See below for all dates, 9 AM to 1 PM Centre Square, Easton, PA Once again, the Easton Farmers’ Market has a full summer’s worth of special dates and activities. Strawberry Day on June 9 features specials on everything strawberry from the various vendors, but also kids’ crafts and live music. The fun continues on June 23 for the June Bee Jamboree, with bee keeping demos, honey tastings, and a parade—kids are encouraged to wear bee costumes. Then on July 7 the oldest continuous open-air market in the country celebrates its 266th birthday with cake, live music and historical displays. The Zucchini 500 returns for its 12th year on July 21; $5 gets you your choice of zucchini, wheels & axles, access to carving tools and expert advice. The summer slate ends with Peach Day August 4 and Tomato Day August 18, each with specials and samples highlighting these fruits. More info at eastonfarmersmarket.com.

Artistic Endeavors page 10

The magic of fireworks above the Larry Holmes statue in downtown Easton, PA at last year’s Easton Heritage Day. photo courtesy of Easton Heritage Day Committee

Easton Heritage Day July 8, 11 AM to 4:30 PM (Day events), 9:30 PM Fireworks Downtown Easton, PA At 12 PM on July 8, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read publicly on the steps of the old courthouse in Centre Square, one of the first readings of the document. Since the 1976 Bicentennial, Easton has reenacted this historic event with extras. From 11 AM to 4:30 PM, see town criers, period crafters and reenactors from the French & Indian War through World War II, and kids’ activities including puppet shows and Seeing Eye Puppy demos. Most events are free, though some have a nominal fee. The annual fireworks display is at 9:30 PM on the banks of the Delaware River. More info at heritageday.org.

Gardening page 12

continued on page 3

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN IN EASTON’S FIRST SECOND LINE PARADE!

The Irregular

Founded by Eastonian Jeremy Joseph, Big Easy Easton Brass is gearing up for its debut performance.

The band’s first parade through Easton, PA will take place June 22. The parade will start at the Easton Community Center at 7pm and will stroll down to Two Rivers Brewing Company for a standing performance. The event also coincides with Easton Out Loud: Fourth Fridays. The band’s mission is to bring New Orleans’ Second Line parades to Easton with marching band music, blues and anything else that screams fun! Second line parades are a New Orleans tradition; the brass band is the first line and the second line is you. According to the band’s Facebook page, “All that’s required is to put a little style in your dress and a little swagger in your step.” Big Easy Easton Brass is open to all ages and skill levels. Rehearsals are most Wednesdays 7 to 9pm at the Easton Community Center at 901 Washington Street in Easton. Upcoming open rehearsals are June 6, June 20 and July 18. For more information on Big Easy Easton Brass, visit facebook.com/BigEasyEastonBrass.

Lydia E. Bruneo Publisher & Editor

Michelle L. Corby Creative Director

Contributors: Carole J. Heffley Richard F. Hope Christine Lake Heath Mensher Dawn Ouellette Nixon Gene Palmiter Pam Ruch

Retail Ad Manager Colin K. Gregory

Reach us at: PO Box 85 Easton, PA 18044 610-258-4330 bruneo1776@aol.com

Founded by Carole J. Heffley and James R. Hicks, Jr. 1996

Remember, support your community.

Buy local.

2

The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

Not So Run-of-the-Mill continued from page 1

Simon Silk Mill is located at 1250 Simon Blvd. in Easton, PA Current businesses at the Mill include:

kitchen, basically everywhere besides the bedrooms,” Ford recalls. “I wanted to finally separate my shop from my home. I was excited to be part of the revitalization of the dilapidated Simon Silk Mill property. I always knew it had the potential to be a really cool project.” Though her business is primarily a by-appointment undertaking, the door to her space at Silk K-102 is always open. “It’s a studio/work/office space, so unless we’re in full swing for an upcoming event, there’s not much to see,” she explains, “but we do have a small part of our space available for special events and gatherings we can show, and we’re happy to talk about what we can offer.”

May also saw the opening of Brick + Mortar Art Gallery and Design Studio’s new location in Building N. VM Development commissioned a reception desk for their Northampton Street space from Brick + Mortar, a project that used reclaimed lumber from the Silk Mill site. “We came down to the site to get the beams and saw the spaces available,” says co-owner Chaz Hampton. “We really needed a bigger design studio and our lease was coming up, so we thought the timing was right.”

Citing the location’s great lighting and location along the Bushkill Creek as definite positives, Hampton also indicates that the essence of the Mill’s tenants is an unexpected bonus. “There’s a strong DIY ethic to the retailers here, and an entrepreneurial spirit that suits our studio,” he says. Brick + Mortar has worked collaboratively with several of the retailers by creating their building signage.

Also in building N is Tucker Silk Mill, an Australian-style café that’s brought a completely different aesthetic to the Lehigh Valley restaurant scene since its October 2017 opening. Named after Australian slang for “good food,” they serve Aussie favorites (yes, there’s Vegemite toast!) and twists on more common fare like avocado toast and salads. Co-owners Jason Hoy and Melanie Hansche are “imported Aussies” who moved to the States in 2014 when Hansche was recruited to work as the editor-in-chief for Rodale’s Organic Life brand. Prior to the move, Hansche was managing editor for one of Australia’s most successful food publications while Hoy managed Ultimo Wine Centre, one of the finest wine stores in the country. After moving into the Easton area from Brooklyn, Hoy spent a lot of time exploring their new home town, with an eye toward spaces to open a wine bar or restaurant. “I saw the Silk Mill site when it was under construction,” he explains.

“There were big ‘Do Not Enter’ signs, so of course I went in to have a look around.” Hoy and Hansche, members of Trinity Fitness, learned that the gym was making a move to the complex, and used that connection to enquire about a location for what became Tucker Silk Mill. The focus at the restaurant is on organic and sustainably sourced ingredients, including coffee beans from Toby’s Estate, a small batch Australian-owned roaster located in Brooklyn specializing in single origin coffee and direct farm relationships. “It’s an ethos that we feel strongly about,” Hansche explains further. “There’s an attention to detail that’s important to us.”

The Lehigh Valley’s 15th exclusive craft brewery, Böser Geist Brewing Co., opened in building K in December of 2017.

The former home brewers went from brewing 50 gallons in their home to brewing 750 gallons in this first retail location.

They’ll be featuring food from food trucks and up-and-coming caterers to go along with their own brews and local wines and ciders. Although they looked at locations in the downtown area, nothing jumped out at the owners until they saw a location in the Silk Mill complex. It featured a dirt floor, roosted pigeons and a 40-ton piece of leftover equipment, but they could see how gorgeous the space would eventually be, full of the exposed bricks and beams that make up the industrial aesthetic of the complex.

Alisha Nycole & Co. alishanycole.com

KLO Events klo-events.com

Balloonworks eventsbyballoonworks.com

RMG Insurance rmginsurance.com

Böser Geist Brewing Co. facebook.com/bgbrewing

Salon at the Silk salonatthesilk.com

Brick + Mortar Gallery brickandmortargallery.com

Trinity Fitness trinityfitnessofeaston.com

Easton Wine Project eastonwineproject.com

Tucker Silk Mill tuckersilkmill.com

Elaine Zelker Photography elainezelkerphotography.com

Coming Soon: AR Workshop Easton arworkshop.com/easton

Exemplum Medical

OwowCow Creamery owowcow.com

iDreamMachine idreammachine.com

Separatist Beer Project separatistbeer.com

J Taylor Design thejtsite.com

The future of the Silk Mill looks very bright. Easton Wine Project opened in February of 2018; AR Workshop, a boutique DIY studio for crafting home décor will open shortly. Apartments at building L are available for lease beginning July 1. Separatist Beer Project (formerly Sole Artisan Ales) will be opening up a new location at the Silk Mill in June, and Owowcow Creamery is set to open in summer of 2018. Additional structures on the site are being renovated and more residences and retail spaces will be available in the future along 13th Street.

For more information on the Silk Mill, visit www.vmdevelopmentgroup.com/project/simon-silk-mill-c.

Summer Festivals continued from page 1

VegFest July 14, 11 AM to 6 PM Daniel Rice Field, 100 W. Lehigh Street, Bethlehem, PA This 8th annual event is designed to celebrate, support and encourage vegans and those looking to live a sustainable lifestyle in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. Events include cooking demos, lifestyle speakers, live music and 60+ food, craft and small business vendors from all over the East Coast. This year’s event is in a new location. More info at getdowntownbethlehem.com/2016/08/01/vegfest-veganfood-street-festival.

Wings n Strings Festival for American Cancer Society July 18, 12 PM to 8 PM Dimmick Park, Hellertown, PA The Inaugural Wings n Strings Festival is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. “Our local chapter of the American Cancer Society was looking for a new fundraiser to support our lifesaving initiatives,” explains Mark Stankiewicz, Community Development Manager for ACS Bethlehem.

“We weren’t aware of any other festivals like this, and we know it’s going to be a great event!” There will be around a dozen beer/wine vendors, a dozen food vendors focusing on wings (with other offerings as well), and a full day of performances by local musicians. This rain or shine event offers the following ticket options: $10 general admission - gets you through the gate; $25 “commemorative package” - adds some commemorative items; $50 VIP Package-Wing Option adds a wing sample from each vendor; or $50 VIP PackageBeer Option – adds a beer sample from each vendor. More info at facebook.com/wingsnstringsbyacs.

Blueberry Festival July 21, 10 AM to 7 PM & July 22, 10 AM to 6 PM Burnside Plantation, Bethlehem, PA For 32 years, this festival has celebrated all things blueber-

Spectators enjoying Native American dancing at last year’s Roasting Ears of Corn Festival at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, PA. photo by “Lady” Colleen Heller

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

ry—pie, ice cream, coffee cake, strudel, crepes, even fudge, beer, wine, mead and vodka. Family friendly activities include a pie-eating contest, hands’ on museum, scavenger hunt and colonial style games and demos. There’s a culinary contest if you want to throw your hat in the ring against other competitors for the best blueberry recipe, but you’ll have to register by July 13 at 3 PM to be considered. Many crafters and business exhibitors round out this festival. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 4-17. Special deals online at historicbethlehem.org/blueberry-festival.

Bath Community Days July 21-28, times and locations vary Bath, PA To celebrate 12 years of Bath Community Day, this year’s event will span a full week. Sponsored by the Bath Volunteer Fire Fighters & Ambulance Corps, Inc. in conjunction with the Nazareth/Bath regional chamber the festival features a tree dedication, kids’ night, pig roast, and a 5K race, plus rides, games and vendors throughout. Details on locations and times can be found at bathcommunitydays.com.

Martin on Main August 4, 1 PM to 7 PM Main Street, Nazareth, PA This year’s festival, the 11th annual event, will feature two stages of entertainment, along with food, crafts, artisans, beer, wine and mead. Hosted by the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, Martin Guitar, The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum and Nazareth Borough, the event will of course feature a special Martin guitar display. Martin on Main is a rain or shine event with free admission; vendors accept cash and credit. More info at facebook.com/martinonmain.

Roasting Ears of Corn Festival August 18 & 19, 10 AM to 6 PM Museum of Indian Culture, 2825 Fish Hatchery Road, Allentown, PA For 38 years this festival has celebrated Native American heritage by showcasing traditional drumming, singing, dancing and food. Demos include cooking techniques and flintknapping, and attendees can try their hand at throwing tomahawks or atlatl (throwing spears). A children’s craft area features sand art painting, weaving dreamcatchers and face painting. Foods include buffalo burgers, frybread, corn soup, buffalo stew and of course, roasted ears of corn. The rain or shine event has an admission fee of $8 for adults and $5 for seniors (62+) and kids 8-17. More info at museumofindianculture.org/roasting-ears-of-corn-festival.

Hellertown-Lower Saucon Community Day August 18, 11 AM to 8 PM Dimmick Park, Hellertown, PA This year’s event will include family friend activities, demonstrations and vendors until 4 PM, live music until 5:30 PM, and then evening festivities including food trucks, local breweries, a winery and a free concert in collaboration with the “Music in the Park Summer Concert Series” from 6-8 PM. It’s early in the planning stages yet, so check back often for updates. More info at hellertownborough.org/yourcommunity/communityday.

June 2018

The Irregular

3

WALKING TOUR

Kunsman Building (436-38 Northampton Street, Easton, PA)

by Richard F. Hope 3-story Victorian commercial style recently retrieved from underneath a modernistic black & white façade. One modern building inventory, after identifying the WEST Radio Station as “Modern Commercial” style, nonetheless assigned a construction date c.1870 presumably in recognition of the older Victorian architecture then lying below the façade.

Historically, this lot is essentially the eastern half of original town Lot No. 212, as surveyed by William Parsons when Easton was established in 1752. Lot No. 212 was originally occupied by a house built before 1779, and occupied by Jacob “Nunamaker”. In 1789, the occupant (now given the German spelling Jacob “Nunemacher”) purchased a larger parcel of property from the Penn Family that included this Lot. Jacob Nunemacher died after 1810. Under the authority of his will dated 12 January 1805, his executors sold this eastern part of Lot No. 212 to Jacob Heller on 14 December 1815, apparently without recording the transaction in the Northampton County official records. Meanwhile, in Philadelphia his creditors had the authorities sell Lot No. 212 to Stephen Balliet on 19 December 1803, and acknowledge the transaction in District Court in Philadelphia on 21 August 1807, issuing a deed finally on 10 August 1807. With no filing in Northampton County, property purchaser Jacob Heller (and possibly the executors as well) had no reason to know of these Philadelphia proceedings. In 1818, after they came to light, Heller and John Nice (now owner of the western half of the Lot) paid $125 to Stephen Balliet to clear their titles.

Jacob Heller died on 14 October 1834, and his estate apportioned this half of Lot No. 212 to his son, Charles Heller. By 1840, Charles had gotten into financial trouble, and so assigned this property with a “two Story Brick” building on it to two trustees for the benefit of his creditors. In 1841, the trustees obtained $3,314.15 for the property, with its “brick Tenement”, from Edward J. Seip. Seip was a prominent citizen, a Major in the Pennsylvania militia, and the Treasurer of Northampton County. Beginning in approximately 1860, Seip leased part of his building to William H. Kunsman for a dry goods store.

• In 1860, Kunsman’s business was listed at 158 Northampton Street, while Edward J. Seip’s dry goods store was listed at No.162.

Despite his prominence, however, in 1861-62, Seip lost five properties in Sheriff sales. One of them was Seip’s property on Northampton Street, which was purchased by the tenant, William H. Kunsman, for $7,100. This included a “Three Story Brick dwelling House and store Room” with an attached “three stove Kitchen and wash house”.

Kunsman had been born in 1831, and moved to Easton at age 16 to work as a clerk in William H. Lawall’s general merchandise store (at the location now numbered 450 Northampton Street). Kunsman opened his own store in 1856 to sell dry goods and groceries; at first located in a “dingy and small” L-shaped room in a predecessor building located at what is now 428-30 Northampton Street. Several years later he moved to larger quarters next door, in the property now numbered 432-34 Northampton Street. Kunsman moved again next door to Seip’s building by 1860, and purchased that building in 1861 (see above). In 1862, he adopted a Civil War marketing theme: “War or no War William H. Kunsman Is selling the cheapest Dry goods in Easton”. At that time, he advertised many clothing items, including “Hoop Skirts”.

• In the 1860s, and continuing until 1873, Kunsman took over Seip’s old address at 162 Northampton Street, under the numbering scheme then in effect.

• In 1874, the renumbering of Northampton Street assigned No. 436 to the Kunsman store, and No. 438 to the Kunsman residence.

Kunsman apparently improved the building, adding a carpet display room in the basement during his tenure, and also making the upstairs his personal residence. Thus, much of the structure visible today is probably the result of Kunsman’s construction activity, which would likely have been done a little earlier than the 1870 date suggested by the modern survey discussed at the start of this article. Kunsman continued in business at this location until his death in 1893. His brother, J.B. Kunsman, then took over the business, and received title to the

4

The Irregular

436 Northampton Street prior to renovation when AM 1400 WEST Radio occupied the space. photo by Richard F. Hope

property from the estate via a Sheriff’s sale. After J.B. Kunsman’s death, the business was continued by Levi L. Kunsman until 1902, when the building was finally sold to Isaac Goldsmith, Jr. for $5,300 and Goldsmith’s assumption of an outstanding $12,500 mortgage.

Goldsmith evidently leased out the building. By 1925, No. 436 was the location of The Adams Co., a dry goods (clothing) store managed by Chas. H. Cramer. By 1935, this gave way to the Alan Shop, a ladies apparel store managed by Leon Fagen and (later) his wife, Sophia, with their residence initially at the same address. Despite moving their residence to New York City by 1942, the Fagens purchased the Kunsman Building in 1950 for $68,500. In 1953, the Fagens were no longer listed as the store managers, and in the following year (1954), their dress store was replaced at this address by the Monarch Appliance & Furniture Co. In 1957, the Fagens sold the Kunsman Building to Anthony and John Marangulia and their wives for $69,000.

In 1962, the Marangulias sold the building to Associated Broadcasters, Inc., and the Monarch Appliance & Furniture Co. moved to 126 South 3rd Street. The WEST-AM 1400 Radio Station replaced Monarch in the Kunsman Building. WEST was then the second-oldest radio station in the Lehigh Valley, having started broadcasting on 17 Feb. 1936 from the New Odd Fellows’ Hall (I.O.O.F.) Building up at 516 Northampton Street. It initially adopted a general entertainment format, which became a popular music “Middle Of The Road” format by the “late 1940s.” Under a variety of owners, WEST continued to operate from the Kunsman Building on Northampton Street. After its sale to Maranatha Broadcasting in 2007, the station continued on page 5

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

Walking Tour continued from page 4

436 Northampton Street as it appears today with its newest tenant, Supplement Exchange. photo by Lydia E. Bruneo

began adding “specialty shows”, including the “Tempo Italiano” Sunday radio show, and built the bocce garden “Villa Tempo Italiano” (later simply “The Villa”) next door at 440-42 Northampton Street in 2000-01.

• This space next door had been purchased by the radio station owners back in 1968.

[A separate article has been devoted to the property where this bocce garden was built.]

In 2007, the WEST radio station was sold to Matthew J. Braccili, who gradually changed the station’s format over to simulcast Spanish language programming carried by Braccili’s other station, WHOL. In April 2007, the “Tempo Italiano” show moved to a rival radio station, and the bocce garden was leased to the Lehigh Valley Italian American Cultural Club, later to be dismantled completely. In 2009, the Kunsman Building itself, together with the former bocce garden property next door, were sold for $210,000 to Schy-Rhys Redevelopment, Inc. This developer, partly owned by Greg Schuyler, proceeded with rehabilitating both the Kunsman building and the Werner/A & D Tile Building (432-34 Northampton Street) that it also owned, “into town homes and apartments”. Commercial space in the Kunsman Building was then rented to a Bethlehem clothing boutique named Loose Threads. The space is currently leased to Supplement Exchange which opened March 2018.

[In the interests of space, this article has been condensed and the endnotes have been omitted. The com plete article (including endnotes) will be filed in the Marx Local History Room of the Easton Area Public Library, and in the Sigal Museum Library of the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society.

The author’s articles on this and other buildings in the Easton Historic District are also available for review or download at www.eastonhistory.com.]

ADVERTISE WITH US! Email bruneo1776@aol.com for rates.

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular

5

IRREGULAR BOOKSELF with Carole J. Heffley

THE GREAT AMERICAN READ If you missed “The Great American Read” on PBS this month, you may have another chance to see this highly interesting and entertaining 2-hour show on Channel 39, WLVT-TV. Jim and I saw this show on our N.C. PBS station a couple weeks ago and I have already voted for my all-time fave book (Gone With The Wind . . . naturally!). The show lists the 100 “best books” in America from oldies like Pride and Prejudice to more recent best sellers. Each book of the 100 selected is discussed in just a few sentences but gives the essence of why it is on the list for best book. Short one-liners about each book’s popularity are both interesting and informative. Jim’s one favorite (he has two books he likes best), A Confederacy of Dunces, is on the list, however, his second fave, The Killer Angels, is not and we need to find on the website how to add a book not already listed. The website for our PBS station, (UNC.org) may be accessible to readers in the Lehigh Valley, but the wonderful people at Channel 39 told me that WHYY (Philadelphia) aired The Great American Read in May and that by going to their website, readers can see and vote for their favorite book from among the 100 listed.

The show is available entirely online on the WHYY website. Don’t miss it. Vote for your own favorite book.

You are able to vote once a day to help your book win “the best book in America” prize. Voting closes later this summer and a follow-up “reveal” is scheduled for an Autumn show. Channel 39 plans to make the program available to the Lehigh Valley at a later date not available at press time. Google “The Great American Read” for more information. ***VARINA by Charles Frazier, Ecco, Harper Collins ©2018, 368 pgs., hardcover This novel of historical fiction is supposed to be about Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Unfortunately, the author, Mr. Frazier, has constructed a somewhat disjointed character to portray the First Lady of the failed Confederacy. She is more “vapor” than stoic, more unnatural than flesh and blood.

Varina is one of the most depressing novels I have read. Mr. Frazier seems to be looking for reasons to get into a discussion over race at every turn rather than write a story. Disclaimer: I may confess that I did not like Mr. Frazier’s previous book, Cold Mountain; I did not like the movie version of the book either although I am an avid fan of historical fiction. And here I am again, wanting to like the book because of the subject matter (Civil War), and just cannot. I found this book to be ponderous; I found Varina to be ponderous. In Varina Mr. Frazier plays loose and fast with the facts of this real-life historical woman. I do not think Varina would recognize herself in these pages; she often speaks in lofty prose and has complicated thoughts that wrap an almost mystical sense about her. Varina opens with a middle-aged light-skinned black man (James Blake) requesting to see Mrs. Davis who is a guest in a New York City hotel. The year is about 1905. (Varina Davis died in October of 1906 at the age of 80, outliving five of her six children.) A child during the War, James is now searching for his roots and believes that Varina Davis holds the keys to his early life. (In reality, Jefferson and Varina Davis did adopt a black boy and raised him, but this character of James Blake is merely a poor stand-in for the historical reality of that child cared for by Varina and forgotten by history.) The story is then told in flashbacks as Varina relates her life including her rescue of James from a woman who was beating him on a street corner before the War years. In the narrative, Varina, her children, and a few supporters are on their way to a hopeful escape through Florida to Cuba then onward to Europe in the days after the fall of the Confederacy. They are in Georgia at the time. As a reader I felt every bump of the road in this bumpy story. In bits and drabs the story follows Varina through her life. But, after reading the book, I had the feeling of not knowing Varina at all. While the majority of reviews on the Internet are wildly favorable for Varina, I shudder to think that a movie may be made from it and that people believe that the Varina of the book is also the woman of history. Mr. Frazier makes much of the fact that (the nearly 20 year older than Varina) Jefferson Davis was married earlier to a part Native American girl (Knoxie) who died 3 months into their marriage. He skips the fact that the girl’s father was the (later) President Zachery Taylor. (Jefferson Davis and President Taylor enjoyed a life-long friendship. Mr. Davis served under then General Taylor during the Mexican-American War.) The shadow of Davis’ first wife “Knoxie” truly did hang over the marriage of Varina and “Jeff”. According to history, the marriage was a difficult one at best.

Mr. Frazier also alludes to other much older men in Varina’s life such as her tutor, Judge Winchester, as being her teenaged imagined romance, or to Pemberton, supposed to be Jeff’s personal servant, with whom Varina forms a bond to fight Jeff’s older brother’s controlling behavior. At the end of the day, I suppose I should thank Charles Frazier for the book as it gave me a desire to find out the real story about a previously hazy historical figure. (For more on the life of Varina Davis, read Joan Cashin’s First Lady of the Confederacy (c. 2006) by Harvard University Press.) And if the character of Varina fares badly in this novel, that of Jefferson Davis’ is even worse but we’ll let that go for another time. ****KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR: The Path to a Better Way of Death by Katy Butler, Scribner, Simon & Schuster ©2014, 352 pgs., paperback This book is the best horror story I have ever come across for both the elderly and the “sandwich generation” in today’s world. Ms. Butler’s horror story out-horrors Stephen King by a long shot. This is the true story of Ms. Butler’s parents and their final years of life.

In 2007, Ms. Butler’s father, Jeff, a retired Wesleyan professor, lay in bed, “stroke-shattered, going blind, and suffering from dementia”. Her mother, over breakfast asks Katy to help get Jeff’s pacemaker, implanted some five years earlier, turned off so he could die a natural, quicker death than to linger indefinitely in the pain and suffering he was enduring. Kay’s mother had been her husband’s caretaker in the five years since his first stroke and was at the end of her “rope” with the toll of Jeff’s “100 hour plus a week” care. In our 21st century techno-medical advances, this is the plight of many, many families both in the U.S. and worldwide. Ms. Butler’s life was established in California and the trans-continental care of her Rhode Island’s parents’ care was extraordinarily wearing on her. How does anyone manage the 6

The Irregular

June 2018

care of a sick relative from long distance? In consultation with Jeff’s primary care doctor, the only choice that they could make was to let the battery in the pacemaker run out, but it had a 10-year life and this was only five years into its expected battery power. As the book progresses, legal requirements, durable medical power of attorney signed, and many other legal hoops jumped through, the narrative becomes a lesson for all of us to remember facing the end years of life. Ms. Butler and her mother want the pacemaker turned off. They cannot find a cardiologist who will do that and her father suffers onward and her mother declines as well with his caregiving. “For every year the pacemaker gave my damaged father, it took from my mother an equal year” the author writes citing a study by Ohio State University of the DNA of family members who were looking after relatives with dementia. As with many primary caregivers, Ms. Butler’s mother refuses to have Jeff in a nursing home or to have additional help within her home until much later. Ms. Butler describes death within other cultures and times, even the described final day of life of St. Francis among his monks. Along the way is the back-story of her complicated relationship with her partner, Brian, in California. He wants to fly east to support her in the final days of her father’s life, she says “no”, noting that she had not yet learned the value of commitment and love in its simplest of acts. After her father’s death she recounts the choice for cremation and a memorial service that she refuses to call “a celebration of life” as the word “celebration” has nothing to do with the last years of her father’s existence. The reader can understand that. She delves lightly into the religious and cultural morays of today’s life, all of which we understand. Following her father’s death, his years of care lay heavy on the author and she writes of her own healing process. About a year and a half after her father’s death, Ms. Butler’s mother also dies.

She had had a heart attack, refused to have a pacemaker and died in a hospice facility as she wanted. Following this chapter, Ms. Butler pens advice for families (and persons) who are entering the last years of life of their loved ones. It is advice well to be considered before making any decisions as she and her mother had to make for her father’s care. This book is poignant and horrific at the same time. There is a cautionary tale to be learned here. For horror beyond Stephen King’s Cemetery or any of his other books, Knocking on Heaven’s Door is horror enough and true enough and instructive enough for anyone today.

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

IRREGULAR BEATS The Bach Choir of Bethlehem – 120 Years of Musical Excellence

by Janene Otten This month’s column is dedicated to my love for classical music, particularly the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. 2018 marks the 120th Anniversary of the existence of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Bach’s music has transcended history since the 18th century and his legacy continues to inspire the treasured Bach Choir of Bethlehem. It would be nearly impossible to describe the many moving parts that facilitate the success of such an organization.

From the choir itself to its dedicated administration and back to the ears of the audiences, the heart and soul of Bach’s music flourishes. At the core of the season was the 111th Bethlehem Bach Festival held on the campus of Lehigh University on weekends of May 11 & 12 and Saturdays May 18 & 19.

The program for the festival was very ambitious but with the participation of world class talent the chosen music was delivered with the grace of angels. The live music offerings for the weekends included Bach Outdoors!, a lecture series by Dr. Robin Leaver, a Bach Chorale Sing, Chamber Music in the Saal (of the Moravian Museum), a dinner discussion with Dr. Larry Lipkis, a concert at 8:00pm in the Packer Memorial Church and finally, a beautiful strawberry, champagne and luminaria reception honoring Artistic Director and Conductor Greg Funfgeld.

I was not present at the reception but friends of mine who are choir members from the tenor section informed me that Mr. Funfgeld was gifted a luxurious reprint of Bach’s Calov Bible in honor of his 35 years with the choir. The choir’s Executive Director Bridget George, upon presenting him with the bible, had these words to impart.

“This seemed the perfect gift to express our heartfelt gratitude for the aesthetic heights and spiritual depths of Bach’s music as conveyed by Greg to every member of The Bach Choir Family as he has studied and shared Bach’s great musical sermons with us, measure by measure and word by word; inspiring us, lifting our spirits, and transforming our lives. The gift is made possible by individual contributions enthusiastically given by members of the board, staff, choir, orchestra and soloists. And so Greg, this treasure comes to you for your love of Bach, your love of the Bible and the Church, your faith and your faith in us; and it comes with our great love.”

Artistic Director and Conductor Greg Funfgeld conducting the Bach Choir in February 2018. photo by Hub Wilson

In his three volume Calov Bible are Bach’s own handwritten notes documenting many of his private thoughts. I can only imagine how Mr. Funfgeld will cherish this important piece of Bach’s history.

Saturday’s schedule included a chamber music concert at Lehigh’s Zoellner Arts Center, hymns & chorales, another chorale sing and the unparalleled Mass in B Minor. I attended the glorious Mass in B Minor performance in the Packer Memorial Church; each year it is the centerpiece of the festival.

I have been a choir member for the Mass in B Minor several times but never an audience member. I was floored.

The occasional non-intentional decrescendo due to acoustical challenges didn’t diminish the overall power and intensity driven by a very precise ensemble. So precise, in fact, that I believed it was Memorex! The early stages of the concert took a few movements to balance itself out. Once the ensemble had its wings spread, there was no height it could not hit. It was the crucial transition from the Gloria in excelsis Deo! into Et in terra pax that set the tone for the rest of the concert.

There was a palpable synergy throughout the performance.

What could also have been a drill for the clearly experienced orchestra was no less than a journey of perfect harmony into the realm of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The chorus bound together the glorious language of the mass, the solemn sanctity of it’s meaning and most of all, the exhilarating tonality of Bach’s masterpiece. It was, in a word, wonderful!

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem operates year-round. Visit www.bach.org to stay up-todate on all events. Get caught up in the rapture. Make time for music. Make time for The Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

A close-up of the Bach Choir performing in February 2018. photo by Hub Wilson

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular

7

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Charles Klabunde Gallery & Studio 73 N. 2nd Street, Easton, PA 610-252-1938

Original etchings, drawings and paintings by Charles Klabunde.

Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday & 1st Sunday 12-5pm & by appt.

CharlesKlabundeArtist.com

Communications Hall Northampton Community College 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem, PA 610-861-5300

Art as a Way of Learning June 11-July 27, reception June 12, 6-7:30pm. Open Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm & Friday-Saturday 8am-5pm. northampton.edu/news/ ncc-events-calendar.htm

Connexions Gallery 213 Northampton Street, Easton, PA 610-250-7627

Allentown Art Museum 31 N. 5th Street, Allentown, PA 610-432-4333

Stephen Washington: LAND-MARKS July 1, reception June 9, 7-10pm, artist talk June 17, 2pm. Open Monday 12-5pm, Thursday 12-7pm, Friday 12-8pm, Saturday 11am-8pm & Sunday 12-6pm. connexionsgallery.com

Katagami: The Japanese Stencil thru July 28, Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present thru July 29, and Who Wore Sports thru September 2. Open Wednesday-Saturday 11am-4pm (3rd Thursdays 11am-8pm) & Sunday 12-4pm. allentownartmuseum.org

Ahlum Gallery 106 N. 4th Street, Easton, PA 610-923-7101

Small Works Show thru June 30. Open Friday & Saturday from 12-6pm (Fourth Fridays 12-9pm) & by appt. ahlumgallery.com

Alvin H. Butz Gallery ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA 610-332-1300

Specters of Capital thru July 23. Open Monday-Wednesday 3:309pm, Thursday 4-11pm, Friday 4pm-12am, Saturday 11am-12am, and Sunday 12-9pm. artsquest.org/arts

Banana Factory 25 W. 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA 610-332-1300

Contemporary Renaissance Women thru June 17, and Open Spectrum: New Works from Tom D’Angelo and Susan Washington June 23-August 19. Open Monday-Friday 8am-9:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 8:30am-5pm. bananafactory.org/ events/exhibitions

Country Gate Theatre 114 Greenwich Street Belvidere, NJ 908-475-1104

Crowded Kitchen Players Allentown, PA 610-395-7176

The David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries The Baum School of Art 510 Linden Street, Allentown, PA 610-433-0032

It’s All About Color: Ellen Grim Harter June 7-July 6, reception June 21, 6-8pm. Open Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday & Saturday 9am-3pm. baumschool.org

Alice in Wonderland June 1-August 4, Ragtime June 13-July 1, Twelfth Night June 21-July 15, The Great Divorce June 25, Shakespeare in Love July 11-August 5, King Richard II July 19-August 5, Shakespeare for Kids July 25-August 4, and All’s Well That Ends Well July 25-August 5. pashakespeare.org

Hunterdon Hills Playhouse 88 Route 173 West, Hampton, NJ 800-447-7313

Beauty and the Beast July 14-29. countrygate.org

Arts Community of Easton (ACE) featuring works by Kristen Barnes, Jack Frank, Howard McGinn, Lovette Montalvo, Danny Moyer, Maryann Riker & Courtney Torres thru June 15. Open Wednesday-Saturday 9am-7pm & Sunday 9am-5pm.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival DeSales University 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley, PA 610-282-9455

A Softening of her Eyes June 8-17 at the IceHouse in Bethlehem. ckplayers. com

The House Is Rockin’: The Mahoney Brothers June 5-14, and My Gal Patsy with Josie Waverly June 19-22. hhplayhouse.com

Easton Public Market 325 Northampton Street, Easton, PA info@eastonart.org

The Spring Show: Tina Cantelmi, Janet Dance, Thomas Kelly, Josh Schwartz, Ward Van Haute, and Marta Whistler thru July 7. Open Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-9pm & Sunday 12-7pm. bethlehemhousegallery.com

‘Easton Nights’ photography by Peter Ydeen thru June 2, Print Riot June 8-9 (Fri. 6-10pm & Sat. 11am6pm), and Works by Jessica Bastidas June 16-July 14, reception June 16, 6-9pm. Open Saturday 12-6pm & by appt. brickandmortargallery.com

Easton Summer Cinema: Grapes of Wrath June 5, Atlantic City June 12, On the Beach June 19, The Visitor June 26, Breaking Away July 3, To Kill A Mockingbird July 10, Medium Cool July 17, and His Girl Friday July 24.

2017 FREDDY© Awards Photo Retrospective thru June 22. Open 90 minutes prior to most performances. statetheatre.org/gallery

Bethlehem House Gallery 459 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA 610-419-6262

Brick + Mortar Gallery Silk Mill Complex, Unit 101 1247 Simon Boulevard Easton, PA 908-319-2914

Buck Hall Lafayette College 219 N. 3rd Street, Easton, PA 610-330-3311

Easton Hospital Gallery State Theatre Center for the Arts 5th & Northampton Streets, Easton, PA 800-999-STATE

Civic Theatre of Allentown 527 N. 19th Street Allentown, PA 610-432-8943

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead June 15-24. civictheatre.com

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre 2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 484-664-3333 Disney’s Beauty & The Beast June 14-July 1, TAL: Beyond Imagination June 27-July 28, and How to Succeed in Business July 11-29. muhlenberg. edu/summermusictheatre

Northampton Community College Theatre 3835 Green Pond Road Bethlehem, PA 610-861-5493 Bucks County Playhouse 70 S. Main Street, New Hope, PA 215-862-2121

Newsies June 6-17, God of Carnage June 21-July 1, and 1776 July 4-15. nccsummertheatre.org

Act of God thru June 16, Showboat In Concert June 23, and 42nd Street June 29-August 4. bcptheater.org

8

The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT IF Museum/Academy 107 N. 4th Street, Easton, PA 610-258-0777

“Philippe ze Oakville”: Artist Phil Rostek’s Fusion Assemblages thru August 30. Open ThursdaySunday 1-4pm (Fourth Fridays 1-9pm) & by appt. facebook.com/ IFMuseumAcademy

Lauren Kindle Studio and Gallery 7B N. Bank Street, Easton, PA 267-247-6364 Works by Lauren Kindle. Open by appt. laurenkindle.com

Elli Albrecht Studio Gallery 34 Sebring Street, Easton, PA ellialbrechtstudio@gmail.com

Transitions: featuring work by Francis Beaty, Khalil Allaik, Ian Summers, Michelle Neifert, Ana Maria Hamilton, Femi J. Johnson, Alison Bessesdotter, Egidio Galgano, Berrisford Boothe, and Elli Albrecht thru June 30. Open Thursday-Friday 10am-3pm, Saturday 10am-5pm & by appt. facebook.com/ellialbrechtstudio

Gallery at St. John’s 330 Ferry Street, Easton, PA 610-258-6119

Spirits in Matter 2: Artworks by Don Wilson & Mary J. Budkoski thru June 24.

Open Sunday 12-3pm & by appt. stjohnseaston.org/ministries/gallery

Martin Art Gallery Baker Center for the Arts Muhlenberg College 2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 484-664-3467

Underpinnings thru August 11.

Open Tuesday-Saturday 12-8pm. muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/gallery

ME-Art Studio 22 S. 3rd Street, 2nd Floor Easton, PA 908-319-4864

Gallery and working studio of Beverly Murbach-Erhardt featuring watercolors, acrylics and art cards.

Open Thursday-Saturday 11am-4pm. me-artstudio.com

Museum of Ethnography 22 S. 3rd Street, 2nd Floor Easton, PA 908-798-0805

Complacent No Longer (show + 8-minute film) thru September 30.

Open Tuesday & Friday 11am-4pm, Saturday 11am-2pm & by appt. maryaclarity.com

Nazareth Center for the Arts 30 Belvidere Street, Nazareth, PA 610-614-0404

Rotunda Gallery at City Hall 10 E. Church Street Bethlehem, PA rotundashows@bfac-lv.org

All / Most: Mixed Media Collages by Danny Moyer June 5-July 19, reception June 10, 2-4pm. Open Monday-Friday 8:30am4:30pm. bfac-lv.org/events/rotunda-gallery-shows

“The 5 X 5 Show”: 5 Artists-5 Media (Richard Begbie: Photography, James A. DePietro: Oil/Acrylic, Barbara Kozero: Mosaic, Jacqueline Meyerson: Pastel & Maryann J. River: Collage/Assemblage) thru June 28. Open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 12-2pm & by appt.

Nurture Nature Center 518 Northampton Street Easton, PA 610-253-4432

Unseasonable Expectations: The Art of Weather Invitational, and In Hot Water: Photographs by Harmony Hancock thru July 30. Open Wednesday 12-4pm, Thursday 6-9pm, Saturday 12-4pm & by appt. nurturenaturecenter.org

Ronald K. De Long Gallery Penn State Lehigh Valley 2809 Saucon Valley Road, Center Valley, PA 610-285-5261

Bethlehem Palette Club thru July 21. Open Monday-Thursday 11am-5pm, Friday 11am-3pm & Saturday 10am-2pm. lehighvalley.psu.edu/ronald-k-de-long-gallery

Sigal Museum 342 Northampton Street, Easton, PA 610-253-1222

The Cat’s Meow: Lehigh Valley in the Age of Art Deco & the 1920s thru July 29, and Arts Community of Easton Spring Show thru June 24. Open Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm (Fourth Fridays 10am-9pm) & Sunday 124pm. sigalmuseum.org

Tomi J. Petrella, Art, Etc. 9 N. 2nd Street, Easton, PA 908-303-0519

Paintings, portraits, murals, and design. Open Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-1pm or by appt. tomiartetc.com

Pennsylvania Playhouse Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem, PA 610-865-6665

Congratulations to the 2018 Freddy Award Winners!

The Fox on the Fairway June 1-17. paplayhouse.org

Pines Dinner Theatre 448 N. 17th Street, Allentown, PA 610-433-2333

Yankee Doodle Dandy thru July 1, and The Rat Pack Lounge July 6-19. pinesdinnertheatre.com

Star of the Day McCoole’s Arts & Events Place 10 S. Main Street, Quakertown, PA 484-809-9228 Footloose June 22-24. staroftheday.org

State Theatre Center for the Arts 453 Northampton Street, Easton, PA 800-999-STATE

Lea Michele & Darren Criss June 8, Jim Witter’s The Piano Man June 16, and Dirty Dancing June 21-22. statetheatre.org

Shawnee Playhouse River Road Shawnee-On-Delaware, PA 570-421-5093

Who’s in Bed With the Butler? thru June 3, 2018 Cabarets thru December 20, HONK! JR. June 2-23, The Pirates of Penzance June 15July 8, and Willy Wonka JR. June 29-July 21. theshawneeplayhouse.com

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular

9

Artistic Endeavors

Local teen paints Easton’s latest mural for Easton Mural Project article and photos by Dawn Ouellette Nixon At just 16 years old, Delaware Valley High School student Madison Scott is painting a mural in the city of Easton based on her very own design. Madison, a Holland Township, New Jersey resident, has been visiting Easton, Pennsylvania with her family for many years.

“My family comes to Easton often for dinner,” she says. “The city is very familiar to me. I just love Easton.”

Madison’s mural design was chosen for a retaining wall at the corner of Spring Garden Street and Larry Holmes Drive from a selection of designs submitted to the Easton Mural Project, a public mural initiative. The 110 foot wide by 6 foot tall wall is co-owned by Clay Mitman, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Tomias Hinchcliff, owner of Genesis Bicycles.

Dedicated to beautifying the visual landscape of the city while increasing opportunities for artists in the area, the Easton Mural Project may be familiar to some from the graphic “There should be a mural here” text painted on several blank city walls.

A collaborative effort by Easton’s Brick + Mortar Gallery owners Tom D’Angelo and Chaz Hampton and the Easton Main Street Initiative, the Easton Mural Project has already worked with local artists on two murals that have quickly become Easton landmarks.

In fact, it was Chaz Hampton’s visit to Madison Scott’s art class that inspired Scott’s art teacher, Mrs. Sarah Rupert, to encourage Scott to submit her design for the next mural project.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe I was chosen,” says Scott. “I didn’t even have words when I got the call. It is really cool that my design is going to have an impact in Easton.”

Madison Scott has been drawing since the 7th grade. “I had an art teacher who taught me how to draw mandalas and I started making them on my

own,” remarks Scott. “Then during my freshman year of high school I started my own business called Madison Designs. I began with posting one or two images of my artwork to instagram and I started getting design jobs. Since then my business has grown and I now have an instagram with 10,000 followers.”

Scott hopes her mural with the Easton Mural Project will inspire other young artists. “I just hope that my piece inspires creative young people to do something that they don’t think they can. I never would have thought my design would have been chosen. I hope that young people will try for something they don’t think that they can win.”

Scott’s design features graphic images of waves and water. “I wanted to bring in the Easton culture,” she explains, “and the river is so much a part of Easton’s past, present and future. I wanted to represent that.”

Scott has a team of volunteers helping her paint the mural, from fellow classmates to family to friends. “The biggest challenge has been putting everything together,” states Scott.

“The weather does not always cooperate. But it will be so rewarding seeing my design on a wall in town.

It is such a fantastic feeling.”

To learn more about the Easton Mural Project, visit www.eastonmurals. org. You can follow Madison Scott on Instgram @madisons_designs.

Delaware High School student Madison Scott at work on her mural in Easton, PA.

My father was my teacher. But most importantly he was a great dad.

-Beau Bridges

10 The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

with Heath Mensher, M.Ed.

The “Filmmaker’s Film Festival” Lives on the SouthSide Cheddar Cheese. Whiskey. Flannel sheets, and The SouthSide Film Festival. These things are affordable, and these things only get better with age. In its fifteenth year, the Festival - known as “Filmmaker’s Film Festival” in the Industry because of the welcoming nature of the festival organizers - has grown from a tiny venture to a five-day celebration, complete with outdoor film screenings, late-night parties, and the love and support of a thriving arts community.

Sitting down in the minimalist conference room of the National Museum of Industrial History - a genuine hidden-gem housed in what was formerly Bethlehem Steel - Festival Director Glenn Koehler. looks at me with the wild eyes of someone who has watched hundreds of films, and very recently. “We have a lot of very strange films this year,” he says with the eye-twinkle of a true cinephile. “We are truly a small-town Festival with International reach.” Koehler got involved through twitter in 2008, on a whim, starting as a volunteer (the Festival, it should be noted, is completely volunteer-run). He progressed through the many stages of being successful in any company - if you stay somewhere long enough, producing solid work, “putting up or shutting up,” you rise up the chain. He moved to the Festival Jury, watching hundreds of films.

He became a member of The Board of Directors of the Festival. Since 2014 he has been The SouthSide Film Festival’s Director, and you can see his passion for the position when he speaks.

When asked about a significant film in his life, Koehler thinks. “Wow. Hmm. I will say that Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem For A Dream blew my mind in so many directions that I didn’t know what to do. And I knew - I needed to watch more movies!”

This year’s films are separated into “Blocks.” Animation. Documentaries. Shorts. Dramas.

Comedies. Tear-jerkers (“... my favorites,” Koehler tells me). But the films all have a common thread to him. “Does the film tell a story? Is it something I would recommend to my friend to pay to see? Then it’s good enough to be in our Festival.”

Details The 2018 Festival will be held June 12-16 in South Bethlehem, PA. Participating venues can be found on the Festival’s website.

The SouthSide Film Festival is an annual five-day event featuring international films, guest filmmakers, juried selections, locally produced films, seminars, and networking opportunities for filmmakers and fans of independent film.

The SouthSide Film Festival (SSFF) is a non-competitive, not-for-profit festival that views works of cinema as art, not as a commercial enterprise. The SSFF is a program of The SouthSide Film Institute (SSFI), a not-for-profit volunteer-run organization promoting the art of the independent filmmaker. SSFI caters to the needs of all filmmakers in Lehigh Valley, PA. The SSFF is dedicated to preserving and promoting the art of the independent filmmaker, providing the patron of the arts freedom of choice, and showcasing the community culture of South Bethlehem.

So much good information can be found on their Facebook page: facebook.com/SouthSideFilmFest, and their website: southsidefilmfestival.com.

Heath Mensher is a current instructor of film and screenwriting in the Lehigh Valley. He has a Masters Degree in Secondary Education from Kutztown, two young children, and an excellent wife

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! FACEBOOK.COM/EASTONIRREGULAR

©2018 Satori Publishing

A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it.

Crossword Answers (Puzzle on page 14)

Alfred Hitchcock

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular 11

GARDENING

Back Alley Makeover Magic article and photos by Pam Ruch “Start with the soil!” is accepted, time-honored garden wisdom.

But … what if you don’t? What if you just accept the dirt you are given and make it work for you—without adding compost or fertilizer, without increasing the Nitrogen content or upping the percent of Organic Matter? And what if that dirt happens to be gravelly rubble, with almost no soil?

There are natural areas populated by beautiful plants despite having what we gardeners might consider poor soil. Think of the Serpentine Barrens in southeast Pennsylvania, carpeted in spring with moss phlox (Phlox subulata) and serpentine aster. And there are arid grasslands of California resplendent with California poppies (Eschscholtzia californica), and droughty, rocky soils in southern Europe made brilliant by wild thyme.

A “scree slope” is the consequence of the degradation and subsequent erosion of a rock face. Around the world you might see natural scree slopes populated by thrift (Armeria maritima), toadflax (Linaria spp.), sedums, pussy toes (Antennaria spp.), rock cress (Arabis spp.), poppies, hens and chicks (Sempervivum spp.), and many other species. Visit Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, PA for a stunning example of a beautiful and colorful gravel garden, modeled on these types of landscapes.

Keep in mind too that weeds grow anywhere. They pop up in the cracks of the sidewalk; they cover abandoned lots and roadside ditches. They survive despite our best efforts to eradicate them. Their tenacity is positively inspiring!

Anywhere a weed can grow, something more desirable can grow.

Therefore, it follows that you can cultivate a beautiful garden in a waste space, such as a back alley, and you can do it with very little money or effort. One lesson to be learned from nature is: Discover the survivors of the plant world, and then let them work for you.

Using Nature’s Lessons to Beautify an Alley I’ve been experimenting with planting a gravel garden for the past three years in an alley on Pine Street adjacent to the Nurture Nature Center Urban Recycle garden in downtown Easton, PA. Before I began this alley makeover, the narrow space was filled with the usual suspects: dandelions and plantain, burdock and evening primrose, grasses, and the occasional tree seedling. The invaders were whacked down once a year so that the alley could function as a fire escape route. In short, the space was a weedy mess, where dogs did their business and people dropped their food wrappers and empty cigarette packs. A solution to the eyesore might have been asphalt pavement, which would have created an eyesore of a different type. Plus, a paved surface would contribute to storm water runoff. An alley garden, on the other hand, absorbs rainwater.

This was a no-budget project. I started with divisions taken from the ‘Bath’s Pink’ dianthus and moss phlox I had planted elsewhere, seeds of self sowing annuals such as dill and larkspur, a couple of creeping thyme and wooly thyme plants, and some Sedum ‘Angelina’. In no time at all, these gravel-loving survivors began to fill the space. Golden Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria) migrated from the garden proper, and a couple of stray sunflowers seedlings took root. I dropped some ‘Lauren’s Grape’ poppy seedheads and a pack of ‘White Linen’ California poppy seeds into the rubble, just to see if they would germinate. I planted a handful of lady tulips (Tulipa

Sweet alyssum will self-sow readily in any available crack.

clusiana) in the hope that they would eventually self-sow as they do in the stony hillsides of Afghanistan.

Last year I tucked a few dwarf crested irises, which grow naturally on our rocky, wooded slopes, in an area shaded on both sides by tall buildings. They are thriving. Everything, in fact, is thriving.

The surprising thing about this urban alley—a forgotten space that got no respect—is that, although the plants I have populated it with were chosen because they can take abuse, they are not abused. Since the makeover there has been no vandalism, no trash, no dog poop. Transforming this neglected alley has worked some minor magic, as I witness this simple act of stewardship being passed along day after day.

Respect begets respect. This is a good thing to remind ourselves of from time to time.

Horticulturist and writer Pam Ruch, caretaker of the Nurture Nature Center Urban Recycle Garden, tends gardens in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, and presents gardening and nature journaling programs throughout the region. She explores the intricacies of nature on her website, ArtofNatureJournaling.com.

Here are the rules I follow in nurturing the Pine Street Alley garden: 1) The plants I use must not need watering.

2) They must be cheap or better yet free. Each one is an experiment and it may not survive.

3) If someone stomps on the plants, that has to be ok. This is not a precious garden.

4) Because the alley is a fire escape route, plants in this area must al low for egress.

5) The process is all about experimentation and fun. If something doesn’t work, no regrets!

Sedum ‘Angelina’ and white-flowering creeping thyme beautify Nurture Nature Center’s back alley.

Though native to shaded woodland slopes, dwarf crested iris adapts to the shade of an urban alley.

12 The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

GARDENING

continued from page 12

These plants will thrive in a gravel alley garden, with very little help from you.

And there are plenty of others!

PERENNIALS Thyme Low-growing Sedums and Sempervivums Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) Lavender Irish “moss” (Sagina aurea) Dianthus ‘Bath’s Pink’ Dwarf Irises Golden Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria) Oxeye daisies (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) Corydalis Donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria) BULBS Species tulips, such as Tulipa clusiana Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa sp.)

Snowdrops (Galanthus sp.)

ANNUALS THAT SELF SOW California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) Poppies (Papaver somniferum) Larkspur Xeranthemum annuum Nasturtiums Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) Sunflowers

Moss phlox thrives in poor, gravelly soil, and attracts spring pollinators.

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

The Irregular 13

IRREGULAR EVENTS ONGOING: Book & Puppet Co. Free Events: Story Hour Tues.-Sat. 10:30-11:30am; Jazz Concert with Andy Laties 1st Thurs. 7-8pm; Writers Group 3rd Thur. 7-9pm; Comics Jam 4th Sat. 4-6pm; Fractured Fables Puppet Show every Sat. & Sun. 1-2pm; Meet a Storybook Character every Sat. & Sun. 2pm; and Stitch n’ B!tch 1st & 2nd Sun. 5-8pm. 466 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 484-541-5379, bookandpuppet.com Chapter #14, Soc. PA Archaeology Meeting: Bring your Indian artifacts for typing, age determination. Every Thur. 7pm. Easton Area Public Library Palmer Branch, 1 Weller Place, Easton, PA. Info: Len Ziegler 908-750-4110 Cops ‘n’ Kids Reading Room Story. Every Thurs. June 21-Aug. 9, 2-5pm with special Arts Community of Easton events 2-4pm. Easton Community Center, 901 Washington St. (9th St. entrance), Easton, PA. Info: 610-250-6562, copsnkidseaston@ gmail.com, copsnkidseaston.org Easton Farmers’ Market. Every Sat. 9am-1pm thru Dec. (June 9: Strawberry Day, June 23: June Be Jamboree). Centre Sq., Easton, PA. Info: 610-330-9942, eastonfarmersmarket.com Easton Municipal Band Summer Series: June 16, 7:30pm: Bethlehem Rose Garden; June 18, 7pm: North Catasaqua Park; Aug. 19, 6pm: Wilson Borough’s Meuser Park.

Info: eastonband.com/contact Music in Dimmick Park Summer Concert Series: June 10: Large Flowerheads, June 24: Flirtin With the Mob, July 8: Brian Dean Moore Band, July 22: James Supra & Sarah Ayers Quartet, Aug. 18: Cunningham & Associates. 6-8pm. 570 Durham St., Hellertown, PA. Info: facebook.com/ events/961874210633364 Open Mic Nights. 1st Tues. of the month 6:30-8pm. Mary Meuser Memorial Library. 1803 Northampton St., Wilson Borough, PA. Info: 610258-3040

Quilting Club. 1st & 3rd Mon. of the month 6-8pm. Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-258-2917 Science on a Sphere & SOS Explorer Touch Screen Kiosk at Nurture Nature Center. Every Wed. & Sat. 12-4pm, Thur. 6-9pm (June 16, 1pm: Science on a Sphere: Finding Coral, Discover Rainforests of the Seas). 518 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-4432, Liesel@ nurturenaturecenter.org Senior Connection, a free community senior program offering social and mental stimulation for older adults.

Every Tues. & Thur. 10am-3pm.

Arndt’s Lutheran Church, 1851 Arndt Rd., Forks Twp., PA, Info: 610-2533732, Nancy Walters 610-253-0726, nancywalters@rcn.com Sew Others May Be Warm Knitting/ Charity Group. Every Thur. 1-3pm.

Easton Area Public Library Palmer Branch, 1 Weller Pl., Easton, PA. Info: 610-258-7492 Silver Connections: Fun for Seniors.

Every Tues., Wed., & Thur. 9am-1pm.

Easton Area Community Center, 901 Washington St., Easton, PA. Info: 610253-8271, Saints1@ptd.net The Writers Café. 2nd Thur. of the month 7-9pm. Easton Area Public Library Palmer Branch, 1 Weller Pl., Easton, PA. Info: glvwg.vebmeister@ gmail.com Tunes at Twilight: June 7: Trouble City All-Stars, June 14: James Supra & Sarah Ayers Quartet, June 21: Sunshine Symphony, June 28: Girl Crue, July 5: Scott Marshall, July 12: Cunningham & Associates, July 19: Billy Bauer Band. 6-8pm.

Sun Inn Courtyard, 564 Main St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 484-280-3024, getdowntownbethlehem.com THRU JUNE 5: Spring Book Sale. Fri.11am-5pm, Sat. 10am-3pm (half price day) & Mon. 2-7pm (Bag Day). Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-258-2917 x393, maryannh@eastonpl.org

JUNE 1-3: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church’s Festa Italiana. Fri. 7-10pm, Sat. 6-9:30pm & Sun. 5-8pm. Holy Cross Park, Morgan Hill & Cedarville Rds., Williams Twp., PA. Info: 610253-7188, stanthonyeaston.com JUNE 2: Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor’s Founder’s Day 30th Anniversary Celebration.

11:30am-10pm.

National Canal Museum, 2750 Hugh Moore Park Rd., Easton, PA. Info: 610-9233548, info@delawareandlehigh.org, delawareandlehigh.org JUNE 4: Josiah: The Story That Sparked the Civil War, documentary screening and panel discussion. 7pm, $5. Sigal Museum NCHGS, 342 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-1222 JUNE 7-10: Easton Greek Festival. Thur. 4-9pm, Fri. 4-10pm, Sat. 11am-10pm & Sun. 12-5pm. 319 S. 20th St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-8147 JUNE 8: Live at the Falls: The Moondogs.

5:30-9:30pm. Scott Park, Larry Holmes Dr., Easton, PA. Hosted by GEDP. Info: 610-330-9947, liveatfalls. com JUNE 8 & 22: Pinochle Club. 12:30pm. Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-4543712 JUNE 9: Saturday Morning Trivia. 10am.

Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-454-3712 Lenape Sacred Sites with Edward Henning. 1pm; free w/adm. or $5. Sigal Museum NCHGS, 342 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-1222 Volunteer Day at Jacobsburg. 10am3pm.

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-746-2801, jacobsburgsp@pa.gov

Classic French Films of the Sixties: Breathless. 2-4pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-3761, bapl.org

1125 River Rd. (PA-32), Upper Black Eddy, PA. Info: Katie Martens 610982-0161, kmartens@pa.gov, events. dcnr.pa.gov

JUNE 11: Laughter Yoga. 12pm. Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-4543712

Prime Aging Expo. 9am-4pm.

The Sands Bethlehem Event Center, 77 Sands Blvd., Bethlehem, PA. Sponsored by The Morning Call.

Info: 610-820-6110, primeexpolehighvalley.com

JUNE 12: Tuesday Trails. 5:30-7pm. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610746-2801, jacobsburgsp@pa.gov

Special World Music Performance

by Daria. 11am-12pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-3761, bapl.org

Classic Book Club: Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh. 7pm. Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-4543712

Capoeira Vision. 1-3pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library South Side branch, 400 Webster St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-7852, bapl.org

JUNE 13: Protect Seniors from Fraud. 1pm.

Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-454-3712 Nazareth Book Club: A Gentlemen In Moscow by Amor Towles. 6:308pm. Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA. Info: Amy 484-7678049 JUNE 14: Immigration Law Seminar. 6-7pm.

Bethlehem Area Public Library South Side branch, 400 Webster St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-7852, bapl.org Film: Chasing Coral. 7pm. 518 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-4432, Liesel@ nurturenaturecenter.org JUNE 14 & 28: PFPL Writers Group.

7pm.

Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-454-3712 JUNE 16: Invasive Control Volunteer Work Day - Giving Pond. 9am-12pm, reg. req. Giving Pond Recreation Area,

Cruise Night. 5-9pm. Downtown Easton, PA. Info: 610-250-6610, kroscioli@easton-pa.gov Family Camping for Beginners at the Boulton Historic Site. 5pm9am, $8 (5 & under free)/reg. req.

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-746-2801, jacobsburgsp@ pa.gov JUNE 20: Book Forum. 1:30pm Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg; NJ. Info: 908-4543712 Flamenco Surf Nights At BAPL. 6-8pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library South Side branch, 400 Webster St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-7852, bapl.org Everyday Art. 7pm, reg. req.

Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg NJ. Info: 908-454-3712 JUNE 20-JULY 25: Kids Create and Learn. Weds. 1pm, ages 5-10/reg. req. ($8 or $35 for all). 518 Northampton St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-4432, Liesel@ nurturenaturecenter.org

Answers on Page 11

14 The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

JUNE 21: Community Health Fair. 1-7pm.

Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-759-4932

JUNE 27: Family Craft Night. 6:30-7:15pm, reg. req. Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-759-4932

Destination Arts: Third Thursday.

5-8pm. Multiple Art Venues in Downtown Allentown, PA. Info: elizabethr@lehighvalleychamber.org, downtownallentown.com

Happy Bookers Discussion Group: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders. 7pm. Phillipsburg Free Public Library, 200 Broubalow Way, Phillipsburg, NJ. Info: 908-454-3712

JUNE 22: NAZZIES Book Club: Still Alice by Lisa Genova. 10:30-11:30am, reg. req. Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-759-4932

Non-fiction Book Group: Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

by Richard Wrangham. 7pm. Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church St., Easton, PA. Info: 610-258-2917 x393

Easton Out Loud: Fourth Fridays.

5-9pm. Downtown Easton, PA. Info: 610-250-6533, jo@eastonpartnership. org, eastonoutloud.com JUNE 23: Wading: Streamside Walk and Talk on the Karl Stirner Arts Trail (KSAT). 10am-12pm/hosted by Nurture Nature Center. Meet at the 13th St. entrance to the KSAT, Easton, PA. Info: 610-253-4432, Liesel@ nurturenaturecenter.org JUNE 25: Dinosaur Dig. 2-3pm, ages 5 & up/reg. req. Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-759-4932

JUNE 29: Family Night: Blinking Lights on Summer Nights. 8:30-9:30pm, reg. req. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610-746-2801, jacobsburgsp@pa.gov JUNE 30: Butterflies of Jacobsburg.

10am-2pm, reg. req. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd., Nazareth, PA. Info: 610746-2801, jacobsburgsp@pa.gov D.I.Y. Saturday Sessions: Music Sheet Coasters. 2-3:30pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library South Side

branch, 400 Webster St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-7852, bapl.org Dinner and a Cruise: Coal Country Crooning. 5:30-8pm/$55. National Canal Museum, 2750 Hugh Moore Park Rd., Easton, PA. Info: Loretta Susen 610-923-3548 x221, canals.org

Have an event taking place in the area?

Email it to us here at The Irregular, bruneo1776@aol. com.

Events will be placed on the events calendar at the discretion of the publisher.

JUNE 26: Palmer Adult Book Group: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.

6-7:30pm. Easton Area Public Library Palmer Branch, 1 Weller Pl., Easton, PA. Info: 610-258-7492 Family Fun Night: Kit’s Interactive Theater presents “Colonial Life”.

6:30-7:30pm. Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem, PA. Info: 610-867-3761, bapl.org

Libra- Getting in touch with your inner self goes beyond self-help.

Watch for a powerful sign that burn out could be inevitable. As summer approaches and Venus wanders through the Sun sign in Cancer, reconnect with old friends, visit family and go back to a place with people who recharge you and ask nothing more from you than your company.

Scorpio- That’s not a hex over you, or is it? Our minds are a powerful place and yours in particular! Keep in mind the laws of physics and karma aren’t so different after all. Decisions and actions made today do have influence and sway over the future. That includes yours as well as those around you too. Be kind now, receive kindness in return later, etc., etc. You know where this is going...

Aries- As odd luck would have it, your guiding star Mars is in Aquarius currently; let’s focus on this! The next couple of weeks could be a strange trip. Just go with it, odds stacked against you all of a sudden turn in your favor, meeting strange people and finding your self in less than normal situations open doors towards all sorts of unexpected opportunities. Instability might rock your foundations but it’s temporary, try something you’d never do otherwise.

Taurus- Guiding Star Venus, Goddess of Love, dips into the deep waters of Cancer, at first this experience could be refreshing, nostalgic and dreamy but the deeper she goes the more intense intuition heightens, sensitivities at work pour over and insecurities due to social circles and it’s demands become. There’s an upswing, opportunities from the past come back around and this time you’ll be better prepared!

Gemini- The spotlight is on you right now and guiding star Mercury in Taurus creates a harmonious balance of business and pleasure. Don’t rock the boat by looking for unnecessary challenges. When the feeling get up and go comes over you, do so! Avoid laziness, keep social and leave some wiggle room open for summertime plans or trips to rearrange.

Cancer- Chances with personal destiny are at hand, don’t miss these opportunities by doing so much for others that you forget about your pursuits or needs. Finding your true purpose and accepting the responsibility is a commitment and accepting it confidently is key. Children hold the answers to some of your toughest decisions.

Leo- Summertime being right around the corner will start to empower your longing for beach days, nature walks or just all around being under the sun! Dividing your time between personal/professional responsibility and enjoyment could require assistance. In other words distribute responsibilities and lighten your load.

Cucumbers and extra hydration now will be appreciated later!

Virgo- Canceling plans last minute and changing your mind quickly isn’t much like you but life happens and sometimes curveballs throw us off track. Should you feel indecisive and confused it could be a sign you might need more rest, vitamins & minerals or you’re merely taking on too much. Be honest with yourself and others, you’re not expected to do everything, just your part.

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise

June 2018

Sagittarius- Why do bad things happen to good people? More importantly why and how can that happen to you?! The point right now isn’t what caused your unhappiness but how to overcome it and restore happy times. Sometimes the only way to learn is the hard way and this moment could be one of them. Hint, asking for help ... helps.

Capricorn- Work is good, money’s alright, relationships either even keel or troubled aren’t the priorities currently. It’s you. Trouble shooting and targeting all of the insecurities and inner frustrations that create psychosomatic flaws causes rabbit holes, if you’re going down then bring lots of climbing gear, if you’re just gazing down the bottom chucking rocks or listening for echoes don’t get too close and fall in because only you can help your self out.

Aquarius- The Way You Do Anything is the way you do everything.

And that’s it! New ideas, reinvention and opening your self up to new friends, subjects and locals drafts up a whole new chapter in your fantasy fiction story called life. Keep things light, no heavy commitments and the summer ahead will be easy breezy. Easier said than done though.

Pisces- Hidden talents and undiscovered potential bubbles up to the surface known as your creative side. More things to add to your already incredibly rich repertoire. Run around barefoot in spring rain showers, stop and smell the roses and pay no attention to naysayers who possess no magic of their own, what do they know about magic anyhow!

The Irregular 15

Irregular Eats with Gene Palmiter I’m searching Easton for breakfasts and lunches that costs under $10. This usually means that it’s one of the more established restaurants. But 3rd & Ferry Fish Market has a weekday lunch special for $6.99! Selections vary with 2 being offered each day. It could be Blackened Cod with Garden Salad, Fried Fisherman’s Basket with batter fried shrimp and cod topped with olive and sweet peppers, Chicken Penne with vodka sauce over calamarata pasta. Or, whatever the market dictates.

One of 3rd & Ferry Street Fish Market’s lunch specials: Chicken Penne with vodka sauce over calamarata pasta.

Enjoy weekday lunch specials for under $10 at 3rd & Ferry Fish Market.

3rd & Ferry Fish Market is located at 56 S. 3rd Street in Easton, PA (610-829-1404).

They are open Tuesday thru Thursday 11am to 10:30pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-12:30am and Sunday 11am9:30pm (dinner menu all day on Sundays).

Visit them online at www.thirdandferry.com and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/3rdandFerryst.

If you’d like to view an online version of The Irregular, visit our Facebook page.

FACEBOOK.COM/ EASTONIRREGULAR

The Irregular

June 2018

Call 610-258-4330 to advertise