-
Gladwyne Library League’s Arts and Crafts Show Preview is Picture Perfect
Colorful signage staked throughout Gladwyne announced the annual event. “I think that the power of art is the power to wake us up, strike our depths, change us. What are we searching for when we read a novel, see a film, listen to a piece of music? We are searching, through a work of art, for something that alters us, that we weren’t aware of before.” ~~ Jhumpa Lahiri “The creative adult is the child who survived.” ~~ Ursula Leguin “To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” ~~ Kurt Vonnegut Story, photos by Sharon Kozden It’s…
-
Art Car World Bringing Burning Man Vibes to Douglas, Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Zooming straight away from my bed and breakfast in Bisbee to Douglas, Arizona is a short half hour ride out of the mountains and relatively easy to find at the newish location of Art Car World at 450 E. 8th St. Street, Douglas, AZ 85607. I met up with Harrod Blank, the brains and brand behind the mission outside and he was excited to share his master plans with me. Harrod has that kind of personality that you immediately take to, or maybe I did because we both have that one parent was all business and the other a hippy background. Regardless, we were fast…
-
Paris, je t’aime! An American Reminisces on Her Love Affair with France
Story, photos by Jill Beckel Bonjour! It is hard to say where my obsession with Paris started, but I am honestly not sure. I know that I dreamed about going to Paris as child and something about it always fascinated me. I took French throughout middle school and three years of high school. However, I am by no means fluent. I can pick up phrases and written words here and there, but definitely could not hold my own in a full-on on conversation in French (I did try to brush up with the Duolingo app before this trip). Once I was in college, I knew that I wanted to travel…
-
DesignPhiladelphia Festival Celebrates 15 Years, Hosts Kickoff Party at Cherry Street Pier
The Ben Franklin Bridge’s steel-suspension design is a perfect backdrop for DesignPhilaldephia’s Kickoff Party. “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fits our needs so well that the design is invisible.”- Don Norman Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My introduction to Philadelphia’s design scene occurred in fall at Cherry St. Pier, where DesignPhiladelphia kick-started its 15th annual 10-day long festival with a launch party that had the stunning Benjamin Franklin Bridge as backdrop. It was a fitting and iconic location choice. What, after all, screams both stellar design and Philadelphia more than the Ben bridge? What wasn’t fitting on that…
-
Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival Represents Fragility, Beauty of Life at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia
Feast your eyes on this explosion of cherry blossoms and breathe in gratitude for nature’s spectacular gifts. “The significance of the cherry blossom tree in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. In their country, the cherry blossom represents the fragility and the beauty of life. It’s a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but that it is also tragically short.” – Homaro Cantu Story, photos by Sharon Kozden I remember the moment in high-definition clarity. My face (as I type this) is cherry-blossom pink because a faux pas I made over a year ago was recalled for the purpose of this article’s opening (what I won’t do for…
-
Piazza Pod Park Opens in Philly’s Northern Liberties, BEBOT Towers Over Fun-for-All Hot Spot
Piazza Pod Park in Northern Liberties is officially open. Robot Bebot looms large. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Remember when the now infamous Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty arrived on the scene in late 2018? Gritty, he of the bugged-out eyes and shaggy orange fur recently made room for the new kid on the block-one Bebot, an imposing but welcoming robot from Burning Man that towers over the Post Brothers’ latest creative use of community space (dubbed Piazza Pod Park) in Northern Liberties. The Mod Pod. I remember that television show. Tee. At 33 feet high and weighing in at 13,000 pounds, Bebot’s jolly wave greeted the public on June 8th’s grand…
-
Lisbon, Portugal is the ‘Bestest’ Hip, Hilly, Coastal Capital City in Europe
Story, photos by Kelly Kusumoto My most recent trip to Lisbon, Portugal was my fourth in three years and, by far, the bestest. I guess before I go on, I should let you in on an inside joke. While attending college, I met a classmate from Lisbon. In our very first class, we hit it off and have been close ever since. We even started an indie game development company together, which is why I have been frequenting Lisbon so much. He loves his country and is proud of all its accomplishments. Jokingly, any time he brags about something Portuguese, he always tells me how they love to go big…
-
Philadelphia’s 2018 Flower Show Just Adds Water
“Flowers rewrite soil, water and sunshine into petal’d poetry – Terri Guillemets Story, photos by Sharon Kozden There’s just something so wrong about attending the Philadelphia Flower Show on March 2nd, while the single most bad-ass storm of winter, 2018 had its ‘old man’ expressing rage like rarely before. A 30-year resident of Philadelphia stated it was the worst he’d seen in his entire time there. And that’s all I’m going to say about it because, let’s face it, we none of us want to recall its downright meanness. We’d much rather enter the Pennsylvania Convention Center and meander about, while waxing hopeful about spring being eminent. Agreed? Seems this…
-
Fox 29’s Karen Hepp’s Tasty Talks Rocks at Yangming in Bryn Mawr, PA
Karen Hepp is on point with Yangming owner Michael Wei. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.” -Barbara Bush “What preys on my mind is simply this one question: what am I good for, could I not be of service or use in some way?” – Vincent van Gogh Tasty Talks. Sounds, well, tasty. Tasty and talk-y. But what, really, is a Tasty Talk? I would soon find out…
-
Tempting Tastes at 19 Bella Tapas Restaurant in Skippack Village, PA
Readers, get thee to Cedars, Pa. “Go out and see your friends and eat tapas and drink red wine and be in a beautiful place.” – Anthony Bourdain Story, photos by Sharon Kozden One doesn’t have to head to Spain for a first-rate, authentic tapas experience. Cedars, PA – just outside quaint Skippack Village – will do just fine. Grant Langdon Brown, owner and head chef at 19 Bella, has a top tapas spot worth the travel involved to enjoy extraordinary meals. I envy the locals’ proximity. I arrived one chilly evening to discover an understated, functional exterior with patio I imagine bustles with activity during more temperate climes. The contrast between outward appearance and color-blazing interior was a fun surprise.…
