• About Us
  • CassieHepler.com
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Explore With Cassie

Lifestyle & travel blog finding the unusual out of the ordinary.

  • About Us
  • CassieHepler.com
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • CassieHepler.com
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • CassieHepler.com
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    Christmas Pop-up Bar Tinsel Brings Season’s Gleam to Philadelphia

    December 2, 2023 /

    Tinsel is lit for Christmas 2023! “Oh, heart, let’s never grow too old To smile anew, when Christmas comes, At tassels red and tinsel thread …” ~ Nancy Byrd Turner Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Philadelphia’s beloved and popular Christmas pop-up bar is back! Tinsel came to sleigh on November 24th with its 2023 “Christmas Comedy” theme. In addition to lights galore and always outre displays and decorations, Tinsel is highlighting decades of tee-hees from fan-fav funny movies. Something I really look forward to at Tinsel each season is the specificity to detail in its overall production, decor and presentation. Be on the lookout for the little things. Check every…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Explore Omni Mount Washington Resort & Bretton Woods Ski Area in New Hampshire

    September 30, 2024

    How 5 Gyres is Fighting Microplastics: A California Love Story of Activism and Science

    March 30, 2026

    6th Annual Dinèr En Blanc Takes Over Franklin Square for Biggest Fête Yet

    September 14, 2017
  • Day Trips,  Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Latest News

    PNC’s ‘LumiNature’ Winter Light Show Illuminates Philadelphia Zoo

    November 27, 2023 /

    “You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.”  ~ Oprah Winfrey Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Watts up, Philadelphia Zoo? A hellota (it’s a word, according to Urban Dictionary!) twinkling and sparkling that runs until Saturday, January 6 is watts up! Know this: If you’re planning to check out PNC’s return of LumiNature, a wintertime light show featuring more than a million lights across 16 illuminated zones, it is presented “with timed entrance tickets available every half hour from 5:00pm to 8:00pm with the experience closing at 9:00pm or 10:00pm depending on visit date. Pre-purchase your timed…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    WXPN’s Xponential Music Festival is Summer Staple in Camden, New Jersey

    May 2, 2019

    Philadelphia’s Bellevue Hotel Hosts Historic Hotels of America Reception

    January 9, 2019

    Take a Hike to Arathusa Falls & Explore Bethlehem and Littleton, New Hampshire

    October 14, 2024
  • Explore with Cassie

    Philadelphia’s Inis Nua Theatre Company Showcases American Premiere of ‘Meet Me at Dawn’ by Zinnie Harris

    May 11, 2023 /

    Playbill cover and poster design are visually taut and arresting. “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” — Vicki Harrison “Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.” — William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing “My life closed twice before its close; It yet remains to see If immortality unveil A third event to me, So huge, so hopeless to conceive As these that twice befell. Parting is all we know of heaven, And all we need of hell.”  — Emily Dickinson Story, photos by…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Eighth Annual Audi Feastival Celebrates FringeArts 21st Birthday

    December 6, 2017

    Places to Eat in Santa Fe, New Mexico from Frugal to Fancy

    May 4, 2026

    Escape to a Slice of Heaven in Catalina Island, California

    February 5, 2023
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage

    Philadelphia’s Christmas Pop-up Bar Tinsel Amps Up Watts, Tech and Decor

    December 31, 2022 /

    Tinsel’s swirly signage hangs from the Midtown Village building’s gingerbread-house exterior. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Tinsel is another word to describe anything as being cool or amazing (You are so Tinsel).” — Urban Dictionary Christmas, 2022 is a wrap. Time to recycle-toss the tree and pack-up those fragile ornaments until next year’s production. And speaking of productions, check out this account of my own ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas adventure! On the evening of November 21st, I made the scene at Tinsel, the wildly popular Christmas Pop-up bar owned and operated by Teddy Sourias of Craft Concepts Group, where Sourias and Kory Aversa of Aversa PR & Events were…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Go Backroading to Cleator and Crown King, Arizona

    April 6, 2026

    Explore with Cassie Celebrates 10 Years of Lifestyle & Travel Blogging at Chateau Luxe

    March 3, 2025
    Mizzou Madness

    Foodie and Mizzou Fan’s Guide to Exploring Columbia, Missouri

    December 1, 2023
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage

    Fahoo Forays, Dahoo Dorays: Welcome U-ville, a Seussian Whoville at Philadelphia’s Uptown Beer Garden

    December 31, 2022 /

    Bright Lights, Big City:  Uptown Beer Garden presented its seasonal U-Ville in homage to the Seussian Whoville. Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by sin lie many shades of gray – where most of us live our lives. Not perfect but not beyond redemption. ~~ Leslie Pinckney Hill “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” ~~ Audrey Hepburn Story, photos by Sharon Kozden On the evening of November 16th, I Ubered into the City to celebrate the unveiling of Uptown Beer Garden’s holiday creation, U-ville … a name whose…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Dramatic Fine Dining at Elvira’s DC Ranch in North Scottsdale

    May 5, 2025

    Polish Your Soul and Your Plate in Sedona, Arizona

    January 5, 2023
    Inn at Palm Springs

    Inn at Palm Springs, California is an Oasis in Coachella Valley

    November 1, 2020
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    Uptown Beer Garden Mutates Upside Down for Spooky Season with ‘Stranger Things’ Theme

    October 23, 2022 /

    “People don’t spend their lives trying to get a look at what’s behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition.” ~~~ Murray Bauman, Stranger Things   Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Actually, Murray, I beg to differ with your above-referenced statements about “the curtain.” I liked getting a look at what’s behind it … at least I did on the evening of September 28th … when Aversa PR and Craft Concepts Group welcomed media to a preview party like none other at Uptown Beer Garden‘s Stranger Things-themed pop-up bar. Greetings from Hawkins, Indiana. Wish you were here! Perhaps if I had watched Netflix TV’s Stranger…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    How to Make It All Worth It During Your Hawaiian Getaway at Hyatt’s Maui Regency

    June 28, 2017

    Philadelphia’s Nightmare Before Tinsel Halloween Pop-up Complements Day of the Dead

    October 21, 2020

    Four Seasons Hosts Sneak Peak Party at BOK Building to Celebrate Comcast Plans in Philadelphia, PA

    February 20, 2019
  • Destinations,  Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    Piazza Pod Park Opens in Philly’s Northern Liberties, BEBOT Towers Over Fun-for-All Hot Spot

    June 19, 2019 /

    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…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Build a Glamping Dome in Your Backyard with Phoenix Domes

    July 8, 2024

    Century Grand Phoenix Transports Guests into Locomotive Luxury Era

    August 31, 2020

    Explore Copenhagen, Denmark without leaving the USA in Solvang, California

    September 15, 2025
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News

    Philly Restaurant and Bar BLUME Blooms at VIP Preview Party

    June 5, 2019 /

    Photos, story by Sharon Kozden Growing restaurant mogul Teddy Sourias and Craft Concepts Group unveiled Blume, their latest restaurant and bar concept during a VIP preview bash on a warm April evening. Located in Rittenhouse on the former site of Cinder, Copper & Lace, Blume drew crowds eager to pose before its window’s larger-than-life, Peter Max-like colorful butterfly decal. Inside, a ceiling covered in plants and bearing the establishment’s name twice as nice and in lights hovers over a relaxing banquette seating area. Between décor design elements (don’t miss the wall of realistic roses!), that are both whimsical and sophisticated, Blume is Philly’s summertime hot spot to be, sipping cocktails,…

    read more
    Sharon Kozden

    You May Also Like

    Paris, je t’aime! An American Reminisces on Her Love Affair with France

    March 15, 2021

    Holiday Gift Guide for a Tough Year and Tight Budget

    December 8, 2025

    Drive a Boat in Lawless Lake of the Wild West in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

    May 2, 2018

Recent Posts

  • It’s the Cats Meow at the Phoenix Feline Fanciers in Mesa, Arizona
  • Desert Rose Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada Giving Condo Vibes
  • Easy Hikes for Beginners in Bryce Canyon, Utah
  • See the Dark Sky Stars at Bryce Glamp and Camp Domes in Bryce Canyon, Utah
  • Explore Bryce Canyon Country from Stone Canyon Inn Cabins in Tropic, Utah

Categories

  • Day Trips
  • Destinations
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Explore with Cassie
  • Food & Beverage
  • Latest News
  • Lifestyle
Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · ExploreWithCassie.com and CassieHepler.com.
Ashe Theme by WP Royal.