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Explore With Cassie as I Move Out West!
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler My plans to post on this blog monthly have sadly fallen by the wayside since summer as my life has been in overdrive with travel, writing for Metro Philly and Metro US, modeling, blogging for my other babies Explore-Philly.com and Explore-NJ.com and then some! I’ll try to do an epic recap of highlights here so you can follow along and see what I’m up to nowadays. As soon as I got back from the San Antonio press trip, I began writing freelance with Metro Philly and soon thereafter Metro US. As I continued to write for Metro, a lot of travel trips were happening as…
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Fairmount Park Conservancy Presents Flavors of the Season at Historic Philly Houses
Mama said punch you out! Manatawny Still Works struck seasonal gold with this winter. “For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. – W. J. Tucker Story, photos by Sharon Kozden ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Fairmount Park’s historic houses, the aromas were wafting, from simmering punch to braised beef short ribs – with no signs of either mouse or grouse. The stockings really were hung by the fireplaces with care. And while there was no actual “Visit from St. Nicholas,” the comestibles and beverages included in December 10th’s Flavors of the Season event delivered (as…
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Tune Into the Sounds of the Season at Fairmount Park’s Historic Houses
“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart … filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.” – Bess Streeter Aldrich Story, photos by Sharon Kozden They came. They toured. They listened. On December 2, in what was part of a 16-day seasonal presentation called A Very Philly Christmas, Fairmount Park’s Historic Houses came alive with the sounds of music during The Sounds of the Season. Philadelphia was well represented by its diverse musical culture and community, which included Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Clef Club of Jazz, Opera Philadelphia and PlayOnPhilly.…
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Cultivating Leadership: Union League of Philadelpia Hosts The Germination Project’s 2017 Draft Day Gala
“People always say that I have all of these projects, but I really only have one project, and that’s our region.” – Ajay Raju Story, photos by Sharon Kozden The Union League‘s Lincoln Hall was the place to be, where The Germination Project‘s 3rd Annual Draft Day Gala was held. The assemblage included an impressive roster of notable community members as well as an equally diverse lineup of awards, inductions, presentations, performances and more. The gala, chaired by Executive VP and Provost JoAnne Epps of Temple University, introduced (in athletic-draft fashion) the 17 most recent inductees to 2017’s Germination Project’s Fellowship Class as well as the presentation (by Craig Snyder, President and CEO, World Affairs…
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Eighth Annual Audi Feastival Celebrates FringeArts 21st Birthday
Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “I think eating is one of the most delectable experiences of radiant, sweet, sour, hot splashes biting at your taste buds that you could ever have. Now imagine knowing how to maneuver and manage these flavors from a cook’s perspective. Pure power.” – Christopher Staab I’m remembering with gastronomic bliss the evening of September 28th, when Audi FEASTIVAL joined FringeArts for what arguably deserves its reputation as Philadelphia’s “Party of the Year.” For eight years running, an assembly of over 75 of Philadelphia’s renowned restaurants and bars has combined their award-winning fare samplings with FringeArts raise-the-bar, always innovative entertainment, artistic and cultural wonderment. FEASTIVAL first came to light, life and belly (in…
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Bluecoat Gin Helps Expand Sofitel Hotel’s Outdoor Cafe, Liberté Blue
Story, photos by Tiffany DuBois On a muggy, sweaty, hot late summer evening, Bluecoat Gin and the Sofitel Hotel formed a new baby; Liberte Blue. Basically, Bluecoat Gin partnered with the Sofitel to exhibit food and cocktails that would marry these two dynamic duos. The food was fantastic but needed tweaking here and there to make a person appreciate the smells and taste. The cocktails, let me tell you about the cocktails! They were refreshing, light, smoky, and delicious. The menu included mini tacos that had an awesome crema, a lovely amount of acidity, and were choke full of pork. There were veal meatballs that melted in your mouth and…
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CiderFest Rules Fairmount Park’s Historic Houses in Philadelphia
Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “The older I get, the more I become an apple pie, sparkling cider kind of guy.” – Scott Foley What was Fairmount Park Conservancy thinking on the perfect autumnal afternoon in late September when introducing CiderFest, featuring cider samples from over 20 Pennsylvania cideries, self-guided tours of the six historic houses at Fairmount Park, free house-to-house transportation, live music and pay-as-you-go food trucks? I’d say they had their thinking caps spot-on with the aforementioned perfect confab of fall delights. Proceeds from the event benefitted the “ongoing stewardship, maintenance and promotion of the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park.” That alone was more than enough for this itsy bitsy spider to drink from the…
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Shadow + Flame Hosts Venetian Themed Prospero’s Ball at FringeArts’ La Peg
PROSPERO: “Spirits, which by mine art I have from their confines called to enact My present fancies.” – William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 4, Scene 1 Photos, story by Sharon Kozden Ball dropping isn’t always a bad thing. Maybe in the sports’ world it can be, but when it comes to entertainment, you can drop me into any ball or gala, I’m out for a good time. The evening of October 26th presented just such a time, when Shadow + Flame hosted a Venetian-themed (as well as exclusive and limited-invite!) masquerade event at FringeArts‘ La Peg Brasserie. As one deemed an exclusive guest, my initial thought was how to cobble together…
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An Apple a Day Doesn’t Keep the Judges Away: Best In Pomme at Manayunk’s StrEAT Food Festival
Chowing in the StrEAT (sorry, not sorry to Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street”). Kicking off Restaurant Week is the Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.” – Henry David Thoreau Autumn and apples “pear” well together. What can I say about this pun but that I’m fruity? Separating fall from those crisp, pomaceous and antioxidant-laden fruits would be akin to depriving myself of post-meal desserts. So when I was pegged (along with Explore-Philly team member Dana Prophet and Dana’s friend Amy) to spend two hours judging the best apple-themed desserts at Manayunk’s StrEAT Food Festival on the evening of September 14th, I was all in. Arriving at a…
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Crawlin’ with the Undead in Northern Libertie’s Zombie Invasion
Professional make-up artist Sonja Century complies with Sharon Kozden’s request to be transformed into a “pretty goth.” Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “It’s so hard to be careful, so easy to be led Somewhere beyond the pavement You’ll find the living dead.” – Tom Petty, “Zombie Zoo” What better way to spend a Friday the 13th evening than in the company of creepy and grotesquely incorporeal beings intent on feeding on my brain? Ironing my underwear? Navel-gazing? Nope and nope: I was out to get me some “organs that serve as the center of the nervous system.” I didn’t have to travel far to find them! The Piazza at The Schmidt’s Commons in Northern Libertie’s…
