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Lehigh Valley Humane Society Hosts Second Annual Garden Party
From left, Lehigh Valley Humane Society Director of Development Jackie Folsom and Executive Assistant Madison Xander woman the checkin desk. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden ~~ for Lilyaulait Kozden (end of mouse patrol, 7/24/17) “Of all the special things we choose to do for our planet, let one of them be of service to animals.” – Paul Oxton “People look at you peculiar if you talk about the feeling you got for animals, saying animals have no souls, no sense of good or bad, no value up next to humans,” he said. “I don’t know about that. Sometimes I think animals are the ones who should be saying such things about…
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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…
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Barnes Foundation Art Ball Showcases French Artist Suzanne Valadon
By the light of the silvery moon (and purple-hazy pool reflection), one magical evening at the 2021 Barnes Foundation Art Ball took place. “One of the things that’s quite striking when you look at her self-portraits is her attitude to aging. There’s a refusal of prettiness there … and an attention to the artifice of beautifying yourself, and then this very unflinching representation of her body as it changes.” – Nancy Ireson, deputy director for collections and exhibitions at the Barnes Foundation, speaking about Suzanne Valadon Story, photos by Sharon Kozden It’s been some time since I had reason to slither into a slinky cocktail dress and to slip on…
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Lehigh County Humane Society Holds First Annual Garden Party at Bell Gate Farm
Keynote speaker Eve Warsinski poses with husband, daughters and Koda. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Our animals connect us to the sacred. What are pets, really, other than an attempt to have a little bit of a God in the house?” – Russell Brand Autumn weather in Pennsylvania felt more like spring or summer than fall. Not cool, literally. Projected temps were near 80 degrees some days. The expected crisp chill? It would be here soon enough. Despite seasonal signs of brilliant-hued mums, cider fests, all things pumpkin spice and Halloween decorations, I continue wearing open-toed sandals and tee-shirts. Consequently, my headspace can’t seem to reconcile this unseasonably warm weather…
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Christmas Eve in Gladwyne, PA Offers Tidings Sacred and Secular
Children dressed in period costumes pose before filing into pageant procession. ” … Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Till he appear’d, and the soul felt its worth.” – O Holy Night Story, photos by Sharon Kozden St. John Vianney Church in Gladwyne staged on Christmas Eve an outdoor mass featuring live animals and a Christmas pageant with costumed children portraying the usual cast of characters in the story that is the Nativity of Jesus. On the day prior to Christmas Eve, I noticed large tents, outdoor heat lamps and warming fire pits being erected and installed on the front lawn of the Parish House adjacent to…
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Rejuvenate at Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon at Loews Philadelphia Hotel
Sharon Kozden recommends one of the spa’s signature treatments, the Turkish Bath … a full body sensory experience. “Be still: Be stiller yet; and listen. Set the screen of silence at the portal of your will. Relax, and let the world go by unheard …” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Bring on the luxe life! As a woman of a certain age, or as the French would say, “une femme d’un certain âge” (as well as a runner presently training for my third Philadelphia Marathon), I’m the ideal candidate to be pampered on the regular. So when Cassie asked if I wanted to visit the Joseph Anthony…
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Horses ‘Rein’ at Annual Carriage Procession in Chester County, PA
Carriage-hitched horse and riders pass the Lincoln Building, home to the annual Yellow Springs Art Show. “At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s very well-being.” – Author unknown Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My first encounter with a horse occurred during the summer of my 12th year, when a school chum allowed a bunch of us to ride her mare. The young equestrian sat in the saddle as we took our respective turns while scrunched in front of her. Both horse and owner actually resembled one another as…
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Philadelphia Flower Show Blooms Outdoors for 2021 Season
The Pennsylvania Convention Center has been home base for PHS Philadelphia Flower Show exhibits since 1996. “Who can say that a buttercup shining in the sun like yellow enamel is not as enchanting as a white butterfly tumbling out of a tree trunk in a Brazilian jungle? That the delicate beauty of a white wild anemone excels the orderly perfection of the petals in a white camellia? “When I took time to look into the heart of a flower, it opened up a whole new world; a world where every walk would be an adventure, where every garden would become an enchanted garden.” – Princess Grace of Monaco Story, photos…
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Philadelphia’s Nightmare Before Tinsel Halloween Pop-up Complements Day of the Dead
Nightmare Before Tinsel follows strict adherence to face-mask protocol. Meet the new abnormal normal. “Terror is a passion which always produces delight when it does not press too close.” —Edmund Burke Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “How you pull up, Baby? How you pull up?” I pull up like I am all about the total experience. No summertime shore trip happens unless I watch Jaws first. The night before touring a nuclear facility, I popped The China Syndrome into my DVD player. A medical operation on my schedule guarantees a viewing of the suspenseful Coma the evening before I’m anesthetized. I intentionally scare myself. Apparently, I’m in good company, particularly…
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Masked Ball to Benefit UNCF Unveiled at Philadelphia’s Marriott Downtown
Tanya Amir displays poise and grace befitting her crown and title. “Though it be a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so, doubly dynamic, to be young, gifted and Black.” – Lorraine Hansberry Story, photos by Sharon Kozden March 7th was an extraordinary evening in Philadelphia … as fabulous as the many previous nights’ events I had covered in the city during my several years as a photojournalist. The eighth annual UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball held at Center City’s Philadelphia Marriott Downtown was in full swing and shaping up to be far and away a memorable grand time in one…
