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Explore With Cassie

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

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  • CassieHepler.com
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  • 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…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    Radisson Lackawanna Train Station Hotel in Scranton, Pennsylvania is Hauntingly Majestic

    August 18, 2025

    DJ Ruckus Continues His Residency at Borgata’s Premier Nightclub, Talks Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Hillary Clinton, Kim Kardashian and More

    May 22, 2016

    Explore the Rich Cultural Tapestry of Arizona’s Native American Indian Tribes

    November 3, 2025
  • 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…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    Art Car World Bringing Burning Man Vibes to Douglas, Arizona

    December 5, 2021

    Explore Lehigh Valley Humane Society’s Garden Paw-ty at Domaine Pterion Vineyard

    July 22, 2024

    How to do the Spanish New Year Grape Tradition Properly

    October 5, 2026
  • 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…

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    Sharon Kozden

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

    March 30, 2026

    Lots of Fall Fun at the Pour the Core Festival at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

    August 15, 2018

    The Modern Day Wife hosts What She Said Miami, Florida Style

    July 7, 2025
  • 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…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    Explore Lehigh Valley Humane Society’s Garden Paw-ty at Domaine Pterion Vineyard

    July 22, 2024

    Lehigh Valley Humane Society Hosts Second Annual Garden Party

    September 20, 2022

    Horses ‘Rein’ at Annual Carriage Procession in Chester County, PA

    May 21, 2021
  • Entertainment,  Explore with Cassie,  Food & Beverage,  Latest News,  Lifestyle

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

    October 21, 2020 /

    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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    Sharon Kozden

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    Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee Shows the King’s Impressive Wealth

    July 11, 2019

    Explore the Center of the World in Felicity, California

    April 13, 2026

    See the Dark Sky Stars at Bryce Glamp and Camp Domes in Bryce Canyon, Utah

    August 3, 2026
  • 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…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    Hike Point Lobos State Park in Monterey, California Where Land Meets Sea for Spectacular Views

    August 31, 2018

    A Unique, Online Gift Guide for Last Minute Holiday Shoppers

    December 11, 2018

    Recharge in Nature at Arizona’s Artists Home in Cottonwood

    October 10, 2023
  • 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,…

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    Sharon Kozden

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    CiderFest Brought Hardcore Fun to Woodford Mansion in Philly’s Fairmount Park

    December 30, 2023

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

    May 2, 2019

    Chill Out, Recharge with Ganja Goddess Getaway at Venture Retreat Center in Pescadero, CA

    October 31, 2018

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