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National Dog Show Brings Good Boys and Girls to Greater Philadelphia Expo Center
Magnificent floral displays await placement in the main judging arena for the 2023 National Dog Show. “Ferris was infected with the most virulent form of that weird malady as “dog-showitis.” At first, he had been tempted solely by the hope of winning the hundred-dollar prize. But latterly the urge of victory had gotten into his blood. And he yearned, too, to let the world see what a marvelous dog was his.” — Albert Payson Terhune Story, photos by Sharon Kozden If you’ve seen the mockumentary comedy film Best in Show, described as “a behind-the-scenes look into the highly competitive and cut-throat world of dog shows through the eyes of a…
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CiderFest Brought Hardcore Fun to Woodford Mansion in Philly’s Fairmount Park
Stately Woodford Mansion played host in 2023 to the sixth annual CiderFest. “His voice in her ear was rich, just like the cider was in her throat. She couldn’t help but look at him, and his face was so close. Everything about him was rich and balanced. He was the physical embodiment of this cider. Would she discover more layers the longer she knew him? He was close enough that the flecks of gold in his eyes sparkled at her like the cider’s missing effervescence. He was close enough for her to smell the cider on his breath, the color of it making her light-headed and giddy.” ― Amy E. Reichert, The…
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Philadelphia Flower Show’s The Garden Electric Shines at Pennsylvania Convention Center
The 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show returned to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the first time since 2020. “Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” — Luther Burbank Story, photos by Sharon Kozden It was 72 degrees in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania today! That declarative statement warrants an exclamation point because I’m writing on a November day. I’ll take it. Not a cold-weather fan. The temperate temp has perfectly set the scene for my scribbling, as I’m recapping the 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show on the eve of the 2024 Show theme’s announcement. The Philadelphia Flower Show a.k.a. “America’s oldest and finest exhibit…
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Pennsylvania SPCA Gives Something to Bark About at 10th Annual Bark & Whine Gala
Beautiful gala program design befits a decade’s worth of honoring advocacy. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “… Home … and further joy will be surely there: Supper waiting full of the taste of bone. You throw up your nose again, and sniff, and stare For the rapture known Of the quick wild gorge of food and the still lie-down While your people talk above you in the light.” Of candles, and your dreams will merge and drown Into the bed-delicious hours of night.” — From “Dog” by Harold Monro Reading the above excerpt from Harold Monro’s poem brings me closer to understanding a dog’s life. The power of the written…
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Uptown Beer Garden Mutates Upside Down for Spooky Season with ‘Stranger Things’ Theme
“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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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…
