March to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

PORT JERVIS, NY — The Port Jervis NY Tourism Board will hold its fifth annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Blarney Blast on Sunday, March 5. The parade kicks off at 3 p.m. from the uptown business district/Pike Street, and travels downtown onto Front Street. The parade ends at the Erie Depot.

The grand marshal for 2023 is long-time community leader Henry “Hank” Dunn, and returning for the fifth year is the Hudson Valley Regional Police Pipes & Drums corps.

All are welcome to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Line-up begins at 2 p.m. on Canal & Orange Streets.

For more information, click here to visit the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Blarney Blast Facebook page.

A rehearsal of "Casa Valentina." The play will be performed on Friday and Saturday, March 3–4, at 8 p.m., and on Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m., and …

‘Casa Valentina’ at SUNY Sullivan    

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — The SUNY Sullivan Theater Arts Program will present Harvey Fierstein’s “Casa Valentina” at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4; at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 5; and at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, March 8 to 11, in the Seelig Theatre on the SUNY Sullivan campus.

The plot concerns an inconspicuous bungalow colony in the 1962-era Catskills—a colony that caters to heterosexual men who dress and act as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. “But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world,” a press release stated, “the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin.”

The theatre is located at 112 College Rd.

All campus visitors who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are required to wear masks indoors at all times.

The cost of tickets is a suggested donation of $10 to the SUNY Sullivan Theater Program/Performing Arts Club.

For more information contact Jessica López-Barkl at jbarkl@sunysullivan.edu.

Auditions open at SCDW

SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY — The Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop (SCDW) will hold auditions for two productions in March.

First is a call for young actors for the 20-minute non-musical version of “Alice in Wonderland,” by Jennifer Reif. The SCDW will cast children aged six to 14. Auditions will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mobilmedic building on Main Street in Hurleyville. Performances will take place at the Rivoli Theatre in South Fallsburg on May 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21.

For more information, contact director Bunny Woloszczak at bwoloszczak@gmail.com.

For its second production, the SCDW is seeking actors for Lindsey Brown’s “A Lovely Day to Kill Your Spouse.” The group is looking for two males in their 50s and two females in their 40s. It is also seeking a stage manager, props person, set crew and painters.

Auditions will take place on Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at the Senior Center on Laurel Avenue in South Fallsburg. Show dates are June 9, 10, 16 and 17 and June 11 and 18.

For more information, call director Sally Gladden at 845/434-0209 or 845/798-8896, or email gladsally@gmail.com.

Call for scripts for 10 Minute Play Festival

SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY — The Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop is calling for original plays, which will be presented at the Rivoli Theatre from September 8 through September 17.

All plays chosen must have a running time no longer than 10 minutes, the cast size must be limited to four speaking characters, the play must be presented in black-box format and in electronic format, and no more than two plays can be submitted per playwright.

Sixteen plays will be selected at the discretion of the producer and reading committee. Each selected play will be performed three times on one weekend.

Submissions will be accepted until Saturday, April 15.

For more information and criteria, visit www.scdw.net or email haroldtighe50@gmail.com.

Student Showcase at the 2023 Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival

PITTSTON, PA — Students in area school districts are invited to submit short films as part of the WVIA Education Student Showcase, and possibly have their movie screened at the 2023 Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival (NEPAFF). The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 10.

The NEPAFF is hosted by the Waverly Community House in partnership with WVIA, and will take place at the Waverly Community House the weekend of April 14th-16th.

Entries are free to any student in a school district enrolled in WVIA’s Enhanced Scholar Program.

Participating districts include Wayne Highlands, Western Wayne, Forest City, Wallenpaupack, Delaware Valley and more.

Students who wish to participate should submit a short film, under five minutes in length, by Friday, March 10. To submit a film, upload a video to YouTube or Vimeo, and email the link to teresasabecky@wvia.org with the subject line WVIA Student Showcase Submission. The email should include the title of the video, name(s) of submitting filmmakers, primary contact name, phone number and email address, grade level of primary contact and the name of the school and district the student attends.

More information on the WVIA Education Student Showcase can be found at wvia.org/studentshowcase.

Stars of Tomorrow tricky tray

PORT JERVIS, NY — The Business and Professional Women’s Club of Port Jervis (BPW) will hold its 20th annual Stars of Tomorrow tricky tray event on Saturday, March 11 at the Port Jervis High School, located at 10 Rte. 209.

Doors open at 12 noon, and calling starts at 2 p.m. There is no charge for admission. Tickets cost $1 a sheet. More than 250 baskets and gift certificates, raffle prizes, special tables, super special tables and more will be available. Refreshments will also be available.

Kids are welcome. The proceeds help fund scholarships for Port Jervis and Delaware Valley seniors, and for the fourth BPW adult continuing-education scholarship.

For more information, call Ann at 845/649-9638 or Terri at 845/671-0566.

SUNY Sullivan joins national micro-pathways initiative

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — Six colleges in the SUNY system, including SUNY Sullivan, are now part of the third cohort of the Education Design Lab (EDL) in the Community College Growth Engine Fund initiative.

The fund creates micro-pathways, a new class of credentials designed to accelerate economic mobility for new majority learner-earners, and implements new learning models for higher education and the future of work.

The organization will provide each college with a $50,000 grant to be used to support this initiative and drive innovation.

This comes on the heels of an investment in the consortium made by SUNY to support the development of workforce pathways in advanced manufacturing, and to reinforce the Hudson Valley’s workforce strategy to support the state’s emerging cannabis workforce needs.

Micro-pathways to credentials are flexible, and meant to be achieved in less than a year. They should result in a job at or above the local median wage, and start learners on the path to an associate’s degree.

“The world of work has never before put such an onus on skills as exist today, said Bill Hughes, president/CEO of EDL. “Learners and earners need to show evidence of skills to be eligible for advancement in their career journeys. Employers need workers whose skills align with their talent requirements. The traditional degree alone does not solve for either of these, as it may be too time-intensive or expensive, and it may not align with the fast-changing needs of the labor market. The response to these challenges must be a shift to open up more affordable, accessible, job-aligned routes to employment opportunities. The work of the Community College Growth Engine Fund does that, and is excited to launch its next and largest cohort.”

Learn more about EDL at eddesignlab.org/project/growthenginefund.

Applications open for Troop R camp

DUNMORE, PA — Troop R Camp Cadet is accepting applications for teens aged 13 to 15 to participate in a free, week-long overnight leadership/law enforcement camp.

Camp Cadet will be held at Marywood University from Sunday, July 23 to Friday, July 28. Applications are open until Friday, March 17.

For more information and to apply, visit www.trooprcampcadet.org.

Sweet! Sugar Shack Scramble and more at PEEC

DINGMANS FERRY, PA — The Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) will hold its Sugar Shack Scramble on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5 at 538 Emery Rd. Take a hike in the woods out to the Two Saps Sugar Shack and afterward, enjoy hot cocoa with pancakes and maple syrup. The cost is $15.

To register for the Sugar Shack Scramble, call 570/828-2319 or visit www.peec.org.

On Saturday, March 4, climb into a bald eagle’s next, crawl into a bat cave, explore a beaver lodge and dig in a fossil pit in the Ecozone Discovery Room. The cost is $2 a person.

The Discovery Room offers hands-on exhibits on natural history, sustainability and the local environment. No registration is needed.

Learn more about PEEC at peec.org.

Nathan Reinger, Pennsylvania’s director of outdoor recreation, will speak on Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Upper Delaware Council office.

UDC hosts PA director of outdoor recreation

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) will host a presentation titled “The Tree of Outdoor Recreation” by Nathan Reigner, Pennsylvania’s director of outdoor recreation, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, at the Upper Delaware Council office, 211 Bridge St. There will be a Zoom option.

Reigner is a social scientist with extensive experience analyzing, planning for, managing and building collaboration to support outdoor recreation at every level from local to international, according to a UDC press release.

All UDC meetings are open to the public. For further information on how to participate via the Zoom option, call 845/252-3022 or email ashley@upperdelawarecouncil.org.

For meeting updates, check www.upperdelawarecouncil.org or social media pages at Upper Delaware Council.

Check out the Van Scott Nature Reserve's upcoming programs.

Rachel Carson’s story, plus conservation conversations

BEACH LAKE, PA and ONLINE — The Delaware Highlands Conservancy will present a program titled “The Story of Rachel Carson” on Wednesday, March 8 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Van Scott Nature Reserve.

Education and volunteer coordinator Rachel Morrow will discuss the life of biologist and author Rachel Carson, and her role in eagle conservation. Carson’s book “Silent Spring” raised awareness about the detrimental effects of DDT and its impacts on the bald eagle population.

Each attendee will receive a copy of “Silent Spring” to take home.

The reserve is located at 571 Perkins Pond Rd.

The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

On Thursday, March 9, from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., the Conservancy’s land-protection coordinators, Trey Talley and Kaylan Hubbard, will hold a Zoom gathering to discuss the Delaware Highlands Conservancy and how the group can help protect land.

Following a brief presentation, attendees will be invited to join the conversation and ask questions.

Zoom details will be emailed after registration.

For all events, register at delawarehighlands.org/events.

Dime Bank donates to women’s resource center

LACKAWANNA and SUSQUEHANNA COUNTIES, PA — The Dime Bank has supported the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) with a $4,500 donation through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s educational improvement tax credit program.

The WRC is committed to preventing dating and sexual violence in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties. Using Safe Dates, an evidence-based dating-abuse prevention curriculum, the WRC helps middle school and high school students learn about healthy relationships, communication, calming techniques, red flags and ways to help friends. Programs are interactive, age-appropriate, and designed to raise awareness, build skills, change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.
For more information on WRC, visit www.wrcnepa.org.