The Friday Guide - Times Leader by The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company

THE GUIDE

A GUIDE TO THE GUIDE

SS. P E T E R & PA U L PA R ISH

Five Folks

H ud son R oad ,P lains

W INTE R BA ZA A R, 2011 P len ty of F R E E P a rk in g S aturd ay,F eb. 26,2011 4:00P.M . to 10:00P.M . S und ay,F eb. 27,2011 12 N oon to 8:00P.M .

With the Oscar winners soon to be announced, we asked:

PR ZEE S GA M E S • P R IZ S IL E N T A U C T IO N B A KE K E S A L E • R A FFL FFL E

“If you could put yourself into any movie, past or present, in what scene would you like to appear?”

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“I’m a runner and I’d like to have been in ‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981) when they were running along the beach in France.” Greg Bassham, 52, of Mountain Top

THERE’S STILL TIME TO

WIN SOME WHEELS!

“I like ‘Star Wars’ (1977, 1980, 1983) and I would’ve liked to have been Luke Skywalker, fighting Darth Vader.” Raymond Kowaleski, 39, Wilkes-Barre

“There’s a part in ‘The Tourist’ (2010) where people are chasing Johnny Depp. I’d like to be running with him.”

Hurry in to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs tomorrow, February 26th for a chance to win a new Lexus!

Clarissa Astwood, 15, Wilkes-Barre

Time is running out to earn entries in the Win Some Wheels giveaway. Activate your entries from 1:30pm-5:30pm, when two winners every hour from 1:30pm-5:30pm will receive $250 in Free Slot Play. At 6:00pm, we’ll hold our Grand Prize drawing, where nine winners receive $500 in Free Slot Play and one lucky winner will drive home the owner of a brand new Lexus!

“Saw III.” (2006) You don’t mind the gore? “I actually like that kind of movie.” Robert Vrabel, 23, of Larksville

“I would have liked to have been the Archbishop of Canterbury in ‘Lady Jane’ (1986) with Helena Bonham Carter. At the end, when she’s about to be beheaded, she gives him a coin. After she’s killed, he looks at it and sees a portrait of her on it. You can tell from his face how much he regrets that her father’s ambition put her on the throne.” Tony Brooks, 46, of Wilkes-Barre

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GETTING INTO THE GUIDE

All submissions must be received two weeks in advance of the pertinent event. E-mailed announcements via guide@timesleader.com are preferred, but announcements also can be faxed to 570-829-5537 or mailed to 15 North Main St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711. The Guide provides advance coverage and/or notice for events open to the public.

FEATURES EDITOR Sandra Snyder - 831-7383 ssnyder@timesleader.com

FEATURES STAFF

Mary Therese Biebel - 829-7283 mbiebel@timesleader.com Sara Pokorny - 829-7127 spokorny@timesleader.com

LISTINGS Marian Melnyk guide@timesleader.com Fax: Attention: The Guide 829-5537 Advertise: To place a display ad - 829-7101

THE GUIDE

S. JOHN WILKIN PHOTOS/THE TIMES LEADER

Dave Koptcho gets ready to introduce the horses during a ‘Night at the Races’ that raised money for the Wright Township Municipal Park expansion, the Marian Sutherland Kirby Library and the Center for Cancer Wellness, Candy’s Place.

READY, SET, RACE! The ever-popular fundraiser has evolved into a full-on social event By MARY THERESE BIEBEL mbiebel@timesleader.com

Finally, in the 10th race, a sleek animal bearing her lucky number kicked up its heels, made like lightning and outdistanced its competitors. That just happened to be the crucial race for Wojnar, who had spent $10 to “buy a horse,” specifically, horse number seven in the 10th race – at a Night At The-Races fund-raiser sponsored by the Mountain Top Wel-

come Club at the Wright Township Hose Co. “I was jumping and running to get my $50,” a clearly delighted Wojnar recalled after the fact. Actually, she may have spent at least that much on horses (she bought two), raffle tickets and extra $2 bets, which she placed on various races See RACES, Page 4

PAGE 3

“Night At The Races” fan Linda Wojnar patiently waited Friday evening through nine – count ’em , nine – races, noticing horse number seven never crossed the finish line first. Not once. That helped build her anticipation for the 10th race. If seven never won up to that point, she reasoned, wouldn’t it be all the more likely to win later on?

Linda Wojnar, left, and Lael and Randy Swank cheer for their favorite horses during a ‘Night at the Races’ sponsored by the Welcome Club of Mountain Top last weekend.

THE GUIDE

RACES

PAGE 4

Continued from page 3

throughout the evening. But that was OK, she said. “All I know is I left with $50.” Winning felt good. Plus, she’d enjoyed a fun evening out. More important, the proceeds were destined for three good causes. The Mountain Top Welcome Club took in more than $5,000 before expenses, event organizer Pam McGovern said, and the group planned to make donations to the Kirby Library, the Wright Township Municipal Park expansion plan and the Center for Cancer Wellness, Candy’s Place. The fund-raiser attracted 150 people – so many that organizers realized they needed to replenish refreshments within 90 minutes or so after the doors opened. The Mountain Top event was just one of the first in what many consider “Night At The Races” season, a time when churches, hose companies and schools seemingly everywhere offer a chance to beat what one race-goer called “the boredom of midwinter.” “You see a lot of people you don’t otherwise see,” said Teresa Pinkey, 51, as Wright Township guests greeted each other and lined up for pizza and hot dogs, nachos and beer. “I’m going to look at all of these first,” Joan Revis, 67, of Mountain Top said, raffle tickets in hand, as she inspected some 30 raffle baskets she might try to win. Lined up on a table, their contents ranged from Dr. Seuss books to a onesy, designed for a baby girl, that declared “Boys are gross.” Intent upon the horses, meanwhile, various bettors approached a trio of cashiers and placed their $2 bets on one of the early races of the evening. Ready to share her knowledge with a newcomer, Wojnar, 39, of Mountain Top, explained a bit of betting strategy. “Number four just won, so you don’t necessarily want to bet on four again,” she said. “But sometimes if you do and only one or two people bet on number four, you can win a lot of money (if that horse comes in first.)” As if to bear her out, DJ Dave Koptcho soon announced the

Lisa Charton, right, and Paul Harper collect their winnings from the folks with the cash boxes during a ‘Night at the Races’ in Mountain Top.

UPCOMING RACE NIGHTS

S. JOHN WILKIN PHOTOS/THE TIMES LEADER

Race-goers enjoy their meals before post time in the Wright Township Fire Hall.

odds. If horse number four were to win, anyone who placed a $2 bet on him would win $18. If someone chose to bet on a more popular horse, the payout might be $7 or, in other cases, $9. The races, recorded on DVD and sealed so no one can sneak an advance peek, actually did take place in some distant locale, Koptcho explained before he screened the first one. “C’mon! C’mon!” the racegoers cajoled the on-screen horses and their jockeys, waving their arms with excitement as they hoped for a win. At one point Lael and Randy Swank of Mountain Top cheered for their winning horse, but Lael Swank said earlier the entire event made her feel like a winner. Her friends from the Welcome Club were donating to Candy’s Place in honor of her battle against cancer. “I have great friends,” she said. As the evening progressed, some race-goers admitted they were novices to the whole “Night At The Races” concept and enjoyed the novelty of “owning” and naming a horse. “Mine is named ‘Peppy,’ my husband’s is named ‘Sparky,’ and my father-in-law’s is named ‘Max,’ ” Karen Santarelli, 53, of Wright Township said. Elaine Bernstein, who helped plan the event, said she named a horse “Dreaming of Anna” in honor of the real-life

Put a ticket in the canister and you have a chance to win a basket. Joan Revis, left, and Renee Sessions check out the basket-raffle items during a ‘Night at the Races.’

The cashiers are ready to take $2 bets, and race-goers bet on their favorites during a ’Night at the Races’ sponsored by the Welcome Club of Mountain Top.

horse that, as a 2-year-old filly in 2006, became U.S. champion in her division. A thoroughbred fan, Bern-

stein had a baby about that time and said the original filly was a factor in the naming of her daughter Anna, now 4.

THIS WEEKEND: Where: Our Lady of Sorrows Church, sponsored by St. Monica’s Parish. With food and beer plus a Chinese auction of gift baskets. 363 W. Eighth St., West Wyoming. Tonight with doors at 6 and races at 7. $5 admission; $10 per horse. 237-2188. Where: St. Therese Church, 25 Old River Road, Wilkes-Barre. Tonight with doors at 6:30. $5 admission includes food and refreshments. 822-1075. Where: Seton Catholic Auditorium, 37 William St., Pittston. Sponsored by the Parish Community of St. John the Evangelist. Saturday with doors at 6 p.m. and post time at 7 p.m. $5 admission; $10 per horse. 6550053. Donations for the Greater Pittston Food Pantry encouraged. Where: Conlon Hall, St. Ignatius Church, 339 N. Maple Ave., Kingston. Saturday with doors at 6 p.m. and post time at 7 p.m. Free admission; $10 per horse. Age 21 and over. 2875358 or 287-7768. Where: Independent Fire Hall, 166 S. Sprague St., Kingston. Sponsored by the Kingston and JLW Lions Clubs. Saturday with doors at 6 p.m. and racing at 6:45 p.m. $10 per horse. 2832332. NEXT WEEKEND: Where: Our Lady of Victory Church, Pole 26, Harveys Lake. A Mardi Gras Night at the Races. March 5 with doors at 6 p.m. and post time at 7 p.m. $10 includes beer, soda and snacks. BYOB if desired. $10 per horse. 639-1535. Where: St. Mary’s Church of Dorrance, 3529 St. Mary’s Road, Wapwallopen. With Chinese and silent auctions, 50/50 raffle, food and beverages. March 5 with doors at 6 p.m. and races at 7 p.m. $10 per horse. 868-5855. Where: St. Leo/Holy Rosary Church, 33 Manhattan St., Ashley. March 5 with doors at 6 p.m. and post time at 7 p.m. $5 admission, $10 per horse. 8256669. Where: Independent Fire Hall, 166 S. Sprague Ave., Kingston. To benefit the Center for Cancer Wellness at Candy’s Place. With food, wine, draft beer, music, baskets and raffles. March 5, 6 to 10:30 p.m. $20, $10 per horse. 714-8800.

THE GUIDE

Basketball’s most elite magicians bouncing into the Wachovia Arena By MARY THERESE BIEBEL mbiebel@timesleader.com

When “Hot Shot” Branch was growing up in Texas, he used to watch the Harlem Globetrotters and dream he could someday be part of the team. “I got myself together and worked very hard,” Branch, 37, said in a telephone interview just days before the charismatic clowns of the court were set to hit the hardwood at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. Their game against the Washington Generals begins at 7 tonight. “Who would ever expect this door would open?” Branch asked, sounding as if he still can’t believe he is part of an 85-year-old legend he describes as “basketball players first – we add a little showmanship.” A little showmanship? These are players who can spin balls on their fingers, hang upside down from the hoop and practically dance around their opponents. Basketball innovators, the Globetrotters take credit for introducing such fancy moves as slam-dunks and behind-the-back passes to the game. On their 220-city North American tour, they bring yet another twist. For the last three minutes of each quarter, baskets scored from one of two designated areas, each about 35 feet from the hoop, will count for 4 points. “How many times do you think a guy is going to make it?” Branch asked. “It depends on the skill of the player.” The Globetrotters, according to a press release, will be looking

AIMEE DILGER/THE TIMES LEADER

to Branch to score some serious 4-pointers, because he has proven he’s good at distance shots. He was third on Baylor University’s all-time list for 3-pointers made in a career (267) and in one season (104.) Traveling the world as the team’s name suggests, Branch has been in 57 countries during the past eight seasons. One of the most poignant visits was a stop in Angola, which is rebuilding after years of civil war. “They wanted us to celebrate their new beginnings,” Branch said. “A crowd came out to see the game, but you could see there was a lot of destruction. Kids got injured in the crossfire, but they were still See HOOPING, Page 10

IF YOU GO

Get your Irish on By SARA POKORNY spokorny@timesleader.com

IF YOU GO

It’s no secret the Irish are a lively bunch, but do they hold that demeanor when it comes to the matter of a wake for the dead? “They love to celebrate life,” said Mary Ann Shades, member of Holy Saviour Church in the East End section of Wilkes-Barre and chairman of this year’s Irish Breakfast and Irish Wake, set for Sunday. “You might walk in and ask yourself, ‘Is this really a wake?’ ” This year, the Catholic Community of North Wilkes-Barre, of which Holy Saviour is a part, is having an Irish breakfast that will be preceded by a skit about an Irish wake. “The “Washer Women” used to do skits like this in the ’70s, and some of the women in the church have decided to revive it,” said Liz Stone, a parishioner and event planner. “The Washer Women were women who got together on wash day and gossiped about the things happening in the town.” During the “wake,” the women will pay homage to the church’s

What: Irish Breakfast/Irish Wake Where: Holy Saviour Church, 54 Hillard St., East End section of Wilkes-Barre When: Feb. 27 after the 9 a.m. Mass Admission: $8; children, $4 Reservations: 823-4988

neighborhood. “There’s a long tradition of Irish families living in the East End area of Wilkes-Barre, so we’re pulling from that to pay tribute to the past,” Stone said. “In the skit, they’re going to include the Silver Queen, a restaurant that’s since gone. When it was here, it seemed like any major event in someone’s life was there.” The Washer Women will discuss not only places but people. “We’re going to be playing off of the families that lived here, names those in the neighborhood will recognize,” Shades said. The group also will play off See IRISH, Page 10

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Who: Harlem Globetrotters Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre Township When: 7 tonight Tickets: Start at $15 More info: 800-745-3000 or www.harlemglobetrotters.com

Tommy and Michael Malloy will provide the musical entertainment for Sunday’s Irish breakfast at Holy Saviour Church. The event also will include an ‘Irish wake’ and washer-women skit.

At the Table

Poker heats up By TOM ROBINSON For The Times Leader

LAINS TOWNSHIP – After a bit of a lull throughout much of January, the poker room at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is again buzzing with activity. The first larger buy-in event in the room’s history on Jan. 27 started the upswing.

That night, a sellout field of120 players helped pack the poker room in a way that reminded of the first week the room was in operation and the first night of multitable tournaments Nov. 1. The second $285 buy-in event will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, and players would be wise to prepare for a large crowd again. The first time around, with the start set for 7 on a Thursday night, the tournament sold out more than a half hour in advance, and dozens of players interested in the tournament had to be turned away. Most wound up playing other games – if they were willing to sit out a wait – and the room had its first $250 sit ’n go event that night for some of the players who already came planning to spend more than that on a tournament. There was a logjam to be dealt with until enough tournament players were knocked out to open up tables and spots for others waiting to get into cash games. The bigger event meant interest from a wider area than would be typical of most daily events. The top six finishers included three players from Luzerne

County and one from Lackawanna County as well as players from Northumberland County (Mount Carmel) and Lycoming County (Williamsport). They were followed by another player from Lycoming County and two from other states, New York and Connecticut. One of the subplots of the event was how the local regulars could stack up against newcomers who came in for the tournament. The overcrowding could be an issue again for a while Saturday, and players who want to be certain of a tournament spot should consider stopping by to pay their entry fee in advance. Unlike the smaller daily tournaments where spots can only be purchased two hours in advance, the big tournament has been on sale throughout the month. The increased interest has not been just on the bigger tournament days. Although the room does not overfill at other times, there have been some signs of increased play. After a reduction in the nightly entry fees, the average number of entrants in the twice-daily tournaments was 42 for the first half of February, compared with 26 for January. The 1-5 stud games that get started midway through each morning now generally take up two tables instead of struggling to fill one. That game remains far less popular than hold’em and usually dies off each afternoon, but those who come looking for it have had more options lately. An occasional pot limit Omaha high/low game also has popped up some evenings.

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269808

THE GUIDE

Best Bet

In this Irish-centric season, why not get your French up instead? Try the Tournees French Film Festival at the University of Scranton. Check out free screenings of “Coco Avant Chanel” (Coco Before Chanel), about the world’s greatest fashion designer during the Belle Epoque (7 p.m. Tuesday); “Paris,” Cedric Klapisch’s wistful ensemble film about the City of Light (7 p.m. Wednesday); and “Le Chant Des Mariee” (The Wedding Song), about a Muslim woman and a Sephardic Jewess preparing for marriage (7 p.m. Thursday). Subtitles are cool, after all. Head to the Pearn Auditorium, Brennan Hall, 300 Madison Ave., University of Scranton. Call 941-4165 for more info.

Events THIS WEEK: FEB. 25 T O M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11 Orchid Extravaganza, the annual horticultural explosion. Through March 27. The International Orchid Show & Sale returns March 25-27. Longwood Gardens, Route 1, Kennett Square. Open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. $18, $15 seniors, $8 students. 610-3885442 or longwoodgardens.org. Central Susquehanna Builders Show, with displays and exhibits of building materials and technologies along with educational seminars. Fairgrounds, 620 W. Third St., Bloomsburg. Today, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 966-0625.

Speech professor Glen Tellis (right) will join history professor Thomas Hajkowski (left) to discuss ‘The King’s Speech: Understanding Stuttering and King George VI’s Legacy’ on Monday at Misericordia University in Dallas Township.

Winter Bazaar, with games, food, a large gift-basket raffle and a gourmet bake sale. St. Nicholas/ St. Mary’s School, 240 S. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre. Today, 3 to 9 p.m. 823-8089. Fresh, the 70-minute documentary that presents “new thinking about what we’re eating.” Graham Building Auditorium, Penn State Hazleton. Tonight at 7. $7. 436-2339. Video Collage, screenings of juried short works by regional filmmakers ranging from two to 20 minutes. Artists for Art Gallery, 524 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton. Tonight, 7 to 9 followed by a reception with music and light refreshments. $5. 778-5322. Stars, a new full-dome planetarium show with 3D animation taking viewers to the outer reaches of the galaxy to experience the beauty and destructive power of stars. Followed by the show “Long Winter Nights,” describing what can be seen in the heavens during the winter months. McMunn Planetarium, East Stroudsburg University. Tonight at 7:30 and 8:30. Free but reservations required due to limited seating at esu.edu/planetarium.

Orchids and other tropical flowers are in bloom through March 27 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. each 45-minute spinning session. With T-shirts, mini-massages, refreshments and facials. Candy’s Place, 190 Welles St., Forty Fort. Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 714-8800. Dinner by Design: A Visual Indulgence, inventive venues for dinner set up throughout the historic rooms of the Masonic Temple created by professional designers and event planners. Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave., Scranton. Benefit Preview Party tonight, 7 to 10 with open bar, hors d’oeuvres and auction. $60. Exhibit continues Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $15 advance, $20 at the door. 800745-3000. American Indian Artifacts Exhibit, the annual show with tools, weapons and trade items along with flint-knapping demonstrations and atlatl (spear) throwing. Susquehanna Riverlands, 634

Salem Blvd., Berwick. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Free. Presented by the Pennsylvania Indian Artifact Collectors Association. 759-1792. Winter Bazaar, with ethnic foods, games, prizes, cash raffle and silent auction. Saints Peter and Paul Church, 25 Hudson Road, Plains. Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. 823-7941. Luzerne Conservation District Banquet, with silent and live auctions, raffles and games of chance. Genetti Hotel & Conference Center, 77 E. Market St., Wilkes-Barre. Saturday at 6 p.m. $35. 674-7991. Traditional Irish Breakfast, with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausages, Irish soda bread, scones and other Irish fare. With bagpipers and the church’s “Washer Women” presenting a comedy skit about a traditional Irish Wake. Holy Saviour Church, 54 Hillard

Celebrate the 85th birthday of Barbara Weisberger, founder of the Wilkes-Barre Ballet Theater and the Pennsylvania Ballet, at a breakfast on Sunday at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre. St., East End section of WilkesBarre. Sunday after the 9 a.m. Mass. $8, $4 children. Reservations: 823-4988. Zen Meditation Gathering, with Rinzai Zen tradition, Zazen meditation, beginner’s instruction, chanting, walking meditation and readings. Endless Mountain Zendo, 104 Hollow Road, Stillwater. Sunday at 10 a.m. 925-5077. Happy 85th Birthday, Barbara Weisberger, a continental breakfast celebration for the founder of the Wilkes-Barre Ballet Theater and the internationally renowned Pennsylvania Ballet. Jewish Community Center, 60 S. River St., Wilkes-Barre. Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Reservations: 824-4646. Myasopusna Pre-Lenten Celebration, with Ukrainian crafters offering embroidery, woodcrafts, pysanky and ceramics; a dinner

of roast pork, kielbasa, pierogies, borscht, black bread and dessert ($12); and entertainment by the Holy Year Choir, Kazka, the St. Mary’s Ukrainian Dancers along with live bandura music. Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church, Bliss and Center streets, Hanover Section of Nanticoke. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Reservations: 824-3880 or 735-4654. February Dance, with music by Danny Argo & Friends. VFW Post 283, 257 Wyoming Ave., Kingston. Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m. $10. 288-2360 or 457-6652. Educational Forum Series, with Coughlin High School science teacher Michael Komorek speaking on “Science Education in the 21st Century.” Marts Center, 274 S. Franklin St., Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre. Monday at 4:30 p.m. Free. Act 48 credit. 4085060. Enhancing Positive Communication in relationships and marriages. Presented by counselors and psychotherapists Karen and Tim Gunnet-Shoval. Jewish Community Center, 60 S. River St., Wilkes-Barre. Monday See EVENTS, Page 8

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Spin 4 Life, the 10th annual fundraiser for the Cancer Wellness Center at Candy’s Place and the Brandon J. Case Memorial Scholarship Fund. Donate $20 for

THE GUIDE

EVENTS Continued from page 7

at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. 824-4646.

FUTURE

The King’s Speech: Understanding Stuttering and King George VI’s Legacy, a forum hosted by history professor Thomas Hajkowski and speech-language pathology professor Glen Tellis. Huntzinger Room 218, Insalaco Hall, Misericordia University, 301 Lake St., Dallas. Monday at 7 p.m. Free. Refreshments served. 674-6400. A Community Conversation: Creating a College-Going Culture, a discussion on encouraging more promising students to enter college. Burke Auditorium, McGowan School of Business, West Union and North River streets, King’s College, WilkesBarre. Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. 823-9977. Thursday Talks! With a panel of pet professionals offering tips and answering questions. Included: representatives from Springbrook Kennel who demonstrate grooming and training techniques. Scranton Cultural

BEL L ES

C O N S TR U C TIO N C O . PA012959

Home Building and Remodeling Expo, showcasing products and services for the home-improvement industry. Sponsored by the Building Industry Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania at the 109th Field Artillery Armory, 280 Market St., Wilkes-Barre. March 4, 4 to 9 p.m.; March 5, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; March 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $2 or free with donation of non-perishable food item. 287-3331. Conference on Women and History in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with Linda Shopes, oral historian and former president of the Oral History Association. Brennan Hall, 300 Madison Ave., University of Scranton. March 5 at 8 a.m. Luncheon: $10. Registration: 941-4016. Knitting Group. Bring yarn and needles. All ages. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., WilkesBarre. March 5, 10:30 a.m. to

noon. Free. 821-1959. Turning Resolutions into Revolutions. Join Dr. Dan Golaszewski to learn time-management skills and eliminate clutter. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. March 5 at 11 a.m. Free. 821-1959. German Nite, the 46th annual pre-Lenten celebration with a German-themed buffet and music by the Walt Groller Orchestra. St. Nicholas Church, 226 S. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre. March 5, 6 to 11 p.m. $25. 8237736. Freestyle Motocross, with eight of the world’s most daring FMX riders performing adrenalinefueled, gravity-defying tricks. Mohegan Sun Arena, 255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Township. March 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. $31, $21, $16; $11 children. 800-745-3000. New England Contra Dance, with music by Fingerpyx. No experience or partner necessary. Church of Christ Uniting, 190 S. Sprague Ave., Kingston. March 5 at 7:30 p.m. $9. 333-4007.

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THE GUIDE

Restaurant Review

THE GUIDE

An appetizing ‘linner’ medley T

he trouble with a good diner is you never know whether to choose breakfast or lunch (or “linner,” if you will), what with both usually served all day. And if you happen upon an especially happening diner where so many things sound good and so many people have plates that look fantastic, well then you’re really in trouble. So as for me, sitting perplexed inside a seriously lively and jumping Pittston Diner (who knew?) I combined breakfast and dinner into one meal and went with a Philly Steak & Cheese Omelette, complete with peppers and onions, for $6.75. What an excellent choice, if I do say so myself. OK, seriously, this omelette’s as good a place as any to start. And this one was more than good actually. Loaded with sliced steak and melted cheese, it couldn’t possibly go wrong, but thank heavens for fresh, bright peppers to provide at least a little hey-there-hello from a vegetable. A side of soft, golden-brown breakfast potatoes (included) was an amicable partner, as was whole-wheat toast, a standard nicely executed. Another hands-down breakfast hit came from the Gourmet Diner Classics section of this appealing menu: Eggs Ranchero for $6.95.

CHOW

Chatter

CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER

Fans of simple food done with verve won’t want to bypass the Pittston Diner.

IF YOU GO What: Pittston Diner Where: 335 Laurel St., Pittston Township Call: 570-655-9773 Credit cards? Yes Hours: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday and Monday

Here was a three-egg scrambler with onions, salsa, cheddar, scallions and tomatoes all folded into

a grilled flour tortilla, sliced and served quesadilla style. The presentation was excellent, and our taster appreciatively noted the lightness of this quite-pretty breakfast dish. Others might like such house specialties as a short stack of French toast stuffed with peanut butter and bananas or raspberry or blueberry cream cheese. Or maybe waffles with fruit, walnuts or chocolate chips. Italian French toast. Or oatmeal pancakes. In

other words, this is probably one of the most creative breakfast menus around these parts. And yet dinners also sounded too tempting to go untested. So we recruited more expert eaters, and nothing was found wanting. In fact, a simple patty melt with Swiss cheese and onions (served with potato chips and a See REVIEW, Page 10

It’s happened at least twice in almost as many days. We were seated inside a busy restaurant and advised our meals would be longer than expected because, once, delivery orders were especially backed up and, another time, the lead cook had his hands truly full with takeout orders. Now we’re patient people and took the advisories in stride, but we had to wonder: Is this standard procedure? What do you think? If it’s a busier-than-usual night at a restaurant, who should get priority: the eat-in-parties or the call-ins? We want to say the people on site (who presumably will tip more and have a less comfortable wait) have to come first, but maybe we’re not seeing something. Share your opinion with us at guide@timesleader.com.

Cheers By SARA POKORNY spokorny@timesleader.com

Chris Miller and Mark Lehman started Breaker Brewing Co. in Plains Township two years ago, and it began with a murky red ale. “You could call it their flagship beer,” said John Yencha, owner of Elmer Sudds in WilkesBarre, where the beer is on tap. Anthracite Ale is a deep copper beer that Yencha said appeals to a variety of customers. brew that’s not too hoppy and not too sweet,” Miller said. “It’s a little bit in the middle, which I think helps draw people to it.” ••• Anthracite Ale Brewed By: Breaker Brewing

Co., Plains Township Style: Red Ale Alcohol by volume: 5.50 percent Price: $5/draft Available at: On tap at Elmer Sudds, Wilkes-Barre.

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“Sometimes I’m surprised because some people just don’t prefer this type of beer, but it always seems like it’s not the case with Anthracite.” Miller attributes this to the ale’s drinkability. “It’s an easy-drinking micro-

International Coin Collectors Show. Bring your old coins, class rings, pocket watches and various gold jewelry for assessment and purchase. Genetti Best Western Hotel, 77 E. Market St., WilkesBarre. Today, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 217-241-3170. CD and Record Fair, with 30 quality music dealers selling, buying and trading all types of music on CD, DVD and vinyl. St. Mary’s Community Center, 320 Mifflin Ave., Scranton. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. 607-427-9698.

FUTURE Spring Craft Show, with 100 vendors offering home décor, seasonal gifts, jewelry and more. Columbia-Montour Area Vo-Tech, 5050 Sweppenheiser Drive, Bloomsburg. March 5, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 784-8040. Antiques at Bloomsburg, with 75 exhibitors offering thousands of antiques. Fairgrounds, 620 W. Third St., Bloomsburg. March 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 328-5108. ®

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pickle for $5.95) was declared “the best lunch I’ve had in a long time.” This came from a dyed-inthe-wool Russian-Italian who added a cup of cappelletti soup (which her mother made every Sunday for years). She immediately declared this version the real deal, as she detected the proper trace amounts of lemon zest and cinnamon and noted that not only was the soup loaded with cappelletti (as opposed to fake-you-off tortellini) but the broth was clearly homemade. “Hands down, best cappelletti soup in a restaurant,” she said. With conviction. Her spouse also chose a sandwich, one, in fact, he recently

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The kids also tore through a complimentary basket of bread and requested more, which was provided with a smile. The adults quickly figured out the appeal was extreme freshness. When the bill came, we also quickly decided the prices could certainly explain these crowds. For all we had we were quite pleasantly surprised at the low sum-total. That’s no small thing in this day and age. For prices alone, we’d go back to the adorable Pittston Diner in a heartbeat. Fortunately, though, we also can look forward to some most enjoyable basic provisions. Times Leader food critics remain anonymous.

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The By-Pass Specials come with a bonus free small milkshake, of which I was envious on sight. Though it proved to have a bit more milk than shake, it was deemed a refreshing complement to the already-teeming platter that probably would not have served its purpose as well had it been thick and creamy. Worth noting: We had two kids in tow, and, wonder of wonders, they sat patiently amid the madding crowd (those awaiting tables filled every counter seat and spilled out the door and into the corridor) and then lapped up their dinners in a manner we’d not witnessed before. The standout was a stunning, HUGE plate of roasted turkey served with potato and vegetable for $7.95.

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thought he himself had invented at home. Here’s it’s called The Meatloaf Grille ($7.25) and considered a “By-Pass Special.” The basic premise is grilled cheese on white, but you insert a slice of meatloaf before “grilling,” i.e. frying in butter. He declared himself satisfied but thought the filling could have been a bit more generous, as the meatloaf slices were fairly thin. Nonetheless, he said, the sandwich was served piping hot, and the cheese and meatloaf melted together perfectly for a delicious twist on a diner favorite. Included was a side of mashed potatoes and brown gravy, declared “perfect,” even though they obviously hailed from a box. “So tasty,” he said, “they would have made Colonel Sanders do a double-take, as if his secret recipe were out.”

smiling.” Speaking of children, Branch is glad his stature as a basketball player gives him a chance to be a positive role model. “We always tell kids how important it is to follow direction, to respect each other and respect their teachers and coaches. You have to stay positive and stay strong, live your dream and put in the work. Take care of your body and stay drug free. You’re gonna face losses, but that doesn’t mean you’re a loser.”

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those in attendance. “The skit is an interactive wake. There’s going to be a lot of ad-libbing. We’re just going to look at who’s in the audience and go from there.” “The best part is that we’re going to have a receiving line, where you can offer your condolences for the deceased, but it’s actually the line for food,” Shades said. “So if you want your food, you have to pay your respects.” Shades thinks the humor of

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enhance the atmosphere. Brothers Tommy, 17, and Michael Malloy, 15, members of the parish, will showcase their musical talents. Tommy has played the drums for eight years, and Michael picked up the bagpipes two years ago. “My brother joined a bagpipe band as a drummer, and I thought it would be cool to play the bagpipes,” Michael said. “They actually aren’t too hard but not too easy. I think it’s a lot of fun.” The church runs events like this as often as it can. “We always like to put together things where everyone can come together, catch up and have fun,” Stone said.

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the event is perfect for that part of the community. “The number of Irish people that live in this neighborhood is large, and I’ve come to find that those who live here have a marvelous quirky sense of the absurd, so I think they’re really going to enjoy this.” The food of which Shades spoke will be Irish, of course. “We’re trying to have a traditional Irish breakfast, which almost no longer exists,” she said. “A lot of English tradition has filtered into it.” The breakfast will include eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausages, Irish soda bread, scones and other Irish dishes. Live Irish music will further

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THE GUIDE

Best BET Elmo’s headed back to town with a new “Sesame Street Live” musical adventure, “Elmo’s Green Thumb.” Help the happygo-lucky big, red guy find a new home for Sunny the Sunflower. But be prepared for things go awry when Abby Cadabby casts a spell that renders everyone smaller than the plants in Big Bird’s garden. Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre Township. 7 p.m. Thursday; 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. March 4; 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 5; and 1 and 4:30 p.m. March 6. $22, $17, $13 with limited Sunny Seats ($55) and Gold Circle ($28). 800-745-3000.

Kids THIS WEEK: FEB. 25 TO M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11 Saturday Family Movie Day: “Megamind,” the animated superhero comedy. Wyoming Free Library, 358 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming. Saturday at noon. Popcorn and soda provided. Free but registration required as space is limited. 693-1364. Teen Poetry Workshop, hosted by local poet and author Rachael Goetzke. For ages 11 to 19. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., WilkesBarre. Monday, 4 to 5:30 p.m. 8230156. Mommy and Me Story and Play Time, for ages 1 to 3. Osterhout North Branch Library, 28 Oliver St., WilkesBarre. Tuesdays through March 15, 10 to 11 a.m. Registration: 822-4660. Music Together Demonstration and Storytime, a free session of the internationally recognized music program for kids from birth through age 5. Barnes & Noble, Wilkes-Barre Township. Sponsored by Trinity Episcopal Church of West Pittston. Tuesday at 10 a.m.; Thursday at 6:30 p.m. 829-4210

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Infant Storytime, for children up to age 2. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Wednesdays through March 23 at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Registration: 823-0156. Zany Seuss Character Workshop. Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday by crafting a character for display. Hoyt Library, 284 Wyoming Ave., Kingston. Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Materials supplied. Registration: 287-2013.

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Junior Bird Club, a field trip to Kleinfeltersville to witness thousands of snow geese and other waterfowl that frequent this 6,000-acre site. Open to age 9 and older. Carpool from Nescopeck State Park, 1137 Honey Hole Road, Drums. March 5, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $5. Registration: 403-2006.

Military Cookbook Project, a gathering of recipes by military men and women of the meals they missed most from home while in the service. Chef Kate Gabriele will be collecting recipes at the Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Saturday,

Great Books at Hayfield, a discussion of “Under Western Eyes” by Joseph Conrad, led by Robert D. Salsburg. Hayfield House Community Room, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, off Old Route 115, Lehman. Monday at 7 p.m. Listeners welcome; refreshments served. 675-2171.

NEW RELEASES Finding the Bad Inn: Discovering My Family’s Hidden Past, Christy Leskovar’s investigation into the murder of her great-grandfather with part of the book set in Wilkes-Barre. Released by Pictorial Histories Publishing and available in hardcover, paperback and e-book. Information at christyleskovar.com.

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156 South Pennsylvania Blvd. W ilkesBarre across from Holy Redeemer

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FUTURE

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Reads

Teen Night Luau Party, for ages 11 to 18. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Wednesday, 6 to 8 p.m. 823-0156.

THE GUIDE

Notes on Music

From Beatles

TO BLUES Cray loved those lads from Liverpool

By BRAD PATTON bpatton@timesleader.com

PAGE 12

obert Cray is well-known for playing the blues, but that’s not the type of music that originally inspired him to pick up a guitar. “I got a guitar because The Beatles came out,” Cray said in a recent telephone interview from a tour stop in Verona, N.Y. “I wanted to be a Beatle, and my parents thought I was nuts.” west and making a successful move to San Francisco in 1976, Cray soon found his signature sound with the acquisition of his first Fender Stratocaster (there is Cray, a five-time now a “Robert Cray Signature Grammy Award winner best Model”). His debut album known for his 1986 album (“Who’s Been Talkin’”) appeared “Strong Persuader” and its hit in 1980. With a move to a major label, single, “Smoking Gun,” will play everything came toWilkes-Barre’s F.M. gether for Cray and his Kirby Center for the band in 1986. Performing Arts to“In the ’80s, there night. The show gets were not as many outunder way at 8 p.m. lets for music as there with a set by fellow are now,” he said. “We blues performer Shewere getting radio mekia Copeland. play, the record compaA few years after his ny was out there pushBeatles-inspired being the record, and we ginnings, Cray saw Jiwere making videos mi Hendrix perform, for a thing called MTV. and his whole life IF YOU GO Plus there were other changed. artists like Stevie Ray “After that, I started Who: The Robert Cray Band with listening to all these Shemekia Copeland Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Los guys with cool names When: 8 tonight Lobos out at the same like Muddy Waters Where: F.M. Kirby time with the same and Howlin’ Wolf. I got Center for the sort of rootsy style of really into blues and Performing Arts, music. Everything just R&B right before get- Public Square, Wilkes-Barre ting out of high Tickets: $34.50 to sort of worked in our favor.” school.” $44.50 Released in NovemAfter stints in bands Call: 826-1100 or ber 1986, “Strong Perwith names like Steak- visit www.ticketsuader” was a crossface and Foghorn master.com over smash for Cray, Leghorn in high school, the first incarnation of the reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Robert Cray Band was put to- 200 and spawning his signature gether in 1974. After building a following in the Pacific North- See NOTES, Page 13

FUTURE CONCERTS Cuban Trio Concert, sponsored by the Latin American Studies Concentration. Redington Hall, 1120 Linden St., University of Scranton. March 4 at 6:30 p.m. Free. 941-7447.

NOTES Continued from page 12

Concerts THIS WEEK: FEB. 25 T O M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11 Rock for the Red, a benefit concert for the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross with poppunk bands City Lights, Atlantic Avenue, Breathing Blue, Like the Stars and the Caribbean trio Ewabo. Lemmond Theater, Walsh Hall, Misericordia University, 301 Lake St., Dallas. Tonight at 7. $5. 674-6407. Robert Cray, the five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter with blues singer Shemakia Copeland. F.M. Kirby Center, Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Tonight at 7. $44.50, $34.50. 826-1100. Experience Janis, a Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix tribute with CC Coletti (of Meat Loaf’s Band) and Anthony Krizan of the Spin Doctors. Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. Saturday at 8:30 p.m. $25. 325-0249. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Nate Harbaugh (drums and vocals; in front), Derek Jolley (guitar and lead vocals), Danny Washington (bass) and Frazee Sutphen (guitar) make up Larksville’s Ticket to Ride band.

Nate Harbaugh (drums and vocals), Derek Jolley (guitar and lead vocals), Danny Washington (bass) and Frazee Sutphen (guitar), will next perform on March 19 at the Hunlock Creek Volunteer Fire Department building, 1114 Main Road, Hunlock Creek, with Down a Lifetime, Call Me Out and other local bands. The show is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. For updated information, visit www.tickettorideband.tumblr.com, or send an e-mail to tickettorideband@live.com. ••• “Concert For A Cause 9: The Album” debuted last week as the No. 1 album in Northeastern Pennsylvania as it topped the Gallery of Sound album sales chart.

The 2-CD collection with 30 songs from regional artists such as The Badlees, Underground Saints, George Wesley and OurAfter benefits the Big Brothers Big Sisters Anti-Bullying Program and is available at all Gallery of Sound locations for $5. “Concert For A Cause 9: The Final Show” will take place April 27 at The Woodlands in Plains Township. Artists confirmed for the concert include M-80, Go-Go Gadget, Flaxy Morgan, UUU, Eric Klein, Bad Hair Day, Farmer’s Daughter, Tribes and The Pennalites. Proceeds from the show also will aid the Big Brothers Big Sisters Anti-Bullying Program. For more information, check out www.facebook.com/concertforacause.

Jack Ingram, the country artist and Academy of Country Music’s Best New Male Vocalist of 2008. Mount Airy Casino Resort, 44 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono. Saturday at 9 p.m. $40, $25. 243-4857. Simply Grand Concert, with pianist Dr. Kunyoung Kim, a member of the music faculty of Bloomsburg University. WVIA-TV Sordoni High-Definition Theater, 70 Old Boston Road, Pittston. Sunday at 2 p.m. Free but reservations required. 655-2808.

The Lyric Consort. The eight-member a-cappella ensemble performs sacred music of Lent along with spirituals and Monteverdi madrigals. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 232 Wyoming Ave., Scranton. March 5 at 8 p.m. $10. 343-6707. The Saw Doctors, the Irish rock band from County Galway promoting its recent release “The Further Adventures of the Saw Doctors.” Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe. March 5 at 8 p.m. $29, $24. 866-605-7325. Kashmir, an authentic re-creation of a show by rock legends Led Zeppelin. Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. March 5 at 8:30 p.m. $20. 325-0249. WAR, the eclectic Afro-Cuban, jazzfunk group. Mount Airy Casino Resort, 44 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono. March 5 at 9 p.m. $40, $25. 866-468-7619. Pennsylvania Lyric Opera, a concert of favorites, including selections from “La Traviata,” “Don Giovanni,” “Rigoletto” and “The Marriage of Figaro.” Cecilia Cohen Recital Hall, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg University. March 6 at 3 p.m. $15, $12 seniors, $5 children. 328-5864. Men Aloud, lush arrangements and high-energy choreography by the winner of Britain’s “Last Choir Standing.” Sherman Theater, 524 Main St., Stroudsburg. March 6 at 7 p.m. $32. 420-2808. George Jones, the “King of Country” who set the standard for modern country music. F.M. Kirby Center, Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. March 6 at 7:30 p.m. $57.50, $47.50, $37.50, $37.50. 826-1100.

Best Bet

Sixty years ago on Feb. 23, what is proclaimed to be the first jazz festival in the United States took place at the Hotel Redington (now Genetti’s) and the Hotel Hart in downtown Wilkes-Barre, billing itself “The Cavalcade of Dixieland Jazz.” Downtown Arts means to commemorate the anniversary of that event tonight with “Cavalcade of Jazz Revisited” bringing together 19 musicians including the Cavalcade All Star Band with French vocalist Ilona Knopfler. The fun begins with a reception at 6 with the Lee Vincent Memorial Band followed by the concert at 7. Downtown Arts, 47 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. $40, $20 concert only. 905-7308.

PAGE 13

tune, “Smoking Gun,” which made it to No. 22 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album was later ranked No. 42 on “Rolling Stone” magazine’s “100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s” and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010. The follow-up album, 1988’s “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” was just as good but couldn’t duplicate its predecessor’s success. Subsequent records, including “This Time,” his latest studio collection from 2009, and “Cookin’ in Mobile,” a 2010 combo live CD/DVD, have continued to be well-received in blues circles, garnering a total of 15 Grammy nominations and five awards. “I love blues music, but I listen to and play all different styles as well,” Cray said. “When I write and play, it is a reflection of everything I have heard, not just the blues. I don’t sit down to write a specific style or have a certain flavor in mind; I just let it go where it wants to go.” Since reconnecting with bassist Richard Cousins in 2008 (Cousins played with Cray from 1974 through 1991) and re-establishing the Robert Cray Band with him, keyboardist Jim Pugh and drummer Tony Braunagel, Cray has become even more adventurous on stage. “We don’t use a set list,” he said. “Richard will ask as we’re going out on stage, ‘What do you want to do first?’ And that’s when we decide. “We’ll probably do ‘Smoking Gun’ and ‘Right Next Door,’ but outside of that, who knows? I like the challenge of that. And I like that every show ends up different than the night before.” ••• Ticket to Ride Band, a Larksville-based pop-punk group, celebrated the release of its second CD with a Feb. 17 show at the Vintage Theater in Scranton. The quartet, made up of

THE GUIDE

THE GUIDE BEHIND THE SCENES

Weaver

Hawkes

Lawrence

Steinfeld

OSCAR BUZZ Relative unknowns catapulted into limelight By JOHN ANDERSON Newsday

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scar night is about glitz and dresses and famous people, but every now and then, relative unknowns get a ticket to the Academy Awards sweepstakes. They don’t usually win — just being nominated, as they say, is honor enough (sob). But they’re in the mix, which this year includes several performers who may not be well known now but likely will be soon. Here’s a who’s who:

• JACKI WEAVER (best supporting actress) — To find the work of this extraordinary Australian actress invading American shores, one has to go back to 1975 and Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” which hardly called for the kind of latent evil Weaver brings to the role of Janine “Smurf” Cody, the monstrous matriarch of “Animal Kingdom.” In first-time director David Michod’s socio-psycho-crime drama, Weaver is a smiling Mama Macbeth who manipulates her criminal brood with faux-mother love, her black hole of a heart and a creepy kiss on the lips for her murderous boys. • JOHN HAWKES (best supporting actor) — Hawkes is a kind of classic case, the character actor who kicks around in smaller parts until the perfect one kicks him into the big time. His Oscar nomination — for his performance as the menacing crystal-meth addict Teardrop in “Winter’s Bone” — is just one of the honors the 51-year-old performer is now getting after a career spent

IF YOU WATCH What: The 83rd Annual Academy Awards When: 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC Hosts: James Franco and Anne Hathaway

habituating horror movies (“Scary Movie,” “From Dusk Till Dawn”), studio productions (“The Perfect Storm,” “American Gangster”), standout indies (”Me and You and Everyone We Know,” “Wristcutters: A Love Story”) and television (Hawkes has had recurring roles on “24,” “Eastbound & Down” and “Lost,” and was Sol Star in HBO’s “Deadwood”). • JENNIFER LAWRENCE (best actress) — After being pitched all manner of unsuitable performer, director Deborah Granik held her ground: The actress she wanted for “Winter’s Bone” and its leading Ozarkian character, Ree Dolly, didn’t have to be unknown but had to be young. She had to be able to play American and sound American. “And then Jennifer walked in,” Granik said, “a complete unknown. And from Kentucky, no

less.” Not only that, she could act. Lawrence was among the breakout success stories of 2010, after only about four years doing mostly television. • HAILEE STEINFELD (best supporting actress) — Although the 14-year-old Californian should be the freshest face in the bunch, she’s actually been working as long as Jennifer Lawrence has — though if you missed “Summer Camp,” or the single season of TV’s “Back to You,” you probably missed her. Steinfeld isn’t even close to being the youngest best-supporting-actress nominee (Tatum O’Neal was 10 when she won; Anna Paquin was 11). But the young star of “True Grit” — in which she plays the self-possessed Mattie Ross, who hires Jeff Bridges’ Rooster Cogburn to find the man who killed her father — carries more of the film than

most child stars are ever called upon to carry. She might have been nominated for best actress, but in the realities of Oscar World, no kid is going to take it away from Natalie Portman, unless that kid is named Annette Bening. From obscurity to winner It’s not uncommon for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize great performances by relatively obscure performers. What’s rare is that those nominees actually get an Oscar. The following are a few winners who defied the odds, as well as some formidable competition. (The years designate that of a film’s release.) • MARION COTILLARD, best actress, “La Vie en Rose,” 2007. • ADRIEN BRODY, best actor, “The Pianist,” 2002 • ROBERTO BENIGNI, best actor, “Life Is Beautiful,” 1998 .• BRENDA FRICKER, best supporting actress, “My Left Foot,” 1989. • HAING S. NGOR, best supporting actor, “The Killing Fields,” 1984.

• It may seem voters would be a bunch of fawning monarchists, considering how often the ceremony has been a love fest for all things English. But British kings and queens generally wind up losers at the Oscars. If “The King’s Speech” makes good on its status as best-picture favorite on Sunday, it would become the first film with a British monarch as its central figure to win the top prize in the 83-year history of the Oscars. The other nominees are “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids are All Right, “The Social Network,” “127 Hours” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit” and “Winter’s Bone.” • Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”) had been considered the front-runner for best supporting actress, but the warm feeling began evaporating when Leo, 47, started taking out glamour ads in trade magazines. Leo bluntly admitted she was “pimping” herself (fair enough), but she also used that word to describe the promotional efforts of 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, a competitor for the same award. Pundits now wonder whether Oscar voters will tap Helena Bonham Carter (“The King’s Speech”) instead. • Meanwhile, Annette Bening (“The Kids Are All Right”) is running her best-actress campaign the old-fashioned way, blanketing the media with appearances. Still, the award seems destined for Natalie Portman (“Black Swan.”) • The elusive graffiti star Banksy is up for best documentary feature for his directing debut, “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Because he prefers to hide his face, it has seemed unlikely he would reveal himself before half a billion viewers worldwide. Publicists declined to comment on whether he’ll be at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it would be happy to see him. • This year, the Academy is glamming up the way it unveils the winners’ names: It’s replacing the plain white envelope with one made of iridescent gold paper watermarked with little images of Oscar and lined with shiny red paper embossed with gold Oscars. The winner’s name appears on a heavy piece of lacquered red paper inside, with the category listed on the back. The envelope will be sealed with a shiny red sticker adorned with two strips of red ribbon. • Some of Hollywood’s most fabled directors have said casting accounts for roughly 90 percent of a movie’s ultimate success or failure. Yet there’ll be no casting-director trophies. While the Television Academy gives Emmy Awards for casting, and the Film Independent Spirit Awards honors casting directors in movies, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does not. Three times in the past 15 years, casting directors have proposed that a trophy be added, but they’ve always been rejected. “It’s not that we don’t respect casting directors, it’s that we don’t know how to” create an Oscar category, Bruce Davis, the academy’s executive director, said. Besides, “we’re not looking for a lot of new categories. People think the award show is long enough.” — Times Leader wire services

Today’s hottest ballet owes Oscar some love By JOCELYN NOVECK Associated Press

FOR THE TIMES LEADER/BILL TARUTIS

A group of Ballet Northeast dancers, with Kelly Ferrell of Wilkes-Barre in the forefront, practices for ‘Giselle.’

A dance of forgiveness

By MARY THERESE BIEBEL mbiebel@timesleader.com

Julie Degnan and guest artist Nikolai Morschakov rehearse for Ballet Northeast’s production of ‘Giselle.’ As in the ballet ‘Swan Lake,’ the plot contains elements of romantic betrayal.

Part of the story is that Prince Siegfried is tricked by the manipulative Odile into believing she is the pure and innocent Odette. Of course, they look remarkably similar when the same dancer portrays both. This year’s spring production at Ballet Northeast is not “Swan Lake” but “Giselle,” set for March 11-13 at Wilkes University’s Darte Center. To the casual observer, the two ballets might seem very similar, each showcasing a bevy of ballerinas, dressed in white and telling a story of betrayal. Among the differences, the women in “Swan Lake” portray swans. In “Giselle,” they are enti-

Mearns, it has been often noted, does not have the typical body of a ballerina, espeMearns cially a Balanchine ballerina. Her shoulders and torso are broader, and she is not petite. Rather, she looks almost like an old-fashioned pinup girl. In a recent matinee performance, she used all this to her advantage as the innocent Odette and the evil Odile. She used her long arms beautifully to reflect her emotions — sadness, fear, nervousness, a sense of intermittent joy in discovering love for Siegfried. They fluttered like a swan’s, but her birdlike movements did not, like those of some dancers, fall into the trap of caricature. In the Black Swan section, Mearns stepped up the glamour with a confident, alluring aura. She may not whip off the famous fouette turns with the same prowess as Murphy at ABT, for example, who is so technically adept that she adds multiple turns to the already impossibly challenging set of 32, earning whoops from an audience that is waiting for the moment. But that is not Mearns’ style. She stops when she is ready. But she also takes risks. In other ballets, in fact, Mearns has been known to fall down, so committed is she to the fierce execution of each movement. She did not fall in “Swan Lake,” luckily. But if she had, somehow it seems she would have made it as natural a swanlike move as the flutter of a wing. And she would have had the audience eating out of her hand nonetheless.

Sara Mearns, it has been often noted, does not have the typical body of a ballerina, especially a Balanchine ballerina. Her shoulders and torso are broader, and she is not petite. Rather, she looks almost like an old-fashioned pinup girl.

PAGE 15

Bringing the complete “Swan Lake” to the stage is an enormous undertaking, artistic director Kristin Degnan-Boonin said, explaining why her company, Ballet Northeast, last presented all four acts in 1998. “It’s an immense production,” she said, adding her late husband, Peter Degnan, was still alive and able to choreograph two of the acts. That said, Ballet Northeast has presented the show’s popular Act II over the years – with Sara Smith as Odette, the swan maiden, in 2002 and Degnan-Boonin’s daughter, Julie Degnan, in that role in 2009. In the 1998 production, BNE dancer Danielle Dorzinsky danced the dual role of white swan Odette and black swan Odile – which, as anyone who recently watched Natalie Portman in the Academy Award-nominated film “Black Swan” knows, can be an arduous challenge for any ballerina. Seeing the problems the dual casting caused for Portman’s character, audiences might wonder if it wouldn’t be simpler to just have one dancer be the white swan and another portray the black swan. Ballet companies tend to cast one ballerina as both characters, Degnan-Boonin explained. Not only does the practice showcase the talent of one extraordinary dancer, but it makes the plot more believable.

ties known as wilis, the spirits of deceased maidens who were treated badly in affairs of the heart. Somewhat vengeful toward men in general, the wilis are eager to descend upon and kill a nobleman named Albrecht who ventures into their territory. Audiences might be of the opinion Albrecht deserves that fate because he courted the peasant Giselle, knowing he could never marry her, and she dies of a broken heart when she realizes he was not trustworthy. The generous Giselle, however, begs that his life be spared and does in fact protect him through a dramatic night. “It’s beautiful because she forgives him,” said Julie Degnan, who has been diligently practicing the role of Giselle with guest artist Nikolai Morschakov as Albrecht. “Forgiveness is the biggest gift of all.” As for “Black Swan,” the consensus among several of the teenage dancers at Ballet Northeast is that the movie was a disappointment. Some said they hadn’t been allowed to see the R-rated film. Others said there were too many disturbing elements. As to the movie’s storyline, Julie Degnan said, “It was probably accurate about the dog-eat-dog competition for roles in a professional company, but I didn’t like the way it portrayed the director as a sleazeball who had relationships with the dancers. It implied that’s what you have to do to get a good part, and I know that’s not true.”

NEW YORK — And you thought “Swan Lake” was only hot in Hollywood these days. Call it fortuitous timing, but the folks at New York City Ballet have seen tickets for “Swan Lake” sell out faster than usual this season — they even added an extra show to accommodate demand. And move over, Natalie Portman: You may be favored today for the Oscar in “Black Swan,” but there’s a real-life, fleshand-blood ballerina generating heat as the swan queen. Her name is Sara Mearns, and she’s tall, blond, glamorous — movie-star beautiful, in fact. What’s really special about her, though, is her spectacular stage presence, her long legs and the gorgeous, expansive shapes she creates with her body, particularly the stunning arch in her back. Some have hastened to call Mearns, 24, the best American ballerina performing today. That might be a little premature, and it would overlook dancers such as the enticing Tiler Peck and several young colleagues at NYCB, veteran Wendy Whelan and Gillian Murphy at American Ballet Theatre, an estimable swan queen herself. But certainly one can say that to watch Mearns dance Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake” is to watch a star ascendant — not to mention an absolutely glorious pairing of a dancer with the right role. For that, credit goes to Peter Martins, NYCB’s ballet master-in-chief, who had the prescience to pluck Mearns from the corps in 2006 — she was 19 — and make her one of his swan queens that season in his version of “Swan Lake.” It launched her career.

THE GUIDE

By ROGER MOORE The Orlando Sentinel

hose “There’s Something About Mary” Farrelly Brothers try to get their edge back with “Hall Pass,” a rude, seriously crude riff on taking a vacation from marriage. But as they age, they’re having more trouble balancing the sentimental with the outrageously vulgar. They’ve made a mature comedy about immature men here, “The Hangover” minus the sucker punches.

“Hall Pass” is about husbands who talk about sex too much, fantasize too often and share all this adolescent behavior with each other and their long-suffering wives. “Driving in a car with you is like riding with a horny bobble head,” Maggie (Jenna Fischer) complains to her ever-ogling spouse, Rick (Owen Wilson). Rick’s pal is the even-cruder Fred (Jason Sudeikis), a 16year-old in a 40ish insurance agent’s body who drops the “Get any action last night?” question on one and all. Fred’s foul mouth gets them both in hot water. Then he tops that with a little masturbation in his minivan. On the advice of therapist Dr. Lucy (Joy Behar), Maggie and Fred’s wife, Grace (Christina Applegate) decide to bestow upon them a one-week “hall pass” from marriage. Go

out, tear it up, get it out of your systems, they say. And behind their backs, they’re thinking their men are “domesticated cats, scratching at the door.” Let them out, and they’ll find out what the real world is like for a single man at 40. As they round up their admiring poker buddies (dullards) to watch them cruise the nearest Providence, R.I., Applebee’s, they realize quickly they’re remembering their single days through rose-colored glasses. The guys binge on ribs and beer and doze off while their wives are tempted by members of a minor-league baseball team. Fischer is ultrafrumpy in the early scenes but progressively prettier as the film goes along. The Farrellys make sentimental-about-love points in between their usual toilet jokes, masturbation gags, fullfrontal nudity and incredibly coarse come-ons. Rick and Fred have trouble stepping up to the plate, even when the flirty babysitter (Alexandra Daddario) and the Aussie “java babe” (Nicky Whelan) make their intentions known. That’s when the boys’ old pal, the serial womanizer Coakley gets back into town. The one-time Oscar nominee the Farrellys cast in that role is the best joke and funniest performer in the movie. With Judd Apatow et al pushing the comic boundaries beyond the Farrellys’ “Something About Mary” hair-gel joke, the brothers are left to put penises in uncomfortable places and projectile diarrhea in the middle of a seduction. It all reeks of desperation.

PAGE 16

IF YOU GO What: “Hall Pass” Starring: Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate Directed by: Peter and Bobby Farrelly Running time: 98 minutes Rated: R, for crude and sexual humor throughout, language, some graphic nudity and drug use ★ 1/2

Still showing

JUST GO WITH IT — Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s romantic comedy is stuffed with narcissists saying and doing the dumbest, cruelest things. PG-13 for crude and sexual content, partial nudity, drug references, language. 116 minutes. ★ 1/2

THE EAGLE – Ancient Roman adventure with precise detail and gorgeous landscapes but hollow characters. PG-13 for battle, imagery. 114 minutes. ★★ 1/2

JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER — Part biopic, part concert film and all crowd-pleaser, this celebration of the pop phenom knows exactly how to send its target audience of tween girls into a tizzy. G. 105 minutes. ★★★

GNOMEO & JULIET — Animated riff with yard gnomes as our star-crossed lovers doesn’t have a single original idea in its pointy head, but it’s spirited and brisk . G. 84 minutes. ★★

THE KING’S SPEECH – You can’t help but succumb to this weighty-yet-uplifting period drama based on a true story about British royalty. R for language. 118 minutes. ★★★ 1/2

NEW ON DVD

savvy

Local fashion feature

THE RITE — Even Anthony Hopkins can only make this overly familiar demonic-possession thriller engaging for so long. PG-13 for theme, violence, fright, language. 113 minutes. ★★ ½ THE ROOMMATE — Timid variation on “Single White Female.” PG-13 for violence, menace, sex, language, teen partying. 93 minutes. ★ UNKNOWN — Liam Neeson continues his fascinating latecareer path in this chilly little thriller about amnesia, mistrust and lost identity. PG-13 for intense violence and action, brief sexual content. 106 minutes. ★★ 1/2 YOGI BEAR — Finally, his own movie — in 3-D, no less. PG for rude humor. 80 minutes. ★★

Movie Amy

The Scranton-set “Blue Valentine” is the latest in a long line of NEPA-affiliated films to net Oscar attention. Check out other movies with contributions from area-affiliated filmmakers. ••• “The Wrestler” (2008, Fox, R, $15): Mountain Top wrestler Jon Trosky (a.k.a. Supreme Lee Grant) helped train Mickey Rourke for this slammin’ drama about Randy “The Ram” Robinson, an over-thehill grappler who ekes out a living wrestling in down-and-dirty venues all over the Northeast. From Rourke’s harrowing, Oscar-nominated performance to the haunting Springsteen song that plays over the end credits, this one is pile-driver powerful. ••• “All About Eve” (1950, Fox, unrated, $35): A bitchfest for the ages, this new-to-Blu-ray backstage drama crackles with wit and mad energy. Bette Davis is as an aging Broadway star who gives a break to an adoring fan (Anne

ALSO OPENING What: “Drive Angry” (not screened for critics) Starring: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner Directed by: Patrick Lussier Genre: Action/Comedy/Fantasy/Thriller Running time: 104 minutes Plot summary: A vengeful

Baxter), only to have the young woman take over her life. The movie earned directing and screenwriting Oscars for WilkesBarre native Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whose dialogue practically drips acid. ••• “Avatar: Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition”(2009, Fox, PG-13, $35): Action juggernaut, thrilling love story, eye-popping special-effects showcase. Helping writer/director James Cameron realize his vision – and celebrate the film’s three Oscar wins and six nominations – was producer Jon Landau, whose mother, Edie Landau, was a Wilkes-Barre native and whose great-aunt, 92-year-old Ruth Levey, lives in Kingston. ••• All available now for sale, on Netflix and at rental outlets.

Amy Longsdorf is a certifiable DVD buff who writes about movies for The Times Leader. Read her profiles of the stars in the Sunday Etc. section.

father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter. Rated: R for strong brutal violence throughout, grisly images, some graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language. — Internet Movie Database

“M

y style is spooky chic and cute as a candy unicorn. Fashion is your personal art that the outside world sees everyday.

Leslie Stewart, 25

Hazleton

Graphic Designer at PepperJam; blogger at DarlingStewie.com Shoes: Urban Outﬁtters, Skirt: Tripp, Shirt: Rue 21, Sweater: Forever 21, Ring: facebook.com/lovewantwear, Earrings: ourstrangedays.etsy.com Bow: Candies

Think you’re fashionable? Send your photo and contact info to: rpugh@timesleader.com

PAGE 17

This week’s DVD releases include a super hit and a super miss. “Megamind,” Grade B: A super-villain discovers the worst thing he can do is defeat his chief nemesis. There are plenty of action sequences, but the script by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons also is filled with reflection and revelation by the characters. This movie has so much more character development than what is usually associated with the animation world. “Due Date,” Grade F: A man (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to get home to be with his pregnant wife. If given the choice between seeing the film or taking a cross-country car trip with a screaming baby, a Great Dane with irritable bowels and a swarm of killer bees — while sitting on a pillow made of porcupine quills — take the car ride. ••• Also new on DVD this week: “Get Low:” A hermit wants to preside over his own funeral. Robert Duvall stars. “Clover:” A 10-year-old (Zelda Harris) lives with her widowed father (Ernie Hudson) on the family peach orchard. “The Last Unicorn:” A Bluray combo pack of the 1982 film with the voices of Jeff Bridges and Alan Arkin.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED — Guy and girl agree to have sex wherever and whenever, sans pesky emotions. Guy breaks rules, falls in love. R for sex, language, drugs. 102 minutes. ★★

265470

BLUE VALENTINE — Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s marital drama, set and filmed in NEPA, is agonizing yet relentlessly compelling. R for strong sex, language, a beating. 112 minutes. ★★★ 1/2

I AM NUMBER FOUR — Great, another Chosen One. D.J. Caruso’s action tale is mostly familiar stuff, presenting the latest teen outsider coming into possession of his latent superpowers. PG-13 for intense violence and action, brief language. 109 minutes. ★★

“

BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON – Martin Lawrence & Co. hit Tyler Perry where he lives. They take the black-man-in-drag wars into Madea country — Atlanta — for this sad excuse for a cross-dressing sequel, a humorless mash-up of “White Chicks” and “Glee.” PG-13 for some sexual humor, brief violence. 105 minutes. ★

THE GUIDE

THE GUIDE All Shook Up, a musical of Elvis songs with a story based on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Performed by the Drama Club at Coughlin High School, 80 N. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre. Thursday through Saturday (March 5) at 7 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. $10. 406-3976.

Stage THIS WEEK: FEB. 25 T O M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11 Songs for a New World, the Broadway song-cycle musical with six actors representing characters searching for strength in the midst of private disasters. Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, West South Street at South River Street, Wilkes-Barre. Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. $15, $5 seniors and students. 408-4540. Nunsense, music and comedy with the Little Sisters of Hoboken. Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville. Through March 6: Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Dinner served 90 minutes before show time. 283-2195. Doo Wop at Dietrich High, an original musical by the Dietrich After School Players set in the 1950s in a “GLEE-ful” way. Dietrich Theater, 60 E. Tioga St., Tunkhannock. Saturday at 11 a.m. $5. 996-1500. Die Fledermaus, Johann Strauss’ operatic comedy of errors presented by the Pennsylvania Lyric Opera Theater. Shawnee Playhouse, 1 River Road, Shawnee-on-Delaware. Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. $18. 421-5093. Kiss Me Kate, the Tony Awardwinning musical offering a play within a play – a production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” Presented by Wyoming Valley West High School, 150 Wadham St., Plymouth. Wednesday through Saturday (March 5) at 7:30 p.m. $8, $5 students. 779-5361.

Emma, based on the classic Jane Austen novel about a spirited heroine who insists on managing everyone’s love lives. Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center St., Bloomsburg. Premieres Thursday and continues through March 20: Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. $24, $19 seniors, $11 students. 784-8181 or bte.org.

FUTURE Brannigan’s Blarney, two acts of Irish music and Celtic comedy done in Irish Music Hall style and set on the Auld Sod and in a Boston pub. Shawnee Playhouse, 1 River Road, Shawnee-on-Delaware. March 4 to 20, Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m.; Saturdays at 8 p.m. $18, $10 children. 421-5093. The Color Purple, the Oprah Winfrey-produced musical about the triumphs and struggles of AfricanAmerican women in Jim Crow-era Georgia. Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave., Scranton. March 4 at 8 p.m.; March 5 at 2 and 8 p.m.; March 6 at 1 and 6 p.m. $59, $49, $37. 342-7784 or broadwayscranton.com. Speech & Debate, Stephen Karam’s dark comedy about three high-school misfits getting involved with a teacher scandal. Performed by the University of Scranton Players at the McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts, University of Scranton. March 4-5 at 8 p.m.; March 6 at 2 p.m. 9414318. The Peking Acrobats, spellbinding feats from the People’s Republic of China by gymnasts, contortionists, jugglers, cyclists and tumblers. F.M. Kirby Center, Public Square, WilkesBarre. March 5 at 4 p.m. $25, $12.50 children. 826-1100.

Best Bet PAGE 18

Oh how we love those Little Sisters of Hoboken. In the guise of the always-popular nuns, Nancy Brown, Courtney Hahn, Debbie Zehner, Amanda Reese and Dana Fiegenblatt will entertain you at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville with ‘Nunsense,’ on stage through March 6.

While some opera fans have been getting their fix at the high-definition simulcast at Movies 14, the F.M. Kirby Center will present the real thing as Giacomo Puccini’s final masterpiece, “Turandot,” comes to life Wednesday. The stage is the “Forbidden City” of Peking, and Princess Turandot’s haunted past makes her an impossible riddle for any suitor until a brave Persian prince wins her heart and restores peace to the city. The costumes are lavish, the sets dramatic and the voices some of Europe’s best. $57.50, $35, $20. 826-1100.

The Ukrainian dance ensemble Kazka will kick up its collective heels at the annual Myasopusna (Meatfare) Pre-Lenten Celebration on Sunday at Transfiguration Church in the Hanover Section of Nanticoke.

Send your event listings to guide@timesleader.com.

THE GUIDE

The Plumber Protects the Health of the Nation

Love triangles and zany antics abound when the ‘real’ Oberon and Puck join the cast of a 1930s movie in the King’s College production of ‘Shakespeare in Hollywood.’

Hollywood perfect locale for ‘Midsummer’ remake

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Tip 1 - In extreme cold weather, let your faucets drip. This is far less expensive than frozen pipe repairs. Tip 2 - Thaw frozen pipes with your hair dryer or heat gun, concentrate on the water lines only. (Be careful not to get flammable material too hot) Tip 3 - Should you have a frozen pipe before thawing, turn water off to prevent a burst pipe. Tip 4 - After pipes are thawed, turn water on slowly and check pipe for leaks. Tip 5 - Insulate problem areas such as cold spots with Frostex Heat Tape, available at your local plumbing store. Tip 6 - Leave cabinet doors open so the heat from your home can penetrate cold areas where plumbing is located. Tip 7 - Space heaters are good to use on cold areas to keep pipes from freezing. Use a 3 prong grounded plug or extension cord, check frequently, and keep away flammable materials. Tip 8 - Should you have a buried pipe, in a difficult to access area such as behind a wall or crawl space, call a plumber. We use a “pipe-n-hot” machine to thaw the pipes in minutes. (This works only with copper, brass, or galvanized pipes) Tip 9 - Keep your thermostat at a reasonable temperature. (You may spend a little more on your heating bill, but the cost is far less than a frozen pipe burst) Tip 10 - Older homes often use hot water furnaces, or boilers. These furnaces circulate hot water through baseboards or cast iron radiators. If these are located in problem areas such as a garage, crawl spaces or behind walls add a 50-50 etc mixture of special heating anti-freeze. No more freezing, guaranteed. Tip 11 - Outdoor faucets can be the first to freeze. Turn water off in basement and disconnect the outside hose. Let the faucet drain. Frost free faucets may not need this step. Tip 12 - If you have an unoccupied property, such as an investment property or summer home, it is wise to call a plumber who will winterize your property and save you on your utility bills. Tip 13 - Sewer problems can be expensive and inconvenient. Let a plumber use a camera to locate and mark problem areas before they get worse. The plumber can also perform a sewer cleaning.

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Over Forty Years & Three Generations of Experience

PAGE 19

“I’ve got a lot of food, crosses and chase scenes, a man in heels, Now that she has a big part in something on wheels. “All I need is a ladder,” she addthe 1935 movie “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” it seems unlike- ed with a laugh. “The Oberon and Puck we see ly former chorus girl Lydia Lansing would give the time of day to here are going to shake up anya humble yes-man named Darryl. one’s idea of Oberon and Puck,” Yet there she is, sighing over she said. “Here Puck is the more him: “My precious boy! My ev- sensible one. Oberon is more bumbling and clumsy.” erything!” This Oberon may be bumbling Meanwhile, leading man Dick and somewhat boyish Powell seems unable in his affection for a to realize the beautiful IF YOU GO starlet who is as seriThisbe in flowing hair What: ‘Shakesand gown is a man in peare in Hollywood’ ous as Lydia is flighty. drag. He’s actually tug- Who: King’s College Yet when he speaks to Players ging at the guy’s foot in When: 7:30 tonight Olivia in the lyrical his ardor. and Saturday night language of the Bard, Olivia is enchanted Ken Ludwig’s farci- Where: King’s and tells him his voice cal “Shakespeare in Theater, 133 N. “reminds me of a bell Hollywood,” which River St., Wilkestolling in the countrycontinues tonight and Barre Tickets: $10. ($5 side.” Saturday at King’s Col- seniors and stu“He’s funny and lege in Wilkes-Barre, is dents) charming and differfull of oddly infatuated More info: 208ent from other men characters. 5825 she’s known,” said FelIt’s all because Puck, the real mischief-making Puck – icia Kaufman, who plays Olivia. and his boss, Oberon, the real “She really does like him.” Would Oberon like to take Oliking of the fairies – have been magically transported to the via back to his world, if he could? “Oh, Lord, yes!” Lukas Toma1930s sound stage where Austrian expatriate Max Reinhart is sacci said, speaking for his chardirecting “A Midsummer Night’s acter. Senior Stephanie Gawlas, who Dream” for Warner Bros. Instead of “a wood near Ath- expects this will be her last play ens,” the visitors are in Holly- as a King’s student, has the chalwood, where Puck finds a flower lenge of portraying Lydia as an that causes people to fall in love awkward actress, cast in the with the next creature they see, 1930s movie simply because she no matter how incongruous a is the girlfriend of a Warner brother. match. “It’s easy to learn Shakespeare “It’s a little bit of all kinds of humor,” said Colin Walsh, who lines frontwards but very diffiplays Powell. “It’s slapstick, sar- cult to learn the lines backwards,” she said, referring to a casm, a lot of jokes.” “The whole thing is just so fun- scene in which a breathless Lydia ny,” said Brian Palladino, flexing tells a dumbfounded Reinhart she believes Shakespeare’s his foot in Thisbe’s high heel. Director Sheileen Corbett said words make equal sense in either she enjoys pulling out the stops. direction. By MARY THERESE BIEBEL mbiebel@timesleader.com

Cold Weather Tips for Homeowners

THE GUIDE

THE GUIDE Meet these employers and more:

March 8, 2011 • The Woodlands Inn & Resort 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sponsored by:

Hit the slopes of Jack Frost Ski Area and join other pink-clad skiers to support breast-cancer research in the 4th annual Ski for the Cure tomorrow. Run for the Cookies, a 10K race throughout historic Berwick. Sponsored by the Berwick Marathon Association. Saturday at 10:30 a.m. 759-1300 or runfordiamonds.com.

Outdoors THIS WEEK: FEB. 25 T O M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11 Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide, a downhill quarter-mile track onto the frozen lake. Off Lake Street in Eagles Mere. In operation (weather permitting) Fridays, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. $15 per hour for six-man sled; $20 eightman. Proceeds benefit the local volunteer fire company. Food available. 525-3244. Ski for the Cure: Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Help support breast-cancer research by skiing for pledges at Jack Frost Ski Area, off Route 940, Blakeslee. Saturday with registration at 8 a.m. and dedicated runs at 11 a.m. 969-6072 or komennepa.org. Lackawanna Audubon Society Field Trip to Harveys Lake and Bear Hollow Road. Meet at Friendly’s Restaurant, Route 309, Dallas. Saturday at 9 a.m. 945-5226.

PAGE 20

Snowshoe Weekends. Whenever there are six inches or more of snow on the ground, snowshoes and cross-country skis are available to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis. Limited instruction. Nescopeck State Park, 1137 Honey Hole Road, Drums. Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. 403-2006. Cross Country Ski, beginner lessons with skis and shoes provided. Pocono Environmental Education Center, Brisco Mountain and Emery roads, Dingmans Ferry. Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon; Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. $20, $10 children. 8282319.

Monuments to Nature: Winter Waterfalls, a tour of area waterfalls. Pocono Environmental Education Center, Brisco Mountain and Emery roads, Dingmans Ferry. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. $20. 828-2319. Beltzville State Park Hike, five moderate miles at Wild Creek Cove. Meet at the Sears Automotive parking lot, Wyoming Valley Mall, off Route 115, Wilkes-Barre Township. Sunday at 11:45 a.m. Sponsored by the Susquehanna Trailers Hiking Club. 825-7200.

FUTURE Introduction to Orienteering. Learn to use a map and compass on the orienteering course. Equipment provided. Pocono Environmental Education Center, Dingmans Ferry. March 6, 1 to 3 p.m. $5. Reservations: 828-2319. Planting and Care of Trees and Shrubs in Home Landscapes, presented by Penn State Extension Community Forester Vinnie Cotrone. Luzerne County West Side Annex, 2009 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort. March 9 at 1 p.m. $5. Reservations: 825-1701. Bird Watching Walk. Meet at the Russell Hill Church, Route 6, Tunkhannock. March 11 at 9 a.m. $3. Registration: 836-3835. Sugar Shack Ramble. Take an orienteering expedition to the Two Saps Sugar Shack using a map and compass. Followed by cocoa and pancakes with fresh maple syrup. Pocono Environmental Education Center, Dingmans Ferry. March 12, 9 a.m. to noon. $10, $5 children. Reservations: 828-2319. Fly Fishing Seminar, including talks on equipment, casting, strategy, fly typing, basic entomology and local fishing areas. Monroe County Environmental Education Center, Stroudsburg. March 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $8. 629-3061.

Reserve your booth and advertising space today.

Call Christina Lesko at 970-7356 or Rachel Courtney at 970-7372.

Gateway Energy Services Corporation Telerx Mary Kay Tobyhanna Army Depot Helpmates, Inc. Allied Services Express Employment Professionals Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Olympia Chimney Supply Lehigh Career & Technical Institute Timber Ridge Health Care Northwestern Mutual Golden Living Centers Mercy Health Partners TMG Health Travelocity Area Agency on Aging for Luzerne & Wyoming Counties Greater Hazleton Health Alliance Unitrin Direct T. J. Maxx Distribution Center Fanelli Brother’s Trucking Company 109th Field Artillery Times Leader Circulation

M e m p o o T r . ial t M Polar Bear Plunge S Saturday d March M h 5, 5 2011 12-2 PM • Lake Nuangola Park at the Grove 5177 Nuangola Rd Donation to jump $10.00

Checks can be made to: Mt. Top Memorial Polar Bear Plunge and mailed to PNC Bank 125 S. Mountain Blvd., Mt. Top, PA 18707

Other donations greatly appreciated!

To beneﬁt three Mt. Top area families in need. Come help out your neighbors!

IN MEMORY OF Joe Brozoski • Joe Hauze Joe Jacobs • Scott Yakscoe

For more information contact Dan (570) 472-1613

The Calligrapher’s Guild of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a members exhibit. Through Monday at Anthology Bookstore, 515 Center St., Scranton. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 3411443.

Exhibits

T H I S W E E K : F E B . 24 T O M A R C H 3 , 2 0 11

On Time, recent photographs by Ivana Pavelka. Through Monday at the Dietrich Theater, 60 E. Tioga St., Tunkhannock. Open during movie screenings. 996-1500.

Art of Charlotte Kindler, pastels, oils and watercolors by the Shavertown artist. Opens Saturday with a reception 5 to 7 p.m. Continues through April 1 at Something Special, 23 W. Walnut St., Kingston. Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 696-3695.

Perspectives of Nature, photography by King’s College student Jeff Katra including landscapes and flowers. Through March 25 with a reception March 4, 6 to 8 p.m. Widmann Gallery, Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 2085957.

Art Auction, conducted by Marlin Art with framed prints of works by famous artists along with original watercolors, oils and pastels. St. Jude School, 422 S. Mountain Blvd., Mountain Top. Saturday with a preview at 6 p.m. and auction at 7:30 p.m. With wine, cheese and hors d’oeuvres. $25. 474-5803.

Knot Work Display, fancy knot work by David J. Kline, who developed his style during his sailing days. Through mid-March at the Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 821-1959.

ONGOING EXHIBITS Getting to Know the Local Artists, Scranton and Beyond, a juried group exhibit of paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture. Through Sunday at New Visions Studio & Gallery, 11 S. Keyser Ave., Taylor. Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. 610-636-9684.

p.m. 821-1959. Passages: Robert Griffith, works created with metal, glass and wood. Through March 20 at the Shields Center for Visual Arts, Marywood University, 2300 Adams Ave., Scranton. Monday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednes-

day, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. 348-6278.

through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 836-3200.

Any Given Monday, with works by members of the Endless Mountains Council of the Arts. Through March 31 at the Wyoming County Courthouse Gallery, 1 Courthouse Square, Tunkhannock. Monday

John & Yoko: A New York Love Story, 50 photographs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono by Allan Tannenbaum. Through April 4 at

THE GUIDE

See EXHIBITS, Page 27

Pennsylvania Hands, Sally Wiener Grotta’s visual celebration of individuals who keep alive traditional crafts across the state. Through March with a reception March 18, 5 to 8 p.m. and a presentation by the artist March 24 at 7 p.m. Osterhout Free Library, 71 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5

Best Bet

270115

PAGE 21

Honesdale artist Jennie Brownscombe’s 1914 interpretation of “The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth” gained much popularity when it was published in Life magazine. The painting returns to the area (on loan from Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Mass.) in the exhibit “An Ideal Subject: The Art of Jennie Brownscombe (1850-1936)” at the University of Scranton’s Hope Horn Gallery. The 64-painting show includes other gems by the historical genre and portrait painter including “Love’s Young Dream” and “Children Playing in the Orchard.” Through March 18 at the Hope Horn Gallery, Hyland Hall, University of Scranton. Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. 941-4214.

THE GUIDE

Pregnant teen needs worried friend’s support, not a lecture Dear Abby: I’m concerned about my friend “Nyla.” She’s 15 and pregnant. Nyla and her family are happy about it! I’m not. I think she should have waited. I keep telling her that her life is ruined and she’ll regret having a baby this early, but she doesn’t listen. It would be better if she had help, but she doesn’t. Nyla’s family is poor. Now she is angry with me because of what I keep telling

her. What can I do to help her understand me? — Virginia Teen

old is beyond me. But your friend IS pregnant and she’s keeping the baby. So be a real friend and encourage her to finish high school so she can prepare herself for a job that will enable her to support her little one.

Dear Virginia Teen: If you want Nyla to “understand” you, quit lecturing her because it’s only making her defensive. How any family, rich or poor, could be “happy” about the pregnancy of an unwed 15-year-

Dear Abby: When we started dating, my (now) husband told me he didn’t care about past relationships because “the past is the past and it’s over.” Now he has begun grilling me about every boyfriend I’ve ever had, demanding details about every

DEAR ABBY ADVICE

GOREN BRIDGE WITH OMAR SHARIF & TANNAH HIRSCH

PAGE 22

HOW TO CONTACT: Dear Abby: PO Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Celebrity Questions: TV Week, The Dallas Morning News, Communications Center, PO Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265

aspect of the relationships. He makes snide remarks and asks if I would like him to track them down and if I’d like to sleep with them again. At first, I thought he was joking, but it has escalated to text messages and threats of divorce if I don’t tell him everything he wants to know. I think this fits the definition of emotional abuse. He was wonderful when we first got together, but now he says marrying me was just a ruse to get sex. What can I do? — Sick to My Stomach in Ohio

CROSSWORD

Dear Sick To Your Stomach: Harassing you for details and threatening to contact them is, frankly, sick behavior. To ensure your safety, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800) 799-7233 and discuss this with a trained counselor. To receive a collection of Abby’s most memorable — and most frequently requested — poems and essays, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby’s “Keepers,” P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

CELEBRITY Q&A BY R.D. HELDENFELS

JUMBLE

UNIVERSAL SUDOKU

THE GUIDE

BY MICHAEL ARGIRION & JEFF KNUREK

‘NCIS’ star says tattoos are real Q. I love “NCIS.” I was wondering about Abby on the show. Are any of her tattoos real? A. Many are. “I think I’m on 13 or 14,” Pauley Perrette, who plays Abby, told TVGuide.com several years ago. “On ‘NCIS,’ not only do they love my tattoos but they give me more. The neck one is a vinyl transfer.” Q. There was a great series called “Reilly: Ace of Spies,” starring a young Sam Neill. Is it available anywhere? If anyone can find it, it’s you! A. Well, this time at least. My mailbox is full of questions about things I can’t find. The ’80s miniseries starred Neill as Sidney Reilly, a legendary real-life spy said to have been the inspiration for James Bond. The program has been released on DVD.

PREVIOUS DAY’S SOLUTION

CRYPTOQUOTE

Q. Thank you in advance for info on the recording artist in the Subaru commercial where the lyrics begin “This is powerful stuff.” A. That is a song called “Powerful Stuff” by Sean Hayes — not the “Will & Grace” actor but a singer-songwriter; the song has also been used on the NBC series “Parenthood.” It’s from Hayes’ album “Run Wolves Run.” You can find more about him at http://www.seanhayesmusic.com. Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to me at rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or by regular mail to the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309.

HOROSCOPE BY HOLIDAY MATHIS ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll be

to attract certain people and keep their attention. CANCER (June 22-July 22). There is no need to be self-conscious and overly concerned about what others think. It’s very likely that what you believe is a shortcoming is all in your mind. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Drop the unimportant stuff so that you can focus on what means the most to you. There’s plenty of work to do if you want it, though leisure well spent is even more important to your thriving life right now. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Having a strong opinion can sometimes increase your power, though right now so many of your thoughts and emotions on a topic are unresolved. Stay open-minded.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You may be

building up an event to be much bigger than it should be in your mind. This is not an end-all-be-all situation. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Second chances abound, and so do third and fourth chances. Tests can be retaken, mail can be resent, relationships can get a new start. Knowing this, ease up on yourself. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). People trying to sell you something will lead you to believe that there is not very much of it left in the world. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your sign mate Isaac Newton noted that objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest. You’ll tune in to the nature of those around

you and adjust your expectations accordingly. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Find a way to get sunshine and fun into your life, even if you have to look at pictures of the beach to accomplish this. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Presume that your ailment has an easy remedy. With that mindset, you will discover the solution, and you’ll spend too much of your time and energy in “search” mode. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 25). You have intense energy and vitality and will focus them well this year. You’ll benefit from advanced training of some kind in March. You have a fan in Sagittarius and Aquarius people. Your lucky numbers are: 24, 3, 22, 39 and 16.

PAGE 23

nudged into new territory. You can get grounded by affirming that you are still the same you. In all matters you take on, get your own approval first, and then it won’t be so hard to get anyone else’s. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Imagined limitations are to blame for many problems. Get some help with accomplishing a difficult task, and you’ll find out that it’s not so hard, after all. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Taking on too grave a tone could hinder your ability

ON THE WEB For more Sudoku go to www.timesleader.com

THE GUIDE

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UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS * The Metroplitan Opera: Iphigenie en Tauride February 26th - 1:00PM Jo-Ann Reif, PH.D. will deliver a short talk about the opera, before it begins. All Showtimes Include Pre-Feature Content

(Parenthesis Denotes Bargain Matinees)

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You must be 17 with ID or accompanied by a parent to attend R rated features. Children under 6 may not attend R rated features after 6pm

the Dietrich Theater Tioga St., Tunkhannock

PAGE 24

WEEK OF 2/25/11 - 3/3/11

UNKNOWN (PG13)

JUST GO WITH IT (PG13)

Fri. 7:00, 9:25 Sat. 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 Sun. 2:00, 4:30, 7:00 Mon., Tues., Thurs. 7:00 Wed. 12:00, 7:00

Fri. 7:10, 9:35 Sat. 1:50, 4:20, 7:10, 9:35 Sun. 1:50, 4:20, 7:10 Mon., Tues., Thurs. 7:10 Wed. 12:10, 7:10

I AM NUMBER FOUR (PG13)

THE KING’S SPEECH (R)

Fri. 7:15, 9:40 Sat. 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40 Sun. 2:15, 4:45, 7:15 Mon., Tues., Thurs. 7:15 Wed. 12:05, 7:15

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Watch This: Top TV Picks

Move on, Charlie

THE GUIDE

By SANDRA SNYDER ssnyder@timesleader.com

So how about those Mondaynight traffic jams? Maybe it’s time to talk about TV’s best bets in terms of its increasingly weaker bets, those old favorites getting old themselves and occupying too much prime DVR real estate On a night when “The Bachelor,” “Castle,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Mad Love,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Mike & Molly,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Chuck,” “House,” “The Chicago Code,” “90210” and even “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” are all packed into the same threehour period, what can go? Start with “90210” (8 p.m. on 38). Back in the day, annoying as it was, West Bev was still a delicious escape when Brenda and Brandon were around and Kelly Taylor’s biggest problem was whether bad-boy Dylan was worth the drama, but the new incarnation has teenagers not only buying multimillion-dollar mansions but living on their own in turndown-service hotels. And school lunches at the beach club? Please. It’s all aging faster than Brandon and Brenda’s original parents. At 9, oh, sweet heaven, “Two and a Half Men.” Whether Charlie Sheen suddenly finds salvation or not, this show CAN survive without him. And let’s face it, what used to be adorable (little Jake in all his wide-eyed wonderment without his ex-

treme gaseous emissions) is increasingly nauseating. And now we’re even asked to believe Charlie actually loves stalker Rose? As if. Send CBS a message. Stop watching. At 9:30 on CBS, though, stick with “Mike & Molly,” even if the fat jokes there feel overcooked. Billy Gardell (Mike) and Melissa McCarthy (Molly) make an entirely amusing couple, and Reno Wilson (Officer Carl McMillan) is a wiry little laughriot as Mike’s beat-mate bestie. Speaking of expendable actors, though, I vote we move Katy Mixon (Molly’s sister Victoria) and Swoosie Kurtz (Molly’s mother Joyce) to outer Mongolia and have them leave the Chicago abode to our lovers. Officer Carl can get the heck out of Nana’s house, too, and occupy the basement at low rent.

PAGE 25

THE GUIDE

emperatures in the 60s on Feb. 18 wouldn’t seem to bode well for an ice-festival weekend.

Fortunately, however, for those attending

the seventh annual Clarks Summit Festival of Ice, themed ‘A Moment Frozen in Time: Clarks Summit Centennial 1911-2011,’ Saturday brought frigid air right back into the forecast and coats back out of the closet. PAGE 26

And folks found plenty of ways to have fun with and without the sun.

ALEX SEELEY PHOTOS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER

1. Sculpted Ice Works’ Mark Crouthamel always draws an appreciative crowd. Here he carves a sculpture of the former Northern Electric Railway Trolley at Frontier Communications on North State Street. 2. Amy Pisanchyn instructs a dancing group. 3. Joe Cole brought music for the occasion to Pennstar Bank. 4. Plenty of feet, little and big, were dancing. Lillia Bromirski, 3, kicks up her heels with Allison Bromirski, 5. 5. Andrew Laquintano, 5, studies the plans for the ice sculpture Sculpted Ice Works’ Mark Crouthamel would carve of the former Northern Electric Railway Trolley at Frontier Communications.

EXHIBITS Continued from page 21

the Everhart Museum, 1901 Mulberry St., Nay Aug Park, Scranton. Monday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 346-7186. Ornamental Penmanship, the extensive Zaner-Bloser Collection of American Ornamental Penmanship by renowned master penmen.

Through April 18 at the Weinberg Memorial Library, 900 Mulberry St., University of Scranton. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 11:30 p.m. 941-6341. Face to Face: Interface, contemporary portraiture of the Northeast by Bill Benson, Marylou Chibirka,

Russell Recchion, George Strasburger, Brian Keeler, Barbara Sowinski, Robert Stark, Tom Wise and Marty Poole. Through April 28 at the Blue Heron Gallery, 20 Main St., Wyalusing. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 746-4922.

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PAGE 27

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Friday, noon to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. $5, $3 seniors, $2 children. 346-7186.

With Bullets Singing All Around Me, a show exploring regional

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stories of the Civil War. Through July 17 at the Everhart Museum, 1901 Mulberry St., Nay Aug Park, Scranton. Monday, Thursday and

THE GUIDE

B atter Sal es

for individuals to bazaars

The Potato Shack

27 Wilson Street, Larksville O pen Fri . 11:30-9:00 S at. & S un. 4:00-9:00

288-1584

SPECIALS

Beef Stroganoff

Over Egg Noodles Served with a Tossed Salad

Rest. Hours: Tues. Wed. Thurs. 11:00 to 9:00 Fri. Sat. 11:00 to 10:00 Sun. 11:00 to 9:00

FEATURING BBQ Favorites Ribs, Smoked Chicken, Pulled Pork & Brisket

CRAZY BREAD & CRAZY SAUCE

259

8 PIECE ORDER

OTHER FAVORITES

Pizza, Wings, Pagach Hot/Cold Subs

CARRY OUT PLUS TAX

ALL DAY, EVERY DAY! West Side Mall • Edwardsville 570-714-4912

Ask About Uncle Buck’s Challenge!

FRIDAYS AND SUNDAYS 11A.M. - TILL 5P.M. UNLIMITED SOUP, SALAD & BREADSTICKS

...casual dining with a difference!

Weekend Features W

Sesame Seared Salmon with a Candied Teriyaki Glaze $16.95 Atlantic Salmon seared with black & white sesame seeds drizzled with candied Teriyaki sauce.

Crab Stuffed Tenderloin $32.95

Hand-Cut 8 oz. Filet Mignon Stuffed with Super Lump Crab meat. Charbroiled and splashed with Lemon-Butter.

Tilapia Crab Florentine $14.95 Egg-battered Tilapia with sautéed spinach, crab meat, and finished with a light Lemon Butter Sauce.

Sunday Special

Chicken & Biscuits $10.95

Our famous home-style Chicken & Biscuits served with mashed potatoes and gravy. Mmmm...what a way to go!

Inquire about our private dining room for any occasion HAPPY HOUR

Come try out Costello’s new lounge with a full bar and lounge chairs We are now offering 1/2 price drinks Sunday - Thursday 4pm - 6pm.

Gateway Shopping Center, Edwardsville (570) 714-7777 WWW.COSTELLOS.INFO

SUNDAY S U BRUNCH BUFFET

Available from 9 AM – 2 PM Ava Av Assorted Asso As A ssort rt drinks, morning breads & pastries; cold bar with cereals, yogurt, fruit &w hip ipp ppp cream cheese; stations offer eggs, omelets, pancakes & waffles; whipped specialty sp pec e ialt ialtyy items; soup Adults A Ad dul ults ts - $11.95 Plus Tax Children - $5.95 Plus Tax C ll (570) Ca (57 675-1134, ext. 102 for details Call

$ 99

P LAN YOUR PERFECT WEDDING PLAN

Satu S Sa aturrda rda still available in 2011: Saturdays

Friday and Sunday dates are also available. F C (570) 675-1134, ext. 100 for more information Call

SERVED DAILY 3:30-5:00 PM

BOOK YOUR IREM WEDDING NOW! B

Offering all-inclusive packages to suit your every need. Offe Of f Call C all (570) 675-1134, ext. 100 to secure your preferred date.

272159

COOPER’S WATERFRONT

304 Kennedy Blvd. Pittston • 654-6883

259 Overbrook Road • Dallas, PA 18612 Phone: 570-675-2727 • www.overbrookpub.com

W WW.. IR WWW.IREMCOUNTRYCLUB.COM I EM M COU U N TRYCLU TR R U B.C C OM

Plus: Garden Fresh House Salad or $ 99 Caesar Salad & Oven Warmed Bread Sticks

Mon & Tues 4 - 10pm Wed - Sat 12 - 10pm • Sun 12 - 9pm Now Featuring Daily Specials!

COUNTRY CLUB

SOUPS INCLUDE: Crab Bisque, Manhattan Clam Chowder N.E. Clam Chowder, Chicken Noodle, Lobster Bisque or French Onion

or: Fish & Chips, Shrimp & Chips Clam Strips & Chips or Chicken & Chips Only

Now Open 7 Days A Week With New Hours

OFF SITE CATERING NOW AVAILABLE

361 West Main Street Plymouth, Pa. 18651

Cannot be combined with any other offer. One coupon per visit. Expires 3-3-11

PAGE 28

Cajun Bayou Pasta

Served with Warm French Rolls & Salad

Carverton Road, Trucksville • 696-1648

Tax & Toppings Extra

Served with Mashed Potatoes & Vegetable

Pizza Special - 4 Cheese Pizza - Large Only Back Room Available For Parties • Catering Off Premises Available See all our specials at www.checkerboardinn.com

2 Large 16” Cheese Pizzas

Guinness Beef Tips

Served with 2 Sides

651 Wyoming Ave. • Kingston 283-4322 • 283-4323

Friday & Saturday Specials

Chicken, Shrimp & Lobster Scampi

A getaway without traveling! The Irem Country Club’s alcohol policy will be in effect.

HAWAIIAN LUAU by reservation only

270924

POTATO PANCAKES Al so

verbrook Pub & Grille

CHECKERBOARD INN

Home Made

2719 271999 7 999

THE GUIDE