NEPA Scene

The Vintage Theater in Scranton closed its doors for good this past weekend. But before it did it hosted one last event, a party celebrating everything The Vintage meant to anyone who took advantage of the wonderful things it had to offer. I first got involved with The Vintage through the Bloggers' Roundtable back in September 2011, at the invitation of Rich Howells. So it was fitting that I found myself in The Vintage this past Saturday evening talking with Rich Howells in the final hours of the place's existence.

We reminisced a bit, but eventually the conversation turned to a new project of his that was just about ready to launch, a site called NEPA Scene that would bring together blog posts, web postings, and original material into one central site that would present every facet of arts, music, entertainment, and other happenings throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. That site has now gone live!

NEPA Scene
www.nepascene.com
also on
facebook.com/nepascene
twitter.com/nepascene
youtube.com/nepascene
instagram.com/nepascene

From the "About" page:

NEPA Scene covers everything from music and movies to food and books, with an emphasis on artists and entertainers located in or traveling through Northeastern Pennsylvania, though its coverage area extends to Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey. Instead of simply reporting on creative people, the site also works directly with them to share content and spread the word about everything that’s happening in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and beyond.

Looking for something to do? Wondering what's going on or coming up? Check out NEPA Scene!

Palm Tree Row

Donya Jackson reached out to us via our Twitter account to tell us about her blog "Palm Tree Row". 

http://palmtreerow.wordpress.com

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog all about the Caribbean islands.  Donya moved to Scranton, PA recently and uses the blog to share the culture of the tropics with the world.

From the About:

Palm Tree Row is a lifestyle blog with a very distinct theme. We are all about the islands. Tropical and nautical fashion, home decor and entertaining ideas. Whenever possible, posts will be inspired by travel that we’ve done ourselves.

By Spring of 2014, our goal is to incorporate shopping capabilities so that our followers can purchase some of these great finds right here. We are already working with Tia for PTR on our first line of Island Vibe accessories.

Palm Tree Row was founded by Donya Jackson in June, 2013. An islander by birth, Donya couldn’t let go of the tropics and decided to bring it to readers year round. Feature bloggers will be published as often as possible so that we keep the travel vibe as true and as culturally honest as possible.

You can also follow Palm Tree Row on twitter: @PalmTreeRow and on Instagram.

Upcoming Blogger Events

There are some interesting upcoming events in the Blogosphere...

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 7pm - The innaugural meeting of the Northeast PA Wordpress group at The Vintage Theater in Scranton.  For further details and to RSVP visit:  http://www.meetup.com/nepawp


Thursday, February 28, 2013 6-8pm - Cocktails and Coupons Savings Mixer at Bella Faccias in Scranton.  There will be door prizes and favors provided by Good Cook. Jenna Urban, author of Bucktownbargains.com and a Savings.com DealPro, will host end of the month Coupon Workshop, with a short presentation followed by an organized coupon swap.  Sign up using this NEPA Cocktails and Coupons link and share with friends. Must be 21 years old  to attend. 


Thursday, February 28, 2013 6:30pm - Whiskey Bacon's Traveling Circus Food Event at the Ipanema Grille in Scranton.  It's a real meat treat - all you can eat Rodizio with more than 12 combinations of savory cuts of fire-roasted meats presented on skewers and carved table side.

A note about the Traveling Circus events from Leni of the Whiskey Bacon blog: "As part of our goal to change the way people eat and think about food locally, we organize at least 2 meet ups a month at delicious restaurants. It's a good time for anyone who likes food, to connect with other foodies, or just try something new (some of our regulars are fast foodies expanding their palate). Yes you have to pay for your dinner unfortunately, but we try to get the whole table in on any check in or Groupon deals - but we also bring the fun. Events are open to everyone and your human guests. We ask that guests RSVP on the Facebook page so we can warn the restaurant ahead of time. :) A few of the past events we've gotten around to blogging about are here http://whiskeybacon.com/category/stomping-grounds/traveling-circus/ so we do, actually blog about these events (Though as you can see, we're very behind :P)"

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/497251950319082


Saturday, March 16, 2013 12pm - Whiskey Bacon's Traveling Circus Food Event at Canteen 900 in Forty Fort.  Design your own flatbreads, fresh squeezed juice, regular fresh specials and a menu that never disappoints.

RSVP here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/297727653687161/


Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 9pm - Whiskey Bacon's Traveling Circus Food Event at Bernie's Pizza in Dallas.  Great pizza that stands out for flavor and a solid crust out of all the others in the Back Mountain.

RSVP here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/341006746009464/


Saturday, April 13, 2013 12-7pm - Mark Mysterrio's Million Dollar Producers Relay For Life Team announced that they will be hosting a tricky tray at The American Legion located at 201 E.5th Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301.  Admission is $5.00 and includes starting tickets, door prize and more..  For more details visit:  http://pennsylvaniabirthdaymagician.com/charity-events/



Friday, April 19, 2013 6pm-??? - Northeastern Pennsylvania Bloggers will be hosting the 7th semi-annual Blogfest at Rooney's Irish Pub, Friday April 19th at Rooney's Irish Pub, 67 S. Main St., Pittston, PA 18704 starting at 6PM. This is an informal gathering of bloggers, candidates for office, elected officials and anyone interested in politics or blogging. There is no charge for admission. For more information please visit http://gort42.blogspot.com/, , http://nepablogs.blogspot.com/ , http://www.pittstonpolitics.com/ or call 570-823-4508.

Since it's inception 3 years ago Blogfest has been described as the best political event of the season. No speeches are allowed and the rule is agree to disagree but don't be disagreeable. Many local and statewide candidates will be attending.  For more details and to RSVP visit:   https://www.facebook.com/events/423897131028808


Friday, April 26th 2013 6pm-??? - Mark Mysterrio's Million Dollar Producers Relay For Life Team announced that they will be hosting a Vera Bradley Bingo at The American Legion located at 201 E.5th Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301. Doors open at 6 pm and Bingo starts at 7p.m. The cost is $25.00 in advance and $30 at the door if there are remaining tickets.  For more details visit:  http://pennsylvaniabirthdaymagician.com/charity-events/


Fall 2013 (date, location TBA) - NEPA BlogCon is returning in the fall of 2013 to help educate Northeast PA about blogging and social media.  To learn more about the conference, please visit:  http://nepablogcon.com/nepa-blogcon-2013-here-we-come/

We hope to see you out there!  If you have an interesting event coming up related to blogging and want us to know about it, send an email to nepablogs@gmail.com.

AJazz Networks

When evil geniuses Alex Zarnoski, Kyle Cicilioni, Charles McHale, Mark Dillman, Brianne Beatty, and Jon Lund get together behind a video camera or a microphone, you can be sure that pure magic is about to happen.  This magic has been captured in a series of podcasts, blogs and Internet Shorts (ala SNL) on the AJazz Networks website/blog.


http://www.ajazznetworks.com


Ajazz Networks promises to be originally different, delivering unique show formats that cover topics such as tech news, sports, movie reviews, and other utter randomness to melt your mind.  With the writers' insightful opinion pieces and criticisms, there is a little something for everyone to enjoy.

I personally recommend checking out the R. A. N. T. (R.A.N.T. stands for Rambling About Notable Topics) blog first!  Valentine's Day may be over, but today is "Singles Awareness Day".  There's a great post on the blog right now that gives single people advice on how to cope with being alone on Valentine's Day.

Besides the R.A.N.T. blog, here are some of the other podcasts/shows to enjoy:

-The Salinor Show
-AJazz Tech
-Internet Amazings
-Cinema Clash

Ajazz Networks has been added to our blog roll.  Know of any other avid podcasters or video bloggers?  Send us an email at nepablogs@gmail.com so that we can feature them in an upcoming blog post!

Satellite News

Wowzers!   I just found out yesterday that a blog I've been following for years is semi-based in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Can you believe it?!

Satellite News
http://www.mst3kinfo.com

Satellite News is the official fan-based blog about the now-defunct TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.  It is endorsed by "Best Brains Inc." the entertainment company that produced the series, but the content is solely independently written.  Fans all over the globe use this as their "go-to" guide for episode summaries, information about the cast and crew, and events that happened in the history of MST3K.  Yes - even me!  I'm a big sci-fi movie nerd especially when they are are awful and being made fun of. 

The authors are Chris Cornell and Brian Henry.  In a recent conversation through Twitter, I found out that Chris Cornell resides in NEPA and is planning to attend NEPA BlogCon.  Yay!

To learn more about what Mystery Science Theater 3000 actually is, I'd recommend starting at this Wikipedia article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000

....but if you are a cult follower of the show, like I am, you are already well ahead of the curve....

~Michelle

First Friday Scranton

This event has been going on for quite a long time now, and it only just occurred to me to check to see if they have a website. They do. And whaddya know, it's in a blog format!

First Friday Scranton
http://firstfridayscranton.com/


First Friday art walks are held on the first Friday of every month at galleries and businesses around Downtown Scranton. Paintings, photography, sculpture, music, performance art…you never know what you’ll find at First Friday in Scranton.


Support local artists and mingle with your Northeastern Pennsylvania neighbors, all in a casual atmosphere. Join us for First Friday!

Pop Rox

Here's a pop culture / local entertainment blog by Michael Sadowski! Part of the thepoconos.com/blogs family of blogs, Pop Rox is updated at least three times a week. Be sure to check it out for information and reviews of movies, things going on in the Poconos, Lindsay Lohan, and all sorts of other stuff!

Pop Rox: The latest in pop culture and Pocono entertainment
http://blogs.thepoconos.com/pop-rox/