Five years after Dr. John Pankratz began photographing his fellow citizens for the monumental Faces of Reading: 1000 Portraits of a City exhibition, the historian/photographer is revisiting those faces, and once again documenting the evolution of our diverse community.

A new addition to the project is the poetry of Albright College honors student Sarah Bruno. She asks each Faces of Reading participant photographed two questions: How have you changed? and how has Reading changed over the past five years? Sarah then crafts poems around the responses to these questions into short, vivid poems which she calls “the verbal equivalent of a snapshot.” Working through an Albright Creative Research Experience (ACRE) grant, Sarah writes what she calls “elaborated found poetry,” weaving bits of the actual responses of various participants together into her poems. She encourages people to be honest in their responses, as all the poems are anonymous and won’t be associated with any particular portraits in the exhibit.

Dr. John Pankratz describes his collaboration with Sarah as a “photographic/poetic portrait of the community that will be at once deeply personal and broadly shared.”

Please click on the following images below to read a sampling of Sarah’s poems.

For more information about the Faces of Reading project please visit http:facesofreading.zenfolio.com

Shooting for the project will continue into the summer of 2010, so check the website for the schedule so you can become a part of Reading history.

photo by Dr. John Pankratz

The festive Tower Ball is one of many activities The Friends of The Reading Hospital and Medical Center spearhead to support The Reading Hospital services and programs. Established in 1870, the Friends have worked tirelessly to help the Hospital to provide healthcare services and improve the quality of life for Reading and surrounding communities. This year is no exception.

For 20 years, a group of volunteers has tirelessly dedicated their time and effort to hosting the annual Tower Ball. While the theme has changed each year, one thing remained constant – their goal to create a fabulous event that raised money for The Hospital. And their success is evident. Generous volunteers, sponsors, and attendees have not only enjoyed the event all these years, but also helped the Tower Ball Committees raise more than $1.7 million to support healthcare services in our community.

You can’t experience health care at The Reading Hospital without encountering something that The Friends have helped to support. Most recently, their donation helped to create the Healing Garden outside of N-Building. The Healing Garden features a serene atmosphere with fountains, walkways, and comfortable seating where patients, families, and visitors can relax. This year, funds raised from the Tower Ball will support the purchase of a telemedicine robot. This roving robot, used at The Reading Hospital for Post-Acute Rehabilitation, allows physicians to check on patients remotely 24 hours a day!

Recognized for great food, entertainment, and fun, this year’s event will be no exception. However, to celebrate the anniversary, The Friends have added a few exciting surprises with special entertainment and an amazing cake created by The Learning Channel’s “Cake Boss”! This year’s event will be held on Saturday, March 6, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel. This black tie elegant event will feature an evening of dinner, dancing, and entertainment by CTO Park Avenue.

The Friends would like to invite you to join in the excitement. To learn more about the event, or to purchase tickets, call 610.988.8477.

Have you heard Flux Capacitor? If not, check out this local rock phenomenon.

I wondered what that name meant. It sounded vaguely familiar.

The band is named for the instrument that provided time-traveling ability to the car in the movie Back to the Future.

Former BCL intern Kevin Newkirk brought the band to my attention back in March 2008. Thanks Kevin! Kevin’s article about Flux ran in the Sept. 2008 issue of BCL.

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Flux Capacitor play in the Northeast Tap Room, that legendary Reading watering hole at North 12th and Robeson Sts. I logged a lot of hours at the Tap Room back in the early 90s. It was great fun to go there again and check out the art-covered walls and the great beer selection.

My friends and I arrived before the first set started, and so scored front row seats on the couch and a friendly chat with the band. Flux is the combination of three talented brothers, Pete Specht on guitar and lead vocals, Jason Specht, on percussion, drums and backing vocals, and Michael Specht on synth and keyboards.

In classic Berks we-are-all-connected fashion, I have a connection with Pete. My mother, Kathleen Scoboria, taught him sixth grade at the former St. John’s Roman Catholic School in Shillington, now LaSalle Academy.

And then they started playing.

I am a music fan, not a music critic. So all I will say is that what I heard was powerful and hypnotic. They sounded different than anyone else. But you can also hear the musical influences, from the psychedelic 60s to 90s grunge and beyond.

Their first CD, They Know We Know, is available at Best Buy, and this hard working band plays tons of gigs in Berks as well as throughout PA, N.Y. and N.J. For more info and their schedule, visit www.fluxcapacitorband.com. Treat yourself to a little time travel!

In other musical notes, The Brass Lantern, located at North 12th and Pike Sts. in Reading, features great local music in the perfect relaxed setting to appreciate it. Don’t miss progressive keyboardist Jeff Bujak on Feb. 20 when he makes his regular trek to the Brass from his home in Northampton, MA. His unique music will inspire and amaze you.

And for any of you Flower Children out there, every third Friday at the Brass is Grateful Dead night with the Good Lovin’ Jam Band. ‘Nuff said.

To check whose playing at The Brass Lantern, visit www.thebrasslanternlive.com.

Cheers!
Francine

Congratulations to the Reading-Berks Chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen. These talented local artists were recently chosen to decorate the Christmas tree in the Governor’s mansion.

The Chapter, which includes more than 80 members, created more than 400 unique holiday ornaments for the Governor’s 18-foot tree, located in the Grand Hall entrance. The ornaments were made in a variety of media, including glass, pressed and dried flower art, wood, ceramics, folk art, beeswax, cloth, metal and paper. Collectively, they represent the tradition of holiday ornaments through the years, from traditional to contemporary.

The Governor’s Mansion, the residence of Gov. and Mrs. Edward G. Rendell,
is located on North Front Street in Harrisburg, along the Susquehanna River.

Guild President Barry Bennecoff said the Guild contacted State Rep. Dante Santoni about the idea and he presented letters to Rendell, who accepted the offer. “As always, we are pleased to receive recognition for our Guild and we will gain some great visibility for our members in our state capital and throughout the state,” says Bennecoff.

Founded in 1945, the Reading Chapter has a four-fold mission: To promote and protect the interests of the craftsman; to encourage the study and practice of handcrafts; to uphold the best of traditional and contemporary crafts; and to maintain standards of excellence in design and technique. Membership is open to everyone.

In addition to its holiday and spring Craft Shows each year and its show on BCTV, the Guild publishes a newsletter, hosts an annual student awards program with monetary awards for Berks County high school seniors, and disburses annual grants to members for
educational use. The Guild also sponsors an annual award for the best in traditional work at an exhibition at Pennsylvania State Shows.

For more information on the Reading-Berks Chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen, visit the website www.rbcrafts.org or call 610-678-6650.