Family Fun in Mechanicsburg for a Great Cause

Start your engines, or just prepare for a leisurely walk; whatever your speed it’s all for a great cause. The Forgotten 5K, 1 Mile Mosey, and Unforgettable Costume Contest is coming to Mechanicsburg September 17th! The event will take place at the West Shore Evangelical Free Church, and all proceeds benefit Forgotten Voices, a Dillsburg based nonprofit focused on helping children orphaned by AIDS in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

This is the first year of this event, so there are some fantastic incentives to participate. For one, any runner or walker who wears a costume will automatically get entered into a random drawing for a brand new iPad2 – not too shabby. And there are lots of other prizes as well, including hand carved decorative pieces from the communities that Forgotten Voices serves in Africa. The race kicks off at 9am, and any other detail you might want to know can be found at Forgotten5K.org. You can also see if you have any facebook friends attending by checking out their event page.

Personally, I plan to make an appearance with THE hottest costume possible, quite literally. Anyone have a good costume suggestion for the 5K or 1 Mile Mosey?

Food Tripping Across Bucks County

Executive trip summary: Hitched a ride with Bucks County Food Tours, I ate, I ate, I ate, I ate, I ate & I ate.

*Trip rocked.

Juicy detailed summary: We met up with our two local foodie experts, Lynn Goldman and Alan Brown at 10am on a bright and warm Saturday in July. After introductions, we piled into a rented van and began our adventure.

With Lynne at the wheel, we navigated a number of picturesque back roads around the greater Philadelphia suburbs in Bucks County. Our first stop – Birchwood Farms.

This all natural, all grass fed farm hosts a number of pigs and cows who live leisurely around 50 acres or so. We strapped on blue ‘booties’ and got up close and personal with the livestock. Being that the farm is all natural, the raw milk we tried was absolutely delicious and their passion for natural farming and farm products was over the top (in a good way!). The meats sold in their store are actually good for you, despite being red meat because of the natural lifestyle and feed of the cattle.

Fascinating tour, and wonderful local farm that I heartily recommend patronizing.

Soon after our farm tour, we landed at the Milk House Farm Market. The place was bustling with locals eager to try their immense variety of local produce. By my count, they had over 30 varieties of tomatoes alone!

Following this road side farm market, we rode the Bucks County Food Tours train (er, mini-van rather) to a long time Bucks County staple – Ely Farm. Let me just tell you, the meats at this family butchery are a cut above the rest! I’ve never had a better steak in my life than the one I bought here! They’ve got plenty of different cuts and meats, all to die for.

Now for something sweet, and what could be sweeter than local peaches in July! Manoff Market Gardens offers numerous varieties of peaches and nectarines among other fruits. Plenty of peach related products to buy as well, the cobbler was amazing!

At this point it was time for a lunch break, over to Lovin’ Oven! They were ready for our tour with a fantastic menu of sweet tea, fresh salad, tomato soup, and choice of an omelet or open faced sandwich. Let me just summarize our meal – I’ll be back! The omelet I had was laid over fresh peaches and goat cheese with arugula – outstanding combination of flavors! All ingredients were local, fresh, and creatively combined for a memorable meal.

Our final stop of the day was Stockton Farmers Market. Now I’ve been to a number of markets, and honestly this place was the most diverse indoor market I’ve ever seen! We’re talking produce, coffee, belgian waffles, bbq, olive oil, pickles, tamales, ice cream, and that’s just touching the surface! Needless to say, I left with a bag full of goodies and a huge grin on my face. This foodie got served!

All in all, my experience with Bucks County Food Tours was outstanding. I’d recommend the tours to anyone who enjoys good eats. Our guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and the trip was a relaxing and fun way to spend time with my wife and parents (the trip was a thank you gift to my parents from my wife and I).

The trip we went on was custom fit to what we wanted to do, but they’ve got a trip for any taste, and they’re just getting started. Find them on facebook to keep up the latest in Bucks County Food, or check out their website for specific tours currently available.

And remember, EAT LOCAL!

The perfect Harrisburg day trip

So recently I was married, big deal right? Well, it certainly was for me but the point is my search for the perfect thank you gift to my parents resulted in a fantastic find.

This find happens to be an awesome day trip for anyone living in the Harrisburg area, or within driving range of greater Philadelphia for that matter. The company is called Bucks County Food Tours, and the trip is foodie Shangri-la.

I’m talking a guided tour through greater Philly’s best local food gems. Including, but not limited to, small batch ice cream, pastured meats, locally roasted coffee, cheeses, baked goods and more. Oh yes there is more and I’ve already booked my tickets to tasty town.

Next weekend I’ll be taking my parents and wife (shameless gift idea really) on a 5 hours trip through numerous stops and enjoying every bite of it. I’ll make sure to post photos and notes from the trip, well, post trip of course. 

If you’d like to learn more about Bucks County Food Tours – fan their facebook page to stay in the loop.

Catch ya on the flip side!

Brian

Harrisburg Launches New Pro Indoor Football Franchise

The rumors are true! The Harrisburg Stampede are the newest sports team addition to the city, set to begin their inaugural season in 2009. Part of the American Indoor Football Association, the Stampede are co-owned by the New Orleans Saints’ Marques Colston, and will play their home games inside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.  The AIFA regular season stretches from March to June, with currently 17 teams representing cities from across the commonwealth and the country.

The Harrisburg Stampede have announced they will hold a press conference to introduce the coaching staff and roster on September 23rd, 2008, at 4:30pm inside Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg. A team website is also in the works and can be found at:  HarrisburgStampede.com. You can show your support by becoming a Stampede fan on

Harrisburg was recentely ranked by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal as the second-best minor league sports market in the country, a sure sign that the Stampede will fit right in to the city’s diverse landscape of sports teams.

Restaurants, Art Museum, and Science Center Agree to Partner for Downtown Job Fair

What do an Irish pub, an art museum, and a center for science and the performing arts all have in common? Not too much without getting really creative – unless you’re speaking about an innovative job and internship fair called Experience Harrisburg. In that case you’d know that Molly Brannigans, the Susquehanna Art Museum, and the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts have all agreed to host employers for the 7th annual downtown job and internship fair. In addition to these venues, Stock’s on 2nd and the Downtown Visitors Center have also agreed to participate as job fair destinations. These locations along with 4 others still yet to be decided will house four or five employers each and provide small groups of students the opportunity to experience first hand some of the great entertainment, food, and nightlife that Harrisburg has to offer while networking with employers for potential jobs and internships.

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Upcoming Event – Carlisle Bike Fest, July 25th-27th, 2008

Try to picture for a minute over 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts along with some enthusiast wannabes and a number of regular curious citizens descending upon the little town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a weekend of food, music, stunts, super charged trials, vendors, and the usual festival revelry. Did a strange look of befuddlement just appear on your face? I certainly had a hard time imaging such an enormous event taking place in nearby Carlisle, a peaceful little town with a nice variety of restaurant choices and eclectic shops. Images of the final scenes from the movie Wild Hogs began dancing around my head as soon as I learned about this annual festival. 

But regardless of what imagery comes to mind, this is the seventh year Carlisle has hosted this event so Bike Fest must not be as crazy as I am envisioning. And even though I don’t own a bike anymore I’m still planning on attending, maybe I’ll even win the motorcyle giveaway. More information about the event can be found on the Carlisle Events Website. If you’re just in town for the weekend, make sure to check out the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau, and Spotobe.com for other great events taking place in the area. It’s going to be a wild weekend in Carlisle, see you there!

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Annual Blues Festival Promises Big Eats and Guaranteed Entertainment

Saturday, August 2nd 2008 starting at 1:30pm one of Harrisburg’s best annual blues concerts is set to kickoff in grand fashion with a lineup of performances including the Krypton City Blues Revue, Zora Young, Gary Belloma & The Blue Bombers, Nate Myers & The Aces, The New Experience Variety Band, and Tomm Dunn Delta Blues Soloist. 6th annual “The Lost, The Found & The Dearly Departed” will take place at the Harrisburg Postal Employees Picnic Grounds, 1500 Roberts Valley Road, Harrisburg. Attendees are encouraged to come hungry, as the $20 entry fee ($25 at the door) not only provides your ticket to incredible entertainment all day, but also access to as much pork BBQ, fried catfish, chicken, fresh cut fries, baked beans and salad you can stomach! The event is totally BYOB which is mainly the reason so many attendees bring camping equipment and stay the night, as the party continues long after the music has stopped playing. While this annual festival remains for the most part under the radar, trust me you won’t want to miss out on the revelry.

Don’t Miss the 80th Annual Jubilee Day in Mechanicsburg, PA – June 19th, 2008

This Thursday there’s a  good reason to take a personal day from work – Mechanicsburg’s 80th Annual Jubilee Day. Here’s a tasty tidbit of trivia about the event; it’s the biggest one day street festival on the entire east coast and anticipates over 60,000 people to be in attendance this year. Wow! It’s hard for me to picture that many people fitting into little Mechanicsburg. This year’s event will take place from 10am-9pm and boasts over 50 food vendors, 2 live music/entertainment stages, amusement rides, and plenty of vendors selling various arts and crafts.

I’m not sure where the best place to park would be as this will be my first year at Jubilee Day, but from the event website: “There will be free shuttle bus service from the following locations. Mechanicsburg Senior High School, off Williams Grove Road, and Immanuel Alliance Church at 800 South Market Street.”

The Gettysburg Festival “Celebrating America” Debuts June 19th-29th, 2008

Heard about this massive ten day festival on the radio this morning, I can’t believe this is the first I’ve heard of it! This will apparently be the first year of the Gettysburg Festival “Celebrating America” and will be no small event – over 60 events are scheduled from dance to theater to jazz. With events for the whole family and all ages this event is sure to establish itself as one of the premier festivals in Southcentral PA, if not the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Much of the performances will take place in Gettysburg’s Majestic Theater, but events are scheduled at many other venues as well, including the Historic Gettysburg Railroad Station Pavilion, The Historic Gettysburg Hotel, and Gettysburg College.

Sprint Car Racing at the Williams Grove Speedway – an “Experience”

So this past Friday night my girlfriend and I decided it was time we saw first hand what all the hype was about at the Williams Grove Speedway. It’s funny that I’ve been living less than 5 miles away for the past 5 years and I’ve never once given the place consideration for weekend entertainment (apparently the raceway has been there since 1939). Personally, racing has never interested me, it seems more of a country sport, is it a sport? (If you’re a racing fan don’t be offended by my racing naivety) Anyhow, just recently the Williams Grove Speedway has been sort of eeirily brought to my attention. I first started noticing a lot of locals around Mechanicsburg have sprint car stickers on their cars, which seemed strange but I gave it little thought. Soon after I started noticing the car stickers, I couldn’t help but notice one of my neighbors actually had a sprint car sitting in their driveway, rather weird eh? But the final “sign” that told me to go to the speedway was that my chiropractor (Mechanicsburg Chiropractic is awesome) actually sponsors a sprint car that belongs to the massage therapist’s boyfriend – whoa! So I told my girlfriend we were destined for a Friday night adventure and we set off in the sound of roaring engines (you can hear them for miles).

We didn’t make it for the very start of the races, so we had to park a little ways walk from the stadium in a grass field. The first thing I noticed was that the track was huge, and there was certainly a lot of excitement going on – there was easily a few thousand people there! I had no idea the races were so popular! We strode up a muddy road around the side of the track to a ticket window where we tried to use our college ID’s to get discounted $9 tickets. The old man inside the booth just looked at us like we had spoken to him in a different language. Apparently, people attending college are not considered “students” at the raceway, rather odd. Anyway we ended up paying $15 a piece to get in which in my opinion was a little steep, but there was no way we could leave now! After reluctantly paying the old man we stepped inside the stadium immediately into a different world. Like I said there were thousands of people crowding about, some standing, some sitting up in the stands, but everyone looking quite country and enjoying their favorite case of bud light (cans only allowed in the stadium FYI).  I’ll admit this was a little bit of a culture shock for the both of us at first, and it was apparent we had an immediate disadvantage at fitting in as neither of us had remembered to pack blue jeans, a cut off racing t-shirt, camouflage racing hat, or 30 rack of cheap beer!

The adventure continued as we attempted to find a place to sit in the stands. There appeared to be a good amount of seats open in a nearby section that was located near the turn of the dirt raceway so we headed over. I immediately noticed large pellets of dirt all over the stands but didn’t really think much of it, but after curiously surveying those sitting around me it became apparent that they were all wearing an array of protective eye gear; glasses, work goggles, and even ski googles. How strange. Well, before I could ask my girlfriend what she thought about everyone wearing such stylish glasses the sprint cars (they look like go-carts with roof racks to me) came roaring around the track and wouldn’t you know they threw so much dirt and pellets at  us up in the stands we could barely see! So they weren’t just wearing the ski goggles to be trendy! We quickly relocated to a different set of bleachers closer to the center of the track to avoid the dust and dirt pellets.

This section was noticeably more enjoyable to sit in, especially when we noticed a gentleman entering the speedway with a pink polo on and slicked back hair. Bad choice my friend for a day at the raceway. Needless to say, he received a host of unruly comments from those already seated in the stands as he walked by in search of a seat, nervously looking around for whoever invited him to come to the races and neglected to tell him the normal pink popped collar polo might not be a wise choice of evening attire. Pure entertainment.

The races were in fact entertaining, and there were quite a few crashes on the track which really got the crowd on their feet in a hurry. The place was loud, the crowd a bit rough, and the evening altogether extremely entertaining. I do plan on a return visit, but next time I’ll be sure to enter the park dressed in character and armed with a case of beer.

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