𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿! Enjoy a sweet journey through the wineries and distilleries of Columbia & Montour Counties this Valentine’s season with that special someone, or with your go-to group of friends! From February 9-18, visit seven participating area wineries along with one area distillery to enjoy special wine/spirits & chocolate features for a chance to win wine & spirits – themed prizes. From Friday, February 9th through Sunday, February 18th, trail-goers can travel from location to location, tasting delicious seasonal wine & spirits features. Along the way, participants will be able to get their tickets stamped at each…

by Nancy Bishop Even the Jolly Old Elf himself sometimes needs a helping hand to fill that sleigh! And since 1985, people have been doing just that through the Brighter Christmas Fund started by the Press Enterprise that year. In an article in the paper Nov. 27,1985, then Executive Editor Carl E. Beck Jr. said, “Especially at this time of year we believe our readers would like to help someone less fortunate.” To kick off the Fund, the Press Enterprise donated $1,000. The money was to be used to buy groceries, clothes, and toys for needy people whose stories would…

A Christmas Story is currently in performances at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. Here’s a backstage look with an interview with BTE’s Costume Designer, Jennifer Lippert. Interviewer: What were your inspirations for the costumes? JL: My inspiration for the costumes of A Christmas Story was the feeling of nostalgia remembering Christmas’ past. When designing I was drawn to using warm tones of color and textures of sweaters and wool that would evoke the feeling of comfort and warmth as adult Ralph fondly remembers one particular childhood Christmas.  Interviewer:  Did you feel pressure with the iconic materials- how did you navigate it? JL:…

Sales begin December 1st Now in its tenth year, the annual “Cash & Carry” show at Bloomsburg’s Exchange Gallery opened on Monday, November 20th. This year, The Exchange gave away 500 panels for artists to make work on – 333 eight-inch squares, more than 130 seven-by-nine-inch rectangles, and more than 130 nine-inch triangles. After we gave them all away, artists could make their own panels out of any durable material (no bread or cheese, please), and the show opened with more than 500 pieces; by the third day, the total came to 530 – the largest “Cash & Carry” ever.…

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The holiday showcase of over 85 fresh and fully decorated trees opens Friday, November 24th at 4 pm and continues until Sunday, December 3rd in the Caldwell Consistory, 150 Market Street, in downtown Bloomsburg.  During this annual holiday event, locally grown trees, many of which are donated, are sponsored by businesses and patrons and decorated by community groups. Many decorators include gift cards, toys, food, and clothing along with decorating their tree. At the end of the event, local families in need will take home a tree with lights and decorations for the holidays, along with gift…

BLOOMSBURG, PA – The 41st annual Covered Bridge & Arts Festival, a popular area event organized each year by the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, returns to the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds this week. The event kicks off this Thursday, October 5 and runs through Sunday, October 8.  With over 300 arts, crafts, and food vendors, it is one of the largest fall craft shows on the East Coast and has been regularly recognized by Sunshine Artist Magazine as one of the 200 Best Shows in the country. This year, the festival will have a slight change in hours, with the event shifting ahead…

Cozy up in Columbia & Montour Counties this fall with an especially sweet Wine & Spirits Trail, happening November 4th through 12th! Celebrate the harvest season by visiting seven Central PA wineries and one distillery and enjoying wine/spirits tastings with special sweet treat pairings. Along the way, you’ll get your wine trail ticket authorized. Once you’ve visited each location, you’ll be eligible to win great prizes from the participating wineries. Locations participating in this year’s Sweets & Spirits Trail:𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 4378 Red Rock Road, Benton, PA 17814𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘆 130 Twin Church Road, Berwick, PA 18603𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱…

The Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau is excited to announce the arrival of its thirteenth annual Covered Bridge puzzle. The newest limited-edition puzzle showcases the Jud Christian Bridge in Columbia County. They are 550 pieces and were manufactured by Heritage Puzzle out of North Carolina. Limited quantities are currently available for the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. Puzzles are sold for $18, tax included. A $2 donation from every puzzle sold will be made by the Bureau to the Columbia County Covered Bridge Association. They make a fantastic Christmas present idea for family or friends! Puzzles may be purchased in…

by Nancy Bishop Grab your Passport and hit the trail…the River Rat Brew Trail that is. You still have until Oct. 31 to visit the excellent craft breweries in this area and earn rewards! It’s been a busy summer for me, with my U.S. passport getting stamped in Italy and Ireland, so by the time things slowed down, it definitely was time to hit the River Rat Brew Trail to get that passport stamped. And believe me, it’s worth visiting the RRBT brewers – their beers outshine anything my family and I had during our overseas trip. Even my beer…

The 2023-24 season at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts includes 25 professional performances – including world music, classical, Americana and roots music, modern dance, jazz, soul, and so much more. All performances take place at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Tickets go on sale to the public on August 24 at 10 am by calling 570-577-1000, online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice or in-person weekdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Campus Box Office’s location in the Weis Center Atrium. As always, season subscribers of five or more performances receive 20 percent off ticket purchases. Subscription orders will be given priority until…

Dedicated to bringing the arts to all communities throughout our region, The Exchange again presents Columbia County’s biggest one-day outdoor art-and-music event of the year. We have moved ArtFest to the other side of Main Street – just as lovely and shady, but with more room!  Bigger than ever before, the fifteenth annual ArtFest will take place on Saturday, the 19th of August, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in its convenient, attractive, and slightly adjusted location on the Square in downtown Bloomsburg, now surrounding the monument and down Market Street.  ArtFest will showcase more than 50 artists’ original work,…

Berwick, PA – First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. will host their second annual Photography Competition on Sunday, October 15th, 2023 at the Berwick First Presbyterian Church, 320 Market St., Berwick, PA. The Bank is a proud supporter of local artists and art programs within the local community and looks forward to spotlighting these talented individuals at the competition. The contest features local photographers who reside or study within a 50 mile radius of any First Columbia Bank location. The competition is free to enter. Both amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to participate along with students enrolled at local…

The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum has partnered with Lykens Valley Children’s Museum, Lewisburg Children’s Museum, and the Discovery Center for the Heart of PA Children’s Museum summer passport program.Visit all four Heart of PA Children’s Museums this summer and be entered into a prize drawing!Visit each museum before August 31st, 2023, and receive a stamp on your card. Once you collect all the stamps, leave your card at the last museum you visited. Prizes will be drawn on September 8th.“We love teaming up with like-minded organizations, so when the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum reached out to us about their passport idea, we…

The 2023 Briggs Farm Blues Festival is just around the corner! Music-lovers from far and wide are packing their coolers, getting ready for world-class music, and planning time well spent with friends and family! “The Best Weekend of the Year” is happening July 6th, 7th, and 8th on the rolling hills of Briggs Farm in Briggsville, Pa. And while Briggs Farm Blues Festival has grown into the largest blues festival in Pennsylvania, its down-home feel remains. Everyone is friends at Briggs Farm. Two stages with over 20 international and regional acts will ignite the calm country air for a weekend…

by Nancy Bishop Well, it was time to hit the trail again. My beer loving companions have been anxious to try Super Beeroes ever since they first heard about this year’s River Rat Brew Trail special brew. And according to them, it was well worth the trip. They pronounced Super Beeroes, the special brew that nine of the 15 breweries on the River Rat Brew trail collaborated to make in April led by Rusty Rail Head Brewer Logan Powell, “excellent.” Collaborators were Lost MineD, Rusty Rail, Rock God, Eclipse, Jackass, Hidden Stories, Covered Bridge, Old Forge and Marley’s. The brew…

by Nancy Bishop It didn’t take long for my beer trail traveling companions to call and ask when we were going to hit the Trail after they heard about this year’s Super Beeroes theme. But it was only early March. I reassured them that I wouldn’t forget my loyal beer friends when it came time to visit the breweries on the River Rat Brew Trail, but I didn’t tell them that there’s a special beer being brewed that will be offered at the breweries this year. And I certainly didn’t tell them that I was about to attend a meeting…

The River Rat Brew Trail Passport is back for another round! This year, transcend beyond the average craft beer drinker and become a “Superbeero” craft brew aficionado. With the most participating breweries EVER, this year’s trail is a can’t miss event! The 2023 trail features fifteen super brewers across five counties, and will run from April 7 through October 31. As you tour each location along the Trail, be sure to check-in using your digital passport to verify your visit. No purchase is necessary, but we think you’ll want to try some of the delicious craft creations on tap along…

Covered Bridge Photo Contest & Puzzles Each year, the Visitors Bureau holds a photo contest to produce a 550-piece puzzle featuring one of the area covered bridges. Limited-edition puzzles have been produced the past ten years and have featured the East & West Paden bridges (multiple times), the Knoebels Bridge, Keefer Mills Bridge, Esther Furnace Bridge, Stillwater Bridge, Josiah Hess Bridge, Rupert Bridge, Kramer Bridge, a special Twin Bridges 10th Anniversary Puzzle, and most recently, the Wanich Bridge.  The 2022 edition of the puzzle will be released this fall, and will be based on the winner of this year’s photo…

BLOOMSBURG — March 24th, 2023 — The Renaissance Jamboree festival returns to the downtown of Bloomsburg on Saturday, April 29th after a four-year absence. The event will be held on Main Street from 10 AM – 5 PM. For over 42 years, residents from all over Northeast PA have gathered and celebrated Spring’s return at the annual Renaissance Jamboree in Bloomsburg.  “The festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 and had to move its location in 2022 due to a penn-DOT paving project.  We are excited to announce the return of Renaissance Jamboree to Main Street in…

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – BTE is pleased to announce an audition date for this summer’s ‘Dragons Love Tacos.’ Auditions for children and teens ages 8 to 18 will be held on April 15th at the Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center Street, Bloomsburg. The doors will open at 9:30 am, and auditions begin at 10:00 am. ‘Dragons Love Tacos’ is a playful and funny family show. BTE is looking for two casts of community kids for a variety of roles. Everyone auditioning must prepare a 30-second funny pantomime of any activity of their choosing. Make the actions and choices very clear—the bigger,…

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will present two Family Discovery performances in March: The Griegol by Trick of the Light Theatre on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. which is ideal for ages 10+ and Divi Roxx Kids on Saturday, March 11 at 1 p.m. which is ideal for all ages. Both performances will take place in the Concert Hall. ABOUT THE GRIEGOLTuesday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The Griegol performance is sponsored, in part, by the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and Adriana Rojas and family in memory of Andrew. The Exchange’s Art Cart will offer free all-ages activities…

On Wednesday, February 22nd, The Exchange in Bloomsburg will feature Four Great Guitarists at their monthly Listening Room, beginning at 7:00 pm. Inspired by the Chester & Lester (Chet Atkins and Les Paul) jam session from 1976, which won a Grammy award, Four Great Guitarists will bring together four musicians from a variety of genres who have never played together for an evening of picking and strumming. Spanning several generations, the musicians include Jesse Loewy from Havertown, Pennsylvania; Gabe Stillman from Williamsport; Stew Cutler from Woodstock, New York; and Don Waller from Long Island, N.Y. There is a suggested donation…

Press Release from PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources Harrisburg, PA — The North Branch of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania has been selected by a public vote as the state’s 2023 River of the Year, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and Janet Sweeney of the Pennsylvania Organization for Waterways and Rivers (POWR) announced today. “Through planned River of the Year celebrations, public awareness of the value of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River will be increased and major initiatives along this section of the river will be underscored,” Dunn said. “Economic…

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿! Enjoy a sweet journey through the wineries of Columbia & Montour Counties this Valentine’s season with that special someone, or with your go-to group of friends! From February 10-19, visit seven participating area wineries and enjoy special wine & chocolate features for a chance to win wine-themed prize baskets. From Friday, February 10th through Sunday, February 19th, trail-goers can travel from winery to winery, tasting delicious seasonal wine features. Along the way, participants will be able to get their tickets stamped at each location. Trail-goers who visit every participating winery will be entered to win…