Community and business officials gathered to celebrate the official launch of the Downtown Danville Shoppers’ Shuttle on Monday, May 9. The shuttle program will provide free transportation throughout the Danville area to community members and visitors. The shuttle runs weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Riders will be picked up and dropped off at various locations throughout Danville including local shops, grocery stores, and healthcare facilities. “This started as a labor of love and grew into a strategic partnership to provide free, convenient transportation for our community and visitors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support our local businesses and…

by Nancy Bishop Trees. All you have to do is look around this area to understand what earned the state the name Pennsylvania — literally meaning “Penn’s Woods.” But did you know that some of the biggest trees in the state can be found right here in our area? From the state’s largest white cedar tree – found in Montour County – to a bitternut hickory tree in Bloomsburg’s Town Park that is one of the biggest of its kind in the whole country, this area can claim record-breaking trees. And with Earth Day just around the corner on April…

The American Pickers are excited to return to Pennsylvania! They plan to film episodes of The History Channel hit television series throughout the area in June of 2022. AMERICAN PICKERS is a documentary series that explores the fascinating world of antique “picking” on The History Channel. The hit show follows skilled pickers in the business, as they hunt for America’s most valuable antiques. They are always excited to find sizeable, unique collections and learn the interesting stories behind them. As they hit the back roads from coast to coast, the Pickers are on a mission to recycle and rescue forgotten…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFrom Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation March 30, 2022 Construction on the Route 11 / 487 project in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, will continue this week.  The roadwork improvement project will continue near the intersection of Sixth Street / Columbia Boulevard and East Street and will continue to East Main Street.  Upcoming Work On Thursday, March 31, the contractor, HRI, Inc. will begin to prepare the intersection of Main Street and Market Street, which will be used during the upcoming detour., Market Street will be closed between Main Street and Ridge Avenue with parking accessed from Ridge Avenue.  Signs and…

April 2 Berwick Police Benevolent Association, 11 a.m., Ber-Vaughn Park. April 3 Berwick Youth Football League, 1 p.m., Eaton Street football field behind former Kmart plaza, for up to age 13; area for special-needs children.Glen Brook Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, East 16th Street (former Berwick Retirement Village), 1:30 p.m., for age groups: 2-4; 5-7, and 8-10. Golden ticket prizes per age group. April 9 Bloomsburg YMCA, 10 a.m., Seventh Street, BloomsburgMontour Township Fire Department Easter Egg Hunt, 2 p.m., empty lot on Perry Avenue, Bloomsburg; rain date: April 10 at 2 p.m.BU Program Board and Kehr Union Operations and…

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Plays and literature about Faustian bargains of selling one’s soul are as old as time, but in Jen Silverman’s ‘Witch’ the script is turned on its head by the clever Elizabeth, the village outcast who many already believe is a witch. The forces of power, gender, succession, and more drive the play that StageScene LA called “devilishly clever, deliciously laugh-packed, decidedly dark.” BTE’s ‘Witch’ is helmed by director and resident acting company member Amy Rene Byrne in her mainstage directing debut. The resident acting company members Elizabeth Dowd, Eric Wunsch, and Andrew Hubatsek are joined by guest…

Popular photo contest opens for submissions on April 1st, 2022. 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 eleven 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…

Mexican-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Sonia De Los Santos will perform on Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. The performance is suggested for ages 4+. There will be free all-ages kids’ activities sponsored by the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum from 12-1 p.m. in the Atrium. The performance is sponsored, in part, by the Press Enterprise, Columbia Montour Visitors Bureau, and the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum. This engagement of Sonia De Los Santos is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Sonia…

BLOOMSBURG — Feb. 3rd, 2022 — The Renaissance Jamboree festival returns Saturday, April 30th with a new name, Renaissance Jamboree: Detoured to the River, in honor of its 2022 location in Bloomsburg adjacent to the Susquehanna River on Fort McClure Boulevard. For over 40 years, residents from all over Northeast PA have gathered and celebrated Spring’s return at the annual Renaissance Jamboree in Bloomsburg. The festival, previously held along Main Street, is moving for this year after the East Street paving project made its usual location unavailable.  “After cancelling the festival in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, the committee…

Have you always wanted to learn to play an instrument but thought you were too unmusical to learn?Join Mary Knysh in this innovative approach to learning to play ukulele that is designed to teach you in theway that brain researchers say we learn best: through rhythm, movement, and creative play. “Ukulele Alive!” is a three-session, whole-brain-learning course designed to make learning to play the ukulelefun, accessible and easy for ALL AGES. You will learn ukulele basics, strumming techniques, rhythmic skills,easy chords, and accessible songs. “Ukulele Alive!” is being offered Virtual via ZOOM on Tuesdays, beginning February 15th, and in-person atThe…

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 11-20, visit eight participating wineries and enjoy special wine & chocolate features for a chance to win wine-themed prize baskets. From Friday, February 11th through Sunday, February 20th, 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 one of eight individual winery gift…

The Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC) is pleased to announce the release of a new map and web page dedicated to the Chillisquaque Creek Watershed, available on MARC’s website (also embedded at the end of this article). Blessed with abundant natural resources and more than 300 years of recorded settlement history, the Chillisquaque Creek Watershed is rich in history and resources alike.  Encompassing an area of approximately 112 square miles in Montour, Northumberland, Columbia, and Lycoming Counties, the watershed includes more than 200 miles of waterways, including approximately 17.5 miles of the Chillisquaque Creek, from Washingtonville Borough to the creek’s…

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn recently announced the public voting for Pennsylvania River of the Year, with four waterways nominated throughout the state. “The value of our waterways has shined brighter than ever during this pandemic as people have visited Pennsylvania’s river and streams in unprecedented numbers seeking the natural refuge they supply,” Dunn said. “This annual competition is so much more than a popularity contest. All of our rivers and streams have truly unique attributes, offer incredible recreational opportunities, and offer significant boosts to local economies. This competition shares those wonderful attributes and…

by Nancy Bishop The year was 1946. World War II was over, the Allies helped to victory by the Stuart tanks manufactured in Berwick at American Car & Foundry. The men and women who had served in the Armed Forces had come home. There was much to celebrate. That year Maynard Johnson, publisher of the Berwick Enterprise newspaper and a founder of the Junior Chamber of Commerce – the Jaycees — was approached by Arthur Wark, a sportswriter, who proposed a larger display than the traditional plots Berwick had always decorated in front of the First Presbyterian Church and the…

BLOOMSBURG, PA – Next year’s dates have been finalized for the Covered Bridge & Arts Festival, a popular area event organized each year by the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau. The 2022 festival will take place Thursday, October 6th through Sunday, October 9th at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. The Covered Bridge & Arts Festival will be celebrating its 40th year in 2022. At this year’s 39th annual event, more than 350 craft and food vendors welcomed an estimated 150,000 visitors to the festival’s new home at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds for four days of shopping, food, and fall fun. The Festival is critically important…

October 1, 2021 BLOOMSBURG, PA – The Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce a brand new mobile passport initiative featuring the historic covered bridges of Columbia & Montour Counties.  The passport program is free to sign up and encourages both visitors from outside the region and locals alike to get out and experience the area’s 25 covered bridges.  Once signed up, program participants will be emailed a customized link that will grant them access to the passport dashboard.  No mobile app or download is needed; the program operates in a mobile friendly web-based platform. The passport program was created…

The Weis Center’s 2021-22 line-up includes a diverse schedule of nearly 30 live performances designed to inspire your mind, energize your body and restore your heart. Performances will include music from Bali, Venezuela, West Africa, Mexico, and Colombia, plus classical music, Americana and roots music, modern dance from three acclaimed companies, jazz, and family-friendly performances. Seven performances are free. Tickets for fall 2021 performances will go on sale beginning Friday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. 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. The season will kick off on Friday,…

September 2, 2021 Motorists are advised to use caution on the roads in our area and the surrounding region today, and in the coming days due to flooding. Below is a list of current road closures. ——————————————————————- 8:00 AM UPDATE: Roads Impacted by Flooding in North Central Pennsylvania Columbia Route 1007 (Stony Brook Road) from the intersection of Route 487 to the intersection of Route 487 in Orange Township.Route 4041 (Rohrsburg Road) between Neyhart Road and Green Creek Road in Orange Township.Route 2001 (Ideal Park Road / Mill Road) between the intersection with Numidia Drive in Locust Township and Mill…

by Nancy Bishop Felled by the pandemic in 2020, ArtFest is back and better than ever. The event that brings music, art and food to downtown Bloomsburg is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 21 from 10 AM to 5 PM. Clustered around the fountain at the Square and up Market Street will be more than 50 art and craft exhibitors, seven food vendors, four different music groups and dozens of activities for adults and kids. “There’s something for everyone – art, live music, food, crafts, activities,” says Oren Helbok, executive director of The Exchange, which produces the event. It’s held rain…

by Nancy Bishop Back from a great week of vacation on Cape Cod with my son and his family, it was time to hit the trail again…The River Rat Brew Trail that is! So, the day after returning home, I grabbed a beer-loving friend and headed out to visit two: Three Beards Brewing in Sunbury and Lost Mined Brewing Co. in Shamokin. First stop on our trip was Three Beards. One look at the owners — Nate Badman, Matt Reinard and Levi Strouse – will tell you where the brewery got its name. All three sport full beards! Matt showed…

The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (SGP) recently announced the winners of the 10th Annual Photo Contest, Treasured Towns and Landscapes of the Susquehanna Greenway.   The photo contest drew images from across the Susquehanna Greenway and saw its largest ever submissions count totaling 768 entries.  These stunning photos were presented to a select group of judges who based their decisions on adherence to the category theme, composition, and quality. This year’s categories included Treasured River Towns, Treasured Landscapes, Susquehanna Adventures, and Wildlife.   “I was blown away by not only the raw talent evident in the photography but the beauty that is Pennsylvania,” explains John…

BLOOMSBURG, PA – The annual Covered Bridge & Arts Festival, held at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg since 1982, will have a new home in 2021, and in future years as well.  The fall festival, which traditionally draws approximately 150,000 people over four days in early October, will now be held at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. Festival organizers from the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau (CMVB) recently met with Knoebels management to discuss logistical challenges, exacerbated by the national labor shortage, of continuing the festival at the amusement resort.  Faced with the prospect of cancelling the festival for a second consecutive year, the…

Members of the general public are cordially invited to the Northeast Training Institute (NETI) Public Grand Opening this Friday, June 25th, 2021 from Noon – 4 PM.  Join the staff and management of NETI as they celebrate the official public grand opening of their state-of-the-art training facility, located at 1025 Alliance Park Drive in Bloomsburg. The Northeast Training Institute is a newly constructed 11,000 square foot training facility located in Bloomsburg. NETI will offer classroom, online and hands-on courses for home inspectors, ICC and UCC residential and commercial code inspectors. The event will provide an opportunity to meet staff and…

from the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership With the onset of paddling season, the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (SGP) is excited to release another great tool for the paddling public. The Susquehanna Greenway Vessel Identification Stickers (ID Stickers) were produced in May 2021 and are a FREE resource for paddlers to utilize as they explore the Susquehanna River Water Trail.  These water-resistant stickers include areas for name and contact information. After filling in the information sections with a waterproof pen or marker, it is recommended that boat owners place the sticker in a protected but visible location, such as the inside of the…