Dauphin County

If you are a music enthusiast in the Harrisburg area, Stage on Herr at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center is a place you will want to be most days of the week.  Though they concentrate on live music, the venue is a meeting place for all sorts of artsy folks:  musicians, artists, and theater aficionados – even gamers.  You could say the place doubles as an art gallery, since the walls of the interior are decorated with changing pieces from local artists.  The stage is well equipped with modern sound and lighting.  The bar boasts plenty to choose from, including local brews.

Most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the venue hosts local and national bands.  Sometimes you will find a group from pretty far away, in fact, as one band – a Tuvan throat singing group – had travelled from as far away as Mongolia.  On weekday nights, the place is still packed, especially on Wednesdays, when Mike Banks hosts open mic night.  Stage on Herr has been touted as one of the best open mic nights in central PA.  Monday and Tuesday is Karaoke, and Tuesday doubles as game night.  When was the last time you played Monopoly anyway?

Stage on Herr is also a place for theater.  The past few years, it has been the stage for the Rocky Horror Picture Show, that normally occurs in the fall around Halloween.  Specials events include comedy improv night and theme movie night.

Stage on Herr is open Monday to Sunday from 4pm until 2am.  For upcoming calendar of events visit their webpage or Facebook page.

268 Herr St., Harrisburg, PA 17102

 

 

Spring comes to bloom spectacularly at Hershey Gardens with 100 varieties of over 30,000 tulips!

The small Hershey Gardens that was started in 1937 has grown to 23 acres, and includes seasonal plantings that range from spring tulips to fall chrysanthemums.  The rose garden boasts 275 varieties.  There are many theme gardens, including the fun and mystical children’s garden, and the secluded Japanese garden where a reflective pond is surrounded by Japanese maples and rare giant sequoias.  The culinary and medicinal herb garden will give an education of everyday plant uses, and the arboretum is a great chance to view rare trees.

The butterfly house is a popular exhibit housing between 350 to 400 butterflies of 25 North American varieties.  Volunteers head educational talks about the lifecycle of butterflies and their impact on the environment.  Hershey Gardens has a plethora of children’s programs to choose from, as well as changing art exhibits.  The Garden Gate Cafe is open seasonally for lunch hours, and a gift shop is available to purchase any souvenirs.  The Hershey Gardens are open from April until December with varying hours depending on the time of year.

170 Hotel Road, Hershey, PA  17033:  717.534.3492

Image Credit:  Alex Harden

 

If the winter weather is inspiring you, but it’s not quite cold enough to freeze your local pond, don your hat and scarf and try ice skating at Twin Ponds.

Twin Ponds East and West offers public ice skating Friday evenings 7:15-8:45pm, Saturday evenings 7:30-9pm, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons 2-4pm.  Twin Ponds East in the Mechanicsburg location offers Cheap-Skate days on Monday and Friday afternoons from 1-3pm.

For fans of ice hockey, Twin Ponds East offers open ice hockey Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from noon-1pm, and Saturday evenings 9:15-10:45pm.  If you’ve found your niche in ice skating, you can take “Learn to Skate” classes which last about six weeks long.  Twin Ponds has a cafe for purchase of snack foods, open from September until March, and free Wifi.

Twin Ponds East:  3904 Corey Road, Harrisburg, PA  17109:  717.558.7663

Twin Ponds West:  200 Lambs Gap Road, Mechanicsburg, PA  17050:  717.795.7663

As of March 2014, PaMidstate.com has been around for 15 years, can you believe it!  It’s time for a change.

We still have all your events, but now we are going to add profiles of places in the midstate that help you find that night out, on the town, at an exhibit, enjoying great food and drinks.

There is no charge to get your business listed if it falls inline with the idea.  Please contact me today and I’ll let you know what we need to get your listing here.