Discover Lansdowne - LEDC Newsletter #24

Art Appreciation
We took art classes in high school and must admit that we'd have tried a lot harder to master drawing in perspective and throwing clay pots if the possibility of awards and selling our work at the end of the school year had been part of the deal. That's some incentive! Under the direction of instructors Kathryn Lord and Alyce Grunt, the lucky art students at Penn Wood High School draw and paint and collage and sculpt and what have you for months in anticipation of the Juried Art Show and Sale that's going on right now at the high school. The exhibit started yesterday, May 13, and runs through Friday, May 22, and you can go in and see it during regular school hours. Next Wednesday, May 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm is the art show reception and awards ceremony, when first through third places and honorable mentions will be named in four major categories. In case you're inspired to go home and make art yourself, members of the Penn Wood High School Chapter of the National Art Honor Society will demonstrate various techniques used to create much of the work on display. Select pieces will be available for purchase. This show, reception, and ceremony have been a tradition at the school for many years now, and it's a great way to peek into the future of visual art. Penn Wood High School is on Green Avenue between East Greenwood and East Essex Avenues in Lansdowne.

The Big Sit Back and Watch
We told you a few weeks ago that Lansdowne is participating in The Big Read, a national program designed to spark reading and discussion of classic works of literature, in this case the 1940 novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (not to be confused with the far more unsettling contemporary author Cormac McCarthy, so don't be leery of it). The local Big Read events for this book finish up this Saturday evening, May 16, as Lansdowne Sofa Cinema presents the film version of The Heart is Lonely Hunter at Cinema 16:9, 35 N. Lansdowne Avenue. If you're a really quick reader, you might still have time to polish off the book before the movie screening. If not, here's a little secret: you can take in this show even if you didn't read the book. It'll still make sense and be enjoyable -- that's how movies work. The film's at 7:15, and tickets are $5 at the door.

Who Wants to See a Millionaire?
To celebrate 2 months in business, Cinema 16:9 will be showing Slumdog Millionaire all next week, May 16 to 22. No doubt you've heard that Slumdog walked away with eight 2008 Academy Awards, a considerable number for any movie but especially impressive for one that has no marquee names, that is often not in English, and that doesn't eschew that slum in its title. A Merchant/Ivory production it ain't. Worth seeing -- you betcha. Take this late chance to catch it on the big(ish) screen, and get there early because the first five tickets to each Slumdog showing are free! Plus -- yes, incredibly, there's a "plus" even on top of free tickets -- plus, if you'll put on a Cinema 16:9 temporary tattoo and be photographed in it, you'll get free popcorn with a movie ticket purchase for as long as you can make that tattoo last. Now that's just madness! To plan your free-popcorn movie spree, the somewhat daunting but always up-to-date movie schedule can be found here. The 2-monthiversary hijinks will reach a crescendo after the final showing of Slumdog on May 22 around 10:00 pm, with a movie After Party, Hollywood style. Everyone is invited to BYOB and stop in for cheese, Red Carpet Cake, and schmoozing. Owner Dave Titus will be there in a tux, but you can come as you are or dressed to the nines. Paparazzi are welcome! Cinema 16:9, 35 N. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne.

Looking into the Future
Beginning next week, you'll no longer receive Discover Lansdowne every two weeks. Instead, you'll get Fresh Picks, the Lansdowne Farmers Market e-newsletter, every Thursday. Hope you think that's a good thing. While Fresh Picks focuses on the Market, it'll also cover other stuff that's going on around Lansdowne. But just in case we run short of space there, here's information on a slew of events happening in Lansdowne over the next few weeks so you can plan ahead, since we know you'll be kicking yourself (and we'll help) if you miss them all.

•	Lansdowne Memorial Day 5k Run/Walk Race: Wending throughout our lovely borough, this short race or longish stroll -- however you choose to approach it -- is now in its third year. The race starts at 8:30 am on Monday, May 25, with the walk beginning as soon as the runners have blazed off. The registration fee gets you a t-shirt, soft pretzels, and fruit (score!), and proceeds benefit the LEDC and the Lansdowne Boys and Girls Club.
•	Memorial Day Parade: Right after the 5k, at 10:00 am, the parade begins at the corner of Lansdowne and LaCrosse Avenues (by the Dollar Tree). Led by veterans and sponsored by the Lansdowne Business Association, the parade proceeds north on Lansdowne Ave for 5 blocks to Essex Ave, then 3 blocks east on Essex to the Penn Wood High School field, where there will be a flag salute and then a wreath presentation at the WWI and WWII memorials in honor of those who went to war and gave their lives to protect and preserve our country's freedom.
•	A Celebration of Champions: This banquet from 7:00 to 11:00 pm on Wednesday, May 27, will recognize and laud the Penn Wood High School Patriots 2008-2009 PIAA Class AAAA State Champion Boys Basketball Team as well as All-American Track and Field State Champion Brittany Wallace, with special recognition of the Penn Wood Patriot Cheerleaders. It's being held in the Oaks Ballroom, 511 W. Oak Lane, Glenolden, and proceeds benefit the Athletic Department of Penn Wood High School.
•	It's Our Dream Musical: Catch it while you can: Penn Wood High School's spring musical, a derivative of Hairspray, is one night only, Thursday, May 28, at 7:00 pm in the high school auditorium. Available at the door, tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students.
•	Cow Pie Bingo: In lieu of donkey basketball, we'll take Cow Pie Bingo because we can't get enough of fundraisers involving farm animals. The deal here is that for $10 you purchase a square in a grid. A well-fed bovine is then set loose onto that grid and if she bestows her pie on your square, you win a bunch of money (like a 50-50, it depends on how many squares are sold). The "chips" will fall some time (you can't rush these things) after 12:00 noon on Saturday, May 30, at the Green Avenue field across from Penn Wood High School. Call Jane Madden at 610-622-6509 to buy your square. Don't delay -- they stop selling them at least a week before the 30th. Proceeds benefit the Lansdowne Boys and Girls Club.
•	Global Warming Conference: From 9:00 am to 3:00 pm that same Saturday -- while the cow is busy out on the playing field -- inside the high school Penn Wood's Honors physics students will play hosts to a Global Warming Conference aimed at empowering citizens with the knowledge needed to move our world toward a sustainable system of energy. An open forum in which attendees may ask questions, view presentations and videos, and play interactive games, the conference is open to students, teachers, residents, science experts, and anyone else interested in learning about science and climate change. The conference is free, but donations are appreciated. Register here.
•	Lansdowne Games Day: Another free event that same Saturday, May 30, is Games Day at the Garden Church on the corner of Stratford and Lansdowne Avenues. From 11:15 am to 8:45 pm, the event is open to adults, teens, tweens, and children of all ages for friendly competition, fellowship, and fun involving games old and new. Call 610-623-1645 for more info.