This Mother’s Day I found out that it is the little things that mean the most sometimes. Having decided to celebrate the following weekend when my son could grill outside where we can socially distance, I was enjoying a lazy afternoon when a car pulled into my driveway and quickly left.
Then I got a call to look in my garage for a package. My dear friend and colleague and her husband drove all the way to my house to give me a slice of her famous chocolate cake. It made my day. She would not want me to divulge her name, but it reminded me that gifts do not always need to be big ones.
This gift made me think of all of the little gifts that the Dietrich Theater, now closed due to the pandemic, keeps on giving. Here are 10 gifts from us to you:
1. Popcorn! Our bright young staff members realized that Tunkhannock and beyond has been missing the Dietrich’s signature popcorn.
“So why don’t we sell it for Friday night home movie nights?” asked Ronnie Harvey and Mary Turner. Always willing to try new things, our staff went to work to set up the whole system to safely take freshly made popcorn and candy to the cars of those who have pre-ordered. If you want to have Dietrich popcorn for your movie night next Friday, call the Dietrich at 570-836-1022, ext. 8, on Thursday between 5 and 7 p.m. to preorder. ‘
2. Movies to rent! Sixteen movies are available to rent on the Dietrich website — www.dietrichtheater.com — with a portion of the rental fee benefitting the Dietrich. You can have your own film festival party at your home and you can even have Dietrich popcorn. I have seen six of the films and written about them in this column. They are all little gems of independent and foreign films.
3. Yoga and Nia Classes — Free! Yes, Chair Yoga with Donna Fetzko, Nia with Laura Ancherani, and Kundalini classes recommended by Barbara Tierney are all available. Go to our website and click on “Virtual Movies and Classes” for these and the following classes.
4. Art classes for your kids — Free! Amy and Steve Colley have art lessons with materials you already have at home — boxes to be recycled, aluminum foil and more. Amy and Steve have such fun showing how your kids can find the artist inside each of them. And while you are looking for ideas, check out Esther Harmatz’s Easy Bead Making lesson for kids or adults. You already have at home what you need.
5. Little People and Nature — Free! Rebecca Lesko knows just how to engage your little ones with the wonders of nature.
6. Music for Littles — Free! Lauren Scavone has lessons for the very young to make sure they are engaged in wonders of music.
7. Writing prompts for writers honing their craft. Hildy Morgan, Dietrich Theater Writers Group Facilitator, invites you to start writing, prompted by weekly intriguing situations.
8. Field trip to the Dietrich Theater Rain Garden. Behind the picket fence that is behind the theater is a lesson in how to solve a problem. Run-off from the Dietrich roof after a rain used to be a problem, but now a problem has been turned into a beautiful garden. A sign in front of the fence tells the story, available to all who stop to look over the fence and observe the flowers and plants that now have the benefit of the run-off that used to be a problem.
9. Field Trip to see the Tunkhannock Viaduct/Nicholson Bridge Mural behind the theater, the first of two mural panels to commemorate the bridge. Bob Lizza has brought the Nicholson iconic image to Tunkhannock. It is a wonder to behold.
10. Our final gift is our promise that we will open our doors as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meantime – be safe, stay engaged, and above all be kind. Remember – it is the little things in life, the little kindnesses that mean the most.
