As I write, the weather teases with hints of coming spring. Sunny days invite us to spend more time outdoors – to get out and walk and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. So much research tells us that walking not only keeps our bodies in shape, but it also benefits our brains. We are told that walking is a great preventive measure for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

So we have a challenge for all of you.

Why not get out and Walk for the Dietrich?

Start by short brisk walks, gradually working up to one mile, two mile or three milk walks, in preparation for Walk for the Dietrich/Highmark 5K Walk for a Healthy Community at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 16 at PNC Field in Moosic.

The Wyoming County Cultural Center at the Dietrich Theater and 11 other non-profit organizations have been invited to participate in the first NEPA Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community, with all proceeds to benefit the organizations. RailRiders will be there to help. This will be a true community event with music and entertainment.

Register by going to walkforahealthycommunity.org. Register as an individual or form teams. Donations of $30 or more earn you a commemorative T-shirt. All walkers are invited as well as runners, but it is an untimed walk or run. For information, call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500.

Film fest generates discussion

As we wind up week two of our Winter Fest Film Festival, I have been struck by all the conversations these movies engender.

I witnessed two frequent festival attendees stopping in the lobby to talk about the movie they just saw. Then as I left the theater, they were still talking out on the sidewalk. I am not sure which movie they saw, but I know these foreign and independent movies invite discourse in a very different way than movies that are primarily enjoyable entertainment.

That is why we always invite discussion the day after the festivals, this year scheduled for at 1 p.m. Friday, March 9. Come join the fun. Learn about movies you did not see, but after learning about them want to try to see. Meet other movie-goers who like to examine with others the finer points of these special films.

Experiencing London stage

Did you know you can experience a London play, a filmed play, coming soon at the Dietrich?

You have two opportunities to see “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” performed by National Theatre Live at 2 p.m. on two Sundays, March 11 or 25.

Recommended for ages 15 and up, the play begins on a steamy night in Mississippi. A Southern family gathers at its cotton plantation to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday. The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell. Brick and Maggie dance round the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. With the future of the family at stake, which version of the truth is real – and which will win out?

Tickets are available online or at the door.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

What are you doing for St. Patrick’s Day this year? We have a real treat for you at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, when storyteller Hal Pratt returns with his special Leprechaun Lore presentation. We promise you will love it! Before your eyes, Hal actually becomes a leprechaun and tells you more than you ever knew about leprechauns.

This free presentation is suitable for all ages.

Free tickets are available at the door.

A presentation of local history

The very next day, Sunday, March 18, another free presentation will bring author Jim Remsen back to the Dietrich to talk about his book “Embattled Freedom.” It tells the story of the group of slaves who settled in our nearby underground village of Waverly, before the Civil War.

Come learn their story.

Books will be for sale and Jim Remsen will be glad to sign them.

Reserve seats at 570-996-1500 or just come. Free tickets will be available at the door.

Do check us out soon! We do hope will see you soon and often.

https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_footwear-3118886_1920.jpg.optimal.jpg

More Than Movies

Margie Young

Reach the Abington Journal newsroom at 570-587-0038 or news@theabingtonjournal.com.