Bob Eckstein, Hawley Native and Author of "History of the Snowman," At Albright Memorial Library Thursday, January 8th, 6-8 PM

Albright Memorial Library

Proudly Presents

Bob Eckstein

Hawley Native and

Author of

"History of the Snowman"

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

6 PM - 8 PM

Periodicals Room

Reference Department

(Note: This event is NOT handicapped accessible)

Albright Memorial Library proudly welcomes Hawley native Bob Eckstein, author of the hysterically funny and entertainingly informative bestseller "History of the Snowman." He will be conducting a 30 minute multimedia presentation on the history of snowmen, as well as decorating the library display cases with snowmen.

Special Guest WNEP's Mike Stevens will also be on hand to co-judge a snowman competition.

This program is FREE with your Lackawanna County Library Card, but space is limited.

To register, please call (570) 348-3000, ext. 3043.

www.historyofthesnowman.com

"Kelly" from "The Office" To Visit Scranton July 19th; "Kevin" in The Electric City the 25th and 26th

UPDATED 7/11/08

I have good news to report for fans of NBC's The Office--not one, but TWO cast members have planned visits to Scranton, both scheduled for July.

Mindy Kaling, who portrays Kelly, will be in Scranton on Saturday, July 19th at The Mall at Steamtown to celebrate the release of The Office Official Board Game and The Office Official DVD Board Game. This will be Mindy's second visit to Scranton (her first being The Office Convention last October). Mindy will also officiate “The Office Games” all day, starting with a 2k Fun Run and ending with a beet-eating contest. In between, there will be trivia contests and an autograph signing session. Proceeds from the day's events will benefit United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania in Scranton.

On Friday, July 25th, Brian Baumgarten (who portrays Kevin on the show), will be in Scranton to visit local landmarks. Baumgarten is also scheduled to attend The Counting Crows/Maroon 5 concert (with Special Guest Sara Bareilles of "Love Song" fame) at the Toyota Pavillion at Montage Mountain on Saturday, July 26th. It's not too late to purchase tickets for the concert by clicking here. This will be his third visit to Scranton in the past 2 years.

For more information on these two upcoming visits, click here. To register, click here.

UPDATE 7/11/08 - On a related note, my colleague Martina S. sent me the following email:

"Bill,

I don't know if this works for your blog, and maybe you already read the article on the Scranton Times website about The Office cast members winning 50,000 dollars for the Children's Advocacy Center of Northeastern PA on the Celebrity Family Fued. I didn't see the show, but usually they discuss the charity at the beginning of the show."

Click here to read the article in the Scranton Times.

Kudos, Martina!

Andy Buckley from NBC'S The Office To Appear in Scranton St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 15th

My colleague (and Angela look-alike winner at last fall's Office Convention in Scranton) Amy Buntz has told me that actor Andy Buckley, who plays Dunder Mifflin CFO David Wallace on NBC's The Office will be appearing in the Scranton St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 15th.

http://www.stpatparade.com/

MORE GOOD NEWS: New episodes of The Office

will begin airing Thursday, April 10th!

Childrens Librarian Amy Buntz Wins Angela Lookalike Contest at The Office Convention

Congratulations to one of our own, Amy Buntz from the Lackawanna County Children's Library, for winning the Angela Lookalike contest at this past weekend's The Office Convention in Scranton.

Thanks to Amy Buntz for giving me her permission to post this awesome pic of her and The Office's Angela Kinsey in my blog.

Bestselling Author Lauren Weisberger at The Scranton Cultural Center, Thursday, September 6, 2007

Blogger Bill C. with bestselling author (and Scranton native) Lauren Weisberger before her lecture Thursday night.

Photo by Mary Barna.
Bill C. and his brother JR with Lauren Weisberger.
Photo by Mary Barna

The extra-ultra-fantastic duo of Mary Garm and Mary Barna gave me the wonderful opportunity of meeting bestselling author and Scranton native Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada, Everyone Worth Knowing) before her lecture Thursday night. Lauren was incredibly sweet and posed for pictures with me and my brother JR.

Over 400 people were in attendance at last night's event. The lecture itself was a Q&A between Lauren and Library System Administrator Mary Garm. Through Mary's question, plus questions that were submitted in advance by email, Lauren shared her experiences as a writer living in New York City, her similarities to her characters, and her experiences growing up in Scranton. The lively talk was followed by questions from the audience.

After the lecture, Lauren signed copies of her book for over an hour and kindly posed for pictures.

For more pictures of last night's event, click here.

A big thanks again to the incredibly groovy Mary Garm and Mary Barna.

The Office Convention, October 26th-28th, 2007 in Scranton, PA; Seven Cast Members Confirmed (9/25/07)

UPDATED 9/25/07, 10/1/07, 10/3/07, 10/11/07 & 10/22/07

Click on the image above for more details. Also, for a sneek peak at some of the convention events, read this article from Electric City for some tasty morsels.

Don't miss The Office's one-hour season premiere

Thursday, September 27th at 9 PM on NBC

www.theofficeconvention.com

UPDATE 9/25/07 According to this morning's Citizens' Voice, seven cast members of The Office have been confirmed thus far to attend The Office Convention. They are: Kate Flannery (Meredith), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin--making his second appearance in Scranton this year), Creed Bratton (Creed), Mindy Kaling (Kelly), Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis), Leslie David Baker (Stanley) and Oscar Nunez (Oscar).

The article also states that ADDITIONAL cast members are also expected to attend; they will be announced in the next few days.

In addition, Al Roker from NBC's Today will be in Scranton Friday, October 26th, broadcasting LIVE from the University of Scranton.

UPDATE 10/1/07 It has been confirmed that Angela Kinsey (Angela) will be returning to Scranton to attend the convention. Also attending will be Bobby Ray Shafer (Bob Vance - Vance Refrigeration).

UPDATED 10/3/07 It has been confirmed that Melora Hardin (Jan) will also be attending the Office Convention! Also attending will be Andy Buckley (David Wallace from Corporate).

UPDATED 10/11/07 Paul Lieberstein (Toby) and Craig Robinson (Darryl from the warehouse) will be attending The Office Convention. In addition, Executive producer Greg Daniels will also be coming to Scranton!

UPDATED 10/22/07 Ed Helms (Andy) will be attending!

FREE Tickets Now Available for 'Devil Wears Prada' Author Lauren Weisberger - September 6th

FREE tickets for bestselling author and Scranton native Lauren Weisberger's upcoming lecture (Thursday, September 6th at 7 PM at Scranton Cultural Center) are now available at Albright Memorial Library and other locations throughout Scranton. For more information, click here.

Photo of Lauren Weisberger courtesy of press page on Miss Weisberger's official web site.

Angela and Kevin from NBC's "The Office" To Appear at Scranton's Mall at Steamtown on Saturday, May 19th (UPDATED MAY 21ST)

Actors Angela Kinsey (left) and Brian Baumgartner (right) with Jenna Fischer (center) in a still from NBC's The Office. Both Kinsey and Baumgartner will be appearing at the Mall at Steamtown this Saturday.

THE OFFICE RETURNS TO SCRANTON !

(UPDATED MAY 21ST)

Following in the footsteps of Rainn Wilson (who visited Scranton last December), two (count 'em, TWO) cast members from NBC's hit show The Office (which, of course, takes place in Scranton, Pennsylvania) will be visiting Scranton itself this weekend.

Angela Kinsey (Angela) and Brian Baumgartner (Kevin) will be appearing at the Mall at Steamtown in Scranton on Saturday, May 19th. The Mall at Steamtown is planning a full day of events to celebrate the visit of the Dunder Mifflin employees, including an autograph session in the mall's Center Court from 1 PM to 4 PM, as well as a VIP Celebrity Breakfast from 9 to 11 AM with both Angela and Brian (proceeds benefit the planned Office Convention in Scranton).

For more information about this "Office" party, visit the Mall at Steamtown's website or view the official flyer of the event. To read a full article from last week's Electric City detailing this weekend's events, click here. And for this week's EC cover story, click here.

www.NBC.com/TheOffice

UPDATE 5/21/07:

Saturday's "Office Day" was a huge success in Scranton. A couple of links are available with more information:

For video clips and photos from the Times-Tribune, click here.

To read the article "'Office' Actors Party in Scranton" from Yahoo! News, click here.

For more information on the recently-announced upcoming Office Convention, which will take place October 26-28, 2007 in Scranton, PA, click here.

To check out other YouTube videos from this past weekend's visit, click here.

http://www.theofficeconvention.com/

NASCAR Driver (and Berwick Native) Jimmy Spencer to Speak in Scranton May 21st

Berwick native and former NASCAR champion Jimmy Spencer will be speaking in Scranton on Monday, May 21st at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton, PA.

Tickets are FREE with your Lackawanna County Library System library card; to apply for a card online, click here.

Tickets are available at any Lackawanna County Library System Library, the Scranton Cultural Center box office, and the Everhart Museum.

Live With Regis & Kelly (Monday, March 19, 2007)

Isn't it weird when you're half-watching a morning talk show and, out of the blue, someone drops the word Scranton? As with The Ellen Degeneres Show a few months back, the city of Scranton was referenced on this morning's Live With Regis & Kelly by guest Rainn Wilson, star of NBC's hit sitcom The Office (that, of course, is set in Scranton, PA).

Rainn Wilson was interviewed this morning by Kelly Ripa and guest co-host Howie Mandel. When discussing Mendel's success on the popular NBC game show Deal Or No Deal, Wilson quipped, "I'd be a guest if they held it at a Scranton mall." No doubt Wilson was referencing his recent visit to the Steamtown Mall in Scranton this past December.

ACTOR RAINN WILSON, "DWIGHT" FROM TV'S "THE OFFICE" TO APPEAR AT SCRANTON'S STEAMTOWN MALL DECEMBER 17TH

Actor Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight on the NBC Emmy-winning sitcom The Office (set in Scranton, PA), will make an appearance at Scranton's Mall at Steamtown on Sunday, December 17th from 1 PM - 3 PM in Center Court.

For more information, visit the Mall at Steamtown's Special Events page.

UPDATE DEC 18TH: An article appeared in today's Citizens' Voice detailing Wilson's visit to Scranton; over 1,000 people showed up. To read the article, click here. To see a VIDEO CLIP of his visit, click here. Also, check out the Office article "The Paper Chase" from the December 11, 2006 issue of The New Yorker.

Santo Loquasto (1944 - )

Photo courtesy of AP Photo Archive

Being a huge fan of the films of Woody Allen and having seen Julia Roberts's Broadway debut in Three Days of Rain this past summer (which included truly remarkable sets), you can imagine my astonishment that the person responsible for the look of these (and numerous other) productions was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, PA. His name is Santo Loquasto.

Santo Loquasto was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1944. He recieved a B.A. in English Literature from King's College in Wilkes-Barre. He also designed sets and costumes for Showcase Theatre in Wilkes-Barre (now located in Exeter, PA). He earned his Masters of Fine Arts degree from Yale Drama School in 1969.

Soquasto began his professional career as a set designer on Broadway in 1972; ironically, one of the first shows he worked on was the original Broadway production of That Championship Season, written and directed by Scranton native Jason Miller.

For more than 30 years, Loquasto has worked on numerous Broadway productions doing both set and costume design for shows including 1989's Grand Hotel (for which he won the 1990 Tony Award), Neil Simon's 1991 play Lost in Yonkers, 1999's Fosse (Tony Winner for Best Musical) and 2002's Movin' Out (based on the songs of Billy Joel). In 2006, Loquasto was the set designer for the Broadway play Three Days of Rain, which marked the stage debut of Julia Roberts. In addition to his 1990 Tony Award for Grand Hotel, Loquasto also received Tony Awards in 1989 (Best Scenic Designer for Cafe Crown) and 1977 (Best Costume Designer for The Cherry Orchard).

Most of Loquasto's film work as a production designer has been with legendary directory Woody Allen. His work with Allen (a collaboration that includes 21 films) began with 1987's Radio Days and also includes Crimes & Misdemeanors, Shadows & Fog, Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite and Sweet & Lowdown. Loquasto's last film with Woody Allen was 2004's Melinda & Melinda.

His other films include Big, directed by Penny Marshall and starring Tom Hanks, Desperately Seeking Susan starring Madonna, Falling in Love with Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep, She-Devil with Meryl Streep and Roseanne, Bright Lights Big City with Michael J. Fox, and 1981's The Fan with Lauren Bacall.

Loquasto also worked in film as a costume designer for such films as Desperately Seeking Susan, three films by Woody Allen (Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, and Zelig), and the 2001 television adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Fosse.

On June 10th, 2006, Loquasto returned to his hometown of Wilkes-Barre to receive the Governor's Awards for the Arts award.

Loquasto will also be featured in the 2007 documentary World Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies.

The Lackawanna County Library System has several copies (on both VHS and DVD) of films that include production design by Loquasto including Big, Desperately Seeking Susan, and many of his films with Woody Allen. In addition, the collection includes a VHS of the Tony-winning musical Fosse.