Known for his seminal work Standing Stones (for which he received the F. Lamott Belin Scholarship out of Waverly), Price is working on a series of new prints he calls Voices Of The Hollow Maze. Inspired by travels to China and Egypt, Price recently returned from central France where an interest in Templar Architecture led him to a small stone cottage. In a place untouched by the outside world he found inspiration for this new series, a section of rural France where the past remains in abundance. Surrounded by fields of wild flowers and labyrinths of speaking streams, farm ruins of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are poised between past and present time. These experiences forged a vision for Price’s new series of prints.

“The works are nurtured and transformed by luminal places in the margin we connect with–worlds beyond our sight,” says Price. “Voices of the Hollow Maze is less about architecture and more about resonance–the resonance of forms left behind by people who have abided within them all the days of their lives. These works are about people whose hands have lit the fires on homely hearths, whose hands have stirred apple butter in their summer kitchens, and who have walked the hollow maze of paths that connect with quiet places in the margin. Perhaps the most important connection I feel as an artist is to the feelings of love found in ordinary things.”

Price’s Voices of the Hollow Maze will be exhibited throughout the month of March. The First Friday event begins at 5 p.m. For more information, visit Venus & the Moon.

If it’s President’s weekend, it must be WinterFest in Jim Thorpe – the Switzerland of America, the gateway to the Poconos.

This year marks the 18th annual festival sponsored by the Jim Thorpe Chamber of Commerce. Goers will enjoy ice and wood carving exhibitions down at the Josiah White Park (train station), the famous Jim Thorpe Mug Walk, pinata busting, kids shows, Civil War reenactors, and much more.

The Lehighton-based Faculty Brass, shown here in front of the Times House Bed & Breakfast, can always be counted on to lend a musical backdrop to Jim Thorpe festivals. They'll do the honors once again on Saturday for the 18th annual WinterFest.

The Mauch Chunk Opera House has two great shows lined up for the festival weekend. On Saturday night, the British blues band, Savoy Brown, will celebrate the release of its new CD, Voodoo Moon. Blues guitarist and Opera House favorite, Craig Thatcher, will open.

The acclaimed Allentown Band will take the Mauch Chunk Opera House stage for a 5 p.m. Sunday show. www.mauchchunkoperahouse.com

Up on historic Race Street, the Country Cottage will be offering huge savings during its Anniversary Sale. Be sure to ask Lori for a pickle fact. She’s got a hundred of them. On Saturday, just a few doors down, David Miller will be doing Tarot card readings at Venus and the Moon from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Walk-in appointments subject to availability.

LaBrusca is back in stock at Big Creek Vineyard and Winery. Stop in the Race Street shop for a taste and don’t forget to check out Homespun’s new line of gourmet food and bath products.

The Times House Bed & Breakfast still has availability for the weekend of February 24/25 -  the last weekend for guests to take advantage of its February Valentine’s package. Book two nights and a dozen roses, a bottle of Big Creek wine and a heart-shaped box of chocolates will be waiting for you in your suite.

Muscat Tasting Notes and Availability
The color is a crystal clear straw blonde with aromas of honey, melon, ripe peach, orange and pears dancing above the glass.  Compared to the previous vintage, it is a little higher in alcohol, lower in residual sugar and fuller bodied.   The 2010 vintage was extremely well received and sold out quickly (2010 tasting notes and award)

Wines will be available beginning Friday February 10^th at $12 per bottle until supplies are gone.  We will have it at both the winery in Kresgeville and the Shoppe in Jim Thorpe (27 Race Street) Big Creek Vineyard and Winery

Venus & The Moon for a little Magick
Learn all things Aphrodisiac at Venus & the Moon, 31 Race Street, and leave with love inspired luxuries some made just for you, by you like *Massage Oil *Bath Salts *Love/Lust Karma Bags. Snag St. Valentine’s Tea, Valentine’s Soap, and Love/Lust Incense too!

Receive over a handful of aphrodisiac recipes & more.  Classes Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12 at Noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. $50 per couple. Register at VenusNTheMoon@Gmail.com

Natural bath & body products, incredible hand dipped incense, organic botanicals, essential oils, stones, wedding & shower favors, Zen Creations Jewelry. Featuring local artists every month. Spiritual consultation & Tarot reading with Michelle Gallagher by appointment.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Venus-the-Moon/286707794695341

http://13thmooncreationsllc.vpweb.com/Venus—the-Moon.html/

Moya Restaurant for a Romantic Dinner
Join Heri, Stephanie and Maxine for innovative, elegant, straightforward cuisine in a beautiful setting that’s easy for everybody to enjoy.

Heri s primary goal in opening Moya is to offer gourmet, eclectic cuisine. His food has few rules and is executed in a relaxed, healthy style with an emphasis on flavor and freshness. His menu is constantly changing to accommodate local product and palate. Moya is also home to the paintings of noted local artist Stephanie Verme, wife of Chef Heri Yunda and the co-owner and manager of Moya,  24 Race Street, Jim Thorpe, PA 18229-2004 (570) 325-8530 http://jimthorpemoya.com/

Horse-drawn carriage rides down Jim Thorpe's historic Race Street are a highlight of many a romantic weekend getaway.

Historic Race Street in the heart of Jim Thorpe is considered by many one of the most romantic streets in the Pocono Mountains – not to mention this side of the Atlantic.

In the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, just a block above Broadway, you are in the heart of all Jim ‘Thorpe has to offer but  located where it’s a little quieter than the hustle and bustle of the main street.

Race Street also offers the comfortable elegance of the Times House Bed and Breakfast, as well as fine dining at Moya’s, shops, a gallery and free wine-tasting at Big Creek Winery, not to mention the magnificent architecture and Tiffany windows of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, recognized on the National Historic Register.

On Race, visitors stroll hand-in-hand and often mention the European feel of the street. A few minutes walk up Race Street leads you to Broadway, directly across from the Mauch Chunk Opera House, where Times House guests get a discount. This weekend Tusk, a Fleetwood Mac tribute concert is scheduled.

The Times House celebrates Valentine’s Day all month long and provides the perfect setting for your celebration with complimentary roses, a bottle of Big Creek wine and a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Just bring your love. For Valentine’s weekend – February 10 and 11 – special pricing is also offered.

The Times Elegance Suite is the perfect place to spend Valentine's weekend.

Two nights in the Times Elegance Suite, roses, wine and chocolates are offered at $298, plus tax.

The Times II Suite offers the romantic charm of another era.

For Valentine’s weekend, two nights in the Times II Suite, a bouquet of roses, a bottle of wine and a heart-shaped box of chocolates is only $249, plus tax.

Despite just a sprinkling of snow to date this winter, Blue Mountain is hopping with lots of trails open. You can check out Blue Mountain Ski Area Report for up-to-date conditions. Folks looking for ski packages and winter getaways, need look no further than the Times House and Jim Thorpe’s bed and breakfasts.

You can always count on a great line-up of shows at a great price at the Mauch Chunk Opera House – where our guests get a discount -and plenty of good food and good company in Jim Thorpe’s restaurants and pubs, not to mention free wine-tasting at Big Creek next door to us on Race Street.

Each February, the Times House celebrates
Valentine’s Day all month long.

Book two nights  in one of our romantic suites
and receive a complimentary bottle of wine, a
bouquet of roses and a heart-shaped box of
chocolates.

Just bring your love.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for
WinterFest 2012, celebrated on February 18
and 19 during President’s Day Weekend. Goers
will enjoy ice and wood carving demonstrations, Civil War Re-enactors, shopping specials and the famous Jim Thorpe Mug Walk. For more information, check out  http://jimthorpe.org/festivals/wfest.htm

Ice carvings at the Josiah White Park are always a WinterFest highlight.

The countdown is also on for the annual St. Patty’s Day Parade, held the Sunday before St. Patrick’s feastday. This year it will be held on March 11. Here are a few photos to warm an Irish heart, the first of which shows our friend and 2010 Grand Marshall Hugh Dugan.

Himself

Here comes Chip Burnett and the AOH.

The Pipe Bands are always phenomenal.

On St. Patty's Day, it's easy being green in Jim Thorpe.

And if you’re longing for some more warmer weather fun, Pocono Whitewater just issued its Whitewater Dam Release Schedule.

Gargoyles on the Chapel of the Resurrection look over the graves of Mauch Chunk's movers and shakers.

While the gruesome faces of gargoyles are among the things that occupy our imaginations and scare us around Halloween, they can be found in Jim Thorpe year round at the Upper Mauch Chunk Cemetery.

There, fixed on the east side of the Memorial Chapel of the Resurrection, they watch over the graves of and monuments to the movers and shakers of Mauch Chunk including Asa Packer. The chapel itself was financed by Packer’s daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, who dedicated it to her sister Marion Packer Skeer.

Before the pulpit, a black wrought iron fence surrounds an Otis elevator, on which coffins descend to the crypt below and the entombed are held there for the winter, as the ground is too frozen to accept their remains.

The cemetery itself is a beautiful Victorian statuary with ornate monuments accenting the landscape of simpler stones.

 The Rex family, who once operated a coffee warehouse in our Times House building,  had giant granite balls adorning the top of their monuments. A peculiar and somewhat spooky story concerns one ball that got away from its mount at the cemetery and rolled all the way down from the Heights, across Broadway to Race Street, where it hit the spring at the top of the street before rolling to a stop a few doors away from us at what was once the Rex family home, now Three Mountains Gallery at 29 Race Street.

Jim Thorpe artist David Price, who lives and works at Three Mountains, is working on a series of prints and a narrative  inspired by that true story and a dream he had. Price is scheduled to play the Tibetan Bells at a poetry reading this weekend at Strange Brew but I guess we’ll see for whom the snow tolls. Huhuhuhuha – supposed to be a deep evil laugh.

Happy Halloween from the Times House Bed and Breakfast!

Today’s sunny skies and brisk weather can make you step a little quicker and make you want to celebrate all the good things life has to offer.

What better place to do that than Jim Thorpe this weekend.

Take a hayride along the historic Switchback Trail on Saturday when Mauch Chunk Lake Park plays host to the 5th Annual Bluegrass and Anthracite Heritage Festival.

From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. goers can enjoy great music, exhibits, coal mining memorabilia, environmental programs, food vendors, crafters, not to mention the beauty of the Mauch Chunk Lake. Admission is $5 for adults; kids 12 and under are free.

Enjoy the sounds of Simon and Garfunkle on Saturday night when AJ Swearingen and Mark Beedle perform their fabulous tribute to the duo at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. Always a great show!!

Come hike, bike, segway or shop in Jim Thorpe and with several great options for foodies and free wine tasting at Big Creek Winery next door to the Times House B&B on Race Street, life is good.

The Times News Building at 23/25 Race Street put out the welcome banner during the 1947 celebration of Old Home Week in the Mauch Chunks.

The circa 1870 Times House Bed and Breakfast has a proud history, which we have been able to learn more about thanks to Anne Genshart, daughter of Gertrude Apfelbaum and granddaughter of Times News founder James J. Boyle.

Anne shared photos and old newspaper clips with us on a recent visit.  The photo above shows Anne (far right) and other children playing outside the old Times News building at 23/25 Race Street during the 1947 celebration of Old Home Week in the Mauch Chunks, which was celebrated from July 27 through August 2, 1947.

This post is one of several that will document the history of the newspaper, the building and the Boyle Family. Here is a photo of Gertrude herself at work and a link to her May 26, 1972 column in the Times News  that talks about the sale of the building.

Strictly Personal by Gertrude Apfelbaum

Jim Thorpe artist David Price exhibits two new works at the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation as part of the Selected Pennsylvania Masters Exhibition.

While Jim Thorpe artist David Price may be known for the intricate details that brilliantly capture the essence of each of his works, the Three Mountain Gallery owner is also a wonderful poet.

Price brings both of these talents, as well as his training in book arts, to bear in Pages, now on display in the Selected Pennsylvania Masters Exhibit at the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation, 20 West Broadway in Jim Thorpe. The exhibit will be on display through Tuesday, August 9.

Inspired by a dream and an other-wordly but true happening in the town, Pages 1 and Pages 2, are indeed pages of a narrative Price has been working on for more than a year.

Taped during the July 17 opening reception, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltZjwLkONHU Price reads one of the poems incorporated into his Pages series.

Gertrude Apfelbaum's daughter, Anne Genshart , and granddaughter, Liz, visited the Times House. Here we are in our Times II Suite, Anne's living room, when she lived there as a child. (From left: Diane, Anne and Liz.)

From the very beginning, I felt a special affinity for the old Times-News building on Race Street.

Though we toyed with sexier names, when it came time to select a name for our B&B , I knew it had to pay tribute to the Times-News, its role in the history of Mauch Chunk and Jim Thorpe and the people who made that history. Hence, the Times House was born.

Chris and I were delighted when we heard from Anne Genshart, who grew up in our building during the paper’s heyday. Her mom was Gertrude Apfelbaum, coeditor of the paper along with her brother, Joe Boyle.

Anne’s grandfather Jim Boyle published the Mauch Chunk Daily Times and after purchasing another Mauch Chunk paper, the Daily News in 1927, he merged the two and the Mauch Chunk Times-News was born.

Anne and her daughter, Liz, visited us on Friday, July 1, on what would have been Anne’s mother’s birthday. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon together, touring the building with new eyes to the past and poured over old photos and newspaper clippings, which Anne was kind enough to share with us.

Future blog posts will feature some of the photos and clippings. For now, I’ll post a few pictures from their visit – the first of many I hope, as well as the beginning of a friendship.

Liz and Anne check out an old article pasted to the wall in the Times House basement, where in 1927 the presses first rolled out the Times-News. This article features pictures of Times-News founder Jim Boyle, Gertrude Apfelbaum, Joe Boyle and the Times House building.