UHS: May Play Society presents "Sweeney Todd"

Be careful before you accept any locally made meat pies: the murderous Demon Barber of Fleet Street and baker Mrs. Lovett are coming to the Unionville High School auditorium. The high school's May Play Society is presenting the Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd" at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 2, and Saturday, June 3. Admission is free.

Mary Paxton-Boeni, the show's costume director, filled me in on the May Play Society's history. It was formed in 2008 when then-freshman Domingo Mancuello gathered a group of friends to put on "An Evening of Monty Python," a show directed, produced, funded, and performed entirely by students. Since 2008 UHS Spanish teacher Julie Hawkes (and Domingo’s mother) has served as the faculty sponsor for the group. Each year a senior assumes the role of director/producer, and this year it is David DeMarco.

(Domingo went on to study, direct, and perform at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and is now working with the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster.)

 

EAST MARLBOROUGH: Tough Mudder, tough ladies

So two of my friends who did the Tough Mudder competition on May 21 at Plantation Field not only survived the arduous race but fully intend to sign up for it again ASAP.
I saw them at the Kennett YMCA on Thursday evening, several days after the event, and although their bruises and scrapes were starting to fade, they were still on adrenaline highs as they described clambering up mud banks, diving into a pit filled with ice water and swinging from ropes.
One woman said the obstacles in the first part of the course involved mud, the second involved water, so by the end "you were actually pretty clean!" (Now there's a recommendation.)
Her teammate, who had her hair specially braided for the event in an awesome warrior style, said she broke a toe but in all the excitement didn't even realize it until days later.

SCAMS: Inexcusable rich!

Of all the get-rich-quick spam emails I've received -- and immediately blocked -- this is probably the funniest, just because it is so awkwardly written and so obviously bogus:
"As I can remember I always wanted to sprawl on the beach, sip on a cocktail and know that my bank account goes from strength to strength. But my dreams would remain just dreams if one guy didn't give me the recipe for my happiness.
Damn it! I become inexcusable rich! And I'll feel guilty if I didn't tell about how it works to someone else. Today fell's your chance."
As my father always used to say, "Right. From the movie `Fat Chance'!"

UNIONVILLE: A science fair winner, and crazy drivers

Lew Kinter of Unionville was kind enough to pass along two interesting bits of news.
The first is that UHS senior Sagar Maheshwari, age 18, received the Grand Award, Third Place (which carries a $1,000 prize) at this year's Intel International Science Fair in Los Angeles on May 19. Sagar's project, in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics division, was entitled "SiteKey: A Novel Binding Site Predictor for Ordered Proteins Interacting with Intrinsically Disordered Proteins."
"Congratulations to Sagar and Unionville HS!" writes Lew, who is a member of the Board of Directors and a long-time science fair judge of Delaware Valley Science Fairs. 
Second, he issued a warning to motorists and bicyclists about the intersection in the middle of Unionville where Route 162 and Wollaston Road cross Route 82.
He writes, "The most unusual numbers of drivers that I’ve observed in my 66 years do not even slow down, let alone stop before crossing this intersection! ‘California Roll' is California Run, and many are obviously preoccupied with their hand-held devices. Be super careful at this intersection and do not assume that opposing drivers will stop!"
Excellent advice, and I am happy to share it. I know that Chief Robert "Clarkie" Clarke and the entire East Marlborough police force are well aware of this situation.

UNIONVILLE: Where's the bulletin board?

What happened to the bulletin board at the Unionville Post Office?
As long as I can remember this has been an important source of local information -- events, blood drives, cars and horses for sale, apartments for rent, lost dogs, municipal meetings, and so forth -- and many people in the community have told me they're quite unhappy that it was removed.
Perhaps the powers-that-be might reconsider their decision?  

AVONDALE: Informed consumers

The other night we stopped in at Perkins on Route 41 in Avondale for a quick dinner before doing some target shooting next door at TSS (so convenient!), and I was dismayed to find that Perkins has added calorie counts to the menu. All of my favorites clocked in at upwards of 800 calories. You want fries with that? That'll be 470 extra calories!
I ended up ordering a garden salad and a chicken-salad sandwich on half a roll, which I think totalled about 500 calories. 
My dinner companion, who works hard at his physical job and is thus not so constrained by numbers on a menu, ordered a thick, delicious-looking pork chop with broccoli and a baked potato. I stole his roll and ate it the next day.
I should add that although the food-lover in me is unhappy, the healthy side of me actually appreciates knowing the nutrition information. At least I can weigh whether that the chilly deliciousness of a small chocolate Frosty milkshake at Wendy's is really worth 340 calories, or a chewy, salty Wawa soft pretzel (paired with a large Diet Coke) is worth 320 calories. 
And speaking of new menus, La Pena Mexicana on West Cypress Street in Kennett Square has expanded its offerings as well. The Mexican restaurant remains a great bargain, with terrific food and a homey atmosphere. They were doing a great business, both takeout and in the restaurant, on Saturday night when we stopped in for dinner.

UNIONVILLE: Parade for rescue dogs

There's going to be a parade of rescue dogs in the ring at Plantation Field at noon Wednesday, June 21, with prizes awarded for the oldest dog, the youngest dog, and the dog from farthest away. The parade is being held in conjunction with the "Jump for Rescues" horse schooling show (proceeds benefit local dog rescue groups), but anyone is welcome to bring his or her rescue dog. I attended the parade last year as a spectator and enjoyed seeing the wide variety of canines.
Plantation Field is at 387 Green Valley Road in Unionville.
Thank you to Kathleen Crompton for telling me about this event!

WEST MARLBOROUGH: The extended Plant Sale

London Grove Monthly Meeting had to extend its annual plant sale because sales and attendance took such a heavy hit due to the rain on May 13, the actual day of the sale. I stopped by the Meetinghouse on the afternoon of May 19, and the weather could not have been more different: it was hot and sunny. Several Friends, including Betsy Walker, Elinor Thomforde, Denis Newbold, Mark Myers and Leona Provinski, were striking the tents and carting away the last of the tables.
Betsy Walker asked me to mention that the proceeds from the sale benefit several local groups, such as Kennett Area Community Service, the Tick Tock Early Learning Center in Toughkenamon, the Kennett Area Senior Center, His Mission in Kennett Square, and La Communidad Hispana. I contributed my part by going home with some leftover herbs and a few pots of irises.

ROUTE 41: Road project

On Monday, June 12, PennDOT will be holding "an open house meeting" to discuss its plans for the Route 41/Route 926 intersection in Londonderry Township (one of several local intersections I avoid as much as possible). According to the email I received, "PennDOT representatives and its design engineering team will be present to receive your ideas and answer questions." The meeting will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Londonderry Township building, 103 Daleville Road, Cochranville.
PennDOT has come up with four alternatives for the intersection, which you can see at the meeting or on the website (www.pa41.com).

KENNETT: Summer concert schedule

The summer schedule has been announced for the free Wednesday-night concerts at the amphitheater at Anson B. Nixon Park:
June 21: Eric Ambel
June 28: Ben Arnold (folk-rock singer-songwriter)
July 5: Kategory 5 (1970s and 1980s music)
July 12: Bryan Tuk (big-band jazz)
July 19: Grady Hoss & the Sidewinders (alt-country/classic country)
July 26: The GTV's (garage rock)
August 2: Kofi Baker's Cream Experience
August 9: The West Chester Band (pops orchestra)
The music starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m.; we usually get there earlier to get a good spot and to socialize before the show. Food is available from a different vendor each week, or you can bring your own picnic supper. People bring lawn chairs and blankets. Kids and dogs are welcome.

SPRING GULCH: Time for outdoor music

On Saturday we headed up to the Spring Gulch Folk Festival in Lancaster County and listened to a wide variety of music, from "Brazilian bluegrass" to zydeco, Appalachian Mountain harmonies, Southern rock, and social justice anthems.
One duo, Mark Mandeville and Raianne Richards, said they like to walk from town to town, with their instruments, just so they can explore small-town America.
The high-energy band Matuto -- they had members of the audience dancing and kicking in a conga line -- travels, too: around the world as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. State Department.
The old-time fiddle and banjo duo Sam Greaves and Tyler Hughes sang the moving "Ain't We Brothers" and "Just Like Jordan." 
My favorite act was the Snyder Family Band out of North Carolina. The father plays upright bass, his daughter plays fiddle, and his sons play banjo and guitar. They were terrific, and after their set the merchandise table was swamped with folks like me buying their CD.
The Spring Gulch Resort Campground where the fest is held is a lovely, sprawling, hilly place, so people parked their RVs at their assigned spot and then drove down to the field using golf carts. There was a definite 1960s contingent in evidence, like the circle of guys with gray ponytails and tie-dyed shirts playing hackysack while holding their drinks.
The family sitting in front of us spanned three generations and brought along Chloe, their low-key, 10-year-old dog.
Although many of the RVers went back to their campsites for dinner, the on-site food vendors included Rita's water ice, Auntie Anne's pretzels, funnel cakes, freshly grilled burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and home-made whoopee-pies (I had a mocha one, so tasty!).
I was fascinated by the way they produced the corkscrew French fries: the woman impaled a whole raw potato onto a rod connected to a driver, which propelled it into a spiralizing blade. Seriously, the Dewalt tool company needs to use that in an ad.
We were really impressed by the campground personnel, who although they were busy remained cheerful, efficient, and laid-back. Spring Gulch has a New Holland address, but it took us only a half-hour to get there from Unionville. (The 10 p.m. trip home was a little longer; thank goodness for GPS.)

OVERHEARD: I want specifics!

So I was driving down State Street on Friday evening, and as usual traffic was slow because there were so many people visiting downtown Kennett. I was stopped in the middle of the block, in front of La Verona, where every table on the sidewalk was filled with diners.
One woman was reading an email out loud to her female companion ... and to everyone else within earshot, including me in my vehicle.
Some kind of unpleasantness had transpired between the woman and the author of the email; at one point the author said it was "my prerogative" to behave the way he or she had. The author wrapped up by explaining that although the email was much longer than intended, he/she still felt that he/she had done nothing wrong and was not going to apologize.
I was really sorry when the light changed and I had to drive off. I wanted more details, and I am sure a lively discussion ensued, considering the rapt interest that the woman's friend was displaying.

SPORTS: Another PR for the YR

The Young Relative wrapped up his season with a career-best performance at the District 1 track and field meet at Coatesville Area High School on Saturday morning. Thankfully, the weather had cooled off considerably from the previous few days, and the only thing that was blistering was the pace of the athletes.
All season long my family and I had a wonderful time watching the UHS boys and girls compete; witnessing their dedication, effort, camaraderie and sportsmanship never got old.