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Jump Start Incubator honors graduating businesses

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Jump Start Incubator honors graduating businesses

Five small businesses recently graduated from the Berks County Community Foundation’s Jump Start Incubator program. A small lunch and award ceremony was held to congratulate the small business owners.

Located on the third floor of the Berks County Community Foundation building, the Jump Start Incubator program provides supportive startup space and guidance to newly forming local businesses.

“It is very rewarding to see the progress these companies have made from the seed of an idea to a real productive company.” Said June Clougher, Director of the Jump Start Incubator.

“There are many things to learn when starting a company and often you don’t even know what questions to ask. The idea of an incubator is to get companies on solid footing by teaching the basic elements of running a business. With these 5 companies and many more, we have accomplished that feat. These graduates will make a difference in Berks County!”

Graduating Businesses

LMG Marketing Solutions is a cutting edge digital marketing company. Specializing in web design, graphic design, SEO, mobile apps and social media. They work diligently with businesses to be an integral part of their marketing solution. lmgwebdesign.com

The Salt Lounge in Wyomissing specializes in Salt therapy to help with a variety of respiratory and skin conditions. Two salt rooms to leave you breathing and feeling better. thesaltlounge.net

Belly: Kitchen & Drinkery located in the GoggleWorks focuses on comfort cuisine seasonally-inspired by local flavors and those from the places the partners have traveled: Peru, Vietnam, France, Thailand and beyond. bellykitchen.com

Structure Green Design Group specializes in commercial, residential, and urban site analysis and land development plans. Their focus is compliance with the Clean Water Act in an economically viable way while addressing the social aspects of urban revitalization. structuregreen.net

Marando Industries uses techno-centric innovation of product and process to drive revenue and profitability by identify and develop technologies needed to solve existing problems or enable new value streams with Applied Mechatronics, Industrial Automation, and Custom Machinery. marando-inc.com

Film Fest Brings Regional and International Filmmakers to Reading

Reading Magazine
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Film Fest Brings Regional and International Filmmakers to Reading

Filmmakers from around the world have descended to Reading for the weekend to take part in the 4th annual Reading Film Festival. Featuring everything from full length narrative films, short films, to documentary’s, filmmakers have traveled from far away as Melbourne, Australia to attend.

Friday nights opening gala kicked off the weekend long event, letting everyone meet each other and grab a bite to eat. We caught up with a few of the filmmakers on the red carpet to learn more about their films and why they chose visit to Reading.

“We understand the importance of festivals in creating opportunities for filmmakers to meet their audiences, network with other professionals and promote their films. By supporting filmmakers, we’ve learned that our audience benefits by being able to engage in truly meaningful dialogue with the creators of film.” – Reading Film Fest

Reading Film Fest is screening films all weekend long at the Reading IMAX 11, GoggleWorks, WCR, and Boyertown State Theatre. For a complete schedule of films and movie times visit readingfilmfest.com.

Must See Films

Reading Film Fest has a lot to offer, here are our top picks for the weekend. Also, be sure to pick up an all access pass and skip the ticket line at the theater. Click or tap the title below for show times.

16 Mins: “Emotionally Powerful”
Bryce and Liam Go To Space: “Irresistibly Funny”
My Dad and Bob Todd: “Lively and Refreshing”
Incredibly Smart, Sexy, Bombshell Co-ed Named Debra: “Side Splittingly Funny”
Don’t Look: “Amazingly Twisted”
Elevator Man: “Simple, Witty, and Smart”
Long Lost: “Mesmerizing and Unnerving”
Something: “Strangely Suspenseful”
The Pitch: “Oddly Ordinary”

Red Carpet Interview Playlist

Berks Agricultural Resource Network Celebrates 10 Years of Farm to Table

Reading Magazine
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Berks Agricultural Resource Network Celebrates 10 Years of Farm to Table

An event not to be missed, the second annual Bountiful Berks Banquet was held at the Leesport Farmers Market. Bountiful Berks Banquet is a revitalization of the successful Farm to City event sponsored by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance several years ago.

The banquet is an enjoyable event that brings several communities together, which includes agricultural, business, industry professionals, public officials, and the general public. The diversity of our economic community will be celebrated by building stronger relationships within Berks County and Southeastern Pennsylvania.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of BARN, select members were encouraged to “swap jobs”. The first to present about their switch was Leesport Farmers Market owner and manager, Woody Weist, and PA State Representative Barry Jozwiak. Others to swap jobs included Stephanie Younker and Leslieann Peers and Stephanie Shirk and Reading City Councilwomen Donna Reed.

Bountiful Berks Banquet features fresh local food, auction, business exchange, and so much more to make this affordable farm-to-table event fun for everyone.

Awards

Michele Brown of Cold Creek Farm received the Berks Communications Award by the Berks Ag Resource Network for her social media posts ‘In the Life of the Farm Wife’.

Sue Younker was recognized as the Teesie Caton Berks County Women in Agriculture Award.

Vista Grande Farm in Fleetwood received the 2018 Bountiful Berks Award as a farm that represents excellence in agriculture.

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Berks County Students Premiere Five Minute Films

Reading Magazine
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Berks County Students Premiere Five Minute Films

Reading Film Fest debuted its inaugural Five Minute Film Fest Thursday night, a film competition for Berks County High School students. Hosted at the WCR Center the student film fest was support by a grant from the Berks County Community Foundation, to encourage young filmmakers to explore the world of filmmaking.

In addition to having all of the film screened at the WCR, the first place films in each category will also be screen during Reading Film Fest’s Student Fest at Reading Movies & IMAX on November 1st at 6:30 PM.

All Berks County students are encouraged to attend ReadingFilmFEST (student passes are free to students with ID). This year’s festival will include a Student Assembly with filmmaker Erik Bloomquist on Friday November 2nd at 9 AM at the Miller Center at RACC.

Congratulations to all student filmmakers!

Documentary Films

  1. Honorable Mention: CWSRI – Maura Malarkey
  2. Honorable Mention: Career Pathways – Chris Logar & Justin Freed
  3. Honorable Mention: The Chase – Emma Shaneline & Jason Cucolino
  4. Honorable Mention: Summer 2018 – Mary Banco
  5. Honorable Mention – Shady Hollow – Aleasha Ettinger & Mariama Jalloh
  6. THIRD PLACE – Career Hunter – Emmanuel Bonilla & Ethan Lake
  7. SECOND PLACE – Therapy Pets – Connor McCoy & Alex MacKensie
  8. FIRST PLACE – The Do’s & Don’ts of Bowling – Justin Freed & Alex Frantz

Narrative Films

  1. Honorable Mention: Ambient Rhythm – Reid Goslin
  2. Honorable Mention: Dear Dad – Ella Ehlert
  3. Honorable Mention: Duality – Lexi Weidner
  4. Honorable Mention: Figment of Your Imagination – Joshua Foglia
  5. Honorable Mention: One Story, Six Words, Good Luck – Tyler Johnson
  6. CREATIVITY Fray – Ali Mohamed & Chase Ulle
  7. BEST PERFORMANCE – Evie Mace, Red-Handed
  8. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – David Persaud, Shame
  9. Honorable Mention: – Speckled Nightmares – Karissa Cole
  10. THIRD PLACE – Shame – Chris Logar
  11. SECOND PLACE – Red Handed – Kelly Leiby
  12. FIRST PLACE – Before the End – Maura Malarkey

Genesius Theatre Presents the Moving & Funny Musical: Fun Home

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Genesius Theatre Presents the Moving & Funny Musical: Fun Home

Genesius Theatre presents the emotional powerhouse “Fun Home”, the Tony-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir. The innovative musical follows Bechdel at three stages in her life as she grows and grapples with her uniquely dysfunctional family, her sexuality and her father’s secrets. The book and lyrics are by Lisa Kron, most notably a performer and playwright who wrote Well, 2.5 Minute Ride, and The Ver**zon Pla. The music is by Jeanine Tesori who has written music for such diverse shows as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Violet, and Shrek the Musical.

Fun Home is the true story of Alison Bechdel and her family, who all hail from the small town of Beechcreek, PA, Clinton County, which is in the mid-northern part of the state. When Alison’s father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.

Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, reluctantly funny, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Bechdel’s story is relived by three different Alison’s, the child, the teen and the adult, as they work their way through the development of her dysfunctional family life and, most importantly, the complex relationship with her father.

The 90-minute musical is based on the 2006 book, of the same title by Bechdel, the renowned gay cartoonist who lives in Bolton, Vermont. The show premiered Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 2013 and transferred to Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre in 2015. Winner of five Tony Awards, Fun Home ran for a year and a half on Broadway before touring the country.

The Genesius production is directed by Genesius Artistic Director, L J Fecho, music directed by Jennifer Parker Scott, choreographed by Rosanna Pereira, with a set design by Spencer Moss Fecho, light design by Zack Spadaccia & Spencer Moss Fecho, costume design by Dara Hunes, hair/makeup design by, Carmen Painter of Tina’s Salon and Say Spa, sound design by Albert Garcia of Eko Entertainment, LLC. The set is constructed by Jeffrey Jones, Mike Maiers and Betty Gerstner, with scenic art by Marjory Ewald, Kaitlyn Reber and Jessica Reber. The show is stage managed by our teen stage manager, Andrea Keck.

The Genesius production features Christopher Sperat, as the father, Bruce Bechdel and Amy Hudak, as older Alison Bechdel, Mamie Covell is medium Alison and Chloe Marturano is small Alison, Dara Himes portrays the wife and mother Helen Bechdel, Rosanna Pereira is Alison’s first love, Joan, Alexander Hammel and Harrison Brumbaugh are Alison’s two younger brothers, Christian and John, and Bo Irwin plays several roles as a utility set of characters including, Roy, Mark, Joan, Pete and Bobby Jeremy.

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