Dover/West York: October 2009 Archives

Wow, so many things going on in the coming days! Got a news release that the Bob Hoffman YMCA on Palomino Road in Dover Township is having a free Fall Fitness Festival from Monday to Oct. 30.

Among the activities:

· Anyone 14 and older can participate in fitness classes and use the fitness center.
· A free seminar, "What You Can Do About Your Cancer Risk," will be offered by Wellspan from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday.
· Free blood-pressure checks will be offered by Dover Ambulance from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday
· Free chair massages will be offered by Touch Of Life on Wednesday morning and evening.

There will also be refreshments and daily prize drawings. Want to know more? Call the Y at 292-5622.

Not doing anything this Saturday evening? Brave the weather and head out to my alma mater, Dover Area High School, for the fifth annual Dover Band Show.

According to their news release, this marching band showcase features many of York County's non-competitive bands and was created five years ago as a way to give the students a late-season performance opportunity. (And I give the band folks huge props for performing this late in the season; it is COLD out on that field!)

Gates open at 5 p.m., and the show begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens, and can be purchased at the stadium gates. If it rains (not that THAT has happened lately, ha!) the show will be held in the high school gymnasium.

The schedule includes:
· National Anthem performed by Dover High School's select choral ensemble, "Renaissance"
· Hanover "Nighthawk" Pep/Marching Band
· Northeastern "Bobcat" Marching Band
· Steelton-Highspire "Roller-Pride" Marching Band
· West York "Bulldog" Marching Band (my daughter's school, so YAY for them too!)
· Central York "Panther" Marching Band
· Dallastown "Wildcat" Marching Band
· Dover "Eagle" Marching Band
· Full Band Retreat performing "America the Beautiful"

The release also pointed out something I'd missed - that the Dover district was recently named one of the top 100 communities for music education in the United States by the National Association of Music Merchandisers. Central York was also selected for the honor.

If you want to know more about the show, call band director George Bradshaw at 292-3671, ext. 10304. (And tell him Joan Concilio sent you!)

So head out if you're free! I'll be here at work, but if you go, let me know - I'd love to hear all about it!

Maybe you're familiar with the idea of the Halloween "boo" - leaving an anonymous gift of goodies for two people who are each supposed to pass a gift on to two more people. It's like a chain letter for gifting, and you usually need to hang up a sign once you've been "booed" so that no one else gifts you.

Well, imagine our surprise the other night to find a "boo" hanging from our front lamppost! I had done this a couple of years ago at work, but never in a neighborhood sense. So of course we were all excited to pass on our own boos to some friends and neighbors.

The photo here is the boo we made to give, not the one we received. If you'd like to start your own booing with two friends or neighbors, here are my suggestions:

1. Get something sturdy to put your goodies in. Even if it's not pouring out - like it was this weekend - you probably will have your boo sitting on the ground overnight on someone's porch. Hence our plastic pumpkin.

2. Include a "ghostie" for the booed family to hang on their door. (You can see ours in the photo; here's a printable version, though you can certainly draw him - it's not hard!) Here's an extra tip - given our bad weather, dig up a sheet protector, tape your boo on a piece of black construction paper and slide it inside. That's what we did, and it's not only keeping him dry, it also makes him stand out on our white front door. Don't forget to "boo" yourself if you're starting the booing!

3. Choose a bunch of small goodies, mixing candy-type stuff and other items. We gave some candy, but also some "rubber eyeballs," a little orange decorative pot, a small fall cookbook and a notepad. (Target's dollar bin was a source of most of our items; any dollar store is also a good start.)

4. Include the directions! If you've gotten booed already, you can copy or rewrite them, but if you're starting the chain in your own neighborhood, feel free to print copies of my direction sheet. Ours came handwritten, but the copy editor in me had to jazz it up a little.

If you give this a try, or if you see any neighborhoods around town that have had a booing going on, leave me a comment! Bonus points if you e-mail photos of your booing to me at jconcilio@ydr.com.

Teresa Strickler of Dover Township snapped this photo of a hummingbird with its tongue out.

Way back in early August, I wrote about a reader, Teresa Strickler of Dover Township, who'd submitted some wonderful hummingbird photos.

We published them in September in the Weekly Record, and when we went to post it online, well, Teresa had so many photos that we couldn't originally include them all.

But my friend and fellow online staffer Rose came to the rescue recently and made a slideshow of all Teresa's wonderful photos.

It's getting colder out now, but if you check out the story and photo gallery, it'll give you a bit of summer all over again. Enjoy!