Birds Flying Freely and in Sync

Photography by Paparazzi Paul.

As the Summer season bade its farewell to Monroe County, PA, Artists and Art Lovers came together at the Monroe Campus of Northampton Community College in Tannersville PA's Keystone Hall to explore the work on display in the Dunning Art Gallery on Wednesday September 21^st. The Flying Free: Birds and The Human Spirit Exhibition featured work created by the Members of The Pocono Arts Council www.poconoarts.org, the Pocono Mountain Arts Council www.poconomac.com, the Pocono Mountain Arts Group www.pmagmail.wix.com/art1, the Pocono Painters www.poconopainters.org, the Pocono Photography Club www.poconophotoclub.com, and the Pocono Watercolor Associates. Although the gathering was noticeably smaller than usual, the beauty and loving skill rendered in each piece by the participating artists filled the room and the hearts of all who attended the event.

Conversations abound as the tasty snacks were consumed as hungrily as the each conveyance relating to a deeper understanding of the art was. It was after some time did Dean Matthew J. Connell informally addressed the room to welcome all who attended the event as well as expressing his appreciation to the artists and the groups they belonged to for sharing their talents with the campus. The love and meaning found in the joy of conversing resumed as Dean Connell completed his words. It was then I discovered a Lip Sync Battle was happening on campus in its Pocono Hall. So, I momentarily left the reception to explore.

As I arrived, the battles were under way. The engagements consisted of solo and duo performances by students who endeavored to match their lip movements with their favorite songs which were played upon the school's Karaoke System. The Lip Sync Battle was presented by The Campus Activity Board www.facebook.com/ncc.monroe/?fref=ts. The concept of The Lip Sync Battle began as a recurring segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before it was developed into a reality competition series which premiered on the Spike cable network on April 2^nd, 2015. The fun the students had during the performances proved to be very infectious which made the event greatly enjoyable. The Lip Sync Battle came to an end so I journeyed back to The Dunning Gallery to partake of a lecture being presented in it's conference room.

A live-stream talk was given by Dyana Furmansky www.dyanazfurmansky.com from the Lipkin Theater which is located on the Bethlehem, PA Campus of Northampton Community College. Ms. Furmansky is the author of “Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature From The Conservationists” which received a 2009 Wormsloe Foundation Nature Award and the 2010 Colorado Book Award. Her talk centered around the life and personality of Rosalie Barrow Edge (1877 – 1962) along with her contributions to the conservation movement which included the establishment of the Emergency Conservation Committee in 1929, founded the world's first preserve for birds of prey in 1934 near Kempton, PA called, “The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary,” www.hawkmountain.org led campaigns to create the Olympic National Park www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm in 1938 along with the Kings Canyon National Park in 1940, and successfully lobbied Congress to purchase 8,000 acres of old-growth sugar pines on the perimeter of Yosemite National Park that were to be logged.

The lecture was presented as part of the college's 2016-2017 National Endownment for the Humanities grant. It was quite informative although Ms. Furmansky use of the microphone system that allowed those at The Monroe Campus of the College to hear what she and those who inquired more deeply into her lecture had to say was something to be desired. Still, it remained enjoyable as members of the Monroe Campus found some aspects of the inaudible situation to be amusing. You'll find more photographs taken during the Artists' Reception, the Lip Sync Battle, and Ms. Furmansky's lecture in The Birds Flying Freely and in Sync Gallery at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155271616538761.1073742016.91146283760&type=3.

The Northampton Community College (NCC) was established in 1967 with its main campus located in the Lehigh Valley region of PA. According to their Website, NCC is committed to quality, affordable higher education while striving for accessibility with courses scheduled at multiple campuses and locations during the day, evening, weekends, and on line. The college currently serves more than 35,000 students a year in credit and non-credit programs. The Flying Free: Birds and the Human Spirit Exhibition is scheduled to be on display in the Dunning Gallery which is located in The Monroe Campus of Northampton Community College in Tannersville PA's Keystone Hall until January 13^th. Their next show is yet to be announced. You can learn more about The Northampton Community College by exploring their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ncc.monroe?fref=ts or their Website at www.northampton.edu.