By Shawn Drury
WlNE AND DINE
Fancy yourself a wordsmith? Then
take your linguistic largesse to The
Book Cellar on Main and Ferry
Streets in New Hope. Every Thurs-
day at 6 p.m. and Friday at 7:30
p.m., tile-talliers gather for free and
friendly games of Scrabble™.
Cellar owner Eric Maynar started
the tradition while traveling up
and down the East Coast when he
was employed in the publishing
business. He regularly ran into
fellow players of the popular word
game. Before he knew it, Maynar
was playing informal games all
over the Northeast.
So, when he opened the bookstore,
his friends suggested he continue
the games—after all, what better
place to play than in a bookstore?
30 . lehigh valley style - may/June 2001
T Okay, so no one will ever
O confuse the Lehigh Valley
with the Napa Valley, but
that doesn't mean there
T aren't plenty of fine wine
connoisseurs in the area.
H
Steve DiDonato, owner of
E Abruzzi on Main in Coopersburg, is doing
everything he can to satisfy the tastebuds of
L local wine-lovers. Each month, the restaurar/
has a special dinner in conjunction with a
E featured wine.
T "Our wine-tasting program has succeeded
beyond our wildest dreams," DiDonato says.
T "The vineyards tell us that we get a better
E response to our events than similar events in
Philadelphia."
R On May 8th at 7 p.m., the Wines of Vinson
Richard, from Uruguay, will be on display. T
June 7th event will highlight the wines of thr
Rosemount Estate.
Maynar says greenhorns shouldn't
worry about stopping by because
players are paired up by skill level.
Maynar held his first Scrabble tour-
nament earlier this year and was FS'
pleasantly surprised with the
turnout. Maynar says that the high-
est-scoring word he's seen at one
of his tournaments was the word
"R-e-1-a-x-e-r"—which yielded
more than 100 points. Pretty
impressive, but not close to the
world record. According to the
National Scrabble Association, that
honor fittingly belongs to "C-r-a-z-i-
e-s-t." The "C" and the "T" landed
on triple-word scores and the "Z"
landed on a double-letter score. The
final tally came to 361 points.
Apparently, Scrabble is a lot like
real estate: Location is everything.

June has long been considered the
'Wedding Month," when couples
throughout the Lehigh Valley ex-
change vows in a very traditional and
dignified manner.
However, some Valley couples
opt to give their wedding a more
personal touch.
Laura Kutzko, co-owner of John Kutzko
Photography in Allentown, has wit-
nessed a few unusual details while pho-
tographing Lehigh Valley weddings.
"One couple had their dog as the best
man—plus an actual man as the best
j man," Kutzko recalls. "Another had the
dog as the ring-bearer. Then, there was
the reception where the guy giving the
[toast literally threw toast out to the
GET IN DUTCH UPS AND DOWNS AT DORNEY
Whet your appetite for the "wonder- Remember the good old days when
ful good" Kutztown Pennsylvania a simple wooden roller coaster was
German Festival, an annual event enough to satisfy thrill seekers? Times
for over 50 years celebrating the tra- have changed. Roller coasters are higher,
ditions and folk life of the Pennsyl- faster and longer than ever. Amusement
vania Dutch. This year's event, parks play a continual game of "Can You
running June 30 through July 8 at Top This?"—and Dorney Park is doing its
the Kutztown Fairgrounds, promises best to keep pace.
to be the best yet, bringing back
such favorites as the opening day As if Steel Force wasn't enough, Dorney
quilt auction, demonstrations by Park will fill its ride-gap/scream-
local and world renowned artisans gap/gulp-gap with the addition of its
such as Johnny Claypoole and first inverted roller coaster, The Talon.
Gerald Yoder, and the daily Country
Auction. As if that weren't enough, Designed by the Swiss firm of Bolliger
the festival also includes folk life and Mabillard, the ride peaks at 135 feet
and living history demonstrations, high and 58 miles per hour, and includes
live music, a hay maze and, of a 50-degree 120-foot drop. The renowned
course, incredible Pennsylvania firm also designed The Raptor at Cedar
Dutch cuisine. Festival hours are 9 Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and Great Bear
a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. For more infor- at HersheyPark.
mation, call 888-674-6136.
"They're the Cadillac of coaster design-
ers," says Mark Sosnowski, Dorney Park
public relations manager. Construction
crowd" (shades of "The Rocky Horror commenced last summer and is sched-
Picture Show"). uled to be ready for Dorney's opening
day on May 5.
Sometimes, despite the meticulous plan-
ning, things just happen.
Dan Kramlich, owner of Elite Expres-
sions in Bethlehem, has endured power
outages and missing champagne at
wedding receptions. But the topper
was at one wedding reception when
the bride was "kidnapped" as part of
a practical joke. Unfortunately, not
everyone was in on the joke: The police
were called and the reception was
delayed for quite a while. Needless to
say, Kramlich says, "Not everyone found
the joke funny. "Best wishes for those
exchanging vows this spring, and here's
hoping that all goes according to plan
even if the plan is a little odd.
may/June 2001 - lehigh valley style .31
ALLENTOWN'S BOYS OF SUMMER
The Allentown Ambas-
sadors begin their fifth
year of existence May
20 and open their home
schedule May 24
against Albany. The
Ambassadors are mem-
bers of the 16-team
Northern League, which
is arguably the most
successful independent
league in minor league
baseball.
TheAms' will be
led through their 90-
game schedule by
new manager Joe
Calfapietra. Ticket
prices at Earl F. Hun-
sicker Bicentennial
Park range from $4
(general admission) to PLAY WITH THE DEVIL
$7 (box seat)—making The Allentown Civic Theatre hosts the world premiere of the
it one of the best all-African-American musical "Before the Rain." Written by
entertainment values Rob Blackwell and Lenny Leibowitz, the musical is set in
in the Valley. 1930s Virginia. It's a Faustian tale of a man who stays home
from church one Sunday and is visited by the devil disguised
as a fast-talking fertilizer salesman.

Leibowitz is a Norristown native and a graduate of Columbia

University in New York. He believes that putting an African-
American angle on the devil-rnade-me-do-it tradition has
great musical and narrative possibilities. "I felt like the black
community was the perfect place to do this story because so
much of their culture is based on religion and church," he
says. "Gospel music and the blues aren't traditionally in musi-
cals and it's a lot more interesting to explore things that are
different."

The curtain rises on June 21 at 8 p.m.

ROAD-WORTHY
Auto afficionados know that Lehigh University is the place to be on Satur-
day, June 16, as vintage and state-of-the-art cars share the stage at the 12th
annual Concours d'Elegance car show. The grace and grandeur of one of
America's most beloved cars is recalled in this year's theme: "100 Years
Later, There's Still No Mistaking a Fierce-Arrow." Visitors to the show will
find it hard not to feel as if they've stepped back in time while standing near
one of these shining symbols of motor car memorabilia. Filling out the show
field will be performance and muscle cars from the era "when horsepower
was king"; one-of-a-kind prototypes illustrating the cars of the future; and
BMW, this year's featured make. The show field is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and
is located at Lehigh University's Mountaintop Campus in Bethlehem. For
more information, call 800-999-6810.

32 . lehigh valley style - may/June 2001

 lllVJI1 i n t h e
D O N E C K E R S The Fashion Store
M«Tu«Th 10-8
FrilO-9, Sat 1 a5
Closed Wed & Sun
409 N. State St.
Ephrata, PA

738-9500
vallq A coud
tectedl
"Chrisj

forma
many;
Upthe
Get Any Closer, #&@<M

WEjurmture find I'll Eat You You're!

I'm a'.
& FASHION The]
Cover all of life in the finest "You!
fabrics: from sensational dresses, "100,01
gowns, suits & sportswear
STICKER B I C K E R Pastes
for the fashion-forward family, Cats.1
Bumper stickers reveal insight into a
to elegant room settings
and everything in between... driver's mindset. Though they tend
toward the scabrous, bumper stickers So, the
at Doneckers of Ephrata
have become a sub-genre of literature highv.i
unto themselves. They range—at least lot, rei
THE FINE FURNITURE GALLERIES • 100 N. Slate St., Ephrata. PA 17522 in the Lehigh Valley (in which the the tra
ROAD. HICKORY CHAIR, .1NDON & MORI: BeSti
M«Tu«Th«F«Sat 10-5, Closed Wed & Sun • (717) 738-9610 following examples were spotted)—
from the intensely political to furtively
vague. They can be broken down into
several categories: proclamations,
pleas, parodies, partisans, pedagogicals
and pejoratives.

Most bumper stickers could conceivably

be a proclamation. "I'd rather be fish-
ing/diving/golfing/hunting/dancing" is a
popular creed. Some can lean toward the
bizarre. To wit: "The Gene Pool Needs
Some Chlorine" or "Fly Kites or Die."

Pleas are attempts to make the world a

better place: "Visualize World Peace" or
"Fight Racism" or "Teach Respect for the
Earth and All Living Things."

The plea category begot another form of

roadway repartee—parodies and sar-
casm: "Forget World Peace ... Visualize
Using Your Turn Signal," "My Kid Beat Up
Your Honor Student Today at School"
and, of course, "Honk If You Want to See
My Finger."

Then, there are the overtly political. These

involve the social issues of the day,
including abortion, gun control,
animal rights and capital punishment.

34. lehigh valley style - may/June 2001

A couple local examples: "This Car Pro- Five days (May Mayfair. Sculptor Val
tected by Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson" and 24-28) of music, Bertoia honors the Year of
"Christians Aren't Better, Just Forgiven." food, dancing, arts the Snake by assembling
and crafts are a sectional, metal struc-
The pedagogicals usually come in the spread out over ture made of percussion
form of driving instructions—although Cedar Creek Park. elements over the length
many could also double as pleas: "Hang The Badlees and of the fair. Titled "Sounds
Up the #&©%* Phone and Drive the Don McLean top of the Copperhead," it
#&©%* Car," "If You Can Read This the musical roster, will be used in an origi-
You're Too #&@%*" Close" or "Back Off! backed up by nal piece of music follow-
I'm a Postal Worker!" dozens of local ing its completion.
and regional per-
The pejoratives, well, a brief sampling: formers on six There's also glassblow-
"You Are Depriving a Village of Its Idiot," different stages. ers, ice carvings and
"100,000 Sperm and YOU Were the No fair is complete original works of art
Fastest?" and the bound-to-offend "I Love without food— from local artisans. If it's
Cats. They Taste Just Like Chicken." and Mayfair artistic and made of clay,
EAT, DRINK AND BE promises cooking wood, glass, ice or paper,
So, the next time you're stuck on a MAYFAIR MERRY competitions and there's a good chance
highway masqueradir.a a; 3 ci:-ir.r Memorial Day Weekend ethnic food galore. it's at Mayfair. With over
lot, remember that the guy raurr.g in Allentown has come to 250 attractions, Mayfair
the traffic jam may be "Too Blessed to mean one thing over the Sculpture is prominently seems to have something
Be Stressed." past 15 years: Mayfair. featured at this year's for everyone.

discover our , i•
4 natural treasures

For a free vacation planner contact

Southern Delaware Tourism
800-357-1818
www.visifsoutherndelaware.com

may/June 2001 - lehigh valley style • 35

 in the
TAKE YOUR PICK
Guitar lovers, don't fret:
Moravian College is host
to the 9th annual Bethle-
hem Guitar Festival on
Saturday, June 9.
Organized by John
Arnold, head of Moravian's
music department, the day
is filled with recitals,
workshops and concerts
that put the six-string
front and center. Chris
Ladd, Joseph Mayes and
Duo Caluda will hold
recitals. Workshops on
guitar construction,
Handcraf
Wi«
(ju»t off Rt. 22's 191 exit)
www.stofanak.com (610) 759-9311
36 . lehigh valley style - may/June 2001
arranging and perfor-
mance anxiety will be
held in the afternoon.
Before the workshops,
the Andriacci-Castellam
Duo will lead an hour-long
master class. They return
for a performance as the
featured artist at 8 p.m.
The Duo has earned praise
from the New York Times,
have performed in
Budapest, London, Madrid,
Rio de Janeiro, Rome and
at The Kennedy Center,
Carnegie Recital Hall and
the White House.
we're the kader.
176 Nazareth Pike