Steve Wallace, Tom Concannon and George Mehalchick speakingabout the Socrates Cafe movement and thegatherings that are held in NEPA.---The 2nd Thursday of the month at the Osterhout Free Library,71 S. Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre at 5:30 pm---The 3rd Wednesday of the Month at the Albright Memorial Library,500 Vine Street in Scranton at 6:00 pm---The 4th Wednesday of the month at the Marian Sutherland KirbyLibrary in Mountain Top at 6:00--hosted by Steve Wallace.Everyone is welcome and there is no admission fee.

Canon Mark Laubach speaking in 2022 about Cesar Franck at the time of the200th anniversary of the composer's birth.Friday, January 2, 2026 is the 40thanniversary of Laubach's tenure asorganist and choirmaster at St. Stephen'sEpiscopal Church in Wilkes-Barre.There will be a special service to celebratethe occasion on Sunday, January 4th at9:30 am at St. Stephen's, 35 South FranklinStreet in downtown Wilkes-Barre.For more information:www.ststephenswb.org/

Bathsheba Monk, novelist, playwright, editor, publisher,& illustrator, speaking about her writing life and her recentgraphic novel, "Memories of the Year 2000," issued byBlue Heron Book Works, a small independent press in theLehigh Valley founded by Monk. For more information:www.bathshebamonk.com/ or www.blueheronbookworks.com/

John Cardoni; General Manager of the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple,speaking about the history of the building, its layout and the recent major restoration project that was funded by the Commonwealth of PA's Department of General Services.Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern PA has recently merged with the SCC, and the2025-2026 season of touring shows will continue in February with Kinky Boots; Chicago in March; Clue in April and The Music Man in June.For more information: www.scrantoculturalcenter.org/

Bob Eckstein, NY Times best-selling author; illustrator; cartoonist,speaking about "The Illustrated History of the Snowman"issued by Globe Pequot in 2018.For more information: www.bobeckstein.com/The interview first aired on WVIA on October 8, 2018.

Christine Gelineau, award-winning poet/author and faculty memberin the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at WilkesUniversity in Wilkes-Barre, speaking with us about her recentmemoir/poetic meditation, Almanac: A Murmuration, issued byExcelsior Editions, an imprint of the State Universityof NY Press. She also read from the opening chapter, "January."For more information: www.christinegelineau.com/

Dancers Ava Smith, Klara, & Charlotte Smith, Fritz,with photographer Jamie Smith, their father, speakingabout the 2025 production of The Nutcracker to be presentedby The Ballet Center at the Wilkes University Conservatory atthe Dorothy Dickson Darte Center on the Wilkes campus.Performances Friday, Dec. 19th at 7 pm; Saturday, Dec. 20that 7 pm, & Sunday, Dec. 21st at 2 pm.For information or to reserve tickets:570-408-4426 or email [email protected]/

Joe McGurl, director/writer, and Kelly Jean Graham, actor/choreographer, speakingabout the 4th annual Panto presented by the Scranton Shakespeare Festival."Sleeping Beauty" will be offered Friday, December 19, 2025, at 6:00 pm;Saturday, December 20th at 6:00 pm; and Sunday, December 21st at 2:00 pm,at the Shakes Space at the Marketplace at Steamtown in downtown Scranton.The production is family-friendly. www.scrantonshakes.com/

Chason Goldschmitz, Executive Director of the NEPA Philharmonic,speaking about the continuing success of the 2025-26 seasonand "The Snowman in Concert" program on Saturday, December 20that 7 pm at the FM Kirby Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre.Two animated short films--The Snowman & The Snowman and theSnowdog--will be shown on the big screen while the NEPA Philharmonicperforms the score under the direction of Melisse Brunet.There will be guest soloists from Marywood University and dancersfrom the Scranton Civic Ballet. www.nepaphil.org/ or 570-270-4444

Ali Basalyga, Manager of Social Media atNAC Entertainment, speaking about the 2025-2026 Broadway in Scranton season that willcontinue December 19 through the 21 with"The Book of Mormon"--shows 12/19 @ 7:30 pm;12/20 @ 2:00 & 7:30 pm; 12/21 @ 1:00 & 6:30 pm.Other shows in the series include: "Kinky Boots";"Chicago"; "Clue"; and "The Music Man". Performances are held at the Scranton CulturalCenter. Tickets are available at the SCC Box Officeand at www.NACentertainment.com/