First Posted: 7/29/2013
If you can’t find anything to do in Scranton this Friday, you’re not looking hard enough.
According to comedian Kevin Lepka, chances are you’re not looking at all.
“People seem to just go out, drink, and listen to ‘80s cover bands, but there’s so much more to this area. There’s so much more that this area has to offer, whether it be art, performers doing plays, local original music,” Lepka said.
“One year, I went out for St. Patrick’s Day at Hardware Bar and there were four different bands playing on different floors. Three of the bands, within an hour’s worth of time, were playing the same song… People need to open their eyes and broaden their horizons, experience all the things this area has to offer.”
For those who don’t know where to start, The Vintage has got just the ticket: “Time Warp: 24 Hours of Art.” Kicking off at 9 p.m. this Friday (to coincide with Scranton’s First Friday), the free event will, as its name implies, run non-stop until 9 p.m the following day and will feature everything from poetry readings to interactive art demonstrations to musical performances by Silhouette Lies and Ed Cuozzo of A Social State, among others.
“We’re going to have a lot of different things going on at the same time. It won’t just be one thing going on at eight o’clock, one thing going on at nine,” Heidi Van Leuven said.
“People can wander in any time and we’ll have something going on. We’ll have something going on out in the front, out on the balcony. We’ll have the building divided up into different areas with something different going on at all times.”
An artist herself, Van Leuven will be participating in the event. More than that, she’s the one who pitched the idea to Vintage co-owner Theresa O’Connor in the first place. Remembering the caffeine-infused atmosphere of fun and inclusiveness that permeated the all-night bohemian blowouts she and her friends used to throw as Marywood University students, Van Leuven felt the idea was a perfect fit for The Vintage.
“I think this event is really representative of what The Vintage is all about. It’s people coming together to celebrate all branches of the arts,” Van Leuven said. “It’s a great community-builder and a way of exposing people to different areas of the arts that maybe they were curious about but never had the chance to experience before.”
In addition to all that art, the event will also include games, contests, and giveaways, as well as open-mic opportunities, allowing audience members a chance to participate as performers instead of just spectators.
Putting his money where his mouth is, Lepka will be there too, hosting a midnight stand-up comedy showcase stocked with talent culled from the all over NEPA.
“These are some great funny people that many people have no idea even exist,” Lepka said.
“The Vintage is the only outlet that I know of in the area where basically anybody who does anything in the performing arts can showcase their talents. There’s a lot of talented people in this area. If it wasn’t for The Vintage, even I wouldn’t know about some of them.”
