Looking toward tomorrow

Winter in the City: Fri., Jan. 13, Feb. 10, 5:30-8 p.m., Electric City Trolley Museum (300 Cliff St., Scranton). $15. 21+. Call 570.963.1575, visit scrantontomorrow.com for info.

Summertime fetes get all the good press. Patio bars open for business, fruity cocktails flow freely, and light, airy fare makes the rounds to hordes of bikini-body-conscious attendees. But who’s to say we can’t have just as good a time in our long underwear and ear-flap hats?

Winter may not be known as the season for parties, as most people buck all socializing and choose to hibernate until April, but since a fundraising committee was formed about 10 years ago, local organization Scranton Tomorrow has been working on changing that.

“A lot of people in the area were saying, ‘We wish that we had an event during the winter that would get people back out and back into the downtown,’” said Leslie Collins, executive director of Scranton Tomorrow. “So they started talking about, ‘Well, what kind of events can you do in the wintertime?’ And then a cocktail party seemed to be the concept, and there was Winter in the City.”

For the ninth year in a row, Winter in the City will bring a spirited charge to the season notorious for its depression-inducing weather. On Friday, Jan. 13 and Friday, Feb. 10 from 5:30-8 p.m., the 21-and-over event will be held at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton and will feature food, beverages, live music and an auction.

A frosty frolic

For a $15 cover charge, attendees at Winter in the City will have the option to sample fare from more than 40 restaurants, along with beer, wine, soda and water, and will get admittance to an auction featuring items donated by area businesses. Local band 2 for the Road will provide entertainment at the January date, and Paul LaBelle and the Exact Change will perform in February.

The entrance fee, along with the proceeds from the auction, will funnel back to another Scranton Tomorrow initiative, Main Street Scranton.

“Main Street has arms and legs everywhere,” Collins explained. “We are designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the managers of the Main Street for downtown Scranton, and that entails a 30-block radius of the downtown. And we’re really tasked with putting together committees.

“There are five different committees, and we have 70 local community volunteers serving on those committees, which is huge. So it’s going back to where Scranton Tomorrow came from, which is really the grassroots kind of effort to make changes for the downtown economy, and support the local small businesses.”

At press time, the list of vendors for the auction was not yet finalized, but Collins noted that the items up for grabs will be similar to those from last year and beyond, including overnight hotel stays, auto detailing gift certificates, local theater tickets and more.

The restaurants participating in Winter in the City, many of which are returning after taking part in previous years, will donate samples of some of their best dishes. Although the eateries aren’t seeing a financial profit from the shindig, it’s a mutually beneficial partnership thanks to some unbridled publicity.

“It’s always hard when you’re asking for donations from local businesses, especially when the economy is tight,” Collins explained. “But what we’re very conscious of, and what we like to make the restaurants aware of, is that this event sees hundreds of people, so it’s really great exposure for the restaurants that participate.”

For JoAnn Marianelli Finnerty, owner and CEO of Bella Faccias Personalized Chocolates & Gifts, a chocolate specialties company and bistro on Lackawanna Avenue, that’s only an added benefit of getting involved.

“With Scranton, I have found out I want to always be a part of the city, I believe in it.” Marianelli Finnerty said, noting that this will be her first year participating in Winter in the City after moving her store from Old Forge to Scranton last March. “I’m proud to be part of the revitalization of this city … Whatever we can do, we’re always a part of fundraising and giving back.”

Looking forward

Scranton Tomorrow has many stokes in many proverbial fires, organizing a multitude of events for the upcoming year aimed at bringing the community together and into the downtown area. Fundraisers like Winter in the City help the organization keep many of these measures free to the public.

Drive-in Downtown is a summer activity on Courthouse Square featuring a different movie each week, and according to Collins, Scranton Tomorrow is planning on showing at least five films this year. Another family-oriented project the organization has taken on is the development of Scranton-opoly, a Scranton-themed board game based on the iconic Monopoly game.

“One of our very dedicated board members, Bernie Maopolski, brought the idea to our board,” Collins said. “And it just took off. Everybody thought it was a great idea, and we were surprised how enthusiastic the local businesses were to participate.”

To get people familiarized with the downtown area, “FAM” tours are offered every first Saturday between May and October from noon-3 p.m., and Collins also noted that a visit to the organization’s website will be quite different in the near future.

“We actually have received a grant from the PPL Blue Ribbon Foundation, and our website is under construction, currently,” Collins stated. “We’re going to have a whole new web presence.”

Come spring, the Main Street City Pride Project will encourage businesses to spruce up their storefronts.

Additionally, Scranton Tomorrow has partnered with the Chamber of Commerce through its MetroAction division for loan underwriting to business owners looking to make improvements to their buildings’ facades.

“For a small organization, we have a lot going on,” Collins noted. “But we have a lot of great volunteers and a lot of community partners, so that’s the most important thing. It’s the way we’re really able to get these projects completed.”

w