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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Not many people recognize Shawn Ebert on the street.</p><p>In fact, a lot of residents in the Wyoming Valley only know Ebert by his alter ego, Estella Sweet.</p><p>Ebert, who is the general manager of Heat Bar &amp; Nightclub, has been performing as Sweet for more than 10 years, and his talents have taken him to compete in Philadelphia&#8217;s Drag Wars.</p><p>At Heat, Ebert is in charge of staff, booking entertainment and taking care of marketing for the club, in addition to performing. Estella headlines twice a month at Heat.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a busy guy,&#8221; Ebert laughed.</p><p>Ebert, who lives in Wilkes-Barre, is originally from Northampton, graduated from Palmerton High School in 2000 after moving, and attended the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh, where he studied hotel/restaurant management. Ebert moved to Wilkes-Barre in 2004.</p><p>Ebert is a lifelong performer. He was in chorus in school and participated in the school plays throughout high school. While he loved performing, and even got into Kutztown&#8217;s theater program, he said he wanted a course of study with a little more job security.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to take a chance at going to a four-year school and not having a job,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Ebert said both of his parents are cooks, and he thought &#8220;people need to eat,&#8221; so went to western Pennsylvania for college.</p><p>&#8220;That way, I could go back to school for anything else if need be,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Once he was living in the area, Ebert decided to give drag performance a chance.</p><p>&#8220;I had done drag for the first time for Halloween in 2005,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A couple months later, I decided I was going to give it a go, and I never looked back.&#8221;</p><p>Ebert started at Heat as a bartender in 2014 and was promoted to general manager in early 2015. When he started, Ebert said there wasn&#8217;t an established &#8220;hierarchy of drag.&#8221;</p><p>While the club hosted a few shows before he arrived, Ebert helped put Heat on the map for both local performers and performers from bigger cities, such as Philadelphia.</p><p>&#8220;I reached outside of Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What I strive to do is bring in entertainment you can&#8217;t find in Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p>Through social media, Ebert has been able to create a network of performers across the country and bring in entertainment, such as drag queens from the television series &#8220;RuPaul&#8217;s Drag Race,&#8221; and even bring in entertainers from the United Kingdom.</p><p>Ebert has been able to combine both his talents for performing as well as managing to make Heat an entertainment destination in Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>It&#8217;s not just about the entertainment, however. Ebert said his favorite part of his job is providing a welcoming environment for everybody.</p><p>The effect of Ebert&#8217;s work &#8212; both as Estella and general manager &#8212; is evident in the interactions he has with customers every night. One patron compared the atmosphere and the community within Heat as a family.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a place where everybody gets along,&#8221; Ebert said. &#8220;My favorite part (of the job) is providing an environment where people feel welcomed no matter who or what they are.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Shawn Ebert gets ready to perform as Estella Sweet in the office at Heat. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_IMG_0567-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Shawn Ebert gets ready to perform as Estella Sweet in the office at Heat. </caption0><photoCredit0>Brigid Edmunds | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_IMG_0618-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Estella Sweet performs on stage at Heat. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_IMG_0618-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Estella Sweet performs on stage at Heat. </caption1><photoCredit1>Brigid Edmunds | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@gmail.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>About this series</p><p>People in Your Neighbor is an occassional series that takes a look at people from Luzerne County with an interesting story to tell. If you know someone with a story to tell, email Brigid Edmunds at bedumds@www.timesleader.com</p><p>Video</p><p>For a video of this story, go to timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-991-6113 or on Twitter @brigidedmunds</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> LCKDBzSJeXs</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCKDBzSJeXs</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> &lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/LCKDBzSJeXs&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; gesture=&#8221;media&#8221; allow=&#8221;encrypted-media&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Brigid Edmunds</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

People in Your Neighborhood: Shawn Ebert