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Welsh gift for singing evident during St. David’s Tea at Edwardsville church

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Black Star Riders carry on legacy of Thin Lizzy, open for Judas Priest

<p>Step into the beautiful Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in downtown Scranton and you&#8217;re instantly impressed.</p><p>The grandiose ceilings, upper-floor balconies and marble finishings make for quite the sight &#8211; and the perfect spot for a fine celebration.</p><p>This particular celebration was one to which I had never been: the American Advertising Awards.</p><p>And boy, did I feel as though I&#8217;d been missing out.</p><p>I&#8217;ve worked in media and advertising for more than a decade, but never made it to this.</p><p>A fantastic event last Saturday, the awards ceremony included a cocktail reception for mingling with industry peers, a fabulous dinner and, of course, the actual awards portion of the evening, filled with vibrant highlights of class-act creative work.</p><p>Commercials, engaging graphics, print designs &#8211; you name it; all types of work were on display.</p><p>I especially enjoyed seeing Forty Fort-based agency Halibut Blue recognized for its exquisite work on the Canteen Park menu. Check Canteen Park out at its Market Street, Kingston location and you&#8217;ll see the colorfully designed, detailed menu that deserves a second look (see snapshots of it on Facebook too, at facebook.com/canteenpark).</p><p>Affectionately called the ADDY Awards, the show recognized professionals and students, as well as George Sweda, founder of Sweda Advertising, who received the AAF Silver Medal Award for his outstanding contributions to advertising and his activism in upholding the industry&#8217;s excellence.</p><p>I was grateful to attend and be around such innovators.</p><p>Thanks to Marilyn Lavelle French from Lavelle Strategy Group, Times Leader Media Group was one of the media sponsors. We received four tickets for the evening, which Publisher Mike Murray, Marketing Director Renee Sager, Advertising Associate Hartt Lang and I were delighted to use.</p><p>Feeling fantastic after the ADDY awards, another stop around town was for my 80-year-old buddy Jerry Peznowski, of Mountain Top, the following day.</p><p>Thrown by his daughter Michelle, a surprise party in his honor was something I couldn&#8217;t miss.</p><p>Patte&#8217;s Sports Bar was the spot for this celebration &#8211; and seeing Jerry walk through the door to a room full of people yelling &#8220;surprise&#8221; was something to behold. It surely threw him for a loop.</p><p>His grandkids were front and center, greeting him along with his bevy of family and friends who carved out a piece of their Sunday for him.</p><p>He&#8217;s a testament to keeping the party going, even at 80.</p><p>Also planned for last week &#8211; an event I was excited for &#8211; was a PUB TRIVIA fundraiser hosted by a 2018 Leadership Wilkes-Barre class.</p><p>Co-organizer Holly Pilcavage invited me to participate and lead the current events trivia round.</p><p>The snow that barely happened (at least in Wilkes-Barre) caused a rescheduling, but &#8211; on a brighter note &#8211; now there&#8217;s more time to get the message out. The event is now slated for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at Bart and Urby&#8217;s in downtown Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Other trivia rounds include the history of Wilkes-Barre, pop culture and entertainment, food of NEPA, and local arts and leisure &#8211; all hosted by local leaders in their respective spaces. The fundraiser, in which 20 trivia teams of up to five people compete, raises money for the class&#8217; project benefiting Wilkes-Barre Free Clinic.</p><p>So, if you&#8217;re around town March 21, we&#8217;d love to see you. Cost of admission is $15 at the door or $10 if purchased in advance. To sign up or get more information, simply send an email to holly@coalcreative.com.</p><p>By the way, if you haven&#8217;t run into Holly Pilcavage around town, I suggest you do.</p><p>Her work with Coal Creative, Wilkes-Barre Connect, Project Wednesday and so much more has been noted by many.</p><p>Just the chance to meet her is enough of a reason to attend.</p><p>See you on the 21st.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Mike McGinley is the Times Leader Media Group&#8217;s major accounts executive. Reach him at mmcginley@www.timesleader.com or 570-704-3945.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Around Town: An advertising to-do, surprise party and upcoming trivia event