Marywood University & Garden of Cedar to Unveil Community Garden Project Marywood University is working in collaboration with the Garden of Cedar, a local nonprofit organization in Scranton’s South Side neighborhood, on a community garden project that features sculpture, native plants, vertical planters, a hydroponic system, and other features to be added later. All are welcome to attend a public unveiling ceremony of the space on May 15, at 5 p.m., at the Garden of Cedar, 715 Cedar Avenue, Scranton. The specific academic areas involved with the project include the Environmental Science Program, Art Department, School of Architecture (SOA), and School of Business and Global Innovation (SBGI). The living T-rail sculpture’s design ties to the area’s industrial roots, specifically highlighting the pivotal role of the Iron Furnaces in shaping the regional landscape. At the base of the sculpture, an arrangement of native vegetation is planned. This natural component is not only aesthetic but is also symbolic, designed to grow and intertwine around a representational map of Scranton. The sculpture was funded by Frank and Marigrace Dubas, Scranton, Michael and Candice Curran, New Canaan, CT, and Howard and Amy Kaplan, Saddle River, NJ. Native plants were donated to the Garden for community members to plant in the garden or take back to plant in their yards, including Black-eyed Susans, Butterfly Weed, and Yellow Coneflower. Vertical planters, inspired by the design of totem poles, provide accessibility for ADA planting as the planters are raised above the height of the ground-level planters already in the garden. A hydroponic system developed by the students uses sustainable methods of maintaining plant life on an existing vertical wall, providing not only a visual experience, but an interactive one, as users are given the opportunity to grow specific herbs and succulents on the site. Features that will be installed in the Garden at a later date include bee hotels and a canopy. Bee hotels are the insect equivalent of a birdhouse, providing nesting spaces for solitary bees. Solitary bees, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees, are non-aggressive because they are solitary nesters and do not have large colonies to defend. Most bees native to Pennsylvania are in fact solitary bees, acting as important pollinators that are vital to the survival of our ecosystems. The canopy will be a removable shade structure to be used by outreach programs that provide lunches and other events to children during the hot summer months. The Garden of Cedar was created and developed by Frank Dubas, President of the Garden. Frank is also responsible for the Garden’s unique design and construction. Marywood students, faculty, and staff have been collaborating with Frank on the project for several years. Branding, including the logo for the Garden, was created and developed by Marywood students. Tom McLean & Associates provided landscape design. Jerry Chilewski Enterprises constructed the Garden. Principal faculty from Marywood University involved with the project include: Michelle Pannone, SBGI Executive Director & Associate Professor; Sara Melick, Assistant Professor of Practice in Environmental Science; Sue Jenkins, Associate Professor of Art and Design, and Christine Medley, Associate Professor of Graphic Design. Students and recent graduates involved with the project include: Environmental Science: Juan Cardenas, Emily Haggerty, Carly Walters, and Bailey White. Graphic Design: Kristina Zenga, Marlena Bompane, Marykate Boyle, Danae Drews, Jad Tindall, Alexander Shields, Caitlinn Belcher, Emily Duris, Marla Gambucci, Reece Wolbert, Allison MacDermott, Shanon Sohl, Gabby Ziegler, and Daniele Cragle. Architecture: Nicholas Baney, Kyle Brosenne, Giavanna Burdick, Brianna Conniff, Lois Downing, Iain Kerrigan, Daniel Leonard, Tristan Luczak, Thomas Milewski, Megan Pavlowski, Christopher Salisbury, Joseph Sanfilippo, Autumn Savitski, Angelika Valdes, and Lenae Burkhard. Marketing: Kathleen Lynott.
Johnson College to Hold Decision Day for Military Service Members Johnson College’s Instant Decision Day for Veterans and those currently serving in the U.S. Military will be held on Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held virtually and in person on the College’s Scranton campus in Ideal Saldi Hall. To register to attend in person or virtually, visit Johnson.edu/instant. During the Instant Decision Event, Johnson College will provide prospective veteran students and those currently serving in the U.S. military with an immediate enrollment decision. They must supply their high school transcripts and can bring their college and military transcripts if applicable. It is highly recommended that the prospective student complete an application before attending. Applications for Johnson College’s Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, and Veterinary Nursing programs are excluded from instant decisions.
The Wright Center to Host Tinnitus Support Group The Tinnitus Support Group of Northeast Pennsylvania will meet on Friday, May 2, at 2 p.m. at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. Virtual meeting options are available for those unable to attend in person. The support group welcomes individuals living with tinnitus, their loved ones, and anyone interested in learning more about this complex audiological and neurological condition. Participants can connect, share their experiences, and explore coping strategies in a compassionate and supportive environment. At the May meeting, Lisa Rigau, a registered nurse, nutrition counselor, and community educator of health, wellness, mindfulness, and nutrition, will guide mindfulness practices and offer daily exercises to support attention and self-care while living with tinnitus. Since 2003, she has been the owner of Healthy Lifestyle Management, where she provides private and group nutrition counseling, stress management through mindfulness, and educates clients on the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine: Plant-Predominant Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management, Sleep, Social Relationships, and Avoidance of Risky Substances. Rigau is a certified mindfulness teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction through the Mindfulness Center at Brown University and the Brown School of Professional Studies and School of Public Health. She is a certified Mindful Eating-Conscious LivingTM teacher and certified mentor through the University of California, San Diego, having trained directly with the program’s creators, Jan Chozen Bays, M.D., and Char Wilkins, LCSW. Over the last 20 years, she has taught numerous workshops and lectures, eight-week courses, team-building retreats, and wellness programs. Her passion is to experientially teach health and wellness to support every individual’s greatest health potential. The support group meets the first Friday of each month from 2-3 p.m. For more information or to obtain the virtual meeting link, contact Nicole Flynn, director of the geriatrics service line at The Wright Center for Community Health, at flynnn@TheWrightCenter.org or 570-230-0019.
Leadership Lackawanna Alumni Volunteer Opportunity Calling all Alumni! We’d love for you to join us as we revisit the Core Program 2023–2024 Parker Street Landing project. ICYMI, this project incorporated a picnic area, sensory garden, raised flower beds, interpretive signage, and an educational space at Parker Street Trailhead in the Greenridge section of Scranton. We ask that you bring your own gardening supplies. If you’d also like to BYO flowers, herbs, and soil, or seed packets for the seed library, that would be greatly appreciated! Date: Saturday, May 10th at 10 a.m. Location: Parker Street Landing, 12 E. Parker Street, Scranton, PA 18508 RSVP to Jen at jstrzelec@scrantonchamber.com by Friday, May 9th Hope to see you there!
Mondano Sets Grand Opening for Restaurant, Bar, and Banquet Room On Tuesday, May 13 at 4:00 pm, restauranteur Dominic Saadi will cut the ribbon on Mondano, his new restaurant, bar, and banquet room on Main Street in Old Forge. Saadi is familiar to local diners from his previous restaurants: The Café in downtown Scranton, The New Café in Clarks Summit, and The Café at Greystone Gardens. Mondano joins the dining establishments on Old Forge’s busy restaurant row, distinguishing itself by its global menu, which changes monthly. Working with local farmers, Mondano sources most of its fresh ingredients right in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania—and that farm-to-table freshness is on full display with the May menu, loaded with spring vegetables and boasting dishes from more than a dozen countries, including robust vegan and gluten-free options. May’s 14-ounce pork chop can be ordered in a Greek, Italian, or Vietnamese style, and the chicken cutlet can be prepared according to the style of four dierent countries: chicken marsala (Italy), chicken française (France), chicken katsu (Japan), or pomegranate lemon chicken (Lebanon). “There’s something for everyone here,” comments Saadi. “For those who prefer simpler, more familiar foods, there’s a steak, lamb chops, crab cakes, and homemade pasta. And those hoping for something a bit more exotic will find a North African Tagine Bowl, Spanish Romesco, Puerto Rican Tostones, and Monkfish. He adds, “If anything has struck us, it has been the immense popularity of our German dishes, like Jägershnitzel and Sauerbraten. I imagine there will always be at least one German dish on the menu for the foreseeable future.” Also always on the menu: the Mediterranean Tasting and Lebanese Baked Kibbeh—both from recipes passed down in Saadi’s Lebanese family, which has owned restaurants for three generations. At the bar, Mondano has entered a partnership with Grovedale Winery of Wyalusing, allowing restaurant patrons to purchase wines by the glass, by the bottle, and even by the case. A wide selection of beers and classic cocktails is supplemented by a growing list of nonalcoholic cocktails, pursuing one of the fastest-growing trends in the hospitality industry. On Friday nights, Mondano’s bar offers a 5 to 7 pm Happy Hour, complete with a complimentary appetizer plate, drink specials, and live piano music. While the restaurant launched in late November and the bar began serving alcohol a month later, Mondano’s banquet hall hosted its first event in April. Located on the lower level of the building, the Mondano banquet room can host dinners and parties of up to 150 people and meetings up to 200. With its own catering kitchen, bar, restrooms, coat check, and two entrances, the catering operation can function independently of the restaurant, while still offering the same high-quality food and exceptional service for which Mondano is already making a name for itself. Mondano’s busy calendar is punctuated by special events. On the first Sunday of every month, Mondano hosts a Lebanese dinner from 1 to 5 pm, with a four-course meal of entirely Lebanese food. On the last Monday of each month, the restaurant holds a five-course plant-based international tasting, highlighting vegan food from around the world. And every week, Mondano hosts $29 Tuesday, offering 3 courses from the current month’s menu for just $29! Then there are the one-time events, like the Italian Opera Dinner coming up on Sunday, May 25 at 3 pm—a five course Italian meal with members of the Mostly Opera ensemble performing Italian arias and street songs in between each course. In cooperation with the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, the Grand Opening is designed to introduce participants to all three major components of the business: the restaurant, the bar, and the banquet hall. The event is open to the media, local dignitaries, and the public, with RSVPs requested by calling the restaurant at (570) 471-3230 or visiting the RSVP page on its website: www.MondanoRestaurant.com/rsvp. Complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. For those wishing to dine afterwards, regular table service will open immediately following the ribbon cutting.
Geisinger to Host Sip and Self-Care Breast Bash Free event features breast care information, spa treatments and refreshments Join Geisinger’s breast health team for the Sip and Self-Care Breast Bash on Wednesday, May 14 from 4 – 8 p.m. The free evening of information and personal pampering will be held in the main lobby of Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center at 1000 E. Mountain Boulevard, Wilkes-Barre. Attendees will learn about the comprehensive breast services offered at Geisinger and will connect with members of the breast care team who will discuss the latest in breast health, screenings and genetics. Presentations will happen every hour with the last presentation taking place at 7:15 p.m. There will also be mini-facials and chair massages, available on a first come, first served basis, a sound bath demonstration by The Cancer Wellness center of NEPA, refreshments and mocktails. Limited spaces are available. Register now at geisinger.org/selfcarebash
