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EVENTFUL: Winter dance, New Year’s purification event, ‘Bloom Henge’ and more this weekend

Swingin' into Hustle hosts a dance on the first Saturday of every month at the Clarks Summit Fire Company.
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Swingin' into Hustle
Swingin' into Hustle hosts a dance on the first Saturday of every month at the Clarks Summit Fire Company.

The first weekend of 2025 will provide opportunities to see the sunset, learn to dance and cleanse your energy for the new year.

Winter Dance with Swingin’ into Hustle

Jill Wetzel and Philip Spinka are certified dance instructors and DJs. They started a local community called Swingin’ into Hustle, and host dances on the first Saturday of every month at the Clarks Summit Fire Company.

The Happy New Year’s Winter Dance Saturday, Jan. 4 will allow dancers of all skill levels to socialize and learn in a fun environment.

Jill Wetzel (left) and Philip Spinka (right) started the Swingin' into Hustle dance community about five years ago.
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Swingin' into Hustle
Jill Wetzel (left) and Philip Spinka (right) started the Swingin' into Hustle dance community about five years ago.

The event will start with lessons, one for beginners at 7 p.m., and an intermediate lesson beginning at 7:30 p.m. Starting at 8 p.m., the DJs will play a mix of West Coast hustle, swing and other music.

“We play a California mix,” Spinka said. “We play about half ballroom and Latin, because we have a big group of ballroom dancers, and then we play a lot of swing and hustle and some country and some tango.”

The cost is $18 and dancers can bring their own food and drinks.

The instructors say the environment is welcoming to new dancers.

“You can do a couple dances during the evening or you can stay on the floor the whole night,” Wetzel said. “There’s opportunities for people who are there mainly to socialize and for people who are there mainly to dance.”

They will also host a six-week hustle dance class for beginner and intermediate dancers starting Jan. 30.

Jill Wetzel and Philip Spinka on Haley's Happy Hour
Wetzel and Spinka are certified dance instructors and DJs. They host a dance every month in Clarks Summit.

Swingin' into Hustle Winter Dance
Saturday, Jan 4
7 - 11 p.m.
Clarks Summit Fire Company
335 Bedford St., Clarks Summit

'Bloom Henge'

A unique phenomenon at sunset will coincide with First Friday in Bloomsburg Jan. 3.

Known as Manhattanhenge in New York, it’s a rare opportunity to see the sun set perfectly aligned with the street.

Oren Helbok, executive director of The Exchange on Main Street in Bloomsburg, found that it happens in his town near the winter solstice. He used a tool called the Photographer’s Ephemeris, which shows the position of the sun anywhere on Earth.

“The first year we had, I don't know, 15 or 20 people, and we went out on the street and we looked down Main Street,” Helbok said. “To give people the opportunity, the excuse, to pay attention to how their town fits into the universe, that there is a direct connection between the sun and us when we can see it on our street, people are excited by that.”

'Bloom Henge' occurs in Bloomsburg near the winter solstice, in which the sun sets in between buildings, perfectly aligned with Main Street.
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The Exchange
'Bloom Henge' occurs in Bloomsburg near the winter solstice, in which the sun sets in between buildings, perfectly aligned with Main Street.

The public is invited to gather outside The Exchange, 24 E. Main St., Bloomsburg at sunset, just before 5 p.m. First Friday activities will follow with live music, vendors and more in the downtown area.

'Bloom Henge'
Sunset, roughly 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3
24 East Main St., Bloomsburg

Purification and Labyrinth Walk

The indoor labyrinth will be dimly lit for the self-guided, self-paced walk through.
Wyoming Valley CUUPS
The indoor labyrinth will be dimly lit for the self-guided, self-paced walk through.

Wyoming Valley CUUPS will host a New Year Purification Ritual & Labyrinth Walk at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wyoming Valley Friday evening, Jan. 3.

The ritual will allow participants to “release the shadows of 2024,” with elemental guides along the self-guided journey, which will end with meditation.

Shannon Saylor is the manager of Wyoming Valley CUUPS, which stands for Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans.

"It is a journey through the elements," she explained. "The setting will be very like dimly, dimly lit. It'll be very meditative. And then you'll be guided through ... there is a different element with different altars that asks a different question. So for the example, the first one we have is water, and each one, each element, aligns with a kind of a different part of ourselves."

Participants will be prompted with questions including, "What is holding you back?" and "What patterns can you release?"
Wyoming Valley CUUPS
Participants will be prompted with questions including, "What is holding you back?" and "What patterns can you release?"

The purification ritual also will be held online on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.

Other Events:

  • A spaghetti and meatballs fundraiser at Wyoming Hose Company #2 will benefit the Wyoming Free Library. Meals are $12 and include a salad and dessert. The event if from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
  • Ballroom ONE Dance Company in Archbald will host a Happy Swift Year party Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children will dance and celebrate a balloon drop at noon. The cost is $25 per child.
  • Blind Cat Brewing in Pittston will host a Chili Cook-Off. It will cost $5 to sample a dozen different recipes from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Haley O'Brien is a newscast host on WVIA Radio during All Things Considered, weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m. She is also WVIA's Community Engagement Reporter, and writes a weekly series titled "Eventful," featuring weekend events planned for around the region. Listen to the accompanying radio segment, Haley's Happy Hour, Thursdays at 5:44 p.m.

You can email Haley at haleyobrien@wvia.org