TheBurg

04.18 | theburgnews.com | 11 news I t seems like every other weekend brings a new road closure to Harrisburg. Predictable weekend maneuvers down 2nd Street can no longer be taken for granted. And, more often than not, you're forced to find an alternate route because the city is making way for community events at an unprecedented frequency and scale. For decades, Artsfest and Kipona have served as the bookends of summer for the greater Harrisburg area. For two holiday weekends, these cornerstones of community celebration draw the focus to our region and showcase the city's architectural and natural beauty. More recently, winter events have taken center stage. Christmas at Italian Lake hosted by the Bethesda Mission brought a Christmas market and carriage rides to Uptown. e city's Ice and Fire Festival transformed a downtown block of 2nd Street into an ice skating rink. Runners and walkers regularly lace up and take to the pavement through the YMCA race series and a packed schedule of walks and runs, raising funds for a diverse set of worthwhile causes. Not to mention the HBG Flea, SoMa block parties, home tours, local theater events, music festivals, 3rd in the Burg, Gallery Walk and a host of others too numerous to list. Harrisburg is not without its challenges, but we can confidently strike boredom from the list. If you allow it, the city will easily fill your calendar. If you have shied away from attending these events in the city, perhaps it's for practical reasons. Parking may not be ideal—you might have to walk a block or two farther than you'd like. e weather isn't 75 degrees and sunny. You don't know who else will be there. Now, think about the last time a vacation or weekend trip took you to another city with time to explore. If there were similar opportunities to engage with an unfamiliar community, did you allow the same apprehension to stop you? Or did you approach the new place with a tourist's sense of curiosity and spontaneity? When you have the opportunity, look at Harrisburg through the eyes of a tourist. Allow curiosity to lead you into the city. And welcome the detours that divert automobiles in favor of foot traffic. If you're open to it, you'll feel the same energy and excitement at Harrisburg's events as you would in your travels anywhere else. You can engage your senses, taking in visual beauty, fresh flavors and local chatter. We allow ourselves to romanticize these notions when strolling in a favorite vacation spot, but to escape into our own community may not always come as naturally. And we might not be as willing to forgive minor inconveniences in order to have these experiences in our hometown. Temporarily viewing our community from the perspective of a visitor allows us to shrug off our typical assumptions about Harrisburg and leaves us open to the steady stream of opportunities to gather within it. Simply attending a community event is a contribution in itself, requiring an investment of time and attention. Organizers vie for your attendance because the success of these events depends on it. When you're finished reading, flip to the events calendar in the back of this issue, and you're guaranteed to find an occasion that will pique your interest. Sharpen the focus of your tourist lens, get energized by the potential of the experience and attend. Feel the sublime energy of enjoying together, reconnect with a facet of the arts that you've always loved, be inspired by stampedes of runners and walkers, or contribute to a cause that moves you. Becoming involved in the planning and execution of these events adds another dimension of meaning to them. Assuming a volunteer role quickly lends an appreciation for the logistics, forethought and coordination required to produce the sense of community that attendees seek. e few hours spent at a registration table, a water stand or an information booth generate a connection to people who care about the community and who give their time to serve it. ese are the unexpected places where lifelong friendships are formed and nurtured. If you already engage with the organizations that present events for the community, you probably can't imagine the city without the richness they bring to your life. e relationships you've built through your work, the growth you've witnessed in those who have recently discovered service, and the life these events bring to our community drive you to continue. ere are some for whom service and leadership appear to come naturally—maybe they're born extroverts, or it has been ingrained in them from the time they were in grade school. For those who feel like they're on the outside looking in, it may seem like there isn't a need to participate. "ey already have enough people." "I have nothing novel to contribute." Ask any of the organizers of these events if they need volunteers, and the overwhelming majority will tell you they can always use more help. A rich tapestry of diverse and meaningful experiences in service awaits you in Harrisburg. e first step is simply to choose an event and attend. From there, who knows? What you begin as a tourist, you just might finish as a tour guide. Sydney L. Kyler is chief operating officer for Enders, a community publisher for eBurg. HoMetoWn touRist Approach Harrisburg with fresh eyes, a sense of adventure. bY sYDneY L. KYLer FRee eveninG PaRkinG Free parking could come to downtown Harrisburg as early as this month, as City Council passed a resolution that would offset street parking costs after 5 p.m. Council agreed unanimously last month to join Dauphin County and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID) in ponying up money to offset parking revenues that operator Park Harrisburg would lose between 5 and 7 p.m. "I think it's a boost for the city," Mayor Eric Papenfuse said. "I think it will lead to more people visiting downtown." Harrisburg's contribution will amount to $110,000 over the next year and will come from money that the parking system already owes the city, said Papenfuse. e county has also pledged $110,000, and HDID will pay $50,000. e county and HDID had hoped for a three-year deal, though council approved just a one-year test period. By entering into the "memorandum of understanding," the three entities—the city, county and HDID—must finalize the exchange with the parking system operator. Papenfuse has said he expects no pushback, as the system operator, SP+/Park Harrisburg, and its asset manager, Trimont, just want to ensure that contributions offset lost revenue, which, last year, amounted to $270,000 between 5 and 7 p.m. Papenfuse said the parking subsidy could kick in as soon as April, but may take longer. Since 2014, the city has tried several tactics to mitigate the cost of street parking. First, the Papenfuse administration convinced the system's operators to lower the "happy hour" rate from $3 to $2 an hour between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. It later turned many of downtown's loading zones into 15-minute free parking areas. Nonetheless, downtown bar and restaurant owners continued to complain about a loss of business, which they largely blame on high parking rates. If implemented, the plan would come with some conditions. First, it would apply only to street, not garage, parking. Secondly, it would take effect only within the HDID boundaries, which run downtown from State to Chestnut streets. neW DistRicts uPHelD Pennsylvania's redrawn congressional districts withstood two court challenges last month, clearing the way for some areas, including the Harrisburg area, to be unified under new district lines. First, a three-judge federal panel threw out a Republican-led challenge to the new district map. e same day, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Republican request for an emergency stay that would block use of the new map in this year's elections. As a result, the state Supreme Court's redrawn district map will stand. is includes a new 10th congressional district that encompasses all of Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York counties, including Harrisburg, York and Carlisle. e primary election is slated for May 15.

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