One Beer Lasts 17 Years

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Pen & Lens!

Once again, the Center City Weekly Press has published my story of my favorite St. Patrick's Day of all time, the one on which I had my first beer with my Pop back home in Boston many years ago. It was a Miller High Life.

In honor of that, I serve the "Champagne of Bottled Beer" at a St. Paddy's Day supper every year.

To read the story, click here.

The video shows some random good times being had over the years. Looks like the High Life, and a few other brands here and there, have been a part of them.

Red Ball Keeps Red Cross in the Black

On Saturday, March 6, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross held their annual fundraiser, the Red Ball at the Please Touch Museum.

Always a fun venue for an event like this. You get to watch grown men and women in tuxes and dresses--in this case mostly red dresses--trying to crawl around and enjoy all the exhibits at the Museum.

Did I menion it's a children's museum?

It was a good night for the Red Cross. They raised $285,000.

And, they had 1,134 attendees, which was one attendee too many if you ask me. Some guy in front of me in line to ride the carousel kept elbowing me repeatedly.

Jerk.

You can see some of the pictures and video below, and you can read my short piece on the event at the Weekly Press here.

(Photos and video by Kerry O'Connor & A.N. O'Connor)

"Valentine To The Market" Gets Lots of Love For Reading Terminal Market

On Saturday, I covered the "Valentine To The Market" fundraiser for Reading Terminal Market...at Reading Terminal Market.

The open bars did not want for action, live music from latin swing to reggae could be found at different locations, and 25 of the historic marketplace's food vendors gave attendees plenty to burn off on the dance floor.

To read the story I wrote for the Weekly Press, click here.
(Photos and video by K.O'Connor & A.N. O'Connor)

Shane The Humane

On Monday, January 31, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association held their 107th Annual Awards Dinner.

As a member, I was asked to present Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino with our humanitarian award.

You can read my piece about Shane's charitable endeavors in the Center City Weekly Press by clicking here.

(Photo by Joe Vallee philly2philly.com)

You can also see some footage of my exclusive interview with the Flyin' Hawaiian before the dinner in the video below. There's also a video of Shane's acceptance of the award (Video by take 3 productions)

Mazel Tov! National Museum of American Jewish History Opens Its Doors

This past weekend, I dusted off the ol' dinner jacket and bow tie to cover the grand opening gala of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

The museum is down on Independence Mall, right near Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Constitution Center.

The musuem is wonderful, and the exhibits and message ring true for anybody with an immigrant story in their family background...

...and that's just about all of us.

The gala featured entertainment by Jerry Seinfeld and Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand made an appearance.

The rack of lamb they fed guests looked fantastic. Me, I was fed corned beef sandwiches along with the other reporters.

To read my story in the Weekly Press, click here.

(Photos by A. N. O'Connor)

American Heart Association Gives Out Over $16 Million in Grants to Local Organizations for Cardiac and Stroke Research

The American Heart Association is a great organization. They recently recognized some of the local organizations that they gave funded to in order to fight heart disease and stroke.

A nice thing about the reception was that folks who have benefited from the funding--as in those who would not be alive today without it--were there. I met a guy names Jason Holmes who had a heart attack when he was 31.

I'm 33.

His story hit home to me.

To read about the American Heart Association and Jason, click here and go to page 5.

Cheerleader Alumni Video to Help Cure Breast Cancer Now up and Running

Two weeks ago, I broke the story about former NFL cheerleaders who were creating a video that would serve as a fundraiser for the Philadelphia Chapter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, which is determined to find a cure for breast cancer.

The video, which features a dance routine performed by former cheerleaders from the 60's on up to the present day, has officially been released on YouTube.

Every time someone clicks on the video, 10 cents is donated to the Philadelphia Chapter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

You can view the video here. Give a click, and donate to a worthy cause.