Travel & Tourism

Summer is prime vacation season when travelers take trips to ev-ery corner of the world. While faraway destina-tions abound, those look-ing for fun can also ind enjoyable activities much closer to home.

Many communities come alive during the warmer weather, hosting an array of locally driven events. People looking for a day of entertainment or an evening of excitement may be able to ind an event that’s just a short car ride away.

Pick up the Wells-boro Gazette or visit your hometown cham-ber’s website to browse a listing of events in your community this summer. Here are a few events you’re bound to ind.

• Carnivals and fun fairs: Open land or empty parking lots can be trans-formed into bustling car-nivals in a matter of days. Carnivals or fairs may be sponsored by private businesses or local reli-gious organizations look-ing to raise funds. Some

fairs are established by the county and attract participants from near and far. Carnivals often boast a wide array of en-tertainment, from amuse-ment park-style rides to games of chance to music.

• Summer concert se-ries: Summer concerts series typically begin when the weather warms up, and music may not stop playing until Labor Day. Concerts may range from more intimate af-fairs that attract a few dozen people to a town square to larger events at beaches and boardwalks that draw thousands of visitors.

• Food festivals: Vari-ous towns close down their Main Streets from time to time to accom-modate food festivals that feature a variety of cuisines. Some food fes-tivals may feature one in-gredient, such as garlic or cheese, while others may delve deeper and offer broader menus.

Food festivals allow visitors to sample many different treats and may

Summer fun close to home

photo provided

Check the town bulletin for a list of entertaining summer events right in your own backyard.

222 Main Street Blossburg, PA 16912

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The Victoria Theatre, located at 222 Main St., Blossburg, has recently added the beneit of closed-captioning and hearing impaired devices to customers that have hearing loss to enjoy a night out at the movies.

This technology is possible since the in-stallation of the digital projection equipment at the theatre and gener-ous donations from the Williamson Road and the Marsha Kay Mase foundations.

The equipment will be available for use free of charge to movie-goers.

The equipment pur-chased are two closed captioning glasses that receive captions via in-fared energy for cus-tomers with very im-paired hearing and two headphone receivers for those with less hearing impairments.

Through the closed-captioning glasses the text is projected into the movie-goer’s view and the user can adjust the position of the text. The engineered optics make the captions appear as a distant virtual image which minimizes the eye strain due to refocus-ing between text and the movie image.

Movie-goers may se-lect one of up to four cap-tion languages delivered with the movie as well.

The use of infrared transmission eliminates interference from adja-cent auditoriums or ra-dio transmitters.

With use of the hearing impaired devices there is high quality sound en-

suring maximum intel-ligibiity for the hearing and visually impaired.

The devices allow the movie-goers to mix HI and VI-N audio. The user hears the sound track and a description of the screen action at a recep-tion speed of 2.3 or 2.8 MHz.

The devices are de-signed for low distortion and high clarity with the headphones providing DC and AC magnetic ields to drive automatic switching telecoils in hearing aids.

The devices also in-clude a 3.5mm jack to drive neck loops or direct audio inputs on hear-ing aids and implants, powered by two AAA batteries.

Installation of the equipment will be taken care of by New England Theatre Service, at out of Beacon Falls, Conn.

The Victoria Theatre has been entertaining the surrounding com-munities since before the 1900’s.

Hosts Tom and Tonya McNamara have brought life back to the theatre in the last couple of years, with a digital projection and sound installation in 2014.

The Victoria Theatre was named the St. James Theatre during a time period of it being sub-leased for a few months in 1976, before being re-named back to the Victo-ria Theatre.

Check out movie times and prices online at http://www.VictoriaB-lossburg.com or call the ofice line at 570-638-3456.

serve to advertise for neighborhood eating establishments.

• Street fairs: Street fairs also may close down thoroughfares in town. These events usually bring together a variety of vendors selling their wares in an open market setting. You can make a day of touring all of the vendor booths and buy-ing handmade items from local artisans.

• Outdoor movies: Lo-cal parks frequently host summer movie nights when participants can view a movie on the big screen while under the stars. This can be an in-formal way to get the entire family together for a fun lick. Films are typi-cally family-friendly and schedules are available well in advance. Bring a blanket and some snacks and enjoy an inexpensive evening together.

Many people need not travel far for a little sum-mertime fun, as many communities host fun events throughout the warmer months.

photo by NATALIE KENNEDY

Tom and Tonya McNamara are hosts of the Victoria Theatre, located at 222 Main St., Blossburg.

Victoria Theatre adds hearing

impaired devices

Find time in your schedule to travelTraveling abroad is a

dream for many people. Whether they are trac-ing their ancestries to a foreign country or sim-ply enjoying the thrill of exploring the cultures of other nations.

As memorable as in-ternational trips can be, they also can be quite expensive. Here are many ways that trav-elers can save money when traveling abroad.

• Look for locals when dining out. Res-taurants illed with your fellow tourists may boast great food, but such eateries also tend to cater to tourists and therefore charge more money. When din-ing out, look for restau-rants visited primarily by locals, as such locales tend to offer authentic local cuisine at lower prices than restaurants.

• Consider traveling off-season. Every desti-nation, be it domestic or international, has a tour-ist season and an offsea-son. If you are willing to travel abroad during the offseason, then you can save a substantial amount of money on lodging and airfare.

• Contact relatives in advance. If you are traveling abroad to re-search your ancestry, then chances are you still have some rela-tives who can show you around town and even put you up for a night. Locals will know where you can get the best meals or gifts without going broke, and con-necting with an over-seas relative can be a great way to learn about your family history.

• When traveling in re-gions of the world where mass transportation is how locals get around, utilize this method of get-ting from point A to point B. Mass transportation is less expensive than taxis or car rentals, and you will get a chance to expe-rience an authentic taste of local life.

• Traveling in a group is another way to save money when traveling abroad. Travel with another couple or family so you can split the cost of a hotel suite or rental car. Travelers who travel in groups may also be eligible for group discounts that make it even more ad-vantageous to travel as more than just one or two people.

• Avoid overtipping. Whether you’re grab-bing a quick drink or sitting down to a big meal, tips are already included on the tab in many foreign countries. Conirm if this is the case in the country you will be visiting.