Combination First Friday Binghamton Ny & Julyfest Binghamton night on the town! So much fun! the night started in the artist camp on Washington Avenue at Cindy Peters Rotella‘s Happy Hour; then came the Phelps Mansion Museumtour with Joan E.Davis (what no pics ladies??); then on to the Artisan Gallery of the Broome County Arts Council with the 3D trio playing; a taste of the Splash Band Concert at JulyFest Binghamton before heading north on Washington Ave to the Cooperative Gallery 213 where I met a fascinating Russian artist Alla Boldina and the three founding ladies of the gallery; then I met Christina with The Memory Maker Project… and back to Julyfest where I ran into Jeff & Jean from the Phelkps Mansion tour… two sweethearts from high school in JC who are still very much in love with each other! It’s a;; right there, all you have to do is go after it and make a commitment! TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY)!!! (Andy Reistetter; 7/5/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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WOW, not sure I have ever seen a parade like that! Such a great American Spirit in Montrose, PA! Fun time with my friend Marie, aka Ellen Ruspantini Jackson, BCHS Reunion Chairwoman and like 10,000 other Patriots! Happy 4th of July fellow Americans! USA, USA, USA!!! So blessed to be an American! TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY)!!! (Andy Reistetter; 7/4/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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With Lubormyr the Ukrainian Historian!

Another great Sacred Heart Ukrainian Festival this year! I enjoy the community atmosphere, the people, the music, and of course the food too!

Arts & Crafts were beautiful too! Humdinger ice cream from the one and only Humdinger on Upper Front Street too! I even learned where their name came from!

Quite an interesting conversation with Sacred Heart Church Historian Lubormyr at the Sacred Heart Ukrainian Festival! He was in the Ukraine recently as an election observer. He knew a lot about my Slovak & Czech history too and why there are relatively short and relatively tall Ukrainians back home!

So far I have not missed a beat or a weekend festival; now 5-for-5 (not that I am counting) and losing weight thank you Court Jester Athletic Club (yoga & swim)! Annunciation Greek, Festival/First Friday; St. Anthony’s Italian Feast; Owego Strawberry Festival; Binghamton’s Juneteenth Celebration; Sacred Heart Ukrainian Festival so far… this week is Julyfest in Downtown Binghamton, then St. John’s Ukrainian Days (vs. Festival), then my favorite the Slovak St. Cyril’s Parish Festival!

Needless to write… TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY)!!!

(Andy Reistetter; 6/29/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

CLICK HERE for St. John’s 92nd Annual Ukrainian Weekend Festival

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Another incredible treasure in my hometown of Binghamton, NY! Can you tell I am loving the Summer of 2019! So much fun spending a few hours saying hello to God’s wonderful creatures! So close and such an intimate setting they are like pets! My favorites were the Johnny Hart’s dinosaur, the nubian goat who picture posed for me, the red panda (of course!), the turtle chomping on the grass, the cougar (not sure if a lady cougar?), the Amazon parrot, the coyotes, the sleepy Amur leopard, the African penguins, the dwarf caiman (a Florida alligator to me!), the green aracari, and of course the free merry-go-round (carousel)! Admission cost? $4, what a deal on (half-price) day, thank you Magic 101.7 FM 102.5 The Vault Day at the Zoo! Much gratitude to the Southern Tier Zoological Society and the City of Binghamton for preserving and enhancing this childhood memory of mine! Hey what happened to the helicopter ride? TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY)www.SplendidSpiritualSelf.com (Andy Reistetter; 6/29/19; Facebook Post with 31 Pics)

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Attended Juneteenth! Binghamton’s Annual Community Celebration this afternoon! Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in our United States of America. The Civil War ended on June 19th, 1865 and President Abraham Lincoln’s Executive Proclamation freed all the slaves. One of Binghamton’s strengthens is diversity. It was great to meet so many citizens dedicated to make my hometown a better place to live for all residents! Lots of contacts and connections to follow up! Thank you to the Binghamton Juneteenth Committee for doing a fantastic job organizing, planning, and conducting a great event on a beautiful summer afternoon! See WBNG-TV’s feature story ion the event n the first comment below! (Andy Reistetter; 6/22/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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Boys night out to watch the Binghamton Rumble Ponies play Richmond! Was a 4some but one guy evidently does not want his picture on Facebook! Locals know him as ‘Mr. Baseball.’ A liitle golf too as he covers the DSGO & likes to walk across fairways with the pro golfers on the tee! Trying to shame him into a pic our next time out! Great atmosphere at the ballpark! Spectacular fireworks show afterwards too! Flying Squirrels beat the Rumble Poines 4-1 in a good game! See ya out at the ballpark! (Andy Reistetter; 6/22/19; Facebook Post with 25 Pics)

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THIS weekend was the Owego Strawberry Festival… following the Greek Festival and the Italian Feast… I am loving my summer stay in my hometown of Binghamton, New York! Four stages, countless bands, people watching (love the last pic!), and STRAWBERRIES Galore! For $18 I had two strawberry shortcakes (another celebratory slip on my healthy eating), one with ice cream, both with whipped cream, a strawberry cooler, and a strawberry daiquiri with alcohol (rum), both with whipped cream! No wonder I am whipped tonight! And I thought Florida was an inexpensive place to live! Great tour of the historic Elks Mansion, clubhouse, & meeting place from the Exalted Ruler Steve Gregory! Great organization! And Lupos Spiedies, months ahead of the DSGO! “Oh we go (Owego)” places! Strawberry Fields Forever! Next weekend…

(Andy Reistetter; 6/15/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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Terrific Executive Wellness Summit today! Resounding success! Historic meeting place; health fair, great speakers, very well organized!Congratulations to my friend Debbie Morello who was the keynote speaker, outstanding presentation! I never knew that the American Heart Association was all emcompassing holistic wellness!I already feel healthier! #AHANewYork (Andy Reistetter; 6/12/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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So I am not sure what folks in Binghamton do in the winter but I am sure getting the hang of what they do come summertime! One festival right after another! First the Greek Festival, then this Italian Feast Festival and next up is the Strawberry Festival! All great ideas for folks to get together, have fun, and support the many & diverse faith communities of the Greater Binghamton area, a.k.a. thee Triples Cities of Binghamton, Johnson City, & Endicott! And we haven’t even made a dent in the Summer of 2019 schedule with St. Cyril’s Slovak Festival and Keith Urban and the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open still a couple months away! I think this is the first time that I was ever inside the St. Anthony of Paduca Church; absolutely beautiful! “Oh we go” to the Strawberry Festival in Owego! (Andy Reistetter; 6-14-19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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What a great PAST event; the 30th Annual Garden Tour Meandering through Maine, NY! So many great ideas to start my own garden! In fact I already started planting! Heddy in her Hideaway Haven gave everyone a free plant & as many daffodil bulbs as you wanted! Thank you to all 7 wonderful host homes that opened up their homes! All the gardens were so beautiful & so in bloom! One thing I did notice was that all 7 had some sort of garden house, shed, or barn! Looks like I will have to redo the site plan for ‘Close to Heaven!’ Great organization, join PAST! Also just saying that my friend Stan’s house was on the tour & his wife Sue was the perfect host! Where was Stan??? Out golfing! Talk about lucking out & marrying the right woman! TROML Baby (an exclamation of JOY)! (Andy Reistetter; 6/8/19; Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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