Ideas for meeting new people in the Wilkes-Barre area (Scranton: loft, hotel)

[Contriver]

I recently moved back to the Wilkes-Barre area and I'd like to meet some new people. Anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking about getting involved with a volunteering group. Anyone know of any active groups with a good amount of young members? 20s/30s? Also, what about cooking classes? Are there any here?

[covebound]

Or you can try volunteering. Going to Church and volunteer also. You can meet alot of people if you choose to. Talk to the local people also in the stores. You can even find some nice people right here on the forums.

[SteelCityRising]

Our church group has been very active in the past in helping out with the Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO), and I've always found it to be quite rewarding to bring a smile to the face of a family in need during difficult economic times. Barnes & Noble also has various monthly book club meetings which could be a good way to meet other 20 and 30-something intellectuals. I'm still in college (King's) and am a lifelong resident of Luzerne County, so I'm blessed to have social networking opportunities right at my fingertips. As such I'm probably not the best one to talk to for ideas about meeting new people. Nevertheless, you may also want to contact POWER (Professionals Organized and Working to Enrich the Region), which is a relatively-new local group of mostly 30-somethings who have all sorts of social functions aimed at improving the community. There's also a group called Rediscover Scranton that just formed, and I'm trying to get more information about that; I just added their group on MySpace. Also, the best resource for you right now might be to pick up an issue of Happenings Magazine, as they list just about every little event occurring in the region (although most are based up in the Scranton area).

What are your interests? I've been looking for a running partner for quite some time now---All of my friends are, to put it nicely, "Horizontally Well-Endowed." Also, I'm not sure if you're a minority or not, but there are a variety of resources cropping up for Hispanics, African-Americans, and our hidden yet growing GLBT community. Welcome back to the Diamond City!

[SteelCityRising]

As far as cooking classes are concerned, the Torte Knox Culinary Institute in Hawley, about an hour or so northeast of Wilkes-Barre, is well-established in the region. I don't know of any other local culinary classes, but if I should hear of any, I'll let you know.

[Contriver]

Thanks alot for the feedback guys! I'm interested (in no particular order and in varying degrees of interest) in mountain biking, hiking, trail running, kayaking, cooking, fishing, photography, nature conservation, visiting NYC, I'd like to try cross country skiing, and simply helping others in general.

I am thinking that I might also be into something like an adult soccer league (as long as it isn't too intense since I've never played the game before).

I found a web site for the local branch of Habitat for Humanity and I see that they have a project going on in WB so I might check that out too since building things is also an interest of mine and I think that would be a great opportunity to be able to help a family in need.

ScrantonWB, if you don't mind revealing, what church do you belong to?

The book meeting thing sounds interesting. What exactly happens at one? BTW, I definately need to go check out that new B+N. I've seen it just driving past and it looks really nice there. In fact, not to go off in a different direction here, but its amazing to see the transformation of the square. I recently took my sister, whom is attending college out of state and hasn't seen that area in a while. for a ride around to see what has changed. She was very impressed by the look of things like the new movie theatre, the B+N, the billiards place, club mardi gras, and such.

I will take a look into POWER. Rediscover Scranton sounds interesting as well, but I'd like to stay as close to the WB area as possible.

As far as running goes, I'd say at 5'8", I'm about average as far as "horizontal endowment" goes LOL. I haven't been running lately, but I like to hit the **** in Kingston and Forty Fort or go trail running at various trails in the area (trails seem to be kinder on the knees ).

I've been to Hawley before, great town from what I saw. Seems very quaint. I'll look into the Culinary Institute there. Thanks for the heads up man.

BTW, I'm a full-time parent if that opens me up for any types of activities/clubs/groups etc.

[covebound]

Originally Posted by Contriver

Thanks alot for the feedback guys! I'm interested (in no particular order and in varying degrees of interest) in mountain biking, hiking, trail running, kayaking, cooking, fishing, photography, nature conservation, visiting NYC, I'd like to try cross country skiing, and simply helping others in general.

I am thinking that I might also be into something like an adult soccer league (as long as it isn't too intense since I've never played the game before).

I found a web site for the local branch of Habitat for Humanity and I see that they have a project going on in WB so I might check that out too since building things is also an interest of mine and I think that would be a great opportunity to be able to help a family in need.

ScrantonWB, if you don't mind revealing, what church do you belong to?

The book meeting thing sounds interesting. What exactly happens at one? BTW, I definately need to go check out that new B+N. I've seen it just driving past and it looks really nice there. In fact, not to go off in a different direction here, but its amazing to see the transformation of the square. I recently took my sister, whom is attending college out of state and hasn't seen that area in a while. for a ride around to see what has changed. She was very impressed by the look of things like the new movie theatre, the B+N, the billiards place, club mardi gras, and such.

I will take a look into POWER. Rediscover Scranton sounds interesting as well, but I'd like to stay as close to the WB area as possible.

As far as running goes, I'd say at 5'8", I'm about average as far as "horizontal endowment" goes LOL. I haven't been running lately, but I like to hit the **** in Kingston and Forty Fort or go trail running at various trails in the area (trails seem to be kinder on the knees ).

I've been to Hawley before, great town from what I saw. Seems very quaint. I'll look into the Culinary Institute there. Thanks for the heads up man.

BTW, I'm a full-time parent if that opens me up for any types of activities/clubs/groups etc.

Being a parent will bring you many new friends. Children make it easy to meet other parents out there. You will do just fine.
That cooking school was on TV. I believe the owner is from NYC and boy, she can cook! She renovated the old building into the school. I think it was once an old bank or something to that nature.

[MB2]

Church is a good spot to find activities to participate in, as well as volunteering help.
Also, look into the local news paper for adds, looking for volunteers and help for various things. (animal rescues, center for abused people...etc.)
Also, believe it, or not, your local supermarket!!
I've worked there, and you find out a lot of things happening there. Either people will tell you, and give you pointers, or, the pegboard on the front entrance will have postings !
Let's put it this way...you want to help and keep yourself busy? You will have no problems what-so-ever ! :-)
Help is always appreciated and encouraged here.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Contriver

Thanks alot for the feedback guys! I'm interested (in no particular order and in varying degrees of interest) in mountain biking, hiking, trail running, kayaking, cooking, fishing, photography, nature conservation, visiting NYC, I'd like to try cross country skiing, and simply helping others in general.

Wow! Are you sure we're not related? LOL! With the exception of kayaking and cooking, we have mutual interests. I've always wanted to try trail-running; I'm assuming the soft soil and grass would be easier on my joints than the pavement of the four-lane highway I currently run on.

Originally Posted by Contriver

I am thinking that I might also be into something like an adult soccer league (as long as it isn't too intense since I've never played the game before).

There are two local "inflatable domes" that play host to a variety of indoor soccer leagues. There's one in Wilkes-Barre near the VA Hospital (Behind Lowe's and visible from I-81). There's also one up in Jessup, about midway between Dickson City and Carbondale just off of Route 6. The owner of the dome in Jessup is one of my friends on MySpace if I'm not mistaken, so I'd be glad to contact him if you'd like to know more. I know the one in Wilkes-Barre would be more convenient for you, but I don't know anything about it.

Originally Posted by Contriver

I found a web site for the local branch of Habitat for Humanity and I see that they have a project going on in WB so I might check that out too since building things is also an interest of mine and I think that would be a great opportunity to be able to help a family in need.

Once again, I work at Lowe's, and the home-building/renovation industry is also of interest to me. I plan to supplement my income as a CPA in the future by "flipping" fixer-uppers in the off-season from the tax crunch. Wilkes-Barre is a great city to consider "flipping" in; there's still many structurally-sound homes in need of a bit of mostly cosmetic TLC in the city for $50,000 or less and there's nowhere for property values, in general, in the city to go but up, as we've started to see with Scranton's property values. I've also wanted to help out with Habitat for Humanity for quite a long time; that was actually our project when I was president of our chapter of the FBLA in high school.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Contriver

ScrantonWB, if you don't mind revealing, what church do you belong to?

I belong to St. John's Lutheran Church in a hidden corner of Pittston. However, our congregation has really dwindled, aged, and become less active over the years, so I'm considering "leaving the flock" to join the Back Mountain Harvesy Assembly. They're an energetic, young, non-denominational Christian church out in Trucksville that puts on an annual Christmas show for the community that is very popular.

Originally Posted by Contriver

The book meeting thing sounds interesting. What exactly happens at one? BTW, I definately need to go check out that new B+N. I've seen it just driving past and it looks really nice there. In fact, not to go off in a different direction here, but its amazing to see the transformation of the square. I recently took my sister, whom is attending college out of state and hasn't seen that area in a while. for a ride around to see what has changed. She was very impressed by the look of things like the new movie theatre, the B+N, the billiards place, club mardi gras, and such.

I'm not sure. I've actually never been involved in a book club; I just know they exist because I saw a schedule of the different groups and their meeting times while I was wandering around aimlessly chatting on the cell (I know! Yammering on the phone at a bookstore! SHAME ON ME!) LOL! Downtown is certainly bouncing back very quickly, as all of the revitalization efforts from Public Square down to South Main and Northampton occurred in 2006 alone! The new streetlight project is still in progress, and the old Sterling Hotel is now nearly dismantled and should be ready for loft housing occupancy by the end of next year or early 2008, which is also when construction should be underway on the new RiverWalk project.

Originally Posted by Contriver

I will take a look into POWER. Rediscover Scranton sounds interesting as well, but I'd like to stay as close to the WB area as possible.

I wanted to join POWER, but I opted against it. At the time, I was only 18, and a lot of their social functions involved alcohol, so I figured I probably wouldn't be a good addition to their organization. Now that I'm nearing 21, I'll have to reconsider. Since I live midway between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, I can take advantage of offerings in both cities very easily, which is why I hope to become involved in this new "Rediscover Scranton" project.

Originally Posted by Contriver

As far as running goes, I'd say at 5'8", I'm about average as far as "horizontal endowment" goes LOL. I haven't been running lately, but I like to hit the **** in Kingston and Forty Fort or go trail running at various trails in the area (trails seem to be kinder on the knees ).

I'm still a fan of Lake Scranton myself. There's nothing quite like a crisp Autumn run around the lake while being overshadowed with brilliantly-colored leaves to totally rejuvenate your soul! I also like running shirtless around town just to draw some glares from envious classmates (Whether they're staring at my abs or my horrible tan lines is another matter entirely!)

Originally Posted by Contriver

I've been to Hawley before, great town from what I saw. Seems very quaint. I'll look into the Culinary Institute there. Thanks for the heads up man.

The woman who owns that is named "Sheelah." She advertises in Happenings Magazine quite a bit, and the calendar of her classes is available in that publication. I believe she's from NYC and restored an old bank building in town for that cooking school back in the 1990s, if I'm not mistaken.

Originally Posted by Contriver

BTW, I'm a full-time parent if that opens me up for any types of activities/clubs/groups etc.

I'm sure your little bundle(s) of joy will likely bring you to new friends and their parents, who will become potential friends as well. Just give it a bit of time.

[City Light Church]

City Light Church 282 Old River Road Wilkes-Barre 11:00am Sunday's A Modern, Bible Church In Re-Starting Mode!!!