An unusual way to start Independence Day is a holiday tradition for Kaitlin May. She took a yoga class on a parking garage rooftop Friday to the harmonies of a string trio.
“Being on the rooftop is really cool,” she said. For the Clarks Summit mother of four, the quiet moments were a “great start” before a more traditional day of swimming.
People participate in Yoga on the Roof on Friday morning at the Marketplace at Steamtown Electric City garage. It’s the 12th year for the event that benefits the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
May was one of nearly 200 people on the fourth-floor roof of the Marketplace at Steamtown’s Electric City Parking Garage in Scranton, for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic fundraiser. An occasional tiny mechanical squeak was the only indication of the location’s regular use.
It was an all-ages, mostly female group, including young girls, and a few older women who adapted the poses while sitting in chairs. A handful wore red, white and blue or star and flag designs. A service dog took an extremely relaxed pose in the back.
People participate in Yoga on the Roof on Friday morning at the Marketplace at Steamtown Electric City garage. It’s the 12th year for the event that benefits the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
The unusual gig is “kind of relaxing,” said violinist Leah Valenches. The trio played mellow pieces for a gentle hourlong class at 9 a.m. Teacher Hillary Steinberg, owner of Jaya Yoga Studio in Clarks Summit, thanked the group for finding a way “to give back before your friends have had their coffee yet.”
Steinberg worked a little Independence Day imagery into her instructions, describing the reverse tabletop pose as becoming a picnic table. The eagle arm pose was also appropriate, she said. But Steinberg’s message was that any movement is good for all occasions.
Jeannine Luby of Scranton, an occasional practitioner of yoga, seeks out unusual classes that support a cause. “I love this event, though, in particular,” she said, for its support of the Philharmonic and the view of downtown.
People participate in Yoga on the Roof on Friday morning at the Marketplace at Steamtown Electric City garage. It’s the 12th year for the event that benefits the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
It was the 12th Yoga on the Roof. “This is such a special event,” said philharmonic Board of Trustees President Carol Dembert, “because we are outside with the blue sky, doing something very meditative.” It grew out of Dembert’s own love of yoga. Steinberg and her staff volunteer. Another Clarks Summit business, Maximum Zen Bakery, supplies snacks.
At $20 a person, it will raise more than $3,500 for the Philharmonic’s mentoring and outreach.
“It’s just a great way to start the day,” Dembert said. “It’s relaxing, it’s soothing. It makes you feel so good to come here and be part of this.
The event was sandwiched between the Philharmonic’s two free fireworks concerts, in Scranton on Thursday and in Wilkes-Barre on Friday.