So Good Lancaster
Dive into the heart of Lancaster County with "So Good Lancaster," your guide to the funky, interesting, and hidden gems of the area. From breakfast hotspots to nightlife, historical roots to modern attractions, join Jason Mundok in exploring what makes Lancaster uniquely vibrant. Featuring interviews with key local figures and insights into food and drink, art and culture, entertainment, and non-profit initiatives, this podcast is your all-access pass to the stories and people that embody the spirit of Lancaster.
So Good Lancaster
Dinner and a Show: Hilary Mace & Joel Chandler on Good Eats While Eating Good and Ron Moore on Films
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We’re talking about food and film. On the food side, I’m joined by Hilary Mace, the founder of The Scarlet Runner, a wildly popular catering business based in Lancaster between 2011 and 2021. Hilary closed down during the pandemic and left the area to live in remote locations in Arizona and Idaho. While she returned to the Lancaster area about two years ago, she just recently relaunched The Scarlet Runner.
Hilary and I are joined by Lancaster fitness coach Joel Chandler, who recently published The Lancaster Nutrition Handbook. It’s a guide to over a dozen Lancaster City restaurants from the perspective of eating for your fitness goals. The guide includes calorie and macro estimates for some of your favorite restaurants in Lancaster.
Ron Moore, a Lancaster County film enthusiast and the host of the Why This Film? podcast, joined me to break down the Lancaster film scene. Ron will be back each month to report on special screenings, original film projects, and events wrapped around film in Lancaster County.
As usual there’s a lot going on around Lancaster and a ton of great restaurants to enjoy. Be sure to get out and support our incredible locally-owned restaurant scene.
- Jason
(all of these words came from my brain)
Links:
The Candy Factory (TCF Coworking + Social Club)
https://clubtcf.com
So Good Lancaster
https://sogoodlancaster.com
Food
The Scarlet Runner (Hilary Mace)
https://thescarletrunner.com
The Lancaster Nutrition Handbook (Joel Chandler)
https://utu.synchronycoaching.net/
Lancaster Central Market
https://centralmarketlancaster.com
Souvlaki Boys Grill
https://www.souvlakiboys.com
Himalayan Curry & Grill
https://himalayanlancaster.com
551 West
https://551west.com
Chellas Arepa Kitchen
https://eatchellas.com
Film
Why This Film? (Ron Moore)
https://whythisfilm.com
Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse
https://zoetropolis.com
MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival
https://www.manhattanshort.com
Pocket Books
https://www.pocketbooksshop.com
Regal Month of Masterpieces
https://www.regmovies.com/promotions/month-of-masterpieces
Red Rose Film Festival
https://redrosefilmfestival.com
We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.
So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.
Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
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IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia
I'm Jason Mundock, and this is So Good Lancaster. Today on the program, we're talking about food and film. It's an episode series I'm calling Dinner and a Show. You know, the Lancaster food scene, pretty well known even around the country. We have great restaurants, and we've got incredible agriculture that feeds those restaurants. The film scene around Lancaster a little bit more underground. We have great people making films here. We also have Art House Cinema and some local theaters to give film aficionados a place to go check out their favorite films around the county. So I have some friends on the show today who are going to help me break down both food and film. Chef Hilary Mace, the founder of Scarlet Runner, is with me today. Also fitness trainer Joel Chandler talking about the food side of the episode, and then my friend Ron Moore, who is the host of the Why This Film podcast, is joining me to break down the film scene here in Lancaster. So Lancaster is powered by the Candy Factory, that's TCF Co-working and social club, located right here in downtown Lancaster. It's the mothership where we record this show. And you know, if you're an entrepreneur, you're starting a business, you have an idea for a business, or you have a business and you want to scale it, there's no better place to hang out with other entrepreneurs, share knowledge, get inspired than right here at the Candy Factory. Visit ClubTCF.com, schedule a tour, come on down and check it out, sign up and get connected. So we are talking food today on SoGood Lancaster, and I'm delighted to welcome Hilary Mace to the program. Welcome, Hillary.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I'm delighted to be here. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
Jason MundokSo many people know you as the founder of Scarlet Runner. And if you go back into the teens and you mentioned catering or events or who's doing the Scarlet Runner was always at top of mind in Lancaster, founded, if I'm not correct, 15 years ago, 2011. Why don't you tell us a little bit of the story of how Scarlet Runner happened and what you were doing in Lancaster, and we'll go from there?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. I moved to Lancaster like late 2009, I should say, from I was living in Vermont for a while prior to that. And when I was in Vermont, I was really plugged into the farm-to-table movement. And I was fortunate to work on a really large farm and growing all of our produce, raising all the animals, everything on that property. So when I came down here and I didn't know anything about Lancaster, and I was a bit snobby, to be honest. But I was delighted to find what an amazing agricultural hub this was. And I just started going to Central Market, and there used to be the East Side Market. And I would just hang around all the little farm stands and start chatting with farmers and checking out what they had. And I just I didn't really have a clear direction when I started Scarlet Runner. I just knew that I didn't want to work for somebody else. I wanted to do my own thing. And I wanted to find what was fresh and what was growing here and turn it into something beautiful and delicious. And so when I first started, it was just me. And I was hustling at farmers markets out of a Volkswagen bug and continued to have that bug into my early days of catering. So it was a bit like a clown pulling things out of a car, you know, like and there's another table. And I just was fortunate enough to meet, you know, some key people and just kind of keep growing. And before you knew it, I was doing the Sunday suppers. I initially started doing those at TELUS 360 a long time ago, before they are what they are now, and they were more of a store.
Jason MundokWhen it was a furniture store?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. And then we shifted from TELUS over to the candy factory. And that was a fun time for myself and my sous-chef at the time to just really play and have fun with food and just kind of find what's fresh and nobody knew the menu. People just showed up. It was a very community-oriented event.
Jason MundokYeah.
SPEAKER_01And then I kind of grew into more and more catering.
Jason MundokOkay.
SPEAKER_01And so it really sort of ballooned in 2015. And I found myself kind of deep in the wedding scene, which is great, but also can be very demanding. Absolutely. So before I knew it, I had a really large staff and a fleet of vehicles and all of this overhead and just this kind of hustle going, if you will. And essentially, I found myself in 2020 when we all got a pause, looking at my life from the outside and thinking, I don't think I want to do this anymore. I was really exhausted. For me, what I always wanted for Scarlet Runner was I wanted that connection with all of my clients. You know, I didn't want to just not know who they were. I wanted to be involved in making all of the food for them, chatting with them. So I was just really pushing myself, you know, to the edge. And I just decided I'm I'm done. I don't want to feel like this anymore. And so I closed down after we fulfilled the remainder of our contracts in 2021 and sold everything I own and bought a camper and headed out west. So that was in yeah, early 2022. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
Jason MundokDid you did you have a destination?
SPEAKER_01Not really. No. We we just headed out to the desert for a while. And um it was about two or three months in. Both my husband and I we had previously been working at just full tilt. You know. So when you go from a thousand miles an hour to zero, it's kind of like what okay, what now? You know? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
Jason MundokEspecially when you think of the time, the context around life 2021, we're still pretty deep in the pandemic. A lot of people forget that that wasn't just 2020. We all think of 2020 as the year of chaos. But but it really went through 2021 until things started to normalize in the spring of 22. So not only are you completely shifting the way you live, completely shifting your environment, but also the world around us. Everybody was just sort of swirling and nobody knew where we were going to land. That must have been quite a trip.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell It was wild. Yeah, it was wild. Um essentially after a few months, we'd both looked at each other and said, well, we can't just do nothing, you know? So we wound up getting little odd jobs at little campgrounds around, and we found ourselves um in a really remote area of Idaho for quite some time. Um just an absolutely gorgeous place that took me back to, you know, like a time in the 80s or the 90s where there was basically no cell reception. There's not a traffic light for a hundred miles, and it was just like wilderness. Um and it was lovely. And it was sort of in that area where I slowly found my love for food and cooking again because when I closed, I was so exhausted. Yeah, I'm never cooking again. You know, and I just like I don't want to do it. And um, but my husband would go out fishing in this river and come home with the most beautiful trout I had ever seen. And so, you know, I had to build a fire. And then we would forage for mushrooms. And um, so I started dipping my toes back into, you know, wait, I do love to cook, but it needs to be the slower, you know, just more intentional um environment for me to do it.
Jason MundokSounds like that's there's a book in there. Aaron Ross Powell could be. You know, dive deeper that at that point. Um but you're here now in Lancaster talking with me about Scarlet Runner 2.0.
SPEAKER_01Scarlet Runner 2.0.
Jason MundokAnd uh so welcome back to Lancaster.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
Jason MundokAaron Ross Powell How long have you been back in the area?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Ross Powell Back about two years now. Aaron Ross Powell Okay. Yeah.
Jason MundokAnd um and then of course, you know, on on the social media, we see that there's some hints, maybe something's happening. So tell me about what what's happening now and what you see happening here in the future.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Yeah. Um since I've been back, I've been dabbling in some things, trying to figure out what what's my next move. You know, it's been a five-year search of what comes next. Um and so I think I avoided the Scarlet Runner like the plague for a while because I just kept thinking I don't want to go back to that state of depletion again. Um and after quite a bit of time, I came back and I thought, you know what? This is there's something that it's like deep in my soul is missing something, right? And it is the act of nourishing people, right? It that's what feeds me, it's what keeps me going, it is the greatest act of service and love for me that I can give. And so I thought, well, what if there's a way to come back to Scarlet, which was in for me just the best creation I've ever had. And what if there's a way to do it in a way where it can actually nourish me as well as the people that's awesome? I'm serving. Um and so I thought, you know what, let's let's give it a go. And so yeah, today actually my new website is live. Um, so I'm excited to be back cooking for everyone in this beautiful community.
Jason MundokAaron Powell Are you open for events like you had been in the past, or are you more focused on things like the suppers? What's what's the offering?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Yeah, the offering will be a little bit of everything. I'm less interested in getting into the big volume weddings that I was before. It's not to say that I won't do them, but um I'm more interested in the community-oriented dinners, right? And smaller gatherings like that where I can really um just connect with the people that we're serving and keep it at a slower pace than what I was at before.
Jason MundokYeah, that's awesome. Yeah. So um I I want to hear your perspective because the Lancaster is known for its food scene. Yes. Um and I know when you first came here, you know, you were impressed by it. So you go away to the desert, to Idaho, right, to all these remote places, and here you come back. And of course, everything's evolved, everything's changed, especially through the 2020 and the pandemic and all that stuff. So what's your impression of the Lancaster food scene today?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. Um it was so amazing to come back. First of all, let me just say being in a remote part of Idaho where you can't get the best corn in the world like you can here, and all these things, we would just be craving the produce. And so as soon as I came back, I was rushing back to the markets and going out to different restaurants that weren't here, you know, when I left. It was sort of rediscovering Lancaster after we were only gone for a few years, but so much seemed to have happened, and there's so many fresh faces that are doing things that are just incredible. Um, and so it's been really fun to sort of reintroduce myself to Lancaster, but I can't tell you the joy it was to come back and just go straight to all of these farm markets and find like this produce here is so incredible. And I think sometimes for me, I would take it for granted. You know, it's not until I'm away and like, uh, there's not much. We had a little CSA, but they weren't bringing us too much, you know. Um, so it's been really fun to sort of find out what else has been happening here. Um I'm really excited to see what else is going to keep coming in the future. Lancaster's really just keeps evolving, and the food scene is is really exciting.
Jason MundokYeah, that's that's amazing. Um and it's true. We we take it for granted. Um it's easy to take things for granted, and we really do. Um, but there's nothing like going away, spending some time somewhere else to really think, hmm, Lancaster's really got it going on. I feel that way just in in some of the big cities I like to visit. I'll go and hang out for a couple days, maybe a week, and then it's like I come home and I'm like, oh man, I really like living here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
Jason MundokWell, we're gonna get into even more food in just a minute. Um in the meantime, you're listening to So Good Lancaster on the So Good Lancaster Media Network. So today we are talking food and film, um, more about the food scene uh here in Lancaster. I'd like to introduce my good friend Joel Chandler. Joel, welcome to the program. Thanks for having me. Um full disclaimer, Joel is my fitness trainer. Um proud to say that. Almost three years I've been working with Joel. And um one of the reasons I wanted to bring Joel onto the program is because he recently released a Lancaster nutrition guide. So, you know, weight loss and weight maintenance has always been a big part of my life, my adult life. Um I had some struggles when I was younger, and so it's it's really important to me, and I think about it a lot. And one of the things that happens is you know, you you go on a diet and um you start to hyperfocus on the food and you start restricting things and you think to yourself, I can't go here, I can't go there because um because it doesn't fit into this neatly into this diet that I'm supposed to be on, right, to do to do what I'm doing. Um Lancaster's got this incredible food scene, so you can start to see the tension there, right? That if I want to go and experience all these great restaurants and I want to go out on Friday night and see everybody in our great community, but maybe I shouldn't do that because I'm gonna be tempted. And so I think that this something like this Lancaster Nutrition Food Guide helps kind of ease that tension and f and really it's a solution to that problem. So, Joel, why don't you introduce that? Talk to us about what that is specifically and then what the inspiration was behind it.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Ross Powell Of course. Well, first of all, that was an excellent description of the overarching problem. Uh in 15 years of coaching, what I've recognized is that a lot of the narrative that fitness culture presents is that the issue is you need to make some sort of sacrifice if you want to see these results. And a lot of these shorthand, short-term diet approaches do work. They obviously work. But the problem is it doesn't teach anybody anything about how to eat when it's all said and done. So when you cross the finish line, how are you supposed to manage your food and your exercise so that you don't wind up going backwards reverting to old habits? And what I wanted to do with this nutrition guide was demystify a lot of the culture surrounding where some of these notions come from in terms of food and how we relate to it, whether it's good or bad. Uh what people need to understand is how to participate in still relating to themselves as they relate to food and to each other, because humans are collective, our relationships are collective, and food is part of that bonding experience. So if you throw it out and then you cross the finish line and reach your fitness goal, what happens next? And the answer is we usually go backwards. So the guide addresses that and then gives you 16 places in Leicester to practice how do you incorporate making some of these informed decisions? Trevor Burrus That's awesome.
Jason MundokUh 16 restaurants downtown in the city? All downtown. All in the city.
SPEAKER_00For now.
Jason MundokTrevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00What was that process like? It took a lot of time. And I think initially I underestimated how long it would take to get follow-up meetings with chefs and business owners, because they're busy people. And usually when you walk into a restaurant and ask to talk to someone in charge, they're like, what are you trying to sell? We don't have time, come back later. Right. So there were a lot of multiple follow-ups, and some were enthusiastic, some were suspicious, but at the end of the day, it all it all came together.
Jason MundokAaron Ross Powell Yeah, it's really cool. And you're right. I mean, food is about not just the nutrition, right? The fuel, but it's also about bringing people together. I mean, you would know that more than anybody. Absolutely. Talk to me about let's dig into an example. How about that? Great. Himalayan Curry Grill, my favorite restaurant in Lancaster. Absolutely love that place. I can go there every day. If I think about I'm dieting, I'm maybe on a low-carb diet, that might not be the place that comes top of mind to go and say get a salad with grilled chicken. So uh use that as an example and kind of explain how this guide helps me go there. Aaron Ross Powell Sure.
SPEAKER_00So first of all, demystifying carbohydrates. We won't break that apart here. I think the the point is people tend to look at carbohydrates as the vilified culprit of why they gained weight and the solution to losing it. So as soon as someone says South Asian food Indian, Nepalese, whatever, uh there's rice, there's bread, there's sauce, and it can be heavy heavy sauce. Right. So well, let's go somewhere else because that's going to set me back. Probably not. If you take into consideration that most South Asian restaurants are family-style dining meant to be shared, then now you're having one scoop of rice, one piece of flatbread, and whatever the thing is. And it winds up being very reasonable, like within 500 to 750 calories for your meal. Now, you can sit there and keep eating or you can make an informed decision having this understanding already before you go into the restaurant that these are the targets I have been aiming for for these past several weeks. This is how I am approaching my fitness goal and the nutrition side of things. And I know that I can make this decision, even if it's not a perfect one, and it's not going to ruin my whole journey. Right. In fact, I could probably do whatever I want this one time, as long as I don't keep saying that to myself, and you're going to be okay.
Jason MundokYeah, you know, it's funny you say as far as the um as far as eating too much. Their lunch buffet is out of control uh at Himalayan. Um really, really incredible. And it it's hard. But I I agree with you. I think it's the perspective of uh if you do blow it out that day, um it's not the end of the world. Like you really can just reset the next day. Correct. Um but that's not really the point of the the Lexer Nutrition Guide, I know the point isn't well just go and eat as much as you want at all your favorite restaurants, that one day, and then for the next 29 that month to go back to the restrictive diet. Trevor Burrus But I think you're right, like there's a there's a point at which you just have to be a little bit moderate, which is very challenging for me, but you be a little bit moderate, especially when it comes to the to the the food that is quote unquote bad. Um but enjoy the heck out of it, right, when you're when you're there.
SPEAKER_00Trevor Burrus Yeah. Your your anxiety about food can be another participant at the dinner table. And that's a browser tab open in your brain instead of you honestly connecting with the people that are sitting there.
Jason MundokTrevor Burrus, Jr. But there's obviously health benefits also to just enjoying that food with those people at that moment. Completely. Do you have some go-to dishes in Lancaster City that you just absolutely adore? Trevor Burrus, Jr. I do.
SPEAKER_00For lunch, I really like the Athena pita from Souvlaki Boys with uh chicken Soulaki inside. Grand Slam. Grand Slam choice. Athena, yeah. The Athena pita.
Jason MundokI'm with you, I'm tracking. Do you have any dishes that you just are just like, I can't wait to get back there?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Ross Powell But I mean, since we've been talking about Himalayan curry, that's one of my top places to go and eat, and now I'm like stomach and growling as I'm thinking about their tiki masala. My mouth is watering. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
Jason MundokYou know what I tried there for the first time. Like I was a tiki I was a tiki masala. Like that was I I didn't even get past that. Right. My my big problem with restaurants, especially here in Lancaster, is I'll find that thing, and then I don't go past it. Like I'm on autopilot. I was just talking about cellis a couple of episodes ago, and it's like I go to that chicken arepa that eat and the and the Inca sprouts, and it's like I can't even control my arm. And someone's like, you got to try the burger. And I'm like, why would I try the burger when this is heaven? And they're like, because it's gonna be more heaven.
SPEAKER_01I had no idea that they even had burgers. I go to the vegetarian arepa there because the plantains and the avocado and the black beans are it's just like all over your mouth, but you don't care. So good. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
Jason MundokBut at Himalayan not long ago, I I discovered chicken corma. And my life changed. Yeah. It was another pivot point.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
Jason MundokDo you have a go-to at Himalayan?
SPEAKER_01Um Well, I kind of vary. I do I do tend to go for the tiki masala. Um I love the uh paneer, Sog paneer. I'm a big, big fan of that. Um between my husband and I, we usually get quite a few things. And my intention is always to take home the leftovers. And sometimes we don't have a whole lot to take home.
SPEAKER_00Well. Uh Joe, do you want to another one? Actually, you know what's underrated? I think an underrated place in Lancaster is uh 551 West. You know that's the second time today that somebody has said that. They have an incredibly generous menu. It's a lot more diverse than you'd think going to a neighborhood bar.
Jason MundokYeah.
SPEAKER_00And the portions are very generous. So you get a lot of bang for your buck there. It's tasty. Off the top of my head, they have a French onion dip sandwich. Off the charts.
Jason MundokIt's delicious. That's awesome. It's good. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Well, there's so much more to talk about when it comes to the Lancaster food scene. We're going to be doing that month in and month out here on So Good Lancaster. Thank you both so much for stopping by and chatting with me today. Hilary Mace. Welcome back and congratulations. On Scarlet Runner 2.0.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
Jason MundokJoel Chandler, congratulations on the Lancaster Nutrition Food Guide. And I'm looking forward to maybe part two. Phase two. All right, here we go. Coming soon. We're going to be right back. In the meantime, you are listening to So Good Lancaster on the So Good Lancaster Media Network. So not only are we talking about food in this episode, we're also talking about film. And so I'd like to introduce a good friend of mine, Ron Moore. Ron, welcome to the program. Thank you for having me. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Ron is the host of the Why This Film podcast, which is uh was born right here at the Candy Factory in the So Good Media Studio. Um, and it's essentially an analysis of why films are included in the Criterion collection. Did I do it justice?
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell Did great. Expert guests join me for every episode, something they're very passionate about. And we go through kind of like segment by segment through the film and do a deep analysis of it. And then at the end they answer that big question of why this film.
Jason MundokAaron Ross Powell Why this film. And we'll link up to that, of course, in the show post. Speaking of the Candy Factory, So Good Lancaster is brought to you in part, of course, by the Candy Factory. That's TCF Coworking and Social Club right here in Lancaster. And Ron, I bet you didn't know that TCF actually has a whole slew of clubs that people can attend. They're sort of like mini meetups throughout the day, throughout the week. In fact, we have an A V club, which is for folks like me who like to talk about microphones and cameras and basically any technology that wraps around me. Did you know that? I did know.
SPEAKER_03I did know.
Jason MundokAnd how did you know that, Ron?
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell I've been to the A V Club a time or two.
Jason MundokAaron Ross Powell Yeah, absolutely. We've uh uh we've actually uh monitored and followed the progress of the Why This Film podcast throughout its its entire life. From conception.
SPEAKER_03Conception? Conception? Inception.
Jason MundokThat's at our A V Club. That meets every Friday morning at nine o'clock. So if you're interested in microphones, cameras, podcasts, video, uh, and all that good stuff. Sort of like a high school A V club. I love it. Um you can uh come on down to the candy factory, join up, and uh and attend that. We also have um clubs, other business-related clubs. Like we have uh an AI club that meets every Wednesday, we have a marketing club and cohort that meets every Thursday, plus personal interest clubs. So if if you like beer, if you like whiskey, if you like wine, we have tastings for all of those types of drinks. Uh we have interest clubs like sewing club. Did you know we have a sewing club? Actually, that I did not know. Aaron Ross Powell You did not know that we have a sewing club? You should have led with that. That I didn't know. Any interest in joining the sewing club? I'm up for anything. All right, there you go. And if you're interested in sewing club, check out clubtcf.com, clubtcf.com, schedule a tour, come down and hang out with us, uh sign up, become a member, and then you can hang out with us Friday mornings at nine o'clock for our AV club. Uh but we're here to talk about film today. Uh and you know the one thing about uh Lancaster that I will say is some scenes in Lancaster, right? Like the food scene, very, very outfront, right? Like it people are talking, like they're writing articles in national publications about the food scene here. The film scene, I think, in Lancaster is very strong for a city our size. Like there's a lot going on. There are a lot of film enthusiasts. We're very lucky to have like art house cinema uh in our town, uh flies a little bit under the radar. So here's uh an opportunity for us to break that down. Uh I know you're a film enthusiast. Obviously, you podcast about films. Uh talk to me about the Lancaster film scene. What's what's going on out there?
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell, I think my entry point into that was uh looking for my people, so to speak. Of people that want to discuss film, learn about film, and just have conversations about that art. And so I came across Zotropolis, of course. Right down the road here. And they host a monthly series called Philosophy Drink and Film. PDF. PDF. Yes. So uh that's uh the third Thursday of every month, usually depending on holidays. Aaron Ross Powell Right, right. Things might get moved around a little bit. Trevor Burrus There's a former York professor there. He does a big introduction to the film, he has this whole presentation. We watch the film and then we stay after and have a group discussion. And I went to one and I actually went up to him afterwards and I said, I think I found my my tribe here. Aaron Ross Powell That's awesome. Yeah. So it's it's a really consistent group of people, wide variety of ages, wide range of types of films that they show on this third Thursday. So that was my entry point into that. Aaron Ross Powell And who is this mystery man who uh puts on PDF? Dr. Dennis Weiss can't say enough great things about him. He actually uh because of going to that and hearing him speak, he was my first guest on the Why This Film podcast. Oh, awesome. So he agreed to join me for episode one with no prior experience in podcasting, no prior experience really discussing film in that in that manner. Yeah. And uh he did me a he donated his time to me and we went through and uh recorded our first episode together.
Jason MundokIt's it's that and that's kind of a perfect example of what I'm talking about about these things that are happening right here in Lancaster that may not even be happening in bigger cities. Uh so it's it's it's a great resource that we have. Um Zotropolis arthouse cinema, of course, is um we're lucky to have that as well, showing films that are maybe a little bit more offbeat.
unknownTrevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um I'm very much anti-watching movies on your phone on smaller screens, so this is an opportunity to go see some things that may not be available on the big screen, or they're old enough that you wouldn't have had the opportunity to see something on the big screen. So and it's a great community of people.
Jason MundokYeah, that's awesome. So what else is going on out there?
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell Coming up this week, so the uh September 24th through October 3rd, the 2026 Manhattan Film Festival is being hosted by Zootropolis. And what that is is over 500 venues around the entire world. They are screening ten finalists for this contest. It runs a little over two hours. I would say about two hours. Well, actually, that's not true. It runs almost three hours. It's two hours and forty-five minutes because you're watching ten short films. And at the end of the night, you get to cast a vote. Oh wow. So I definitely plan on checking that out. It's unique, it's not everywhere. I mean, I know 500 sounds like a lot, but not when you include it's all over the world. So I'll definitely be be checking that out.
Jason MundokTrevor Burrus, but this is like a week-long thing. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Yeah, I think I think they have different time slots you can go and so it's not just one time you're seeing these short films. They're going to be sh showing this group of short films multiple times. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Right.
SPEAKER_03Right. So hey, if you enjoyed it that much and you want to spend another three hours watching the same short films, you can choose another night.
Jason MundokAaron Powell A lot happening down the street there in Zotropolis.
SPEAKER_03What else is going on out in the film world? Trevor Burrus, Jr. October 5th. Yeah. Pocketbooks is partnering with Zotropolis. They're showing the Time Traveler's Wife. Nice. So I'm sure there will be some s sort of uh book movie combo conversation happening there. Yeah. PDF, which we spoke about, Philosophy Drink and Film, is showing one of my favorites in October, the third Thursday in October. They're showing Get Out. So he chose that specifically for our I'm assuming for our horror selection for October, which makes sense.
Jason MundokTrevor Burrus And that's the third Thursday of October.
SPEAKER_03Usually the third Thursday of every month, yeah.
Jason MundokAll right. We'll drop links down below in the show notes. In your experience with the PDF series, you've got this favorite coming up, but what have you seen that was a big surprise for you?
SPEAKER_03He showed Lone Star, so a movie from 1996, Young McConaughey, and I was so inspired by that. The movie ended and it was dead silence because we were so all kind of in deep thought looking at each other like, what the heck did we just see? The big big twist at the end. And it inspired me so much that I reached out to the person who wrote the essay for the criterion release of the film and just had her as a guest on my own podcast. So it's really just opened up these different avenues of exploration of things that I may not have. It's kind of been on my movie's been on my radar, haven't set time aside to see it. Yeah. Now all of a sudden you see it, and then people are we're having these deep level conversations, inspiring me to go have my own that I'd like to record. Aaron Powell That's really awesome. What a great resource we have here in Lancaster. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. A couple more things to highlight this month. I know it's not a local, small arthouse cinema, but Regal Manor, Lancaster, they're showing what's called, they're calling the month of masterpieces. Ah, yes. So they've had directors, big-time directors, they're choosing films to screen for one day only. And I found out you may know Ruby, Doc. Have you met Ruby? Yes, I've met Ruby. I've recently found out that Ruby had never seen Braveheart. That's true. And she had gone to this month of masterpiece, this one-day showing of Braveheart. I actually followed Ruby on Letterboxd, so I got to see what her thought was. And so I reached out to her and said, you know, I could probably give you a recommendation on something that you have, I bet you didn't know. I have a I bet you I bet you Ruby hasn't seen.
unknownThat's awesome.
SPEAKER_03Do you know why?
Jason MundokDo you know why Ruby wanted to see Braveheart? Please share. Braveheart is my favorite movie of all time. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Okay. So I'm assuming you went with it. So I did. So she had has been hearing me talk about this movie her whole life. I don't know why, but she wouldn't see it. She's like, I'll go see it if it's in the theater. But she wouldn't just watch it on like on TV or on, you know, um through a streaming service. And lo and behold, Regal was doing these these single-day showings, and so she sent me a text one day it's like, Braveheart September, whatever, September 2nd, I think we went. Braveheart, September 2nd, 4:30, you in or something like that.
SPEAKER_03Heck yeah. Are you kidding? Because when's the last time you had an opportunity to see something that something of that spectacle on a large screen?
Jason MundokOh, 25, 30 years ago. I guess probably 30 years ago was the first time I saw it. So we went together and we and we saw it. That's so cool. I said that's the way they used to make them kid.
SPEAKER_03So I actually have a full list of what's left, but I have the recommendation for Miss Ruby Mundock. So if you're listening out there, Ruby. Where's my camera? Ruby, if you're listening. I have a recommendation just for you. I bet you haven't seen the never-ending story. So that would be my suggestion for those of a younger generation, I guess. That was big when in my generation growing up, the never ending story. So they have a wide variety of films that you can choose from and to go see it on the month of masterpieces. Aaron Ross Powell Okay. So that would still be going on then. Yep. All right, very good. And also one other thing that that we should definitely discuss and get on everyone's radar is the Red Rose Film Festival that starts in November. So just to get that on your radar and mark your calendars.
Jason MundokYeah, it's it's an annual, I think maybe seven or eight years they've been doing that. Um so we'll be talking about that in more detail next month. Uh we'll kind of break it down, we'll find out all the details.
SPEAKER_03Yes, it starts on November 12th.
Jason MundokOkay. Great. So the second weekend of November. Mark your calendars for the Red Rose Film Fest. Always a pleasure to hang out with you, my friend. Same. I look forward to it every Friday morning. Yeah, at the AB Club. At the A B Club. At the Candy Factory. And thank you all for hanging out with us today talking about dinner and a show. It's the food and film episode of So Good Lancaster. We will catch you next week on So Good Lancaster. In the meantime, Stay Good Lancaster, stay good. Hey goodies, we do love hearing from you. If you have any announcements you'd like us to share on the show, or if you have a fun idea for an upcoming episode, head over to SoGoodLancaster.com and submit your comments. So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media Studio at the Candy Factory, also known as TCF. It's a co working and social club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The show is part of the So Good Lancaster Media Network.
