Join us for the creative [noun] discussion series event: an in-person, intimate, limited-seating gathering where
presence is the point. With you present, we’ll meet and talk with creatives in the Hanover area.
Our Next Discussion:
Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
Jared Reck, Author
Location:
Upper Room
St. Matthew Lutheran Church
Jared Reck is a young adult author from Hanover, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife and two daughters and teaches 8th grade Language Arts. Teaching is central to his writing life: Reck says he would not have become a writer if he had not first been a teacher, because his classroom is where he fell in love with YA literature and learned to write alongside his students. He grew up in Hanover, studied at Clemson University, earned a master’s in Educational Leadership from Shippensburg University, and later completed graduate coursework in McDaniel College’s Writing for Children and Young Adults program, where he has also taught.
Reck is the author of A Short History of the Girl Next Door and Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love, both published by Knopf Books for Young Readers. His books tend to mix humor, heartbreak, first love, family, grief, and the messy emotional life of teenagers. A Short History of the Girl Next Door was a 2018 Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, while Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love was named to YALSA’s 2022 Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults lists and was a 2022 SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalist.
Doors will open at 6:30 PM, and the conversation will start at 7:00. We’ll chat informally to end the evening.
Tickets are available now at this link! To keep the evening intimate, only thirty seats will be available.
Future Gatherings:
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026
Beck Ravenswood, Owner, Serpent’s Key
Location:
Held at Serpent’s Key
Beck Ravenswood is the owner of The Serpent’s Key Shoppe and Sanctuary, a metaphysical and occult shop in downtown Hanover that has quickly become one of the area’s more unusual and talked-about small businesses. Originally opened in 2023, the shop was created as both a retail space and a community-centered sanctuary focused on Earth-based spiritual practices, tarot, wellness products, classes, and alternative spirituality. Beck’s interest in witchcraft, folklore, tarot, and “anything spooky” began in childhood and eventually developed into a larger public platform during the pandemic, when they built a sizable following on TikTok by sharing spiritual practices, tarot content, and educational videos. Support from that online community helped turn the project into a physical storefront in Hanover.
Through events, readings, collaborations with local artists and businesses, and a strong social media presence, Beck has positioned The Serpent’s Key Shoppe and Sanctuary as both a retail destination and a gathering place for people interested in spirituality, creativity, and alternative culture in south central Pennsylvania.
Wednesday, November 4th, 2026
Mary Moores, Pastel Artist
Location:
St. Matthew Lutheran Church
“I am usually the artist with pastel dust on my face. I carry my sketchbook everywhere to practice the foundational skills of seeing and drawing. This habit has turned strangers into friends as people seem fascinated to watch lines and marks transform into real objects. I became more serious about drawing regularly while living for months at Hershey Hospital, caring for my youngest daughter in 2021. My sketchbook was my tool for staying connected to my art pursuit and a way to be grounded in the present. Now it serves as a place to plan painting compositions and a journal recording activities, people, and places I visit.
Although I have a degree in teaching and functional wheel-thrown pottery from West Virginia University, painting with pastels is my primary form of expression. I love the distinctive directness of soft pastels and how they allow me to use my hands to control their application. My endless curiosity drives me to find all subject matter interesting, including buildings, people, landscapes, florals, animals, shadow shapes, how light impacts an object, and anything with the tarnish of age. I sometimes pursue adventurous endeavors. Recently, these projects have included recreating a vintage glass lampshade, painting a seventy-pound fiberglass bell to commemorate America's 250th anniversary, and making a mural for a 12' x 20" wall at a new sports bar in Iowa. Each time I attempt something outside of my comfort zone, I learn. I am grateful for the time and space to create art, to help others see the beauty I see, and to gift clients with paintings of what they cherish as family memories."
— Mary Moores
Previous Gatherings:
Brian Shea (he/him) is an improv performer and teacher from Hanover. Despite never performing for an audience before 2009, he now spends every possible moment either on stage or helping others find their joy in front of an audience. Along with performing with multiple ensembles in Baltimore and Lancaster, Brian serves as the board vice president of Highwire Improv, which he and three friends founded in Baltimore in 2020. His extended non-profit leadership experience includes seven years on the board of Hanover Little Theatre, including three as board president, a current position on the board of York nonprofit enroot, including chairing the York Fringe Festival Committee, and previous board positions with several other area nonprofits.
A production of Visual Realia, LLC.