Stallone’s rocky time on the Main Line; Tis the season for CCC sale & Surrey house tours; Fresh downtown Wayne intel & This and That

Sly on the Main Line: New Rocky book uncovers Stallone’s turbulent teens at Devereux

Before Rocky Balboa pounded sides of beef in a South Philly meat locker, Sylvester Stallone was pumping iron in Berwyn.

“There is no Rocky without Philadelphia,” Mike Sielski declares in Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly and the Story of Rocky, his new book timed to the film’s 50th anniversary.

Rocky wouldn’t be Rocky without those runs through the Italian Market, those strolls through gritty Kensington, that triumphant climb up the Art Museum steps, argues the award-winning Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist and WIP radio host in his fifth book.

But the Main Line looms large in Rocky’s origin story, too. Arguably, two of Stallone’s most formative years were spent on Leopard Road in Berwyn, at what was then Devereux Manor High School.

For decades, the story went like this: After Stallone was thrown out of Abraham Lincoln High School in Northeast Philly for failing grades and worse behavior, the Berwyn boarding school set him straight. He arrived a scrawny punk and left a man.

There’s truth to that. At Devereux Manor, a last stop for troubled youth, Stallone remade himself in the mid-1960s, Rocky Balboa-style: lifting weights, playing football, lettering in track, becoming popular.

But armed with fresh research and Stallone’s recent disclosures, Sielski’s book also punctures the Devereux legend.

On the leafy 35-acre campus, steps from the school’s well-appointed stone mansion, sat Park Lodge, aka the Snake Pit. There, Sielski writes, students who broke the rules were confined to padded cells for weeks at a time, and fights among students and beatings by staff were routine. It was, as Going the Distance depicts it, a house-of-horrors psych ward hidden inside a Tudor mansion.

Stallone spent two weeks in Park Lodge. In 2021, Sielski notes, the actor compared it to an “insane asylum” and likened his Devereux years to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, minus the laughs. “It was no fun,” he said. And just last month, he told the New York Times: “I was attacked there. They tried to rip my groin off.”

Yet Sielski argues that Devereux fortified Stallone. Like his underdog fighter, he would go the distance: getting his boxing movie made, and starring in it himself.

In the chapter devoted to the actor’s Main Line years, Sielski writes of the young Stallone:

And hadn’t he already succeeded: He had graduated from Devereux, and once a young man had graduated from Devereux, he would do anything in his power to ensure that he would never come close to repeating the experience again. He would take just about any chance, make just about any long-odds bet. What would failure on the stage, on the screen, in any of his creative endeavors really mean for him? Sometimes the most powerful force in the universe is someone with nothing to lose.

For years, Stallone kept quiet about Devereux’s dark side. The school’s most famous graduate routinely spoke well of his alma mater and in 1984 even accepted the Helena T. Devereux Memorial Award for his support of mental health. Local papers ran stories with headlines like “Michael Sylvester Stallone: A Devereux success story.” (In Berwyn, he went by the name Michael.)

But since 2021, first on his daughters’ podcast and now on his 2026 book tour, he has been talking openly about the brutality he endured in Berwyn, along with his dysfunctional upbringing.

So what’s behind the change of heart? Why is Stallone bashing Devereux now? We asked Sielski.

“I don’t know for certain, but my theory is that, in his later years, Stallone has become much more publicly solicitous of sympathy. He’s being incredibly open and expansive, telling (and embellishing) stories about his life. He’s 80. He wants to be viewed more favorably before the Iceman cometh.”

Here’s what Sielski is sure of: Stallone’s youth was nothing like Rocky’s.

“I do think it’s funny that Stallone has these connections to the Main Line, to this famous and stereotypically hoity-toity region, given how many fans of the film just assume that his upbringing was as citified and hardscrabble as Rocky Balboa’s,” Sielski tells SAVVY. “I mean, the guy lived in suburban Washington, D.C. (where he played polo); Northeast Philly when it was still largely farmland; and on the Main Line (though hardly in a pleasant place). He’s much more popped-collar and preppy pants than most people realize.”

Devereux, now Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, hasn’t disputed Stallone’s account.

When the New York Times asked for comment, a spokesperson said the organization respects Stallone’s “right to tell his story his own way” and is sorry for any trauma he remembers.

Now one of the nation’s largest nonprofit behavioral health providers, Devereux has spent recent years fighting dozens of lawsuits, including a federal class action, alleging abuse of children in its care.

Want more? Here are two ways to dig into Stallone’s Main Line years, the real story behind the iconic film, and its lasting impact on the region.

Hear it from the author himself. Mike Sielski will talk all things Rocky in a freewheeling Q&A with yours truly, SAVVY editor Caroline O’Halloran, at a special Main Line School Night members event, cocktail soirée and book signing on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Koren’s Kitchen in Radnor. As a special surprise, a cast member with a speaking part in the original Rocky, also a key character in the sixth Rocky, will be making a cameo. Tickets here.

Read the book. Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly and the Story of Rocky hits bookstores Nov. 10 and is available for pre-order now from Main Point Books.

---

70 Years, $8 million and umpteen racks of designer finds: Community Clothes Charity Sale returns to Wayne

Attention, discerning shoppers: Mark your calendars, sharpen your elbows and get ready to pounce.

Held only every other year and always a sellout scene, the Community Clothes Charity’s mega-sale is right around the corner.

Shoppers drive in from out of state and line up outside the door for first dibs on racks and stacks of new and gently used designer clothing, jewelry, shoes, handbags and home décor.

This year, the sale has a new home: 1111 Old Eagle School Road (below), a 200,000-square-foot Class A office building near Swedesford Road in Wayne. Plenty of room to roam, and to shop.

Once again, the sale will be chaired by Anne Hamilton, who took the baton from her late mother-in-law, Dodo Hamilton, with an able assist from co-chair Wendy McDevitt.

Now in its 70th (!) year, the nonprofit CCC has raised $8 million for area organizations serving women, children and veterans. Not bad for a group of philanthropic women who decided, seven decades ago, that their community’s castoff couture and boutique overruns could do a world of good. Well done, ladies.

Community Clothes Charity Sale, 1111 Old Eagle School Rd., Wayne, runs Nov 6 -8. Friday, Nov. 6: Noon to 6 ($30 admission); Saturday, Nov. 7: 10 to 5 ($5 admission); Sunday, Nov. 8: Bargain Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (free). For more info, click here or call 610525-0120.

---

Tis the season: Surrey’s Holiday House Tour & Shops is back with carolers, a speakeasy and a coffee truck

Exquisite Main Line homes, decked out for the holidays. Costumed carolers at the door. Homeowners on hand to point out their favorite features. Sweet treats along the way.

Surrey’s 4th annual Holiday House Tour & Shops returns Friday, Dec. 4 and this year the committee has sprinkled in some extra holiday magic.***

The homes

Two of the five homes are true showstoppers, owned and decorated by professional interior designers. Expect ideas you’ll want to steal for your own mantel.

Another home has a 1920s speakeasy – no secret handshake or password required.

Tablescapes are a big theme this year, with one dining room set by Serena & Lily. At every stop, guides – often the home’s owner  or designer – will welcome you and share each home’s highlights. Some homes will have sweet treats waiting.

Interior designer Eileen Devine of Devine Designs has sponsored the tour every year and is on this year’s committee. She says she’s always visiting house tours for inspiration, but Surrey’s stands out.

“What makes the Surrey Holiday House Tour truly exceptional is its profound sense of community, tradition, and the absolutely breathtaking holiday decor,” says Devine. “Over the last four years as an event sponsor, I’ve watched local designers and homeowners transform their spaces into festive masterpieces.”

One of her favorite memories is a Wayne homeowner who decorated around “The 12 Days of Christmas,” creatively showcasing “six geese a-laying” in the window boxes on either side of her front porch.

A favor bag worth keeping

Every guest gets a sturdy, reusable favor bag filled with things you won’t want to toss. Along with a tour map that includes each home’s history and highlights, you’ll find Lisi Lerch earrings, a goodie from JuneBug Sweet Treats, a gift card to Will’s & Bill’s and other fun stuff.

The Holiday Shops

Before, during or after the tour, head to St. David’s Church for your choice of boxed lunch from The Classic Diner (with GF and vegetarian options) and serious holiday shopping. More than 30 vendors will fill the hall, and a Café Gourmino truck will be parked outside to keep shoppers – and shopkeepers – caffeinated.

Returning favorites include Little House Shop, Little Children’s Shop, Louella Boutique, Wallace Dry Goods mocktails, Darci Henry Beauty and Main Line Fashionista. Among this year’s new shops are QZ Paperia (fine stationery), Tree Tastic (luxury bows and holiday styling) and KOKO Collection (quality fashion jewelry).

Don’t miss the Hall of Wreaths. Professionally decorated, they’re top-quality, generously sized wreaths you’ll pull out year after year. Supplies are limited, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Surrey. They sell fast, so shop early.

Why it matters

The Holiday House Tour is a key fundraiser for Surrey Services for Seniors, a Devon-based nonprofit that helps older adults age in place with affordable lunches, transportation, enrichment and exercise classes, home care and caregiver support. Surrey has five locations: its Devon flagship, Broomall, Bryn Mawr, Media and a consignment shop in Berwyn.

Surrey Holiday House Tour & Shops, Friday, Dec. 4. Tickets are $95 and include lunch and holiday shopping at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne, and a high-value gift bag. House tours 9:30 to 4. Holiday Shop 10 to 4. No ticket needed to shop only.
***EDITOR’S NOTE & FULL DISCLOSURE: Will’s & Bill’s is owned by my brother and nephew. I also serve on the volunteer committee for the Surrey Holiday House Tour & Shops.

This and That

Remember that hot-button plan to demolish the downtown Wayne music venue 118 North and put up a three-story building? Well, scratch the third story. The building’s newish owner, Joe Smogard, had proposed bulldozing 118 North and the old dry cleaner next door and replacing them with two new storefronts – one of which, he said, would house the 118 North music venue, restaurant and bar. Smogard would put his own real estate offices on the second floor and four upscale apartments on a new third floor. That plan ran into a brick wall of pushback from neighboring businesses and some residents, and Smogard has gone back to the drawing board. At last week’s meeting of the Radnor Zoning Hearing Board, Smogard’s attorney said the revised plan will nix the third-floor apartments, according to a board source. The zoning board also granted Smogard’s request for a one-year extension on the township approvals he’s already received for the project. As they do in most municipalities, zoning waivers and planning approvals have an expiration date in Radnor.

While we’re on downtown Wayne, Radnor officials want to meet with the Wayne Business Association to toss around the biggest hot potato in town: the approved “parklet” on North Wayne Avenue. If you missed the fireworks, Wayne merchants are fighting Radnor’s plan to convert 24 primo parking spaces near Gingy’s into Wayne Commons, a community gathering space. It’s a key recommendation in the new Vision for Wayne, which Radnor commissioners have “accepted” but not yet adopted. Wayne Commons was approved Sept. 14 and has drawn fire ever since. Some folks like the idea; others, particularly town merchants, are vehemently opposed to losing precious parking. Last week, Radnor Economic Development Manager Sam Woods Thomas reached out to the WBA to request a meeting, the WBA’s Chris Todd, owner of Christopher’s, tells SAVVY. The meeting will happen when all parties can agree on a date.  Attendees would likely include Todd, Thomas and Radnor Commissioners Jack Larkin and Cathy Agnew.

A related side note: the Vision for Wayne also recommends removing five spaces in front of the Blackstone building at the corner of North Wayne and Lancaster Ave., on grounds that backing out of those spaces is dangerous.

An historic vote in Tredyffrin. Residents will vote yea or nay on a home rule charter referendum when they go to the polls Nov. 3 – the township’s first proposed charter update in 50 years. If approved, the new charter would double supervisors’ pay to $3,000 a year, replace the elected auditor with an appointed “independent” auditor, end the residency requirement for the township manager, and change meeting, voting, budgeting, contracting, public notice and administrative procedures, among other measures. Editor’s Update: a Supervisor source tells us they’ve been paid $3,000 since an ordinance authorizing the pay jump passed in the late 80s. Inclusion in the charter would formalize longstanding practice, he sad. 

Say what? Valley Forge Military College may move to Oklahoma? Sure, VFMC has had a few run-ins with the township of late, but we didn’t see this one coming. Last year, Radnor threatened to use eminent domain to keep the college from selling 14 acres to a housing developer. The township dropped that bid when VFMC agreed to give Radnor the right of first refusal on any land deals. Then the township learned that a residential boys’ hockey program, West Chester Wolves Academy, has been training 90 aspiring pros at VFMC in violation of Radnor zoning regs, prompting the township solicitor to file a tax assessment appeal against the college.

For VFMC board chair John English, that may have been the last straw. It’s not enrollment that’s killing the college, it’s the township’s lawsuits, English told the Inquirer.

Why Oklahoma? English’s father is former U.S. Rep. Glenn English, and Oklahoma officials have offered VFMC a new campus in Oklahoma City, with the state’s National Guard as a military partner. English insists VFMC needs tax-exempt status or state funding to stay on the Main Line.

Cue the red lights, high-octane tunes and steamy temps. Barry’s, the fitness studio that feels like a nightclub, opens Oct. 31 at 115 Coulter Place in Ardmore. The hot global brand, famously favored by Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and the Kardashians, combines interval treadmill runs with targeted weight training. Besides the signature Red Room, there’s a Fuel Bar for pre- and post-workout shakes, plus locker rooms stocked with Dyson hair dryers and OUAI products. None of this comes cheap, so grab an intro starter five-pack for $128 or an eight-visit monthly membership for $180 while you can.

R U Okay? It’s shorthand for a question we all ponder about older loved ones living alone. It’s also the name of an innovative program just launched by Radnor police and Wayne Senior Center. R U Okay offers peace of mind through daily automated phone calls. If the participant doesn’t answer on the third try, emergency contacts are notified and, if necessary, Radnor police will perform a wellness check. Visit Wayne Senior Center in November to learn more and register.

The western Main Line has its first all-Asian food hall. The second floor of Hung Vuong Food Market on Swedesford Road in Berwyn is now a 270-seat food court serving Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese flavors – everything from bubble tea to bánh mì. At least 10 of 14 stalls have been leased. The food court is open until 8 p.m. weekdays and until 8:30 p.m. on weekends.

Blue Elephant is making tracks down Lancaster Avenue to a third home in Ardmore. The new outpost will be BYOB with inventive mocktails and will replace the Thai Pepper side of Mikado Thai Pepper, a neighborhood staple for 35 years. Look for a stylish 80-seat dining room and an Asian fusion menu similar to those at the Wayne and Pottstown Blue Elephants. A late fall opening is targeted. Thai Pepper Ardmorewas the first restaurant owned and operated by the Somboonsong family, now known as WIN Hospitality. In addition to the Blue Elephants, WIN owns Mikado Ardmore, Maison Lotus and Jade Rabbit in Wayne, Mama San in St. Davids, Teikoku in Newtown Square and Azie in Media.

They must be serving smart water in the cafeteria at Baldwin. Nearly 40 percent of the Bryn Mawr school’s seniors are National Merit Scholarship Program honorees. And for the second year in a row, Niche ranked Baldwin the No. 1 all-girls high school in Pa.

Conestoga also has cause to crow this fall. Niche named Stoga the state’s top public high school, besting a field of 678. Stoga was singled out for its deep STEM, AP and research programs, and the T/E high school frequently leads Pa. in National Merit Semifinalists. Its lowest mark: a “B” for Food & Facilities. For the record, Niche ranked Lower Merion and Radnor second and third, respectively.

In the market for a novel wedding venue? The owners of a former dairy farm in Kennett Square have just converted the property into Willowdale, a full-service event venue for up to 300 revelers.

Willowdale features an outdoor ceremony setting framed by the original silo and stonework, a kitchen garden and lounge for the cocktail hour, an upstairs “Loft” for dinner and dancing, and eight overnight rooms, including two suites. Jeffrey A. Miller Hospitality Group (JAM) is the caterer. JAM operates out of 17 venues, including the Anthony Wayne House in Paoli.

A new clinic, Axiva Wellness Center, at 2010 West Chester Pike in Havertown, offers a range of discreet, physician-supervised, au courant services under one roof. Think bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and sexual enhancement for men and women, GLP-1 weight-loss meds with counseling, facial fillers and Botox, and IV drips. “Unlike typical med spas and drip bars, care is physician-led and built from lab work,” says spokesman Will Sahatdjian. Axiva has operated an IV infusion clinic down the road since 2023.

The Main Line’s most gifted writer has just announced her latest book. Longtime Devon resident Beth Kephart both wrote and illustrated Conversations with Women in Blue: Cyanotypic Dreams, in which she recounts and reimagines the lives of 55 women – from Cleopatra to Frida Kahlo – refracted through the color blue. Kephart illustrates each poetic monologue with original cyanotypes created with odd artifacts and everyday items. Conversations will be released in March in celebration of Women’s History Month. A National Book Award finalist and the award-winning author of more than 40 books, Kephart is also a fiber and paper artist and an award-winning teacher of memoir writing. You can find her musings in The Hush and the Howl on Substack. Preorder the book here.

Capri Water Ice in Wayne has a handsome new neighbor: a snappy little barbershop. John Simonton has turned the short-lived Teuscher’s Chocolates space at 240 E. Lancaster Ave. into J.P. Simonton Hair & Shave Parlor (below).

Simonton tells us his new shop contains thoughtful nods to the building’s 100-year history, and a red-striped pole is on the way. The grand opening is set for Nov. 1.

Guess who wants to build another AI data center? Main Line developer Brian O’Neill has submitted plans to West Conshohocken Borough for a three-story data center on a 60-acre former quarry. He’s still fighting to build data centers in Upper Merion and Plymouth Township.

Meanwhile, over in East Whiteland, a group of residents is preparing to sue the township supervisors. The group, represented by crusading Main Line attorney Phil Rosenzweig, claims the supervisors violated ordinances when they greenlit a 1.5 million square-foot data center on an old Superfund site that straddles East and West Whiteland townships. Things have gotten so testy the township signed a short-term contract with a PR firm.

King of Prussia has a new 120-seat live music venue inside – get this – a gigantic new piano store. Cunningham Hall at the new Cunningham Piano Company kicks off a seven-concert First Friday series Nov. 6 with Eric Wortham, an internationally acclaimed jazz and classical pianist who has accompanied the likes of Adele, Seal and Jill Scott. $30 tickets here. Cunningham Piano Company opened its expansive 15,000-square-foot location Oct. 1, bringing piano sales and restoration, music lessons, technology and live performance under one roof. The showroom holds hundreds of pianos, and musicians will no doubt flip for the futuristic, immersive Yamaha Experience Room.

Nobody likes driving Montgomery Avenue, especially at rush hour. But will anyone like losing a lane on its four-lane stretches? That’s one option in a new “road diet” plan set to be unveiled to the public this Monday, Oct. 26. Four lanes would become three, with the center lane used only for turns. Other preliminary recommendations in the Montgomery Avenue Corridor Safety Study include clearer speed-limit signs, upgraded lighting, restrictions on some right turns, and higher-visibility crosswalks. Monday night’s public meeting runs 6 to 8 p.m. in the Lower Merion Township Building. Final recommendations are expected in early 2027.

Speaking of driving, Lower Merion is adding more red light cameras: one on Lancaster Ave. and Haverford Station Road next month, and another at Montgomery Ave. and Airdale Rd. by the end of January. A red light camera installed at the busy corner of Lancaster Ave. and Remington Rd. last spring has resulted in more than 1,200 citations.

Goodness Bowls just cut the ribbon on its ninth location, at 5 Paoli Plaza in the former Cup of Dreams space. The healthy-eats café sells acai bowls, smoothies, salads, wraps, toasts and specialty coffees. The Paoli franchise is owned by East Goshen mom Heather MacFarland Wheelock, who was a regular at the original Goodness Bowls in Avalon. Other Main Line locations include Villanova and Narberth. Mother-daughter entrepreneurs Sue and Corinne Persichetti started the chain in 2019.

Two new holiday pop-ups just popped up in Berwyn. We already told you about Jingle & Co. near EmJ’s Café. The second is Holiday Vintage Popup near Handel’s. Open through the end of January, Holiday Vintage sells eclectic designer clothing and accessories plus vintage furniture and home décor – everything is resale or vintage. The pop-up is a collab between Theresa Brewer of TC House of Style in Phoenixville and Leslie Voth of Pickering Point Farm.

Time to chill. The Igloo Garden on the Green returns to the King of Prussia Town Center Nov. 3–17. Each private, heated igloo features holiday lights, cozy furnishings for up to six guests and a Bluetooth speaker to set the soundtrack for your festive escape. Bring your favorite takeout and enjoy a 55-minute winter getaway in your own charming igloo. Book here. Reservation fees benefit the Upper Merion Area Community Cupboard (UMACC), which serves families facing food insecurity. Last year’s igloos raised $50K for UMACC. Cool.

Koren’s Kitchen is back on Louella Court in Wayne. The well-regarded caterer just debuted a breakfast, lunch and coffee café in its former catering hub, once home to At The Table BYOB. Koren’s new headquarters in the Radnor Corporate Center also serves breakfast and lunch and hosts private events. It’s a two-track growth strategy: corporate customers plus a neighborhood storefront.

Lights, camera, CANDY (or POPCORN)! Wayne’s Halloween celebration has a new stop this year: the soon-to-be-reincarnated – fingers and toes crossed – Anthony Wayne Theater. The team hopes costumed kiddos will stop by, say BOO and grab a treat. The Wayne Business Association’s annual Trick or Treat is Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1 to 3 p.m. Twelve businesses will dispense goodies from a tent on North Wayne Ave. Other merchants will leave candy at their doors.

Speaking of resurrecting the Anthony Wayne Theater, the nonprofit’s quiet fundraising phase – the hunt for seed donors for its $15M campaign – continues. AWT has begun offering naming rights to its three theaters for $1M to $2M, Executive Director Jennifer Carlson tells SAVVY. To be blunt: if you’re loaded, please consider writing a check. It’s tax-deductible.

Cheers to Nature’s Vin – the woman-powered natural wine hangout in downtown Wayne – on it first anniversary, which will be toasted with three tasty events. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m., Veronica Fitzgerald of V Empanadas hosts a pop-up tasting of the flavors she grew up with in Ecuador. On Thursday, Nov. 5, also 5 to 8, the proprietor of organic Model Farm Wines in Sonoma hosts an evening of sipping and storytelling – a chance to meet the woman behind the vines. Table reservations recommended. And the Friday-night grand finale, same Bat Time, is a slurp-and-sip with High Tide Oysters, a women-owned raw bar from Long Beach Island, and small-batch sparkling wines curated by Nature’s Vin. This one’s $50.

Lower Merion folks are trying to figure out why the school district can’t seem to hang on to a superintendent. Bad luck or a revolving door? Superintendent Frank Ranelli just announced he’s stepping down after a year and a half. His predecessor, Steven Yanni, moved on in less than a year. And before him, Khalid Mumin jumped ship after a year to become Pennsylvania Secretary of Education in 2023. That’s three supes in four calendar years.

People’s Light just announced its 18th holiday panto: a brand-new Cinderella: A Holiday Panto set in the 1920s-inspired town of Malvernistan. Look for bootleggers, speakeasies, flappers and flying machines. People’s Light pantos are raucous affairs with spectacular sets, costumes, original music and dance – often with a dash of audience mischief. Cinderella runs Nov. 18–Jan. 3. Tickets start at $32. Visit peopleslight.org or call the box office at (610) 644-3500.

We know the Main Line loves its luxury cars, but if you spot a bunch of Porsches in downtown Bryn Mawr Nov. 7, here’s why. Rachelle’s Boutique Designer Consignment is teaming up with Porsche Conshohocken to present “Porsche, Puppies & Prosecco,” an effervescent benefit for Providence Animal Center, from noon to 3 p.m. Yes, there will be puppies and for that matter, Porsches, hoping to find their forever homes. Bring your wallet: a $50 raffle ticket buys you a chance to take home a Chanel handbag.

Well, whaddaya know? Affordable senior housing is headed to Willistown. The 57 one-bedroom apartments at Cornerstone at Paoli will be open to folks 62 and up whose income is at or below 60 percent of the area median income. The developer is New Jersey-based Walter Apartments, which just broke ground on the three-story complex at 27–29 Industrial Blvd. That’s miles – in every sense – from Willistown’s Radnor Hunt country.

Dress up your dog and head to the new Livewell Animal Hospital in Bryn Mawr Thursday, Oct. 29 for a community open house in partnership with the nonprofit Pals for Life. The pet-friendly event will feature apple bobbing for pets, a pet costume contest, light refreshments and a book signing with the author of Bella the Loving Therapy Dog, a Pals for Life member.

Sweat is dripping and endorphins are surging at STRONG Pilates, an Australian fitness chain that just opened its first Pa. studio at the new Wayne Station Apartments.

STRONG offers hybrid classes that combine cardio intervals, strength training and Pilates on “Rowformers” – an all-in-one  bike/rower/reformer machine.

And finally, a friendly word to the wise about a strange new trend: real estate agents posing as “reporters” on social media. It seems every day another Realtor grabs a microphone and, with a little help from AI, posts videos as if they’re a TV correspondent reporting actual Main Line news. They’re positioning themselves as hometown experts, but here’s the problem: too often, they get the facts wrong, or their “reports” are cursory and incomplete. Not always, but often enough to prompt this warning. So: viewer, beware. Just because someone is holding a mic and sounds informed doesn’t mean they did their homework. Understandably, these agents are busy people without time to work sources, interview subjects or sit through township meetings. Which raises the question: are those videos actually turning viewers into clients and listings? Or would that production time be better spent serving clients and marketing their listings?

Until next time, Hope your Halloween is full of treats, laughs, and just the right amount of spooky. Don’t you just love that it falls on a Saturday this year?

---

Recent SAVVY stories you may have missed; Click to read:

(To see our stories as soon as they publish, follow @savvymainline on Instagram and/or Facebook)

Andiamo! Vintner’s Table brings wine, food and fashion to Ardmore

Wayne Commons sparks a merchant revolt. Is the parklet on North Wayne Ave. in trouble?

Deck the Shops: Berwyn’s new holiday pop-up, Jingle & Co., opens Oct. 15. And yes, there will be mahjong.