Al Varano wears many hats: self-employed businessman, middling actor, pizza enthusiast. But among them all, perhaps the hat that looks best atop his Italian head is one for both self-promotion and storytelling.
For he can answer any question, maybe even the simplest - for the sake of this article, let's say, what was your favorite stop during the show? - with hurricane narrative, speaking clearly and steadily before picking up pace, peppering you with anecdotes and asides and laughter, ending in a frenzy but remaining on point, his audience pleased.
It's a natural talent the Shamokin native possesses, a trait of his vibrant personality.
And it's a personality he shares with friends Eric Long and Brian Campbell, originally of Shamokin and Frackville, respectively. Not the same personality, mind you; rather, all three have distinctly different self-identities. But they mesh in a way that charms and entertains, and it's a good reason why the producers of "Explore PA" on WVIA invited them back for a second run on the show, which airs at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Together, they entertain in what potentially could have been a staid TV show about leisure and travel in the commonwealth.
Breaking the mold
The trio first appeared on "Explore PA" in 2007 when they explored the "wilds" of western Pennsylvania.
"When we did the first episode, we kind of broke the mold a little bit," Varano said last week by telephone.
In contrast to past travelers on the show, they took their behavior over the top and clearly had a lot of fun. Viewers enjoyed the difference, Varano said.
While the show remained educational, some viewers who communicated with
the show's staff said their episode was also highly entertaining.
"So (the producers) actually encouraged all their travelers after our first episode to be a little more outgoing," he said.
Fun in Berks County
"Explore PA," now in its last season, invited them back for one final go, this time exploring Berks County last July.
Campbell, Long and Varano found themselves in the passenger seat at the Duryea Hill Climb with the Blue Mountain Region Sports Car Club of America - professional driver at the wheel and hidden camera at the ready.
Varano was thrilled. Long was a bit nervous. Campbell was terrified. Each of their expressions during the ride were recorded.
"Campbell is like ridiculous because he's never been on a roller coaster in his life. He's afraid of everything," Varano said. "So the shot when he gets back, he's ready to pass out when he gets out of the car."
At the Toy Robot Museum in Adamstown, the three let loose their inner child and made nervous the ex-state trooper who owns the place.
"'I know guys from one of two ways,'" Varano recalled the owner telling them, which will be broadcast in a clip during the episode's closing credits, '"I either worked with them as a police officer or I arrested them. You guys remind me of somebody.' Obviously he was insinuating that he arrested us."
A toast to 'anything'
Other stops include the Kutztown Folk Festival, where the crew helps roast an ox and steps up to a hoedown challenge with an old fair family; at Nolde Forest for a moth hunt with a man truly in love with bugs; and at Crystal Cave for a tour of the mysterious "Bottomless Pit."
While at Stoudt's Brewery for a cheese and beer tasting, Varano said the brew master was a bit uptight during their visit, adding the producer wasn't sure how the bit would go.
In fact, the brew master warned all those off-camera to not, under any circumstances, mutter the word "wine" at the tasting.
Varano willfully ignored this.
"I said, 'Let's do a toast. To the bread! To the cheese! And to the wine!' And she puts her beer down and said, 'What did you say?! Throw him off the show!'"
"That's what's clear about this episode versus the last one," Varano continued. "The last one, the editors would have never put in."
This time around, he said, anything goes.