The Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority (PDIDA) office at 17 N. Hanover Street will be opening its re-furbished Visitors’ Center tomorrow. The Center will include information on local events, businesses, and organizations, and the framed photos on its walls will give visitors a visual taste of Pottstown’s history.
Just across the street, The Mercury will unveil its newly-tricked out Community Media Lab, where members of the community can use computers, do research in Mercury archives on microfilm, and grab a cup of coffee. Workshops on blogging and other aspects of linking the public with technology and communication tools are being planned.
PDIDA and The Mercury will celebrate with a “ribbon-joining” ceremony that begins at 11 am tomorrow and runs for about a half-hour. The first block of N. Hanover Street will be closed from 10:30 am – 1 pm. Refreshments will be available in both locations. The ribbon-joining, as opposed to a ribbon-cutting, is meant to symbolize the spirit of cooperation between The Mercury and PDIDA in helping residents and visitors alike learn more about the history of Pottstown, take pride, and participate more in civic life.
Speaking of civic life… it’s everyone’s duty to BUY LOCAL! whenever they can! The recent, incredible BUY LOCAL! challenge in the Pottstown public schools, which netted over $55,000 in one month for downtown merchants, shows that there’s plenty of wonderful stuff to be had in downtown Pottstown. Why not come out and do it again this Saturday, July 21 from 11 am-4 pm when there is a GIGANTIC Sidewalk Sale taking place? PDIDA is still getting calls from vendors wanting a table at the event. There will be a face painter, juggler, clown/balloon artist, raffles and loads of FREE FUN, so come on down!
Positively Pottstown blog 
Good times, loved the music. I found a couple of stores I didn’t know about and had my first taste of The Very Best, two with everything…’bout time right? I loved the granite sculptures too. We should do this more often then once a year.
I’ll pass it along to Sheila Dugan, the Main Street Manager. I was thinking the same thing… it’s basically a “First Saturday” event. It’s nice to bring in the additional vendors and entertainment until we get more of the existing storefronts occupied. Sue