Tag: Events

Put a little Spring in your step April 24th

I don’t know about you, but well over a year into Covid19, it feels a bit like I’m trudging through things these days. It has been a long, weird, hard year and I am ready for the light that keeps growing slightly brighter down at the end of that tunnel. Spring tends to cheer me up a bit, with the warmer temps, chirping birds, and fragrant blossoms everywhere I look. I’ll tell you what I’m really looking forward to: On April 24th, the first of a series of three garden tours that will occur over the growing season in 2021 is going to happen, and I think it will be just the thing I need to start pulling me out of this Covid funk.

The tour is organized by Mosaic Community Land Trust in partnership with Building a Better Boyertown and the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, and features some of the past winners of the annual Home Garden Contest that occurs in the two boroughs, as well as a few other special gardens in the area.

Tickets can be purchased online for $20 in advance or for $25 on the day of tour. Series tickets, which include all 3 tours in 2021, can be purchased for $50. Dates of the tours are April 24th, July 10th and September 18th. For those who purchase a special ticket to the April 24th tour, a brunch has been arranged at Gracie’s 21st Century Cafe in the outdoor dining area. Tour plus a lunch ticket for Gracie’s are $50 per person (*tips and alcohol not included).

Garden tour attendees will be notified in advance of starting points in both Pottstown and Boyertown. On the day of the tour, attendees will receive garden descriptions and a map of the tour. Ticketholders are free to visit any of the gardens during the four-hour period they are open. Tour attendees will be given the opportunity to vote for their favorite garden, and the garden with the most votes will be recognized at the annual Home Garden Contest Awards Banquet. Tickets can be purchased by clicking on the following link:

Boyertown and Pottstown Spring Garden Tour Tickets, Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 8:00 AM | Eventbritehttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/boyertown-and-pottstown-spring-garden-tour-tickets-142894839311

Get Your Tickets for The Historic Pottstown Holiday Tour

historic holiday tour image 2019

Tickets are on sale now for the Historic Pottstown Holiday Tour which will be Sunday, December 8, from noon until 5:00 pm.

The Borough of Pottstown boasts many stunning, historic buildings – and
many will be festively decorated and warmly opened to the public tour.
All proceeds will benefit the Third Annual Pottstown GoFourth! fireworks festival in Memorial Park. (See below for details on how to enjoy the various holiday activities). This year’s festival will have a “Sunny 2020” Woodstock theme, planners say. In the meantime, holiday lovers can get in the spirit on December 8, beginning with a tea at the Elk’s Club, 61 E. High St., between noon and 3 p.m.

A trolley, sponsored by ROG Orthodontics and Pottstown Area Rapid Transit, will shuttle historic house tour-goers to about one dozen stops throughout the Borough while Pottstown historian Mike Snyder shares fascinating stories about our town’s past. The trolley tours will begin at 1:00 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m., both leaving from Emmanuel Lutheran Church at 150 N. Hanover St. Cookies and punch — and raffle baskets — will be offered at Emmanuel, too.

Event planners note that the tickets are selling rapidly – with more than one half of the Historic Pottstown Trolley Tour available seats already taken.

A self-guided tour of the historic properties, all lovingly decorated for the season, may be taken between 1 and 5 p.m. A shuttle service will be provided to those interested, courtesy of Tompkins VIST Bank and Pottstown Area Rapid Transit. “This is a wonderful opportunity to peek inside some of Pottstown’s fantastic homes, many of which are perfect examples of architecture ranging from Queen Ann Victorian to Revival styles,” says Jo Bathurst, chair of the GoFourth! Historic Pottstown Holiday Tour. “The property owners who are participating will pull out all the stops to showcase these Pottstown gems. We truly appreciate their generosity in welcoming guests into their homes.”

“Even if you can’t enjoy the tour in person, you can show your pride in our beautiful community by purchasing the 2020 Pottstown Historic House Tour calendar, beautifully photographed by local artist Carol Brightbill,” adds Amy Francis, Pottstown GoFourth co-chair.

small calendar front 2019         small calendar back 2019

An Undervalued Asset in Our Community

 

My youngest daughter came to us during her Junior year in high school, disgruntled and restless about what to do the following year with her school schedule. She only needed a few more credits to graduate, and was looking at her options. She considered moving to a cyber charter school, trying to graduate early, and even home schooling, briefly. She went in to discuss it with her guidance counselor, who suggested she look at a dual-credit program the high school had set up in cooperation with Montgomery County Community College. The way it worked, she would take all her classes at the college, and the classes would count not only toward her high school graduation, but toward college credit as well. We would be required to pay regular tuition at the community college to participate in the program, but for a full year of college credit, it was a bargain price by any standard, so my daughter immediately enrolled. My daughter, as well as my husband and I, consider the year she spent at MCCC to be of incredible value.

The main campus is located in Blue Bell, but the college has its West Campus located right here in Pottstown, just off the Hanover Street exit of 422, and convenient to all the High Street restaurants and stores, at 101 College Drive. It is home to an art gallery, theater, library and bookstore, as well as the recently added Sustainability and Innovation Hub. Many of MCCC’s students live in Pottstown, but many more come into Pottstown from surrounding communities. The college offers degree programs in many areas of education including Business Administration, Education, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Mathematics, and many others. In addition, academic programming at West Campus’s University Center allows students to take a selection of courses and pursue a range of degrees offered by Albright University, Alvernia University, and Chestnut Hill College.

The college also offers credit certificate programs that can be completed in Pottstown in Medical Assisting, Human Services, and Addictions. There are Continuing Education programs, summer camps, a Culinary Arts Institute (located in Lansdale), as well as online courses. The college also offers events for the community, two of which are coming up next week. There will be a College Jump Start event beginning June 17th and running through the 21st (see flyer below), as well as the upcoming Community Career Fair on June 18th. For more information on either of these two events, contact Christine Morris at cmorris@mc3.edu or call (610)718-1802.

To stay connected with what is being offered by way of events, follow this link, or go the the MCCC website, and click on the For the Community tab.

Montco College Jumpstart

Montco Community Career Fair

Get out there and Go Fourth!

Help Support the Festival

 

The Pottstown GoFourth! Festival is many festivals – a music festival, a food festival, a kid’s festival and a 4th of July festival – all rolled into one giant festival!

Entirely funded by donations and sponsorships, without a penny of taxpayer dollars, this year’s GoFourth Festival will begin at 11:30 a.m., immediately after the Rotary Club-sponsored July 4 parade beginning at 10:15 a.m.

Fireworks cost about $1,000 per minute in addition to ancillary costs such as security costs, permits, and traffic control.  “We cannot begin to fund this festival through bucket collections alone,” says co-chairperson Amy Wolf, adding that the volunteers still are seeking two headlining fireworks sponsors of $10,000 each (or one official and extraordinarily generous sponsor at $20,000).

Volunteers have raised about $35,000 toward a $55,000 goal that will ensure a spectacular, old-fashioned fireworks display by International Fireworks of Douglassville, Pa., at 9:15 p.m. in Memorial Park on Thursday, July 4, as part of the Third Annual Pottstown GoFourth! Festival.

Putting on a community festival of this size takes a village! To volunteer with festival set-up (July 3), during the festival, and/or festival break-down (July 5) please visit http://www.pottstowngofourth.com/volunteer.

Help Support the Fireworks and The Pottstown GoFourth! Festival

Area businesses and citizens play a vital role in ensuring the success of this year’s all- volunteer led effort to throw a spectacular July 4 event for the community and guests.

Tax-deductible donations can be made by donating online at PottstownGoFourth.org, or by sending a check made payable to the TriCounty Community Network (TCN); donors should note “Attention: GoFourth” in the memo line on the check.  Checks may be mailed to Pottstown GoFourth! Festival, PO Box 1362, Pottstown, PA 19464.

Businesses or individuals may sponsor various entertainment providers and activities – and in exchange they will receive outstanding publicity and other benefits including (for upper level sponsors) preferred seating during the fireworks display.  To learn more about becoming a sponsor, go to PottstownGoFourth.com or email PottstownGoFourth@gmail.com.

Similarly, quality arts and crafts vendors will feature their wares, but additional artisans are encouraged to participate. Again, the PottstownGoFourth.com website provides relevant information. Vendor applications can be found at: www.pottstowngofourth.com/vendor-apps.

Friends of Pottstown GoFourth! Festival can purchase GoFourth! merchandise, including the popular hats, which always sell out quickly, at https://www.pottstowngofourth.com/gofourthgear while supplies last.

Please look for updates about Pottstown GoFourth! at www.pottstowngofourth.com and at www.facebook.com/PottstownGoFourth and http://www.twitter.com/GoFourthFest. 

Event Information

Go-Fourth-color-800

This year’s festivities will be kicked-off with the singing of the National Anthem by Jo Ann Bathurst at 11:30 a.m., immediately followed by the crowning of the 2019 Royal Court. Homecoming Queens and Kings from the Pottstown, Owen J. Roberts, Boyertown, and Spring-Ford school districts are encouraged to compete through fundraising to be named King and Queen of the Pottstown GoFourth! Royal Court – and the second-highest fundraisers will be named the Prince and Princess of the Court. Students are conducting their own fundraising drives through activities that may include collection cans at local venues, a car wash, bake sale, and so forth. All funds must be submitted by the end of the business day on Friday, June 28, at VIST bank, 258 E. High Street, Pottstown. All Royal Court competitors may appear in the July 4 parade. Winners also will receive two passes for VIP seating for the fireworks show and a Pottstown GoFourth! Festival gift bag including an official Festival t-shirt.

Last year’s diverse, professional live entertainment was a real hit with attendees.  This year’s line-up includes:  Anakai and the Grooveyard; AfroBear presented by Montgomery County Community College; Stephanie Grace, presented by Pottstown Parks & Recreation; Hector Rosado & Orchestra Hache; and Funktion.

The festival is jam-packed with activities geared toward families, including the noon to 5 p.m. return appearance of “Grandpop Bubbles,” a performance artist who creates enormous bubbles to delight young and old alike.  Grandpop Bubbles’ performance and all of the children’s activities for the day are being generously sponsored by ROG Orthodontics. Other attractions will be inflatable rides and attractions, from noon to 8 p.m.; Rainbow the Clown face-painting artists from 1 to 5 p.m.; and a Rain Gutter Regatta presented by Pottstown Cub Scout Packs 249 & 146 from 5 – 7 p.m. Community members interested in participating in the Rain Gutter Regatta please contact Raymond Rose at 484-366-7096.

In addition, local non-profit organizations will offer games, prizes, and giveaways.

The U.S. Hot Air Balloon Team will have a balloon launch of multiple balloons from the park around 6 p.m.

The all-important food offerings have grown quickly, and this year the vendor fare will include pizza cones, Asian dumplings and rolls, BBQ, ice cream, Latin food, banana whip, burritos, and more.  The popular Sly Fox Beer Tent also will return.  There are still a few spaces left for food vendors. For more information please visit: www.pottstowngofourth.com/vendor-apps.

This year’s Featured Community Partner is The Colebrookdale Railroad, which will offer short runs from noon – 4 p.m. (adults $10/children $5) and a Fireworks Express Run at 7 p.m. starting at the Colebrookdale Railroad Boyertown Station. Fireworks Express passengers will enjoy VIP seating for the fireworks display. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit www.colebrookdale.com.

The 2019 Pottstown GoFourth! Festival would like to recognize the following top-level sponsors to-date:  Gold sponsors include (in alphabetical order), Hobart’s Run, Precision Polymer, Reading Orthodontic Group, and Wolf, Baldwin & Associates; silver sponsors include American Keg Company, Key Bank, O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, PC, Sager & Sager Associates, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, The Victory Bank, and Tompkins VIST Bank;  bronze sponsors include the American Heritage Credit Union, Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, PA Industrial Equipment, and PECO.

The Pottstown GoFourth! organization is a Pennsylvania not-for-profit corporation, operating under the 501 (c)(3) umbrella of the TriCounty Community Network, which manages all GoFourth! finances and reporting.  Co-Chairperson Amy Francis emphasizes that not a penny of taxpayer money supports the July 4 festivities, which is why fundraising is so essential.  “No Pottstown Borough funds help to pay for this celebration,” Francis says.  “It is completely funded by sponsorships and donations made by businesses and individuals who want to offer our greater Pottstown community a fun, family-oriented event — a happening that showcases all the positive community spirit and amenities Pottstown has to offer.”

Parties interested in marching or driving in the Pottstown Rotary Club July 4th parade should contact pottstownrotary@gmail.com as soon as possible to register. There is a modest registration fee that will cover traffic control and other related expenses.   The parade will begin at 10:15 a.m. at High and Adams Streets and continue west to Manatawny Street – and participants as well as spectators will be encouraged to continue on to the King Street entrance of Memorial Park to participate in the GoFourth! Festival.

The Rotary Club also will hold its 27th Annual Duck Race on Manatawny Creek the afternoon of July 4, with a 4 p.m. duck launch.  By selling duck sponsorships, the Rotary will benefit charities in the greater Pottstown area – including Pottstown GoFourth.  To purchase a Rotary duck, go to pottstownrotary.org or purchase a duck at the GoFourth festival on July 4; to make a parade contribution, please send a tax-deductible donation to the Pottstown Rotary Community Endowment Fund (PRCEF) via P.O. Box 227, Pottstown, PA.  19464.

Pottstown GoFourth! Festival also will sell 2019 duck ticket and Pottstown GoFourth! Festival merchandise, including newly designed collectable Pottstown GoFourth! Festival baseball caps (while limited supplies last), at the Pottstown and Douglassville Redner’s markets on Sunday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday June 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

(While there is not a rain date for the entire festival, the rain date for fireworks only will be July 7.)

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