Lots of holiday activities for the family in downtown Pottstown from 4-8pm TODAY!

Oh, the weather outside may be frightful but there’s a full slate of holiday fun in downtown Pottstown today from 4-8 pm. These and similar activities will also be taking place next Friday and Saturday, December 14 & 15.

Check out the Pottstown Downtown Improvement Authority website here for all the details!

• SANTA’S VILLAGE is open with Santa, kids’ crafts, reindeer food-making & coloring contest. Location: 139 E. High Street (TANGO MARKETING)
• Photos with Santa ($7)
• Music
• Horse-drawn wagon/wagonette rides from 5-7 pm ($7)
• Story Time at The Babysitter’s Clubhouse (333 HIGH ST), every hour starting at 4:30 and last story at 7:30pm
• FREE Trolley Rides from 4:30-8PM
• DISCOUNTED BABYSITTING at The Babysitter’s Clubhouse at 133 E HIGH ST
Contact: The Sitter’s Clubhouse – by phone 610.326.7600 – by email thesittersclubhouse@gmail.com
• ROASTED CHESTNUTS AND MORE from Empire Hook & Ladder Fire Company (300 block of E. High Street.)

Come out for some good, old-fashioned family holiday fun!

December 8, 2012

Historic House Tours set for this Sunday afternoon in Pottstown

I don’t know how my mom and I are going to get to all these houses on Sunday, but we’re going to do our darnedest to make it happen.

The Historic Pottstown Neighborhood Association presents its Historic Pottstown by Candlelight tour tomorrow, December 9th from 1-6 pm. This tour has been organized in a big way, once again, by Sue & Bill Krause, some of Pottstown’s long-standing, extraordinary volunteers.

Tickets/brochures can be purchased ahead of time TODAY for $12 at Carter’s Locksmith Shop, 127 N. Hanover St., or Pottstown Florist at 300 High St. Otherwise, it will cost you $13 on the day of the tour TOMORROW and then you can only purchase a ticket at Carter’s.

DETAILS: There is a trolley to take you around to most of these buildings. When you get your ticket, you can get the full scoop. Note that there is a Victorian Tea held by the Doe Club at the Elks Lodge #814 at 61 E. High Street from noon-2pm only. Refreshments and lavatories are at Zion’s United Church of Christ at 100 N. Hanover St. (built in 1796). There will be a Live Nativity on the lawn next to Emmanuel Lutheran from 2:30-4:30, weather permitting.

Twenty – 20! – buildings are on this year’s tour. I’ve scanned part of the brochure (see below) so you can check out the buildings and descriptions here. (See above. You MUST have a ticket/brochure to enter any of these buildings tomorrow afternoon!) There are plenty of newcomers… just a few… the Alumni Chapel and Memorial Hall at the Hill School; The Highland House, recently purchased by Wyndcroft School; the former Dr. Porter house at 344 E. High Street; a home on Queen Street in the East End with original woodwork and hardwood floors, representing the beauty of so much of Pottstown’s brick twin housing stock and many, many more. And if that’s not enough, don’t forget about Pottstgrove Manor, the historic home of the founder of our dear town, John Potts…

According to the estimable Evan Brandt in this Mercury article, “From 2 to 8 p.m., Pottsgrove Manor’s annual “Twelfth Night” tours, which continue until Jan. 6, will be transformed into a “Pottsgrove Manor by Candlelight” tour at the historic residence, 100 King St.

A donation of $2 is suggested for this event.

For this one-night-only event, costumed interpreters will portray colonial guests of John Potts, the ironmaster who founded Pottstown and built his mansion in 1752.

As visitors make their way through the house, they will hear the strains of music played on historical instruments, see English country dancing, catch a whiff of the delicious smells in the kitchen as historical cook, Deborah Peterson, prepares a colonial feast, play traditional tavern games, and enjoy the beauty of the mansion lit by candlelight and bedecked with greenery.

Next door to the mansion, in the Miller’s House, young visitors can make free colonial crafts to take home, and complimentary seasonal refreshments of hot spiced cider and cookies will be served.

Outside in the manor’s courtyard, visitors will be able to warm themselves by a bonfire (weather permitting) and enjoy historic carols sung by the Colonial Revelers singing group between 2 and 4 p.m.

Visitors are asked to park at the Carousel at Pottstown building, 30 West King Street; a shuttle will transport visitors to and from Pottsgrove Manor throughout the event. Handicapped parking is available in the museum’s parking lot.”

December 8, 2012

Choose & cut your own Christmas tree at Pine Hill Farm

Christmas tree season is upon us, and Pine Hill Choose-N-Cut Christmas Tree Farm on Sheep Hill Road in North Coventry has a bumper crop of trees ready in the fields. The basic price is still $25 – as has been the case for over 20 years. They do have some larger and more perfect specimens individually priced higher. But they still have loads of trees at $25.

You can do all that at the Pine Hill Choose-N-Cut Christmas Tree Farm on Sheep Hill Road in North Coventry. Pine Hill has been run by the Sally and Dick Heylmun family for 50 years. And for the past 21 years, they have held their prices steady at $25 a tree.

Pine Hill is just 2 miles from downtown Pottstown, yet has that full country atmosphere. Mrs. Heylmun still mows around the trees, shears them, and generally oversees the care of the farm, keeping the place like a lawn. Having raised 5 boys on a teacher’s pay, the Heylmuns know what it costs to raise a family, and they have refused to raise prices.

The Pine Hill website provides nice photos and descriptions of the various trees and their needles, so you can decide ahead of time what kind of tree you’re interested in.

December 8, 2012

Sensory-friendly visit with Santa sponsored by A-Team of Pottstown and YMCA

The A-Team Pottstown and the Pottstown/Freedom Valley YMCA are happy to provide a sensory-friendly experience for your child to visit Santa.

Sometimes children with special needs, such as autism, just cannot tolerate crowds of people, loud sounds or waiting in line for a turn.

This sensory-friendly experience will allow children to take part in a cherished childhood rite of passage on Sunday, December 16th from 1pm to 3pm.

Full Y members are free; all others are $5. There will be a snack, a craft, and photos with Santa. Photos are courtesy of Kaptured by Kat Photography. Please note that space is limited and you must call the Y at 610-323-7300 to reserve your child’s spot. The Y is located at 724 N. Adams Street in Pottstown.

December 8, 2012

This is opening weekend for Annie, the musical, at Steel River Playhouse!

This comes to us via Steel River Playhouse at 245 E. High Street in downtown Pottstown…

Annie, a uniquely American story about survival, pluck, second chances, generosity and triumph, opened at Steel River Playhouse this past Thursday. This Broadway sensation, ripped from the pages of a comic strip, won three Tony Awards.

Annie is a spunky orphan with infectious, unbeatable optimism and moxie. She’s determined to find her parents, who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage run by the cruel and bitter Miss Hannigan. She does escape, but is caught and returned, only to be selected as the needy child who’d stay at billionaire Daddy Warbucks’ mansion during the holidays. Shenanigans ensue, relationships grow, and even President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Secret Service join the fray!

Planning Information
Annie will be performed on our Main Stage

Thursdays (Dec. 6, 13, 20 at 7:30PM),
Fridays (Dec. 7, 14, 21 at 8PM),
Saturday (Dec. 22, at 3PM)
Saturdays (Dec. 8, 22 at 8PM)*
Sundays (Dec. 9, 16, 23 at 3PM)

*There will be no performance Saturday, Dec. 15. An added matinee performance will be held Dec. 22 at 3PM. Tickets for the 12/22 matinee may not be currently available due to a large group order, but please check back after Dec. 6 if this is your only available date .

Single Ticket Prices

Adult –             $26 ($23 on Thurs.)
Senior (65+) –   23 ($20 on Thurs.)
Student/Child – 17   ($15 on Thurs)

Groups of 10 or more – $3 off per ticket
Buy online or at box office – same price

Special Event: Sunday, December 9 – Talkback with the director and cast. An opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

About Annie
Based on the Tribune Media Service Comic Strip, Little Orphan Annie
Book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, http://www.MTIShows.com

And, presented with the support of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts

The Music of Annie

The beautiful voices of our Annie cast will be complemented by our accomplished pit orchestra. At Steel River Playhouse, high-quality, live music is an important part of the musical experience.

Director – Ken Kaissar

This Steel River Playhouse production is being directed by Ken Kaissar. His directing work has been seen in New York at The Culture Project, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, The American Globe Theatre, Theatre Row, and The Epiphany Theatre Company where he directed a production of the Ibsen classic, A Doll’s House. In March 2010, Ken directed Noises Off at Steel River Playhouse.

An accomplished playwright, Ken was commissioned by Columbia University to adapt The Canterbury Tales to the stage. His ten-minute play Ceasefire (written in response to Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006) was an official selection in the 2012 New Works Festival at the Fusion Theatre Company; it also was a winner of the West Boca New Play Competition and a regional winner in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

An acting coach, working with up and coming talent in New York and Pennsylvania, Ken also teaches at Steel River Playhouse.

About Steel River Playhouse

Formerly Tri-County Performing Arts Center (Tri-PAC), Steel River Playhouse, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, seeks to strengthen community, inspire creative exploration, educate, and entertain, through the presentation of quality performing arts events and education for diverse audiences. Each year, the Steel River Playhouse produces more than 90 performances and hosts more than 10,000 people as audiences, students, artists, donors and volunteers from throughout the region. We offer performance opportunities through open auditions; theater technical training; acting, voice, and instrumental lessons; classes and workshops for all ages; summer camp programs; and educational outreach including scholarships, artists in the classroom, traveling children’s shows, and other initiatives. For further information, visit www.steelriver.org, or call 610-970-1199.