Author: Rosemary Keane

Good Friday Prayer Processional in Pottstown

As Christians around the world observe Holy Week, the 15 year tradition of praying around and for Pottstown continues this week, with the Good Friday Prayer Processional, sponsored by the Pottstown Clergy Association.  In recent years, the event has become known as the Cross Walk, because the participants are led on the one mile walk through town by one person carrying a huge wooden cross, symbolic of the walk Jesus took to his crucifixion. 

My kids and I look forward to marking Good Friday with the Cross Walk every year, since my youngest was wrapped in blankets in his stroller. [They also look forward to our tradition of lunch at  The Very Best after the walk since all that walking always makes them hungry].

Reverend Kerry Pidcock-Lester, Co-Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pottstown, started the walk to help people (and especially families with young children) find a way “to go from Palm Sunday to Easter and not miss what comes in between.”  Clergy from other Pottstown congregations share in praying for the government, the schools, the businesses and all the people of Pottstown. 

The walk begins on the lawn between Emmanuel Lutheran and Zion United Church of Christ on Hanover Street at 10:30am on Friday.  There is a time for children, aimed at helping the youngest walkers understand why they are walking, and then the mile walk begins.  With stops at the Cluster Outreach Center, the school administration building and even at Borough Hall, the walk winds its way a mile through town, ending again on the lawn between the churches.  In the event of rain, the event takes place indoors. 

With a late Easter this year, I am holding out hope for a warm walk; although this wet spring might have other plans for us.  The walk takes about an hour from start to finish and the prayers at each stop are accompanied by singing and soft flute playing.   If you are looking for a great way to observe Holy Week with your family or just on your own, come to the lawn at 10:30 and join in the walk through town.  It just might become your own Good Friday tradition. 

Participating Clergy/Congregations

Rev. Kerry Pidcock-Lester, First Presbyterian

Rev. Lynette Chapman, Emmanuel Lutheran

Rev. John Houghton, The Hill School

 Rev. Vernon Ross, Bethel AME

Rev. Bonnie Moore, Shenkel UCC

Rev. Sherry Lantz, Cedarville UMC

Rev. Rick Knarr, Grace Covenant Church

Rev. Rebecca Brenner, St. Paul’s UCC

Rev. Sanford Christophel, Coventry Church of the Brethren

Rev. W. Carter Lester, First Presbyterian

Friday, April 22 at 10:30 Am

Gather on the lawn between Emmanuel Lutheran and Zion UCC on Hanover Street.

Easter Egg Hunt and More at Gerald Richards Park

This Saturday, the Easter Bunny will be stopping by Gerald Richards Park in Lower Pottsgrove Township.  Bring the kids at 9:30 for an Easter egg hunt in the park, a “bunny hop” sack race and even photos with the Easter Bunny. 

In the case of rain (which seems more and more likely this spring) the egg hunt and other festivities will take place Sunday afternoon at 2pm. 

We visited Gerald Richards Park last fall during the Park Series, but it’s worth another look this spring as the township is working on some big plans for the park.   With over 30 acres, this park is home to the Pottsgrove Soccer club in spring and fall, but the township plans would greatly expand its use, adding a clubhouse, playground and more fields.  You can find more information about this project on the township website:

www.lowerpottsgrove.org

Positively!Pottstown Happy Hour Tonight!

In case you don’t have it on your calendar, Positively!Pottstown’s Happy Hour is tonight from 5pm to 7pm at the combined High Street Yoga and Academy of Massage space at 141 High Street.  Food will be provided by Churchills and the students of the massage school will even be giving chair massages.  As usual, the charge is just $5 per person to cover the cost of food and drinks. 

This  month’s event will not only serve its normal function of bringing together people who are excited and engaged in Pottstown’s revitalization,  it will also treat them to a movie premiere! 

 The Tri-County for a Cure Team, who you will remember is raising money for the Yoga on the Steps event, is going to unveil their video tonight.  Come out and see which local business owners and administrators decided to join the team in a bit of a yoga flash mob during their photo shoots last month.

Pottstown Elementary Schools Compete in Reading Olympics

The parking lot at Souderton Area High School was overflowing with cars last night, but it wasn’t for a baseball game or even for the school play.  Instead, over 500 area students and their families were gathered for Reading Olympics, with about a fifth of them coming from Pottstown.  The yearly event, sponsored in our area by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, brings students together to test their knowledge of an extensive book list. 

“We are thrilled to have one of the most successful and growing programs in the county that supports reading. In 12 years, we have more than quadrupled the number of participating students,” said Maria Johns, who organizes the event for the MCIU’s Division of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development.

Reading Olympics

For my own daughter, who is in fourth grade this year, the reading frenzy started in the fall, when she and about 20 of her classmates decided to give up valuable recess time and tackle a reading list of more than 40 books.  The list includes Newbery Award-winning books like Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins and kid favorites like Bunnicula and Judy Moody.  The event not only encourages kids to read, but gets them to read beyond what they would normally choose for themselves.  The favorites from this year’s list for my daughter were Rules, Flush, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and When You Reach Me.  The intermediate unit, along with reading specialists, librarians and grade level teachers select the book list each year, read the books themselves and then devise the questions. 

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Although the event is a celebration of reading rather than a contest, with teams accumulating points to earn ribbons, the kids take it very seriously.  Some questions last night, like the one about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, were met with knowing smiles, while others left teams scratching their heads for the answer. 

Eleven teams with a total of over 100 kids competed from the five elementary schools in Pottstown: Barth, Lincoln, Edgewood, Franklin and Rupert. The hard work of teachers and students alike went into making the whole event a success. 

For more information about the event, you can visit the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.  And, if you have a budding reader in your home, at any grade level through high school, you will want to check that website for the 2012 list which should be out in May.

Tri-County for a Cure Team Gets Ready for Yoga on the Steps

If you’ve seen a bunch of women dressed in black yoga garb and pink bandanas running around downtown Pottstown in the last few weeks, you aren’t imagining things and we aren’t being invaded by pink ninja yogis.

It’s the Tri-County for a Cure team, headed up by local yoga instructor, Barbara Kosciewicz of High Street Yoga and filmed by photographer Melia Rios-Lazo, of Priceless Moments Photography. I am lucky enough to be one of these team members, and we’re busy getting ready for the Yoga on the Steps fundraiser for Living Beyond Breast Cancer that will be held in Philadelphia on May 15th.

Image by Melia Rios-Lazo from Priceless Moments Portrait

Last year’s event drew over 1,200 yoga enthusiasts to the Art Museum in Philadelphia to do yoga and raise money for Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a non-profit dedicated to support services for women in treatment and beyond. While many breast cancer organizations focus on finding a cure, LBBC is different. According to their mission statement, their goal is, “To empower all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life.”

Kosciewicz found out about the Yoga on the Steps event late last year and got a couple of friends, jewelry artist Carrie Grabowicz of Hammi Jammi Jewelry and Joy van Ruler, an artist who designed this year’s team logo, to join her on the steps of the Art Museum. This year, the team has 20 registered members and there is room for more. Fellow yoga instructor, Stephanie Smolik of Yoga-for-Every-Belly, is a team member as well.

So, what does all this have to do with pink-headed yogis running rampant through the streets of Pottstown and encouraging business owners, the mayor and borough manager to strike a yoga pose?  Actually quite a bit. The excitement was all about the video the Tri-County for a Cure team is making to raise awareness about breast cancer.   

Image from Living Beyond Breast Cancer

The impetus for the video was a conversation before one of Barbara’s classes about how funny it would be to do yoga in random places around town. Before long the idea had grown to involve raising awareness and funds for the Yoga on the Steps event and the team, Tri-County for a Cure.

Honestly, the first day of filming, I think many of us (myself included) were a little nervous about the idea of being filmed or photographed in yoga poses, but with Melia’s enthusiasm and skill, we all quickly got into the spirit of the day. Before we knew it, we were sitting in prayer squat near the door of a Septa Bus in front of Borough Hall.

We had a schedule, but also grabbed unsuspecting people along the way, and I was amazed at the support we found. We even convinced the UPS driver to pose with us near the police station, and some college kids on the steps at Montgomery County Community College.

“We attracted attention, beeps and awareness. Everyone we came in contact with was supportive of the cause and gave yoga their best shot,” said Kosciewicz. “We talked to people who were survivors, who had family members that were survivors or had lost someone to breast cancer.” 

She continued, “At the end of each day filming I walked away energized, but also with the understanding that Breast Cancer is a terrible disease and something that has affected everyone. I would use the word ‘powerful’ to describe the filming days.”

Even Positively Pottstown’s own Sue Repko joined us at Riverfront Park for some quiet meditation on the last day of filming. We also got Borough Manager Jason Bobst, The Schuykill River National and State Heritage Area staff, and most of the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation staff out to do yoga on that 70 degree Friday we enjoyed a few weeks ago.

photo by Lisa Engle

The whole experience was, well, something amazing to experience.  We got so many people to come out of their stores, offices, and comfort zones and be a little silly with us for an important cause. Barbara summed up the days’ filming this way (and I agree wholeheartedly): “I enjoyed the interaction with each and every person; the willingness of EVERYONE to do something for breast cancer and for Pottstown’s revitalization.”

The video is set to debut at the next Positively Pottstown Happy Hour on April 15th at the Academy of Massage Therapy and Bodyworks and High Street Yoga, which shares the space on the second floor of the massage school.

For information about the event in May, or to learn more about the organization’s services and mission, you can visit Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s webpage at www.llbc.org

If you can’t wait till April 15th for the video and want a sneak peek of the coverage, you can check out the Mercury’s coverage of the day, or visit the Tri-County for a Cure facebook page for links to the local news stories that ran about the filming

A night of Harp Music and Yoga for a good cause

designed by Joy van Ruler

The Tri-County for a Cure team, which is raising money for Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s Yoga on the Steps, is hosting a night of yoga and harp music. 

Barbara Kosciewicz, of High Street Yoga will be leading the group in yoga accompanied by Betsy Chapman on the harp. 

Here are the details:

Tuesday, March 29th

7pm

First Presbyterian Church

750 North Evans Street

Suggested donation $20

There will also be raffles ($), items for sale and refreshments. 

For more information, visit Tri-County for a Cure on facebook.

WPAZ –Community Radio for Pottstown

Before I tell you all about WPAZ and their really cool vision for what community radio is going to be in Pottstown, I have to make a confession:  I am a total radio geek. I love radio.  Don’t ever ask me who is on Dancing with the Stars or American Idol because I actually have no idea when or where to find those shows.  But, if you want to know what’s on NPR at 2pm weekdays or who the guests are this week on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, well, you’ve come to the right person.

Ross Landy, Station Manager of WPAZ

So, when I got the chance to visit the WPAZ studios last week and see what’s going on, I was pretty excited.  Actually, everyone in Pottstown should be pretty excited about what the new WPAZ radio (1370 on you AM radio dial) is doing here in town.

Station Manager, Ross Landy, who worked hard and long with General Manager, Rick Rodgers, to get WPAZ back on the air as a local station, is absolutely passionate about what radio can do for Pottstown.  “We are Pottstown people,” he says. And the station is going to be about local issues, organizations, businesses, musicians.  It has the power to raise awareness and cover topics with a local focus and be entertaining at the same time.

Station Manager Ross Landy and morning DJ Brian James

While I am not old enough to have sat around the radio at night instead of the television, I do have a real appreciation for radio shows.  I remember fondly listening to Rock and Roll Roots, an old WMMR show that was hosted by Earle Bailey.  It kept me company for many Saturday mornings when I had to be at work.

For me, good radio is conversation. It’s not about someone pushing the shuffle button on an enormous playlist and then jumping in every now and then with a commercial break.  It’s the idea that the person playing the music has something to share with the audience.  WPAZ gets it.

WPAZ is offering plenty of good radio and tons of conversation.  I took some time during this, their inaugural week, to listen to the station and you should, too.  It’s not like a regular broadcast station where you know exactly what you are in for when you choose country music or Top 40 or even Oldies.  Instead, you will be part of a conversation which might include music or talk or a little bit of both.

Here’s a look at some of what’s lined up at WPAZ so far:

6-9 AM           The morning show with Randi Ellis and Betsy Chapman

9-Noon            Brian James –an eclectic mix of music with a little extra

1-3 PM             Ken’s Koffee Shop-music and call in conversation

You can also tune in Wednesday nights for Notes from Home with Mike Holliday, a live music show featuring local musicians. And, look for much more in the future.  The Hip Places to be Scene in Pottstown girls, Janet Flack and Gina Stango will have a show soon.

Landy and his crew of radio aficionados have big plans to make WPAZ both a voice for the community and part of its ongoing revitalization. You can look forward to live appearances in the spring at events and a real presence on the local music scene.  The station is broadcasting 24/7 right now and will offer live internet streaming in the near future.

So, even if you aren’t a self-professed radio geek like me, it’s worth tuning in to see what’s happening over at WPAZ.

WPAZ Radio   1370 AM

www.wpazradio.com

find them on facebook:  www.facebook.com/wpazradio

Call the station at 610-326-4000

Snow daze!

The last few weeks have been full of inside-out pajamas, spoons under the pillows and ice cubes in the toilet.  All these superstitions are supposed to bring feet of snow and no school until spring. Of course, if you don’t have elementary school aged children, you might be dreaming of a tropical winter getaway or worrying if you remembered to buy rock salt to put on the sidewalk for yet another “wintry mess” as meteorologists like to call it.

At my house, we are knee- deep in snow-crazed children, so these two most recent snow events have come not with cups of cocoa and long sessions of reading by a fire. Instead the snowstorms have forced me out of my warm home to accompany my kids as they face the Rupert Elementary Hill.  It’s a good place to sled and most of the East End of town shows up there at one time or another when there’s fresh snow (and old snow, truth be told).

What you might not know, however, is that there are places in Pottstown that are specifically designated for sledding.  The Parks and Rec department of Pottstown Borough lists the following streets::

              #1: South Price Street (Between South Street and Center Avenue)
              #2: Rosemont Alley
              #3: Loop Drive (Between Burden Drive and Winding Road)
              #4: Hawthorne Avenue (Between N. Hills Blvd and S. Hills Blvd)  
              #5: South Evans (Between Cherry Street and Laurel Street)

And, here are the details about sledding in these spots: 

  • Rules: Barricades should be placed in proper position by first sledder to arrive at area, and removed by last person(s) using the hill. (Put it back to curb)
  • Hours: 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (School Days) 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Weekends/Non-school days)

After a nice conversation with the Parks and Recreation Department, I also learned that there are great sledding hills at Brookside Country Club and Lincoln Elementary, just in case the snow has already melted on the street sledding areas. I was really surprised to hear that at one point in Pottstown’s history you could sled all the way down Mervine Street, which would be closed off for just this purpose. 

That sounded like fun, even to me and I am not a big fan of winter or snow or even being cold.

sledding at Rupert Elementary

Back at Rupert, the wind was blowing, but that didn’t stop kid after kid from showing up at the hill, some with air filled and gravity defying tubes, others with saucers, still others with the newest thing in sleds that are just a little slip of plastic and require the rider to throw themselves down the hill headfirst and reward them with a super fast ride.  My own kids have a mixture of sleds:  a saucer, an old-fashioned two-person model and the newest addition, a snowboard.

We stuck it out for an hour and a half, down the hill and back up, braving the frigid wind.  The kids raced each other and I spent a lot of time yelling for them to bail out of the sleds before they hit the street.  Finally, we all walked back home.  More accurately, I dragged two of my kids home in a sled, listening to them plotting the next snowstorm and reminding each other to turn their pajamas inside-out.

Got a favorite place to sled in Pottstown?  How about a memory of winters past and your favorite sledding spots?  We’d love to hear about it.

Art Goes to School

If you pose the question “what is art?” to a room full of kindergarteners, you will get all kinds of answers. As usually happens with kids, the first answer kind of sets the trend for the rest.  So, if the first child says “art is when I play with play-doh,” you are bound to get at least four more answers pretty much like the first.  Then, you will get a few who want to tell you about their dog, or their sister, or even what they had for lunch

But if you keep calling on them, you might get the kind of answer that art teachers really love, just as I got last week in my first volunteer gig with Art Goes to School.  One round- faced five-year-old raised his hand and summed it all up in one sentence:  “Everything is art!”

Art Goes to School (AGTS) might just be the coolest program that you don’t know about. The local chapter of this non-profit volunteer organization brings art history and appreciation to kids in the Pottstown School District every winter, and has been doing so for the last 20 years or so. Another chapter visits the Owen J. Roberts elementary schools.  Started under the auspices of the Junior League in 1962, AGTS became an independent non-profit about 10 years ago and today has grown to include 52 groups in PA and NJ.

Basically, all AGTS volunteers work with the same portfolio, which changes from year to year. In the fall, chapters meet to discuss the works, this year ranging from the well known like Andy Warhol’s famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe to the obscure like The Poultry Market by Walter Henry Williams, and get familiar with all the works.  Then, each volunteer gets to bring their own particular style to their presentation, which, for me meant asking the kids what they think art really is.

Once we waded through some silly answers and I heard what about half the class got for Christmas, we got down to the business of looking at some art and talking about what they liked and didn’t like.  I, personally, loved having the little kids because there is something so unguarded about the way they approach art and they have no filter (for better or for worse) about sharing what they think. Because I have some idea of the average attention span of a kindergartner in the late afternoon of the first day back after winter break, I brought brand new crayons and asked them to draw something for me.

When they were done, we compared them to some of the prints I had picked to show the class.  They giggled over Picasso’s Portrait of a Woman and again at Frida Kahlo’s prominent eyebrows in The Frame.  But, eventually, we had a really great discussion about how not everyone sees things or will draw them in exactly the same way, and each kid left the room clutching their drawing and, I hope, knowing a little more about art.

The Pottstown Chapter of AGTS also encompasses the high school kids, with four students each year participating in the volunteer program as part of their senior project.  These students have a chance to observe other volunteers when they present at Blessed Theresa of Calcutta (formerly St. Pete’s for any Pottstown expatriates).  Then, once they have done their practice presentation for other Art Students at the high school, they can start logging the hours they need for their project.

The Art Goes to School program in Pottstown runs through the middle of February and volunteers will be visiting classes in all grades, 4K to 5th, at all five elementary schools.  So, if you have a child in a Pottstown school, be sure to ask them what they thought of The Yellow Cow (by Franz Marc) or The Road Menders (by Van Gogh). Their answers just might surprise you.

Pottstown Roller Derby Rockstars

What started out as a quick facebook status update after a particularly tough day at work has turned into a force to be reckoned with.

When P Hitty (then and alternately known as Patty Fetterman) posted, “Bad day at work… anyone want to start a roller derby team??” she really didn’t imagine that she had put into motion the Pottstown Rockstars Roller Derby Team.  She met friend, neighbor and owner of Funky Lil Kitchen, Tonda Woodling, for a few drinks, and the idea sounded even better.  Woodling (who sports the derby name:  Hillbilly Hustler) had actually been looking to join the Philadelphia Liberty Belles Roller Derby team, but with the distance and the time commitment being an obstacle, thought her dreams of roller derby had been dashed.

Pretty soon, they found that a roller derby veteran was living in Pottstown and wanted to get back on her skates, so the two enlisted the help of  Lida Addison (who goes by the derby name of “Low-blow Lida” ) and got a group of 7 women together at The Brickhouse.  They wanted to figure out if they could really start a roller derby team right here in Pottstown.  Apparently, they could.  Fast forward a few months and plenty of planning and practicing; the team now has 19 members ranging in age from 25 to 40, with more of the women on the 40 side than the 25.

Fetterman describes the derby experience as something between nostalgia and girl power.   Listening to her talk about how much fun (and what a workout) derby practice is makes me wistful for the endless childhood days I spent at the roller rink.  The local rink where I grew up, Guptill’s Arena, was an old blueberry farm that had been converted into a roller skating nirvana, and amazingly holds the Guiness World Record as the largest indoor skating rink in the world.  I clearly remember lacing up my beautiful white leather skates with the purple and pink yarn pom-poms my mom helped me make out of leftover yarn. 

Of course, roller derby is quite a bit tougher than those elementary school skating sessions, but the feelings might just be the same.  It is almost enough to make me think even I could be a roller derby rock star (almost being the key word).

This coming Saturday, you (and I) can get that old feeling back again and hang out at Pheasantland Roller Rink and see what roller derby is really all about.   The Rockstars are raising money to get their team registered with the WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) and get their apprentice status in the league.

The event starts with an open skate from 3:30 to 4:30 and then the Rockstars will take the rink for a demonstration.  At 5pm, you can pay $3 to go up against either Low-blow Lida or Busty Cage (known in real life as Nikki Henry), who are the veterans in the group.  There will also be a bake sale and raffles all to help the team get into the WFTDA league.  The raffles listed for this event are pretty amazing-everything from a Starbucks gift basket to a trip for 4 to Mexico (yes, to Mexico).  You can check out more information about the event and the team by visiting their facebook page at:  www.facebook.com/pottstownrollerderby

Here’s the rundown of the event:

Location: Pheasantland Roller Rink

551 Manatawny Road, Boyertown, PA  19512

Their website:  www.pheasantlandrollerrink.com

Time: 3:30-6:30

Admission: Donation to the team.  Bring some extra cash for the raffles, bake sale and more.

Skate rentals are only $1 and they have inline and quad skates available.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑