New Year’s Day in Pottstown means one thing: it’s time for the 5th Annual Polar Bear Plunge! Come on out to Riverfront Park at 140 College Drive to watch, or join in by plunging into the Schuylkill River at 10:30 am. All participants must sign a waiver.
There will be plenty of other activities to keep the sane folks entertained, from a Christmas Tree Toss to the Fruitcake Roll, a bonfire, a card game, hot dogs, sauerkraut, hot chocolate and coffee. Everything starts heating up at 9 am, but that’s just a figure of speech; the weather report is calling for an overcast day with flurries possible. Read all about it here in this Mercury article by Frank Otto.
Two years ago I took the plunge, but I have been a wimp ever since. Still, I expect to be there tomorrow morning to cheer on the brave Polar Bears of the Pottstown area. Will you be taking the Plunge?
Rain, snow or shine, Pottstown’s Funky Santa 5K Run and 3-person 5K Relay takes place this Sunday, Dec. 2nd at 9:15 am at Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus.Plug 101 College Drive into your GPS and that should get you there.
This is the 3rd annual Funky Santa 5K and is part of Pottstown’s Hometown Holiday Celebration! I ran it last year, and besides being funky – people dress up in holiday-themed costumes – it’s a fun way to get your exercise over with for the day.
Race day registration will be held from 7:30-9 am. The 5K costs $20 or $45 for a relay team of 3 people.
The 5K and the relay start at the same time. The Fun Run will immediately follow the 5K. There is NO charge for the Fun Run, so this is a great opportunity to get the little ones on the road and feeling the excitement of race day.
There will be refreshments after the race for all competitors and there will be plenty of awards in various age categories, male & female divisions. Dress for the holidays in your funkiest & finest and you, too, could be a winner! Then there are other random prizes that make this feel like a race where just about everybody wins. Let me put it to you this way: last year I got a trophy for finishing second in my age group. (I later found out that there were 4 women in my age group — woo-hoo!!) Unfortunately, my knees are feeling creaky, so I’m not sure I’ll be running this year…
If you’ve got any questions, contact the race organizers, Breakaway Sports, at 610-775-4614 or bulrich1@aol.com or check out www.makebreak.com.
Eagle Scout candidate Nathan Fuerman invites the public to join him for a short ceremony this Saturday, Dec. 1st from 10-11 am at the three flag poles located at Riverfront Park, College Drive, Pottstown, PA.Some of you may recall when Nate appeared at a Happy Hour last year at Rich Ranieri’s Paint & Carpet store to raise funds and talk about his project, which benefits the Pottstown Parks & Recreation Foundation. Now the flag poles are ready for action. Looks awesome, Nate!
The ceremony will include:
Singing of the National Anthem
Thank you from Nathan Fuerman
Comments from Eileen Schlegel, Director of Pottstown Parks & Rec
Raising the American Flag – Troop 129, Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Raising the Pennsylvania Flag – Local Pottstown vets
Raising the Borough Flag – Air Force Jr. ROTC, Pottstown High School
Cosing Prayer – Pastor Scott Major
All are welcome; hot chocolate and coffee will be served.
This Saturday, October 20th from 10am-4 pm, Eagle Scout candidate Austin Tanay is running another work weekend at Coventry Woods in North Coventry Township. He is a Life Scout in Troop 95 and working on attaining the highest rank in scouting – that of Eagle. His project involves creating a rustic tent camping site at Coventry Woods, North Coventry Township, for group camping. A couple years ago I visited and wrote about Coventry Woods for a parks and recreation series for the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. This is an absolutely lovely part of our region!
The project is quite large in scope, including demolition of 5 old buildings in a specific area of Coventry Woods (1954 St. Peter’s Road, Pottstown), clearing out a lot of overgrown brush, cutting down close to three dozen dead trees, opening up an eight foot wide trail into the campsite, removing large rocks out of the walking path, building a campfire ring, building benches to go around the campfire ring, and erecting a flag pole. The site will be available for non-profit groups like scouts and churches in the area.
Austin is recycling any materials that are recyclable, cutting up the wood from the structures to be used in a big bonfire at Coventry Woods this weekend, following the work day at around 4 pm. He is also cutting up the downed trees for firewood to be sold, salvaging reusable materials from the cabins, and properly disposing of all trash from the demolition that cannot be reused in any way.
Courtesy of Mauree Kai
He has already held three work weekends and accomplished a lot thanks to the support of volunteers, but he still has more work to be done. The work this weekend will include demolishing the fifth and last building, breaking down all the material for proper disposal or recycling, leveling off the site, cutting up and transporting the wood from the structure to the location of the bonfire. His goal is to get the last building completely demolished and disposed of so he can build the fire ring and benches Saturday afternoon.
The cost of the firewood is $75.00 per load/cord.The logs are cut into 3-4 foot lengths. They just need to be split. The proceeds will help fund the Eagle project. If you are interested in purchasing wood, call Mauree Kai @ 610-970-0951 prior to coming for pick up.
The workday will start at 10:00 AM on Saturday. All are invited to participate and they can come later since the project will be going on into the afternoon, wrapping up around three o’clock.
*Volunteers need to bring their own tools. For this Saturday, crow bars, hammers, sledge hammers are needed. Work gloves are a must. A few wheelbarrows would come in handy also if people have a way to transport them.*
There is plenty of parking available. Anyone coming to help out can park at the lodge and look for the sign at the entrance of the trail head into the project (1954 St. Peter’s Road, Pottstown). This is what the entrance looks like.
Grumpy’s butternut squash soup won FIRST Prize at the Carousel of Flavor, Pottstown’s outstanding culinary festival that drew thousands to downtown Pottstown this past Sunday. (Speaking of food, more than 1,500 hot dogs were distributed at Pottstown Airport Day, another feather in Pottstown’s cap!) Grumpy’s is at 137 E. High Street, across from Borough Hall. Stop by or call in your order to 610-323-1232. Here’s what’s on tap at Grumpy’s this week:
TUESDAY
SOUPS: Split Pea w/ Ham & Roasted Pepper and Chicken Veloati
SANDWICHES: Pepper Crusted Eye Round w/ Caramelized onion mayo
SIDES: Greek Pasta Salad
Dessert: Sticky Bun Bread Pudding
WEDNESDAY: VEGETARIAN DAY
SOUP: Carousel WINNER! Butternut Squash & Turkey Noodle
SANDWICH: Grilled Mediterranian Wrap
SIDES: Tabbulli w/ White Beans – Trio of chili crusted potatoes
FRIDAY
SOUP: NE Clam Chowder – Turkey & Rice
SANDWICH: The Dagwwod / Chicken Italiano Wrap
SIDES: Mac n Cheese – Tomato / Red Onion Salad w/ Blue Cheese
“Delight in tastings from the area’s best restaurants, discover handmade treasures from talented craftspeople, dance to the music, and just simply enjoy this day outside that puts the fun in our favorite Carousel fundraiser!” says the event’s Facebook page.
Seventeen area restaurants will be participating. Scout out what’s available, get your food tickets, then go and eat until your stomach’s content. And the wine and beer garden will be double in size this year.
The Carousel of Flavor runs from 12-4 pm. Thousands of visitors come out and every year it grows bigger; 7,000-8,000 are predicted to turn out this year. Get there early. For more info on what it’s all about, check out The Mercury’s story from yesterday here.
A “Party in Pink” Zumbathon Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, October 6 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm atOutshine Dance & Fitnesslocated at 1646 West High Street in Stowe.This event will raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to help with breast cancer awareness and research.
Seven Zumba Fitness instructors from the Pottstown area will lead the dances, which boost aerobic and strength fitness through dance movements set to fun Latin and international rhythms.
The event is open to the public, however advance reservations are strongly recommended.Tickets are on sale now in exchange for a donation of $15 in advance or $20 at the door. No experience is necessary.Participants should wear comfortable workout clothing (pink is encouraged!) and appropriate exercise sneakers. Check out the event Facebook page here.
This Saturday, September 29, 2012 is Pottstown Municipal Airport Day!
Local volunteer pilots will be giving FREE airplane rides to kids aged 8-17 years from 10 am – 3 pm, as part of the Young Eagle Rally sponsored by the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Local Chapter 1250.
The rides are weather dependent, and subject to availability of pilots and aircraft. Parent or guardian signature will be required.
Rain-or-shine ground events will include activities for younger children (paper airplane contests!), as well as information about learning to fly. Airplanes will be displayed for an up-close look. FREE hotdogs and chips will be available.
There are two awesome outdoor events this weekend in Pottstown!
#1 The Pottstown Pet Fair 2012 in Smith Family Plaza (right in front of Borough Hall) is welcoming all kinds of pet-related businesses, services, and organizations for a pet- and family-friendly fair. It takes place from 9 am to 3 pm.
Evan Brandt’s blog post, “Something to Bark About”, gives all the details, including the fact that there will be ministers on hand from 10 am to 2 pm to bless all animals, although I’m not sure if that includes the 2-legged variety. There will also be a butterfly garden and food vendors.
To get to Smith Family Plaza, one of Pottstown’s premier public park spaces, plug 100 E. High Street into your GPS.
#2 MOSAIC Community Land Trust is holding an Open Garden from 12-2 pm at Pottstown’s first community garden at 423 Chestnut Street between Franklin & Washington Streets!
If you’d like to see the many plots that have produced hundreds of pounds of veggies this season, learn how to make salsa, and pick some fresh veggies to take home – depending on what’s available – plan to stop by the garden between 12-2 pm this Saturday, Sept. 22nd. See detailshere.
I am out of town (writing), so I will miss this event, but this was my labor of love this past winter/spring/summer, and I can’t wait to get back and experiment with growing a few crops into early winter.
And if you like what you see and hear and taste, you can get on a list for a plot for your family for next year!
New Hanover United Methodist Church, 2211 Swamp Pike, Gilbertsville, will be hosting its Second Annual Car and Bike Show Saturday, Sept. 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Registration starts at 9 a.m., and the fee is $10. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 9, 1:30-5:30 p.m. with registration starting at 12:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded.
This year’s show features one of the most exciting cars of the muscle-car era, a 1969 Dodge Super Bee 440, and a vintage Harley-Davidson, a 1940 Knucklehead. Come and see these unique vehicles and the many other restored and antique vehicles spanning several decades, check under the hoods and chat with local car and bike enthusiasts.
The proceeds from this year’s event will benefit Happy 2 Be Home, new non-profit organization started by the congregation to help families with children with chronic, long-term, multiple disabilities. By customizing their houses to meet their children’s physical needs, Happy 2 Be Home enables parents and caretakers to care for their children in the comfort and convenience of their homes.
Positively Pottstown blog 