Computer glitches and catching up

It’s been kinda hard to blog lately. My laptop is in the shop for an overhaul after a virus put some major systems in a closed and impenetrable loop. (I’m typing this on a netbook, squinting at the screen, trying to keep my fingers from tripping over each other.) The good news is that it’s on the mend and I should be re-united with it before the end of the day.

On top of that, though, I’ve been inundated with requests to post the news of community groups, local businesses, churches, nonprofits, and arts organizations. There is so much good news and fun stuff to do around here that I am actually being overwhelmed by it; I’m just one person doing this in my “spare” time, while juggling several other activities and life itself. Of course, all the good news is not a bad thing! Except that it is frustrating not getting the info out in a timely way. This morning I sent out a post about a Motown Review on March 24th and then was notified by a reader that it had been cancelled. I don’t ever want to create confusion for the readers of Positively Pottstown!

I will now try to pull a “Roy”* and get a lot of info out in the next hour or so. I may never be  truly “caught up,” but I’m going to give it a try! Thanks for hanging in there.

* This is my shout-out to Roy Keeler of Roy’s Rants and Progress Pennsylvania. He often sends out his blog posts in a flurry; he just keeps pumping the information out there.

Arts scene in downtown Pottstown this weekend

The arts scene in downtown Pottstown is blossoming, and you’ve got your pick this weekend.

Get your tickets now for Toys in the Attic at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center at 245 High Street. The show opened last night and will run Thursdays through Sundays until March 25th.  Toys in the Attic is an award-winning drama from the brilliant and tempestuous Lillian Hellman.  Written in 1960, it unfolds like it’s today with explorations of greed, envy, economic struggle, deceit and so many skeletons in the closet. This is a chance to see a live performance where the actors say one thing, mean something else, and yet make the difference clear to the audience. Toys in the Attic will play in the Tri-PAC’s black box theater; to add even more intensity, it istaged in-the-round, practically bringing the audience into the living room of this family. For tickets, visit www.tripac.org.  Or call 610.970.1199. Student, Senior discounts available. Groups welcome and there are discounts for 10 or more tickets.  Need help arranging your group visit?  Give them a call!

Local and international pop artist James Enders has got a spring exhibition, Once Upon a Time, at Juan Carlos Fine Mexican Cuisine this Saturday at 6 pm. Enjoy free food and drinks, check out the work of this local artist, see and be seen! Juan Carlos is at 235 East High Street, just a few doors away from the TriPAC. Why not check out James’ show before going to see Toys in the Attic?

Also downtown on Saturday night is the opening reception for photographer Karl McWherter‘s exhibit at MOSAIC Community Land Trust‘s gallery at 10 S. Hanover Street. This reception coincides with MOSAIC’s Open Mic from 7-11 pm. Stop by to meet Karl and check out his haunting images, splashed with color, of an abandoned school in Philadelphia. Also, if you’re a writer, poet, musician, singer, juggler or whatever, come perform for friends. I’ll be there to read from my memoir-in-progress. Participants have up to 20 minutes to do their thing. The last event drew 40 people. This is your chance to take center stage!

This Sunday, March 11 at 4 pm you can hear CANTATICA, a professional chamber ensemble that is the artist in residence at Emmanuel Lutheran church at 150 N. Hanover Street in Pottstown. On March 11th they will be presenting CABARET SONGS: CLASSICAL AND CLASSIC.,  TICKETS are available at the door. They are $12 Adults – $10 Seniors – $8 Students

..

For INFORMTATION/RESERVATIONS email info@cantatica.org or  call 484-951-5113

.

Gallery School needs your online vote!

Dear friends,

The Gallery School of Pottstown and The Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, a division of Fox Chase Cancer Center, have applied for a grant from the LiveStrong Foundation to expand their Healing Arts program. THEY NEED YOUR VOTE TO GET THE FUNDS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

The Gallery School has teamed up with The Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center to offer a Healing Arts Program that uses different art forms, group discussions, and creative workshops to help patients explore the person they want to be or used to be in the context of their cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The Artist in Residence program will expand on what is currently being offered and would improve patient perception of their own well-being. But they need your vote. It’s easy to do.

Online voting began on March 7th and runs through March 23rd. Just as the Pottstown area kicks cancer’s butt in fundraising for Relay for Life, let’s rally for this Healing Arts Program, lead the way, and click away. That’s all it takes – a few clicks – to cast your vote.

Here’s the link: http://vote.livestrong.org/vote2012/regions/5/

Please don’t hesitate to forward this to spread the word, and thank you in advance for supporting the healing power of the arts for those who are battling cancer in our community.

Area food drive picking up speed

The “Fill the Media Lab” food pantry drive being conducted by The Mercury, The Sanatoga Post, other Post newspapers, and area bloggers who are part of The Mercury’s Town Square, is kicking into high gear. New businesses keep coming forward to offer their location as a drop-off point for donations of food and laundry detergent.

Residential and commercial real estate attorney Andrew Monastra has joined the local fight against hunger by offering his office at 740 E. High Street in Pottstown as a drop-off location between the hours of 8:30 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Food collected there, as well as at Grumpy’s Handcarved Sandwiches (in the Farmers’ Market), is going to the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities. During the first week of the food drive, Grumpy’s collected 117 food items and 15 bottles of laundry detergent.* Grumpy’s is also making a matching donation for everything they collect.

Andrew Monastra’s office is down near the post office in Pottstown; it’s that beautiful Grand Review Building. Andrew is always finding a new way to support the efforts of area non-profits. His Heartland Abstract title company makes a donation from each real estate transaction to either MOSAIC Community Land Trust, The Gallery School of Pottstown, or The Carousel. Please consider contacting Andrew Monastra for your next real estate transaction!

In other “Fill the Media Lab” news, The Sanatoga Post reported today that Zuber Realty (2117 E. High Street) has become the latest donation drop-off spot in Lower Pottsgrove Township, joining Pottsgrove High School (1345 Kauffman Rd.) and Chesmont Storage (1500 Industrial Hwy.)

* I’ve got a photo of the food collected, but I’m having “technical difficulties” with my camera. 😦 Will post photos as soon as I can!

Next Happy Hour on March 16th at Ranieri’s Carpet & Flooring downtown!

This month’s party is in the heart of the downtown! Join the gathering on Friday, March 16th from 5-7 pm at Rich Ranieri’s, established in Pottstown since 1980. The $5 cover will get you appetizers from the Icehouse; beverages are complimentary.

RSVP NOW!
positivelypottstown@gmail.com
BUY LOCAL!
Rich Ranieri’s Carpet & Flooring, Paint & Wallpaper
Icehouse
King & Manatawny Streets
Pottstown, PA 19464

Save the Date! Schuylkill River Sojourn June 2-8!

Save the Date!

14th Annual Schuylkill River Sojourn

June 2-8, 2012  
2011 Sojourners
The 2012 Sojourn Theme is  Recreation in the Schuylkill River Heritage Area 

The Schuylkill River Sojourn is a 7-day, 112-mile guided paddle from Schuylkill Haven to Boathouse Row in Philadelphia that is organized annually by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.  Participants can register for one day or the entire week. The first three days fill up quickly, so it is important to register early  once registration opens in April.

Photo: 2011 Courtesy Dan Creighton

Tri-PAC makes special offer for student groups to see Toys in the Attic

The Tri-County Performing Arts Center (Tri-PAC) in downtown Pottstown is offering a unique educational opportunity for high school or college groups. If you and your friends, students, and colleagues have an interest in classic drama, read on!

Award-winning, literary and dramatic
Its literary and dramatic quality is unassailable.  Yet, Lillian Hellman’s Toys in the Attic rarely is staged because it is so demanding to perform.  Tri-PAC is doubling down.  To add even more intensity than its intimate black box theater, our Toys will be performed in-the-round, as if we’re right there watching love, greed, envy, economic struggle, deceit, skeletons in the closet and fateful decisions unfold right before our eyes.  This is what drama is supposed to be: slices of real life that grab us and give us food for our own thoughts.  Performances will be preceded by a special “Prologue” discussion with Director Neal Newman.

Toys in the Attic is a penetrating, powerfully honest study of family and what’s important in life, and not.  While it was written in 1960, it deals with depression-era economic and social issues that feel utterly contemporary.  It features characters who might be living next door today.

About the Director
Neal Newman has taught and directed at Fordham University, University of the Arts, Cabrini College and the University of Pennsylvania.  He trained as a director at Carnegie Mellon and the Guthrie Theater is Minneapolis.  In addition to directing off-Broadway, and five seasons of Shakespeare in the Park in Philadelphia, he directed Ragtime and A Christmas Carol for Tri-PAC.

OFFER

Two Thursday night performances (March 8 and March 15) of Lillian Hellman’s award-winning Toys in the Attic including the Director’s Prologue.  Half-price tickets for pre-paid student groups of 10 or more, including at least one teacher or parent.  With the student group discount, for these two Thursday night performances student tickets will be $8 and adult tickets $9.

For tickets, call 610.970.1199 or email boxoffice@villageproductions.org to arrange for assistance from one of our group specialists.  For more information  visit www.tripac.org.

Support the Gallery School: Carnival in Venice event on March 31st!

Fashion Plates 6: Carnival in Venice

The Gallery School of Pottstown asks you to save the date!

Fashion Plates 6: Carnival in Venice is coming in March. Join them on March 31 at Brookside Country Club for another fabulous fundraiser.

The Gallery School’s signature fundraiser returns to its roots as an evening, couples-friendly event. Guests will enjoy amazing food, unlimited signature cocktail, and wonderful entertainment, from a  fabulous fashion show, sponsored by Boscov’s Department Stores, to a strolling magician, a harpist and more. They will give away fun door prizes, and their fabulous silent auction will bring out the bidder in everyone.

Purchase your individual ticket before March 10 for only $65. After March 10, individual tickets will be $70. Or take advantage of their two for $120 ticket deal.

Sponsors

VIST Financial
Boscov’s Department Stores

Table Sponsors

Boenning & Scattergood, Inc.
Independence Planning Group
Heartland Abstract, Inc.
Dolan & Mayerson, P.C.
Sager & Sager
J.H. White Financial
Creative Health Services

Entertainment Sponsors

Pete La Rosa Productions
513 Entertainment
Betsy Chapman, Harpist
Magical Illusions of Kyle and Kelly

Spring memoir writing class for seniors offered by Sue Repko at The Gallery School

This spring I’ll be teaching a couple of writing classes at The Gallery School of Pottstown. A memoir class for seniors is highlighted below.

You may or may not know that I just finished a master’s program in which I focused on memoir and essay writing. It should come as no surprise that most of my writing at this point in my writing life involves some aspect of growing up in Pottstown and my experiences re-discovering my hometown as an adult.

My philosophy as a writer and teacher of this kind of material is that looking back and making sense of our lives is a basic human instinct. Everyone has many stories inside them. Sometimes it takes a while to peel away the layers of an experience, get to the heart of it, and express what it means so that it not only makes sense to ourselves but also to others.  When we give shape to a memory, when we put it into context – when it is more than just “this happened, then that happened” – we are creating art. Everyone’s got their own voice; there’s no right or wrong way to tell any of these stories. 

Just one more note about the book we’ll use…  I had a workshop with Abigail Thomas a few years ago. She’s an amazing teacher, and her book is the next best thing to having her in the class!  I hope there are some older adults out there who want to join in!

LOOKING BACK, WRITING YOUR LIFE:

MEMOIR AND ESSAY WRITING FOR SENIORS 

This class is for older adults who want to capture memories on paper and re-discover where they’ve been, who they’ve known, and what they’ve done. Life’s joys and hardships can often be found in the smallest moments. We will use “Thinking About Memoir” by Abigail Thomas to get ideas and write very short essays or scenes. Students may get their own copy or copies will be provided for a small additional fee. An optional public reading at the end of the class will give writers a chance to share their work with family and friends. Minimum 4, maximum 10 students. WINTER/SPRING SESSION Begins April 4. Class runs Wednesdays from 6-8pm. 8 weeks. $125 (member), $135 (non-member).

 

Positively Pottstown joins “Fill the Media Lab” food drive

The Mercury’s Community Media Lab, Town Square bloggers, and other local newspapers are teaming up for a food drive to help stock the shelves of area food pantries.  With the tight job market, high unemployment, and sky-high gas, heating oil, and healthcare costs, more and more area residents are finding themselves relying on food pantries for the first time ever. 

Here’s how the food drive will work:

The Mercury, Post newspapers, including The Sanatoga Post, and various bloggers are announcing their participation in the food drive to collect at least 20,000 food items by April 7th. See The Mercury article here and The Sanatoga Post article here.  The bloggers can team up with their local pantry and feature them in recurring blog posts. They can also team up with various businesses who want to serve as collection sites.

While the food drive will run until April 7th, we will not be holding onto all the food collected until then because that would mean it’s not on the shelves of the food pantries, getting used up by those who need it now. So… as the food is collected, it will periodically be delivered to the pantry of choice by the blogger or business. Pantries in towns throughout the region will benefit: Pottstown, North Coventry, Boyertown, Royersford, Spring City, Phoenixville, Collegeville, and the Upper Perkiomen Valley. But first we’ll take a picture of what’s collected and send it to The Mercury, where it can be pinned onto an image of the Media Lab. In this way, we will virtually “fill the Media Lab” while filling up local food pantries in reality.

 Positively Pottstown is on board! We’re going to be directing the results of our collection efforts to the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, commonly known as The Cluster.  The first Pottstown business we’re teaming up with is Grumpy’s, the homemade sandwich and soup shop in The Farmers’ Market. Grumpy’s has generously offered not only to be a collection site, but to match every single food donation that comes in. That’s two for the price of one, all going to The Cluster. 

Positively Pottstown would like to team up with other locations in Pottstown. Let me know if you want to be a collection site, and I will get the word out to readers and Facebook friends.

I should note here that food items are not the only things in demand. We’re also putting a special focus on laundry detergent – it’s expensive and it’s something that tends to drop in priority when children are hungry… but kids want to go to school in fresh-smelling clothes. So please consider picking up an extra bottle of detergent the next time you’re shopping. We’re hoping to collect 1,000 bottles of detergent before all is said and done.

Now, it’s up to you. Positively Pottstown has many readers and Facebook friends outside of Pottstown. Whatever community you live in, please consider finding the food pantry, bloggers, and businesses that are taking part in our Fill the Media Lab initiative and make a donation soon. Or, since this campaign is running through Lent, consider a weekly donation. There’s a tradition of giving things up for Lent and then there’s plain, old-fashioned giving. We all thank you in advance for your support.

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities
57 N. Franklin Street, Pottstown, PA 19464
610-970-5995
The Cluster welcomes all cash, food, and clothing donations between the hours of 8:30am-12:00 Monday through Friday. Please come to the back door off the alley.

Grumpy’s Handcarved Sandwiches
300 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA 19464 (in the Farmers’ Market)
610-323-1232
Open Tuesday-Saturday
Tuesday-Wednesday: 11am-6 pm
Thursday-Saturday: 8:30 am-6 pm






Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑