Unloading plants
Thanks to Tom Carroll of Preservation Pottstown for these photos from today’s gardening activities at the park at the corner of Washington and Chestnut!
Katy Jackson, one of the organizers from Citizens for Pottstown’s Revitalization, says via email, “We just arrived home from the park planting and it was superb!! The children in the neighborhood were as excited as they could be. They did a great job and each child has their own tomato plant, named, and several squash plants. It was a huge success…”
Kudos to all who helped bring the neighborhood together outdoors for this beautification and healthy living activity, and a big THANK YOU to Eric Schmidt of Colonial Gardens for the donation of materials!
Car Art Thanks to Tom Carroll of Preservation Pottstown for the hot-off-the-press photos!
Registration Here are a few glimpses of today’s First Saturday festivities at Smith Plaza, where the first annual PottsMUTTster dog show was held. I don’t have details on the winners in the many categories, or the grand winner, who will appear in the 4th of July parade… stay tuned! Erica & friend
Please check out the calendar page at Positively!Pottstown for a line-up of happenings starting tonight and moving through the weekend. Dance the week’s frustrations away at Sunnybrook tonight… tomorrow morning, get up early, grab your work gloves and a trowel and take part in a community garden project at Washington & Chestnut Sts…. grab a cool drink and a bite to eat for the volunteers… head over to Smith Plaza, kick off your sweaty socks, literally slap some paint on an old car (trust me, it feels so right) and catch some music at the First Saturday Celebration… head home to shower… give in to the urge to skip cooking for one night and go back into town for dinner… go see Ragtime at Tri-PAC… wake up on Sunday energized after the awesome day you had the day before… stop by Memorial Park at 1 pm to see an interesting tradition in the burning of retired flags… It’s only 2 pm on Sunday afternoon, and there’s still plenty of time to do whatever you thought you were going to do before you got caught up in living in the moment…
I’ll be tending to stuff like this across the river here, but just might get to the matinee of Ragtime on Sunday afternoon. Have a great weekend!
Desserts First Cafe, Oak & Charlotte Sts. I’d been into Desserts First Cafe at the corner of Oak and Charlotte Streets with my mom and one of my sisters last summer just after they opened… I remember the HUGE piece of banana cake with cream cheese icing like it was yesterday. But even fresher in my memory is the lunch I had there a few weeks ago: a turkey wrap with provolone, cole slaw and Russian dressing. Keep in mind that the main advantage to having a wrap is that you’re not too full to enjoy dessert. This time I tried something I’d never had before: a mixture of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in yellow cake. The berries had sunk to the bottom of the pan, so that when the cake came out of the pan, a layer of berries was on top. Then, baker/owner Sherry Sweeney topped it with pureed berries whirled into a smooth cream cheese icing that was silky light.
As you may have noticed by now, I’m easily distracted by and enthralled with desserts. But I must also rave about a cranberry juice and iced tea concoction that was just slightly sweet and was out of this world. Suffice it to say, I think you should give this neighborhood eatery a try. It’s got a cheerful interior, hardwood floors, ceiling fans, and cushioned chrome chairs at a few tables, along with 3 stools at the counter. The inexplicable Christmas tree in one window was decorated with some silk spring flowers, and I say, “Why not carry over the miracle of Christmas into the joy of spring?”
Desserts First is owned by Sherry and Rich Sweeney. It’s at 451 N. Charlotte Street. Give a call (610.327.3967) or check their website (www.dessertsfirstcafe.com) for current hours. They’re closed on Sundays. Photo coming soon…
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’m getting a master’s in creative writing through a low-residency program in Vermont, and I have a big packet of work due at the end of every month (until Jan. 2012). I really pushed it to the last minute this past weekend, but it’s in the mail, and I will be posting a Pottstown restaurant profile within the next 24 hours. See you then!
In the meantime, check out Positively!Pottstown’s calendar for all of this weekend’s happenings, especially events that honor those who gave their lives in service to the ideals of democracy and freedom.
Pottstown’s Memorial Day Parade, brought to you by the Joint Veterans Council of Pottstown, will be held Monday May 31 at 10 a.m., starting at Good Will Fire Company at 714 E. High Street, going to Manatawny Street, and then on to Memorial Park. Veterans and community groups should begin arriving at 9 a.m. at Good Will to line up for the parade. No special registration is required. Just show up!
I’d like to give a shout-out to my dad, veteran Richard Repko, who sometimes plays Taps at the funerals of area veterans. For the interesting history of this moving musical tribute, see this at the West Point Connection website. The last I heard, my dad will be playing Taps in Memorial Park at the end of the parade. It always brings tears to my eyes. A heartfelt “thank you” goes out to all veterans for their service.
I have an email address and I’m waiting to hear back so I can announce the actual name of the winner of 2 tickets to RAGTIME! You’ll hear as soon as I hear…
This Friday, Positively!Pottstown will be giving away two FREE tickets to the opening night performance of RAGTIME, The Musical at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center on High St. The show starts at 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 3. Tickets are courtesy of Tri-PAC/Village Productions. There’s A LOT of buzz about RAGTIME, which was just featured yesterday on The 10! Show on NBC.
To enter the drawing, all you have to do is:
1. Become a subscriber to Positively!Pottstown using the box to the right.
OR
2. Become a fan of Positively Pottstown on Facebook.
OR
3. Send an email to positivelypottstown@gmail.com saying you’d like your name thrown into the proverbial hat. No other commitment necessary.
If you’ve already got your tickets, maybe you want to try to win some for a friend? Good luck! And keep spreading spread the word about this remarkable show!
The hot, humid air in Father Doyne Hall tried to smother the 45-50 former players who showed up for the last game ever, but it didn’t stop old-timers and youngsters alike from running up and down the court for about three hours last Friday night. Those guys from this year’s graduating class of 2010 sure can shoot the 3! There was also an impressive showing from the – ahem – older grads, some of whom are still playing regularly. Former coaches on hand included Joe Donahue, Pete Sovia, Michele Repko Dunleavy, and Randy Reber, who will take over the helm for Phoenixville’s boys’ program next season. Thanks for the memories, St. Pius X! St. Pius X Basketball Alumni
While we’re on the topic of basketball, I’ve changed the photo in the sidebar to my beloved neighborhood hoop at Franklin Elementary School in the North End. I’ve stopped by to visit this hoop several times over the years, which looks to be the exact same iron pole, backboard and rim where I spent so many hours playing, practicing and shedding tears of frustration while growing up. I won’t go on here about the kind of love a person could feel for a simple thing like that, for that place. The blacktop is crumbling now, which makes me just plain sad, but also reminds me of why I’ve been coming back to Pottstown these days. There are a lot of complicated, interconnected and entrenched reasons why a playground blacktop would be crumbling. I’m just trying to do my part to move things in the direction of smoothing that out for the kids coming along now who deserve to have their ball come predictably back up to their fingertips when they make their next move. Game on!
