“Fill the Media Lab” food drive approaches goal!

Wow! Thanks to the sustained and last-minute generosity of residents, businesses, schools, churches, and community groups in the Pottstown region, the “Fill the Media Lab” food drive, spearheaded by The Mercury and other newspapers and bloggers, is nearing its ambitious goals in the final days of the drive.

 The Mercury reported today that items were still being collected over the holiday weekend. The latest tally put the food items collected at 14,711 and the number of bottle of laundry detergent at 669. The goals were 20,000 and 1,000, respectively.

There’s still a chance to participate in this unprecedented collection. The Mercury article states: “Anyone who may have missed the opportunity to drop-off items for our collection effort can still do so Monday as The Mercury offices were closed to the public over the holiday weekend. Our offices are located at 24 N. Hanover St. in Pottstown and the lobby is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

Check out Grumpy’s Weekly Specials! Wednesday is Vegetarian Day!

GRUMPY’S WEEKLY SPECIALS! HAPPY SPRING BREAK to all!
300 E. High Street (Inside the Farmers’ Market) – 610-323-1232

Wednesday: Vegetarian Day
Soup: Pasta Fagoli & Cream of Asparagus
Sandwich: Vegetable Wrap / Asian Chicken Salad Wrap
Sides: Mediterranean Farra

Thursday: BREAKFAST IS SERVED at 8:30
Soup: Mushroom Broth Soup / NE Clam Chowder
Sandwiches: Meatloaf and Corn beef
Sides: Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Green Beans w/ Carrots

Friday: BREAKFAST IS SERVED! starting at 8:30
Soup: Mushroom,Crab Bisque/ Turkey & Rice Soup
Sandwich: The Dagwood; Egg Salad
Sides: Mac and Cheese and Stewed Tomatoes & Blueberry Bread Pudding

Sat: BREAKFAST IS SERVED! Starting at 8:30am WE WILL BE CLOSING AT 3PM ON EASTER SATURDAY!!!
Menu TBA
Search us on Facebook!

Good Friday Prayer Processional to start at 10:30

The Pottstown Clergy Association invites the Pottstown Community to join in a Good Friday prayer processional this Friday at 10:30.

All are invited to gather on the green between Zion’s United Church of Christ and Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Hanover Street. Children and strollers welcome! A “Time for Children” with the younger walkers will begin the processional.

Sometimes known as the “Cross Walk,” this one-mile walk is made so that the community can pray together for the peace and well-being of the community, to lift up those who offer their time and talents, and to bear witness to Christ’s love for the world.

See last year’s wonderful description of the procession written by Rosemary Keane here. Please note that parking is available behind the churches, and in case of rain, the walk will take place inside.

Economic report for Pottstown region to be discussed at Pottstown High this evening

Please check out Evan Brandt’s most excellent article in today’s Mercury on the economic impact analysis that was undertaken by the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee over the past year. There will be a meeting tonight at 7 pm in the cafeteria of Pottstown High School to discuss the findings.

The Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Comprehensive Plan is a multi-jurisdictional plan that includes eight municipalities: Douglass Township, Lower Pottsgrove, New Hanover, Upper Pottsgrove, West Pottsgrove and the Borough of Pottstown in Montgomery County; and East Coventry and North Coventry in Chester County. The Montgomery County Planning Commission’s website describes the intent of this plan as an effort “to ensure smarter growth in the region and better management of future development while retaining the unique historical, cultural, and natural amenities of the area.

Two consulting firms were hired to survey residents and business owners in these 8 municipalities and look at shopping habits, economic and demographic data; analyze it; and offer several scenarios to help these towns make informed policy and land use decisions about what kinds of business and residential development to encourage or avoid to improve their fiscal outlook. Come out to the meeting tonight to hear  what the economic future could be for the region and to understand the issues, options, and decisions facing elected officials and policy makers as they try to keep the Pottstown region economically competitive.

Eastern Slavic music to be presented at St. John’s in Pottstown

 A free concert of sacred hymns and other liturgical music of the Eastern Slavic tradition will be presented by the Westminster Slavic Choir at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 301 Cherry Street, Pottstown, Pa. 

            The Westminster Slavic Choir features students of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, N.J.  The vocalists all are either vocal performance or music education majors at Westminster, a division of Westminster College of the Arts, a residential college of music located in Princeton, N.J.  Westminster is a four-year music college and graduate school that prepares men and women for careers as professional performers and as music leaders in schools, universities, churches, and professional and community music organizations. As Westminster Choir College students, the talented young men and women of the Slavic Choir join their peers in performing with the world’s leading orchestras in venues ranging from the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia to Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York.

The chamber choir is directed by senior vocal performance major Andrew Skitko III, a native of Pottstown, Pa.  Drew also serves as the cantor and music director at The Assumption of The Virgin Mary Byzantine Catholic Church of Trenton, N.J., where the Westminster Slavic Choir performs about once a month.

The concert will include works by composers Bortniansky, Vedel, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Hurko, as well as traditional chant.  Selections will be performed in English as well as Old Slavonic.

Parking is located in the rear of the church.  The church is handicapped-accessible via the ramp located from the parking lot. A free-will offering will be taken.  The concert is expected to last about one hour.

For further information, please contact Andrew Skitko III, choral director at 610-220-3479 or via e-mail at  skitkoa@rider.edu

Author of AMERICAN WASTELAND to speak at Hill School

Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland, journalist, and blogger, will speak on the topic of food waste at The Hill School on Thursday evening, April 12th.

Bloom is the author of American Wasteland, a book on food waste. He is also  journalist and the blogger who created WastedFood.com. Bloom comes to The Hill as the third in a series of speakers who visited campus this year as part of The Hill’s academic theme for the year: Community. He will raise awareness about the issue of food waste.

Bloom’s address will take place in The Hill School’s Center For The Arts Theatre at 7:30 p.m. It is free of charge and open to the general public.

Bloom’s blog examines “why we waste food, why it matters and what we can do about it.” His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Variety, The Philadelphia Inquirer, TimeOut New York and Boston Magazine, among others. He lives in Durham, N.C.

Support TriCounty Community Network at Friendly’s on April 4th

Friendly’s Fundraiser

Visit Friendly’s at 200 Shoemaker Road, Pottstown

Wednesday, April 4th 

Between 4pm and 9pm

Support TCN and its programs in youth development, caregivers support, environmental awareness, family literacy, homeless services, domestic violence awareness, and workforce development.

 Get together with family and friends to help us, while you help yourself to some great food!

When you visit Friendly’s on the date and time above,
Friendly’s will donate 10% of the proceeds to our fundraising efforts!

 Enjoy great food and great fun while benefiting

TriCounty Community Network

For more information about TriCounty Community Network, contact:

 Jennifer M. Doyle, MPA
Executive Director
TriCounty Community Network
260 High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
Phone: 610-705-3301
Fax: 610-705-3304

jdoyle@tcnetwork.org

@TCN_Pottstown

 Partnering to improve health, social and environmental conditions.

Last chance! Get tix to Fashion Plates fundraiser TODAY!

Fashion Plates 6: Carnival in Venice

The Gallery School of Pottstown presents

Fashion Plates 6: Carnival in Venice this Saturday, March 31 at Brookside Country Club!

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 tickets TODAY! NO tickets will be sold at the door!

$70 for one ticket; two for $120.

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

Creative MontCo wants your input!

Are the arts important in your life and the life of your family? Do you spend time and money to learn how to paint or play an instrument or knit a sweater? Do you enjoy going to galleries, performances, or outdoor festivals? Would you like to see a few cafes with open mics in your downtown? Does the perfect nut roll or shoo-fly pie make you want to write poetry? Does a surprising piece of whimsical art in a public place bring a smile to your face?

Car Art!

These are just some of the ways that arts and culture touch our lives, and Montgomery County would like to hear from you about what specific places and activities are important to you in your town and throughout the region. Check out the survey here.Last fall Montgomery County launched a large-scale planning process called Creative MontCo. Their website bills Creative Montco as “a bold partnership of community members and organizations developing a comprehensive cultural and creative economy plan for communities throughout the county. Creative MontCo is dedicated to making Montgomery County a more vibrant place to live, work and play.”

The beautiful thing about the arts – besides just being, well, beautiful – is that arts and culture can be an economic engine for a local economy. All over the country, there are towns, small cities and even neighborhoods within larger cities, that have discovered their identities as centers of art, culture, and history and they have generated jobs and stabilized their tax base by understanding, expanding, and promoting their assets.

The Creative MontCo Steering Committee is being led by Montgomery County Community College president Dr. Karen Stout. The County has hired some really knowledgeable planners – The Cultural Planning Group – who understand how arts and culture can be good for residents and visitors alike and can stimulate economic growth.  They have have been surveying and meeting with artists, organizations, and groups ever since to find out what residents like, what they want more of, and what they envision for their towns in the way of arts, and culture, which I take to include historic and heritage resources as well as the natural environment (i.e., parks). 

To me, the term “culture” gets at the history of a place and how that is reflected today in the people that live there, the work they do, the traditions that live on, and the natural and built environments that are tied to all of that. For me, “the arts” includes any creative endeavor, including, say, beautiful cupcakes or the really old mosaic tiles in many of the entryways of the stores in downtown Pottstown.

So… what arts and cultural activities and events are important to you? Please take a few moments NOW to respond to their survey here.  And feel free to spend some time at Creative MontCo’s website, reading what others have to say and sharing your vision for the creative future of your county. 

 

 

Girl Talk Series continues at YWCA this Saturday: Body Image & Self-Esteem

When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman’s happiness and wellness.

IMAGINE STARTING your day facing just one of these challenges: Depression, an eating
disorder, relentless unrealistic and hyper-sexualized media images, mean girl tactics at school
and online, or a boyfriend who belittles you. Ugh! Yet for our teen girls, these are just some of the many issues confronting them every day, taking a toll on their confidence, self esteem and physical health.

This workshop offers a safe, girls-only environment to make connections, embrace who they are
and talk about issues important to them. Discussions will include self esteem, healthy living,
exercise and proper eating. The goal is for girls to take away information and resources to give
them a strong foundation and the tools to develop into empowered, confident young women.
Join us for girl talk!

Saturday, March 24, 2012
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Free with reservation
YWCA Tri-County Area
315 King Street, Pottstown
610-323-1888

Girl Talk Series:

May 2012
Non-Traditional Careers

July 2012
Cyber Bullying and Stalking

September 2012
Go Green!

November 2012
Advocacy

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