Around Phoenixville

Local public relations firm Ten-Sixteen, Inc. has submitted a video on behalf of Phoenixville into the Ikea "Small Businesses, Big Dreams" sweepstakes. The idea behind the contest is for small towns like Phoenixville to create a three minute video which highlights everything the town has to offer. From the Ten-Sixteen website --- Booming businesses start with dreams and thriving towns begin with dreamers. We have a vision for our business and are working to make a big difference in our town. IKEA wanted to hear from us and other entrepreneurs in our community. We submited a video to enter the Small Businesses, Big Dreams Contest: Furnished by IKEA. IKEA wants to create awareness for unique and growing small towns around the country, and to support the winning entry with a "main street makeover". For the winning town and their community, IKEA designers and furnishings will be put to work to help transform the physical space of up to 10 small businesses with BIG dre...

Are you a male who thinks he can cook? Well, now you have a chance to prove it. The Phoenixville Area Positive Alternatives (PAPA) and Phoenixville Communities That Care is hosting an 'Evening in Black & White' in which 100 men will get the chance to display their cooking prowess. --- One hundred men will display their talents in the following categories: appetizers, entrees, desserts, and signature creations. Live music, a silent auction, dancing, and networking will set the atmosphere for this exciting event. The cost of registration is $25.00 and includes: admission into the event, fame, advertising your business and entry into a prize drawing. Men can register by contacting Dolores Winston at 610-917-9675. --- The event is open to the public and will be held at the CAT Pickering Campus, 1580 Charlestown Road in Phoenixville, from 5:00 p.m. -11:00 p.m. The attire is after 5, Black & White. Source: The Phoenix

Happened to check out the Phoenixville Borough website this morning and saw that the water, sewer and trash bills that were sent out in early July are not due until August 6th (despite what it says on the bill itself). The reason is that the bills were not sent on time.

The Schuylkill Canal Association will be hosting two separate events over the next couple of days. First off, tonight they will be holding 'Music in the Park' featuring live music from 6:30-8:30 and light refreshments. Admission is free but donations are more than welcome. Then, on Saturday evening into Sunday morning, the SCA will be hosting their 4th annual Catfish Derby. The event, which costs $20 to enter, will take place from 6pm Saturday until 6am Sunday. Prizes will be based on the length of the fish caught with cash being awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers. Source: The Phoenix

I have decided to add an event calendar which you can see on the right side of the page. The idea behind it is to give everyone the ability to quickly see at a glance what events are upcoming in the area. My hope is to have readers email me events as they hear about them. If any of you have other suggestions on how to make this site more useful, I'd love to hear em. Thanks for reading!

The Vintage Triumph Register (VTR) has been holding their national convention this week in Valley Forge. Tomorrow, the convention rolls into Phoenixville with a car show that will feature close to 300 vintage Triumphs lining Bridge St. From their press release --- July 20, 2007, the Vintage Triumph Register http://www.vtr.org/ will hold their National Convention Concours and Participants Choice Show from 10:00am until 3:00pm on the streets of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. VTR’s Chief Judge, Darrell Floyd, anticipates a large turnout, as it has been many years since VTR has met in the Mid–Atlantic Region! Enjoy the chanced to see some of the finest TR2’s, TR3’s, TR4’s, TR250’s, TR6’s, TR7’s, TR8’s, Spitfires, GT6’s, Herald’s, Stag’s, Italia’s, in the country. The host club, Delaware Valley Triumphs, Ltd http://www.delvaltrs.org/ will present "Triumphs Forge Ahead" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Triumph TR3A. Join your fellow Triumph and classic car enthusiasts a...

Just received an email newsletter from The Colonial Theatre that included the schedule for this year's BlobFest which gets underway tomorrow night. BlobFest 8 Official Schedule for Friday & Saturday, July 13 &14 FRIDAY: RUNNING OUT RE ENACTMENT REVELRY 7:00PM: Doors open Tin Foil Hat Competition (entries at theatre by 7PM) Scream Contest (entrants at theatre by 7PM) Shorty Awards announced for amateur film contest Live music by The Rivers Rockabilly Trio 9:00PM (approx.): Running Out Re- Enactment And, much, much more! All activities on Friday night are FREE! But, donations will be accepted to help defray the costs for the BlobFest weekend. SATURDAY: STREET FAIR & FILM SCREENINGS 11:30AM: Street Fair Opens - FREE! 11:30AM: Doors to the theatre open. All patrons wishing to visit indoor vendors (including Wes Shank with The Original Blob), to participate in the Cast & Crew Panel Discussion and/or to see an afternoon double fea...

Mainstreet CDC has announced plans for a Blues Festival to take the place of the cancelled FAME Festival. The festival will be held on August 25th from 1-8pm. Headlinging the event is legendary R&B vocalist Maxine Brown . For more information, including other scheduled events in town, please see the Mainstreet CDC website at www.mainstreetphoenixville.org . Should be a good time!

After nearly a year, the court battle between the Phoenix Property Group(PPG) and the borough has come to an end, at least this chapter of it. PPG, who is planning to develop a large part of the land that was the Phoenix Iron Works, had appealed a decision by the borough to reject plans for the land on the basis that PPG had changed the intended use of the property from what had originally been approved. The article leads me to believe that PPG and the council still intend to work together and, now that this is behind them, hopefully some progress can be made. Source: The Phoenix For more information on the original plans and the events that led up to the rejection on PPG's applications, please see PhoenixvilleGreenway.org .

Editor's Note: Since I wrote this post, Buster's Treats has been renamed Two Cool Cookies Buster's Treats makes ice cream sandwiches using all-natural and organic ingredients. Run by two lifetime Phoenixvillians, Buster's makes sandwiches in an assortment of flavors that can be purchased individually at the Farmer's Market most Saturdays. They can also be ordered in bulk for your next party! This week, BT will be offering the following flavors at their booth (cookie/ice cream flavor listed in that order) Chocolate/Black Raspberry Vanilla/Black Raspberry Chocolate/Sweet Cherry Vanilla/Sweet Cherry Chocolate/Mint Chip Buster(Blondie)/Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip/Vanilla Bean For more information, visit their site at www.busters-treats.com .

As I am sure most of you are now aware, the fireworks display scheduled for last night did indeed happen. And, like most of you, I am shocked that the decision to have them was made considering the fact it was pouring with rain most of the evening. I have no idea how many people were actually in attendance when the first firework was set off but I have to imagine it was far less than would have been in attendance had they postponed it until Saturday. There is no mention as to who made the decision or when it was made on the borough site so we are only left to speculate. My condolences to those who wished to attend but, like me and my family, did not because of the weather.

Although it is admittedly an 'optimistic estimate', owners Declan Mannion and Conor Cummins are hopeful that Molly Maguire's Restaurant and Pub will be pouring pints and serving up authentic Irish fare over Labor Day weekend. --- Do not think of Molly Maguire's as an ordinary bar with a shamrock in the window. Mr. Mannion says, "It's a real pub, where it's nice and comfortable, nice wood surroundings, nice decorations, nice style, good food and drinks." Mr. Mannion and Mr. Cummins are bringing over decorations and furniture from decommissioned pubs in Ireland. The finished facility will feature two bars. An ample seating plan includes nooks for small groups to congregate, in the Irish pub tradition. "We're leaving a lot of the building intact upstairs because it's nice, historical," he says --- Sounds good to me! Source: Route 422 Business Advisor

New Century Bank , which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, is planning to open up their new headquarters in the Gateway Building by the end of the summer. One of the few complaints I have heard from new store and restaurant orders (admittedly second and third hand) is that there is not enough foot traffic during the day to help sustain their businesses. There has been a call for the powers that be to focus on bringing in more companies whose employees will eat in the restaurants and visit the shops downtown during their lunch breaks. New Century's relocation, and the fourty-five employees that come along with it, should provide a boost and will hopefully be the first of many new companies opening shop in town. Source: Route 422 Business Advisor

Note, this is for the 2007 July 4th Celebration, click here for the 2009 schedule Click map for driving directions Phoenixville's annual Fourth of July celebration is once again being held at Friendship Field. The celebration will begin at 7pm and will include live music as well as arts and crafts. For the little one's there will be pony rides for the little one's and a clown. Fireworks are scheduled to begin shortly after dark. Weather this year looks good but if need be the rain date is July 7th. Be sure to check the borough website on Wednesday as they had an announcement last year about the postponement.