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Showing posts from November, 2007

Melchiorre Park Update

Well, went to the Melchiorre Park discussion tonight and was able to find out the following. Despite the fact it has been described as a 23 acre park, there is really only about 10 acres of usable land. The rest is either too hilly or wooded. On that 10 acres, the plan is to build two softball fields. Dissecting those two fields will be a multi-use field that is the size of a regulation soccer field. In addition, two buildings will be on the property. One will be used as a gymnasium that is big enough for two basketball courts. The other, smaller building, will be made up of locker rooms, offices, and classrooms/meeting rooms. Throughout the park will be paths that will circle the fields as well as lead down to two trails that frame French Creek. From these trails will be various paths to the creek to allow for fishing. These plans are considered the 'pre-final' plans. What this means is that, after a couple of years of study, this is the way things appear to be headin

Annual Candelight Holiday Tour taking place this Saturday

The annual Phoenixville Candelight Holiday Tour is taking place on Saturday, December 1st from 4-8pm. The tour, which is entering its 7th year, opens the doors to a dozen private residences around town. From the press release on the PASD website : --- The 2007 tour will be the largest and most comprehensive in the candlelight tour's seven year history. A major attraction on this year's tour will be the new home of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation . This stately mansion houses a circular staircase which was featured in the comic strip "Bringing Up Father". For many years Phoenixville has been a popular site for motion picture filming. The film "4D Man" with Lee Meriwether was filmed in the dining room of another home showcased on the tour. The Schuylkill River Heritage Center will be open to patrons. Among the 12 private homes on the tour is a meticulously restored house that served as the original Phoenixville Hospital in the 1890s. Each

New Blog Look

What do you think? I felt the old look was getting a bit cluttered. Hopefully the new links at the top will make things easier to find and will allow the blog to be a bit easier to read. I'd love to hear your thoughts however.

Local Business Spotlight: Thai L' Elephant

For those of you who enjoy authentic Thai food, look no further than Thai L' Elephant . Several readers have sent me emails raving about the food and I am happy to announce that they are the feature of our most recent Local Business Spotlight. Located on Rte. 23 in the shopping center behind O'Grady's (address is 277 Schuylkill Rd), Thai L' Elephant is open 7 days a week and for both lunch and dinner (dinner only on Sunday's). Like many of our area's top restaurants, Thai L' Elephant is a BYOB. I received the following from one of their managers, Jennie Johnson --- A Gastronomic Adventure in Phoenixville Thai L' Elephant has been established by chef/owner Michael Raethong who has been in the restaurant business for over 15 years as a chef. Michael relentlessly creates innovative and exotic dishes. He has won several awards including 'Best of Philly' and '50 Best Meals Under $50' from Philadelphia Magazine, 'Best Presentation'

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Want to wish all of my readers a very happy Thanksgiving. If you are going to be in town tonight, don't forget to check out Bridge St. as the holiday lights are supposed to be turned on for the first time!

Meeting regarding the future of the St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth scheduled for 12/18

On Tuesday, December 18th, a meeting will be held to discuss the future of the Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth located on Phoenixville's north side. The garden is currently run by St. John's United Church of Christ which leases the land from the Housing Authority of Chester County Board. On September 1, 2009, this lease expires, and the church is trying to save the garden by having the HACC either extend the lease for another 30 years or to have them sell the land under the agreement that it will continue to be used as it has been for the past sixteen years. From an email I received regarding the meeting: --- Proposal The Consistory of St. John’s United Church of Christ proposes that the Housing Authority of Chester County either extend the current lease to the long-term (30 years) for the water access and land on which St. John’s United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth has stood for the past 10 years or permit this land to be donated or purcha

Tyler James Pub opens its doors

On Sunday, Phoenixville's newest bar, The Tyler James Pub, opened its doors. Located at 210-212 Bridge Street (formerly occupied by Jester's Sports Bar), Tyler James offers 12 beers on tap as well as a full menu of pub fare. The pub has numerous TVs for sports viewing as well as a pool table, electronic dart boards, arcade games and a shuffleboard table. Good luck to Steve Blair and his staff. Hopefully the reviews will be a bit more positive than the early ones another local establishment has garnered. Source: The Phoenix Tyler James Pub website

La Crêperie Café Bis Opens

Yesterday, Phoenixville's newest cafe opened. La Crêperie Café Bis, located at the corner of Bridge and Gay Streets at the base of the Gay St. Bridge, opened its doors at 11am. As you can probably guess by its name, La Crêperie features both sweet and savory crêpes which, owner Marietou Fanny says, are made with only fresh ingredients. Fanny also owns a restaurant in Center City in Philadelphia called La Crêperie Café, which has been open for nine years. La Crêperie is open seven days a week. Hours are Monday-Friday from 11am-10pm, Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday from 10am-7pm. Best of luck to Marietou and her staff! Source: The Phoenix

Public meeting to discuss future of Melchiorre Park scheduled for Nov. 29th

On Thursday, November 29th, the Borough is holding a 'brainstorming session' in which plans for Melchiorre Park will be discussed with its park planning consultants. The event will be held at the High School and will begin 7pm. For those of you who do not know about Melchiorre Park (of which I am included, even though I apparently live across the street from it), it is a 23 acre park located south of High Street on the land between it and French Creek. It appears, based on the drawing on the Borough home page , to be the land that is next to Westridge Village and across the street from the new Northridge Village community. As part of the meeting, the consultants will 'provide a brief background of the project and present a pre-final master plan for the park'. Source: Phoenixville Borough Website

Relay for Life Kick Off Celebration Planned for Nov. 27th

On Tuesday, November 27th, the Relay For Life of Phoenixville will be holding a kick off celebration for the '08 event. The celebration will be held at the Phoenixville High School Cafeteria (1200 Gay St) and will begin at 6:30pm. This year's celebration will feature the following: Meet this year's Co-Chairs and see the passing of the torch Hear from this year's Honorary Survivor Luminaria Ceremony: Celebrate the lives of those who have fought bravely, but have lost their battle Musical selections by The High School's Select Choir & the Guitar Club Spanish Immersion students will read poetry in both Spanish & English Raffle Fighting March & Line Dance by the High School Marching Band Also, for those who are interested in being a part of the '08 Relay, banking & team registration tables will be open from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., and again after the ceremony. This year's relay will be held on May 2 & 3, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. As in th

Philadelphia Premium Outlets Open Today

Today marks the grand opening of the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick. The ribbon cutting ceremony was to happen at 9am this morning. To celebrate, the outlets are planning a four day Grand Opening celebration featuring prizes, live entertainment, special in-store promotions and much more. For more information on this weekend's activities, see this program from their website .

Tis the Season

With the holiday's rapidly approaching, several local businesses are getting into the spirit by holding various events to raise money/collect items for those less fortunate. On November 8th, Valley Forge Pizza will be donating part of their profits for the day to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). November is National Pancreatic Cancer Month and PanCAN is trying to raise funds for research into pancreatic cancer and patient support. If you are in the area, please consider stopping in for a very good cause. On November 9th and 10th, Artisan’s Gallery and Cafe will be holding a 'Empty Bowls Campaign'. On these two days, you can buy a bowl of soup at Artisan's in a hand crafted bowl which is your's to keep. The price for the bowl of soup is $15 and all proceeds go to the following local charities: Phoenixville Area Community Services, Camphill Village of Kimberton Hills, and Community Gardens of Chester County. The idea is to help raise awareness on t

First Friday to feature Fire Eaters, Sword Swallowers, a Wine Tasting and much more!

Details for tomorrow's First Friday have been announced and it sounds pretty interesting. Starting with the downtown, the theme this month is a celebration of Halloween/Day of the Dead. The entertainment planned has been described by Barry Cassidy as "a little more edgy than the other First Friday fare but should bring a lot of excitement and energy to the street." Live music will be performed by Hydrogen Jukebox , and there will be all sorts of carnivalesque entertainers, from Fire Eaters to Sword Swallowers. And for those of you who missed out on trick or treating (or want another chance for free candy), several businesses along Bridge St. will be giving out candy to those dressed in costumes. Look for the orange pumpkin in their windows! Elsewhere, a wine tasting is being held at Byrne Lofts from 5:30-8:30pm. The tasting is complimentary and is being hosted by noted wine expert, Phillip Silverstone. Sources: The Phoenix - First Friday to get more 'edgy'

A warm Phoenixville welcome to Romantic Jewelers

On October 22nd, Romantic Jewelers opened shop at 241 Bridge St. The Phoenixville location is the third Romantic Jewelers, joining sister stores in Malvern and West Chester. The Phoenix reports --- She[owner Debbie Pekala] carries a wide array of fine jewelry, antique and vintage pieces, and handmade sterling pieces with precious and semi-precious stones. When customers walk in they will find a case to their right filled with jewelry they can buy if, in Pekala's words, "their pocket books are a little light." If they take a step further, however, they will find a collection of diamond necklaces and bracelets ranging from 14 to 18 karats as well as platinum. Romantic Jewelers also carries rare hand-crafted rose-cut diamonds, which Pekala says very few other stores carry. Another display case is arranged solely with precious and semi-precious stones including amethyst, pink and yellow sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. "They’re pretty things you don’t see everywhere,&