Around Phoenixville

Note, this is for the 2008 July 4th Celebration, click here for the 2009 schedule July 4th promises to be an activity packed one as we are faced with a sort of perfect storm of events. Not only are fireworks once again planned, we also have First Friday and the Summer Street Music Series . Because of this, this year the fireworks will be held downtown to coincide with the rest of the events. The Alexandra Day Band kicks things off at 2pm with a concert at the corner of Bridge and Main. Following them at 3pm will be Telleri Band and at 4 the Michael Packer Blues Band takes the stage. Finally, headlining the day is Craig Newell's Evening with Elvis . All of this will be accompanied by the usual First Friday festivities. The evening will end with a firework celebration scheduled to begin around 9:30. And for those of you who missed the fireworks last year because of the weather, the early report is for a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms, which is pretty much par for the co...

As promised a while back (and not followed through on), here is an overview of things going on around town this weekend: Tonight Molly Maguire's Summer Street Music Series - 6-9pm. Headliner this week is Beatnik Brown who takes the stage at 7:30. From their website, Beatnik Brown is described as "Philly Improvisational Rock with a side of Funk. Always out to make it new, this is a jam band that actually jams!". Saturday Phoenixville Farmers Market - 9am-1pm Sunday Canal Day 2008 - 9am-4pm Lock 60 on the Schuylkill Canal and Saint Michael's Park, Mont Clare, PA. Annual Canal Day celebration featuring "5.5 mile Trail Run & 2 mile Loop Walk; Paddle Boat & Canoe/Kayak Races; 3 Lock Openings with audience participation; K-9 Rescue Demo; Always Exciting CANAL JOUST; Back by popular demand CANAL VAULTING!; Fishing Derby; Highland Games; Face Painting; Kids Games and Arts & Crafts; Orbitron and Trampoline Thing; Business Expo with lots of give-aways! ...

For those of you who have been looking for a more upscale drinking experience, you may soon have your wish. Coming later this summer will be The Fenix , "Phoenixville's Only Martini & Whiskey Bar". The Fenix is owned by the same people who run Molly Maguire's and will be located right next door, at 193 Bridge Street. There is a website setup at thefenixbar.com but there isn't a whole lot there just yet. Update 7/6: Reader Pete L. was able to confirm that the Molly Maguire folks are planning to open the Fenix at the end of August. Thanks Pete!

Received a phone call from my sister (who happens to be moving into Phoenixville on Saturday) who said there is a sign in front of the new 101 Bridge Restaurant saying that it will be opening tomorrow(6/25). It appears they are having a private opening tonight. If anyone here attended tonight or plans to attend over the next couple of days, please write in with your thoughts on Phoenixville's newest restaurant. Editor Note 6/25: This has been confirmed by a couple of the commenters.

On Saturday, September 27th, I will be participating in the 28th Annual Bike MS: City to Shore Ride . I will be participating in the 75-mile ride and my goal is to raise at least $250 $400. Obviously, the more the better! :) If you wish to make a donation, please visit the site the National MS Society has setup for me at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/JimNorthcott . For those of you unfamiliar with Bike MS, here is a brief overview: --- Every hour of every day, another American is diagnosed with MS -- we need to take action now to help the growing number of people affected by this disease. I will be riding in Bike MS: City to Shore 2008 to help the 11,000 local people living with this devastating disease. Today, there is no cure for MS, but we're fighting to change that. This is why I am writing to you: I need your help and support. This year, I've set a personal goal of raising $250 $400 and I'm asking you to make a contribution. Simply, click on this link to vi...

On select Sunday evenings's throughout the summer, Phoenixville Federal Trust will be sponsoring free concerts at Reeves Park. The concerts, which start at 7pm, kick off this Sunday with the Ringgold Band performing "a medley of show tunes, overtures, and marches." For more information, please see the Phoenixville Federal Trust Summer Music Festival website . Source: The Phoenix

Over the past week, a number of articles and a podcast have come out regarding the proposal to bring a minor league baseball stadium to Phoenixville. In Sunday's Inquirer , a brief overview of the timeline for a decision was presented. --- The group seeking to build a minor-league baseball stadium in Chester County is writing the criteria to evaluate the 11 sites that have been nominated. "We hope to have site visits and evaluations completed by the end of summer," said Tom McIntyre of the Chester County Development Council and a member of the Chester County Stadium Project Task Force, which now has 30 members. Members of the task force's 12-person steering committee are putting together the evaluation criteria. The committee is scheduled to meet later this month with the full task force slated to hold its next meeting July 23. "We're a volunteer group so there's been no hard schedule," McIntyre said. "We'd like to visit the sites, either i...

On Sunday, June 29th the Schuylkill Canal Association will be hosting Canal Day 2008 . The annual event, held at Lock 60 on the Schuylkill Canal and Saint Michael's Park, features live music and entertainment for the entire family. The event kicks off at 9am and goes until 4pm. Tickets are $3 and children 12 and under get in for free. For more information, see the Schuylkill Canal Association's Canal Day 2008 webpage .

Unfortunately I was unable to attend this morning's Chamber breakfast. It seemed there were a number of things set to be discussed and I am hoping one (or more) of you were in attendance and could provide some commentary. Thanks in advance!

Hipster Home , My Fox Philly's Hottest Housewares Store 2007 Award Winner , will have a new home come July 1st. Says owner David Friday: --- On July 1st we will be moving our store to a new location at 237 Bridge Street just beneath Wolfgang Books. This new space will give us the space we need to expand into new products, more furniture, and more accessible shopping. Our goal is to become a strong regional urban store for contemporary home furnishings. We are making strides to become a strong source for designers and architects needing contemporary furnishings to outfit their jobs with quality pieces. We have supplied a large investment firm on the main line with furnishings for their entry and waiting room and are now in negotiations with designers for a W Hotel being developed in Boston. The point is we are moving in the right direction and hope to continue this forward movement and reach beyond our goals. The store will not change much in our new location, initially, but so...

By now you have surely seen the signs up around town. This weekend, over in Mont Clare, the AOH Notre Dame Division 1 will be hosting their annual Irish Festival. The event kicks off tonight with a free concert from 6:30-9:30. The festival continues throughout the weekend with gates opening at 9:30am. Food, vendors and plenty of live music will be featured each day. All proceeds go to AOH Charities. The festival is being held at the picnic grounds of St. Michael's Church . Tickets are $5/day in advance or $6/day at the door and children under 12 get in for free. For more information, including a complete schedule of performances and directions, see the website the AOH has setup for the festival .

The Phoenixville Area School District just released their budget for the 2008-2009 school year and it isn't pretty. It calls for an increase of 5.91% which equates to $1.44 for everything thousand dollars your home is assessed for. That means the average home owner (whose home is assessed at $116k), will see a $169 increase in their school tax bill for the upcoming year. The good news is that approved Homestead/Farmstead property owners will be receiving ~ $164 from the state thanks to gaming revenues to help offset this increase. Source: The Phoenix

The Bridge Street Tasting Series, the brain child of blogger Dr. Joel ( see his blog at grainbill.blogspot.com ), kicks off on Thursday evening at EarthMart. From the EarthMart website : --- Here At Earth Mart! Cost: $3.00 Location: Earth Mart 235 Bridge Street Phoenixville, PA 19460 Contact: at 610-935-1793 There are more than 50 producers of organic beer in the United States, come taste two of the best. Featuring several beers from: Peak Organic Brewing Company (Portland, ME) & Wolaver’s Organic Ales (Middlebury, VT) A $3 suggested donation, try as many beers as you please Hosted by: The Grain Bill --- For more information, see the post on The Grain Bill

Tomorrow, June 3rd, O'Grady's Family Restaurant (1009 Schuylkill Rd) will be holding a fundraiser for Lara Phillips, an 18 year-old senior at Phoenixville Area High Shool. Phillips was diagnosed with Stage IV Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast growing malignant cancer, in January. To help the Phillips' family, O'Grady's will be donating a percentage of all sales tomorrow as well as holding raffles for a number of different items. Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5. For more info, call 610-933-9335 or see the article in today's Phoenix .