Wolfgang Books Reading Series Continues September 11th with Guest Author Tom McAllister

Tom McAllister author of Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football and Philly will be featured in the Wolfgang Books Reading Series at Steel City Coffee House.

Phoenixville, PA Tom McAllister, author of Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football and Philly will visit Phoenixville, PA for the Saturday, September 11th installment of the Wolfgang Books Reading Series at Steel City Coffee House.

McAllister is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and La Salle University. A Lecturer in the English Department at Temple University, his work has appeared in various publications. Bury Me in My Jersey is his first book, recently published by Random House.

“I always think of sports as something bigger than the game on the field,” says Jason Hafer, owner of Wolfgang Books and moderator of the Reading Series. “Tom’s book definitely addresses that, in addition to being a genuinely moving and sincere memoir.”

Read more »

The Soul Center Hosting 'Grand Beginning Event' on Saturday, September 11th

On Saturday, September 11th, The Soul Center is hosting a 'Grand Beginning' open house. The event features free class samplings from 8am-4pm, a cocktail hour from 6-8pm and dance party from 8:45-9:45.

Visit thesoulcenter.com for a complete schedule of events.

Phoenixville Bike Day is this Saturday

Phoenixville Bike Day returns for its second year this Saturday, August 28th. From their mailing list:

Phoenixville Bike Day is now only days away. Make sure you make it out this Saturday.

The Salty Dogs will be playing classic rock on the main stage and we have over 10 vendors.

Enjoy all the great Phoenixville restaurants and unique stores and motorcycles ONLY will park for free on Bridge St. between Main and Gay Streets.

Education Sunday Being Held This Saturday, August 28th

Phoenixville , PA – On Saturday, August 28th, 2010 from 11am-2pm in the Andre Thorton Park (16 Main Street) the Concerned Parents of Phoenixville will be hosting a re-dedication to quality education. As another school year is fast approaching it’s time to become re-dedicated to quality education.

This event will be combined with a grand opening of the new Andre Thornton Park. State Representative Paul Drucker will speak about his new drug free school and park bill. The event is highlighted by Senator Andy Dinniman, as he will bring the 2010 Education Sunday message about moving forward towards academic achievements. Although it’s in the third year in Phoenixville, this is the first time in which all aspect of public education are brought together (Political, Community and the Phoenixville Area School District) for students and teachers.

Education Sunday dates back to 1878 as a national day of prayer and celebration for everyone in the world of education. It has been called the day that faith based organizations join together to offer God the work of education. This year's celebration is to honor the Teachers of East Pikeland and Schuylkill elementary schools in recognition of their academic achievements. After the event all the Teachers of these schools will receive a token of appreciation from the community organizations. This event is a combination of activities, and free school supplies will be given out as quantity lasts. Voter registration will also be available for everyone.

Radical Reels World Tour 2010 Coming to VFCC on Saturday, September 18th

On Saturday, September 18th, adventure sports fans will have a chance to catch the Radical Reels World Tour 2010 as it pays a visit to Valley Forge Christian College:

Radical Reels: World Tour '10

Saturday, September 18 at the Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, PA

The Philadelphia Rock Gyms & the Schuylkill Canal Association, in conjunction with the Banff Mountain Center, brings you the Second Annual Radical Reels: the best in action sports filmmaking, audience-tested and programmed for maximum excitement. Catch the steepest and deepest in high-adrenaline outdoor sport films coming, for the first time,.to your neighborhood!

For more information or to order tickets ($2 off if ordered through the website), visit www.philarockgym.com/radicalreels2010.htm. A portion of the proceeds go to benefit Schuylkill Canal Association

Additional Mosquito Spraying Planned for Tuesday, August 24th

Councilman Handwerk posted information about a second mosquito spraying planned for tomorrow, August 25th:

The Chester County Health Department once again will be spraying for mosquitoes.

"Weather permitting, the Chester County Health Department will apply a mosquito control treatment between 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM on the evening of Tuesday, August 24, 2010 in Phoenixville Borough and Schuylkill Township. The areas to be treated are:

Phoenixville Borough - bordered by Washington Avenue to the North, Main Street to the West, Nutt Road to the South, and Second Avenue to the East.

Schuylkill Township - bordered by Rossiter Avenue to the North, Biddle Lane to the South, South Second Avenue to the East and Valley Forge Road to the West.

In the event of a weather delay, the application will be conducted on Wednesday, August 25, 2010"

Septa Bus Line from Phoenixville to Paoli Train Station Starting September 7

Beginning in September, residents looking for a way to get into Center City will have a new option. From The Unfiltered Downtown Phoenixville News:

Breaking News: The Septa Route 205 bus is coming to Phoenixville. Starting September 7th the bus will from from Paoli Train Station, through Great Valley, into Downtown Phoenixville, and up to the north side. Check this link for details.

More info, from Representative Drucker's mailing list:

Departures and arrivals are timed with selected Paoli/Thorndale Line trains going to and from Philadelphia. The route will continue to provide peak hour access to portions of the Great Valley area, including Vanguard, Uptown Worthington, the Route 29 corridor and the Commons.

Buses will continue north along Route 29 and Main Street into downtown Phoenixville, with the endpoint at Fillmore Street and Black Rock Road on the borough's north side.

Camphill Challenge Bike Ride Planned for October 17th

On Sunday, October 17th, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is hosting a charity bike ride, the Camphill Challenge:

The Camphill Challenge

Bike for a cause, not just because! Join us for the Camphill Challenge, a bike ride on October 17, 2010 . The event begins and ends at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills and offers 50, 35, and 10 mile routes. Proceeds of the Camphill Challenge benefit Camphill Special School, Camphill Soltane, and Camphill Village Kimberton Hills: lifesharing communities for children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Rider amenities include: water stations stocked with refreshments, T-shirt, picnic lunch and musical entertainment. Sponsorships are available and registration before September 30 is just $25. For more information, contact Bernadette Kovaleski at bernadette@camphillkimberton.org or 610-935-0300, ext. 12. Or, register online at www.camphillspecialschool.org.

Local Business Spotlight: Bambole Events

Bambole Events was created with the intent to introduce a new, easy and fun way of celebrating that special day. Bambole Events is a highly innovative company that specializes in decorating children’s events. We tailor our services to the needs of each client and give them a wide range of themes to choose from, such as Under the Sea, Princess, Jungle Safari, Ladybugs, Pirates, Candyland and so many more. We work directly with a talented group of artists that design and create handcrafted and unique works of art especially for the company.

For more information, visit their website at www.bamboleevents.com.

Rock & Roll After School Presents Instructor Extravaganza!

On Thursday, August 26th, Rock & Roll After School will be presenting their inaugural Instructor Extravaganza. The concert, which begins at 7:30pm, features the school's instructors and benefits the Give the Gift of Music Foundation.

Rock & Roll After School Presents Instructor Extravaganza!
Benefitting the Give the Gift of Music Foundation

It's Instructor Extravaganza!
Come watch Rock & Roll After School staff play a show with their bands and friends.

Featuring:
Trevor Gordon Hall
The Adam Monaco Band
Neysa Ricciardi
The Minimalist
Michael O'Brien
& Carl Bahner

Proceeds benefit the Give the Gift of Music Foundation

Give the Gift of Music Foundation supports musical education for eligible children by providing donations of musical instruments and/or financial assistance in the form of scholarships to approved music education or enrichment programs in the communities surrounding the greater Phoenixville, PA area.

$5 Tickets for Students
$10 Tickets

Mosquito spraying rescheduled for tonight

From the Borough website:

Due to inclement weather the Mosquito Spraying for Phoenixville Borough is rescheduled for August 13, 2010 at 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm

For More information:
Chester County Press Release for Mosquito Spraying of the Phoenixville Borough

OJR Offering Great Advertising Opportunities to Local Businesses

From discoverphoenixville.com:

Reach Customers Beyond the Border of Phoenixville!
The bedroom communities between Pottstown and Phoenixville are notoriously difficult to reach... Here's your opportunity for affordable exposure! Support scholastic athletes and reach new targets with the Owen J. Roberts School District fall sports program.

Click here to get more information on this great opportunity.

Mosquito spraying Thursday in Phoenixville

From the Pottstown Mercury:

The Chester County Health Department will apply a mosquito control treatment on the borough on Thursday evening, August 12, between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

The areas to be treated will be bordered by Washington Avenue to the north, Nutt Road and Valley Forge Road to the west and south, Second Avenue to the east.

In the event of a weather delay, the application will be conducted on Friday, August 13, 2010.

On August 9, 2010 mosquito samples collected in this area by the Chester County Health Department West Nile Virus program staff tested positive for West Nile Virus.

The treatment will be administered with truck mounted equipment to spray the target area of the borough.

The equipment dispenses Permanone RTU, a permethrin insecticide product, at a rate of 1.5 ounces per acre.

It is recommended that residents stay indoors and close windows during treatment and for approximately one hour after spraying is complete.

Read the full article here.

Local Business Spotlight: The Soul Center

What's That Up In the Air Around Phoenixville?

It's Love Baby...and it's coming from The Soul Center!

The doors are open at The Soul Center's new location and the love is pouring out. We've moved just up the road to our new home at 550 Kimberton Road (Rte. 113) in Phoenixville and you're invited to stop on by and check out the digs. We're rolling out the mats and banging on the drums, so come on in, take your shoes off and stay awhile-we have plenty of room to roam.

Our new home offers an exotic and spacious practice room for you to move and groove and celebrate being alive! A separate "treatment room" for massage, energy work or a private, individual or small group yoga experience is now ready to offer a more intimate environment. We have changing rooms to accommodate you as you transition from the outside world into your practice.

Before or in between classes, sit back and relax in our lobby, sip some tea and browse our yoga library and take time for a soul chat with others from our beloved community. We encourage you to linger and share your experiences and to explore what other offerings may call to you.

The Soul Center is all about creating community with a new twist~

We have a foundation of yoga classes with a wide variety of styles and levels, each with their own flavor and fun so you can find an offering, not to replace, but to complement the practice you already have, or perhaps even inspire you to explore a different shade of your soul.

And there's more than just yoga on the menu - how about Group Motion Dance, Energetic Drumming Circles, Spiritual Cinema and Kirtan Café-countless opportunities to lift and inspire your spirit and infuse your soul. And we're just getting started!

Please visit our website, www.TheSoulCenter.com for full class descriptions and to meet our resident faculty.

Soulfully,

Robyn

Coming Soon to the Interesection of Bridge and Gay Streets, Black Walnut Winery

Award winning Black Walnut Winery will celebrate their first year by opening a tasting room and retain shop at the corner of Bridge and Gay Streets.

Our friends over at oneninefoursixzero interviewed Valerie Castle, proprietor and CFO:

...the four owners plan to open a Black Walnut Winery tasting room at the corner of Gay and Bridge sometime during the second half of August (exact date TBD). Their tentative hours will be...

Read the full interview here.

"It's About Time" Halloween Bash & Silent Auction To Be Held Saturday, October 30th

The Phoenixville Area Time Bank is hosting a Halloween Bash and Silent Auction on Saturday, October 30th beginning at 7pm:

"It's About Time" Halloween Bash & Silent Auction
Saturday, October 30, 2010
7:00–11:00 PM
Franklin Commons, Phoenixville, PA

Purchase Tickets at www.PATB.EventBrite.com
Questions? Call 610-608-9281 or e-mail timedollar@verizon.net

Save the Date for the Best Halloween Party Around!

Tired of the heat and humidity? Think ahead to the cooler days of late October, when ghosts and goblins are afoot, and mark off Saturday evening, October 30 for the coolest Halloween party around!

The Phoenixville Area Time Bank (PATB), a community non-profit, is sponsoring a “Halloween Bash” – a night of music, dancing, food, drink and spooktacular fun, to be held at Franklin Commons, in Phoenixville, PA. This is the 5th annual “It’s About Time” party and fundraiser that PATB has sponsored, and the first to be held at the beautiful and spacious Franklin Commons event venue.

Come join the fun and:

• Dance to local band “The National Bird”
• Eat locally grown food and homemade deserts
• Drink soft drinks, cider, beer and wine
• Enter the costume contest (costumes optional)
• Bid at the silent auction and try your luck with raffles. You may go home with great prizes donated by area businesses, attractions, artisans and craftspeople.

Tickets are $25.00 each in advance, $30 at the door. Visit the PATB website at www.pa-timebank.org for information on ticket purchases, or email timedollar@verizon.net for general information.

About the Phoenixville Area Time Bank
The Phoenixville Area Time Bank is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose members build community by exchanging services on an equal basis. A portion of the profits from this event will be used to support our ‘2010 Project’ which includes outreach to the most vulnerable members of our community – those with disabilities, the elderly, unemployed and convalescents.

Help Valley Forge National Historical Park Win $100,000

Coca-Cola is holding a contest to identify America's favorite National or State Park and the Valley Forge National Historical Park is a nominee. The park garnering the most votes will win a $100,000 grant from Coca-Cola.

To vote, visit livepositively.com and click on 'Vote for your park!'. You can vote as often as you'd like between now and the end of August.

ACW Wrestling Coming to Phoenixville

Pro wrestling fans, here is your chance to see live wrestling and help a good cause at the same time:

Atomic Championship Wrestling (ACW) makes their Phoenixville debut as they present "Headlock On Healthcare & Hunger" on Saturday night, August 21, 2010 at CAT-Pickering Campus Gymnasium in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

This is a charity show, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting two of Phoenixville's finest non-profit organizations - The Clinic, 143 Church Street, and Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS), 257 Church Street.

CAT-Pickering Campus Gymnasium is located at 1580 Charlestown Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460
Doors open at 6 pm with a belltime of 7 pm
Tickets are $12 each, $10 with a canned good donation, and kids 5 and under are
free

Read more »

Region's first TEDx slated for September in Phoenixville

Welcome to ideaville!
Region's first TEDx slated for September in Phoenixville

Phoenixville, PA-- A lot of big changes have happened in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania in the past few years and now a group is bringing a day of joyful new ideas to the former steel town.

Phoenixville, situated along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's northwestern suburbs, has become an arts and entertainment destination thanks to groups like the Association for the Colonial Theatre. Now, the Colonial Theatre, famous for contributing compelling music and film to the Borough's revitalization efforts, is spearheading an effort to introduce the region to new ideas with a TEDx program.

TEDx is an independently organized TED event that enables local communities such as schools, businesses, libraries, neighborhoods to organize, design and host their own independent, TED-like events. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

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PA Turnpike Commission Approves E-ZPass Only Interchange At Route 29

Beginning in late fall 2012, E-ZPass users will be able to access the PA Turnpike where it currently crosses over Rte. 29.

HARRISBURG, PA (08/04/2010)(readMedia)-- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced today that it is moving ahead with the construction of an all-electronic interchange linking Route 29 with I-76 in Chester County. Located midway between the Downingtown exit (#312) and the Valley Forge exit (#326), the new facility will provide convenient access to and from such business parks as the Great Valley Corporate Center, the Commons at Great Valley, Atwater and business districts in Malvern and Paoli.
...
Turnpike officials expect construction of the E-ZPass-only interchange will start in March 2011 with a late fall 2012 opening. The estimated $60 million project calls for bridges to be built over the Turnpike, over Yellow Springs Road, over Atwater Drive as well as construction of a culvert and several retaining walls. The construction area will cover one-half mile along the Turnpike in three separate Chester County municipalities: Charlestown Township, East Whiteland Township and Tredyffrin Township.

Read the full article here.

Fiber Arts Day at Reeves Park This Saturday

On Saturday, August 7th, The Phoenixville Spinners (from Phoenixville Library) and Knit One, Crochet, Too (from Henrietta Hankin Library), will be presenting Fiber Arts Day at Reeves Park. The event runs from 10am-3pm and those interested in participating are asked to bring your project(s), a chair, a blanket or towel for ground cover, lunch, beverages and spinning/knitting/crochet equipment.

In case of rain, we will move to the Community Room in the Phoenixville Library, which is just across the street from Reeves Park.

For more information, contact Jean Munson at jeanmunson@verizon.net or Winnie Spoonts at 610-933-1375.

Antigua Guatemala brings Guatemalan Cuisine to Phoenixville

On June 26th, Phoenixville became home to Antigua Guatemala, "The only restaurant serving authentic Guatemalan cuisine in the Phoenixville area." The restaurant, located at 119 South Main Street (formerly Destiny Brewing Company), owned by Angel Salguero, has gotten positive reviews on various local blogs:

"After trying Antigua Guatemala, I can honestly say that I'm very pleased to have a restaurant like this in the neighborhood. Although the selections are somewhat similar to what you might find at a Mexican restaurant, there are some distinct differences..."
- oneninefoursixzero

he was right...lots a food....cheap...good food and excellent service...it was all there.
- Blog of the Century

For more information, visit their Facebook page or see the article at PhoenixvilleNews.com

Monterey Pop Concert with The Jumboree Players

On Sunday, August 8th, the Jumboree Players will be playing a concert at the Colonial Theatre before its showing of 'Monterey Pop'.

The Jumboree Players perform a set of 1967-flavored rock n' roll on the Colonial Theatre stage, followed by a screening of the movie Monterey Pop! You can expect a tasty selection of songs from bands that were at the '67 festival, or could've been, or should've been! The show will follow a similar format to the Easy Rider concert done in 2008, with commentary and other bits between the songs by Jesse C! Don't miss it!

For more information, visit the Monterey Pop page on the Colonial Theatre's website or visit the event page on Facebook.

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire Returns August 14th

The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire returns August 14th for its 30th year:

WHEN :Weekends plus Labor Day Monday, August 14 - October 31, 2010

WHERE : The Grounds of Mount Hope Estate

COST: Adults $29.95, Children $9.95

At the 30 year mark the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire has established itself as a travel destination venue all its own. Since 1980 the Faire has grown from a sumptuous feast into a 12-weekend spectacular event that literally cannot be fully experienced in a single day. It is a feast of every sense. Add to that laughter, aesthetics, artistry, theatrics, delight, and so much more, and one begins to grasp what awaits the person coming through the huge castle entrance for the first time.

For more information, visit parenfaire.com