Twilight on the River, plus Community Picnics, Parties and More

Tonight from 5:30-7:30 pm, head over to Riverfront Park after work and unwind for a fun and easy paddle along the Schuylkill River. This guided tour will depart Riverfront Park, located in Norristown, at Haws Ave and the river, will feature a history of the river and the roles it played in the American, Industrial, and Environmental Revolutions. The tour will take approximately 1.5 hours with an introduction to paddling for first timers. Open to anyone over 16 years of age. Cost: $30 per person which includes kayak, paddle, PFD (personal flotation device) and tour, or $10 per person if you bring your own kayak, paddle, and PFD. Go to this link for tickets and additional info.

Family Fun Friday tonight at Scag Cottman Park (Basin & Violet Sts) from 6 to 9 pm. Movies, food, games and entertainment, for kids ages 6-13. Presented by Buck Jones in association with Main St. Water Ice. For info, call 267-774-1694.

Also tonight at 7 pm at ACPPA (Haws Ave, in back of Grace Lutheran Church), all are invited to celebrate the creative accomplishments of their Summer ARTS Intensive students. Pay what you wish to enter, but save money to take home some tasty baked goods too.

Saturday, 10 am–noon, Photo ID clinic at the New Life Plaza, 25 E. Marshall Street.

Saturday starting at noon at Simmons Park (Oak St), Appreciation Day. This is a Community Day event. All ages welcome! Basketball games, DJ, Free food and water ice. Hosted by Khalif Wyatt, family and friends.

Also on Saturday, The Norristown Ladies Flag Football League will be hosting a pool party at the George Washington Carver Community Center, Jacoby St. This event is for everyone in our community. Kids will SWIM FREE and there will be free food, beverages, as well as GAMES during this day. For questions, please reach out to Latisha Howell or Ericka Wharton at norristownladiesflagfootball@yahoo.com. (There was no time listed on the notice I saw, so you might want to email and ask.)

Sunday 10 am-1 pm, Coffee Talk Artists Co-op, Open Mic.

Sunday from 2 to 5 pm, Elmwood Park Zoo admission is FREE to Norristown residents. Adults must show ID proof of residency and must accompany children. Go to this link for details.

Sunday through Thurday, 6-8:30 pm, Christ Church, W. Marshall & Noble. Free five evening Vacation Bible Camp for kids aged 4 through 4th grade. All welcome. For more info, call 610-275-3092.

Sunday, 7-9 pm, Flower Power - classic rock. Elmwood Park Bandshell. FREE concert. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Food available at the concession stand.

At last year's Night Out.

Tuesday, 5:30-8:30 pm, National Night Out. Block party for the entire community, hosted by local churches, with the Norristown Police and Fire departments, Municipal Staff and other community organizations. 1300 block of Willow Street. Food, Fun, Games, Music.

Due to the Natonal Night Out, this month's Municipal Council Meeting will be on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, Municipal Hall. No agenda yet.

Thursday from 5:30-7:30 pm, Kids Fair at the Elmwood Park Zoo, hosted by Sen. Daylin Leach and Mercy Suburban Hospital. FREE event but families must RSVP at 610-768-4200 or by email at kidsfair2015@pasenate.com

Next Friday, August 7, 5:30 pm, End of the Summer Talent Show at Eisenhower Middle School, 1601 Markley. Join Camp Xtreme as they put on a talent show for the community and parents! All members of the community are welcome to attend to see what our children have learned this summer and see what talent they have been practicing. Doors open at 5 pm and there will be a concession stand serving hot dogs and hamburgers. Camp Xtreme children eat free! 

Norristown Police on Nextdoor.com

Tonight from 6 pm to about 7:30 at the Norristown Public Library, the Norristown Police Dept will hold their monthly  Community Meeting. At tonight's meeting, they'll be introducing their newest community engagement tool: Nextdoor, a FREE online social network.

Nextdoor is different from other social networks you might already use, like Facebook, in that Nextdoor is ONLY local residents, and you can choose just how local you want your posts to be.

I joined Nextdoor about 2 years ago when the only people on it were a small group who lived up around the Sandy Hill/New Hope area, and Shae Ashe, who was starting a neighborhood group in the West End. He suggested I start a group in the North End, so I did. An East End neighborhood joined us, and another in Halford Tract (West Norriton) and Coleston (East Norriton). Now we number 212 residents, and cover most of Norristown except for Town Center.

What do we talk about on this network? All kinds of things. Upcoming events, recommendations for everything from handymen to plumbers to auto mechanics to pet groomers, warnings about con men going door-to-door, pot-hole alerts, the new trash cans, etc. If you've got questions about things going on in N-town, you can probably get answers on Nextdoor. You only talk to local residents on Nextdoor, so no one outside the area can get access to the things we post. It's MUCH more secure than Facebook and other networks.

The exciting thing is that the Norristown Police Department will now use Nextdoor to send out alerts and community information. The NPD staff will only be able to see replies to their own posts, and they will NOT be able to view any other content that we post. But it will be great to get firsthand info.

If you can, go to the meeting tonight for all the details about how to join Nextdoor. If you can't go, but you want to join, go to Nextdoor.com. When you type in your address information, it will assign you to one of our neighborhood groups (or ask you if you want to form another group, if you live somewhere not currently within a Nextdoor neighborhood).

I'm looking forward to seeing not only the NPD on Nextdoor, but a lot of Norristown's other residents as well. We've been saying that Norristown needs better communication. Well, here's a good tool. Let's use it.

FOURTH FRIDAY, Family Fun, and More

The weather is supposed to be beautiful tonight for both Fourth Friday and Family Fun Friday. Get out and enjoy it.

Today is Fourth Friday Downtown. Come for the food and the arts or enjoy a relaxing game of Spades. Here's the schedule:

Noon - 2 pm, Courthouse Square - Food and other vendors with fun lunchtime activities. Brush up on your golf putting, play a quick game of chess or paint a masterpiece with friends (group painting), PLUS see children from the ACPPA Community Art Center perform selections from their upcoming production at Theater Horizon at 1:10 pm!

5 - 7 pm, Sessano Cafe & Deli (corner of Airy and Swede) - Award winning sandwiches meets Group Art Painting. Come out to create your own masterpiece. ($7 admission for painting workshop)

7 - 10 pm, Jazz on Cherry Street (216 Cherry) The impeccable sounds of Saxophonist Mike Clay as he leads his Jazz Ensemble with Straight Ahead and Contemporary Jazz to soothe your soul! (Tickets $15 at this link.)

8-10 pm, Jus' Java (317 Swede) - Open Mic. Café food, gourmet coffee. No cover charge.

8-10 pm, also at Jus' Java – Spades Tournament. Are you interested in playing spades? If you love to play cards, you'll have a good time. Come out and compete in the spades tournament.

8-11 pm, Salsa on Cherry Street (216 Cherry, upstairs) – Salsa lessons from 8-9 pm, salsa dancing from 9 -11 pm ($7 Admission)

Also, as usual, it's Family Fun Friday tonight at Scag Cottman Park (Basin & Violet Sts) from 6 to 9 pm. Movies, food, games and entertainment for kids ages 6-13. Presented by Buck Jones in association with Main St. Water Ice. For info, call 267-774-1694.

This weekend the Ancient Order of Hibernians are meeting at a local convention and on Saturday at 4 pm, a special Irish mass will be held at St Patrick's Church (Dekalb and Chestnut). Come if you want to see Irish pageantry, bagpipes and all.

Sunday afternoons, Jus' Java is still hosting their weekly Acoustic Open Mic. If you would like to sign up, message "Nick Filone" or "Jus Java Music" on Facebook. Or, just stop by and play.

Sunday night's FREE Concert in the Park this week features British Invasion - 60's British and American Music. 7 pm-9 pm. Elmwood Park bandshell. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Food available for purchase.

Monday - Friday from 6-8 pm, Norristown Youth Eagles registration, at the field. 484-429-9330 or email norristownyoutheagles@gmail.com

Tuesday night at 7 pm at Municipal Hall. Zoning Board Hearing. Agenda can be found at this link.

Tuesday from 7-9 pm at the Historical Society of Montgomery County (1654 Dekalb),  local historian and author Michael Tolle will discuss his newest book "They've Been Down So Long...". Copies of his book will be available for purchase and signing. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Karen Wolfe, Executive Director 610-272-0297 or contact@hsmcpa.org

Wednesday at 3 pm, Elmwood Park Zoo will hold a "Keeper Chat" on Facebook. Go to this link at that time and one of their lead keepers will answer all of your questions about the Zoo's newest residents, the red pandas.

Wednesday from 6-7:30 pm at the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library (1001 Powell St), join Norristown Police Dept. for their Monthly Community Meeting. This time they'll be introducing one of our community engagement tools: Nextdoor, an online social network for you, your neighbors and your community. Personal note: Quite a few residents in our community (including me) already use Nextdoor to discuss community issues and keep up on neighborhood events. I'm thrilled that the NPD is joining Nextdoor. This is a great way to reach residents who just can't get out to meetings (like me right now). Looking forward to meeting more residents through Nextdoor in the coming weeks.

Lots of other events at the Zoo and Library. Check out their Facebook and web pages for more details.

Family Fun, Coffee With A Cop and More This Week

Tonight and every Friday from 6-9 pm at Scag Cottman Park, Basin & Violet Sts, Buck Jones in association with Main St. Water Ice presents Family Fun Fridays. For all kids ages 6-13. Movies, food, games and entertainment, more info, call 267-774-1694. Bring your family out and enjoy the nice weather.

Saturday from 2-5 pm, starting at Riverfront Park, 1 Haws Ave., The Norristown Project (TNP) needs volunteers to clean up the Norristown portion of the Schuylkill River Trail. The project will begin at 2 pm near the Haws Avenue entrance of the trail and conclude at 5 pm near the bridge over US-202. Volunteers of all ages are needed to clean up trash/debris, cut back weeds, and remove graffiti. TNP will also create a pop-up drink and cooling station for bikers and runners passing by. Setting up a cooling station and tracking data of how many people were served can create a conversation of the need for an investor to purchase the abandoned retail store. The goal of this project is to promote development on Norristown’s portion of the Schuylkill River Trail and add beauty to the community. For more information, contact Shae Ashe, sashe@montcooic.org.

Southern Edge

Norristown.org lists a Gospel Concert at the bandshell on Saturday from 4-6 pm, but I haven't seen it listed elsewhere.

Sunday at 7 pm at the Elmwood Park Bandshell, the FREE Concert Series in the Park will feature Southern Edge, who play country music and southern rock. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Refreshments available.

Tuesday morning from 8-10 am at Dunkin Donuts, Logan Square (corner of Markley and Johnson Hwy) - Coffee With A Cop. Join your neighbors and police officer for some coffee and conversation. No agenda, no speeches, just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns and get to know the officers. More info call 610-270-0490.

Tuesday starting at 6:30 pm, Municipal Council meeting at Municipal Hall. No agenda yet

Thursday evening starting at 5:30 pm at Norristown Farm Park (Whitehall entrance). ACPPA Fun Run 4 Art. The Fun Run 4 Art is a beautiful weeknight run through farm fields and shady creek-side woods. Competitive and fun! Full array of awards and prizes! Register at this link. Proceeds benefit ACPPA Art Center.

Remember, next Friday the 24th is Fourth Friday Downtown. Here's the tentative schedule:

Noon - 2 pm, Courthouse Square - Food and other vendors with fun lunchtime activities. Brush up on your golf putting, play a quick game of chess or paint a masterpiece with friends (group painting), PLUS see children from the ACPPA Community Art Center perform selections from their upcoming production at Theater Horizon at 1:10 pm!

5 - 7 pm, Sessano Cafe & Deli (corner of Airy and Swede) - Award winning sandwiches meets Group Art Painting. Come out to create your own masterpiece. ($7 admission for painting workshop)

7 - 10 pm, Jazz on Cherry Street (216 Cherry) The impeccable sounds of Saxophonist Mike Clay as he leads his Jazz Ensemble with Straight Ahead and Contemporary Jazz to soothe your soul! (Tickets $15 at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/jazz-on-cherry-street-4th-fridays-featuring-the-mike-clay-jazz-ensemble-tickets-17731962778)

8 - 10 pm, Jus' Java (317 Swede) - Open Mic. Café food, gourmet coffee. No cover charge.

8 - 10 pm, also at Jus' Java – Spades Tournament. Are you interested in playing spades? If you love to play cards, you'll have a good time. Come out and compete in the spades tournament.

8 - 11 pm, Salsa on Cherry Street (216 Cherry, upstairs) – Salsa lessons from 8-9 pm, salsa dancing from 9 -11 pm ($7 Admission)

Family Fun Fridays and More This Week

I'm back. Sort of. If you haven't heard, I had a knee operation. All the doctors and nurses lied about how long recovery would take until afterwards. So you still won't see me around town for a while, but I'll try to at least post a Friday Diary each week with coming events. Here are this week's:

Tonight and every Friday from 6-9 pm at Scag Cottman Park, Basin & Violet Sts, Buck Jones in association with Main St. Water Ice presents Family Fun Fridays. For all kids ages 6-13. Movies, food, games and entertainment, more info, call 267-774-1694. (If you see Buck around town this week, give him a big hug from me. This is an awesome idea.)

Saturday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, at Stewart Middle School, 1315 West Marshall St. EDU19401: A Symposium on Urban/Suburban Education-- a day-long event for parents and students in the greater Norristown area to come together to: 1) discuss issues in education; 2) problem-solve for local challenges and barriers; 3) get informed of opportunities to lead and serve; 4) and network with like-minded individuals. The day will be filled with interactive sessions, panel discussions, demonstrations, and more. EDU19401 is an online resource for Norristown youth managed by Catalyst Education & Mentoring. EDU19401: A Symposium on Urban/Suburban Education is a blend of the traditional conference/workshop model and the contemporary “un-conference” model, in partnership with Norristown Men of Excellence. Questions, call 610-390-7279.

Sunday at 7 pm at the Elmwood Park Bandshell, the FREE Concert Series in the Park will feature the Skitty Show band playing a little bit of everything. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Refreshments available.

Tuesday, 6 pm at Montgomery Hose Fire Co, W Freedley and Pine, North End Town Watch Meeting. All residents are welcome to attend.

Tuesday, anytime between 6:30 and 9 pm, 430 Harding Blvd (this seems to be outdoors, right across from Norristown PAL). Speak about Your Creeks, an open house to discuss a Greenway Study and Connections Plan for the Stony Creek and Sawmill Run. Share your ideas, tell your creeks stories, and learn more about the study. Sponsored by Municipality of Norristown, East Norriton Township, West Norriton Township and Montgomery County Planning Commission. This will repeat on Thursday from 4:30 to 7 pm. For more information or to forward your questions and input: email Beth Pilling at bpilling@montcopa.org

Tuesday at 7 pm at Municipal Hall, Planning Commission Hearing. No agenda yet.

Wednesday, 7 pm at Jus' Java (317 Swede), Open Words, hosted by Mydera SpeakMeFree. Open Mic, Poery Reading, Discussion.  $10, includes wine, raffle ticket and wristband.

Next Saturday, July 18, from 2-5 pm, starting at Riverfront Park, 1 Haws Ave. The Norristown Project (TNP) needs volunteers to clean up the Norristown portion of the Schuylkill River Trail. The project will begin at 2 pm near the Haws Avenue entrance of the trail and conclude at 5 pm near the bridge over US-202. Volunteers of all ages are needed to clean up trash/debris, cut back weeds, and remove graffiti. TNP will also create a pop-up drink and cooling station for bikers and runners passing by. Setting up a cooling station and tracking data of how many people were served can create a conversation of the need for an investor to purchase the abandoned retail store. The goal of this project is to promote development on Norristown’s portion of the Schuylkill River Trail and add beauty to the community. For more information, contact Shae Ashe, sashe@montcooic.org.