Independence Holiday Festivities (and the rest of the week's events)

Theater and music this weekend, then activities for the July 4 holiday begin on Monday night.

Friday, June 30, 7:30 pm, Theatre Horizon (410 Dekalb) presents a concert reading of "Zanna Don't (A Musical Fairy Tale)". Pay what you decide.

Saturday, 8-11 pm, Five Saints Distilling (Main and Green). Jazz-180 performs.

Sunday, 1-4 pm at Coffee Talk (507 W Marshall). Open Mic.

Sunday, 2-5 pm at Elmwood Park Zoo, residents who live within Norristown's boundaries who present valid photo ID may enter the zoo free of charge.

Sunday, 7 pm at the Elmwood Park Bandshell, Summer Concert Series presents Diamond Reno (with the music of Neil Diamond). Bring a chair or blanket to sit on. Concession stand will be open.

Monday, 6-8 pm at Norristown Library (Powell and Swede). Robo Code: Hands-on learning using iPad apps and our robots, Dash and Dot. Kids will learn to code through fun projects and puzzles. Class size limited to 18. For kids entering grades 3-6.

Monday, 7 pm  at Christ United Church of Christ, W Marshall and Noble Sts (parking lot). Annual Independence Eve Concert. FREE Peace Concert. Come enjoy the music of the Song Sheets (Plus), including folk songs, early American, multi-cultural, inspirational and patriotic selections. Bring a chair. Park on the surrounding streets. Hotdogs, snacks and homemade goodies available. Donations accepted to benefit the church's youth programs. In the event of rain, the concert will be inside the church.

Tuesday, July 4th Festivites:
10 am - Parade beginning at Dekalb and Airy Sts. The route will proceed west on Airy, right onto Astor, left onto W Marshall, right onto Stanbridge, right onto Sterigere, and end at the bottom of the hill in Elmwood Park.
11:30 am - Rest of the day in Elmwood Park, concerts begin with a performance by Old School.
1 pm - Kids' crafts, rides, food trucks, and a beer garden.
6 pm - Wildflower performs
9 pm - Fireworks.

Wednesday, 1:30 pm (also Thursday) at Norristown Library. Leap Into Science, family science exploration by the Franklin Institute. For kids 4-7 and their parents/grandparents.

Wednesday, 6:30-9 pm at Municipal Hall (conference room). The NPD will host a Neighborhood Watch training class. Topics covered include crime reporting, active violence, and a Q&A session. Contact Gina Davies at 610-270-0490 or email gdavies@norristown.org

Wednesday, 7:30 pm at Municipal Hall. Council meeting.

Thursday, 11 am-2:30 pm on East Main in front of the Courthouse. Norristown Farmers Market. Every Thursday through Oct 26. Variety of fruits and vegetables, farm fresh.

Next Saturday, July 8, noon-2 pm at Riverfront Park (1 Haws Ave). Birding With Binoculars, a FREE program presented by the John James Audubon Center. Observe wildlife right on the Schuylkill River. Explore local waterfowl and learn how birds survive in their habitats by finding food, water, shelter, and space. Participants get a pair of binoculars to use during the program. Great for kids and families.

CADCOM is looking for vendors for their Community Day on August 5 (raindate Aug 12) at 340 E Oak St. $15 for business, FREE for non-profits. If you're interested, contact Heather Lewis at 610-277-6363 x166 or email hlewis@cadcom.org.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day.

Celebrate Independence In N-Town

Celebrate the Fourth in Norristown. Go to the Zoo for free Sunday afternoon, then a concert at Christ Church Sunday night. Run the 5K Monday morning or watch the Parade, then a full afternoon of activities in Elmwood Park followed by fireworks. But please remember, if you insist on shooting off your own fireworks, it was dry the last few weeks and the little bit of rain we had didn't help much. It won't take much to start a fire. Take precautions.

Sunday from 2-5 pm at Elmwood Park Zoo. Free admission for Norristown residents. Must show proof of address (photo ID).

Sunday, 6:30 pm at Christ United Church of Christ's parking lot (1003 W Marshall, near Noble). FREE Independence Eve Concert featuring The Song Sheets (folk music and kids' songs) and The Christian Network Outreach Gospel Choir. Also free: hot dogs, snacks and drinks (donations accepted). Bring a lawn chair. Park on the surrounding streets. If it rains, the concert will be inside the church.

No Sunday night concert at Elmwood Park this week.

Monday starting at 9 am at Coffee Talk (507 W Marshall). Potluck and Parade Viewing. Bring a dish or donate $7.

Monday, July 4 schedule:
8:30 am - Celebration 5K Run (Norristown Area High School / Farm Park)
10 am - Parade begins at Dekalb and Airy Sts. and wends its way up Airy to Astor to W Marshall to Standbridge to Sterigere to Elmwood Park. Pick a spot along the way to view it.
10 am - Elmwood Park Zoo $4 admission all day
12 pm  - Food trucks and Beer Garden (Elmwood Park)
12:30 pm - Old School Band, 4th of July Norristown Concert (Bandshell)
1 pm - Free Children’s Activities - Moon bounce, train rides, face painting, Frisbee spin art (Elmwood Park)
2 pm - David C. Perry Creative Entertainment (Elmwood Park)
6 pm - Wildflower Band (Bandshell)
Dusk - Fireworks display
All events weather permitting. Questions, call 610-270-0429.

Tuesday, 7 pm, Municipal Hall. Council Meeting. No agenda yet.

Thursday, 11 am-2:30 pm, on Main Street between Swede and Dekalb. Farmer's Market -- Produce from Lone Wolf Farm. Will continue each Thursday through Oct 28. For info, phone CADCOM at 610-277-6363 x132.

Next Friday night, July 8, the Elmwood Park Zoo will be hosting a Zoo Snooze campout for families. $34.95 zoo member, $49.95 non-member, kids under 3 are FREE. Price includes admission, pizza dinner, a craft or activity, live animal show, flashlight tour of the zoo, s'mores by the campfire, a movie and popcorn under the stars, and continental breakfast. Go to this link to register. For more information, visit contact Guest Services at 610.277.3825 x 222 or email guestservices@elmwoodparkzoo.org.

Next Saturday, 9 am to 2 pm at St. Patrick's Church parking lot (Dekalb and Oak). Yard Sale to benefit St. Pat's. Yard sale bargains, hotdogs, Mexican food, snacks and drinks.

Norristown Preservation Society will host a flea market at Selma Mansion on July 30. Vendor spaces are available for $10 each (which will go toward the restoration of Selma). Bring your own table. Register by July 24th, pay up front, non-refundable. Contact Dee 484-860-2533 and leave message.

Have a happy and safe Independence Weekend.

Why Don't We Ever Have Contingency Plans?

Everyone in Norristown who I talked to over the weekend was disappointed in not getting to see a parade. All understood the need to not have it in the rain on Friday, but everyone wanted to know why it wasn't rescheduled for Saturday or Sunday, as parades and other festivities in other communities had been.

I'm wondering that myself. The weather forecast couldn't have been more clear, so to speak, for the last week. Saturday and Sunday were both going to be beautiful--sunny and not especially hot. Perfect for a parade. Plenty of advance notice. Possibly a few of the groups slated to be in the parade would have had to cancel, but I'm guessing a lot of them wouldn't have.

Let's go a step further and say, why not have a simple contingency plan for EVERY July Fourth parade? Why not simply say, in case of rain, the parade will be held the following Saturday? That way every group signing up to be in the parade, as well as the police and fire departments, know the game plan months ahead of time.

The thing is, planning isn't our strong suit here in N-town. Either we plan events too late or, even if we set a date months ahead, we don't finalize the times or schedule of events until it's too late to get the word out properly (for instance, we rarely see an agenda ahead of time for Council meetings anymore). Or we have everything set, but do no publicity--as in last week's Town Hall with the Police Chief. Last Monday, people were asking if the meeting was for real, because they'd heard nothing about it until that morning.

And yet, one group had their act together this weekend. The annual Independence Eve Concert at Christ UCC Church wasn't outside this year, but they still had a good turnout inside. Every year they have it the same night--July 3--and say "in case of rain, the concert will be indoors," and every year they get a decent audience.

Of course, you can't hold a parade indoors, but as I said, you can set a raindate. If you're planning a festival, you can say "rain or shine" as long as you have enough tents or shelters handy, or better yet, an alternative venue. The Collingswood Book Festival, if it rains, takes place in their high school gym. Maybe THAT would be a good reuse for one of the old factory buildings we have in town--a Civic Center for festivals and trade shows.

We've had several events cancelled in the last year because of rain or snow. Could those events have been planned so that they could have been moved inside or been held the next day or the next weekend? I can think of at least two of them that could have gone on, if only the planners had thought to add a contingency plan. Make it part of the planning process--put it right on the event flyer so people know what to do when bad weather hits.

In my very first Diary entry last year, I said how I loved the way the town came together to either be in and watch our annual parade on July 4th. The event is always good for our town attitude. You only have to be in the parade, looking out at the spectators, to know that both kids and adults love it. The photos above, from last year prove that. We didn't get to see those faces this year.

The parade is too important to simply cancel.

Events for Independence Weekend and Beyond

I'm taking July 4th off here on the Diary (hopefully, if the weather gods are kind, I'll be out watching the parade), so here are the events for the next week a day early. Remember, you can find more events at the calendar links in the column to the right.

Tonight at 7 pm, Christ UCC Church at Noble and W. Marshall presents their annual FREE Independence Eve Concert in the church parking lot. The Concert will feature The Song Sheets (folk, Broadway, kids songs), N. Cameron Chandler (standards), and special guest Josh Myers. Bring a lawn chair. Refreshments will be available. IN CASE OF RAIN, come anyway--the concert will be held in the church basement.

ACTIVITIES for JULY 4th -- The weather is supposed to clear up and be sunny later in the day Friday. Hopefully the rain will clear out in time for our parade.

7:30 am, Register for the 5K Run at Norristown Area High School. The Run starts at 8:30. Proceeds from the race will be donated to the Literacy Council of Norristown.

10:30 am -- Our annual Parade begins at Airy and Dekalb, proceeds down Airy to Astor, right on Astor to W. Marshall, left on W. Marshall to Stanbridge, right on Standbridge to Sterigere, right on Sterigere, ending at Elmwood Park. You can watch from anywhere along the route. The streets involved will close at 9:30. I suggest avoiding Airy at Dekalb all morning unless you're in the parade, since they'll be lining up and organizing big vehicles.

When the parade's over--around noon, The Old School Band will begin a FREE concert of music from the 50s through the 80s in the Elmwood Park band shell. The refreshment stand will be open, same as Sunday nights, so you can get your lunch right there.

1-3 pm, kids' games and activities, near the band shell in Elmwood Park

6 pm, another FREE concert at the band shell, this time by the Sofa Kings (Motown, R&B, classic rock).

FIREWORKS at dusk.

Saturday and Sunday is Walla Fest at the Centre Theater on Dekalb, starting at 4 pm both days. Walla Fest is billed as "a multi-night music and art show located right outside of Philadelphia, in the not-so-on-the-map neighborhood of Norristown." $8 for one day, $12 for both days. Email wallafest@yahoo.com for more information or check their Facebook event page.

Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm at the Pal Center, the N-town ballers are holding their first female open gym, inviting all ladies young and old who enjoy basketball to come out and have a good time. Bring your daughters, nieces, goddaughters, and cousins who love basketball and want to learn more. Ages for female youth is 7 to 13. Anyone older will be hooping with the Old Heads!! More information about the youth games will be provided on July 6.

It's the first Sunday of the month, meaning Elmwood Park Zoo will be FREE to Norristown residents from 2 to 5 pm. Bring a valid ID. Children must be accompanied by adults.

Sunday night at 7 pm at the Elmwood Park band shell, still another free concert, this time with Mark Reno as Elvis. Refreshments available.

Tuesday night at 6 pm is a North End Town Watch meeting at Montgomery Hose Co, Freedley and Pine. All residents are welcome to attend.

Also Tuesday night at 7 pm at Municipal Hall, Planning Commission Meeting.

Wednesday from 2 to 4 pm, at the Montco OIC, Arch and Basin, you can learn how to use Microsoft Office with this FREE class. Participants will learn functions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, Access and Outlook. Registration is limited to 8 spaces per session. To register, call (610) 279-9700.

Next Friday night the Norristown Business Association presents another Family Feud night, 7 pm at Caffe Galileo. The Arts Council champions defend their title against the still un-undefeated Feed The Burbs. This is always a fun night.

Independence

I was in Norristown's July 4th parade (as part of a local singing ensemble). Since I couldn't sit and take photos of the parade, I took photos of the onlookers instead. Here are some of the many children who lined this year's parade route.

We saw expressions of delight, wonder, happiness, patriotism, and pure friendliness, from kids and adults alike. When I smiled and waved, people smiled and waved back, frequently calling out "Happy 4th!" Hundreds of flags were in evidence. For one day of the year, race, religion, economic and cultural background don't matter. We're all neighbors.

Norristown can be surprisingly wonderful at times.

That same day we had two shooting incidents in town. One was a murder. I personally know of one house that had a break-in. No doubt there were others, given the current rate of burglaries. Crime has gotten completely out of hand during the last year and no one in charge seems to want to talk about solutions. We keep hearing that better days are coming for Norristown, that it's the next "hot neighborhood." If by "hot" they mean stolen or dangerous, then yeah, maybe that's true. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a renaissance for our town, but we need to solve immediate needs before expecting newcomers to flock here.

Not one of the kids above wants to be scared. They don't want members of their families or their friends killed. They don't want bullets or intruders coming through their house windows.

So I think it's time for our townspeople declare their independence from the rhetoric and poor choices of our council, and start demanding, first of all, safe neighborhoods for ourselves and our children.

Norristown can be a wonderful place. More than once a year would be even better.

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Coming up this week:  Wed., July 10. 6 pm

Zoning Meeting at Municipal Hall, 235 E. Airy St.

Topic: Proposed changes to zoning in Norristown neighborhoods. These changes will effect a lot of residents. More tomorrow.
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