A Window on Pottstown Halloween

Members of the Pottstown Roller Derby Rock Stars preparing the decoration for Connections on High Cafe.

Halloween is a lot like Christmas in at least one respect .... OK two, you spend a lot of money for both.

But they are also similar in that they both involve a lot of decorating.

The window in Daniel's Produce is decorated.

In downtown Pottstown, much of that effort has been undertaken by a group of volunteers and artists, most of whom are students.

Canvases painted by students from Pottstown High School and The Hill School  as well as a few guest artists from the Pottstown Roller Derby Rockstars, and the MOMS Club of Pottsgrove/Pottstown, are being hung this week in 22 downtown storefront windows.

They will remain through Halloween, but you will have a chance to help choose the winners during the Haunts on High event on Saturday, Oct. 24. Starting at noon, trick-or-treaters can stop by downtown stores for treats.

There will also be face painting, entertainment, food cookie decorating and crafts at the Pottstown Regional Public Library, ArtFusion 19464 and the Steel River Playhouse, as well as an opportunity to cast votes for your favorite window decoration.

You can also vote on the Facebook page of Pottstown Halloween Extravaganza, where more complete information about all the Halloween events in Pottstown is listed..

But there is another public art project that has been undertaken and you may have noticed already.

One side of the King Street Bridge has been improved with a banner of fabric squares made and sewn together by the MOMS Club, St. Aloysius School, the Wyndcroft School, Brookside Montesori School, Montgomery Early Learning Center and the local Girl Scout Daisy Troop.

This banner has been hung on the King Street Bridge.

Another is to be hung at Manatawny Green mini-golf, which, by the way will host a scarecrow contest and workshop this weekend and is also home to "Spooky Golf" from 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24.

The banner being prepared in a Pottstown back yard.

This series of event's, which also includes Sunday's Monster Dash 5K in Riverfront Park, is brought to Pottstown through a volunteer group made of members from P.O.S.T. (Pottstown Organizations Serving Together), Pottstown MOMS Club, ARTFusion19464 and the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority.

"Our goal is to revitalize the downtown and generate more fun family activities, bigger and better every year. We are actively searching for volunteers RIGHT NOW to plan and organize the 'Pottstown Hometown Holidays' Christmas events. Interested volunteers should contact the PDIDA office" at (610) 323-5400, according to one of those volunteers.

From Courage, to Crime, to Art to Trash

Photo by Evan Brandt

The four firefighters honors Wednesday night were Chad Quinter,

Steve Smola, Brad Reinhart and Rick Brendlinger.

Coming off the Thanksgiving holiday, you might think that members of Pottstown Borough Council had their fill of over-eating.

But Wednesday night's work session had a full plate of issues, and presentations.

There were the awards for firefighters for their successful efforts to ave an elderly man from an April fire in the apartments in the old borough hall on King St.

Then there were the awards for the artists who painted store windows downtown for Halloween.

In the wake of Sunday's crime wave, Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller and Mayor Sharon Thomas had some things to say (videos are there for those who care to hear it all).

And Monday night, council will vote on a new 3-year, or 5-year trash contract, choosing from among two regular bidders, J.P. Mascaro & Sons and Waste Management.

You can find out about it all in the Tweets from the meeting found below.