It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas at the Y

Holiday events kick off at the Pottstown YMCA today and tomorrow with a free used toy giveaway followed by a visit from Santa on Sunday.

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Moms Club of Pottstown/Pottsgrove and the Y will distribute used toys they have collected for those who may not have enough to put presents under the tree.

On Sunday, Dec. 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. Santa will stop by for photos (so long as yo-u bring your own camera.)

The Y will also have craft table set up and and a sing along with Makin Music company.

Both events are free and open to public

Breakfast With Santa & More at Sunnybrook

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the non-profit SunnyBrook Ballroom Foundation.

Bring the family to breakfast with Santa at the Historic SunnyBrook Ballroom on  Nov. 29. Chef Doug Pickett is cooking up a great breakfast for the family. 

 “Ursala” SunnyBrook’s vintage theatre organ will ring out the sounds of Christmas. 

Mike Kropp and Makin’ Music will provide additional entertainment while the kids get their creative juices flowing by making a craft to take home. 

Ursula, the SunnyBrook organ

And of course, a certain Jolly Old Elf will be on hand.

Bring the camera to take that one of a kind picture for keepsake.

Admission for the event, open from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, for ages 10 and under is $5.95; ages 11 and up $9.95

Breakfast with Santa is a part of SunnyBrook’s 2014 holiday celebration which includes:

• Flamin’ Dick and the Hot Rods on Nov. 26;
• SunnyBrook’s Holiday Ball with the Sounds of SunnyBrook Dance Band on Nov. 28;
• Breakfast with Santa on Nov. 29; 
• Twelve Twenty-Four and the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Dec. 19; 
• And wraps up with New Year’s Eve with the Sounds of SunnyBrook and Emmy award nominee jazz vocalist Amanda Carr on New Year's Eve.

The Historic SunnyBrook Ballroom reopened in 2008 as an entertainment venue through the work of scores of community volunteers.

The facility’s casual fine dining restaurant and Chummy’s Lounge was reopened in 2011. The venue is owned and operated by the SunnyBrook Foundation.

During the heyday of big band music, the historic ballroom was a regular stop on the tours of all of the era’s big bands. Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong are just a few of the names of nationally known performers who filled the room with the music of the era.

The venue has hosted political rallies, community meetings, weddings, wedding receptions, class and family reunions, high school proms, and other events.

The SunnyBrook Ballroom decked out for the holidays.

Pottstown is Home to the Best Holiday House Tour Sunday

Historic re-enactors in period clothing will populate Pottsgrove Manor during the popular "Pottsgrove Manor by Canldelight" holiday house tour on Sunday. As usual, it will be combined with a guided tour historic homes in Pottstown.

The historic Holiday House Tour in Pottstown will once again be paired with Pottsgrove Manor's candlelight tour and will be held on Sunday, Dec. 8.

This year, the Pottstown tour has been taken over by the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority, or PDIDA and is paired up with several other holiday events downtown.

The holiday house tour will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. and starts at The Elks Club on High Street for high tea event, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets for the tour itself will be sold at the PDIDA office, 17 N. Hanover St. or the Pottstown Parks and Recreation office on the second floor of borough hall, 100 E. High St.

A free trolley will travel between the buildings on the tour.

You can start the day at 10 a.m. with a Brunch With Santa event, to be held at Grumpy's hand-

Learn what John Potts and friends ate
for the holidays in colonial times.

Carved Sandwiches, 137 E High St.

The event runs until 1 p.m. and costs $7 each and reservations are required and can be made by calling 610-323-5400.

Carriage rides along High Street will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. and will cost only $5 per person. Tickets will be sold at Smith Plaza, right in front of borough hall, which of course, is where Santa Claus will arrive at 5 p.m.

A community tree lighting in the plaza will follow his arrival.

In addition to enjoying a tour of the historic Victorian homes throughout Pottstown, decorated for the holidays, isitors can also visit Pottsgrove Manor from 2 to 8 p.m. and enjoy a colonial Christmas celebration as part of the "Pottsgrove Manor by Candlelight open house.

The public is invited to take a self-guided tour of the elegant 1752 manor house where costumed interpreters will depict the colonial residents of Pottsgrove Manor. 

As visitors make their way through the house they will hear the strains of traditional harp music, see English country dancing, catch a whiff of the delicious smells in the kitchen as historical cook Deborah Peterson prepares authentic dishes at the open hearth, and enjoy the beauty of the mansion lit by candlelight and bedecked with greenery. 

Traditional colonial Christmas dishes will be cooked at 

Pottsgrove Manor Sunday

Complimentary refreshments of hot spiced cider, colonial-style chocolate drink, and gingerbread cookies will be served at the end of the house tour.

After exploring the house, guests will want to visit Pottsgrove Manor’s museum shop for unique, historically-oriented gifts like locally-made redware pottery and ornaments, reproduction glassware, handcrafted candles and soaps, books, toys, games, and more.

Next door to the mansion in the Miller’s House, young visitors will be able to make free seasonal crafts to take home. Outside in the manor’s courtyard, visitors will be able to warm themselves by a bonfire (weather permitting), and enjoy historic carols sung by the Colonial Revelers singing group (performing from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.)

A donation of $2 per person is suggested for this event. No reservations are needed. 

Visitors are asked to park at Memorial Park (75 West King Street); a shuttle will transport visitors to and from Pottsgrove Manor throughout the event. 

Holiday celebrations in colonial times, as will be seen at
Pottsgrove Manor 

centered around Twelfth Night.

Handicapped parking is available in the museum’s parking lot. The Manor’s open house will also be featured as a stop on the Pottstown Historical House Tour that evening.

Can’t make it to the open house? Visitors can enjoy the spirit of the season at Pottsgrove Manor now through Jan. 12 with a guided tour of the mansion, decorated for the holidays. 

Tours are offered during regular museum hours, and the museum shop will also be open for holiday shopping. Regular museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

Tours are given on the hour. The last tour of the day begins as 3 p.m. Groups of 10 or more should pre-register by calling 610-326-4014. The museum is closed Mondays, as well as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422, in Pottstown. 

Pottsgrove Manor is operated by Montgomery County under the direction of the Parks, Trails, & Historic Sites Division of the Assets and Infrastructure Department. 

For more information, please call 610-326-4014, or visit the website at www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor. Like Pottsgrove Manor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pottsgrovemanor.