Maybe you’ve heard of the Memphis Blues, the Dallas Blues or the St. Louis Blues. But the Phoenixville Blues? If the Steel City Blues Society (SCBS) has anything to do with it, Phoenixville and the Blues will be as inseparable as rock and roll. In fact, they’re getting things started this Saturday night with a Blues Jam and Membership Party at PJ Ryan’s Pub. The party—a sort of kick-off leading up to the main event, the second annual Phoenixville Blues Festival on Sept. 10—will feature music by the Blind Chitlin Kahunas. Members of the band, which is based in central Pennsylvania, have shared…

Whether you are as comfortable on a golf course as Tiger Woods or more at home playing putt-putt, next week you can enjoy the sport Mark Twain once dubbed "a good walk spoiled" while supporting a good cause. On Tues., May 31, The Clinic will host its Ninth Annual Golf Classic, chaired by Judi Hanz, at RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve. The Clinic was founded in 2001 by Dr. Lorna B. Stuart and the Reverend Marie Z. Swayze.  Stuart and Swayze dreamt of creating a medical center that would provide primary medical care services to people who did not have medical insurance. Today, The Clinic boasts …

Homeschooling has been legal in Pennsylvania since 1988 and, today, tens of thousands of children are being homeschooled in the state with the number rising.On Thurs., May 13, about 250 of these students as well as their their families and students and teachers from traditional schools enjoyed a beautiful day as they participated in Valley Forge National Historical Park's Home School Day.Park rangers and volunteers demonstrated the meaning of living history with a variety of hands-on activities. Students explored what it might have been like to be a Continental soldier or camp follower as …

Whether you are a distance runner seeking a personal best or a sidewalk stroller looking to enjoy a pleasant walk on a spring day, Good Samaritan Shelter hopes you will join more than 100 other participants for Saturday’s third annual Run by the River. The event, which benefits Good Samaritan’s many programs to assist Phoenixville’s homeless, offers both a 5K course along the Schuylkill River Trail for runners, as well as a shorter one-mile course for those who prefer to walk. “The run is a chance for people to give back to the community,” said race director Scott Shellhamer, also a volunteer…

Don your formal finest and dust off your dancing shoes: Grimes A.M.E. is hosting the Red, Black and White Gala this Saturday night. The fifth annual gala, this year honoring “the everyday mother,” raises money both for the church and Grimes' Academic Mentoring Enrichment (G.A.M.E.) initiative. Through after-school programs, field trips and team-building activities, G.A.M.E. helps students—particularly those with behavioral problems and low academic performance—build self-esteem and establish expectations for themselves that will help them throughout their lives. “Because of the significant …

When Karen Johns was diagnosed in 2009 with a very aggressive form of breast cancer, her family—like so many others—wondered what they could do to help.  They prayed, of course, and rallied around to support her in any way they could as she endured punishing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. But they also wanted to do something with an even broader impact. So they formed Team Johns to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. This Saturday, April 16, Team Johns will host a musical fundraiser, Bands for Life. The event features performances by six local bands and solo …

It's no mystery why Friday's "Karaoke Killer" was a big hit: the chance to enjoy an evening of entertainment while lending a hand to their neighbors in need drew around 150 area residents to the fundraiser for Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS). Held at RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve, the Fourth Annual Murder Mystery Comedy Dinner Theatre & Auction benefitted PACS' mission of connecting Phoenixville-area residents with community resources and emergency assistance. In one week alone, the PACS pantry provides one ton of food to hungry families in need. Board President Rev. Amy Smith …

What defines an American classic? Is it a distinctive sense of style? Perhaps an air of nostalgia? Or merely that it stood the test of time? By any definition, there is no doubt that Phoenixville is a true American classic, a fact that Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS) will celebrate with the American Classics Festival on Sat., April 2. Indeed, Phoenixville is listed as one of the Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. This is the first year for the American Classics Festival, and Mary McGown, PACS board member and fundraising …

On Saturday night, the opening of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's "Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion" was the epicenter of the fashion universe—and Chester County's trendy set was not to be left out. Among the in-vogue locals who turned out for the event were PMA Young Friends Committee Members Gregory Seitter of Berwyn and Brandy Barndt of Honey Brook; Jacqueline Cassidy of West Chester; Lisa Forbes of West Chester; and Michael Jakubowski of Phoenixville. The gala also attracted world-renowned fashion designers including Ralph Rucci, who was honorary co-chair of the event, and Mary McFadden.

This month, a killer lurks in the corridors of RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve. Perhaps it's Col. Mustard in the library with a lead pipe? Or Miss Scarlet in the Ballroom with a candlestick? Don't expect the solution to be so simple when Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS) presents its Fourth Annual Murder Mystery Comedy Dinner Show and Auction, “Karaoke Killer!,” on Friday, March 26. Actors from Phoenixville's Forge Theatre will keep guests guessing throughout dinner and dessert with their interactive performance. Don't worry though—no one in the audience will be asked to sing for …

As the cocktail hour drew to a close, the Rivercrest Golf Club and Preserve sounded a lot like recess. “Could all the teachers in the room raise their hands?” shouted Phoenixville Community Education Foundation (PCEF) President Joseph Little to a room full of boisterous educators, parents and community leaders attending the PCEF Benefit. “Could you get everyone to be quiet? Oh, it's you!” With their children and pupils at home with sitters, 337 grown-ups cut loose Friday night to raise money for the Phoenixville Area School District. The benefit, titled “Taking Education to New Heights,” …

Few trends are more in vogue that the local food movement—an effort to encourage consumers to source what they eat and drink from farms, vineyards and breweries in their own backyards. This Saturday, area foodies can join the bandwagon for a celebration of all things locally grown and brewed at the Main Line Beer, Wine & Food Festival. Beginning at noon, The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center—in conjunction with Rolling Barrel Events—will host nearly 30 vendors offering visitors a chance to nibble their way through a cornucopia of regional fare. The event, established several years ago by …

As the audience filed into Phoenixville's Colonial Theatre Friday night to screen Oscar hopeful The King's Speech, few suspected that upstairs, a sold-out crowd was enjoying a very different UK import. Irish-born Riannon Walsh, a world-renowned expert on single malt whiskies, led 70 guests on an exclusive tippler's tour around the world at the Fourth Annual Robert Burns Memorial Whisky Tasting. Now a resident of East Coventry, Walsh is the president of Cloonaughill Celtic Malts, Inc. and author of Whisky Dreams: A Culinary Journey through the World of Single Malt Whiskies. On Friday, Walsh …

Sometimes the sweetest things in life are the opportunities to give back to others.  On Thursday, more than 400 guests experienced that for themselves when they attended A Taste of Phoenixville, a benefit for the Good Samaritan Shelter that also provided a chance to dig into some of the region's tastiest temptations. Held at Franklin Commons, the event brought together 25 restaurants and caterers for a culinary cornucopia. Among the participating businesses were Robert Ryan Catering, Cream Valley Farm Catering & Cakes, Black Walnut Winery and Columbia Bar & Grille. But the real star of the …

On Monday, about a dozen members and friends of the Young Friends of Valley Forge Park picked up paintbrushes as part of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.   This year’s volunteer project is the ongoing rehabilitation of the park’s P.C. Knox Estate. The estate, built in the late 18th century and added to over the years, was once the summer home of Philander Chase Knox, who served as U.S. attorney general (1901-4), senator from Pennsylvania (1904-9) and secretary of state (1909-13). The building, which houses the park’s library, has been undergoing restoration for the past …

In the movies, it took Steve McQueen to save The Colonial Theatre from The Blob.  In real life, it was Chuck Benz and a host of community activists who came to the rescue of the Phoenixville icon. “It was a rainy night; they’d closed Bridge Street,“ said Benz recalling the evening the Colonial’s neon was relit.  “And when that yellow neon sign lit up the whole town, you knew then, wow, this is going to be something.”  When Benz arrived in Phoenixville 12 years ago, the Colonial, which he says reminded him of the theater in his hometown of Westfield, N.J. where his mother was a ticket taker, …

Every school child's worst nightmare – being called to the principal's office – instead turned into a treat for students at the Phoenixville Area School District recently.  The children each received a backpack as part of the "Pack a Backpack" initiative, one of a number of programs supported by the Phoenixville Community Education Foundation, an organization close to the heart of Kelly Connors, who serves as its vice president.  "Seeing happy kids skipping out of the office with their new backpacks stuffed with supplies they chose for themselves is one of the rewards of volunteering with the…

Approximately 500 intrepid visitors braved frigid temperatures Sunday night to mark the  233rd anniversary of General George Washington's 1777 March into Valley Forge.  The chill was a fitting reminder of the hardships faced by Colonial Troops, more than 2,000 of whom lost their lives at Valley Forge to starvation, disease and cold that winter. The event, held at Valley Forge National Historical Park, featured costumed reenactors, interpretive rangers guiding visitors through the park by candlelight, and music by the Colonial Revelers, an a capella group performing music popular in 18th- and…

A holiday favorite returned to Chester County on Saturday as Brandywine Ballet hosted the second of two annual Nutcracker Teas.  The pre-performance fundraiser, held at West Chester's Philips Memorial Library, offered children the chance to meet Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy and other beloved characters from The Nutcracker. Guests enjoyed the magic and merriment of the classic holiday story in person prior to an afternoon performance of the George Balanchine classic held at the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall.  Children in fancy dress, often carrying equally well-attired dolls, gathered to hear…