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Collegeville Connects News From Main Street
July 2011 |
Thanks to our Generous Sponsors
   
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Riches for Revitalization Contest
 | | Win! Win! Win! |
The CEDC knows you believe in the revitalization effort. You said so if you took the market survey last fall. If you attend the Farmers Market you are supporting the revitalization effort. Now we are asking you to show your support by becoming a member of the CEDC. Your membership is "proof in the pudding" that you want the CEDC's Main Street Program to be a success. To help us reach our goal of having 100 members by the time we send out the August issue of Collegeville Connects, we are running the Riches for Revitalization contest.
It simple...
- Download and fill out the membership application today
- Be the 50th, 75th or 100th person to become a member of the CEDC and WIN!!!!
50th member wins $25
75th member wins $50
100th member wins $100
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Appalachian Brewing Company Invites you to a Grand Opening Celebration
Appalachian Brewing Company invites you to the Grand Opening celebrations on Thursday, June 30th at 5:00 PM. A ribbon cutting ceremony will kick off the festivities. There will be food and drink specials all night long, with a raffle for door prizes including a free Mug Club Membership, and Hoots & Hellmouth will be finishing up the evening with a 10 PM performance!
"Philadelphia's Hoots & Hellmouth blends the twisted roots of American music in a fierce and fiery alchemy. Soulful three-part harmonies comingle with stringed things and foot stomps to build a synergy that bursts from both stage and speaker with aural aplomb. It's city and country. It's rock and soul. It's bleeding, sweating,crying, rejoicing...It's alive! Ask anyone who's seen them perform, from Portland, ME to Portland, OR, and they'll tell you the same."
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Break the Chain Store Habit 
July is National Independent Retailer Month. Help break the chain store habit by shopping locally.
10 Reasons Why to Support your Local Independently-Owned Businesses 
1 Keep money in Collegeville
2 Embrace what makes us different
3 Get better service
4 Promote competition and diversity
5 Create more good jobs
6 Help out the environment
7 Support community and non-profit groups
8 Invest in Collegeville
9 Put your taxes to good use
10 Save money and time |
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Business Bits - Tips for Helping you Grow Your Business
When running a small business there are a plethora of aspects which will determine the enterprise's potential to succeed - all of which must function together in order achieve your business goals. It is our hope that this new column in Collegeville will provide useful tips that you can implement right away and which will help your grow your business.
Marketing and Advertising
Marketing and advertising is a big part of success. A marketing plan is essential and should include a budget as well as procedure for monitoring the success of the marketing efforts. Revisit it and update it periodically based on results and new opportunities.
Consider your media. While television and radio ads may be beyond your financial reach, simple things such as street signs and flyers can have a huge impact. These simple print materials can often be bundled and printed together at once to ensure lower prices as well as consistency of materials. Having a consistent, legible, logo on all your outputs will help cement your image in the community.
The Internet is a great tool for low cost advertising. Your website should be well organized and easy to find. Consider placing photos and other personalized items on the website in order to add a personal touch. Make your site educational - and don't limit it to information about your products and services. Post your newsletter and links to other sites you use to advertise such as Facebook and Twitter. Finally, consider working with other small businesses in the area which are related to yours and consider agreeing to exchange links on your websites, or trade banners. This will allow for an even wider web audience.
Here are a few more tips from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (www.score.org) - a great resource for small business.
· Put your Web address on all your printed material, including business cards, letterhead, press releases and invoices. Include it in all your advertising. To read more...http://www.score.org/resources/5-tips-marketing-your-web-site
· For local businesses especially, signage is important. To read more... http://www.score.org/resources/5-tips-good-business-signage
· Don't ignore the basics! To read more... http://www.score.org/resources/5-tips-advertising-basics
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Arts and Culture on Main Street - Ursinus College 
Liminality and the Ephemera: To Enter and Exit, Mark Unmark
Through August 14
Main Gallery
This exhibition includes works by 2011 graduates of the Master of Fine Arts program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and offers an explorative vision into the process of making art and its ephemeral nature. Artists participating in this exhibition are Matej Branc, Mary Coyle, James Fisher, Jessica Gamble, Menaka Gopalan, Elizabeth Hamilton, Olive Thomas, and Ted Walsh. They work in the disciplines of drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, collage, photography and digital video, while engaging in the discourse of liminality in medium, ritual, space, time, identity, gender, body, and consciousness.
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Main Street Happenings
DaVinci's Pub
For a complete entertainment listing visit DaVinci's Entertainment.
Collegeville Borough
Council meeting - first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM at Borough Hall, 491 East Main Street
Concerts in the Park
Thursday, July 14
7:00 PM
The Fabulous Grease Band
Collegeville Fire Company
Collegeville Fire Company Annual Car Show
On Main Street
Sunday, August 14, 2011 (Rain date is Aug. 21)
10 AM until 5 PM
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T rappe Grange
39th Annual Grange Country Fair
Saturday, July 30
9 AM to 7 PM
Waterworks Park (First Avenue and Main Streets in Trappe-turn left just before the Trappe Shopping Center.)
Live entertainment, a country flea market, farm demonstrations, historic crafter demonstrations, antique vehicles and a Tractor Parade at 4 PM, 4H chickens, cows and rabbits, pony rides, a petting zoo, and a pet contest. Don't miss your opportunity to play Cow Pie Bingo!
Perkiomen Valley Library
Herbs 101
Tuesday, July 12
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Master Gardener Peggy Rastiello will teach us to grow, harvest and use basic herbs in everyday life.
For information contact 215-287-8360.
Guatemalan Worry Dolls
Thursday, July 21 at 6:30 pm
Teens learn who to make your own worry doll. Worry dolls take away worries and bad dreams. Be prepared for the upcoming school year.
Registration requested. Sign up at the library or call 610-287-8360 to register.
For a complete listing of all library events visit the master calendar.
Community Music School
The Painted Violin Project
September
For a complete schedule of events visit Community Music School.
Family Stages
The Legend of Finn McCool 
Thursday, July 28
Show 10:30 AM
Workshop 9:30 AM
Finn, the great hero of Irish folklore, rids the land of a grumpy giant and saves Castle Tara from a sneaky goblin.
Cinderella
Thursday, August 18
Show 10:30 AM
Workshop 9:30 AM
All performances at:
AugustusLutheranChurch
717 Main Street (Ridge Pike), Trappe, PA 19426
Tickets $9.00 - Show & Workshop $15.00
Speaker's House
Pork Barbeque and Living History Day
Saturday, July 30
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
For information contact 610-489-2105.
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 First Days of Summer Bring Bad News for the Perkiomen and Unami Creeks
Creekside property owners and owners of ponds are now the first line of defense in a battle to save the unique features and wildlife of the Perkiomen and Unami Creeks.
The European water chestnut (Trapa natans) was first noted in 2007 on the Unami Creek in Marlborough Township, Montgomery County. It is an aggressive non-native plant that can clog otherwise pristine waterways, reducing oxygen levels, heating up the water and generally reducing the value of both habitat and water resources. 2011 reports indicate that the water chestnut seeds have been spotted as far downstream as Schwenksville; plants have been found upstream in Finland, Bucks County and Deep Creek Lake near Green Lane Reservoir.
In 2008, the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy (Conservancy), with funding from the Mid-Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species (MAS-AIS), began an eradication effort to remove the water chestnut from Lake Delmont at the Musser Scout Reserve. Extensive volunteer activity during the summers of 2009 and 2010 and a targeted herbicide application resulted in many tons of plants and seeds being removed and destroyed.
However, the water chestnut multiplies very rapidly and spreads via small plant parts as well as its very unfriendly seedpods. One acre of the water chestnut can expand to cover 100 acres in just about a year's time. The European water chestnut produces a cluster of hard spiky seedpods that can each generate 20 new plants the following year. The seeds mature by mid summer and drop from the parent plant, floating downstream in search of slower moving water in which they can propagate. The seeds can remain viable for 12 - 15 years, making eradication of the water chestnut a very long-term prospect.
The plants form dense mats of vegetation that inhibit the natural functions of waterways and reduce oxygen levels for native plants and animals. Without the native plants and smaller macroinvertebrates that form the broad base of the food chain, many of the rare and endangered species that survive in the Unami Creek and other areas of the Perkiomen Creek watershed could be jeopardized.
Property owners with creek frontage or ponds and anyone who frequents creeks and ponds needs to be vigilantly aware of the water chestnut so they can avoid transporting it to new locations as well as help eradicate it when it is found. Anyone noting water chestnut growing on a creek or pond should contact the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy to add the location to a growing list of infested waterways and for instructions for removal.
Plants can be safely removed by hand from May through mid-July. Seedpods can be collected anytime of year. Both seeds and plant should be bagged and disposed of in landfills since composting will not reduce the viability of the seeds.
Numerous organized groups, including business groups, have volunteered to help remove the water chestnut. Groups and individuals who would like to join the fight to reclaim the Unami Creek and protect the Perkiomen Creek should contact Emma Melvin at the Conservancy at 610-287-9383 or on the web at PerkiomenWatershed.org. |
Annual Report now Available
Stop by the Main Street office to pick up a copy of the 2010 Collegeville Economic Development Corporation's Annual Report. Or, view it online. Highlighted are all of the accomplishments of the volunteers for the CEDC volunteers. |
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Visit Us on the Web
Interested in learning more about the Main Street Program? Want to volunteer on one of our committees? Find everything you need at www.collegevilledevelopment.org. | |
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