In the Blood Season Kicks Off Tonight!

Spring is finally here and events are beginning to fill up the community calendar. TNP is polishing our cleaning equipment and gearing up for our annual Earth Day cleanup at Riverfront Park. Spring is not only a season for community cleanups in Norristown. Theatre Horizon will kick off their performance of In the Blood today.

Tonight's performance is a "pay what you can" opportunity with a suggested donation of $10. I encourage all of Norristown to flood all of their performances and help our arts district to continue to grow. Watch the trailer here:

Here's more information about the performance and the message behind In the Blood from Theatre Horizon's Facebook Page:

IN THE BLOOD 
APR 16-MAY 9, 2015
by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh
Honorary Producers: David & Linda Glickstein

Cast: 
Akeem Davis
Ashley Everage
Christina May
Forrest McClendon
Sam Sherburne
Cathy Simpson

“An EXTRAORDINARY new play…EXHILARATING & HARROWING.”
—The New York Times

In this urban satire inspired by THE SCARLET LETTER, Hester is a homeless mother of five striving to escape the hand of fate. Will she be able to free her children from poverty, or is tragedy woven into her destiny and written in her blood?

TICKETS:
Regular - $20-$38
Senior - $32-$36
Young Friends (30 & under; students) - $20
Previews - $24
Generous discounts for groups of 8 or more!
FREE tickets for Norristown residents.

PERFORMANCES:
April 16 - 7:30 pm PWYC
Preview 1 April 17 - 8pm
Preview 2 April 18 - 8pm
Preview 3 April 19 - 2pm
Preview 4 April 22 - 6:30pm* - Norristown Night: Free tickets for Norristown residents & $10 tickets for Norristown employees.
Opening Night - April 23 - 7:30pm
April 24 - 8pm
April 25 - 8pm
April 26 - 2pm
April 30 - 7:30pm
May 1 - 8pm
May 2 - 8pm
May 3 - 2pm; 7:30pm
INDUSTRY NIGHT - May 4 - 7:30pm
May 7 - 7:30pm
May 8 - 8pm
May 9 - 2pm
May 9 - 8pm

IMAGINE NO HOMELESSNESS

Made possible by: The Patricia Kind Family Foundation & The Virginia Brown Martin Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation

Actors, college students, and housing-insecure partners will join together to share stories of homelessness in the Philadelphia region. Students will retell these stories through evocative art installations in the Theatre Horizon lobby throughout our production of IN THE BLOOD. Audiences will come together with our actors and community partners to imagine changing the story of homelessness in Montgomery County.

We hope you will join us. Please visit TheatreHorizon.org for more information.

BYOB lobby during the run of the IN THE BLOOD. Enjoy your favorite bottle of wine or beverage in the lobby before the show!

Call the Box Office at 610.283.2230 or visit www.theatrehorizon.org for more information. Tickets go on sale March 5, 2014."

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Changes to the Arts Hill Festival

Wychwood Music Festival

Yesterday, I attended the monthly council meeting after learning that the future of the Arts Hill Festival would be discussed as well as a couple other development opportunities. Elena and the Norristown Diary does a great job at dissecting council agendas and informing residents. You can read her post about the council meeting by clicking here.

I took notes for the portion that talked about transient food vendors (food trucks) and relocation of the Arts Hill Festival.

I would like to first state that no representative from the Arts Hill council was present to confirm these changes. The Times Herald posted this morning about Montco Idol finalist performing May 2nd at the Arts Hill Festival at the bandshell. However, the ordinance was brought to the agenda because the county wants food trucks for their workers more often and Arts Hill wanted trucks to be able to park along Harding Blvd. Instead of making exceptions to the current ordinance, they put in a motion to change the ordinance to ease the restrictions. It was unanimously passed. The biggest debate came when discussing free parking around the courthouse for food truck days. After much discussion, only food trucks will have a parking waiver.

For the county food truck days, they plan to hold them bi-weekly coordinating with the county's payday. The trucks would be stationed from Swede near 1 Montgomery Plaza to Main and on the county sidewalks. Norristown Business Association stated that "nearby businesses embrace this idea and are in the process of filling out applications to join these events." The new ordinance will allow for those businesses to set up tables and serve food outdoors of their businesses or near the courthouse.

The county will select 1-2 vendors per event. This number includes Norristown restaurants. A representative from the county stated that "there would be no preference selection to Norristown restaurants, however, we will include them in the process." The county has 1,400 employees and hundreds of daily visitors so I am assuming 1-2 trucks will quickly increase and it will be easier for Norristown businesses to win these permits.

Now on to the Arts Hill Festival which is suppose to happen in the 1st weekend in May. The only date confirmation I have seen this year is from the Montco Idol contest page. I will only speak on what I heard last night at the meeting. 

They said that the Arts Hill would be moved off the Arts Hill and to Elmwood Park. The festival would also change from an "arts" festival to music festival. The reason for the food truck changes are to accommodate the new festival and the vendors that would attend. I also heard rumors of making it more of an adult themed event by serving alcohol. once again, nothing is confirmed.

I have no doubt that the Arts Hill Festival will be successful at any location, but what are your thoughts? Do you think changing the Arts Hill festival to a music festival is a good idea?

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REPOST | Support the 5th Annual Arts Hill Festival!

We are now approaching halfway through April which means it's time to start talking about the Arts Hill Festival in May. This is an important year for the Arts Hill...it's their 5th anniversary since being in the community! The Norristown Arts Hill Festival has something to offer for everyone. If you haven't been to their festival yet, here is a brief description of what you can expect.

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Montco Idol Returning to the Arts Hill Festival

Returning for their 2nd year is the Montco Idol music competition, presented by Digital First Media and Forge Recording. Each Monday I talk about how music is all around us in Norristown, and this competition is proof. I am happy to see this competition return to the Norristown Arts Hill Festival and believe it will continue to spread as our arts community grows.

Montco Idol is American Idol on a smaller scale. Singers around Montgomery County can submit their best performance for the first round. The top 12 are then selected for the 2nd round for Montco residents to vote for their favorite performance. Voting closes on April 22nd (the day TNP has a cleanup by the way). The top three votes for the 2nd round will go on to the final round where they will perform in front of judges and onlookers at the Arts Hill Festival on May 3rd. The winner will receive a radio-ready demo recording at Forge Recording in Oreland as part of a $1,000 value prize package. 2nd place will receive a $500 value prize package, 3rd place a $250 value prize package.

If I could sing, I would throw my name in the hat for that cash prize! Plus you never know, the next big thing could be performing at the Montco Idol this year! It's always good to support local talent in music as they take the stage in hopes of being crowned the next Montco Idol. With a win in the competition and a professional recording session at Forge Recording, they will definitely be on their way at achieving their dreams. 

I encourage all Montgomery County residents to come to the Norristown Arts Hill festival on May 3rd and support our artists! In case you were wondering when it is, the countdown is below.

For more information on the Arts Hill Festival, be sure to visit http://www.norristownartshill.org/
To vote for your favorite Montco Idol, head over to http://allaroundphilly.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=117341

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Countdown to the Arts Hill Festival

We are now approaching halfway through April which means it's time to start talking about the Arts Hill Festival in May. This is an important year for the Arts Hill...it's their 5th anniversary since being in the community! The Norristown Arts Hill Festival has something to offer for everyone. If you haven't been to their festival yet, here is a brief description of what you can expect.

Read »

Live Jazz Happening in Norristown

Happy Music Monday! Or should I say music week? If you're following the arts in Norristown, you would say so! I will spare you the history of Norristown Arts Hill being formed and how the town has benefited from its formation. Instead, I wanted to talk about the live entertainment happening each week around town. Today, I would like to talk about Live Jazz at August Moon on select weekends each month.

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The Beach Ball | Annual Spring Gala at ACPPA

Warm sunshine, a cool breeze and the soft sounds of the ocean… Sounds great, right? With all the snow and cold weather this year that seems out of reach but you can get that great beach vacation feel at the ACPPA Community Art Center’s annual Spring Gala! Their Beach Ball has promised to transport guests to a summer paradise with live music, great food, tasty drinks, and of course, all the wonderful friends of the arts.

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Throwback Thursday: Norris Theater

Norris Theater, once a centerpiece of Main Street in the mid-1900s. Today, gone. The theater opened December 22nd, 1930 and demolished in 1983. Residents like myself don't remember the theater. I wasn't even born yet! But the stories still remain. Today's Throwback Thursday will talk about the history of the theater and why it still stings today.

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The City That (Needs To) Never Sleep

Over the past decade, businesses have started to come back to Norristown; bringing hope for better days. Today, Main Street is flooded with brand new restaurants, the arts district continues to develop, and Marshall Street highlights Norristown's rich heritage. There's just one problem...when the sun goes down, so do the businesses! Today's post will discuss why these businesses should stay open later year-round to boost business and tourism.

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Theater Tuesday: Free Tix at Theatre Horizon

Have you ever entered a contest to win free tickets to a concert/show? Have you ever won? Yes and no! What if I told you Norristown residents get free tickets to Theatre Horizon without the hassle of entering a contest? You'd probably think I'm crazy, but I'm speaking the truth! Today, we will talk about Theatre Horizon and how they offer FREE tickets for Norristown residents sponsored by PNC Arts Alive.

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Throwback Thursday: Toss it for Ted

Today's Throwback Thursday will feature a program that was once successful and highlight a project that TNP plans to host this Spring. Beginning this May, TNP will allow residents, businesses and organizations to decorate a trashcan to place in the community.

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Theater Tuesday: Buried Child at Centre Theater

Theater is alive in Norristown! Last week wrapped production for 'Circle Mirror Transformation' at Theatre Horizon and this week will kick off another. This time at The Centre Theater. Iron Age Theatre will kick off a season of 'Buried Child.' This week's Theater Tuesday will talk about the new play coming to Centre Theater and why you should support it.

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Theater Tuesday: Out of Harms Way

Can theater help bring an end to youth violence? That was the question posed by Times Herald in an article posted on Sunday. Organizations and parents in Norristown believe so, TNP being one of those voices. Theatre Horizon will host the 2nd annual 'Out of harms Way' Public Forum aimed at helping parents, youth and civic leaders to engage one another directly about ways our community can combat these problems together.

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Music Monday Spotlight: Martin Witherspoon

Each week, The Norristown Project will highlight a musician in Norristown for the community to support. As you already know, Norristown is an arts community. We feel each organization, business and resident should show support in some way. TNP will contribute to the arts community by posting a blog each Monday and Tuesday highlighting the arts around town. Our town is a community rich in history when it comes to music. Here is a spotlight on our new generation for us to support.

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Press Release: MLK Day of Service 2014

For immediate release:

The Norristown Project will host three volunteer events throughout Norristown in celebration of MLK Day of Service weekend. All activities will take place on January 18th, 2014. For a complete list of events and activities, see below:

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