Kimberton Fair opens

The glittering carnival lights and fried food aromas have reappeared on the grounds of the Kimberton Fire Company, beckoning locals to celebrate summer as the Kimberton Community Fair returns for its 79th year.

A transforming mission

The Mississippi air was still and humid. Insects swarmed around patches of stagnant water, invading the volunteers’ eyes and noses, getting tangled in their hair as they pulled hurricane-strewn debris out of swamps and woods. They cleared out single-floor houses with masks over their faces, protecting them from moldy air in rooms where water stains measured 10 feet high on the walls. From completely deserted houses, they cleared away bicycles, lawnmowers and other remnants of a lively city. Residual neighbors explained to the volunteers that after Katrina reduced Mississippi shore town Bay St. Louis to rubble, few people wanted to return.

Duck race nets $18,065

At 2:57 p.m. Saturday, a front loader truck stopped traffic on the Gay Street Bridge to shower nearly 4,000 fluorescent plastic ducks into the babbling waters of French Creek. To anyone else, the sight of thousands of rainbow ducks falling into the water, not unlike a Skittles commercial, would look a bit odd. However, to the entrants of annual Kiwanis duck race, it can mean big money.

SRHC art winners praised at reception

A group of young new artists have their works on display at the Phoenix Village Art Center this week. Their mediums and artistic goals vary, but they share something in common: each of them is a winner of The Schuylkill River Heritage Center’s art contest. The objective of the contest, a competition between Phoenixville Area High School sophmores, juniors and seniors, was to portray a historic part of Phoenixville in one of five mediums: color photography, black & white photography, acrylic painting, watercolor painting and colored pencil.

PCHF celebrating decade of support

The gentrification of Phoenixville and the growing population throughout Chester County have meant the creation and expansion of many non-profit programs over the past several years. Some, like Phoenixville Area Communty Services, have been around for over thirty years, while others, like Hope Springs Equestrian Therapy, are fairly recent. What these two groups — and many others — have in common is that they have survived in part because of grants awarded by The Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, a public charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for members of the greater Phoenixville community.