Organizers are calling the 3rd annual Pottstown GoFourth! Festival a big success, in spite of the late-afternoon rain that drenched festival goers and threatened the fireworks finale show. Following the 4th of July parade presented by the Pottstown Rotary Club, the Festival kicked off with the singing of the National Anthem, crowning of the Royal Court and a brass band playing patriotic favorites. Estimates put the crowd at several thousand throughout the day.
The Festival’s professional music line-up included Anakai and the Grooveyard; AfroBear, presented by Montgomery County Community College; and Stephanie Grace, presented by Pottstown Parks & Recreation. Unfortunately, the band Funktion and crowd-favorite Hector Rosado & Orchestra Hache were unable to perform due to the late-afternoon thunderstorm.
The sold-out “Fireworks Express” train from Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, Featured Community Partner of the Festival, arrived at the park around 8 pm. The Railroad and the Festival collaborated to offer train riders a unique experience for the 4th of July.
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“We met way back in January or February to talk about how our two organizations could work together to do something special for the 4th of July,’ said Festival co-chair Amy Wolf. “Our festival has a lot to offer and what a fun way for people to get here, by riding on the beautiful Colebrookdale train.”
“We have a really wide audience on Facebook and the traditional media has been generous to us as well, so our marketing reach is really strong,” added co-chair Amy Francis. “We were so pleased to be able to work with the Railroad, and to help fill the train with passengers. As an added bonus, we offered riders special VIP seating for the fireworks show.”
“The Colebrookdale Railroad’s mission is to boost economic development through, preservation, through education, and through celebrating what makes the place we live in unique, so partnering on the Pottstown GoFourth! Festival—which brings people from far and wide celebrating our nation in a uniquely Pottstown way—makes perfect sense for us,” said Nathaniel Guest, Executive Director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust.
The collaboration was so successful that The Colebrookdale Railroad will be sending a check this week to the Pottstown GoFourth! Festival – as the very first sponsorship of the 2020 Festival.
In addition to sponsorships and donations, other organizations and businesses were eager to help in creative ways. The Carousel at Pottstown gave $10 of each golf foursome registered for their 4th of July “Putt and Taste tournament” to the Festival. They are currently selling fundraising bricks and will donate $10 of each brick sold in July and August to the Pottstown GoFourth! Festival fundraising efforts. Check their website www.carouselatpottstown.org for more information. (Carousel fundraising flyer attached.)
Fundraising is a year-round effort for the Pottstown GoFourth! Festival. Currently the committee has a stunning 2020 calendar depicting beautifully restored, historic Pottstown homes. The calendar sells for $15.00 and it spotlights a few of Pottstown’s architectural gems through artistically rendered photographs of homes or buildings that will be featured on the Historic Properties Candlelight Tour this coming December. Photographer Carol Brightbill of Pottstown depicted the homes from a variety of angles and used color and creative graphic touches to create images that pop from the pages. The Pottstown Holiday House Tour also benefits Pottstown GoFourth!, with all house tour proceeds helping to kick-off next year’s celebration. The 2020 calendars are on sale now at The Carousel at Pottstown gift shop – 30 W. King Street; Studio 36 Bead Shop & Artisans Gallery – 105 E. High Street; and the Montgomery County Community College West Campus Bookstore. The house tour will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2019.
Pottstown GoFourth! Festival merchandise is available on their website, www.pottstowngofourth.com . There are a handful of 2019 Limited Edition Fireworks hats available, as well as t-shirts, dog bandanas and other items. In addition to the Historic House Tour, the organization has other fundraisers planned, including a dining-out night at Lily’s Grille and a cake-decorating contest at Beverly’s Pastry Shop.
Pottstown GoFourth!, Inc. is a Pennsylvania not-for-profit corporation, operating under the 501 (c)(3) umbrella of the TriCounty Community Network, which manages all GoFourth! finances and reporting. Donations or sponsorships for the 2020 Pottstown GoFourth! Festival can be made on their website at www.pottstowngofourth.com or by sending a check make out to TCN to Pottstown GoFourth!, PO Box 1362, Pottstown, PA 19464.
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