Pottstown GoFourth! fans may gather from 1 to 4 p.m. at Iron Gate Biergarten, 230 E. High St.,  on Sunday, June 5 for fellowship and a basket raffle to help raise funds for the community’s fantastic Independence Day festivities.

“The baskets that will be available will be amazing,” notes co-chairperson Amy Francis, adding that a 50/50 raffle will add to the June 5 event excitement.

Newly designed GoFourth! 2022 merchandise also will be on sale Sunday at this kick-off event.

Planners are thrilled to announce that students of Montgomery County Community College’s highly rated Sound Recording Technology program will gain valuable real-world experience by providing sound engineering expertise during GoFourth!’s Street Fest Independence Day event on Monday, July 4 in various downtown locations – including evening fireworks in Memorial Park.

“With so much live, A-plus level entertainment being provided throughout the festival, outstanding sound engineers are needed,” says Louis Rieger of High Street Music Company, Pottstown,  volunteer chair of the GoFourth! Entertainment Committee. “GoFourth! likes to utilize as much of our Pottstown community as possible to enhance the impact of this fantastic, growing volunteer-driven event.”

Rieger says students of Mike Lightkep’s Live Sound internship class at MCCC will be doing live sound for the events.

David Ivory, director of Sound Recording and Music Technology/Mass Media Studies and Production at MCCC, says the program is eager to shed light on this learning opportunity here on the College’s Pottstown campus.

“We have a state-of-the-art recording studio in North Hall featuring all the great equipment needed to prepare students for a career in audio engineering,” Ivory says.

Montgomery County Community College is not only partnering with the festival by providing skilled interns, but MCCC’s SRT program also is donating $2,000 to sponsor all live sound aspects.

Francis’ co-chair, Amy Wolf, emphasizes that – thanks to such generous sponsorships – all GoFourth guests will enjoy a day of free activities and entertainment, with no fees other than food and beverage purchases they may wish to make.

“We encourage Pottstown residents and friends to spend the day with us in our beautiful, welcoming town, beginning with the Independence Day parade down High Street, through the Street Fest, and of course culminating with a spectacular fireworks show,” Wolf says. “There will be abundant activities for kids, including inflatables at Memorial Park before the fireworks, live music and a DJ, and many other attractions.”

Sponsorships are still available as planners work to meet significant costs and make this genuine Pottstown community celebration extraordinary. Visit here. Volunteers also are needed: click here to volunteer.

 “We can’t say enough to thank our major sponsors,” Francis says, “and, at the same time, we truly welcome and need individual donations and volunteers to make this all happen and meet GoFourth!’s high expectations as established since our first event in 2017.”

Pottstown GoFourth! recognizes these valued top-level sponsors to date, in addition to Fireworks Sponsors Precision Polymer Products and MCCC:  VideoRay, LLC. (Entertainment Sponsor), ROG Orthodontics (Kids Zone), and Fox Rothschild.  Silver Level Sponsors include, to date:  Key Bank; the Colebrookdale Railroad; Wolf, Baldwin & Associates P.C.; Victory Bank; the Pottstown Rumble; O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, P.C.; Iron Gate Biergarten; and Alford Party Rentals.

Donations toward this community event and the Rotary Club of Pottstown Parade are encouraged (and donors will be recognized in the Pottstown Mercury). Please visit here or send a check made out to Pottstown GoFourth, Inc., to P.O. Box 1362, Pottstown, PA  19464. Donation boxes also will be placed throughout the Borough.

Website visitors also can purchase Pottstown GoFourth! shirts and other merchandise, see photo albums, and find other information about this event.

Vendors and nonprofits who would like to set up a stand or information table should contact Darlene Bainbridge at PG4Vendors@gmail.com. Due to heavy interest, the vendor registration deadline has been extended to June 15, 2022.

More Details About GoFourth! 2022

This year’s all-volunteer organized celebration will help mark the opening of MCCC’s Challenger Learning Center which will offer regional students and teachers immersive science learning opportunities through in-person space exploration simulations, virtual teamwork-focused “missions,” and other hands-on classroom adventures.

With a theme of “Space: Boldly Going Where No Town Has Gone Before,”  GoFourth! Street Fest, Monday, July 4,  will feature fantastic food, live music, a Kids Fun Zone, and – of course – a spectacular fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. in Memorial Park.

The out-of-this-world day will begin with the Rotary Club of Pottstown July 4 parade on High Street from Adams to York, beginning at 10:15 a.m.

Street Fest will get underway at 11 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m. Stroll High Street from Charlotte to York to enjoy live music, local restaurant fare and popular food trucks, Pottstown’s brew pubs and beer gardens, artisans and other vendors, nonprofit information exhibits, and children’s activities. Charlotte Street will be the Kids Fun Zone hub,  with face painting; games; and entertainment including Judy Trudy the Clown, and living history presented by the Shire of Hartshorn-dale, including reenactments, medieval history, dance, costumes, and combat.

More VideoRay-sponsored live entertainment will be featured at Smith Family Plaza in the 100 Block of High Street. Bands on tap include Brian Fitzy, the Hannah Violet Trio, Hector Rosado y Orchestra, and Modern Luxe – all to be enjoyed along with a Sly Fox Beer Garden and more food trucks. A number of High Street restaurants also will be open to customers.

The Rotary Duck Race Drawing will take place at 3 p.m. at High and Hanover streets. This event raises money for vital area nonprofit organizations.

The fireworks pre-show party will kick off at 5 p.m. in Memorial Park, 75 W. King St., featuring food trucks, a Sly Fox Beer Garden, Inflatable “rides” for kids, and DJ Q ball.

The Colebrookdale Railroad Fireworks Express will depart at 7 p.m. from the Boyertown station, arriving in plenty of time for the show. Tickets are available here.

The pyrotechnics, presented by International Fireworks and sponsored by Precision Polymer Products, will begin approximately 9:30 p.m.

Very limited premium parking will be available for $25 per car at Memorial Park.  Tickets for this parking option sold out quickly last year.  Premium parking tickets can be purchased in advance here.

Parking also will be available on the streets where appropriate (please be considerate of our Borough neighbors) and in the Borough of Pottstown lots at South Hanover Street near the train tracks, the lots at High and Evans Street, and the lot on King Street between Hanover and Penn streets. In addition, free parking will be available on the parking lot at Montgomery County Community College’s South Hall, 101 College Drive.

For more information contact Amy Francis, amybfrancis@comcast.net, 484-256-7678, Amy Wolf, amywolf.515@gmail.com, 215-880-4141.

 PLEASE NOTE JUNE 15 DEADLINE (extended) for vendor applications; SPONSORSHIPS are still being accepted.