First Friday Lansdale Returns This Week!

Have you heard??

Lansdale First Fridays are returning!!

The first First Friday of 2012 will be THIS Friday!

(Say that five times fast!) The fun starts at 6:00PM!

 

All of your favorite fun will be back! The beloved moonbounce, live music, food vendors...PLUS face painting, games, giveaways, and more! 

Also...this just in...due to the forecasted rain, the Chalk Walk will be held on Friday, too! So, come down a little early (5:00 to be exact), help decorate for the party on the sidewalks of Lansdale, grab your FREE smoothie and stay for even more fun because...

The new Family Corner is a specially-designated area along Madison Street (behind the strip of stores containing Molly Maguire's and Wilson's Hardware). This area will be closed to traffic (Yay!). In fact, Madison Street, North Richardson Avenue, and South Wood Street will be closed to traffic from 4:00 PM until 9:00 PM. The Madison Street parking lot will remain open and may be accessed from North Wood Street, Mill Street or 2ndAvenue. (Did I lose you? See the map below.) :-)

Volunteers wearing green t-shirts will be available to help direct you to specific events and toward parking areas.

To kick off First Friday at 6:00 PM the band The Mighty Manatees will begin performing at the Railroad Plaza/Kugel Ball area and the band Nicos Gun will begin performing on the stage at North Richardson Street.

The Inglewood Elementary Jump Rope Team will perform at the Main Street parking lot at Susquehanna Avenue and Main Street intersection from approximately 6:45 PM until 7:05 PM. (These kids are great and so cute!)

Portable toilets will be located at the end of Railroad Plaza and in the parking lot of the Lansdale District Court near North Richardson Street.

So come on out and see all your friends and neighbors and... fun local children's centers like: Action Karate, Clown Alley, Jumpin Jacks, Milestones In Music, New York Life-Brian Kuhns, North Penn Pediatric Dental, North Penn Under Ten!, Party Bounce Rentals, and The Tutoring Center!

The Lansdale Chalk Walk: Let's Doodle FRIDAY!

PLEASE NOTE: THE CHALK WALK HAS BEEN MOVED TO FRIDAY DUE TO EXPECTED RAIN. So, come on down on Friday at 5:00, and stay for First Friday!!

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Do your kids like doodling on your sidewalk, driveway, deck or porch with chalk? Have they ever dared to doodle somewhere they shouldn't??

Well, the incredibly-cool folks at the Lansdale Business Association (MUCH cooler than these Australian folks!) have arranged for kids big and small to be allowed to chalk their hearts out...all over Railroad Plaza this Friday at 5:00PM!

Photo I snapped while accompanying a recent
first-grade field trip to the Crayola Factory.

Chalk will be provided. Volunteers will be on hand to offer guidance to children and their parents and stencils will be available for anyone who wishes to use them.

The art will be on display to the whole town as Lansdale First Friday returns Friday night at 6:00!!

It gets better...all participating children will be given a coupon for a FREE SMOOTHIE from Arnold's Way Cafe, conveniently located just a few doors down from Railroad Plaza on Main Street!

So, what do you think your kids might draw?

Local Gem: North Montco Technical Career Center

You may have driven past it dozens or even hundreds of times, but did you ever know that the North Montco Technical Career Center on Sumneytown Pike has a salon, restaurant and bakery that are open to the public? I only recently learned about these services myself at a Home & School meeting a few months back. Today I decided to check out the salon!

The North Montco Technical Career Center opened in 1967 and, today, serves approximately 1,100 students from the North Penn, Souderton Area, Wissahickon, Methacton, and Perkiomen Valley School Districts. The school has undergone significant renovations, but the salon, restaurant and, most recently, bakery are now complete and ready for business!

I stopped in to the salon this morning for a manicure (the sacrifices I make for interesting blog posts!) and was impressed by the bright, clean and modern appearance of the NMTCC building. A guard greeted me as I entered and asked for my driver's license, then promptly produced a sticky photo ID for me to wear while inside the building. He then pointed me to the salon which turned out to be right behind me. I was temporarily blinded by the restaurant offerings I saw over his shoulder. (Perhaps another investigative trip is in order!)

Once inside the salon, I was immediately greeted by Hannah who took me back to get me settled in for my manicure. The salon was busy, but not unpleasantly crowded. Hannah told me she typically sees a few clients each day and "With each new client you meet, you learn something new." Most of the students in the salon are Juniors, Seniors or young adult students. They have a good base knowledge of their craft and are gaining real-life experience from customers in the community.

My manicure was a pleasant vacation from my usual weekday morning and the conversations between student stylists and other adult clients was light and entertaining. The usual salon talk of politics and other grown-up drudgery was replaced by talk of Prom and future plans. The optimism and wonder found in these young people embarking upon their new career was inspiring and, dare I say it...cute!

My nails look fantastic, my wallet is scarcely any lighter, and a local student has one more experience to add to her portfolio. 

The NMTCC salon is open Monday through Friday from 8:10 - 11:30AM and 12:15 - 2:00PM. You may call 215.368.1177 x 113 for an appointment or drop in (on the earlier side is best). The salon will be offering summer hours, as well, due to the addition of a new summer program. For more details on hours, the Bakery or the Restaurant, visit NMTCC online or check out the NMTCC blog.

Couponing for Community Returns! Can We Gather 730 Items?

Do you remember last year's "Couponing for Community" drive? Last year, local websites North Penn Under Ten and Mama Cheaps teamed up to encourage local participation in the national "Couponing for Community” goods drive.

Not only was it really fun to work with another "mom blogger" and not only did it result in yours truly appearing on 6ABC with Amy Buchman, but, as a group, we, the North Penn community, managed to collect over 300 items for Community Housing Services in Lansdale in just one week! 365 items to be exact. That's enough for one local family to receive a brand new household or personal item every day for one year!

This year, we're setting the bar even higher. Our goal this year is 730 items!

So....What is "Couponing for Community" anyway?

C4C is a nationwide effort designed to utilize the power of couponing and social media to make a united impact for those in need. Simply put, the founders of North Penn Under Ten and Mama Cheaps spend quite a bit of time networking and communicating online with thousands of readers and fellow bloggers. We are also highly dedicated to improving the lives of local BucksMont families. By joining forces, we are excited to put the use of social media, our couponing muscles, and our dedication to the community to good use!

Therefore, we are encouraging everyone we know through every avenue we know to help us collect non-perishable food items, toiletries and other household items for Community Housing Services of Lansdale for distribution to the 200+ low-to-moderate income local families and individuals the charity assists each month. 

Whether you are a Mama Cheaps reader and plan to donate some of the freebies or deeply discounted items you've scored as a result of her tips, or whether you choose to donate an item that you paid full-price for, the end result is the same: a wonderful gift will be received by a local family in need! 

"So, how can I participate? "

First, take a peek at your pantry or a glimpse at your garage. Are there "bonus buy" packs of paper towels or "econo-packs" of canned foods from which you could spare one item? How about all those free samples and travel-sized goodies in your bathroom? Are you really going to use all of those soaps?! ;-) (For more suggestions of needed items, look here.)

Next, beginning this Sunday the 6th and continuing throughout next Saturday, the 12th, stop by the Lansdale Public Library, Harleysville Books, Milestones in Music, the Lansdale branch of the North Penn YMCA, or Jumpin' Jack's Inflatable Playland and Party Center to drop your items in the bin marked "Couponing for Community".

Once the week has ended, North Penn Under Ten and Mama Cheaps representatives will collect, count and deliver the goods to Community Housing Services and update you on our community's total achievement.

If you're looking for a little extra incentive to participate in this very worthwhile collection drive, you'll be happy to know that Jumpin' Jack's has offered to take $1 off admission for any child who brings in an item for C4C between May 6th and 12th!!

We thank you for joining us in this exciting and worthwhile event! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!

Congratulations to Milestones in Music!

It gives me great pleasure to extend congratulatory wishes to the wonderful folks over at Milestones in Music in Lansdale. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the opening of their Lansdale studio AND... the day was made even more special as they announced that they are expanding (doubling!) their studio space by moving this month!

Milestones in Music has been a strong supporter of North Penn Under Ten from sponsorships of NorthPennUnderTen.com, the Summer Fun Fair, the Preschool Expo, and coming up next, the Birthday Bash & Party Expo. Owner Judy Jones and her husband Steve are also very active in supporting our local community including sponsoring the new "Family Corner" at the return of Lansdale First Friday and coordinating some of the fun activities that you'll see there. (More on that tomorrow!)

Judy Jones leads a group of children at the Summer Fun Fair.

It is wonderful to see any locally-owned business succeed in "this economy." But, when you see that success come to business owners who perpetually share that success with the community around them, it brings an even bigger joy!

Further information regarding the move and what is means for their current studio programs is below.

Within the past year, Milestones in Music has more than doubled its studio enrollment. Their early childhood music and movement classes focus on children ages 3 months through 6 years old. They offer private instrumental and vocal instruction for students ages 6 through adult, as well as Autism Movement Therapy classes and pediatric speech and language therapy. To meet the increasing demand for their programming, Milestones in Music will relocate into larger space immediately adjacent to their current location at 227 S. Broad Street. Build out of the new space is currently under way. 

The newly expanded studio, located at 229 S. Broad Street, will offer double the floor space and create three additional rooms for instruction. Once the new classrooms are available, Milestones in Music will be able to schedule side-by-side classes for older and younger children. It will also allow for the scheduling of more than one private music lesson at a time. This flexibility is especially beneficial for families with more than one child enrolled in a program. Children can participate in an Autism Movement Therapy class while their traditional learner siblings attend another class, or speech therapy. The additional space will also greatly facilitate the birthday parties they host in the studio several times each month.

The rapid growth of their business has kept Judy Jones, owner and director of Milestones in Music busy. “The pace of our growth has been much faster than we anticipated. When we moved into our studio location a year ago, we never imagined that we would outgrow the space so quickly. It is a blessing to be embraced this way by the community, especially given the current economic climate. I also feel fortunate to have the help of my husband [Steve Jones] to manage the planning and build out of our new space.” In addition to coordinating the logistics of their relocation, Steve Jones manages all marketing and new business development activities for Milestones in Music.

The Jones’ anticipate being moved into their new location by May 21st. Plans for a June 16th open house are under way. More details will be announced closer to the event date. 

Milestones in Music has been offering classes for students in the North Penn area since 2003. In addition to studio instruction, Milestones in Music provides music and movement instruction for childcare centers in the tri-county area. Both settings allow the highly qualified staff of Milestones in Music to reach over 1,500 students per week with its custom programs.

For more information on Milestones in Music and the classes offered, visit www.milestonesinmusic.com.