Sunday, May 13, 2012
All About Jazz, the online source for, well, everything you need to know about jazz, has a great profile of another Norristown legend.
Jazz almost never gets its due from the rest of the mainstream music world, so it's always nice when you get to hear about how a Jazz great changed the course of music for everyone. It's even better when that legend is a Norristown native. James Oscar Smith, born in Norristown in December of 1925 and credited with influencing the Allman Brothers, the Beastie Boys and even a young Emeril Lagasse, is known in some circles as "the greatest jazz organist of all time." Smith isn't with us anymore (he died of natural causes in February 2005), but his legacy is. Learn all about the Norristown man who's known as the father of Acid Jazz in this great profile on All About Jazz.com
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Got 10 minutes? AMS Planning and Research asks potential users of the 311 W. Main arts center to take a brief anonymous survey to find out their wants and needs - and you can win prizes too
It was revealed Wednesday night at the 311 W. Main Task Force meeting that the primary market for successful potential users of the future Lansdale arts and entertainment center is within a 15-minute commute from the borough's downtown. That's the radius where AMS Planning and Research Corp., the Connecticut firm hired by the task force as its consultant, will focus its market analysis for the renovation and programming of the former Masonic temple on Lansdale's Main Street into a community arts and entertainment mecca. But the firm cannot rely on that analysis alone -- an analysis that relies heavily on The Nielsen Company's PRIZM model, a geo-demographic market segmentation for the suburban Lansdale area. (Nielsen is the same company …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The 3rd annual Norristown Arts Hill Festival turned downtown Norristown into the place to be for arts and culture on Saturday.
The Norristown Arts Council managed to pull off another successful Arts Hill Festival this weekend. Folks from all over the area converged on the Norristown Arst Hill to enjoy a day of art, music, live theater, food and family fun. Want to learn more about the Norristown Arts Hill and their mission to make Norristown a hub of arts and cultural? Visit them on Facebook and "like" their page.
40.11373
-75.34232
E Main St & Dekalb St, Norristown, PA
/articles/the-3rd-annual-norristown-arts-hill-festival
/locations/6956100
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Montgomery County Community College will host the Betzwood Silent Film Festival in honor of local, pioneering filmmaker and his estate.
Academy Award-winning film The Artist may have introduced a new generation of viewers to the art of silent films, but Montgomery County Community Collegehas been honoring the genre for more than two decades. The 2012 Betzwood Silent Film Festival will be held on Saturday, May 12 at 8 p.m. in MCCC’s Science Center Theater, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. Tickets cost $10 general admission and $5 for children under age 10. The films are shown at their original projection speeds with organ accompaniment by Don Kinnier. For information and tickets, visit www.mc3.edu/livelyarts. In its 23rd year, the Betzwood Silent Film Festival pays homage to films produced at the Betzwood Motion Picture Studio – founded in 1912 by film pioneer Siegmund Lubin – …
Friday, May 4, 2012
Here's the rundown on entertainment at Saturday's Norristown Arts Hill Festival.
On Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Norristown's Arts Hill area along DeKalb Street between Lafayette and Airy streets will close to traffic and transform into the Norristown Arts Hill Festival featuring a wide variety of artists and family-friendly entertainment. Here's the schedule for Saturday's: Stage 1 Stage 2 Showcase Stage Festival Stage The Norristown Arts Hill Festival is part of Norristown's Bicentennial Celebration. For more information on Bicentennial Celebration events, visit norristown200.com.
40.11373
-75.34232
Dekalb St & E Main St, Norristown, PA
/articles/norristown-arts-hill-festival-schedule
/locations/6934519
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Community Paint Day originally planned for Sunday was meant to give residents an opportunity to participate in the mural project.
The Norristown Mural Project Community Paint Day planned for Sunday at The Centre Theater has been cancelled and organizers have yet to reschedule the event. The event was intended to give residents an opportunity to have a hand in creating the mural designed by Philadelphia artist Matthew Bush that will eventually be installed on the southern wall of the building at 201 DeKalb Street (at the corner of Lafayette and DeKalb streets.) The mural is meant to act as a welcome gateway to Norristown for folks coming from the DeKalb Street Bridge. "A mural, more than other art forms, requires that the artist remove him or herself, and act as a vehicle," Bush told Patch in an email interview. "The work will belong to the community, and if it is to …
40.11305
-75.342834
The Centre Theater
208 Dekalb St, Norristown, PA
/articles/norristown-mural-project-s-community-paint-day-cancelled
1380872
/locations/6926696
Proceeds from the cocktail fundraiser will support the Norristown Arts Hill Festival this Saturday.
From the Norristown Arts Council: The Norristown Arts Council invites you to join them at the 3rd Annual Norristown Arts Hill Festival kick-off event – the Reception on the Hill. The cocktail fundraiser will be held tonight, Thursday, May 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Four Season's Banquet Hall at 1339 Sandy Hill Road. This year’s celebration is a result of support in the form of grants and sponsorship from friends in the community, the Greater Norristown Corporation (GNC), and the Municipality of Norristown. Financial support has also come from local business and patrons of the arts through advertising and sponsorship. Tickets for the Reception on the Hill are $40 each, $75 for two, or $500 for a tabe sponsorship (10 seats to a table). …
40.113975
-75.322425
The Four Seasons Banquet Hall
1339 Sandy Hill Rd, Norristown, PA
/articles/norristown-arts-hill-holds-reception-on-the-hill-tonight
2058336
/locations/6925935
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Musicians, artists, actors and dancers take over downtown Norristown this Saturday.
From the Municipality of Norristown: On Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Norristown's Arts Hill area along DeKalb Street between Lafayette and Airy streets will close to traffic and transform into the Norristown Arts Hill Festival featuring a wide variety of artists and family-friendly entertainment. This is the three-year anniversary of the Norristown Arts Hill, a steadily developing arts and culture district based at the corner of Main and DeKalb streets. This year’s celebration is a result of support in the form of grants and sponsorship from friends in the community, the Greater Norristown Corporation (GNC), and the Municipality of Norristown. Financial support has also come from local business and patrons of the arts through …
40.11373
-75.34232
E Main St & Dekalb St, Norristown, PA
Norristown Arts Hill Festival
/articles/norristown-arts-hill-festival-this-saturday
/locations/6924454
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The popular music fest expands to become the opener for the Norristown Arts Hill Festival.
From the Iron Age Theatre: Walla Fest, the popular local music festival, returns to the Centre Theater stage with a evening of music, art and film on May 4, as part of the multi day Norristown Arts Hill Festival. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and guests will be able to peruse the art show on the first floor of the Centre Theater. At 6 p.m., performers will take the stage. Admission is $5. This events expands Walla Fest's musical reach, bringing bands from around the tri state area to Norristown. The program features ChildSavage, Seismic Thrust, Satellite Hearts, Resin Gypsy, and The Skins. ChildSavage performed at the mini Walla Fest in February to critical acclaim. She returns with her singer-songwriter style full of youthful exuberance after …
40.11305
-75.342834
The Centre Theater
208 Dekalb St, Norristown, PA
/articles/walla-fest-to-kick-of-norristown-arts-hill-festival
1380872
/locations/6897676
Friday, April 27, 2012
The ACPPA Community Art Center will present the councilwoman with their first-ever Luminary Award at their April 28 fundraiser.
Norristown's council and community leaders have been touting the arts as a way to help revitalize Norristown for years now and one council member in particular has put her money where her mouth is. Earlier this year, Councilwoman Dr. Mary "Mimi" DeSouza gave up the $4000 annual stipend that each council member receives to offset travel and expenses and earmarked it for four local groups who's funding was in jeopardy as a result of Norristown's budget woes. "When we came around to the budget process for 2012, I saw a lot of community groups who did one or two activities or were trying to get off the ground and we literally could not fund them even a few hundred dollars," said DeSouza. DeSouza realized that while the stipend she received …
40.119881
-75.35322
ACPPA Community Art Center
506 Haws Ave, Norristown, PA
/articles/local-arts-group-honors-mimi-desouza-with-award
1849140
/locations/6910876
Tony Di Domizio
12:00 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Right, but you're still regional, at least within 30 minutes from downtown Lansdale. more ›