Jenkintown Community Alliance A unique community of shops and neighbors.

After a decade of spectacular, well-attended events in Jenkintown’s Town Square, an annual borough festival is expanding its offerings to reach more of the culturally diverse and artistically talented community in its region. This September, the annual Jenkintown Jazz and Brew Fest becomes Jenkintown Festival of the Arts: An Art, Music and Brew Fest, which features a juried arts show, live music, food vendors, a craft beer tent and live arts demonstrations. The Jenkintown Community Alliance (JCA), the organization that has staged past Jazz and BrewFests, is scheduling the renamed festival for Sunday, September 19 at 1 p.m. The event’s new Web site is jenkintownfest.org.

“It was business owners and residents who suggested we create a juried art show,” says Linda Kligman, executive director of the JCA. “The Jenkintown Festival of the Arts is a great way to promote the creativity and talent in our region and expand on a fun tradition.”

Though both the intricate jazz music beloved by aficionados of the genre and the cold, refreshing micro brews made by craft beer makers will once again be available in 2010, the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts has expanded offerings which include a greater variety of arts, crafts, live arts performances and musicians who specialize in other musical styles.

To stock the many new tents planned for the renamed festival, the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts is currently holding a call for artists. Detailed information for interested parties is at the end of this release.

All craft artists who design and produce their own handcrafted work, and who are residents of, and working in, the United States, are eligible to complete an application to the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts arts/craft show. Applications, which include a non-refundable $15 fee, are due to the JCA offices by June 10, 2010. Accepted artists are to be charged a $85 exhibitor fee. An application is available at the event Web site: jenkintownfest.org.

The Festival Best in Show will receive a month-long, private gallery showing at La Maison du Maroc, an established gallery in Jenkintown. There will be a First Place Winner of each of the four categories of Photography/Print, Painting, Sculpture and Craft/Jewelry; all First Place winners will receive a $100 cash prize. Ribbons will be presented to finalists in each category.

For the last 10 years, thousands of visitors have attended the Jenkintown Jazz and BrewFest each September to stroll the sun-splashed streets of the historic and quaint Montgomery County borough. With expanded offerings creating an even larger event with greater appeal to more of its dedicated and friendly community, the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts plans to continue the rich tradition for years to come.

About the Jenkintown Community Alliance (JCA): The Jenkintown Community Alliance is an independent 501(c)(3) dedicated to attaining the community’s vision of a vibrant, diverse and economically strong central business district. It is governed by a board of directors that represents its business and residential communities. In addition to working and or/volunteering in the community, all board members actively participate in at least one committee to serve the Jenkintown Business Improvement District.

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For more information, contact Linda Kligman, Executive Director of the JCA at linda@jenkintown.net or by calling (215) 517-5507.
Visit the JCA Web site at www.jenkintown.net

In honor of Women’s History month, the Jenkintown Library and Jenkins Town Lyceum are presenting this program about Amelia Earhart on Saturday, March 6th at 1:00 PM. Join us as Monica Hoffman presents her one woman show based on the life of Amelia Earhart. Please register at the library or by calling 215-884-0593.

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JENKINTOWN MUSIC THEATRE TO PERFORM AWARD WINNING COMEDY CURTAINS

Jenkintown Music Theatre will launch its 65th consecutive season with the Tony Award-winning musical comedy whodunit Curtains. Long considered one of the area’s foremost community musical theater groups, Jenkintown Music Theatre will present Curtains with a cast of 44 area performers at the Kuykendall Auditorium of the Jenkintown High School at West and Highland Avenues in Jenkintown, PA. There will be six performances:

Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm
Saturday, April 10 at 8:00pm
Sunday, April 11 at 3:00pm
Friday, April 16 at 8:00pm
Saturday, April 17 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm

In reviewing the Broadway show, theater critic Jonas Schwartz referred to Curtains as “a return to old-fashioned musical comedy, complete with rousing production numbers, a cast of veteran Broadway stars at the top of their game, and a book meant only to tickle the funny bone. The show has audiences cheering long before the curtain comes down.”

Curtains opened on Broadway on March 22, 2007 and was nominated for eight 2007 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score. David Hyde Pierce won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role as Detective Frank Cioffi.

For more information and tickets visit www.jenkintownmusictheatre.org or call 215-478-6546.

JENKINTOWN PROPERTIES TO RECEIVE $30,000 FOR FACADE IMPROVEMENTS
Exterior enhancements coming to eight locations in the borough

Jenkintown, PA. (February 1, 2010) – Eight borough properties, including the landmark Hiway Theatre, will receive exterior improvements through $30,000 in matching funds from the Façade Investment Grant Program administered by the Jenkintown Community Alliance (JCA). The grant money, which is funded through the Community Revitalization Program of Montgomery County, will match up to one-third of the businesses’ investment. All projects will be completed in 2010 and correspond with the visible investment being made by the borough in Streetscape enhancements along York Road.

The program will provide partial funding for an installation of a replication of the original neon sign which adorned the Hiway Theatre in the 1940s. Seven other properties within the Jenkintown Business Improvement District (BID) will also receive a variety of new enhancements including signage, awnings, exterior painting, masonry repair and other storefront improvements in accordance with the projects they proposed in their program applications.

A full list of grant recipients is included below.

“Jenkintown’s historic architecture is an asset we don’t want to lose, but old buildings can be costly to maintain,” Linda Kligman, executive director of the JCA, said. “We are grateful that with the help of the Borough and the County, we have funds to make it easier for our property owners to make renovations to their buildings that preserve our town’s authentic charm.”

The Facade Grant Committee, which consisted of the JCA Design Committee plus two members of the Jenkintown Planning Commission, reviewed 17 applications, which were due on December 31, 2009. Each application was reviewed by three committee members based on several factors, including consistency with the Design Guidelines and the impact of the proposed work on the building and the business district.

Full list of 2010 Jenkintown Community Alliance Façade Investment Grant Program recipients:

Applicant, title: address of property: improvements (grant amount)

Juan Gamez, owner: Diversified Acquistions, 431-433 Old York Road: Repoint brick on front of building; repair and paint window trim; repaint brick on side of building; install awning ($10,000)

Thomas Federman and Jeffrey Lustig, owners of Midgard Properties: 301-305 Old York Road: Repaint front and side of building; install new signs, awnings and lighting ($10,000)

Fred Kaplan-Mayer, director: Hiway Theatre, 212 Old York Road: Replication and installation of the original neon sign from the 1940s ($5,000)

James & Marta Vosbikian, owners: Radist Properties (Family Dentistry), 609-611 West Avenue: Seal the exterior stucco and concrete block exterior of the building ($1,853)

Angelo Garcia, owner: Angelo’s Hair Design, 812-816 West Avenue: Repoint brick and install three awnings on front of building ($1,333).

Steven Katz, owner: Premier Brokerage Services, 604 Harper Avenue: Repair and repaint shutters on front of building ($733)

Mary Helweg: Helweg Funeral Home, 457-459 and 471 Old York Road: Repair and repaint wood trim on the facades of the one-story office building at 457-459 Old York Road and the retail property at 471 Old York Road ($563)

Doug Levin, Jack and Norma Levin: DFL Galleries, 207 Old York Road: Replace storefront glass and repointing brick ($518)

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For more information, contact Linda Kligman, Executive Director of the JCA at linda@jenkintown.net or by calling (215) 517-5507.
Visit the JCA Web site at www.jenkintown.net

Join us on Wednesday, February 10 at 7:00 PM for this one hour educational and interactive program, on the participation of African Americans at Camp William Penn during the Civil War. The presenter appears in authentic 19th century clothing and equipment. The presentation uses an array of techniques to tell the story: lecture, activities, demonstrations, and music or poem. This presentation has been delivered in dozens of schools, churches, colleges, libraries and at Fort Mifflin for groups young and old. Please call 215-884-0593 to register for this program sponsored by the Jenkins Town Lyceum and the Jenkintown Library at 460 Old York Rd.