May 16, 2008 Visitors Residents Business Committees

Welcome!

Quakertown Alive! is a volunteer-driven, non-profit community development organization in Quakertown, Pennsylvania based on the principles of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its Four-Point Main Street Approach. See "About QA!" at left for additional information.


ARTS ALIVE 2008 ON SATURDAY

Tootsie and Friends Will Be Here May 17thThe ninth annual Arts Alive! festival on May 17th will offer something for everyone as Quakertown Alive! welcomes nearly 100 juried fine artists and crafters and other live performers to the downtown.

Expected to draw thousands of spectators, this free, rain or shine event will offer on-stage entertainment sponsored by QNB and the PA Council on the Arts; a children's courtyard sponsored by QNB and Univest; the annual Bill Baker Memorial Senior Art Show at the new location of the Katie Stauffer Memorial Art Center on W. Broad Street, sponsored by LifeQuest; and horse-drawn carriage rides, thanks to QNB.

[Rain location: Strayer Middle School, 1200 Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Quakertown]

In addition, there will be a children's art workshop at Studio 116 on E. Broad Street; dancing waitresses at the Broadway Cafe on W. Broad Street,  a Student Art Show at the high school on Park Avenue; a children's magician; puppets; the Bucks County Community College Art Mobile; Irish Dancers, an in-door flea market at the downtown Firehouse near Fifth Street; juggling; strolling entertainers; food; and more.

See our Arts Alive! 2008 page for more specific times. In-doors or out, we look forward to seeing you there!


Local Weather

Downtown Events Poll

How are we doing with our downtown QA! festivals (Arts Alive!, Autumn Alive!)?
They are Great just the way they are
They need to include E. Broad Street more
They should be limited to W. Broad Street only
They should be held on Sunday
They should be more than one day
The streets should remain open to traffic
You should not have any more downtown festivals

Good Search

GoodSearch.com donates half its revenue --about a penny a search-- to the charities its users designate: for instance, Quakertown Alive!

Go to www.goodsearch.com and download the toolbar, then select Quakertown Alive! as your charity. It is powered by Yahoo and you use it just as you would any search engine. It only takes you and about 499 other people searching four times a day to raise about $7,300 for our local programs each year. And it doesn't cost a cent!  Please spread the word!


 

New Eateries In Town

Salome is now open at 219 W. Broad Street (former location of Pancho Villa) for lunch and dinner.  Stop by for eat-in or take-out nachos, soups, burgers, cheese steaks, ribs, Quesadillas, wraps, hot pressed sandwiches and other Mexican specialties. They have a small children's menu too.

The new family-oriented Broadway Café, also in the 200 block of W. Broad Street, is open for after school, evenings, and Saturday. Stop by this retro-style restaurant and soda fountain for affordably-priced burgers, salads, pizza, chili, some of the best fries around, plus ice cream, pie and more.  Students from Miss Cindy's School of Dance provide your service and spontaneous performances are possible! 

The new Front Street Café & Bistro on 44 Front Street, at the corner of Juniper, provides an inviting stop with gas lamps out front and two fireplaces inside. It is open early (6:30 am) and offers breakfast, lunch, upscale BYOB dinners and even a central conversation area to just have some coffee and relax.  Call 267-347-4076 for evening reservations. Ask about their 11-3 Sunday brunch. 

As always, the other downtown restaurants and food merchants -- such as the Karlton Café, Dominick's Pizzeria, McCoole's at the Red Lion Inn, Mama Mia's, Sunday's Deli & Restaurant, Tacos La Mexicana, Sine's 5&10, the Philly Pretzel Factory, Rosemaries', Rita's and others -- are always happy to see new and familiar faces. Make it a point to visit them with your family and friends throughout the year.  They are after all, part of the uniqueness of Quakertown.

See the online In-Town Guide listings at left for a complete listing of the downtown stores and restaurants. And look for the printed version out in stores and hotels later this Spring!


QA! Givers Program

Quakertown Alive is a volunteer-driven, independent non-profit organization whose mission is to help revitalize downtown Quakertown, PA.  Our supporters are local residents, downtown businesses, the Borough and other community-minded businesses or organizations in our region.

We also seek funding from various state, federal or other sources to support our programs and thus off-set the financial burden on our local contributors. Some of this "outside" funding can be spent on operations, but the majority of it is project-oriented --such as our facade grants, events or streetscape projects-- and may also require matching funds from other sources.

Because of our sustained operations (10 years in 2009!), QA! has reached "Achiever" status with the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Devleopment. This puts us in rare company and makes it easier for us to be approved for DCED grants when they are available, but funding needs continue.

Non-profit organizations --we are a 501C(3)-- today are largely measured by the percentage of operations devoted to fund-raising. The higher the percentage, the lower the score. In other words, if you spend most of your time trying to raise money to pay your people, you aren't contributing very much to your mission. 

QA! is somewhat unique in that we only have two paid individuals with the majority of our work being done by volunteer committees.  Our Main Street Manager is therefore able to focus on sustaining the organization and helping us perform better while we spend the majority of our time and effort addressing our programs.

Since funding is crucial to sustain our office and continue our operations, the more processes we have in place to ensure it continues, the stronger we will be as an organization.  Last year, we implemented a Givers Program to make the process more transparent for all involved. Contributors make donations at various levels and, in addition to the overall knowledge that they are supporting a valid cause close to home, they receive other "benefits" as incentives to continue their support year after year.

We have two major categories: Individual and Business

Our givers levels and incentives are as follows:

Individuals:

Supporter: $25 donation:

  • monthly eNewsletter
  • vinyl window cling, to show your support 
  • warm and fuzzy feeling that you are promoting your local Main Street (Broad Street)

Neighbor: $100 donation:

  • In addition to the above,
  • Enamel Pin
  • Embroidered "Go To Town" golf shirt
  • A very friendly greeting at all QA! festivals
  • Champion: $500 donation:

  • In addition to the above,
  • a sincere invitation to special QA! events
  • Businesses: 

    Participating: $100 donation:

    • monthly eNewsletter
    • a link to their website from our QA! website Supporters page (regardless of business location)
    • a vinyl window cling for their business window
    • invitations to special events (when we have them)
    • a listing in our printed In-Town Guide (otherwise limited to downtown retail businesses only)
    Supporting: $250 donation:
    • In addition to the above,
    • Enamel Pin
    •  a listing in the Quakertown section of the County's annual printed Visitor's Guide and the county website

    Advocate: $500 donation:

  • In addition to the above,
  • A business card ad in the printed In-Town Guide (regardless of business location)
  • Leading: $1,000 or more donation:

  • In addition to the above,
  • A business card ad in the annual Properties of Merit Reception Booklet
  •  a feature article in a monthly eNewsletter
  • a feature article for one month on the QA! website
  • first right-of-refusal for event marketing opportunities
  • If you would like to join our program and support us in our mission at one of these annual levels, please click the DONATE button below or contact us at 215-536-2273 or info@quakertownalive.com or look for our dark blue brochures throughout the downtown.

     


    Meetings & Events

    See the Borough calendar for municipal events. Contact us to add your event here.

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    May 11, 2008 to May 17, 2008
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          Quakertown Alive!