MELTON CENTER TO CELEBRATE 100TH ANNIVERSARY

The public is invited to CommUnity Day Aug. 19

WEST CHESTER » The Melton Community Center in West Chester, which is utilized by thousands of people in the summer months, is celebrating its 100th year with a bang.

A CommUnity Day will take place Sunday, Aug. 19 with family activities, local vendors, live music featuring a jazz group, dance performances, raffles and food.

The basketball courts will be filled as there will also be a basketball summer league competition with Phoenixville, Pottstown and Conshohocken Recreation. In addition to the outdoor courts, a new, stateof-the art basketball court was completed early this summer, complete with air-conditioning.

“It’s an incredible gym,” said Ken Winston, executive director of the Melton Center, one of two paid staffers at the Melton Center which is run by a cadre of volunteers.

There will also be a dessert competition at CommUnity Day, and the center’s 19-member board of directors are hoping it becomes an annual event.

Many local restaurants such as Roots Café, Voodoo Lounge, Candies Cakes and Cookies, Riggtown Oven and Olive Branch, along with individual bakers, have submitted desserts. Melton celebrity panel of judges, including the tasting talents of Sweet Jazmine’s Bakery in Berwyn, will decide who receives the honor of the “Tastiest Summer Dessert in West Chester” in the Business/Professional and Individual categories.

Dianne Herrin, West Chester mayor, encourages residents to visit the center.

“It’s very walkable, and you can access it no matter where you live in the borough,” she said.

The center’s 100th anniversary year celebrations ends later this year with a Founder’s Ball on Oct. 13.

CommUnity Day begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. on the grounds of the Charles A. Melton Arts & Education Center, 501 East Miner Street in West Chester. The public is invited to attend free of charge, and there is ample parking on the five-acre site.

Funds raised during CommUnity Day will help address the center’s shortfall of operational expenses and continue to strengthen the center’s guiding principle to promote understanding and cooperation between all people in the West Chester community. All donations are 100 percent tax deductible.

FRAN MAYE — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Glenn Fricke and Lisa Dorsey, who sit on the board of directors at the Charles A. Melton Arts & Education Center in West Chester, are hoping many people turn out for CommUnity Day on Aug. 19.