Spring City plans Sesquicentennial events
Spring City will be celebrating its sesquicentennial this month with a weekend of events.
During the weekend of Aug. 1112, Spring City will hold several events to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
The weekend will begin with The Spring City Hot Air Balloon Festival on the evening of Friday, Aug. 11, at the Spring-Ford Youth Athletic League’s facility in Spring City. The event will feature a launch of multiple hot air balloons, tethered balloon rides, vendors, food and live music. Festivities will begin at 4 p.m. and admission is free.
Saturday, Aug. 12, there will be events from morning until night. The Sesquicentennial Parade will take place on the borough’s Main Street starting at 10 a.m. The parade will feature lo- cal community groups, first responders, elected officials, military vehicles and eight marching bands including the Spring-Ford High School Alumni Marching Band, the Spring-Ford Area Middle School Marching Unit, the Greater Overbook String Band, the Aqua String Band, the Bonsal Blues Band, the Philadelphia Freedom Band, the Allentown Hobo Band and the Whitehall Fife and Drum Band.
Following the parade, the festivities move to Brown Street Park with a brief ceremony starting at 1 p.m. featuring local officials and the opening of the 1967 time capsule. Contents of the time capsule will then be on display. After the ceremony, live music will be provided by Mr. Mody and Phoenix N2O. The event will also feature food trucks, a beer garden, along with free activities for children.
The Sesquicentennial celebrations will close with a fireworks display at nightfall. The fireworks can be viewed from Brown Street Park and will emanate from the Spring-Ford Youth Athletic Fields.
The Spring City Sesquicentennial Committee organized a number of events throughout the year
tomark the borough’s 150th anniversary. The celebrations kicked off in March with the Spring City Sesqui-Serenade, which featured the debut of two beers brewed by the Tuned Up Brewing Company that marked the special occasion. Other events included a 5K, community day, a BBQ festival and Beef and Beer Basket Raffle at the Liberty Fire Company that raised over $5,000 for the celebrations.
The Sesquicentennial Committee is made up of borough councilmen and community volunteers.
“The volunteers who worked with the committee and at events have really played a critical role,” said committee Chairman Gene Sweeney. “We are also very thankful to the businesses and residents who sponsored the Sesquicentennial and assisted with fundraising. Local community groups such as the Liberty Fire Company and the Spring City American Legion have also been a great help.”
The committee’s goal was to not only celebrate the borough’s history, but to build community pride and highlight the bright future ahead for Spring City. The borough’s Main Street has recently seen a number of new businesses open including Tuned Up Brewing, Pops Ice Cream and the Dos Amigos Mexican Restaurant.
“Council welcomes all the new businesses to town and we hope to see more,” said Borough Councilman Paul Kern. “We have heard a lot of positive feedback from the public with the events held this year and there really seems to be general sense of optimism and excitement about the future of Spring City.”
For more information see springcity150.com or facebook.com/springcity150.