Regional nonprofit could help publicize town events
The biggest birthday in national history is fast approaching, and North Wales could partner with a regional agency to get the word out about events in town.
“We’re trying to encourage people to come out when they’re here for the World Cup, for July 4th next year: there’s more space out here, there’s free parking, more nature. That has been our message thus far,” said Tessa Robinson, communications specialist with Visit Valley Forge.
“We’re hoping to push people into every corner of the county when they’re in Philadelphia,” she said.
As a regional nonprofit that works to link and promote businesses, restaurants and destinations across Montgomery County, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board chose that name to distinguish the area from 17 other Montgomery Counties across America, and works to market and promote towns, events and destinations to hundreds of thousands of followers online and via print publications.
As she presented to the council, Robinson showed a marketing video of a restaurant in nearby Montgomery Township with a North Wales mailing address, before showing off pages on the nonprofit’s website depicting regional meetups, marketing events, destination promotions, and more.
“As a lot of us know, next year is a very big year for our country. A lot of the celebrations will be happening in Philadelphia, including the World Cup, the PGA tournament, the MLB all star game, all happening in Philly, plus many other things. We’re really hoping to capitalize on some of that overflow,” Robinson said.
“The city’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be packed. We’re using the slogan ‘Retreat to Valley Forge,’ the same way George Washington retreated to Valley Forge: it’s your retreat, but there’s also the history tie-in,” she said.
As part of that regional effort, Visit Valley Forge is helping promote ‘Houses of Declaration,’ a sequence of public readings of the Declaration of Independence across the county on the July 4 weekend.
“People are going to basically hear it the way they would have, back in the day: people would gather around and hear it read in taverns and local places,” Robinson said. “We have some of the participating locations, but we’re always looking for more, and we still have time.”
Visit Valley Forge also coordinates a ‘Freedom from Hunger’ food drive annually for the Montco Anti-Hunger Network that then distributes those funds back to local pantries, Robinson told the borough council.
How could the nonprofit help North Wales specifically? Council President Mark Tarlecki said one of the town’s signature events came to mind immediately.
“In North Wales, we, like other communities, have a July 4th parade, and our North Wales Community Project Alliance organizes that. If we could get you in contact, I think that would be phenomenal,” he said.
Borough Manager Christine Hart added that she has already begun talks with that local group on how they could work with the regional nonprofit, and said the local group wanted to learn more, specifically on how a reading of the declaration could tie into a parade that’s family-friendly.
“They wanted to be a part of this reenactment, but they weren’t sure how long it is, what it entails — it’s a lot of children that go, and they’re used to the pie-eating contest, the tug-of-war, and a bunch of other things,” Hart said.
“We just want a touch of the 250th spirit, but we were trying to figure out how to tie into the parade, and picnic afterward,” she said.
One other aspect of the town’s history could also be publicized by the Valley Forge group: the town’s new destination at 125 N. Main Street, where a former church and adjacent offices have recently been renovated into an event space for both nonprofit and private users.
“We also have an arts and cultural center that just opened in June, and we were hoping for the 250th to partner somehow, to do a declaration series, or some type of historical series, within our cultural center,” Hart said, and Robinson replied: “We can definitely help with that.”
North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Dec. 23 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street; for more information, visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.
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