Pennington Day begins Friday with social event

Plans given for May 19 and 20

   Pennington Day and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society are joining together to provide a good time for grownups at the Spring Social at Hopewell Valley Vineyard, 46 Yard Road in Hopewell Township. From 7-11 p.m. on May 19 have a light supper, hear piano tunes and dance to good music. Call 333-0676 for information or stop by Cup of Joe, 20 N. Main St., Pennington, Photo Haven of Pennington, 7 N. Route 31, or Failte Coffeehouse, 9 E. Broad St, Hopewell, to get tickets.
   Two days remain to the 26th edition of the annual Pennington Day celebration.
   Pennington Day’s origins can be traced back to January 1980, following a fire at The Pennington School’s four-story O’Hanion Hall. The blaze brought 19 different fire companies to the scene and prompted borough officials and residents to come together and hold the first Pennington Day that spring. Proceeds from the first fair went to help the local school recover from the disaster. Since that time, Pennington Day has served as a major fundraiser for the community, with money raised from area businesses, corporations, and individuals later disbursed and given back to nonprofit organizations in the Hopewell Valley in the form of grants.
   Since early January, scores of volunteers, Co-chairs Richele Leiboff and Brit West, and Chris Fossel, president of the board of trustees for Pennington Day, have been working behind the scenes with area businesses, corporations, individuals, craftspeople and performers to ensure that there will be no shortage of things to do, events to see, and places to eat. This year’s theme, "Celebrating Our Youth," is devoted to the youth of the Valley and will adorn the T-shirts available for purchase Saturday.
   The annual celebration now has it’s own Web site: penningtonday.com. Since its creation in early January, over 2,000 individuals have visited the site, generating almost 30,000 hits. Pennington resident Andy Beloff, who is serving as the chairman for both the Web site and publicity, says setting up and purchasing the Web site was "money well spent . . . It is absolutely phenomenal to see the amount of individuals who have come to the site for so many different reasons – from looking for which activities and events to attend, to vendors printing out the applications to rent a booth to sell food, or to offer unique merchandise for sale."
   Some of this year’s highlights include, the annual pancake breakfast (7-11 a.m.), dog show (2 p.m.), and art festival (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) Entertainment for children and families includes the return of the annual quilt show, children’s games, a pie-eating contest, a recorder concert at 11 a.m. being performed by third-graders from Toll Gate Grammar School, a martial arts demonstration, a student art show, and much, much more. Closing out the weekend’s events is a family picnic dinner and swim at The Pennington School, beginning 4 p.m. (for the swim) and 5:30 (for dinner). Tickets will be available at the door.
   Among other events are:
   Pennington Run For Fun — Participants can choose from among four options: 1 mile Fun Run for Children (K-12), $10; 1 mile Fun Run for Adults, $15; a 5K Walk, $10 preregistration or $15 in person, and the competitive 5K Race, $15 preregistration or $20 in person. The fun starts at 9 a.m. with the Fun Runs and Walk. The 5K Race begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. Meet at least 15 minutes before race time at the YMCA Gym at 425 S. Main St., Pennington. Awards will be given out to the winners of the 5K race immediately following the race. For more information or to preregister, call 737-3048 or e-mail: [email protected].
   Book sale — The Pennington Library will sponsor a book sale from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Pennington Day. A special guest will be attending Clifford the Big Red Dog. Meet Clifford and have picture taken with him. There will also be storytime throughout the day. The library also will be using the occasion to promote their new Web site: www.penningtonlibrary.org.
   Diaper drive — On Pennington Day, third-graders Mary-Beth Griffin and Bryon Crane, along with fifth- graders Emily and Ellen Griffin and Audrey Crane will collect diapers and donations for Mercer Countys Homefront.
   Art Festival (Queenstown Gallery, Main Street) Kim Glock will display her wheel-thrown stoneware pottery. Colleen Conrad will showcase her watercolor paintings. Chris Twomey, an equine artist, works in pastel, colored pencil and graphite and captures the essence of the horse. Additional artists work will be on display all day outside the gallery.
   Pennington Dance Company will perform at noon at the Crossroads, intersection of Main Street and Delaware Avenue. A 40-minute program of ballet, jazz and tap numbers to Broadway, swing, classical and Latin music choreographed and performed by students and staff will be given. Performance is free and open to the public.