The little town of Elverson has really brought out the best of the community in its annual celebration of Elverson Day.
Sharing a relaxing Saturday afternoon in Livingood Park this past weekend, the locals came out with friends and family to show their support and love for their town.
‘I think we got all of Elverson to come out,’ said Jan Gage as she looked around the park while helping at the event’s historical table.
Elverson Day started in 2011 with the town’s centennial celebration.
‘Everyone had such a good time that we decided to continue the event on a June Saturday each year,’ said Esther Prosser, chairman of the event’s committee.
Still a fairly new tradition, Prosser also talked about how the special event relies on support by local businesses and community members for funding.
‘We are taking it a year at a time, doing our best to gather support,’ she said.
But that does not seem to be a huge issue since this year at least 10 businesses donated $100 or more toward the event, including National Penn, Wallace & Walitarsky Dental, and Boyd Heating & Plumbing. Other various private citizen donations helped fund the highly anticipated firework display at the end of the evening.
Other festivities through the day included beloved Piper the Clown, pony rides, an exotic animal display, a kids Zumba class, face painting, and a moon bounce. This year’s annual softball game was between Twin Valley Fire Department and Honey Brook Fire Department. A bike parade, where anyone could decorate their bike around a patriotic theme, took place early on in the evening. And three musical acts played through the day, including local musicians Chris Burkholder and John Barnett (aka. Johnny Cash) followed by the West Chester Concert Band playing a wholesome variety of music ranging from a ‘Mary Poppins medley’ to original work ‘Unity Fanfare.’
Prosser focused on the entire event being free, unless you wanted to get food from the various vendors around.
‘I love that a family can come, bring their own picnic dinner and have a free evening of fun together,’ she said.
But to Prosser, the evening is nothing unless the locals come out and reconnect with the community.
‘In my opinion, the reason this event is successful is because it is a gathering of Elverson neighbors, friends and family. My neighbor commented to me the next day – ‘I had a lot of fun connecting with others I hadn’t seen in a while.’ That’s why I do it,’ Prosser said, ‘To get Elversonians out connecting with each other.’
