A Boyertown H.S. alumni recently starred in a play at Penn State's Berks campus outside of Reading.

Patrick O'Neill is performing as Dracula in a play by the same name.

O'Neill got into theater at Boyertown Senior High School and is continuing in the art at Penn State.

This week Lowe’s in Oaks sent 10 to 12 volunteers each day, headed by Katie Law and Chris Drumheller, to Sebastian Riding Associates for two days of community giving.

Sebastian Riding Associates is a nonprofit, community-based, therapeutic, horseback riding and hippotherapy facility for children and adults with disabilities.

Lowe’s donated the materials for the construction of cabinets in “Lindsey’s Lounge” and for a new outdoor mounting ramp and the employees completed the work.

Sebastian Riding Associates is located in Evansburg State Park at 3589 Water Street, Collegeville.

South Heidelberg resident Ingrid Rumbaugh created the Girl Scout event 70 Brownies will participate in this Saturday at Conrad Weiser Middle School to obtain their science badge. Brownies from troops throughout the county, including Birdsboro, Douglassville, and Geigertown will experiment with marshmallows, minor chemical reactions, creating rainbows and more.
Rumbaugh created the daylong event as part of her Girl Scout Silver Award project.

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Churchill's is hosting two events to tempt the tastebuds of area wine enthusiasts. A wine and dine tasting seminar will be held Dec. 11 by Dean and Lisa Foster at the coffee shop downtown in Pottstown.
There will be a four-course appetizer meal with cheese and fabulous desserts and the Fosters will introduce great wines that go well with the tempting hors d'ouevres.
The event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. and reservations are $65 a person. Made by the first week in December, the cost is only $50 a person.
Call 484-941-5100 for reservations.

You can also check out the Women's Wine Club Holiday Dinner on Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m.
There will be hors d'ouevres, a lobster or pork dinner (your choice) and black walnut cake.

Cost is $48 a person and you will receive four complimentary wines.
Call 610-326-4787 to reserve.

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This weekend you can check out the Melange Dance Company in its performance at the TriCounty Performing Arts Center on High Street in Pottstown.

The group will perform Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

“A Night at the Folies Bergere”, a diverse mix of music and dance styles for all ages, will be performed.

Tickets cost $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and students with ID, and $13 for children under age 12. Dance students get $2 off per ticket when they mention their dance school at the box office.

The Daniel Boone Area School District 120-member marching band won their first-ever Atlantic Coast Championship on Nov. 8 at Hershey Park Stadium.

Sponsored by the Tournament of Bands and the National Judges Association, the ACC's bring together the top high school marching bands from Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The event has been held regularly since 1973 and is considered one of the most prestigious marching band events in the country.

Bands are divided into different “classes” based on their overall size - Daniel Boone was in Group IV (the largest with 76-plus musicians). Each band starts during the summer learning their show, and performs numerous times at football games and competitions throughout the area.

Daniel Boone entered the competition ranked third overall in its class, based on qualifying events at the end of October.

Groups are adjudicated based on the individual contribution of each member from a musical and visual standpoint, as well as the overall show design and execution.

Also winning in class IV was Spring-Ford High School, which took second place.

Daniel Boone also won the award for overall visual performance. Spring-Ford won awards for overall music and percussion performance, while Northern York won the overall color guard award.

Boone's score of 97.75 is a school record for the program, and is the highest score in the competitive circuit for the season - a fall that saw close to 200 school marching programs perform at a show.

“This year has really been about conveying a message with our show,” band director Justin A. McAdams said. “The entire program was built around the idea of a musician who is deaf. What if you couldn't hear what you were playing, but could just see someone playing?

"We also have a member of the staff (who is also an elementary teacher in the district) that had a strong background in sign language, so we incorporated that into the program as well. The kids bought into the idea, and really focused on performing to their fullest potential,” McAdams added.

This is the band's second championship, with the last in 2005, but in a lower division.

The Owen J. Roberts 7-Ups, a singing group, has been invited to perform in the Channel 6 Thanksgiving Day parade by producer Todd Marcocci, who saw the group perform at the OJR Cavalcade.

The group will appear in the grand finale of the production on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The performance is scheduled to air on Channel 6 at 11:50 a.m. Thanksgiving Day. The group will perform a 36-page medley of music, as well as choreography, arranged by Keith Wilson, who works for Disney.

The Pottstown Historic Home and Cultural Show, planned for next March, is looking for a few good vendors.

The show, which offers educational programs on restoration and renovation to interested home buyers, features various organizations offering information on events and points of interest in the Pottstown area.

Planned for Sunday, March 27, 2010 at the Montgomery County Community College West Campus on High Street in Pottstown, the show offers numerous workshops and is produced by the borough.

For more information, you can contact the borough at 610-970-6520 or go their Web site www.pottstown.org

This Saturday will be golden at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, thanks to the presence of golden eagles.

On this day, Hawk Mountain offers its once-a-year unique opportunity to see North America’s largest predatory bird during three live Golden Eagle programs at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. in the Outdoor Amphitheater. Programs are free, but a trail fee applies for those who visit scenic overlooks. In the event of rain, programs will be held inside the Visitor Center.

During each program, educators from Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center will present live hawk and owl species to show the adaptations that set eagles apart from smaller birds of prey. The bulk of each program will be dedicated to the star of the show, a non-releasable Golden Eagle.

Golden Eagle Saturday coincides with the peak of the species’ migration at Hawk Mountain.

The Golden Eagle is a true rarity throughout the northeast and they nest in very remote areas of northern Canada. There are no documented nests in the entire commonwealth. In fact, in Pennsylvania, a Golden Eagle is normally not seen at all except when passing through on migration. Here at Hawk Mountain, an average 123 soar by each autumn, the bulk during the first two weeks of November.

In flight, the bird’s plank-like wings stretch more than 7 feet as it soars south along the Kittatinny Ridge or “Blue Mountain.” The adult golden eagle can typically be identified in flight by its overall dark coloring and gold "glistening" neck, massive size, and steady, solitary flight.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a prime observation point for autumn hawk migration because of its location along the easternmost edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Hawks use ridge currents for uplift like glider pilots on long-distance flights.

In addition to birds of prey, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, songbirds and waterfowl use the Appalachian Mountain Flyway. Some species follow the Appalachians to their end, before heading south to the coastal plains of eastern Mexico and falling out to the tropical forests of Central and South America.

The official Hawk Mountain Hawk Count runs daily from Aug. 15 to Dec. 15. As the world’s first refuge for birds of prey, the sanctuary boasts the longest-running database of hawk migration in the world.

Visiting hawk watchers should wear sturdy shoes, dress in warm, layered clothing, and bring binoculars, something soft to sit upon, and a daypack. The sanctuary has no trash receptacles on site and follows a carry in–carry out trash policy. Snack food and water are available for sale in the Visitor Center.

Trails to the lookouts at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary are open daily from dawn to dusk. Weekday trail fees are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children ages 6-12. Weekend trail fees from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 cost $7 for adults and seniors, and $3 for children ages 6-12. Trail fees includes weekend programs, which continue through Nov. 15.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a nonprofit, member-supported organization located just seven miles north of I-78/Cabela’s intersection near Hamburg (exit 29B off I-78).

For more information on weekend programs or for weather forecasts, interested visitors can call the info line at 610-756-6000. For daily hawk counts, visit the sanctuary’s Web site at www.hawkmountain.org.