Welcome Day Shines A Spotlight On Newtown Businesses

NEWTOWN - For the first time in three years the sights and sounds of Welcome Day filled the streets of Newtown on Sunday.

From Sycamore Street in the township to State State in the borough, hundreds enjoyed a day filled with sidewalk sales, live entertainment, crazy balloon creations, vendors and plenty of food.

Yes, it was on the hotter side, but a cooling treat from the Yardley Ice House helped take the edge off the heat.

The day’s organizer, Fred Poritsky, dubbed Welcome Day 2022 “a rousing success,” both for the community and for the Newtown Business Association, which stages the event.

“The music, the food, the vendors - everything was great. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. The weather, although it was hot, it was sunny. And people were happy,” he said.

Welcome Day veteran Jacki Pitkow of Tastefully Simple was thrilled to be back on the street again.

“It’s wonderful to be back and the people came out so it’s a wonderful day,” she said. “It feels great just to be back to normal. There were a lot of people who were happy to see us here. And they showed up. Definitely on a hot day it was great that they came out.”

Pitkow brought as assortment of seasonings, sauces and mixes to share with Welcome Day visitors. She was among the close to 100 business and craft vendors lining Sycamore Street for the event.

“Newtown is great for business. It’s a sizable area, but it still has that homey feeling so you feel like you know everyone,” she said. “It’s not too big. It’s not to small. It’s just the right size.”

At Silo Drive and Durham Road, former NBA President Bill Sheffer was on bag duty. He was handing out complimentary green NBA bags to Welcome Day visitors.

“It’s nice to see Welcome Day back on the street. And the public has obviously responded positively with the turnout. A lot of hard work goes into this,” he said.

Just a few feet away, executive assistant Jean Tanner, Officer Renee Hurst and Detective Nick Moffett of the Newtown Township Police Department were handing out stickers, chalk and coloring books to the kids and information about fraud and phone scams to adults. They reported a constant stream of kids and adults.

At the other end of the street, Ed O’Sullivan and Thomas Sharp of the Newtown Fireplace Shop also reported a busy day.

“Today was great. Good weather. It’s great to be back at it and talking to people,” said O’Sullivan. “We had a great response today especially with our giveaway. We’re giving away a free fireplace service.”

The retail hearth shop has been in business for 40 years offering a full line of gas and wood fireplaces and stoves, as well as chimney services to residential and business properties

O’Sullivan said with the rising fuel costs, they have seen an uptick in requests for wood burning stoves and fireplaces.

Next door was the Pickering Manor crew, including executive director Michelle Knobloch and marketing director Rachel Carver. They used the opportunity to recruit new employees to the team by offering a gift card incentive.

“With labor being an issue many are facing, we wanted to use this opportunity to share with the community the different positions and opportunities that we have in all departments and to invite them to come and be a part of our team,” said Knobloch.

“The response was good,” said Carver. “We gave out a lot of employment applications. We also had an on the spot interview. And people were very interested, not just in nursing, but other positions we have available,” said Carver. “And we had a good response on the facility as well.”

Matt Peters, the owner of the local Weed Man franchise, had a front row seat for Welcome Day. His business is located on Sycamore Street in the heart of the action.

“Today was a good day for us. We had a lot of people stop by our booth and were interested in the services that we offer. I want to say we had about 30 quote requests. I think it’s the best we’ve done at a Welcome Day event in terms of public enthusiasm. We had a great time.

“I’m very happy to have it back,” he said of Welcome Day. “It was well executed by the NBA’s Welcome Day planning committee and for them to loop in the police and public works who made it safe for everybody is a testament to their professionalism in executing the event,” he said.

“The Newtown business community has a lot to offer as evidenced by today,” he added. “There are a lot of opportunities for someone who wants to do business to move here and to plant their roots as a new service business. There are plenty of opportunities to come here and network with the community through the Newtown Business Association and the Newtown Township Economic Development Committee. Newtown is not only a great place to do business, but it also means business.”

At the opposite end of the street, at Durham Road, realtor Brandt Mickolas from the Dave Marcolla Group and James Hill from Edge Insurance Agency, were running a cornhole contest for the Newtown Business Association to raise funds for Ukraine.

“It’s been going great. We raised close to $200 already,” said Mickolas. “A lot of people are just donating and not even playing. It’s good to see the support out there.”

Just outside of the festival area, on the grounds of the Historic Presbyterian Church, Welcome Day visitors took a step back in time to the days of the American Revolution.

Members of the 1st Crossing Volunteers, home-based at Crossing Community Church, staged an encampment on the historic church grounds, which included Colonial games, musket firing demonstrations and fire pit cooking.

Visitors who took a look inside the church learned that it is the oldest church in Newtown dating to 1769. They also learned that in 1776 it was commandeered by General George Washington for use as a hospital, a jail and a P.O.W. “camp.”

After the Battle of Trenton, several hundred Hessians were held there before they began their long march to Philadelphia where they would be exchanged for American soldiers.