The organizers of the July 9^th Chesco Grand Prix bicycle race in Parkesburg are doing something that’s none of the other eight venues across Chester County are doing; they’re making the race, the second event of the night, an event within an event if you will.

The main event of the evening is not the bike race but the 2^nd annual Parkesburg Community Day celebration.  You may recall the community day celebration begun last summer when current and past residents of Parkesburg gathered at the Beale Manor to celebrate the town’s 140^th birthday.

That party saw upwards of 400 people gather under a tent on Beale Manor’s lawn and in the mansion’s spacious banquet facilities to renew friendships, see old neighbors and enjoy remnants of Parkesburg’s recent and distant past.

That celebration last July was one of those days where everyone forgot about the vacant store fronts, the crumbling side walks and run down Amtrak station and celebrated what a nice place Parkesburg is and was.

The same people who organized last year’s celebration including Gerry Treadway, Jack Assetto, John Carnes, Sharon Wolf, Jim Thomas and Jack Mariano have seized the Chesco Grand Prix coming to town on July 9^th as an opportunity for Parkesburg to celebrate anew.

New to the committee of organizers this year is Robert McMinn.  Robert is the Commander of Parkesburg’s VFW post on Fourth Avenue.  The VFW post is teaming with Victory Brewing to offer a nice selection of Parkesburg new neighbor’s beer as well as a sampling of their renown and always delicious chicken BBQ.

And what better venue for all this to happen than First Avenue at the start and finish line Chester County Grand Prix.  The Chesco Grand Prix of course, is a series of downtown cycling events throughout Chester County from July 4-14 managed by Sport Cycling Foundation (SCF), a not-for-profit company formed to support community-based cycling programs, events and facilities that promote the health and social benefits of competitive and recreational cycling.

This year’s Parkesburg venue promises to be faster and more exciting than even last year’s amature and profession races were. With Olympic caliber cyclist from Canada, Germany as well as the United States, some of whom veterans of the Tour de France, competing for thousands of dollars in prizes the Parkesburg stop on the Grand Prix circuit promises to be a cap stone event of the evening.

Parkesburg Today will have more stories in the coming days and weeks leading up to the 9th about the event, the kids races, even stories about the cyclist themselves.

All you need to do is go to that drawer in the kitchen where you keep that big red magic marker, get the marker out and put a gigantic red circle around July 9th.

You simply won’t want to miss it.