Despite frigid temperatures and the specter of the Philly area’s largest snowstorm in years, hundreds of language lovers and grammar nerds gathered in Bryn Mawr on Saturday for a screening of Rebel with a Clause, the hottest “road trip, grammar docu-comedy” on the indie movie circuit.
Rebel with a Clause follows language expert Ellen Jovin as she takes her makeshift “Grammar Table” on a journey across the United States, from Bozeman, Mont., to New York City (and everywhere in between). From behind the table, Jovin asks strangers to divulge their questions, comments, and concerns about the English language, from when it’s best to use a semicolon to how to properly punctuate “y’all.” What starts as an amusing grammarrefresher turns into a moving text on Americans’ shared humanity, even in polarizing times.
Ellen Jovin, subject of “Rebel with a Clause,” signs books at a screening at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute on Jan. 24, 2026.
Jovin, the movie’s star, has written four books on writing and grammar, including Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian, a reflection on her cross-country tour. The movie was directed and produced by Brandt Johnson, a writer and filmmaker who also happens to be Jovin’s husband.
Jovin and Johnson, who are based in New York,are on a second cross-country tour as the Rebel with a Clause movie graces audiences. The Bryn Mawr screening marked the film’s first public showing in the Philly area.
As he handed out optional grammar quizzes and grammar-themed chocolates in the Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s foyer, Johnson said the response to the movie has been “extraordinary.”
“Ellen’s Grammar Table that she started in 2018 was about grammar, for sure, but it turned out to be as much about human connection,” Johnson said.
“Just as a life experience, oh my gosh,” he added. “It’s been something that I certainly didn’t anticipate.”
“Rebel with a Clause” producer Brandt Johnson hands out grammar-themed chocolates to moviegoers at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute on Jan. 24, 2026.
Before the screening, attendees waited for their turn at the table, where Jovin was signing books and answering pressing questions about commas and ellipses.
Mary Alice Cullinan, 76, said she and her friends are fascinated by grammar and how it seems to be losing ground among younger generations.
Cullinan, who lives in Blue Bell, spent her career working in the restaurant industry but always read and wrote on the side.
“I read to live,” she added.
The Bryn Mawr Film Institute was packed with retired teachers, avid writers, and grammar aficionados who came armed with gripes about commas, parentheses, and quotation marks. At five minutes to showtime, an employee plastered a “SOLD OUT!” sign on the box office window.
A sign announcing that the Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s screening of “Rebel with a Clause” was sold out. The grammar-themed documentary played at the Main Line movie theater on Jan. 24, 2026.
Jen Tolnay, 63, a copy editor from Phoenixville, heard about the movie at an editors’ conference. She was so excited that she moved a haircut appointment to be there.
The 86-minute film provoked regular laughter in the audience (and a line about Philadelphians’ pronunciation of the wet substance that comes out of the sink got a particularly hearty laugh).
During a post-screening question-and-answer session, moviegoers complained about the poor grammar of sportscasters, praised Jovin and Johnson, and inquired about the colorful interactions Jovin had at the Grammar Table.
For Katie McGlade, 69, grammar is an art form.
The retired communications professional from Ardmore described herself as a habitual grammar corrector who would often fight with her editors about proper language usage. Now,as an artist, she makes colorful prints that center the adverb.
“I love that’s she’s bringing joy to the word,” McGlade said of Jovin. ”We need joy and laughter, and we need to communicate with each other.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
From national chains to homegrown operations, as Chester County continues to grow, so too do the grocery store offerings.
Here’s a look at some of the stores opening around the county.
Kimberton Whole Foods expanding
This spring, locally owned Kimberton Whole Foods will open its largest location in the county in Eagleview Town Center. Construction began in 2024, roughly 20 years after the location in Kimberton Village opened at a former hardware store.
“We look forward to serving Eagleview and the surrounding communities with healthy, locally sourced grocery options in a customer-focused environment,” Ezra Brett, chief operations officer for Kimberton Whole Foods, said in a statement.
The new 14,000-square-foot facility will continue the store’s offerings of organic produce, grass-fed meats, specialty cheese, grab-and-go meals, and more.
The store will join the growing Eagleview Town Center, which offersrestaurants, salons and spas, professional offices, daycares, and more.
West Chester Cooperative slated for opening
West Chester is slated to get a brick-and-mortar member-owned grocery this year, with West Chester Cooperative at 204 W. Market St.
The cooperative kicked off more than a decade ago, formed by a group of borough residents who wanted sustainable, local alternatives to chain grocery stores.
Over the next 10 years, the group launched outreach efforts, opened a pop-up market, and did curbside pickup and limited in-store shopping hours. In 2022, it reached 500 member-owners.
The grocery will be open to all shoppers, but member-owners will receive select benefits.
Kennett Square is also getting its own cooperative grocery store
West Chester isn’t the only municipality in Chesco getting a different model of grocery store. Also nearly a decade in the works, Kennett Square’s Kennett Community Grocer is expected to open this spring at 625 E. Cypress St.
Renovations began in 2025, and the store will offer locally grown produce; dairy, eggs, and meat from county farms; local baked goods and prepared foods; pantry staples from local producers; and a cafe for community members. It will also hold educational and other events led by healthcare professionals and farmers.
“It felt like doing this was to highlight for everyone that we have this precious land that’s quite beautiful, that is very bountiful with products, not just mushrooms, but meat, dairy, produce, fruit, vegetables,” saidEdie Burkey, president of the nonprofit board leading the grocer. “We felt that bringing people together for the common cause of supporting the land that we’re very, very proud to be part of was a good thing.”
Farmers will get a free cup of coffee at the cafe, which will sell locally roasted coffee, and local teas and honey. The store hopes to partner with the high school’s culinary students for an internship program. Products that don’t sell will be donated to organizations like Philabundance’s Mighty Writers, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania, and others, Burkey said.
“We all eat, and to create a community around eating — things that are grown around here — and protecting the land so that maybe farmers don’t sell their land to developers, you’re just creating a sense of community in and around an activity that is so vital to every part of your day, every day of the year,” Burkey said.
Other national chains coming to the county
Meanwhile, bigger chains are also looking to call the county home. Phoenixville could see two national stores coming in the coming months.
Construction for an Aldi, an international discount supermarket, began over the summer at 297 Schuylkill Road.
Meanwhile, Sprouts Farmers Market, the Arizona-based organic and natural grocery store, is also eyeing a location in Phoenixville. Most of the grocer’s local footprint is within Philadelphia, but a Phoenixville location would broaden the store’s reach further west.
The Phoenixville location is proposed at 808 Valley Forge Road, where the former Royal Bank used to sit. It would operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, next to an indoor self-storage facility.
As Joshua Weikert shared ground rules for quizzes in his early morning international relations class, he sought to put his students at ease.
“I don’t want you stressing out about these,” he said Tuesday, as the new semester got underway at Immaculata University in Chester County.“I myself was a terrible student.”
Weikert, 47, of Collegeville, may not have been a star student, but he sure knows a lot.
The politics and public policy professor will compete onJeopardy! 2026 Tournament of Championsat 7 p.m. Friday on ABC, having won six games when he was on the show in March.
Joshua Weikert teaches a class in international relations at Immaculata University.
Over a couple weeks, Jeopardy! shows will feature him vying against 20 other champions, including Allegra Kuney, a doctoral student at Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus, and Matt Massie, a Philadelphia lawyer who moved to the area in 2024, who also will appear on Friday’s show.
Friday’s match is a quarter-final, and if Weikert wins, he’ll advance to the semifinals. (Kuney won her quarter-final Tuesday.)
Weikert won about $103,000 when he competed last year, 10% of which he donated to a memorial scholarship fund named for his late friend, Jarrad Weikel, a Phoenixville man who died unexpectedly at age 40 in 2022. The winner of the champions tournament —which will conclude sometime in early February — will take home a grand prize of a quarter million.
Weikert will watch the show Friday among family and friends — including his fellow contestant Massie — at Troubles End Brewing in Collegeville, which named one of its beers after him. It’s an English Bitter, one of Weikert’s favorites, called “Who is Josh?”
At Immaculata, a Catholic college where Weikert has taught since 2016, students and staff are stoked. A campus watch party is planned, President Barbara Lettiere said.
His appearance last year, she said, has put a welcome spotlight on the school and brought an outpouring of enthusiasm from alumni. On tours, some prospective students and their parents who spot Weikert have recognized him, she said.
“I never knew that this show was as watched as it appears to be,” she said. “Win or lose, Immaculata wins.”
Student Ben Divens talks about his Jeopardy-star professor Joshua Weikert.
Ben Divens, 19, said it’s “jaw-dropping” and “surreal” to know his teacher will compete in the Jeopardy! champion tournament.
“I knew from the first time I met him he was a super, super smart person,” said Divens, a prelaw major from Souderton.
“He’s guided us so much in our major already,” added Bailey Kassis, 18, a political science major from Fort Washington.
“He’s guided us so much in our major already,” student Bailey Kassis said about her professor Joshua Weikert.
An early gamer
Weikert said he has watched Jeopardy! ever since he can remember, probably since 1984 when he was 6, and it came back on the air with Alex Trebek as host. He grew up just outside of Gettysburg in a family that loved to play games, he said.
“We took them very seriously, which is to say that they didn’t just let the kids win,” he said of his parents, both of whom had accounting degrees. “We were destroyed routinely in the games we played.”
About his performance as a student, he said he often skipped his homework.
“Just give me an exam,” he said, describing his attitude at the time. “I’ll pass it.”
He got his bachelor’s degree in international relations from West Chester University, master’s degrees from Villanova and Immaculata, and his doctorate from Temple. He also attended the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, where he studied modern standard Arabic while serving in the U.S. Army.
Joshua Weikert sets expectations for students as a new semester gets underway at Immaculata University.
In addition to teaching, he also works as a policy adviser to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives under state Rep. Joe Webster, a Democrat serving part of Montgomery County. He vets legislators’ ideas and offers ideas of his own.
“The only thing they’ve ever told me no on was [when] I tried to abolish the Pennsylvania Senate,” he said.
So many bills pass one body, then die in the other, he explained. If there were one legislative body where all House and Senate members served, that might be different, he said.
Weikert’s office walls are lined with framed newspaper front pages highlighting major events: “Nixon Resigns,” “Nazis Surrender,” “Man Walks on Moon,” “Kennedy Shot to Death.”
“Every once in a while, I just get up and read one of the stories,” he said.
He got them from his mother-in-law’s basement and put them up after his wife told him his office needed some decor.
Weikert’s status as a Jeopardy! champion makes clear he’s a fast thinker. He’s also a fast talker.
“I don’t really drink caffeine. I just talk this fast,” he told his students.
His wife, he told the class, tells him to slow down.
“Keep up,” he tells her, he said.
The road to Jeopardy
Since his mid-20s, Weikert has been trying to get on Jeopardy!. Years ago, he got a call from the game show, but he put the caller on hold to get to a quiet place. They hung up.
“I was like, well, I guess I missed that opportunity,” he said.
But he kept trying and started taking the online tests, which typically draw 200,000 participants annually. In 2024, he got an email, inviting him to take the test again — and then again under Zoom surveillance.
Next came a virtual audition and practice game in August 2024. That earned him a place in a pool of about 3,000 people, of whom a few hundred eventually became contestants.
Weikert got the call last January and was invited to fly to California the next month to compete.
In reality, his varied interests and life path had already prepared him for the show. He reads a lot. He’s a fan of historical fiction, pop culture, and movies. His work as a public policy scholar helps, too.
But to try and up his game, he read plots of Shakespeare plays and a book on great operas. He flipped through lists of presidents and vice presidents. His wife, Barbara, a Norristown School District middle school music teacher, read questions to him from old Jeopardy! shows. He knew about 80% of the answers, he said.
That, however, didn’t stop him from having panic dreams of being on stage and knowing nothing.
The toughest category for him, he said, is popular music. Movies, history, and politics are his strongest.
But the hardest questions, he said, are the ones with four or five strong possible answers.
“Getting a Jeopardy! answer right is more about knowing what it’s not than what it is,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, it’s impossible to really study for the game show.
“The odds that something you study would come up is almost zero,” he said.
It was an intense experience on stage last March, but the staff put contestants at ease, he said. Host Ken Jennings, formerly one of the show’s most successful contestants, told them, according to Weikert: “I promise you something today is going to be a win for you, so just relax and have fun.”
He has a hard time remembering his winning answers. He readily recalls his dumbest, he said.
The answer was “sacred cow.” He uttered “holy cow.”
“Even as it was coming out of my mouth, I knew it was wrong,” he said.
He’s proud that he only froze on one answer involving lyrics from the B-52’s “Love Shack,” he said.
There was less pressure competing in the championship match last month, given he was already a winner, he said. But it was harder in that the contestants were the best of the best.
“During the regular season, it’s a little under a quarter of a second between when you can start to buzz in and when the buzz actually comes,” he said. “In the tournament of champions, that drops to 0.08 seconds.”
This time, he also prepped by reading children’s books on topics such as basic cell biology, a tip he got from another contestant.
“It’s the simplest language they can use to convey the information,” he said.
He also read the book, Timelines of Everything: From Woolly Mammoths to World Wars.
He most enjoyed the camaraderie among contestants, he said. When filming was over, they hung out in a bar and — watched Jeopardy!.
The group helping to revitalize Kennett Square’s Birch Street has two new projects in the works, including a restaurant and cocktail lounge. Also this week, a vacant office building in Exton has been converted to a new use, a Coatesville native is appearing on the new season of a reality TV show alongside Donna Kelce, plus why The Inquirer’s Craig LaBan says this West Chester restaurant is one to watch.
A rendering depicts the proposed exterior of Opus, a new restaurant and cocktail lounge slated to open in the summer.
A new restaurant and cocktail lounge is coming to Kennett Square this summer. Opus will take over the two-story space at 201 Birch St., which is adjoined to 14-room boutique hotel Artelo. The restaurant space was most recently occupied by Hank’s Place while the Chadds Ford institution rebuilt its longtime home, which was flooded by Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The 6,000-square-foot building will have a two-story terrace with outdoor dining and serve New American cuisine.
Opus is the latest development from Square Roots Collective, which has been helping to revitalize Birch Street for the past decade, including through projects like The Creamery, the former dairy turned family-friendly beer garden.Another of its nearby projects, The Francis, is set to open this year. The boutique hotel at 205 S. Union St., also in Kennett Square, will have eight rooms in a reimagined 18th-century home.
Scores of demonstrators protesting the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer gathered across the region over the weekend, including a rally in West Chester on Sunday that drew about 1,000 attendees. (Daily Local News)
County officials are reviewing findings from an investigation into an error that excluded independent voters from poll books during the November election. Officials said they will develop a plan following their review so that similar errors don’t happen again. The county will present findings and its response at the Board of Elections meeting on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
PennDot is hosting two public meetings in the next week regarding plans for what it’s dubbed the U.S. 30 Eastern Project Area, which includes alternative routes for the Route 30 mainline and the Reeceville Road, Route 340, and Route 322 interchanges, as well as revised alternatives for the Norwood Road and Route 113 interchanges. The construction is part of a larger project to upgrade 14.5 miles of the Coatesville-Downingtown Bypass to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety, and accommodate future development. The first meeting will be held virtually tomorrow at 6 p.m. There’s a second in-person meeting on Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School in West Brandywine Township.
Four police officers were injured last week when responding to a call on the 400 block of Main Street in Atglen Borough. The officers detained Jon Marcos Muniz, who allegedly fired a handgun into two occupied apartments and barricaded his front door. No other injuries were reported. Muniz is facing a number of felony and misdemeanor charges.
M. Patricia Muller was selected as chair of Kennett Township’s Board of Supervisors last week, making her the first woman in the township’s history to hold the role.
Heads up for drivers: Newark Road in West Marlborough Township will be closed Monday through Friday next week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for tree removal. Norwood Road in EastCaln Township will be operating as a single lane with flaggers next Monday through Friday for sewer line work. Peco will be doing electrical work along Happy Creek Lane and Copeland School Road in West Bradford Township as part of a $450,000 infrastructure project to improve reliability and reduce outages, including from storms. Work is scheduled to take place January through April and will impact both roads and some residential yards.
A vacant office building at 319 N. Pottstown Pike in Exton has been transformed into “hotel-apartments” with 24 studio and eight one-bedroom units. The group behind it plans to market The Flats On 100 to consultants and visitors of nearby employers, such as Vanguard and QVC, and sees it as a potential model for the region’s empty office buildings.
Also in Exton, retailer Nordstrom Rack plans to open a 30,000-square-foot shop at Main Street at Exton this fall.
Could popular HBO series Mare of Easttown return for a second season? Kate Winslet seems to be ready for the Delaware County-set show, created by Berwyn native Brad Ingelsby, to return, and recently indicated filming could start as early as 2027. While the award-winning actor is on board, nothing official has been announced yet.
Coatesville native and figure skating icon Johnny Weir made his debut on the fourth season of Peacock reality TV show The Traitors last week. Weir is joined on this season of challenge-meets-eliminations-style show — hosted by Alan Cumming at his castle in Scotland — by Donna Kelce, Tara Lipinski, and a slew of reality TV personalities. The first three episodes dropped last week. Catch up on what happened here. (Warning: Spoilers!)
The GameStop at 1115 West Chester Pike in West Chester shuttered last week as part of a mass closure by the gaming retailer.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Reminder for families: There are no classes Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Avon Grove School District is considering adopting a new textbook, myPerspectives, from Savvas Learning Company for sixth through eighth grade English Language Arts students next school year. The public can review the textbook, which was put to the school’s education committee for consideration earlier this month, and provide feedback during a 30-day period through early February. The proposed change comes as part of the district’s regular curriculum review cycle, said Jason Kotch, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.
Tredyffrin/Easttown School District has released its 2026-27 preliminary budget proposal, which includes a $14.9 million operational deficit. The district’s board and administration say they plan to close the gap through “a combination of increases in the property tax rate, expenditure reductions, or the use of existing reserves.” It will host budget workshops on March 9 and April 13, with plans to adopt the budget in June. The board will not vote on a tax rate before June 8. See the preliminary budget here. The district is also hosting a special school board meeting tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Conestoga High School to discuss the school board director vacancy. And from Jan. 20 to 26, there will be an open registration period for all new kindergarten and first grade students planning to start school in September.
Octorara Area School District is hosting a “kindergarten readiness” event tomorrow from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Octorara Primary Learning Center in Atglen for families with children eligible for kindergarten next school year.
West Chester Area School Districtstudent registration for the 2026-27 school year is open.
The Boardroom Restaurant & Bottle Shop in Phoenixville recently underwent an update and reopened Monday after a more than weeklong closure.
🎳 Things to Do
👭 Steel Magnolias: Tickets are going fast for this adaptation of the popular 1989 film taking center stage for its monthlong run at People’s Light. ⏰ Wednesday, Jan. 14-Sunday, Feb. 15, days and times vary 💵 Prices vary 📍 People’s Light, Malvern
🍔 Taste of Phoenixville: Now in its 24th year, the annual fundraiser will bring together over 20 food and drink vendors. There will also be live music and a silent auction. ⏰ Thursday, Jan. 15, 6 p.m. 💵 $150 📍 Franklin Commons, Phoenixville
🌿 Winter Wonder: While Christmas may get most of the attention, Longwood Gardens’ conservatories will be filled with colorful plants throughout the remainder of winter. The gardens are open daily except Tuesdays. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 16-Sunday, March 22 💵 $17-$32 for non-members, free to members 📍 Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square
🎭 Broadway at the Colonial Theatre: Several Broadway stars, including area native Amanda Jane Cooper, who played Glinda in the North American tour of Wicked, will perform. ⏰ Sunday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. 💵 $30-$65 📍 The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville
Situated in a wooded stretch of East Goshen, this Colonial, along with several others in its cul-de-sac, has a unique access point: Locksley Covered Bridge, which was erected in the 1960s. The four-bedroom, two-and-half-bath home features a family room, living room, dining room, and eat-in kitchen, which has granite countertops and a wood-burning fireplace. There’s a screened-in porch off the dining room, with skylights and brick flooring, which leads to the backyard, where there’s a patio and play set.
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This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Driving to visit a friend, a Philadelphia woman had time to mull her recent breakup. She thought about all the things her ex hated: spiders, moth-bitten sweaters, overly soft avocados. She typed them on her phone, as curses.
It became a flier: “Seeking: Experienced Witch to Curse My Ex.” She set up an email — for serious inquiries only.
You may have seen her handiwork. The fliers dot telephone poles, originating in downtown Phoenixville, around where our witch-seeker was visiting family for the holidays. They now paper neighborhoods across Philadelphia — hung with a staple gun on New Year’s Eve while barhopping. (The 29-year-old asked to remain nameless for this story, so as to not affect future job prospects.It also, in a way, protects her ex.)
And though it might seem a bit out of the ordinary, it’s part of a great tradition of cursing your ex that goes back to antiquity. Plus, it’s a way to regain a sense of power, experts say.
So, it’s no surprise that the fliers have seeped online, circulating neighborhood groups and on socials, striking a chord. When the fliers appeared in Chester County, a Phoenixville community group sounded off: “I hope she gets him. Good for her,” one commenter wrote under a Facebook post about it. “I think I know the ex,” said another. “It’s a great idea,” writes another. (The witch-seeker also has her detractors: “That man dodged a bullet!” one commenter wrote.)
The flier lays out her desired curses: his hair thinning, house plants withering, his bus seats feeling damp, his Wi-Fi buffering during video games, shoe pebbles remaining unshakeable — and the aforementioned too-ripe avocados, copious spiders, and hole-y sweaters (among other ill wishes).
But, the flier requests no hexes on his well-being or romantic life.
Across relationship research, one of the most consistent findings is that breakups produce a “profound sense of powerlessness,” said Jenn Pollitt, a professor of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at Temple University.
But how do you get from a list on your phone to asking witches to please curse your ex-boyfriend?
It’s not that far a leap.
“Witchcraft has become a more socially legible way to express rage,” Pollitt said. “If you’ve got someone who wants to curse their ex, really what they want to be able to say is, ‘I was harmed. I’m allowed to be angry about this, and my anger deserves to be acknowledged.’ The public posting of this is really like a deep desire and craving to have that person’s hurt and heartbreak be born witness to.”
The witch-seeker said she needed a place to put her pent-up anger and frustration.
It’s not all maliciousness to her ex, she said. It’s mostly catharsis: She thinks of her ex as a lovely person in a lot of ways. But she said when she expressed her emotional needs, he’d withhold affection, he’d disappear for a few days or block her number. Then he would return, with words of affirmation and promises of marriage. It became cyclical over the two-year relationship. She swallowed up her frustrations. But several months ago, they parted ways. And despite the turbulence, it was pretty amicable, she recalls.
She grieved. She went to therapy. She journaled. She meditated.
And then she logged on to social media, and saw he was in a new serious relationship that had started within weeks of them breaking up.
“It felt like a slap in the face, and that was my impetus for doing this,” she said. “I couldn’t yell at him, and I didn’t want to yell at him, but I had to yell at someone.”
She’s not alone. For millennia, people have pursued love magic, said Kristine Rabberman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who teaches about witchcraft and sexuality. Roughly 600 Latin curse tablets have survived from the Roman empire, with both men and women calling on various deities to curse their close relations, she said.
These mystical beliefs served social functions, too, she said, addressing people’s lack of agency and control. They channel deep wells of emotion: anger, longing, frustration, hatred.
“Having recourse to love magic could be one approach somebody could take to try to both find expression for those feelings and to also have a sense of agency and being able to act on them,” she said.
Dating culture has changedrapidly, Pollitt added. There’s now a digital component: blocked numbers, social media handles unfollowed. A breakup by a thousand cuts, she noted.
“Breakups often can be intensely private and deeply isolating. Any public display, even this — which is a little bit out of the ordinary — function as a way to reinsert personal pain into a shared social space,” Pollitt said.
The community came fast. As the witch-seeker hung the fliers in Phoenixville, several people high-fived her, she said. Then the emails rolled in: A Caribbean witch who offered a hex. A bruja. A kitchen witch who practices herbalism and herbal manifestations. A helper who sent along a few shops and books, so she could do the curse herself (so it carries the appropriate “oomph”).
But to her surprise, beyond the witches, there were others: People who wanted to know how the story would end. Someone boldly asking her out on a date. And the women who simply could relate.
They wished her a happy new year, they told her they’d also had messy breakups, they told her they supported her.
She did not expect the outpouring of support, or the attention. As a writer and a creative person, it was mostly a way to tap into that, in a way that felt a little more empowering.
“It has made me feel so much better,” she said.
She is thankful for the witches who offered their services, though she feels conflicted about going through with a hex. She won’t be papering the city with more witch requests, either, she said.
The process has let her accept some of her bad, not totally socially acceptable feelings — and create something positive with it, by connecting with others, she said — as people reeling from heartbreak have done for centuries before her.
Adam Cesare knew by the third date that if he and his future wife were going to end up together, he was going to have to start calling sub sandwiches hoagies. “She’s a Philly lifer,” the New York-born, USA Today best-selling author said. Sure enough, after graduating from college in Boston, the couple relocated to Philadelphia, where Cesare threw himself into the city’s film and literary scenes. “I took to Philly like a fish to water,” Cesare said. That was 15 years ago.
Fast forward to today, and the former high school English teacher is an acclaimed local author with more than a dozen horror novels under his belt, including the popular Clown in a Cornfield series, the first of which was adapted for the big screen and released in theaters this past summer. Now, Cesare is gearing up to release Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights! Camera! Frendo!
When he’s not busy editing his manuscript, Cesare still loves to explore Philly’s extensive film and lit scenes, roaming through used bookstores or catching a flick at PhilaMOCA.
Here’s how Adam Cesare would spend a perfect day in Philadelphia.
9 a.m.
First, I would make sure it’s not a Sunday because I want to go to Beiler’s Doughnuts in Reading Terminal, and it’s closed on Sundays.
11 a.m.
After Beiler’s, I’d pop over to Old City to go to The Book Trader. I could name-drop all the current new bookstores, but there’s something about used bookstores that I really like. I’d swing by the comics shop, Brave New Worlds, because it’s right next door, then I’d head to Mostly Books on Bainbridge. I love that place. It’s great because they have a pretty decent VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray selection too, so I’ll get a few movies.
I might also pop into the Philly AIDS Thrift. It’s fun to walk around. They have a good book section. It’s mostly general fiction. I like their physical media section too. You can get the DVD or VHS of every television series that’s been kicked off Netflix.
1 p.m.
For lunch, I’m definitely going to Monster Vegan. It is what it sounds like. It is a really good vegan restaurant themed on monsters. They play clips from Count Yorga and stuff on the walls. They do events, too. I once saw Lloyd Kaufman present Class of Nuke ‘Em High.
3 p.m.
After lunch, I might drive over to Manayunk to check out Thrillerdelphia. It’s a new bookstore that exclusively sells horror and thrillers. They just opened two months ago, and I did one of their first events. They’re really nice people, and they have a great selection.
5 p.m.
It’s time to beam back down to South Street for dinner and a movie. On a perfect day, I’m going to Royal Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant I like to go to on my birthday. Since money is no object on my perfect day, I’ll order the omakase. Let the chef decide.
7 p.m.
There are so many good places to see a movie in Philly. There’s the Philadelphia Film Society. There’s also PhilaMOCA. It’s probably my favorite place to go. They work closely with Exhumed Films, which is a group of film fans who screen 35mm and 16mm films from their private collection in local theaters. They do a lot of work with The Colonial in Phoenixville as well.
The last time I went to PhilaMOCA, I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and John Cameron Mitchell was there doing a live commentary, which was sick. They do really cool stuff like that all the time.
Faridah Ismaila launched nonprofit A Paint-full of Promise to connect younger students with free monthly art classes.
A Great Valley High School sophomore will soon be bringing her passion for art to young students in the district.
Inspired by the phrase “Do what makes you happy,” Faridah Ismaila recently launched nonprofit A Paint-full of Promise to provide free monthly art classes for kindergarteners through sixth graders, The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz reports.
The program is slated to kick off this month with a winter wonderland-themed class. Ismaila is working with district educators to offer the workshops where students can learn new skills and express themselves.
A person on a trail on Warwick Furnace Road in Warwick Township was recently injured by a coyote, prompting the Chester County Health Department to look for the animal. It’s unknown if the coyote is rabid.
The community is mourning the death of photographer, filmmaker, and Kennett Square resident Robert Caputo, who died Dec. 18 at a voluntary assisted dying center in Switzerland. Throughout his career, Mr. Caputo traveled the world, producing stories, films, and photographs for National Geographic magazine, Time, PBS, and TNT. The 76-year-old was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year.
A Malvern office building at 52 Swedesford Rd. is poised for demolition to make way for a mixed-use development with 250 apartments and retail space, including a market and cafe. (Philadelphia Business Journal)
The 33,000-square-foot Acme-anchored shopping center at 785 Starr St. in Phoenixville recently sold for nearly $7.4 million. The sale didn’t include Acme’s space.
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection is expected to evaluate surface and well water at the Bishop Tube HSCA Site in East Whiteland Township this month for contaminants such as PFAS, volatile organic compounds, and inorganics, as well as fluoride.
The Paoli Memorial Association in Malvern has been awarded a $325,000 grant, which will help fund construction of the Paoli-Malvern Heritage Center. The center, which will be adjacent to the Paoli Battlefield, will preserve an 1817 obelisk and offer interpretive exhibits.
Several Chester County communities have received funding from the state’s Green Light-Go Program aimed at improving traffic safety and mobility. Upper Uwchlan Township has been awarded over $920,000 to upgrade detection and controller equipment at Route 100 and Graphite Mine Road. West Whiteland Township is getting nearly $390,000 to upgrade multiple intersections along Route 100 and Commerce Drive. And East Whiteland Township will get almost $192,000 to modernize Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road.
Heads up for drivers: Asplundh will be pruning trees along Goshen Road between Pottstown Pike and Hillside Drive in West Chester throughout the first quarter of 2026.
Paoli Hospital is among Forbes Top Hospitals for 2026 and is the sole Chester County institution on the list.
Looking to dispose of your Christmas tree? Upper Uwchlan will collect trees curbside on Jan. 15; Spring City residents can place trees curbside daily through Jan. 30 for pickup; East Pikeland residents can place trees curbside on Wednesdays in January or drop them off at the township yard waste recycling facility; West Vincent residents can drop them off at the township building through Jan. 23; and Phoenixville residents can place them curbside with trash through Feb. 28. Trees can also be dropped off at the compost site at 18 S. 2nd Ave.
It’s the last chance for residents in Easttown (through Jan. 12) and Upper Uwchlan (through Jan. 15) to recycle old holiday lights.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is hosting its elementary new student registration window for next school year from Jan. 20-26. Learn more here.
West Chester Area School District has an opening on its school board following Alex Christy’s resignation ahead of his term’s expiration next December. Applications to fill the vacancy are open until noon on Jan. 21.
The search is on for someone to take over the former Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester. Over the holidays, building owner John Barry acquired the liquor license and all assets inside the space, which he said will help him “to get a better tenant in there.”
In case you missed it, The Inquirer’s Michael Klein reflected on the most notable restaurant openings of 2025. They include Bao Nine in Malvern, The Borough in Downingtown, Jolene’s in West Chester, L’Olivo Trattoria in Exton, The Local in Phoenixville,and Stubborn Goat Brewing in West Grove. See the full list here. The Borough also made Klein’s roundup of the best new pizza restaurants to open in the region last year.
As for the best things Inquirer food writers ate last year, the Caramelia at Longwood Gardens’ 1906 restaurant was up there. Paying homage to Kennett Square’s mushroom industry, the red-topped mushroom-shaped dessert features chocolate mousse with espresso and caramel flavors.
🎳 Things to Do
🎨 An Ancestral Journey: Moore College of Art grad Roe Murray’s works will be on display for the next few weeks. She will also participate in an artist talk on Jan. 28. ⏰ Thursday, Jan. 8-Thursday, Jan. 29, times vary 💵 Free 📍 Chester County Art Association West Chester Galleries
🎶 A Grand Night For Singing: This rendition will celebrate the wide-ranging works of Rodgers & Hammerstein with singing, dancing, and a live orchestra. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 9-Sunday, Jan. 18, select days and times 💵 $31.60-$36.70 📍 SALT Performing Arts, Chester Springs
🧁 Pinkalicious the Musical: The musical adaptation of the book follows a pink-loving heroine who inadvertently turns herself into her favorite color by eating too many cupcakes. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 9-Sunday, Jan. 18, select days and times 💵 $21-$30 📍 Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, West Chester
The carriage home has a two-car garage and a screened-in porch that leads to a deck.
Located in the Villages at Northridge, this Kennett Square carriage home is just a few years old. The great room, which has a fireplace, opens to the kitchen, where there’s two-toned cabinetry, an island with a farmhouse sink, a pantry, and a dining area with a built-in beverage station complete with a bar refrigerator and ice maker. The great room also has access to the screened-in porch, which leads to the deck. There are three bedrooms upstairs, including a primary suite with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a double sink vanity. The finished lower level walk-out has another bedroom, a full bathroom, and a living room.
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This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
A fully occupied shopping center near downtown Phoenixville recently sold for nearly $7.4 million.
Chester County property records show that the 33,000-square-foot complex was sold in late November by one private investor based in Malvern to another based in Glen Mills, with both registered as limited liability companies. The sale was first reported Thursday by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Located at 785 Starr St., the center is about a mile down the road from Phoenixville’s main drag. It is shadow-anchored by a corporately owned Acme, according to Marcus & Millichap, the firm that represented the seller. The Acme is connected to the rest of the shopping center — and drives traffic to other stores — but was not included in the sale.
The center’s other tenants include Benchmark Federal Credit Union, Habitat for Humanity ReStore thrift store, Fresenius Kidney Care, Labcorp, NovaCare Rehabilitation, and State Farm. It also has a martial arts gym, a dry cleaner, and several quick-service restaurants.
“This closing highlights the strength of essential-service tenants, 100% occupancy, and strong tenant performance,” Scott Woodard, senior director of investments for Marcus & Millichap, said in a statement. “Phoenixville’s expected population growth and proximity to major anchors, such as Acme, made this center a standout asset with long-term stability.”
People walk along Bridge Street by the historic Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville in this June 2021 file photo.
Woodard represented the seller alongside Derrick Dougherty, senior managing director of investments.
The shopping center sits on 3.7 acres, near the corner of Nutt Road and Starr Street, and was built in 2007. According to Chester County property records, it previously sold for $6.35 million in 2018.
Prior to that, the property had last changed hands in 2006, when the land was purchased for $325,000, according to the records.
Its restaurant and bar scene has flourished, and Bridge Street is bustling, especially on the weekends. Luxury apartment complexes have attracted both millennials and empty nesters to the quaint 3.8-square-mile borough.
Since the pandemic, Phoenixville has continued to grow: Its population increased 9% between 2020 and 2024, according to census data.
In 2010, it was home to roughly 16,000 people. Today, that number is estimated to be more than 20,000.
The Acme shopping center sits just inside the bounds of Phoenixville, near its border with Schuylkill Township and not far from Valley Forge National Historic Park.
The lower Schuylkill winds 36 miles from Phoenixville in Chester County to its tidal meeting point with the Delaware River at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, sheltering more than 40 species of fish along the way.
In Center City, the river doubles as a striking urban backdrop, bordered by a trail that can draw thousands of hikers and cyclists daily.
This year, the waterway is vying for the title of Pennsylvania’s River of the Year, an annual competition spotlighting the state’s most significant waterways.
Online voting, which began Dec. 9, runs through Jan. 16, giving Pennsylvanians the chance to select the 2026 winner from three contenders: Chillisquaque Creek, the Conestoga River, and the lower Schuylkill in the Philadelphia region.
The River of the Year program is administered by the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
The contest is meant to draw public attention to rivers and their environmental importance. The winning river’s nominating organization receives a $15,000 DCNR grant to fund yearlong celebrations, including paddling events and community activities. The DCNR produces a commemorative poster in honor of the river.
Jackson Quitel, river programs coordinator for the nonprofit LandHealth Institute, said his organization nominated the Schuylkill along with a plan to educate the public “in the many wonders in this unique body of water.”
“While the Schuylkill River is widely known, not many people are aware of the immense recreational activities and ecological wonders that are present on the river today,” Quitel said.
The LandHealth Institute helps increase awareness of the river through guided walks, fishing, and kayaking, taking more than 500 people out on the water in 2025. If the Schuylkill wins, Quitel said, it would allow the group to double its reach.
Joe Syrnick, executive director of the nonprofit Schuylkill Development Corp., which helped develop the Schuylkill Banks trail along the river, called the river “a great asset to the region.”
“It would be nice to see it get the recognition it deserves,” Syrnick said.
Once a vital waterway for the Lenni-Lenape, the river later endured severe pollution from upstream coal mining and industrial waste, eventually rebounding through years of efforts, including the protections of the federal Clean Water Act.
The Schuylkill became the nation’s first municipal‑scale water system through Fairmount Water Works and continues to provide drinking water to 1.5 million people through two intakes along its banks.
The Schuylkill River Trail, a continuous corridor running alongside most of the lower Schuylkill, has broadened access to the river’s views for residents, giving them more insight into a river many were once cut off from.
Most recently, the Schuylkill Banks section in Center City debuted a new $48 million cable‑stayed, pedestrian‑only bridge, anchoring a trail extension known as the Christian to Crescent Trail Connector. The 2,800‑foot segment delivers sweeping, unobstructed views of the river.
The DCNR describes the lower Schuylkill as an “urban oasis surrounded by bustling roads and a backdrop of a gorgeous skyline.”
Pennsylvania has 25 rivers. Of those, six are federally designated as wild and scenic and 13 are state-designated scenic rivers.
Contest nominees can also include tributaries within river watersheds. For example, Chillisquaque Creek is a 20 mile-long tributary of the Susquehanna River’s west branch. It flows through Northumberland and Montour Counties.
The Conestoga, meanwhile, feeds Chesapeake Bay.
Overall, Pennsylvania has 85,000 miles of waterways, which is the highest stream density in the continental United States.
The countdown to 2026 is on, and there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate the end of one year and the start of another. From New Year’s Eve dinner specials to adults-only celebrations and family-friendly gatherings, here’s how to ring in the new year in Chester County.
Festivities kick off at 5 p.m. with an $8 martini happy hour, followed by music from New Orleans-style jazz band Gumbo Nouveau from 7 to 10 p.m. Festivities continue at Molly Maguire’s after that.
⏰ Wednesday, Dec. 31, 5 p.m.-2 a.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍Fenix Bar & Lounge, 193 Bridge St., Phoenixville; Molly Maguire’s, 197 Bridge St., Phoenixville
Bistro on Bridge in Phoenixville is hosting a party to celebrate the new year.
Conshohocken Brewing Company’s brewpub and gaming room will have performances from local bands Sun Blind, Florida Wayne Band, and Still Burning, followed by a champagne toast at midnight.
Celebrate the end of one year with throwback tunes from another. The Influence, a 1980s tribute band, will play hits throughout the night at this 21-and-over event, and wrap up in time for Kennett Square’s mushroom drop.
Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler will host a fundraiser for the Colonial Theatre, which will resemble Paris’ famous cabaret, Moulin Rouge. The 21-and-over event includes food, drinks, and a champagne toast at midnight.
Stove & Tap’s throwback party will feature music from across the decades, an open bar, a late-night buffet, a disco ball, dancing, and a champagne toast.
⏰ Wednesday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. 💵 $75 📍Stove & Tap, 158 W. Gay St., West Chester
Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Events
In advance of the holiday, kids can create their own party kit, including a noisemaker and a hat. There will also be cookie decorating and themed games.
⏰ Saturday, Dec. 27, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 💵 $10 📍Chester County History Center, 225 N. High St., West Chester
Longwood Gardens will have musical performances on the last day of the year.
Explore the gardens, which are decked out for the holidays, as a number of musicians perform throughout the grounds, including an organist, from 4 to 10 p.m. Timed reservations are required.
⏰ Wednesday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. 💵 $25-$45 for nonmembers, free for members 📍Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square
The mushroom capital of the world will drop its signature lighted mushroom to mark the end of 2025 and the start of 2026. There will also be live music starting at 7 p.m. and a laser show.
⏰ Wednesday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m.-midnight 💵 Free with the donation of non-perishable food 📍Downtown Kennett Square
Spend the first day of 2026 at Springton Manor Farm, which will have kids’ crafts, hot chocolate, and visits with its resident animals during this drop-in event.
Grab dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. or swing by as the clock counts down for $5 draft beer, house wine, and “Mistletoe Margaritas” from 10 p.m. until midnight. There will also be a complimentary dessert table starting at 10 p.m. and a midnight toast.
⏰ Wednesday, Dec. 31, 4 p.m.-midnight 💵 Pay as you go 📍Social Lounge, 117 E. Gay St., West Chester
On New Year’s Day, White Dog Cafe is again hosting its Pajama Brunch, which encourages attendees to wear their PJs to the restaurant, where an à la carte menu will be available. Reservations are encouraged.
⏰ Thursday, Jan. 1, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 💵 Prices vary 📍White Dog Cafe, 181 Gordon Dr., Exton
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
