New Kelly Center In Havertown Hosting Grand Opening Week Events

HAVERTOWN, PA — Kelly Music for Life's new center is opening soon, and the organization will celebrate the grand opening with a full week of diverse music, arts and cultural events at the new location in Havertown.

The celebrations will be held Sept. 21 through Sept. 28 during Delco Arts Week. The Kelly Center for Music, Arts and Community is located at 4 E. Eagle Road in Havertown.

Designed as a facility to further develop the arts in the community, the week is just a taste of the exciting programming to come at the Kelly Center — from blues to Celtic music, comedy and variety shows, open mic nights and more, there is something that everyone can enjoy.

See a full list of opening week performances below.

"Kelly Music for Life’s volunteers have worked tirelessly for six years to make this venue possible, and we still have miles to go before we sleep," said Tom Kelly. "The Kelly Center gives our community a listening room for professional performers and an opportunity for young artists who need to reach an audience. Arts programs are being cut in many schools. We plan to fill the void and continue to underscore the value in music and arts of all varieties – music, comedy, spoken word, theater, 2-D and 3-D artwork. We will showcase students in after school programs and give our young people something they can enjoy and be part of."

In addition to being a venue to see music and other cultural events, the Kelly Center houses the New Avenue Café.

The motivation for New Avenue Café stems from a desire to create meaningful employment for adults with disabilities.

The Cafe is a project of New Avenue Foundation, a nonprofit organization begun by two fathers of adult daughters with disabilities, Jim Wurster and Tom Reinke.

These dads wanted to expand the social and employment opportunities for their daughters as well as others and to ensure that all members of their local communities would feel welcome and valued.

Their goal is to enrich the community and the lives of our employees, providing them the opportunity to showcase their abilities and value as individuals.

"Being a manager of the café has been a challenge since I’ve never run a business before," said Jim Wurster, primary manager of the cafe. "But treating my role as a father and mentor has helped me provide what our volunteers and employees need. In addition to teaching our staff how to do the different tasks required each day, just being someone to talk to has also helped them and me tremendously."

Located at the site of Goodman’s 5 & 10 shop, the Kelly Center will honor the roots of the space by offering shows at $5 and $10 throughout the week.

Tickets for all events can be purchased on the Kelly Center website.

Kelly Center grand opening week events:

• Sept. 21 — Jill Sobule (Singer-Songwriter) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 22 — Eddie Bruce and Dean Schneider (Jazz Vocals) 3 p.m.
• Sept. 23 — Timmy Trahey and Robbie Furlong (Irish, Celtic, Folk) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 24 — Open Mic Poetry Slam hosted by Katch Campbell (Poetry) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 25 — Lisa Chavous (All up in your face Blues with a taste of Soul) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 26 — Dirk Quinn (Jazz) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 27 — Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise (Progressive Hip Hop) 7 p.m.
• Sept. 28 — Open Mic for Teens (Variety show) 3 p.m.
• Sept. 28 — Open Mic Stand Up hosted by Mark Lipsky (Comedy) 8 p.m.