Town Celebrates Renewal By Building Giant Phoenix, and Burning It Down

The first Firebird Festival lit up the sky 12 years ago, a celebration in homage to the rebirth of one Pennsylvania town named Phoenixville.

A former steel hub, Phoenixville rose to prominence in mid-19th century. When the factory began its decline–and eventually closed in 1986–the town, too, fell into disrepair.

Slowly, Phoenixville has begun its resurrection and Henrik Stubbe Teglbjaerg, who created the Firebird Festival, was one of the citizens most responsible for its comeback.

GNN-app-banner-ad-optAn immigrant to the United States, Teglbjaerg was drawn to the city because it had one of the few remaining walkable downtowns in suburban Philadelphia.

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