Clean & Green Philly, a local organization that helps community groups clean and green vacant properties to reduce gun violence, is offering a new workshop in partnership with the West Philadelphia non-profit Hope PHL. The workshop will help explore hands-on strategies for activating vacant spaces.

Session 1 of the workshop will be held at Wonderspring – Powelton Village (3939 Warren St.) on Thursday, Nov. 14, beginning at 6 p.m. To RSVP, please click here or scan the QR code in the flyer below. Seats are limited.

Clean & Green Philly’s research shows that greening and cleaning vacant properties is one of the most effective interventions available to reduce gun violence in a neighborhood. Philadelphia has nearly 40,000 vacant properties. Continue Reading

Photo by Albert Yee for Fairmount Park Conservancy

Over 100 Philadelphia parks need help preparing for the winter season and will host clean-up service events during Love Your Park Fall Weekend (November 8-10). Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Park Friends Network, made up of 140 volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks.

Love Your Park Fall Weekend is dedicated to service and celebration in Philadelphia’s parks. Every fall, thousands of volunteers mobilize over the course of one weekend to care for their neighborhood green spaces by planting trees, raking leaves, cleaning up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

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Bark in the Park, the outdoor party for dogs and their owners, will return to 43rd & Chester beside the Bowl in Clark Park this Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. This frolicsome fall affair will be held by Friends of Clark Park in honor of Fran Byers, founder and longtime organizer of the event, who passed away earlier this year.

A host of silly contests will give every kind of dog a chance to compete for prizes, treats and toys! And a raffle will give one lucky winner a bag of goodies to bring home.

The party will last an hour. As always, it’s free. See the flyer below with more details. For questions, contact anthony.abbott.west@gmail.com.

The Friends of Clark Park will also plant a memorial tree for Fran Byers this Sunday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. in the Dickens Garden. All are welcome to join.

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Here’s an interesting shakeup at the storefront located at 4508 Walnut Street (near 45th and Walnut), which was until recently occupied by Lulu Cafe. The cafe specializing in Taiwanese street snacks and bubble tea, has recently closed its doors on Walnut and announced its move to 28-30 S. 40th Street, the space formerly occupied by the Green Line Cafe. The space on S. 40th Street is currently under renovation and Lulu is expected to reopen at this new location next month.

While the space at 45th and Walnut has been vacant since late August, a new sign appeared in its window, announcing that a new restaurant, Urban Sushi & Kitchen, is going to open there soon. The new establishment will serve halal food, according to the sign. So far, no additional information is available. We’ll let you know when we have more details.

Keswick Cycle opening in University City in 2011 (Archived photo).

Keswick Cycle has unexpectedly closed its University City location on Locust St. near 40th after 13 years of operation. There were no prior announcements about the closing on their social media, but there is a message on their website that reads simply:

“We are saddened to announce the closing of our University City location.”

The last post on the store’s Facebook page is dated Oct. 15. Some operations at the store are still temporarily ongoing for those who have pending order pickups.

The business was founded in 1933 in Glenside. The University City shop was their only location in Philadelphia. Two other remaining shops are in Glenside and Paoli where customers are now referred to by Keswick Cycle.

The 2024 general election will take place Nov. 5, when registered voters can cast their votes in person at the polling locations around the city, but here are a few reminders for those who want to vote earlier.

Voter registration has been closed, but those who have registered can still apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The Philadelphia City Commissioners has opened ten Satellite Election Offices throughout the city, one in each council district, where voters can apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot, complete it, and/or return it. All election offices are open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Here are the election offices in West and Southwest Philadelphia:

2nd Council District

6100 Woodland Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19142

3rd Council District

4029 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

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The Philadelphia City Council passed a bill today that prohibits vehicles from stopping or standing in any bike lane in Philadelphia.

The proposed legislation, called the “Get Out The Bike Lane” bill, would penalize stopping, standing, or parking in a bike lane with a fine of $125 in Center City and University City, and $75 in other parts of the city. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier introduced the bill on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson. It was passed unanimously.

The “Get Out The Bike Lane” bill replaces the current law, which went into effect in January 2013 and penalizes parking in a bike line with a fine of $75 in Center City and University City and $50 in other parts of the city.

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The Philadelphia Regional Institute of STEM Educators (PRISE) is hosting the annual STEM Educator Conference in West Philadelphia – on Saint Joseph’s University’s University City Campus (formerly USciences) – this Saturday, Oct. 26. The conference, entitled “Inventing and Affecting the Future through STEM: Working together to create the world we want,” will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and educators, high-school students, college students, and anyone interested in STEM education are welcome to attend.

The Keynote Speaker at this year’s conference is Gere Johnson, Women In Natural Sciences (WINS) alumna, graduate of the School District of Philadelphia and now a Conservation Planner with CT Resource Conservation & Development.

A student panel, The Future of STEM: A Student’s Perspective, will be facilitated by Dominique Thomas, a Philadelphia native and Manager of Social Justice Programs at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. She works with WINS, which she is also a proud 2012 Alumna.

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Curio Theatre Company is kicking off their 20th anniversary season with the Philadelphia premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s satirical comedy and Broadway hit, The Thanksgiving Play. The play has been one of the most produced plays in the country. Curio Theatre Co-Founder Tim Martin is directing the staging, which runs October 23-November 9.

“Our playwright was tired of hearing many theatres say that they couldn’t produce plays with Native characters because there weren’t enough Native actors,” said Martin “This play is her response. Four well-meaning theatre artists come together to create a play for an elementary school, all the while struggling with the need for Native representation. Watch and laugh as they sort through cultural myths of our nation’s favorite family-focused turkey feast, by America’s premiere Lakota playwright.”

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The Spruce Hill Community Association has confirmed that the old neighborhood Halloween tradition is still alive: the 26th Annual Halloween Little Tot Parade will return on Oct. 31! As usual, gathering begins on 45th St. between Baltimore and Larchwood at 4 p.m. The parade will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and head east on Larchwood. Traditionally, the event concludes with a party at “Little Osage” (42nd and Osage), where parade participants are treated with cider and baked goods from local businesses and organizations.

Those who live in the area where the parade takes place, please be mindful of the following:

Roads will be closed from 3:45-5 p.m. (see the map below). You may not move your parked car if it is parked on the route during the parade.

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The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) this fall. Several West Philly artists and art organizations are inviting visitors to their studios this Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 19-20), from 12-6 p.m. The list of artists and organizations who will welcome visitors this weekend includes:

• The Arts League (4226 Spruce St)

• Painted Bride (5212 Market St)

• Caroline Santa, Colleen McCubbin Stepanic, Douglas Witmer, Mary Henderson, and Phillip Adams (Green Line Workspace, 4218 Lancaster Ave)

• The Soapbox (47th and Kingsessing)

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West Philly residents are invited to The Lawn at uCity Square (37th and Filbert) on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a day filled with live music, fitness activities, and community engagement. The Open Sweat Jam West Philly Community Music & Fitness Festival, which will be held from 12-7 p.m., promotes wellness and civic responsibility.

The festival will feature Live Beats Fitness, an innovative fusion of live music and fitness led by internationally renowned drummer Jeremy Boyd, also known as “Wheat Bread,” and Nate McIntyre, owner of BodyRock Boot Camp, a West Philadelphia-based gym that gained national attention after its appearance on Netflix’s hit show “Queer Eye.” Also performing is Boogiemandela, a Philadelphia-based rap artist, producer, and sound engineer. Known for his Open Vibe pop-up open mic events, Boogiemandela will curate a live music experience that reflects the city’s vibrant and diverse underground music scene.

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The Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) is resuming community meetings that would help determine new traffic safety features for South 47th Street from Chestnut Street to Kingsessing Avenue. Blocks along 47th Street from Chestnut Street to Paschall Avenue is on the City’s Vision Zero High Injury Network (HIN) and the 47th Street Traffic Safety project aims to improve traffic safety for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists along the corridor.

This project, along with the 48th Street Safety project was first introduced to residents in 2023, but the redesign and repaving of the street were put on hold earlier this year as more public input was needed. The initial plan included such changes as the conversion of a portion of the street, between Paschall and Market, to one-way vehicle traffic.

The new series of community meetings include three focus groups and one general public meeting, co-hosted by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District).

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The Table Sessions, Sattriya Dance Company, May 2024. (Photo by Shannon Sophy)

After 20 years, a West Philadelphia visionary arts group which has staged more than 100 productions, including an ambitious (and sold-out) undertaking supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, is changing its name and evolving. Journey Arts is the new name and branding of Intercultural Journeys, a gem in Philadelphia’s performing arts world.

Journey Arts plans to increase its offerings, including more ambitious and complex shows, seeking new and additional funding, and offer artists more production/development time of projects. And another large-scale production is already underway this coming season.

“Journeys are for seekers – when we create, perform, and witness together, the journey is that much richer and more nuanced,” Carly Rapaport-Stein, Executive Director of Journey Arts said. “Wayfinding together is our artistic beating heart. We seek connection and we are on this journey together. Today, our new name and visual identity match our ethos of artist-forward work and belonging for all.”

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