November 30, 2023
Walnut West Library Friends are holding the annual “Huge Holiday Book Sale” at the library located at 40th and Walnut on Tuesday, Dec. 5, noon to 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the sale, you will find the library’s best donated books, barely used, for all ages and interests, and priced from $1 to $3, with a few as low as $0.50.
Proceeds from this event help pay for programs, supplies and furniture at the library.
Last year’s book sale funds went toward purchasing 10 comfortable desk chairs for the hardworking library staff, a new beanbag chair in the Teen Corner, and a blowout party to launch Librarian Bruce Seibers into retirement, as well as supplies for several children’s programs.
You can find more details about the library, including events, on the Free Library of Philadelphia website, and the Friends’ Facebook page.
(Photo courtesy of Walnut West Library Friends)
November 28, 2023
UPDATE (11/30/2023): Curio is inviting kids to their dress rehearsal on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. FREE of charge. Please call 215-921-8243 for reservations as space is limited. The show lasts approximately one hour including the immersive “Fab Lab” portion. All children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Also, please note that there will be photos taken for social media.
Next month, Curio Theatre Company will present something unusual and innovative. Families are invited to take part in the immersive theatre program – Makerspace. The first play in this new program, Jack and the Beanstalk, will stage December 9-30, with previews taking place December 6, 7 and 8.
Here’s how it works:
Children who arrive to see a performance will have the opportunity to “make theatre” – create props, set pieces and voice recordings. They will even color a large cow on wheels! All these things will then be part of the show. Curio Theatre Company believes that “all children benefit not from just watching plays, but from making art.”
This event is fun for the whole family and people of all ages (3 to 99) are invited.
The play is written by Paul Kuhn and directed by Mya Flood. Performances begin at 2 p.m. except for the preview shows (6:30 p.m.)
Tickets are $15-$20 for adults and $10-$15 for children. Curio Theatre is located at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
November 28, 2023
Today is #GivingTuesday, the day when we’re reminded to give back to the community we’re part of. As always on this day, we’ll be posting/sharing messages from local non-profit organizations in this post and on our social media. Please consider supporting a local cause today with your donation or volunteering. Also, please visit our Civic Life/Neighborhood Resources page where you can find information on many other West Philly non-profits.
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November 27, 2023
The Blanche A. Nixon Library after renovation (rendering image).
Rebuild Philadelphia, the City’s program that invests in public spaces, broke ground on a major renovation project for the historic Blanche A. Nixon Library located in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia (at 58th and Baltimore).
“Built in the 1900s, the Blanche A. Nixon Library requires critical accessibility improvements to equitably meet the needs of all the residents it serves,” Mayor Jim Kenney said at the groundbreaking ceremony held last week. “The renovations at Blanche are set to transform and restore this historic building into a clean, safe, modern, and accessible community asset for many generations to come.”
A community staple within the Cobbs Creek neighborhood, the Blanche A. Nixon Library is undergoing major renovations thanks to Rebuild’s $8.5 million investment, which includes nearly $1.7 million in grants including $250,000 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and $1.4 million in federal Community Project Funding (CPF) for ADA upgrades to the library, secured by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).
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November 21, 2023
The map of proposed improvements to Clark Park.
The Master Plan process for Clark Park, which began last year, has been recently completed and now The Friends of Clark Park group is working with the City on a final plan. This new plan will help expand the park’s impact on the community, proponents say. It includes nature-based playgrounds (see image below), a multi-height basketball hoop, a permanent bathroom, and many other improvements to the park (see more details and images here). By the way, this is the first Clark Park master plan approved by the City since 2006!
To help the plan move forward, The Friends of Clark Park is seeking community support and Giving Tuesday has kicked off their first fundraising drive. The all-volunteer group is hoping that community members will support the plan with their donations, “no matter how small.”
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November 20, 2023
The “Black Bottom” archeological excavation site at the Community Education Center near 35th and Lancaster (Photos by Tony West).
The archeological exploration of the oldest urban area in West Philly wrapped up on Nov. 17 at the Community Education Center (CEC). The dig revealed traces of the suburb of Greenville, where highways from Lancaster and Chester met rail lines on flat ground at the Market St. bridge across the Schuylkill River. Parts of Greenville, including the excavation site, became known as the “Black Bottom” after 1915.
The Black Bottom was a mostly African American community situated between 32nd and 40th Streets near Market, a neighborhood between what is now the Penn and Drexel campuses to the south and the Powelton and Mantua neighborhoods to the north that was razed over time to make way for “urban renewal” beginning in the 1960s. The area later became what is now considered University City.
Heritage West: West Philadelphia Community Archeology Project, led by Penn Anthropology Professors Meg Kassabaum and Sarah Linn, has been conducting archaeological digs in area since 2019. The project included close study of historical archives of the area, followed by a ground-penetrating radar survey. The team also collected oral histories of the neighborhood from members of the Black Bottom Tribe organization and the Lancaster Ave. 21st Century Business Association.
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