Penn Museum’s popular outdoor music concert series, Garden Jams, kicks off Wednesday, July 10, with a live performance from the West Philadelphia Orchestra. Garden Jams at the Penn Museum begin at 5 p.m. every Wednesday in July (except July 3) and feature live music and happy hour with cocktails and food trucks in historic Stoner Courtyard, along with after-hours access to the Museum’s galleries and exhibitions, including Ancient Food & Flavor, until 8 p.m.

Founded in 2006, the West Philadelphia Orchestra (WPO) plays original tunes written by its own band members. Percussionist and WPO Founder Gregg Mervine says the band was inspired by the “fanfares” of Eastern Europe and many other sources.

“Balkan brass bands are the most prominent influence, and we always mix in a few classic tunes from that repertoire,” Mervine explains. “We’ve had a lot of fun in the past—weaving in and out of the gardens and fountains, parading around with kids, and creating a wide-open, free-flowing environment at Garden Jams.”

Other performers in this year’s Garden Jams line-up include:

Continue Reading

Click to enlarge. The PDF version of the map is available here.

SEPTA has recently announced that its annual Trolley Tunnel Maintenance “Blitz,” during which trolleys do not operate in the tunnel, is scheduled to begin on Friday, July 12, at 10 p.m. This project is an opportunity for SEPTA crews to replace worn tracks and overhead contact wires in the tunnel and perform some necessary cleaning.

Here’s how the trolleys will operate during the Blitz, which will take place from July 12 through July 29 (see the map):

Route 10 [T1], Route 34 [T2], Route 13 [T3], Route 11 [T4] and Route 36 [T5] are suspended between 13th Street and 40th Street Portal until 6 a.m., July 29. Subway-Surface Trolleys [T] pick up and drop off riders at any bus stop along the diversion routes.

Continue Reading

Westpark Apartments (Photo: West Philly Local).

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), which provides affordable housing for Philadelphia’s low-income residents and which has been working on the redevelopment plan for the Westpark Apartments in West Philadelphia, will receive $21.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant will support the creation of a new street grid and pedestrian infrastructure to facilitate the redevelopment of the apartment complex located near 46th and Market.

The project will include an extension of the existing street grid in order to create new space for housing and connect the Westpark Apartments footprint to SEPTA’s 46th Street station. It will also create a new network of shared streets, sidewalks, and bike infrastructure that will help integrate new, forthcoming housing more seamlessly into the neighborhood.

U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) helped secure the grant. The funding comes from a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) Grant, funded by the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (IIJA).

Continue Reading

From left to right: Jason Lindner as Duke Frederick/Amiens, Tariq Kanu as Orlando, Cheyenne Parks as Rosalind, and Felicity Mundy as Celia (Photo credit: Shamus).

Shakespeare in Clark Park is returning next month with outdoor performances of “As You Like It,” July 24-28 at the Bowl in Clark Park. The production features contemporary and creative innovations, including input from participants in a series of community poetry workshops (see more info below).

A celebration of poetry and community is the focus of this show, directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson. Professional Philadelphia actors take the stage along with community performers, and an original anthem has been created by local composer and community music leader, Pax Ressler. Wilson was born and raised in Philadelphia and lived through the ongoing shifts and displacement of community, a theme that is central to her interpretation of “As You Like It,” which is often simplified to a love story. Wilson’s  experience is essential to  the production, in the bodies we see onstage, and how the lead character, Rosalind, actively hides her identity to survive in a world where she was once celebrated.

Continue Reading

Philadelphia outdoor public pools have started reopening for the summer. Pool hours vary based on available staffing, but all open pools offer public swim from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, according to the Philadelphia Parks & Rec. Additional public swim hours vary by site.

Here’s the opening schedule for West Philadelphia based pools. More pools are expected to open in the following few weeks. We’ll update this list when we have more information. This week’s full opening schedule is available here. Also, check with your neighborhood pool for more information here.

Week of July 1

Tuesday, July 2

• Tustin Pool – 5901-29 W. Columbia Ave., 19151.

Week of June 24

Thursday, June 27

• Butch Ellis Pool (39th & Olive) – 700 N. 39th St., 19104
• Lee Pool – 4328 Haverford Ave., 19104

Week of June 17

Tuesday, June 18

• Christy Pool – 728 S. 55th St., 19143

Friday, June 21

• Shepard Pool – 5700 Haverford Ave., 19131

Note: Kelly Pool (4231 Lansdowne Dr.) was expected to reopen on Monday but experienced a technical issue. It is now expected to open later in the week of June 17.

Malcolm X Park will be hosting several community events this summer. Here are a couple coming up soon.

The Garden Court Community Association is inviting families with young children to a new event series – Children’s Read Aloud! The series will be held every other Thursday at 5 p.m., from June 20 to September 12, and feature books by local authors – a different author each week! Families will get an opportunity to get free books (while supplies last) and/or purchase books from Hakim’s Bookstore. See the flyer below for more details.

Thursday, June 20 is also a kick-off day for the popular Jazz Heritage Series, featuring free shows performed by some of the best local musicians. This event is also held every other Thursday from June through September, at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the upcoming performances and other updates, follow the Friends of Malcolm X Park on Instagram.

Stay tuned for more events later this summer, including the beloved Theatre in the X performances.

Continue Reading