The late Mott Green / Photo by Karen Kirchhoff.

When Mott Green founded the Grenada Chocolate Company Cooperative in 1999, it was his mission to not only make the “best chocolate in the world,” but also do so ethically and sustainably — “Tree to Bar,” as he put it.

The award-winning dark chocolate made by the small Hermitage, Grenada-based company is organic, produced by solar-power machinery built by Green’s hands. The operation is also a worker-owned coop, in business with small local cocoa farmers and as many as 50 factory workers, and offering employee shareholding and fair wages. It’s an ethical, sustainable model wholly in line with Green’s overarching personality the Washington-born, New York-raised activist dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1980s because he didn’t want to surrender to the confines of regular society. He spent much of his 20s squatting around West Philly and dedicating his time to homeless activism.

The work that Green, who died suddenly on June 1st at the age of 47 while working at his factory, committed his life to is also the subject of the 2012 documentary, Nothing Like Chocolate. Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani and narrated by Susan Sarandon, the film tells the stories of Green and Nelice Stewart, an independent cocoa farmer in Grenada, and how the Caribbean island “has become home to this revolutionary venture”—an organic, ethical chocolate made in a country where chocolate productions is often a “dirty industry,” said Bull Gervasi, produce & facilities manager of Mariposa Food Co-op, which was one of the first in Philadelphia to sell Green’s chocolate bars 10 years ago. Grenada Chocolate Company is sold online and in stores across Europe and the States, with a flagship store recently opened in the Caribbean country.  Continue Reading

      Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Stranded on an island with daughter Miranda for over a decade, Prospero, the overthrown Duke of Milan, ensorcels a wild storm to maroon a passing ship carrying passengers returning from a royal wedding.

It’s a prophetic tempest with a purpose–with the use of illusion, manipulation, and supernatural wildlings, Prospero plans to expose his brother Antonio as abject for supplanting his post, setting in motion the fantastical emprise of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Come Wednesday, July 24, the early 17th century play will be the subject of Shakespeare in Clark Park‘s (SCP) latest production when it returns to  “The Bowl” at Clark Park for its eighth summer season. SCP’s “The Tempest” will be directed by Adrienne Mackey, Swim Pony Performing Arts artistic director and adjunct Theatre professor at Drexel University, and designed by veteran SCP thespian Bradley Wrenn (also Mackey’s husband). Performances of “The Tempest,” held for free at 43rd Street and Chester Avenue, will start at 7 p.m. and run through Sunday, July 28.

“‘The Tempest’ is different from anything SCP has tackled before,” said Shakespeare in Clark Park Artistic Director Marla Burkholder. “It is a magical fantasy that falls outside of comedy and tragedy. It felt like a good challenge for the company to move away from the strictly comedic works we have done for the past [five] summers as we move into the realm of the less known pieces from Shakespeare’s cannon.”

Under Mackey’s direction, SCP’s production of “The Tempest” will color itself outside the theater lines. While Prospero’s role is typically cast with a male actor, Mackey has brought in Barrymore Award-winning actress Catharine Slusar to take on the contentious lead, describing the Bryn Mawr theater director as “an incredible power house…able to take on the challenge of a character that is controlling an opaque.”  Continue Reading

1980’s disco musical Xanadu will open the outdoor movie series at International House Philadelphia this Friday.

It’s great to be a movie fan in West Philly this summer, especially an outdoor movie fan, as various locations in the area are hosting outdoor film series. And now International House Philadelphia (IHP), 3701 Chestnut St, is joining the list. Beginning Friday, July 12, the Totally Terrible 80s! film series kicks off, bringing the best and worst of the 1980s American films to the IHP patio. Films will be screened on selected Fridays rain or shine (in case of bad weather movies will be shown indoors in IHP’s Ibrahim Theater).

This Friday, Xanadu, a disco musical starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, will open the series. The opening party begins at 7 p.m. and features DJs, drinks, and dancing at Nineteen Eighty-Disco. The movie will start at sundown.

All screenings are free and don’t forget to bring your chairs and blankets. For more info on the series, visit www.ihousephilly.org and also check out our Events Calendar for information on upcoming screenings.

Photo: Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local

Already home to Philadanco and PhilaFunkLive, the seemingly quiet stretch of N. Preston Street between Market and Filbert Streets is buzzing with even more activity now that Inewsent Studios has claimed space in the historic Bell Telephone Exchange, which once served as a telecommunications enterprise in the early 1900s.

Opened in April, Inewsent, located on the second floor of the 113-year-old Georgian Revival building at 8 N. Preston Street, is a 12,000 square-foot independent multimedia complex meant to support independent journalists and artists living and creating in the city. It’s actually an extension of PhilaFunkLive (PFL), a sweeping 3,000 square-foot live performance hall and screening space in the Exchange that was founded by Powelton Village resident and real estate developer Michael Davis in 2007.

In addition to PFL, which hosts 12 – 15 bands a week, Inewsent houses two offices, three audio production studios, two additional 1,000 square-foot performance spaces in the basement, a 25-person call center, WINR Radio, WPFLTV, Cup O Soul Philly (a coffee shop only open during PFL events), and Inewsent Gallery, a permanent art space curated by Stephanie Santos and Lindsay Gilbert. In the future, Davis plans to also run an independent national news station out of Inewsent and is currently looking for a national news anchor and independent journalist in Philadelphia and 49 other cities across the country, from Alaska to Florida.

“Inewsent Studios provides performance spaces where independent artists can be seen and heard and also provides a productive, creative and collaborative environment,” said 52-year-old Davis, a former Army Military Police officer and Judge Advocate General who also runs his medical malpractice and criminal defense law practice out of the Exchange’s first floor. “I wanted to find the ‘best use’, do something fun and support independent artists, which is my passion.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

Penn Museum is bringing back its family-friendly “Summer Wonder” series, with the first program this Wednesday, July 3, when families with children are invited to celebrate the Native American culture and learn traditional Native American dance with the Native Nations Dance Theater.

The “Summer Wonder” programs will run weekly on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. through August 21, 2013 and will feature a great lineup of performances and demonstrations, including stories about ancient Greek mythology, a marionette theater, an exploration of medieval music and instruments, contemporary and ancient African and African American tales, songs and games, and more.

All “Summer Wonder” programs are free with Penn Museum admission. For more information and the full program schedule, please visit Penn Museum’s website and also check our Events Calendar for upcoming programs.

Have you ever dreamed of fixing an old boat and sailing it around the world? A group of young people led by hacker/anarchist/sailor Moxie Marlinspike did just that: they traveled to Florida, bought a junked boat, fixed it up and sailed it around the Bahamas, capturing their experience on a camcorder bought and later returned to Best Buy. This ultimate adventure movie, titled Hold Fast, is screening Thursday night (June 27), beginning at 7 p.m., at Cedar Works (4919 Pentridge St.) and everyone is invited, including families with children.

The film screening is a fundraiser for West Philly-based group AIDS Policy Project comprised of longtime activists pushing for a cure for AIDS for everyone who needs one. At Thursday’s event, the group members will be selling delicious snacks, raffling off boat trips and other nautical stuff, and “telling stories of maritime calamity and fun,” according to Executive Director and West Philly neighbor Kate Krauss. If you like, you can bring your maritime disaster story to share. If you bring your kids they can play on a big, fenced-in patio and still watch the movie through the glass wall.

Tickets are $10 to $20 on a sliding scale and can be purchased online or at the door. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the AIDS Policy Project website.