Here’s an opportunity to use your design skills and have your artwork displayed all along Baltimore Avenue (plus win a few prizes).

The University City District has announced an open call for participation in the Baltimore Avenue Banner Design competition. The winner’s work will ultimately be fabricated as a 24 x 36 inch banner and installed along Baltimore Avenue. The banners currently on display along Baltimore Avenue between 45th and 50th streets will be replaced next spring with new ones, possibly featuring your design.

Here are the details of the competition.

• The design competition is open to everyone.

• An individual can submit multiple concepts.

• There is a particular interest in work that is responsive to Baltimore Avenue and the neighborhood, but the sky is the limit!

• The winner will receive $200 in University City restaurant gift certificates and $300 in cash, and your artwork on over 70 banners.

• Submissions are due Friday, March 2. Late submissions will not be accepted.

If you are interested in submitting a design please email the following to Mark Christman at: mark[at]universitycity.org:

Name, Address, Email and telephone number, Proposed design (jpg or pdf), and one-two sentence description of proposed design(s).

A selection committee will be comprised of Baltimore Avenue and neighborhood business owners, artists and neighbors.

There are only three performances of Curio Theatre‘s Eurydice left. This Thursday, Friday and Saturday are your last three chances to see this fabulous, critically acclaimed play. Tickets are $15-20 and can be purchased here. All performances begin at 8 p.m.

Thanks to everyone who submitted pumpkins. Now it’s time for you, dear readers, to cast your vote for your favorite pumpkin in the 2011 West Philly Local Pumpkin Carving Contest. The “Readers’ Choice” winner will win two prizes from our sponsors: Aksum, Dock Street Brewery, Mariposa Food Co-op, Milk & Honey, VIX Emporium and Wake Up Yoga).

On Monday we’ll announce winners in the Scariest, Funniest, Philly-themed, and Kids categories, which will be decided by a crack panel of judges.

Check out the slideshow below or go to the Flickr gallery and jot down the number of the pumpkin you like best. Click on your choice to register your vote. The voting is open until 6 p.m. Monday. One vote per person.

Voting has ended.

West Philly photographers – professional and amateur alike – get your cameras ready! On Friday, Oct. 28, the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center invites everyone in the city to take a picture. The photo can feature anything you like as long as it’s taken on that day within the city limits. Then upload your favorite picture to their website between October 28 and 31.

The organizers said they want West Philly to be well represented.

On November 10, from 6 – 9 p.m., the PPAC will host the Philly Photo Day Opening Reception. Every single picture they have received will be printed and hung for exhibition at 1400 N. American Street. Reprints of all the images will be available for $25.

For more information about the event visit: https://www.philaphotoarts.org/events/philly-photo-day.

How do you imagine Africa? You can join the discussion, explore and also have a lot of fun tomorrow, Oct. 26, at Penn Museum‘s Evening to Imagine Africa, a free event for neighbors, friends and first-time visitors. This community night is part of special programming around the new gallery project Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum, an initiative using a new visitor-centered method of exhibition planning.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. and feature two workshops – a Hip Hop dance workshop with an instructor from Rennie Harris RHAW, and an African Dance Workshop with the Penn student group African Rhythms. Also in the program: belly dancing with Habiba, and Spoken Word with the Philly Youth Poetry Movement. Complimentary refreshments will be served.

Tomorrow’s night is the first of three free Wednesday evening community nights. The additional nights will run March 28 and May 23, 2012. To learn more about the Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum project go to this page.

Rehearsals are underway for the West Philly production of the school edition of RENT performed by local high school students. Project Theater Project has selected a group of really talented folks who are working hard to put together an unforgettable show.

There is a little over a month left in the fundraising campaign to help this project. They still need to raise about $2,400. To donate please go to the project’s Indie GoGo page.

Check out the video of the group’s first rehearsal here. They sound pretty good for never having sung together before.