UPDATE (9/13/2014): Due to rain forecasted on Saturday, Go West! Craft Fest has been postponed until Sunday, Sept 14.

This Saturday, Sept. 13 Sunday, Sept 14, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., VIX Emporium presents the Fall edition of the popular Go West! Craft Fest, bringing over 100 local craftspeople and artisans to the beautiful Woodlands. The vendors will be offering some of the best handmade stuff, including cards and stationery, ceramics, hand-knit items, clothing, jewelry, body and hair products, toys, and more (see the full list of the vendors and their products here).

As always, the fest also features live music, children’s activities, and food from local restaurants and food trucks (don’t forget to bring your picnic blanket). Food will be served by Aksum, Taco Angeleno, the Satellite Cafe and Black Orchid Vegetarian, and dessert by Lil’ Pop Shop and Weckerly’s Ice Cream. Free children’s craft activities will be provided by the University City Arts League and the Philly Free School.

(Updated) And here’s the music lineup that includes performances and entertainment for kids and adults alike:

12 p.m.: The Green Tambourine – children’s musical instruction
1 p.m.: Julian Root (with Liana Moskowitz and Ian Sigler) – traditional roots/bluegrass/Americana
2 p.m.: Silverton – uncompromisingly positive folk rock
3 p.m.: All Around This World – international children’s music with Jay Sand
4 p.m.: Shakey Lyman – blues legend

Brian Eckinrode will be performing random acts of juggling throughout the day.

The Craft Fest guests are also invited to take a guided tour of the Woodlands grounds that begins at the Woodlands table (near the main entrance) at 12 and 2 p.m. Also at the Woodlands table, volunteers will be collecting books for All Hallow’s Read, a children’s “book hunt” that will take place at the Woodlands on October 26. Donate any children’s books with a fall or Halloween theme, and kids can hunt for free books at the October event.

A couple of important notes: No vehicles will be admitted to the grounds from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. during the event. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 14. The organizers will announce Saturday morning if they plan to reschedule the event (we’ll post an update, too, in this case).

Good news for those home and business owners who didn’t manage to get a free tree for their yard during Philadelphia Parks and Recreation’s TreePhilly Spring Tree Giveaway campaign. Registration for the Fall 2014 TreePhilly Yard Tree Giveaways is now open and interested property owners are welcome to sign up through September 30.

Residents can register to pick up their free yard tree at one of four giveaway events across the city in October (in Southwest, South, Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia; see below). TreePhilly is also excited to announce a new option that will allow registrants to select their desired tree species upon registration. If you would like to get a yard tree but are not sure what species to pick, TreePhilly recommends logging on to TreeHarmony.org. There you can take a quiz to get matched with your SoulTree.

Registration is strongly encouraged for this program, but walk-ups will be welcomed at the end of each event while supplies last. Recipients will also receive a planting and care demonstration provided by tree experts, free mulch, and educational materials.

Go here to register.

Here are the four locations, including dates and times, where you can pick up your tree (residents with limited mobility can apply for free tree delivery and planting; contact Erica Smith Fichman at 215-683-0217):

• Saturday, Oct 11, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Pennypack Environmental Center (8600 Verree Rd)
• Sunday, Oct 12, 1 – 3 p.m., Connell Park (6401 Elmwood Ave)
• Saturday, Oct 18, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Gorgas Park (6300 Ridge Ave)
• Sunday, Oct 19, 12 – 2 p.m., Columbus Square (1200 Wharton Street)

Please note that this program only provides trees for private property yards (front, back, and side yards). If you want a street tree for your property or for the whole block, check out this page.

For more information, visit: http://treephilly.org/

Recently, some #34 Trolley riders spotted and commented on a new sign pasted on the driver’s cabin that read “Dude It’s Rude… Two Seats – Really?” Yesterday, SEPTA announced the launch of a new “Dude It’s Rude” passenger etiquette program and released some more details about it.

“The new initiative uses strong visuals and minimal words to get passengers thinking about their own personal travel habits,” according to SEPTA. This is a more direct approach to tackling the issue of passenger etiquette. Prior to this campaign, SEPTA used a lighter approach with cartoon-like characters and implemented a more successful cellphone use campaign, which combined humor with direct messaging.

SEPTA hopes that the new campaign, with an edgier tone, will improve customer travel habits that have continuously been reported as big problems, including cursing, taking your trash with you, blocking the front aisle, and seat hogging. SEPTA intentionally did not include its name or logo on decals and posters to get its riders thinking more about the messages instead of who is delivering it.

Initial response to the new campaign has been positive, according to SEPTA’s General Manager Joseph Casey. “Customers appreciate our efforts to tackle the issues that bug them…,” Casey said in a statement. But more feedback and comments are welcome.

Here are more signs (courtesy of SEPTA):

West Philly Tool Library space at 1314 S 47th Street. (Photo courtesy of WPTL)

Here’s some awesome news for the West Philly Tool Library: after a series of publications in local media, including West Philly Local, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and PlanPhilly, and great community support, their online fundraising campaign not only reached its goal of $10,000 but exceeded it by $900.

The crowdsourcing campaign on Indiegogo.com was seeking donations to help fund the tool library’s expansion and community outreach projects and allow them to purchase new, most needed tools.

Some 172 different funders donated to the campaign, according to Peter Foreman-Murray, the tool library’s executive director. “It’s really amazing to see all the support from the community,” Foreman-Murray wrote in an email.

Now, what’s the next step for the tool library after the successful fundraiser?

“We’re really excited to put the funds into use at the tool library,” writes Foreman-Murray. “We’ve already started to compile a list of tools to buy. We can never keep our most popular tools in stock; as our membership has grown, our available tools haven’t kept up. These funds will help us to ensure that things like table saws and weed whackers are on the shelves when people need them.”

The tool library also began the planning of their expanded education offerings, according to Foreman-Murray. “We’re really looking forward to providing community members with the knowledge they need to use our tools to improve their lives,” he wrote.

Visit the West Philly Tool Library website for more news, updates and information on how to become a member.

Homestead Exemption Map created by Aaron Kreider. Source: http://www.campusactivism.org/

Have you applied for the Homestead Exemption yet? Just a reminder that this exemption can save homeowners up to $400 on their annual taxes and the deadline for application is on Saturday, Sept 13.

Aaron Kreider, the West Philly based activist and programmer who built JusticeMap.org, has recently created a Homestead Exemption Map. The map is an estimate of qualified properties in the city that haven’t applied for the homestead exemption. The map is based on Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment data from April 2014.

“A while ago I read a NewsWorks story that an estimated 30% of homeowners haven’t applied for the homestead exemption,” Kreider wrote in an email. “So I decided to do a small project to encourage people to apply.”

Kreider, who is working with the West Philly Socialists (the West Philly branch of the Philly Socialists) who are committed to economic equality, points out that you can see on the map how low-income areas have a lower application rate (red shows eligible households who haven’t applied for the exemption; green indicates households who applied and received full homestead exemption).

Check out the map and more information at: http://www.campusactivism.org/blog/node/423

To apply for the homestead exemption online, visit this page. You call also apply over the phone: 215-686-9200.

Pieter Mostert’s Vessel.

University City Arts League, a community non-profit organization that has been serving the community for 45 years, is presenting a two-person ceramics show, “West Philly Ceramics: Ken Beidler and Pieter Mostert.” The opening reception is tonight, 6-8 p.m., at 4226 Spruce Street.

Beidler’s forms combine wheel and hand-built elements. He is a largely self-taught artist, according to the UCAL press release, who has been influenced by the original Arts and Crafts movement, urban life and his life experience in Indonesia. He has a studio at the Cedar Works and teaches at UCAL. Mostert is South African who spen the last five years in Philadelphia. He makes sculptural vessels using a combination of coiling, pinching and paddling.

The works by Beidler and Mostert will be on display at the UCAL gallery until September 26. For more information about classes offered at UCAL, visit: www.ucartsleague.org/classes.

(Photos courtesy of UCAL)

Ken Beidler’s Baskets.