The West Philly Tool Library is celebrating a new grant with a barbecue and you are invited.

The cook-out will be Saturday from 12-2 p.m. at the West Philly Tool Library at 1314 S. 47th St. (near 47th and Woodland). The cook-out is a way of thanking everyone who voted in the State Farm “Cause an Effect” grant program. West Philly Tool Library and Neighborhood Bike Works were both awarded $25,000.

Several West Philly community organizations are joining forces to throw a block party and street film festival this Saturday at the Haddington Memorial Garden at 54th and Wyalusing.

The Neighborhood Foods Block Party will feature a flea market, vendors, live music, spoken word performances, food and film screenings. The event runs from 4-9 p.m.

Community leaders from Haddington, The Enterprise Center and the Urban Tree Connection started the youth-driven Neighborhood Foods project to bring attention to urban farming operations and food justice issues. The organization uses urban farming to address problematic issues in the neighborhood, including crime and poverty.

A few highlights of Saturday’s event include:

• Performances by Ursula Rucker and Tim Motzer.
• Scribe Video Center outdoor screenings of short films.
• Dyana Williams will emcee.

For more information, check out the event Facebook page here.

Reminder: The 2nd Porch Hop hosted by community groups 48th Street Neighbors and Mel-Lo Town Watch is this Saturday (Aug 4), from 5 to 8 p.m. See the list of participating porches below.

FYI, one of the Porch Hop organizers, Patty Bulack,  invites neighbors to stop by her porch after 6 p.m. for a jam session.  A classical singer will perform (Patty will be playing piano to accompany her), and sax and guitar players will be on hand.  Patty’s son will be on the drums. They are planning to play recordings from a newly released CD of a neighbor around the corner.

For more information, please visit the event’s Facebook page.

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The West Philadelphia Block Captains Forum is coming up on Saturday, August 4, and registration is open now. This is a unique and exciting opportunity for skill-building, leadership development and networking for block captains from West Philadelphia. Participating block captains can attend free workshops, including Computer and Internet Training, Zoning and City Planning, Crime and Safety, and Community Organizing. District Attorney Seth Williams will be a keynote speaker at the forum, as well as a guest panelist in the workshop on Crime and Safety.

The Block Captains Forum will take place at Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia at 5501 Cedar Avenue, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is organized by The Partnership CDC/NAC, SCI-West and LISC. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

If you are a registered block captain from 19139, 19104 or 19143, you are encouraged to register for the forum. You can do it online here, by calling Leon Robinson at The Partnership CDC at (215) 662-1612, by emailing him at lrobinson@thepartnershipcdc.org, or by stopping by the office at 4020 Market Street. For more information, visit this page.

The Green Block Build Collaborative, a coalition of community organizations including LISC and The Partnership CDC, is inviting Walnut Hill residents and neighbors to the Green Block Party tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 4700 Block of Sansom Street. This is a free community event where residents can learn about how to transition to a cleaner, greener and healthier future. See the flyer below for more details.

The neighborhood watch groups 48th Street Neighbors and Me-Lo Town Watch will jointly host another “porch hop” on August 4 as a way for neighbors to get to know each other better.

The hop will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. rain or shine. So far 11 porches spread across both sides of Baltimore Avenue are on the itinerary (see the map below). Snacks and drinks will likely be provided on each porch, but it never hurts to bring along some of your own, including some wine or beer.

Here are some more details: