Redesigned Garden Court community garden rendering provided by the Community Design Collaborative.

Community members are invited this Friday (Sept. 21) to learn more about a major fundraising effort in West Philly’s Garden Court neighborhood – the Corner Park Renovation project – which includes renovation of the community tennis courts and redesign of the community garden at 47th and Spruce.

Garden Court Community Association is partnering with the Community Design Collaborative on this project. The Collaborative prepared a plan and diagram for the redesign of the garden after conducting a community input process last spring. They will be presented at Friday’s event. The plan for the garden includes reconfiguring garden plots to allow more residents to garden, creating a new pedestrian-only entrance and gathering space with picnic tables and chairs, and more.  Continue Reading

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Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood (N2N) festival, which has brought stars like Macey Gray, Common, Morris Day and more to West Philadelphia, will return this Saturday (Sept. 8) with a free tribute concert to Aretha Franklin.

The annual outdoor community event will be held from noon until 8 p.m. at 50th and Baltimore and will feature recording artists Kathy Sledge, Monica, Kelly Price, Keke Wyatt, Jean Carne (one of Aretha’s “great girlfriends”) and Kindred the Family Soul. They will each perform hits of their own and cover some of Aretha’s to celebrate and honor the Queen of Soul.

Radio personality Patty Jackson and comedian Skeet will cohost the festival, and TV’s latest “Survivor” winner, Wendell Holland II, will make a guest appearance.  Continue Reading

A pocket park for culture and community is coming to this empty lot on 40th street between Chestnut and Ludlow.

West Philly-based non-profit Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture has been exploring the idea of creating a pocket park for culture and community on a vacant lot nestled between Chestnut and Ludlow streets on 40th street. Local developer UC West has dedicated this lot to be a publicly accessible pocket park, and Al-Bustan has been selected as the lead community partner. Since May, the organization has hosted a few public forums to gather input from community members – business owners, homeowners, renters, elderly, students, and more.

The next meeting to discuss the future of the pocket park will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut St) from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. This meeting will be a first look into design possibilities for the park.  Continue Reading

The Streets Department has changed the block party approval process to include police pre-approval.

Street event applications, handled by the Right of Way Unit, will now require pre-screening approval from local police districts in advance of being processed. This change applies to applications submitted for approval on or after August 1, 2018. Applicants seeking approval to close their street to host a block party or another street event must submit a Block Party Authorization Approval Form to their local Police District before applying for a permit with the Streets Department.  Continue Reading

Mariposa Food Co-op is planning to directly support local community groups and organizations through a new initiative – Round-up for Change. The Co-op is currently accepting applications from Philly-area groups and organizations to receive funding/donations from this initiative, which is expected to launch in early September.

Through the program, the Co-op will donate the extra change when shoppers choose to “round-up” their purchase to the nearest dollar, at the register at their store at 49th and Baltimore.  Continue Reading

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Saxophonist, educator and composer Tim Warfield will headline the 2018 Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival, which will get underway in Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Saunders Park Greene, 39th and Powelton Avenue on Saturday, July 21, beginning at noon.

Hosted by People’s Emergency Center (PEC) and PEC Community Development Corporation (PECCDC), this marks the 12th year that this annual event has taken place. This year the FREE Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival offers a family-friendly jazz showcase featuring the best of Philadelphia and beyond. In addition to headliner Tim Warfield with his Organ Band featuring Terell Stafford, there is an exceptional lineup of jazz musicians curated by the Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia.  Continue Reading