There is something about eating a meal in the park. Food just seems to taste better outdoors, on a blanket. You can put that theory to test on Friday (May 15) at the third annual Picnic in Cedar Park. The picnicking proper runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. You can BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic) or you can grab a picnic special at these businesses along Baltimore Avenue: The Gold Standard, Dock Street, Hibiscus, Little Baby’s, Mariposa, Penn Pizza or Taco Angeleno and Fresh Deli. Here is the Facebook page for the event.

The park a few blocks east on Baltimore will be jumping on Saturday (May 16). The annual Party in Clark Park runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature live music, games for kids, food and a beer garden. The Four Prophet String Band and The Extraordinaires will provide the music and Dock Street will provide the beer. More details are available at The Friends of Clark Park website.

If you have some unwanted toxic or hazardous items or materials in your house or garage, here’s a great chance to dispose of them safely. On Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Philadelphia Streets Department’s Sanitation Division will be holding a free household hazardous waste collection event at the 1st District Highway Yard, 4800 Parkside Avenue.

The following materials and items are considered hazardous and will be accepted at this event:

• Paint and paint related materials, including solvent-based paints and stains, paint thinner, varnish, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, swimming pool chemicals.

• Kitchen, bathroom products and cleaning solvents;

• Automotive products, including used motor oil, antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, brake fluid, degreasers;

• Flammable materials (kerosene, old gasoline);  Continue Reading

Several noted public figures, including Cornell West and Chuck D., will be leading a rally and march to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the MOVE tragedy tomorrow.

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police under orders from city officials dropped a bomb on a home at 6221 Osage Ave. occupied by several members of the MOVE organization. Eleven people, including five children, died in the resulting fire and dozens of nearby homes were destroyed.

The rally starts at 11 a.m. at 62nd and Osage and organizers are asking participants to “walk, bike, jog or caravan” to 38th and Market where a speak-out will begin at 4 p.m. Activist Angela Davis and writer Alice Walker have prepared video messages that will be played. Speakers include West, Chuck D., hop hop artist Rebel Diaz, activist and attorney Alton Maddox and activists from the Black Lives Matter movement.

If you are unfamiliar with the MOVE or the events surrounding the bombing, here is an excellent documentary released in 2013 that pieces together news footage and interviews. Other background resources include a post on Philadelphia Magazine’s site today. Here is a look back from the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 25th anniversary.

(Foodinjars.com)

There will be a couple of great and FREE events today in the area.

• Food in Jars founder and canning expert Marisa McClellan presents a pickling workshop at Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut) beginning at 5:30 p.m. Other free events scheduled at Walnut St West Library this month include: May 13, 20 & 27 – Yoga For Kids!; May 16 – Plant Workshop; May 22 & 29 – Vinyasa Yoga for Adults. For more events (through July 14, 2015) and to RSVP, click here.

• Curio Theatre Company and Philadelphia Dramatists Center (PDC) have partnered for the second year in a row to produce the PDC@Curio Plays In Progress. PDC and Curio will bring two plays to life in professional staged readings, featuring actors from Curio’s professional company and directors from Philadlephia’s vibrant theatre scene. The first reading, Robin Rodriguez’s Flotsam, will be presented tonight, at 7:30 p.m., at Curio (4740 Baltimore Avenue). Flotsam is an eerie drama about a brother, a sister, and a storage unit. It will be directed by Jessica Schwartz (MAD BLOOD & other beauties, Fringe 2014; Modern Playground, Fringe 2013). Admission is free, and light refreshments will be provided. For more details about both readings, visit Curio Theatre’s website.

A lot of cool events are happening in the area this weekend, including Second Fridays on Lancaster Avenue, Spruce Hill May Fair, Bartram’s Garden Spring Plant Sale & Mother’s Day festivities, UC Arts League’s Benefit Auction & Cocktail Party and more. Also, a reminder that the opening night for Curio Theatre’s farcical comedy Noises Off is this Friday. More details are below. For more upcoming events, please visit our Events Calendar. Happy Mother’s Day to all West Philly moms!

Friday, May 8

Carr Garden Groundbreaking Ceremony at Bartram’s Garden, 54th and Lindbergh

The groundbreaking for the Carr Garden restoration starts at 3:30 p.m. This free event marks the beginning of an exciting landscape renovation project on the western façade of the John Bartram House, recreating the Ann Bartram Carr and her husband Robert’s exotic plantings of the early 19th-century. Registration for the event is here.

“Arts in the Park” at Malcolm X. Memorial Park, 52nd and Pine

4 – 5:30 p.m.: Make Art Now!: Help create a community painting and sidewalk chalk art
5:30 – 7 p.m.: Performances by West Philadelphia middle and high school students (music, dance, spoken word, monologues)

Second Fridays on Lancaster Ave

Second Fridays kicks off at 5 p.m. with Live Music at the triangle lot at 42nd and Lancaster, featuring Toni Washington and PECCDC Brochure Release Party. Other events this Friday include: Neighborhood Time Exchange Open House (6-8 p.m., 4017 Lancaster Ave), Inner Journey Jazz at the CEC ($15) (7-9 p.m., 3500 Lancaster Ave); Open Mic Night at Reed’s Coffee (7 p.m. to whenever, 3802 Lancaster Ave), Free Screening of “Annie” (2014) (6:30 p.m., PEC, 325 N. 39th St); Reelblack Inc. presents “Closed Doors; The Integration of Baseball” ($5) (7 p.m., United Bank building, 3750 Lancaster Ave); Art on the Avenue presents “Full Circle: The East African Connection” – Paintings by Kenyan Artists and Emil Baumann (5:30 – 9 p.m., 3808 Lancaster Ave); Indego Bike Share Learning Session (6 – 8 p.m., 3750 Lancaster Ave, in the parking lot of the United Bank Building). More information is available on the Second Fridays on Lancaster Ave Facebook page.

“Noises Off” Opening Night at Curio Theatre, 48th and Baltimore

Curio Theatre Company wants folks to dress up in the 80’s style for the opening night of their new show, farcical comedy “Noises Off.” And those who do have a chance to win two passes for next season. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets ($15-$25) are available here.

Saturday, May 9

Spruce Hill May Fair at Clark Park, 43rd and Chester

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair will be held for the 57th time with some new activities added for children this year. This Saturday kids can enjoy pony rides and a petting zoo (both 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.) in addition to the bounce tent and 40-foot-long obstacle course. The fair, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. rain or shine, will also include a raffle with great prizes from neighborhood businesses (read more about them here), music performances, book and plant sales, and dozens of local vendors and food trucks. Please visit the Spruce Hill Community Association’s website for more information. If you would like to volunteer at the event please email Craig Santoro at craigsantoro@gmail.com

Spring Plant Sale at Bartram’s Garden

Bartram’s Garden Spring Plant will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Expert horticulturists will be on hand on both days for consultations and advice. The following events are scheduled for Saturday: Garden Bird Walk (7:30 a.m.) and Hidden History & Garden Tours (12 – 3 p.m.). Tickets are available at the Welcome Center. Click here for more information.  Continue Reading

St. Francis de Sales Church. (Photo from Wikipedia)

St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and here’s a great opportunity to learn more about architecture and history of the church. An historical tour of the church at 47th and Springfield Ave. will take place on Thursday, May 7, starting at 6 p.m.

The tour will be followed by a talk and slide show by Bill Whitaker, Curator of the Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown collection at The Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania. The talk is about the controversial renovations inside the church by Venturi that took place in the 1960s (the renovations were removed at the request of the parishioners soon after they were introduced).

The event is free and open to the public. And there will be refreshments afterwards.