The annual benefit auction for University City Arts League, a great non-profit organization that offers art education and events to the community, is currently underway. Many amazing items are available for bidding, including beautiful art and jewelry pieces, handmade clothing items, oriental rugs, gift certificates to local restaurants and shops, tickets to various shows, books, vacation getaways, wine tastings and much more!

Online bidding closes at 10 p.m. on Monday, May 4. The live auction and party is on Saturday, May 9. Click here for more information.
 

UPDATE (5/1/2015): 

For the used book sale at the Spruce Hill May Fair, the Spruce Hill Center at 257 S. 45th will be open to receive used books at the following times:

Saturday, May 2: 3-5 p.m.
Tuesday, May 5: 6-7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 7: 6-8 p.m.

You can also bring books for donation directly to the fair on May 9.

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair will return to Clark Park on May 9 and will bring dozens of local vendors, live music, food, raffles with great prizes from local businesses, book and plant sales, and games and entertainment for kids.

Vendors will be offering a wide range of arts and crafts, including many gift ideas for Mother’s Day, which is on May 10. There will also be booths set up with information about local groups and causes seeking public support.

The Spruce Hill Community Association, which organizes the event, still has a few vending spots open for interested individuals or organizations. Especially welcome are artists and crafters from West Philadelphia who would like to offer their works for sale, as well as any group or organization wanting to promote itself or a cause, event, or activity.

Application deadline is Friday, May 1. Tables are $30 to $40 (the tables and chairs will be provided). You can download the sign-up sheet here: Vendor Form.

For more information or if you have questions, please contact Mark Wagenveld at ma.wa@verizon.net or 215-756-2070.

The 8th annual May Day USA march and celebration will take place on Friday, May 1 in West Philadelphia. The event will kick off at 2 p.m. in front of the McDonald’s at 40th and Walnut Streets where a rally will be held calling for a livable wage for all workers. After the rally the participants will march to Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore) where a May Day family celebration will take place.

The Clark Park portion of the event is expected to start at 3 p.m. and will include the following activities and presentations, according to the event’s Facebook page: a DJ, live music, singers, poets, a BBQ by the Veterans For Peace Chapter 31 “Precision Grill Team,” children’s entertainment, and an array of notable speakers from Labor and other allied organizations in Philly. The annual Aggie Moran Human Rights Awards will also be presented.

The event is hosted by May Day USA Education Committee – Philadelphia (Facebook page), with participation by Fight for $15 and $15 Now organizations. The mission of this group, which was founded in 2006, is to educate people about the U.S. origins of May Day (celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries), so that “together we may reclaim our proud heritage.” For more information, go to May Day USA Education Committee’s Facebook page. You can also read about May Day here.

The Curio Theatre is closing out its season with the rollicking comedy Noises Off, a Michael Frayn play about a play, which previews on April 30 – May 7 and opens on May 8.

Noises Off introduces the audience to the epically incompetent cast of Nothing On – the play within the play – and their travails in everything from dress rehearsals to close of the play’s 10-week run. The play takes its title from the theatrical stage direction indicating sounds coming from offstage.

Peter Reynolds is directing the Curio production, Paul Kuhn designed the set and Tim Martis designed the lighting. The costume designer is Aetna Gallagher, and Kathleen Soltan is the stage manager.

The cast includes Kyra Baker, Newton Buchanan, Steve Carpenter, Isabella Fehlandt, Rachel Gluck and Andrew Carroll.

Tickets for the performances range from $15 to $25 and are available here.

Oh, and here’s an added bonus: If you show up to opening night dressed in 80’s attire (the production is set in the 80’s) you have a chance to win two passes for next season.

Click to enlarge.

Here’s a great opportunity to learn more about your neighborhood. This weekend, PlanPhilly is organizing free walks in the city as part of Jane’s Walk, a global movement of free, locally-led walking tours inspired by the urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. The goal of the tours is to get people engaged with their city and one another and to talk about walkability, neighborhood corridors, hidden histories, public spaces, and more.

There will be two walks in West Philly on Friday, May 1. The first one, titled “Breaking the University City HS Superblock,” will be led by James Wright of People’s Emergency Center (PEC). The walk will begin at 4 p.m. at 40th and Market and travel north (see map). All you need to do is show up at the starting point and come up to James, who will be holding a sign. Check out this page for more information.

Starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Daniel Wolf of the University City District will lead a tour down Baltimore Avenue, called “Making Baltimore Ave a Place for People.” This tour will begin at the 40th Street Trolley Portal and end in Cedar Park. Click here for more info.

An oil train derailed over the Schuylkill River in January 2014 (archive photo).

On January 20, 2014, an oil train derailed in Philadelphia over the Schuylkill River, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million Philadelphia residents. A year later, 11 train tank cars containing crude oil derailed in a CSX rail yard in South Philadelphia, prompting a response by hazardous response teams. Community members are invited to join a conversation this Wednesday at USciences about the risks of oil trains in Philadelphia, including in some West Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Wednesday’s meeting is part of Clean Water Action‘s Community Listening Tour on oil trains organized for communities closest to the railroads that carry trains with more than 240,000 barrels of crude oil every day.

The meeting will include a 30-minute presentation as a primer on the issue, followed by a neighborhood engagement session. Participants will learn more about the issues and can ask about the risks. All of the input from participants is recorded so that decision-makers receive adequate feedback from their constituents.  Continue Reading