Cedar Park Neighbors is holding its annual meeting tonight, from 7 – 9 p.m. at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore, entrance on 48th). The meeting will be preceded by voting for the CPN Board Members, which starts at 6:30 p.m. The list of the candidates for the CPN Board is available here (only CPN members can take part in the voting).

Tonight’s meeting will include brief presentations on various neighborhood zoning and development issues, improvements to the neighborhood and upcoming park events. Philadelphia Water Department will also present its “Rain Check” program. Following these brief presentations, there will be an indoor fair with tables for various committees, businesses, community groups and individual programs to learn more, sign up for programs and become more involved in the community.

The annual meeting is a great introduction to the organization and the work that it does throughout the year. An informal meet and greet will follow the meeting.

For more information, visit: cedarparkneighbors.org.

How do we know that spring is here? Yes, beautiful flowers and blossoms are all around, but also so many cool events now happen every weekend – parties, community fairs, markets, concerts, exhibitions and more! This weekend’s round up is below. For more events, please visit our Events Calendar.

Friday, April 17

• ‘The Imaginary App’ Book Launch with DJ Spooky

The Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut Street

Global software company ThoughtWorks is sponsoring the launch of ‘The Imaginary App’, a new book about digital apps and the way they have changed our world, featuring essays and articles by writers, artists, and theoreticians. Co-editor DJ Spooky (pictured right), who is also a composer, performer, professor, and activist, will spin music and discuss the cultural and technical shifts that have accompanied the emergence of mobile app technology. 6:30 p.m. Free. More info.  Continue Reading

Two events raising awareness to violence within the community are planned this weekend in Mantua. Neighborhood and church groups are organizing an anti-violence rally and march on Friday, April 17, and everyone is invited to join them and other community members, city officials, clergy, and other organizations as they rally and pray for peace.

“Violent crime in Black neighborhoods has reach(ed) epidemic proportions and requires everyone to commit to finding ways to solve the problem,” reads a press release by Transfiguration Baptist Church, signed by Reverend Dr. Charles L. McNeil. “In our effort to raise awareness to this problem, churches and organizations in the Mantua section of Philadelphia sponsor an anti-violence rally and march against black on black crime.”

The rally will begin at 6 p.m. with a prayer and introductions at Transfiguration Baptist Church at 3732 Fairmount Avenue, then will proceed to designated churches throughout Mantua, ending at Second Antioch Baptist Church at 912 North 41st Street for refreshments and conversation.  Continue Reading

As many of you know, the 115-year-old Frank Furness-designed church building at 47th and Kingsessing was saved from demolition last year and is currently undergoing renovation. Developer Guy Laren is planning to re-purpose the building by opening two local day care centers, Little Learners and Children’s Community School, in that location after the renovation has been completed. Rezoning is necessary for this plan to come to life, and the first community zoning meeting for the church conversion project will take place this week.

Community members are invited this Tuesday, April 14, at 6 p.m. to Kingsessing Recreation Center at 50th and Kingsessing to hear more about the project and provide their feedback. The meeting is being organized by the Registered Community Organization (RCO) for the area – Southwest District Services.

The project stakeholders also asked community members to show their support of the church conversion project by signing a petition last month. Over 250 people have so far signed the online petition on Change.org. Tuesday’s meeting is another opportunity to gauge the amount of support of the plan by the community.

The locked gate of Squirrel Hill Falls park at 48th and Chester.

Squirrel Hill Falls Park, a pocket park which was built in the 1990’s but has been closed for years, will reopen for several hours this Saturday for a spring cleanup. The organization that owns the lot at 48th and Chester, Friends Rehabilitation Program (FRP), has allowed the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group to enter and clean up the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Taking into account the park’s deteriorating condition FRP has two requirements though: Anyone wishing to help in the cleanup has to sign a waiver, and because of safety concerns minors will not be permitted to participate in this cleanup. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park will have copies of the waiver on hand.

Anyone wishing to help with the cleanup is welcome to join the Friends. The tools will be provided, but you can bring your own rake or set of gloves.

Read more about the latest efforts to reopen the park for community use here.

Alumni from the Yale Russian Chorus, a storied all-male singing group that specializes in Russian and Slavic songs, will perform at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (3916 Locust Walk) on the Penn campus on Saturday, April 18.

A small group of students studying Russian at Yale started the chorus in the 1950s, during the early days of the Cold War when more Americans were trying to understand the culture and people of the then Soviet Union. The group took its first of many trips to Russia in 1958 where members performed impromptu concerts on Moscow street corners. They were soon dubbed “Yale’s singing ambassadors.”

Under the musical direction of co-conductors Brock Holmes and Bruce Lieberman, Saturday’s concert will be a rare opportunity to enjoy seldom-performed Russian and Eastern European musical masterpieces for male-voice choir. “Expect powerful music, thrilling solos, exceptional ensembles, and top-notch musicianship,” according to a press release from the chorus.

The chorus sings folk and religious music in Russian, other Slavic and East European languages, and occasionally in English. Its repertoire includes works by Kastalsky, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky.  Continue Reading