Dear West Philly Local readers, we’re happy to announce our 4th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. We hope that more people will participate this year because we’ll have some awesome prizes from local businesses, plus there will be random drawings for prizes. Are you ready? Here are the rules:

The contest runs from October 15 through October 31, 2014. All ages are welcome to participate.

Submit a snapshot of your pumpkin by email (contest@westphillylocal.com) that includes your name, address (West Philly residents only please), and age (if you are entering the Kids category). Entries from kids 12 and under will also be entered into the Kids category. Be sure to get a good photo that shows off your pumpkin’s best features. If you’re an Instagram user, please upload your photo there with the hashtag #westphillylocal.

Winners will be selected in the following categories:

Scariest
Funniest
Kids (12 and under)
Best Philly-Themed
Readers’ Choice (grand prize)

There will also be a random drawing for those pumpkins that didn’t win in any of the above categories, so everyone has a shot at an awesome prize.

The entry deadline is 6 p.m. on Friday October 31.

Voting for the Readers’ Choice will run on October 31 – November 2. Note: One entry per person.The winners will be announced on November 3.

If you need ideas check out the pumpkins entered in our previous contests here.

This month, we’ll be publishing information about Halloween-themed events happening in the area. Here’s a roundup for the upcoming events at The Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion (40th and Woodland). Many of them are for the whole family. Please note that the first two events, dedicated to works of Edgar Allan Poe, will take place today (Tuesday, Oct 14).

Tuesday, Oct 14

Edgar Allan Poe: Funny Bones (kids are welcome)

4:30-6:30 p.m.

The Woodlands is a perfect setting for something mysterious and macabre, like a performance based on Edgar Allan Poe’s works. Literary historian and playwright Rob Velella, who specializes in 19th century American literature, will demonstrate some of Poe’s most loved stories. This event is especially great for kids. For more info and to buy tickets ($15 adults, $10 kids), click here.

Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre

7:30-9:30 p.m.

Velella, will continue his demonstration of some of Poe’s works, in this after-dark performance. After his performance, Velella will take you on a nighttime cemetery walk to visit Poe’s contemporary, Timothy Shay Arthur, at his eternal resting spot. This event is more suitable for adults and children ages 10+. For more info and tickets ($20), click here.  Continue Reading

International House Philadelphia (IHP), which has been serving scholars and the Philadelphia community for more than 100 years, is holding a couple of special events this month.

IHP’s Open House will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 3 – 7 p.m. Community members are invited to tour the House, including its residential facilities, conference center and theater, and learn more about the services and programming offered there. You can also meet staff and some of the current residents from all over the world. You can explore IHP’s history by attending a historical exhibit on Tuesday. Last but no least, learn more about language courses offered at IHP, meet the teachers, and even sign up for some classes. Admission is free, but if you’re planning to attend this event, please RSVP. You can read more about the Open House and RSVP here.

On Friday, Oct. 31, IHP is throwing a Night of the Philly Dead: Brews and Brains party. It is a new, annual event and IHP staff hope that you will join them at their inaugural celebration of the undead’s favorite day of the year. There will be a zombie themed dance-party paying homage to the cult-classic movies, scary-good catering provided by TV Chef Barbie Marshall, craft beer, and themed cocktails, all included in your cost of admission ($50). Costumes are encouraged and there will be a competition. 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. For more information and tickets, go to this page.

There will be many more fantastic events this Fall at IHP, including some great film screenings, exhibits, and cultural events. For more info, click here.

There’s a great opportunity this weekend to learn more about artists living and working in the area. The 15th annual guided and self-guided Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) west of Broad St, including West Philly, of course, are happening on Saturday and Sunday (Oct 11-12). So don’t be shy and stop by to say hello and maybe stay for some special events and presentations. There are a number of individual artists and group artist spaces involved in the Studio Tours here in West Philly neighborhoods. Here’s what a neighbor and artist, Marabelle Hincher, wrote us:

The Anatomy of Peace. Marabelle Hincher.

“I hope a lot of people will take the tour; there’s a lot of great talent in West Philly and many art studios worth visiting.”

Marabelle is opening her studio at 5023 Catharine St. this weekend to present a fantasy collage, “Strange Anatomy,” which is a 33 image mashup of antique anatomical art combined with botanical and zoological elements (science lovers should also appreciate it!).

Here’s a list of other participating studios and artists:

UPDATE: There will be an Open House at The Cedar Works at 4919 Pentridge St on Sat & Sun Noon-6 p.m.

The Rotunda
4014 Walnut Street
Presenting Sanctuary, a site-specific sound art and video installation and series of performances. Oct 11 & Oct 12, Noon-10 p.m.

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania
118 South 36th Street

40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program
4007 Chestnut St., 1st floor and 4013 Chestnut St.

Johanna Inman
40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program
4007 Chestnut Street, 1st floor and 4012 Chestnut St.

Tremain Smith
Tremain Smith Studio
520 South 59th Street

Jacques-Jean Tiziou
4919 Pentridge Street The Cedar Works, Sat&Sun Noon-6 p.m.

Heather Ujiie
University City Artist League
4226 Spruce Street

University City Arts League
4226 Spruce Street

Lorna Williams
40th Street AIR Space
4007 Chestnut St.

More information is available on the POST website.

Neighbors are invited to the Walnut Hill Community Day celebration on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The celebration will take place on the 4700 block of Walnut Street in front of the old West Philly High School building. This is a great opportunity to meet other neighbors, get some valuable information about the neighborhood and its organizations, and to have fun!

The event will include a lot of family friendly activities: pony rides, face painting, moon bounce, and more. Also, there will be food and drinks, raffles, a farm stand and live entertainment.

The event is organized by the Walnut Hill Community Association (WHCA). The organization was found in 1961 by a group of neighbors, led by Charles Campbell, Sr., who “were concerned about the deterioration of their neighborhood.” WHCA, which is a volunteer organization, encourages neighbors to participate in community events and in other activities that help improve and strengthen the community. New volunteers are always welcome, too. Visit this page for more information on how you can help.

Journey2home public art project, dedicated to homeless youth, opens this Friday at 42nd and Lancaster. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program).

The Philadelphia Mural Arts program has dedicated their new public art project, journey2home, to homeless youth in the city. According to last year’s data by People’s Emergency Center, more than 5,000 kids in Philadelphia are homeless. The project includes two murals created by artists Ernel Martinez and Shira Walinsky at 42nd and Lancaster in the Mantua neighborhood. The opening celebration will take place on Friday, Oct. 10, 4 – 7 p.m.

Journey2home is a year-long, socially engaged project initiated by the Mural Arts program in collaboration with youth enrolled in the Mural Arts Art Education Program. At the apex of a green space at 42nd and Lancaster sits a transformed shipping container, a metaphor for home. It has a front porch, an information bulletin board, a resource area, storage, and a dining room with table, chairs and bookshelves.

The two-wall mural, titled Home Safe, is located across the street from the shipping container and represents the culmination of two years of work with homeless and housing-insecure youth in West Philadelphia.

Community members are invited this Friday to a pop-up outdoor gathering space at 42nd and Lancaster where the project opening celebration will be held. The celebration will include the dedication of the Home Safe murals, as well as other art and sound installations, film, music and food.

For more details on the project, images and videos, visit the journey2home blog.

Here’s a short film about the project: