A group of millennials who hope to wield their privilege and social capital for the “redistribution of land, wealth and power” in Philadelphia and nationwide are holding an organizing meeting in West Philly on Monday, Sept. 8.

The newly formed Philly chapter of Resource Generation, a nationwide non-profit whose mission is to organize young people “with wealth and class privilege in the U.S. to become transformative leaders working toward the equitable redistribution of wealth, land and power,” according to the organization’s website.

The idea is “to convince our elected leaders to tax rich people more, creating and participating in a cross-class giving circle, and giving young, wealthy/class privileged people tools to use their positions to help redistribute land, wealth and power,” said organizer Julia Stone in an e-mail.

Locally the group is pushing for the end of tax breaks to help fund schools. “Tax us rich folks more to fund schools,” a flyer reads.

The meeting, which will include light refreshments at 6:30 p.m. and a presentation at 7 p.m., will be held at location that will be passed along to those who RSVP at RGPhillychapter@gmail.com.

BalletX. (Photo via FringeArts.com)

Each year, the Fringe Festival brings socially-set performances and presentations by innovative artists to various city’s neighborhoods and venues. This year, the festival, presented by Fringe Arts, will take place Sept. 5 – 22 and will feature music, dance, theater, spoken word and circus performances, and visual art installations (some of them free).

Check out below the guide of the Fringe Festival events in West Philadelphia. West Philly venues for the festival include The Rotunda, The Porch at 30th Street Station, University of Pennsylvania, St. Francis de Sales Parish and more. You can also pick up the print version of the guide at the Green Line Cafe at 45th and Locust.

By the way, West Philly based circus-theater company Tangle Movement Arts will present their newest full-length show, Loop, at the festival. Loop premieres on Thursday, Sept 18 at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept 19 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Sept 20 at 3 and 8 p.m. at Philadelphia Soundstage (1600 N. 5th St.). Tickets ($15-20) are now available via www.tangle-arts.com.  Continue Reading

Yes, we know it’s the Labor Day weekend and many of you will head out of town or to the Parkway for the Made in America Festival. But those of you who will stay in West Philly might want to check out the events below, all happening on Saturday, Aug. 30. Have a great weekend!

• The Ultimate Back 2 School Basketball Challenge will be held at the Kingsessing Recreation Center, 4901 Kingsessing Ave, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The goal of the tournament is to collect school supplies for local schoolchildren. The event is hosted by State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and a group of other locally elected officials will be there, including Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and Rep. James Roebuck. This is a free event, but all attendees are asked to bring a school supply to donate. Sixteen basketball teams will represent 16 West Philly schools and the winning team will then donate all of the collected school supplies from the tournament to their selected school. Approximately 20 vendors will be offering food, free beverages and resource information. More details can be found here.

• If you want to learn more about the Pagan community and their beliefs, come to Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore this Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to celebrate Pagan Pride Day. The festival, which is intended to bring together Heathens and Pagans of all traditions, will feature a wide array of vendors, workshops, and entertainment. Project Wendigo is the musical act that will be performing at the event. Doug Stafford, a juggler, illusionist, and otherwise awesome performer is also on the entertainment lineup, according to the organizers. Workshops begin at 11 a.m. The event is free but the organizers are asking to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Mazzoni Center’s food bank, or a make a monetary donation to one of the festival beneficiaries. Visit the Pagan Pride Day website for more details, list of vendors, and schedule of events.

• The Stooges Brass Band from New Orleans is a headline performer at a Saturday afternoon concert organized by City Tap House in collaboration with the production team from The Blockley. This is the second and last concert in the August outdoor concert series (the first one was held last Saturday). The concert will take place outside of City Tap House at 39th and Walnut from 3 – 8 p.m.. New Sound Brass Band (from the Mummers community) will also perform. Admission is $15 and tickets can be purchased here. 21+

• The University City District and The Rotunda invite all residents to the next free outdoor music concert in the 40th Street Summer Concert Series this Saturday. As always, the event will be held on the green lawn behind the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut) starting at 6 p.m. Nation Beat and The Highwater Preachers (Facebook page) will be performing. Also, there will be ice cream vendors and entertainment for kids. The last concert in the 2014 series will be held on Sept. 27. Click here fore more info.

5 Broken Cameras flyer in Clark Park.

The 2014 Clark Park Summer Film Series, which brings documentary and other independent film screenings into the park’s bowl near 45th and Regent, concludes Friday, Aug. 29. 5 Broken Cameras, the winner of the World Documentary Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Academy Award nominee for the best documentary feature, will be screened, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The film, shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, portrays non-violent resistance in the West Bank (see trailer below).

This is an outdoor screening, free and open to the public. Bring your chairs, blankets and popcorn!

A few other great events are scheduled in the area this weekend. Clark Park will host Pagan Pride Day on Saturday and there will be a couple of live music concerts. More info is coming soon.

The Nehemiah Davis Foundation is holding its annual Back To School Extravaganza and book bag giveaway on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2 – 5 p.m., at Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine). During the event, volunteers will help distribute more than 300 book bags, school supplies and clothes to local families. There will also be entertainment for the whole family, including free pony rides, moon bounces, and face painting, complimentary haircuts for kids, refreshments and food.

A group of local activists are organizing a rally, including a vigil, march, and speak out for Mike Brown and the people of Ferguson, Mo. on Saturday, Aug 23, at Clark Park (44th and Baltimore).

The rally starts at 7 p.m. The vigil will be followed by a march around the park, followed by speeches from community leaders. Participants are asked to bring a candle. Originally, the vigil and march had been scheduled for tonight but were postponed until Saturday due to thunderstorms in forecast. The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration (Facebook page) is also one of the organizers.

The following speakers have been announced so far:

– Michael Coard, Civil Rights Attorney and Activist
– Jondhi Harrell, Director, The Center for Returning Citizens
– Reverend Dr. Kathryn Ellis, Minister, UU Church of the Unitarian Universalist Church In Mt Airy-Restoration

The Kemi McCoy Drummers will also participate in the rally.

The same group of activists are behind Tuesday’s rally at 52nd and Market Streets to protest Ferguson shooting (The Daily Pennsylvanian has a report on it).

For more information and updates, visit the organizers’ Facebook page.