The Cedar Park Neighbors community organization will hold its annual meeting tonight, from 7 – 9 p.m. at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). All neighbors are welcome. The annual meeting is a great introduction to the organization, its work and accomplishments over the last year and plans for the coming year. You can also meet candidates for the CPN Board of Directors (more information about the candidates is available here). Voting for CPN Board Members will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting will also include a conversation with the two local candidates for the state representative – James Roebuck (the incumbent) and Algernong Allen. The talk will be moderated by Cedar Park resident Bill Hangley Jr., a journalist with The Philadelphia Public School Notebook.

An informal meet and greet will follow the meeting.

Note: The meeting will take place at Calvary Center Sanctuary (please enter through the doors on the second floor).

The Easter weekend is approaching fast so many parents are looking for egg hunt opportunities in the neighborhood. Here are a few possibilities. If you know of more egg hunts please let us know at: editor@westphillylocal.com

Saturday, April 19

Clark Park (43rd & Chester), 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Kids ages 1 – 8 are invited for an Easter Egg Hunt and some Easter fun at Clark Park from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. The event will take place rain or shine! Along with the hunt, there will be some crafts and raffle prizes at the end (see the flyer for more information).

Walnut Street West Library (40th & Walnut), 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Children ages 5 years and under are invited for an egg hunt from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.. An egg hunt for kids ages 6-12 will be 1:00-3:00 p.m..

Woodland Presbyterian Church, 42nd and Pine Sts (42nd Street lawn), 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

There will be two egg hunts: for kids under 5 years – 1:00 p.m.; for 5 and up – 1:15 p.m.
The event will include face painting, balloon animals, and crafts. For more information, visit: www.woodlandpres.net

NEW: Malcolm X Park (52nd & Pine), 2 – 5 p.m.

Friends to Elect Algernong Allen is hosting an Egg Hunt for kids and a Voter Registration Rally for adults at Malcolm X Park on Saturday, from 2 – 5 p.m.

Sunday, April 20

St. Mary’s Church at Penn (Locust Walk near 40th)

St. Mary’s Annual Community Easter Egg Hunt will start at 12:45 p.m. All families and children are welcome. The event is sponsored by the St. Mary’s Church School. BYOB (Bring Your Own Basket!)

Click to enlarge.

As West Philly Local has reported before, coworking is picking up steam in Philadelphia, providing freelancers, remote workers, and independent contractors an opportunity to trade in the four walls of their home for interaction with like-minded professionals.

Well, it seems The Enterprise Center (4548 Market Street) is tapping into the trend by launching its own coworking and entrepreneurial development platform, the Venture Acceleration Center. The program, opening next month in Enterprise’s Market Street headquarters, will offer business coaching, resource learning sessions, and peer-support meetings, as well as make available a coworking space fitted with free wifi, workstations, conference and event space, and video conferencing.

“The Venture Acceleration Center will offer a totally unique experience for member-businesses that is both structured and flexible,” Iola Harper, The Enterprise Center’s senior director, said in a press release. “We want businesses to grow and create jobs in the community and we are here to provide the all of the support needed.”

To introduce the Venture Acceleration Center to the community, the Enterprise Center is holding an information session at its Market Street office next Saturday, April 26th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event, titled “Start-Up Stampede” is open to all Philadelphia entrepreneurs looking for guidance and support in accelerating their business growth. Light refreshments will be served.

While Start-up Stampede is open to all business professionals, membership into the Venture Acceleration Center is only open to early-stage businesses in operation for six months and in the construction, beauty, hair, fashion and food industries.

Readers can register for the information session here. It is a $5.00 fee through today, and $10.00 fee thereafter.

-Annamarya Scaccia

Map courtesy of UCD (click to enlarge).

Unfortunately, the number of burglaries in the University City area continues to grow, according to the latest monthly crime update distributed by University City District. Over 30 burglaries were committed in March, which is twice as many as in February and, by far, the largest number of burglaries in the past year. UCD is asking residents to be vigilant and use extra caution (for tips on how to prevent a burglary at your residence, click here).

A number of these burglary incidents seem to have been related to a recent arrest, according to UCD. We’re trying to get more information about that.

Overall, 64 serious crimes were committed within the University City District boundaries last month (see map).

As burglaries remain a concern in the area, the 18th District Police Department is inviting residents to a crime prevention event this Friday (April 18), where the discussion will focus specifically on burglaries. The event will take place from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Rite Aid parking lot located at 57th and Chestnut Streets.

The event will also spread awareness and encourage participation in the following programs designed to combat property-related crimes: Operation I.D., B.O.N.D. (Business Owner Notification Decal), S.A.V.E. (Stolen Auto Verification Effort), and VIN Etching (Vehicle Identification Number Engraving). If you are unable to attend tomorrow’s event, please contact cleanandsafe@universitycity.org for additional information on these programs. Some more details are also available here.

There’s also a monthly community meeting with police tonight, at 6 pm at Calvary Center (48th & Baltimore). As usual, Lt. Brian McBride and Sgt. Ron Washington of the University City Division of the 18th Police District will hear your concerns and discuss current crime and neighborhood issues. Such meetings happen every third Thursday of the month and all community members are welcome.

Do you love Clark Park and want to help tidy it up for the summer? Here’s a fun opportunity for volunteering on Saturday, April 19, from 12 – 3 p.m.. The Fairmount Park Conservancy will be conducting a spring clean-up at the park in honor of Earth Day and volunteer help will be greatly appreciated. Help is needed with such activities as leaf raking, branch collecting, flower and tree planting, mulching, trash and debris removal, weeding, and sweeping.

But here’s the fun part: The first 30 volunteers at the clean-up event will receive gifts such as a daypack, aluminum water bottle, locally-sourced bandana and – for those aged 21 or over – three wooden nickel tokens, each good for a pint at the after-party. The party will be held at Local 44, a neighborhood pub specializing in craft beer, and will include free samples of Local 44’s comfort food. The after-party is sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing Company.

If all this sounds pretty good to you, go here to sign up.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 worldwide.

UPDATE (4/16/2014): There has been a great response to this volunteer opportunity and there are no more “free beer” spots available, according to the Great Lakes Brewing Co. Earth Day website. But all volunteer help is appreciated.

Photo from twentyfeetfromstardom.com.

Film Forward, a program of the Sundance Institute designed to enhance greater cultural understanding and collaboration, is bringing a couple of free events to West Philly this weekend.

Wynnefield Library (5325 Overbrook Avenue) will host a screening of the recent Academy Award winning documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. The film is about people whose voices are familiar to millions of people, but no one knows their names – backup singers behind some of the greatest musical acts of the 21st century. The screening will be followed by a discussion.

On Sunday, April 13, also at 1 p.m., International House Philadelphia presents The Intersection of Film and Music, a workshop produced in partnership with Film Forward. The workshop explores the many roles music can play in the filmmaking process, how music can enhance or ruin a film, and many other questions related to the creative process of integrating music and filmmaking.

The documentary If You Build It will be used as a case study during the workshop. Peter Golub, Director of the Sundance Film Music Program and composer, and producer Christine O’Malley will discuss the film and its music. If You Build It charts the course of a year in the life of one of America’s most innovative classrooms. Go to ihousephilly.org for more information.