Are you ready for your first Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll this summer? This is one of the coolest summer events in West Philly. You can get $1 food, drink and other items from local businesses. The first of three Dollar Strolls schedule will be Thursday, July 19, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., as always along Baltimore Avenue between 42nd and 51st Streets.

Over 20 businesses are participating in this stroll, both the usual suspects – Milk & Honey, Green Line Cafe, Dock Street Brewery, Baltimore Pet Shoppe, VIX Emporium, Elena’s Soul, Mariposa Food Co-op, etc. – and new businesses and vendors. Look for $1 items and deals from such new participants as Thrive Fitness, The Sunflower Truck Stop, Studio 34, Maru Global Takoyaki, Independent Rock, and a few others. And yes, Subway is participating too.

In addition to shopping for $1 items, don’t miss live music by The Makes (between 46th and 47th Streets), the Independent Rock School (50th Street), the Give & Take Jugglers and entertainment by various street performers and fire artists.

Check out the event’s flyer below for the full list of participants and what they are offering.

(click to enlarge)

Get ready for some sunshine and free music this Saturday, June 30, as the bi-annual Clark Park Music and Art Festival gets into gear. The summer edition of the festival, a 42-year-old tradition in the historic park, includes live music, children’s activities, arts and crafts vending, and other events and diversions to fill your Saturday.

The festival runs from noon-8 p.m. Some of the bands featured this year include Power Animal, The Horrible Department, and the West Philly based City Wide Specials, among others. See below for a full list and set times. The forecast for this Saturday is mostly sunny with a high of 94, so make sure to pack a lot of sunscreen.

12:00pm-12:30pm – Rock to the Future (stage 1) 
http://www.rocktothefuturephilly.org/

12:40pm-1:10pm – The Best Westerns (stage 1)
 http://www.facebook.com/thebestwesternsmusic

1:25pm-1:55pm – City Wide Specials (stage 2)
 The West Philadelphia-based City Wide Specials perform traditional and original songs as well as instrumental breakdowns and waltzes on guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and upright bass

2:10pm-2:45pm – The Really Cooks (stage 1) 
http://www.thereallycooks.com/

3:00pm-3:30pm – Jampa (stage 2) 
http://www.jampaband.com/

3:45pm-4:15pm – The Downtown Club (stage 1) 
Delayed Female Vocals, Analog Snyth, Guitar, Drums and Bass

4:30pm-5pm – Break it Up (stage 1)
 http://breakitupband.wordpress.com/

5:15pm-5:45pm – On the Water (stage 2) 
http://onthewater.bandcamp.com/

5:45-6:15pm – Erode and Disappear (stage 1)

6:30-7:00pm – The Horrible Department (stage 2)
 http://www.myspace.com/thehorribledepartment

7:15-8:00pm – Power Animal (stage 1) 
http://poweranimal.tumblr.com/

– Kelly Lawler
 

If you live between Baltimore and Kingsessing Avenues, and between 47th and 49th Streets, the 48th Street Neighbors group is inviting you to be one of the hosts at the next Porch Hop Party on Saturday, August 4. Nine porches participated in the first Porch Hop on May 19 and those who attended this event had a great time. The hosts reported that it was the easiest party they’ve ever thrown with little preparation and no clean up!

If you would like to host the next Porch Hop please or have questions, send an email to: slbumgarner@gmail.com. Please include your street address in your email. You can also leave a message on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/events/361878197200583/

Please respond by Monday, July 2.

The 2012 season of the annual 40th Street Summer Series, the free outdoor concert series in West Philly, starts tomorrow, June 23. Slavic Soul Party (pictured below) will bring a mash-up of Balkan and Gypsy sounds to the green space behind the Walnut Street Free Library at 40th and Walnut Streets, beginning at 6 p.m.

The series of concerts is scheduled for the fourth Saturdays in June to September. Other performers in this series include internationally-renowned ensembles Sun Ra Arkestra, Adventuredrum, and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Odean Pope and Dave Liebman. Look for more information on the upcoming performances on our Happenings page.

Complimentary (first come, first served) Rita’s Water Ice will be given out during the performances. Also, for the June and July Summer Series events, Tsirkus Fotografika (“Photographic Circus”) will bring their antique mobile portrait studio and offer free photos to the concert audience.

The series is presented by University of Pennsylvania, University City District (UCD), and The Rotunda. For more information, visit this page.

If you want to learn the basics of riding your bike in the city, come to The Coffee Ride this Saturday, June 23. The event is hosted by Keswick Cycle and Green Line Cafe and will start at 10:15 a.m. at Keswick Cycle (4040 Locust) with a skills clinic. You will learn everything from hand signals to how to properly lock a bike and everything in between. After the skills clinic you will go on a short ride (about 6 miles) through the city to practice the skills you went over in the clinic. The ride will end at Green Line Cafe at 43rd and Baltimore with a relaxing cup of coffee and sweet treats.

Here’s the event’s flyer.

The Porch, the outdoor space at 30th Street Station, is adding a few new things for the summer.

The University City District (UCD) recently received a $375,000 grant from ArtPlace to fund a permanent art piece at The Porch. Prema Katari Gupta, UCD’s Director of Planning and Economic Development said: “We will invite exceptional artists to engage creatively with our site, with our audience, and within our neighborhood context. Art will bring beauty, reflection, and delight to The Porch, as the site continues its evolution.”

One new fun activity to look out for at The Porch is a free nine hole mini golf course open every day in July from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. All you need to bring is a photo ID. A second new project is the opening of a beer garden with German and craft beers, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and Italian sausage sandwiches by Bridgewater’s Pub. The beer garden will include live music and is open July 12 (4-8pm), July 13 (noon-8pm), and July 14 (noon-5pm).

The Porch will exhibit two new visual art works. The first is a representational and experiential exhibit by Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto. She is installing a Hakoniwa, Japanese for miniature garden as well as a form of psychotherapy called “sandplay therapy.” The therapy method involves subjects who order and design items within a sandbox. Nami’s art will recreate this form of therapy across the concrete of the porch.

Also, Justin Duerr’s Anaesthasia Emeralda Lucian piano, designed for UCD’s Heart and Soul piano project will be on display and ready for play at The Porch.

– Erica Kimmel