Don’t miss the annual Clark Park May Fair this Saturday, May 12, from 10am – 4pm. There will be lots of vendors, food trucks, games and activities for children, a raffle and a plant sale.

May Fair Raffle grand prizes this year are an iPad3, and a new Schwinn SID 3-speed City bike. University Pinball has donated the iPad, along with 10 vouchers for 100 tokens each at its Family Fun Center. The bike is being donated by Keswick Cycle. In addition to the grand prizes, many local merchants have donated prizes for drinks, dinners and services (see details here). Raffle tickets will be on sale at the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) booth: $5 for six chances. There will be a special drawing on the day of the fair for the Schwinn bike, with a value of $470 – one chance for $5.

As always, the fair will offer up tasty food from selected vendor trucks, music from groups that play the Green Line, and lots of arts and crafts by West Philadelphia artisans. There will be a bounce tent and obstacle course ($5) for kids, along with free games and face painting.

Finally, the University City Garden Club will be holding its plant sale at the fair. Their booth will be located on the south side of Chester Avenue near 43rd street. NOTE: You can also shop for their plants on Friday, May 11 at 517 Woodland Terrace from 10am to dark.

If you have questions, please call the May Fair Committee at 215-349-7825 or visit www.sprucehillca.org.
 

A huge multi-home porch sale is being held this Saturday, May 12, on Melville and Locust Streets beginning at 9 a.m. Check out the flyer below for more details.

Here’s a couple of interesting art openings for your gallery crawl this Friday.

disTURBIA @ Art on the Avenue Gallery

If you haven’t noticed, Lancaster Avenue between 38th and 40th streets has become Philly’s newest gallery row.  Opening Friday May 11, Art on the Avenue Gallery at 3808 Lancaster Ave brings us disTURBIA, a show of mixed media sculpture installation and drawings by Romanian artist Raluca Ungureanu. Ungureanu defines “disTURBIA” as, “a term derived from the words  ‘suburbia’ and ‘disturb’ meant to describe the dark side of urban living.” Her work aims to engage the viewer in a dialogue about rootlessness and alienation in the big cities of today’s rapidly changing world. Born and raised in the mythic land of Bucovina, surrounded by a deep ancestral forest at the foot of the divine monastery of Voronet, one of the oldest in Europe, Raluca has carried the imprint of her origins, and has brought them to bear on renditions of New York and Philadelphia.

Free admission.  Through June 2.  Art on the Avenue Gallery.  3808 Lancaster Avenue.  artonave.org.  215-662-1074.
Opening: Friday, May 11, from 6 – 9 pm.
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment.

Monsters Under the Bed @ 40th St Artist-in-Residence Program Gallery

The exhibition features a selection of puppets from Martina Plag’s puppetry atelier, “studium-praxis.” This installation specifically focuses on designs built at Martina’s 40th AIR Space studio over the past nine months. Each puppet or set displayed in the exhibition has been designed for a specific performance and to serve a very specific function.  The objects in Monsters Under the Bed are designed by Martina Plag, but most of them were made with the help of talented artists, each bringing their own unique approach to puppet making. Supporting artists include: Pam Raines, Stephen C. Layne. Bill Hanson, Deborah Glassberg, Laureen Griffin, Leah Walton, Lorna Howley, Leila Ghaznavi, and Cory Palmer.

Free admission. 40th St Artist-in-Residence Gallery, 4007 Chestnut Street.  40streetair.blogspot.com.
Opening: Friday, May 11, from 7-10 p.m.
Gallery Hours: May 18th & 25th, 3-7 p.m., or by appointment.

– Emma Eisenberg

Spaces are still available for a terrarium workshop hosted by VIX Emporium and taught by artist Beth Richey. The workshop is next Saturday, May 19. Beth will teach you how to create a low-maintenance plant ecosystem in a jar – a little world with wild-gathered moss, water, and pretend inhabitants that Beth makes out of clay.

The workshop fee is $15 and includes instruction, moss, some decorations and other necessary materials. Bring your own jar with a tight-fitting lid, no more than 6″ diameter. There will also be a few jars available for purchase at the workshop, as well as special discounts on handmade miniature glass animals in stock at VIX.

To register for the workshop, please visit this page. The workshop is at 1 p.m. in VIX’s back room, 5009 Baltimore Avenue. If it fills up, a second session will be added at 2 p.m.

Here are three community meetings and public hearings scheduled this week:

• On Tuesday, May 8, the Spruce Hill Community Association is holding its monthly board meeting at the SHCA office at 257 S. 45th Street. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm. For more information, please call 215-349-7825 or visit: www.sprucehillca.org.

• This Thursday, May 10, from 6 – 8 p.m. there will be a School District Community Budget Session at West Philadelphia High School. Neighbors can learn about and discuss the reorganization plan proposed by the School District and the Actual Value Initiative proposed by the Mayor. The Actual Value Initiative’s goal is to reassess properties in Philadelphia based on their actual market value, which basically means higher property taxes for many homeowners. The current proposal would help generate approximately $90 million to support Philadelphia’s schools. To read more about what will be discussed at the meeting, take a look at the following documents: A Blueprint for Transforming Philadelphia’s Public Schools, Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Property Tax Reassessment Talking Points.

• Also on Thursday, community members are invited to attend a presentation and a brainstorming session to generate ideas on how we can create greener, more sustainable schoolyards in Philadelphia. One of the schools whose schoolyard is being proposed for this project is West Philadelphia’s Lea Elementary (47th & Locust). The presentation is organized by the Community Design Collaborative, AIA Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Water Department. The presentation will take place from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street. To RSVP, go here. For more information, contact Cedar Park Neighbors Vice President, David Hincher, at david.hincher@gmail.com or visit the Community Design Collaborative’s website.

Here’s an assortment of events taking place in the neighborhood this weekend (May 3-6). For more events, visit our “Happenings” section.

• Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 4pm – “MAYA 2012: Lords of Time” Exhibition Opening Celebration, Penn Museum (3260 South Street)

This is one of the biggest and most anticipated exhibitions of the year. The opening celebration features Maya music and dance, arts and crafts and cultural traditions from Mexico and Central America. All celebration activities are open to the public with MAYA 2012 tickets or with general admission to the Penn Museum. Click here for more information on opening weekend programs.

•  Sunday, noon – 4pm – Dock Street BIG Bottle Release Party, Dock Street Brewery (50th & Baltimore)

Dock Street Brewery celebrates the release of an array of limited, naturally-carbonated beers in 750ml Champagne format. Only 12 cases will be released and available for sale on Sunday. Apart from the beer, there will be live music by Shakey Lyman (classic old school blues) and Dock Street will be preparing slices of pizza all afternoon. For more information, visit this page.

• Friday & Saturday, 10am – 3pm – Philadelphia Children’s Festival, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (3680 Walnut Street)

The 28th annual Philadelphia International Children’s Festival features family-friendly music, theatre and dance performances, as well as a host of fun and interactive activities in the Fun Zone on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers and more. Individual tickets are $10 and include access to the Fun Zone. For more information on the shows and to buy tickets, click here.

• Thursday, Friday & Saturday – 8pm – The Tempest; Saturday – 1pm – Kid Curio and The Improv Avengers, Curio Theatre (4740 Baltimore Ave)

Curio Theatre presents shows for adults and children alike this weekend. The second week of Shakespeare’s The Tempest begins tonight at 8 p.m. and on Saturday bring your little ones to Kid Curio, an interactive show where kids don’t just come and watch the show, but are part of the action. Tickets for both shows are available here.