The Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion will be auctioning off rare wood from the Grove of Seven Giants – the historic English Elm trees that had stood there for over 200 years, but had to be cut down after succumbing to Dutch Elm disease a few years ago.

The wood from the Grove of Seven Giants was milled in 2017, and has been carefully drying ever since. This rare wood is now ready to be used in restoration projects at The Woodlands, and in your own home! The Woodlands is auctioning off live edge, raw slabs in a variety of sizes to be used for woodworking projects, furniture, and more. Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a West Philly-based non-profit organization that has been providing free bikes to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, is holding a virtual Spring Fundraiser on Thursday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Over the past year, the organization has been working through its Bikes for Neighbors program to connect people all over the city with safe and reliable bicycle transportation. The bikes were made available for free to essential workers – those working in hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, warehouses, etc.

The Bikes for Neighbors program received over 540 requests for bicycles from Philadelphia residents in need, and 118 bicycles have been given out so far. Forty-five percent of the bikes have gone to healthcare workers and another 20 percent to grocery store employees. Continue Reading

After a year in the COVID pandemic, which has paused some of its arts projects and events, Curio Theatre is ready to present to the community something quite extraordinary (and also safe for the audience and staff). Beginning this Friday, March 19 and through Sunday, April 18, the West Philly theatre company will present A Symphony for Saint-Georges, a massive installation celebrating the life and career of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the famed violinist, composer and fencer whose story has been buried by history.

The piece involves no live actors – A Symphony for Saint-Georges is a multi-disciplinary installation featuring five environments created by sculpture, music, projections, video and set design. Curio artists have been working for months independently on this ambitious experiment to highlight the life of an artist who rose from slavery. Born in Guadeloupe to an enslaved mother and a wealthy plantation-owner father, Joseph Bologne was once described as “the most accomplished man in France.” As a champion fencer, esteemed violinist, father, and composer, Bologne is said to have inspired musicians like Mozart. However, even he was not immune to the realities of racism. Continue Reading

Local non-profit Sharing Excess will be back in Malcolm X Park this Saturday, Jan. 30 and every Saturday in February to distribute food to the community for free.

Folks from Sharing Excess will be on the corner of 52nd and Pine on Saturdays beginning at Noon until everything is gone (for about an hour-and-a-half at most). The organization will have hundreds of grocery boxes containing produce, milk, eggs, cheese and meat to give out to the community.  Continue Reading

Lori Waselchuk will be giving away #SweetTProject T-shirts and raising money for local human rights organizations this Wednesday in Clark Park.

A project that began four years ago, on the day after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, will conclude tomorrow with a pop-up exhibition and fundraiser. West Philly photographer and activist Lori Waselchuk will be in Clark Park this Wednesday, Jan. 20 to present 700 T-shirts she has worn as part of this four-year project/performance titled #SweetTProject.

Waselchuk has worn a unique T-shirt – borrowed or handmade – each day of Trump’s presidency to “amplify the importance of resistance, activism, creativity, open society, human rights, and community” and posted images of her wearing these T-shirts on her Instagram page nearly every day. The project will conclude on the day of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. By January 20, 2021, Waselchuk will have worn more than 1,420 shirts over the four years!  Continue Reading

A 2015 rally at the Martin Luther King Memorial at 40th and Lancaster Avenue (Photo courtesy of PEC)

The life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. is being celebrated this Monday, Jan. 18. While a lot of MLK Day events and activities will not be held this year because of Covid restrictions, folks are invited to participate in virtual events and outdoor socially-distanced events:

Monday, January 18, 12:30 p.m. at The Bank, 3750 Lancaster Avenue (corner of 38th and Lancaster Ave):

People’s Emergency Center (PEC) will be giving away food and other resources at the site of Rev. King’s Freedom Now tour speech on August 3, 1965 – at the intersection of 40th Street, Haverford Avenue, and Lancaster Avenue. The event will begin at Noon and last until the food has been distributed. The location is also a site on PEC’s Martin Luther King Scavenger Hunt, with a prize of a $100 gift card (go here for more information).  Continue Reading