BalletX returns to TD Pavilion at the Mann for two extraordinary nights of dance and live music! Highlights include choreography by Natasha Adorlee, Takehiro Ueyama, and Jamar Roberts, with live music by Grammy-nominated singer Jac Ross, composer Kato Hideki, and more!

Arrive early and enjoy pre-show events featuring local dance groups, live musicians, and circus acts. Secure your seats today – tickets start at $15.

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Community members are invited to participate in a new socially-engaged photography and archival project which kicks off at Malcolm X Park on Wednesday, March 20. The project, titled What is West?, includes a series of free community workshops and a public art installation at the park.

The goal of the project, sponsored by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage and The Arts League, is to “give the authority and tools to define West Philadelphia as it exists for its community.”

“Recognizing lived experience as expertise while utilizing public art as a means of exploration, this project will allow our neighbors to move towards collective healing and justice,” reads the project description on the Arts League website.

Another project objective is to document West Philadelphia, a large area comprised of many different neighborhoods, as a place known for its “neighborly warmth, diversity, and collective optimism.” Historically, it has been documented for its issues.

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Our Closet in Your Neighborhood (OCIYN) is a mobile basic needs program providing food and clothing at weekly pop-up events across the city of Philadelphia. Every month, the program partners with the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral (19 S. 38th St.) to host a pop-up event where they distribute food, clothing as well as an opportunity to speak to a qualified social worker about possible services or benefits.

The next event is scheduled for this Thursday, Feb. 29, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Check out the flyer below for more details. More information about the program is available here. To download OCIYN’s events flyer for March 2024, click here.

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Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, in partnership with Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Zoo, Please Touch Museum, and The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, is developing a plan for the future of the Centennial District in West Fairmount Park.

As part of the planning process, the City is gathering community input and holding an open house on Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Please Touch Museum. Stop by anytime between 6 and 8 p.m..

The City of Philadelphia would like to hear stories you have about the Centennial District and share your thoughts on what works well and what doesn’t. Check out the event flyer below.

If you can’t make the open house, please consider taking an online survey, which will be posted after the open house at centennialdesignplan.com.

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Here are some Martin Luther King Day of Service events and volunteer opportunities in West and Southwest Philadelphia happenong on Monday, Jan. 15. If you’re hosting an event please feel free to add it in the comments section. More events and volunteer opportunities can be found on the MLK Day of Service website.

The events in the list below include peace and solidarity walks, cleanups, art projects, food and clothing giveaway, and more.

The list has been compiled by the Office of Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District).

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The historical Woodlands cemetery, located at 40th and Woodland, has announced its 2024 Grave Gardener season and is currently accepting applications for this popular annual program. The non-profit organization is currently recruiting volunteers who will take care of Victorian-era “cradle” graves originally designed to be planters. As usual, the season kicks off with a series of winter workshops where participants can learn about historical contexts and helpful how-to’s.

Each volunteer will be assigned to a cradle grave to tend to throughout the growing season (March to November). The application period closes on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

For more information and to apply, click here.

The Woodlands has also announced a Volunteer Site Work Day, which will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help remove ivy and other invasive plants from trees, collect fallen sticks and branches, pick up trash along Woodland Avenue, and do other outdoor site clean-up chores. To learn more and to sign up, go here.