Every couple of weeks a small room in the Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library at 52nd and Sansom is converted into a shrine to the Japanese comic art genre of manga. Teens and ‘tweens (10-12 year-olds) stop by to talk manga, draw manga, read manga and even listen to music about manga.
Manga, which in Japan is read by all segments of society, has swept through this generation of American kids in Harry Potter-like fashion.
“It appeals to a wide range of what you’re looking for,” said Shaunda, a Philadelphia High School for Girls student. “If you’re looking for fantasy, they have fantasy. They’re got action and lots of romance.”
Librarians have welcomed the interest in manga and have dedicated more money to bolster library collections.
“Some of the stories are kind of fantastic,” said Blackwell librarian Jeanne Hamann.
She added that kids who grew up with Pokemon were sort of “primed” for manga.
Hamann also said interest in manga has opened a window into Japanese culture for many.
That was certainly evident at this week’s Manga Cafe. As fans sat at table drawing, reading and talking manga, Japanese music played in the background. Kids leafed through Japanese magazines and Japanese food was served.
See the slideshow below for a better look at the Manga Cafe.
A few scholarships still remain for the Neighborhood Bike Works summer cycling camp. Half of camp spots go to scholarship recipients ages 8-12.
Based out of the Neighborhood Bike Works shop at 3916 Locust Walk behind the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, the summer camp offers kids the chance to rebuild a bike and earn a bike, helmet and lock over a two-week session. The camp also includes rides and field trips and instruction on safe cycling, nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
The camp, now in its ninth year, runs Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there are four two-week sessions available. The sessions begin on July 5, July 18, August 1 and August 15. Only scholarships slots remain for all camp sessions. The fees for campers normally run $425 to $450 per session.
A half-day session is also available at the North Philly Neighborhood Bike Works shop.
For more information go to the Neighborhood Bike Works website or call Summer Camp Director Daniel Helms at 215-386-0316. His e-mail is dan – at – neighborhoodbikeworks.org.
About 40 young chess players gathered at the Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library (152 S. 52nd St.) on Saturday to compete in a three-round tournament and to raise interest in the library’s chess club.
The library and After School Activities Partnership (ASAP) sponsored the tournament. Players from the Blackwell Library club and others from the club at the Walnut Street West Library took part. The Blackwell club meets every Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and youth players K-12 are invited to join.
Click on the slideshow below for more photos.
Sledding in Clark Park was fun while it lasted. Now it’s time to pay up. (Photo by Mike Lyons)
The sledding was awesome. The snowball fights were grand. But now it’s time to pay for those snow days. The School District of Philadelphia just announced that it will add two days to this year’s calendar to make up for classes missed during the winter.
The last day for students is now Tuesday, June 21 and the last day for teachers and staff is June 22.
Philadelphia schools were closed January 12th, 27th, 28th, and February 22nd because of snow.
The three-round unrated tournament is open to anyone, youths and adults alike (although they will compete in separate tournaments). The event will also include an introduction to tournament play, refreshments and prizes. Organizers hope that they will garner enough interest to start a chess club at the library.
Players from the chess club at the Walnut Street West Library will likely be on hand for the tournament, according to their coach Joe Clarke. Speaking of the Walnut Street West club, several of its members competed last month in the Fourth Annual Checkmate Violence 24-Hour Chess Marathon at Temple University. The tournament took place Feb. 5-6. Club members George Cao, Saleh Ibrahim and Carter Davis, all 9, 10-year-old Sherwin Hosseinpour and 7-year-old Risa Azim all took home medals (see photo below).
About 200 players take part in the event, which includes a series of tournaments and activities, and about 100 play all 24 hours.
Members of the Walnut Street West Library Chess Club. Front row (from left): George Cao, Sherwin Hosseinpour, Carter Davis and Saleh Ibrahim. Back row (from left): coaches Fred Austion and Joe Clarke. Risa Azim, who also took home a medal from the competition, is not in the photograph. (Photo provided by Joe Clarke)
West Philly resident John Salmon is putting together a series of free weekly, weekend ukulele workshops at his home (46th and Hazel) for kids 8-14. The first meeting will be this Sunday.
John writes:
“It’s a very fun and relatively easy instrument, and a great way to expose children to the joy of making music.”
Each child will need a ukulele. John said he will have some for sale ($25-$45), but also asks parents to consult with him before buying one as “the difference between a usable instrument and a piece of junk is not always obvious.”
John has committed to eight classes and then says he will assess how it’s going before proceeding with more classes.
For more information see John’s blog post here. E-mail him at sugarinthegourd.com — at — gmail.com.
To provide a little inspiration, here’s Jason Castro from American Idol a couple of years ago singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and playing ukulele, a performance inspired by Israel “IZ” Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole’s version:
Every couple of weeks a small room in the Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library at 52nd and Sansom is converted into a shrine to the Japanese comic art genre of manga. Teens and ‘tweens (10-12 year-olds) stop by to talk manga, draw manga, read manga and even listen to music about manga.
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