UPDATE (11/30/2014, 5:15 p.m.): Kalis Adams, a 14-year-old boy who went missing from his home at 62nd and Carpenter on Friday, has been found and is in good condition, according to police.

Kalis Adams 14yrs old, located safe & in good condition. Thank you for the assistance in finding this young man. pic.twitter.com/4cEvq515GY

— Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) November 30, 2014

Kalis Adams (Photo from Philly Police Blog)

(11/29/2014): Police are asking for the public’s help locating a 14-year-old boy, Kalis Adams. Kalis was last seen at his residence on the 6200 block of Carpenter Street at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 28.

Kalis is described as 4’10”, 93 lbs, with a thin build, brown eyes, dark brown complexion, and black short hair. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue sweatpants, and blue/black Nike sneakers.

Kalis is autistic and also has ADHD. He is known to frequent the YMCA at 51st and Chestnut.

Anyone with information on Kalis’ whereabouts is asked to contact Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183 / 3184 or call 911.

West Philly musicians Sterling Duns and RB Ricks have released a single in response to the events in Ferguson, Mo. “Dr. X.” was uploaded to YouTube in anticipation of the verdict in the grand jury investigation of police officer Darren Wilson.

A handful of protests are expected today in Philadelphia. The group People Utilizing their Real Power (PURP) (Facebook page) is leading a rally, along with clergy, that is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. From City Hall, the rally is expected to move along North Broad Street to Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

Here is “Dr. X”:

Violinist Zebadiah plays with The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and now attends Central High School.

This weekend, the annual Philadelphia Film Festival kicks off and we learned that students attending a local parochial school will be featured in one of the festival premieres.

Ilene Miller of Play On, Philly!, a tuition-free after school music program that has been operating for a few years at the St. Francis de Sales School near 47th and Springfield, sent us some more details about the film and the West Philly kids featured in it:

“Play On, Philly! (POP), the innovative tuition-free after school music program in communities with little access to music education, was founded in 2011 at St. Francis de Sales School. The program, as well as two students, will be featured in the premiere of Crescendo! The Power of Music, at the Philadelphia Film Festival on October 20 and 25 (see a trailer here).

Filmmakers Jamie Bernstein (daughter of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein) and Elizabeth Kling have been following Play On, Philly! at St. Francis de Sales since day one for their documentary about kids participating in two youth orchestra programs – POP and the Harmony Program in Harlem.

Raven started POP in 4th grade and now plays with Musicopia String Orchestra and Philadelphia Sinfonia. She wants to be a professional violinist.

You will be truly moved at the experiences of students Raven and Zebadiah – their struggles, heartbreak and joy – as they discover themselves through the mysterious power of music in the Play On, Philly! program.

Raven is a violin natural with a rambunctious spirit. Quiet, quirky Zebadiah overcomes his shyness and gains confidence through the viola.

Zebadiah is now in 11h grade at Central High School. He returns to St. Francis every week to mentor younger students as a POP Ambassador… Raven, now in 9th grade at String Theory Charter School, studies with a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra, plays in Philadelphia Sinfonia and Musicopia String Orchestra, and wants to be a professional violinist.”

Crescendo! The Power of Music will be shown on October 20 at 3:00 p.m. at The Ritz Bourse Theater and again on October 25 at 3:15 p.m. at The Prince Music Theater (including a performance by POP students and a discussion with Jamie Bernstein).

For tickets visit www.filmadelphia.org/tickets or call 267-607-3385.

(Photos by Steven Krull/Play On, Philly!)

West Philly is home to many residents of Ethiopian heritage, with many Ethiopian businesses in the area and the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia located at 44th and Chestnut Streets. This Saturday, Sept. 27, the Ethiopian Community Association celebrates its 30th anniversary. Established in 1984 as a non-profit organization, it is the oldest African community organization in Pennsylvania, according to its board member Addisu Habte. The city of Philadelphia has also recognized September 27th as Ethiopian Day.

To mark the anniversary the Ethiopian Community Association is organizing an Ethiopian Day Festival (Facebook page) on Chestnut Street near 44th on Saturday. The festival will take place from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 44th Street from Chestnut to Sansom will be closed during these hours for the event.

The Ethiopian Day celebration will include a cultural show, with live music by Ethiopian musicians (see flier), food and children’s games. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the great Ethiopian filmmaker, Professor Haile Gerima, will speak at the event. Close to 700 people are expected to attend the festival.

Here’s the festival program:

11:00 a.m. – Opening speech
1:00 p.m. – Keynote speaker councilwoman Blackwell
1:30 p.m. – Keynote speaker Professor Haile Gerima
2:00 p.m. – Cultural show

Phil Thomas (right) and The ‘G’ Word crew with their prize. (Photos courtesy of Phil Thomas)

The Sloppy Film Fest (Facebook page), a neighborhood festival of short DIY films, took place at the Beaumont Warehouse on Saturday and we hear it was a great success. Today, we present a film that won the Audience Prize for best film. The film is called The ‘G’ Word (“G” for “Gentrification”) and is mostly set in West Philly (Clark Park and Baltimore Avenue).

Phil Thomas wrote and directed the film (thanks, Phil, for sending us the info). The cast and crew are all West Philly folks: Phil, Andy Holman, John H Dukes, and Heidi M. Smithee. Phil hopes that you’ll enjoy the film and says that his crew will be shooting more movies in West Philly.

Here it is:

West Philly kids are doing great in sports and are in the spotlight of some current and upcoming sporting events.

The Taney Dragons. (Photo from Taneybaseball.com)

• The Taney Dragons, Philly’s youth baseball team that made it this year to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., keeps winning! In their second game, on Sunday, they defeated the team from Texas. We learned that there are at least three West Philly kids on the team. According to neighborhood sources, these kids are: Eli Simon, No. 4, a student at Penn Alexander School (43rd and Locust), Tai Shanahan, No. 7 (who had the game-winning hit on Sunday), goes to St. Francis de Sales (47th and Windsor), and Carter Davis, No. 9, lives on 49th St.

We’re very excited about the success of these and other young stars on the team (their amazing pitcher, Mo’ne Davis, is on this week’s cover of Sports Illustrated!). Taney’s 3rd game is tonight, at 7:30 p.m., when they will take on a team from Las Vegas, Nev. You can watch it on ESPN. Also, there’s a free Taney Dragons Pep Rally and Watch Party tonight, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., in the City Hall Courtyard (Broad and Market Sts). Go Taney!

• It’s not every day when you get a chance to practice with tennis stars like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, but a West Philly kid will be at this year’s U.S. Open. Eleven-year-old Tauheed Browning, a student at Legacy Youth Tennis and Education Center, is heading to Flushing Meadows, New York, to participate in Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on Saturday, Aug 23, as part of the 2014 U.S. Open Tennis Championship. Tauheed will get to warm up with tennis professionals and another Legacy student, Brandon Caban of Drexel Hill, will compete against the pros in a target-hitting contest in the hopes of bringing back $15,000 to provide tennis and life skills education to more than 4,500 young people from the greater Philadelphia area, many of who come from low-income and under-resourced communities.

Tauheed is a student at PA Leadership Charter School, and is from Overbrook. He is one of the youngest Legacy student-athletes with very high potential, according to a spokeperson at the center.

Tauheed Browning. (Photo courtesy of Legacy Youth Tennis and Education)