Photo by Eva Jacobs.

This weekend is not only about Halloween (that said, you can check Halloween events here). A bunch of other fun community events are being held this Saturday and Sunday, including food-centered events (End of Season Fall Market, Vegan Day celebration, a taco fundraiser), a tree giveaway and a couple of fall festivals. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, go to our Event listings.

Saturday, Nov 1 

• End of Season Market Celebration & Tree Giveaway

Neighborhood Foods Farm (53rd & Wyalusing), 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Photo courtesy Urban Tree Connection.

Urban Tree Connection (UTC) and Neighborhood Foods (NF) invite neighbors to an end-of-season market, featuring fall farm produce, $3 chicken platters (cooked by NF Coop Members Gale and Nicole) with potluck sides, vendors, and giveaways: recycling bins and yard trees provided thanks to a grant from TreePhilly. You can also bring your own food or items to sell. There will be 50 trees available for property owners with yards – an open (unpaved) area on private property – and are absolutely free. They come with a free planting demonstration, educational materials, and a bag of mulch from the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center. Several species will be available, ranging from large shade trees to medium-sized trees to smaller fruit trees. A full list of available species can be found here. To reserve your tree and for species list, contact Karen: 215‐900‐1292 or karen@urbantreeconnection.org 

• Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Celebration

Penn Museum (3260 South Street), 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Photo courtesy Penn Museum.

This Saturday, the Penn Museum presents the third annual Day of the Dead Celebration. Throughout Mexico and around the world, Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) brings family and friends together to pray for and remember loved ones who have died. The celebration includes pageantry, traditional music and dance, storytelling and puppetry, paper maché artistry, sugar skull and mask making, face painting, special foods and more.

Guests can also view colorful altars (ofrendas) designed by regional community groups, and a large Day of the Dead altar created by the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia and the Mexican Cultural Center, co-organizers of the event, with the help of local artist Cesar Viveros. The event is free with Penn Museum admission ($15, general admission; $13, seniors [65+]; $10, children [6-17] and full-time students [with ID]; $2 ACCESS Card holders; free to children under 5, members, active U.S. Military, STAMP and PennCard holders). For more information, go here.  Continue Reading

Halloween week is here and we compiled a list of spooky and fun happenings in our area, for kids and adults alike, in the next few days. If you know of any other events that are not included in the list please email: editor@westphillylocal.com or use the comment section below.

Tuesday, October 29

Bat House Building Workshop – Mariposa Food Coop (49th & Baltimore) – 7 p.m. – A special Halloween week workshop exploring the funny flying nocturnal creatures and what you can do to help restore their often threatened habitat. You can learn how to build your own bat house, where to put it, and what to do when a colony moves in. Free admission. Please RSVP to education@mariposa.coop.

Thursday, October 31

Peanut Butter and Jams Halloween with Charlie Hope – World Cafe Live (30th & Walnut) – 10:30 a.m. – Come sing along with 2012 Juno Award Winner Charlie Hope. Charlie will sing some well-known songs as well as her originals that will get children and parents moving and singing along. Audience participation is encouraged, so be sure to bring your singing voices and dancing shoes! Costumes are welcome. Tickets ($10) are available here.

Halloween at The Woodlands – 40th & Woodland – noon – 4 p.m. – Bring your kids for some treats at the mansion before the tot parade in Spruce Hill.

Stories to Make you Shriek! – Kingsessing Library (1201 South 51st Street) – 4 p.m. – A spooky story time presented by Ms. Kim for brave kids.

Spruce Hill Halloween Tot Parade – 45th & Baltimore – 4 p.m. – This is a fun Halloween tradition in the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The parade will start gathering after 4 p.m. on 45th St. just north of Baltimore Ave. (next to Milk and Honey). The kick-off time is 4:30 p.m. To read more about the parade, click here.

Town Watch Haunted Gym – St. Francis de Sales School (47th & Windsor) – 5-7 p.m. – This year, St. Francis de Sales School has agreed to host the annual Haunted House & Garden event, in their already scary Basement-Gym-Basketball Court. Springfield Avenue will remain open this year, but the 900 and 1000 blocks of Farragut  and the 900 block of 47^th Street, from Springfield to the north side of Warrington, will be closed to auto traffic. For more info and if you want to volunteer at this event, check out this page.  Continue Reading

Here’s a sampling of events you might want to check out. For more upcoming events visit our Events Calendar.

Fri, June 14

9 am – 5 pm – St. Francis de Sales, 47th & Windsor Ave – Donations to be sold at the St. Francis de Sales Flea Market are being accepted in the auditorium. You can bring almost anything, except books, clothing and large furniture.

6 – 9 pm – 40th Street Air Space, 4007 Chestnut St – 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program is presenting The Past is Over, a solo exhibition of new work by 2012-2013 artist-in-residence Mike Harpring (pictured right). Please visit http://40streetair.blogspot.com/ for more information.

7 – 9 pm – 8 N. Preston St (40th & Preston) – Grand Opening of Inewsent Studio & Gallery – Many West Philadelphia artists are a part of tonight’s grand opening of Inewsent Studio & Gallery, located in the historic Bell Telephone Exchange building on 40th and Preston.

9:30 pm – City Tap House, 3925 Walnut St – Blue Grass Music in West Philly – The Brummy Brothers are back on the road again and this time they’re kicking it off in West Philly’s City Tap House. https://www.facebook.com/events/502534066468815/

Sat, June 15

9 am – 4 pm – St. Francis de Sales Auditorium, 47th & Windsor Ave – St. Francis de Sales is holding its annual flea market featuring bargains and homemade goodies. Lunch will be served. For more information call 215-222-2255 or 215-222-5819.

10 am – 1 pm – Church of the Holy Apostles and The Mediator, 51st & Spruce Sts – The Church of the Holy Apostles and the Mediator is partnering with ECOvanta to hold an electronic waste recycling event. In addition, Nexcut Shredding will be on site to provide secure document destruction for $1.00 per box.

10 am – 4 pm – Clark Park, 43rd & Baltimore Ave – All-Army Reunion – The city’s first All-Army Reunion is also a chance to mark the birthday of the US Army for all US Army veterans in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. An estimated 200-300 veterans will attend the event that’s also open to their families and the public. There will be contests, live music, guest emcees, food and refreshments and more. Tickets are $5 per individual and $10 per a family up to six. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event. For more information, visit: http://vetscomforthouse.org/

11 am – 4 pm – Porch at 30th Street Station – VIX Emporium and the University City District are bringing more than 50 local crafters to The Porch at 30th Street Station for the 2nd 30th Street Craft Market. There will be three of Philly’s finest food trucks too – savory slow-cooked barbecue by Vernalicious, gourmet Italian sandwiches by Lil Dan’s, and Mac Mart’s macaroni & cheese specialties. For more info, go to: http://www.vixemporium.com/craft-shows/30th-street-craft-market/

12:00 – 8:30 pm – 55th & Chester – Stop the Violence Kickback Block Party – Mont Brown, the Southwest Philadelphia Ambassador for the “Stop the Violence” movement, will kick-off the Block Party in this region of the city and hopes to deliver positive alternatives by promoting education, the arts and small business development. There will be free food, live performances by 30 artists and 10 DJ’s, as well as a host of local vendors selling merchandise.

Sunday, June 16

12 – 5 pm – Firehouse Bicycles, 50th & Baltimore Ave – Party on the Porch – Firehouse Bicycles has new Sunday hours this summer and is inviting neighbors to a party that will include Danophonic spinning records, free food on the grill, and deals on bikes. For more information, visit: http://www.firehousebicycles.com/blog/events

Here’s a list of Christmas services at assorted local churches. If you know of other Christmas services please email us at: editor@westphillylocal.com or post them in the comments.

Calvary Methodist Church, 48th & Baltimore

Christmas Eve: Candlelight Service of lessons and carols – 7 p.m.

Church of the Holy Apostles & Mediator, 51st & Spruce

Christmas Eve: Christmas Sacred music prelude – 6:30 p.m.; Festival of Christmas Eucharist – 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 3916 Locust Walk

Christmas Eve: The Feast of the Nativity – 7:30 p.m.
Christmas Day: 6:20 p.m.

Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 38th St. between Chestnut and Market

Christmas Eve: Festival Eucharist – 5 p.m.
Christmas Day: Holy Eucharist – 10 a.m.

Join local community groups this Saturday (Nov. 17) for Love Your Park Day and help prep neighborhood parks for the winter. Here’s how and where you can help:

• Clark Park (43rd and Chester) – Friends of Clark Park will be raking leaves, spreading mulch, weeding, and picking up trash. Meet at the green and white shed on 45th St. between Chester and Woodland Aves. at 9:00 a.m., or just stop by when you can. RSVP here.
• Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine) – Friends of Malcolm X Park (Facebook page) will be doing some cleaning, bulb-planting, and leaf-raking in the park. Tools and refreshments provided. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For more information contact Greg Cojulun at 215-748-5329.
• Barkan Park (50th and Spruce) – Barkan Park cleanup is scheduled between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. For more information contact Mark Mendenhall at 215-476-2983.

If you know of other clean-ups, please let us know in the comments.