The “Love Your Park” week kicks off tomorrow in Philadelphia and everyone is encouraged to participate in cleaning, greening and celebrating neighborhood parks. Some fun events, as well as park clean-up and beautification projects will be happening in some West Philly neighborhoods, too. In addition, the Spruce Hill Community Association is organizing the annual May Fair at Clark Park this Saturday, so we hope many of our readers will stick around and join their friends and neighbors at this annual celebration of the Spruce Hill community. Guests are welcome!

Details for local events in the next few days are below. More great events are scheduled for next weekend (stay tuned). NOTE: Volunteers are wanted for some of tomorrow’s projects.

Spruce Hill May Fair, Clark Park (43rd and Chester)

Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair features live music from local bands, food from some of the best trucks, and a raffle with terrific prizes. There will also be many local artists and craftspeople with gifts for graduations and Mother’s Day, plants on sale by the UC Garden Club, used books for $1 each, and groups and organizations offering information about their causes. Kids can enjoy a big inflated obstacle course, a bounce house and other games. Raffle items include gift cards from local cafes and restaurants, a 60″ Samsung Plasma TV, a free weekend night at Homewood Suites, free yoga classes and more! For more information and schedule for the music groups, click here.

Planting Extravaganza!, Cedar Park (49th and Baltimore)

Saturday, May 10, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Volunteers are needed for planting trees, perennials and annuals throughout the park. The tools will be provided. The garden beds are composted and mulched so all is ready to go. If you can lend a hand for an hour or so, please RSPV:  tatemch@aol.com

Work Day at Clark Park (45th and Regent)

Saturday, May 10, 9:00 a.m.

Help is needed with spreading some mulch and other work. And you can spend the rest of the day at the Spruce Hill Community Association’s Mayfair. Meet at 9 a.m. by the shed, on 45th St where Regent Street ends, south of Chester. Snacks will be served. The event is organized by Friends of Clark Park.

Art in the Park, Malcolm X Memorial Park (52nd & Pine)

Monday, May 12, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation presents Art in the Park, a FREE arts and crafts traveling class. All ages are welcome! For more information, visit: www.philavisualarts.wix.com/camp

The Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarships Fund is currently accepting applications from neighborhood students who need help paying for their college expenses. Each year, the fund awards several scholarships, ranging from $600 to $1,000, and students living within Cedar Park boundaries (see map below) are welcome to apply. Applications must be received or postmarked by June 1, 2014. To download the application, click here. For more information, email: scholarships@cedarparkneighbors.org

The Cedar Park Neighbors community organization will hold its annual meeting tonight, from 7 – 9 p.m. at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). All neighbors are welcome. The annual meeting is a great introduction to the organization, its work and accomplishments over the last year and plans for the coming year. You can also meet candidates for the CPN Board of Directors (more information about the candidates is available here). Voting for CPN Board Members will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting will also include a conversation with the two local candidates for the state representative – James Roebuck (the incumbent) and Algernong Allen. The talk will be moderated by Cedar Park resident Bill Hangley Jr., a journalist with The Philadelphia Public School Notebook.

An informal meet and greet will follow the meeting.

Note: The meeting will take place at Calvary Center Sanctuary (please enter through the doors on the second floor).

Two big community events are happening in the Cedar Park neighborhood this weekend (April 5-6).

A Spring Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. to wake up the gardens at Cedar Park (49th-50th & Baltimore). Lots of volunteers are needed to help with rose bushes and grasses and clean out the garden beds for future mulching and planting. Tools and gloves will be provided. If you have clippers to bring that would be helpful. If you want to join your neighbors this Saturday please RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/686153788112115/

The annual Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship Fundraiser on will again bring together local residents and businesses in an effort to help neighborhood youth who want to continue their education after graduation from high school. The CPN Scholarship Fundraiser is a great opportunity to mingle with your neighbors, friends and business people and enjoy music by local musicians and food prepared by neighborhood restaurants. Here are more details (from the CPN website):

What: Live music for all ages with West Philly based singer-songwriter Gretchen Elise, beer by Dock Street Brewing Company, wine, and food from Aksum, Fu Wah, The Gold Standard Café, and Dock Street. We’ll also have a Silent Auction to include handmade crafts, jewelry, museum tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants, and much more! Children will enjoy kids’ music and activities from 4-5 p.m.
When: Sunday, April 6 from 4-6 p.m.
Where: The Cedar Works, 4919 Pentridge Street (South of Baltimore, between 48th & 49th 49th & 50th)
Cost: Tickets are $40 and available online or at the door. Kids under 12 are free. To purchase tickets or make a donation, complete the form on this page.

Photo by West Philly Local readers Karen and Peter.

A house fire was reported in the Cedar Park neighborhood on Saturday, around 7 p.m.. A house on 48th Street between Baltimore and Cedar Avenues was engulfed in smoke. Multiple fire trucks and lots of firefighters responded to the fire that was shortly taken under control. The building was still smoking and it looked like it may have suffered serious damage, according to one West Philly Local reader.

UPDATE (3/31/2014): The fire was at a three-story twin at 615 S. 48th St. It was reported at 7 p.m. and brought under control in 27 minutes at about 7:30 p.m., according to a fire department spokesman. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The heart of Cedar Park (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Over the past 10 years, West Philly has undergone a semi-orchestrated revival, with the last five of those years seeing rapid — and, in some areas, dramatic — change. New businesses started popping up along the Baltimore Ave Corridor while young professionals and grad students began moving out further and further from the confines of 40th Street.

And, as with any other metropolis experiencing accelerated regrowth, West Philly has also seen an increase in housing and rental prices throughout those years. But nothing as dramatic as the spike in monthly rents that’s happened in the Cedar Park area over the last year: an 18 percent jump from 2013 to 2014.

As Technical.ly Philly reported last week, rental listings from the San-Francisco-based rental service Lovely showed that, in Southwest Cedar Park, the monthly median rent price went from $900 in January 2013 to the current $1,100 medium—the highest increase among neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

“It is troubling that the rents went up that high. I’m surprised to see that it went that high,” Michael Froehlich, president of the Cedar Park Neighbors association, told West Philly Local. Although he knew the rents were rising in the area, he said, he didn’t think they were “the highest” in the city. Continue Reading