Get ready for some sunshine and free music this Saturday, June 30, as the bi-annual Clark Park Music and Art Festival gets into gear. The summer edition of the festival, a 42-year-old tradition in the historic park, includes live music, children’s activities, arts and crafts vending, and other events and diversions to fill your Saturday.

The festival runs from noon-8 p.m. Some of the bands featured this year include Power Animal, The Horrible Department, and the West Philly based City Wide Specials, among others. See below for a full list and set times. The forecast for this Saturday is mostly sunny with a high of 94, so make sure to pack a lot of sunscreen.

12:00pm-12:30pm – Rock to the Future (stage 1) 
http://www.rocktothefuturephilly.org/

12:40pm-1:10pm – The Best Westerns (stage 1)
 http://www.facebook.com/thebestwesternsmusic

1:25pm-1:55pm – City Wide Specials (stage 2)
 The West Philadelphia-based City Wide Specials perform traditional and original songs as well as instrumental breakdowns and waltzes on guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and upright bass

2:10pm-2:45pm – The Really Cooks (stage 1) 
http://www.thereallycooks.com/

3:00pm-3:30pm – Jampa (stage 2) 
http://www.jampaband.com/

3:45pm-4:15pm – The Downtown Club (stage 1) 
Delayed Female Vocals, Analog Snyth, Guitar, Drums and Bass

4:30pm-5pm – Break it Up (stage 1)
 http://breakitupband.wordpress.com/

5:15pm-5:45pm – On the Water (stage 2) 
http://onthewater.bandcamp.com/

5:45-6:15pm – Erode and Disappear (stage 1)

6:30-7:00pm – The Horrible Department (stage 2)
 http://www.myspace.com/thehorribledepartment

7:15-8:00pm – Power Animal (stage 1) 
http://poweranimal.tumblr.com/

– Kelly Lawler
 

This is a reminder that beginning this week you can shop for fresh local fruits and veggies, dairy, meat, baked goods and flowers in Clark Park on Thursdays as well as Saturdays. The Thursday edition of the Clark Park Farmers’ Market (43rd and Baltimore) is resuming tomorrow, June 7, and will run until Thanksgiving.

The hours are 3 – 7 p.m. And of course, the Saturday Farmers’ Market is open year-round, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Suspecting Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for weapons of mass destruction, money laundering, and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, the Albany (New York) Counter-Terrorism Task Force and Federal carried out a sting operation in 2004 to investigate the two men, ultimately sentencing them both to 15 years in jail. Filmmaker Ellie Bernstein documents the case in his 2008 film Waiting for Mercy, which will be screened in Clark Park (45th & Regent) Friday night at 8 p.m. If it rains, the program will be moved to Calvary Church (48th & Baltimore).

The Philadelphia International Action Center will sponsor the free outdoor screening, the first in the 2012 Clark Park Summer Film Series. Representing Project SALAM, a support and legal advocacy group for Muslims, Lynne Jackson will introduce the film and lead a question and answer session after the screening. Bring movie snacks and a blanket, and prepare your mind for a film that boldly reveals a case of religious discrimination and racial profiling in the United States.

Neither Aref nor Hossain had any previous criminal record. According to the Albany Times Union, the investigation was allegedly sparked by an entry listing Aref’s name, phone number, and address in a notebook found in a bombed Iraqi encampment. Government officials originally claimed that the word “commander” had been written next to Aref’s name in the notebook, but when pressed by the judge of the case to see the entry in the notebook, the officials admitted they had mistranslated the Kurdish word “kak” which means “brother.”

Here’s the movie trailer:

 
– Erica Kimmel
 

The Old School Game Night scheduled for tonight from 4 to 7 p.m. in Clark Park has been postponed due to rain. The new date is Tuesday, May 22, according to the Friends of Clark Park website. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate next week.

If you remember the days when you played your favorite games in the neighborhood park, come to Clark Park tomorrow after work for the Old School Game Night. Come out to the park from 4 to 7 p.m. to show your stuff in a four-square tournament, make your way through a giant hopscotch court, and play in the signature kickball match happening in The Bowl. And please bring a positive attitude and a drive for fun!

This event is hosted by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation as part of “Love Your Park” week, a citywide celebration of Philadelphia’s parks. It is open and encouraged for all ages. Evening activities will be accompanied by DJ Patty-Pat’s Back-in-the-Day soundtrack.

Here’s the schedule:

4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Hot Potato, Double Dutch, 4-square tournament, Relay Races and more!

6 p.m. – 7 p.m.: Kickball Match (please come between 4 and 5:30 to put your name down for kickball).

Old School Game Night. Tue, May 15, 4 – 7 p.m. Clark Park “B”, 43rd & Chester.

While Clark Park “B” (43rd & Chester) is hosting the annual May Fair tomorrow (May 12), there will also be a couple of happenings in the “A” section of the park (44th & Baltimore), in addition to the weekly Farmer’s Market.

Friends of Clark Park need help to keep the park beautiful and invite community members from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to participate in the park clean-up as Love Your Park Week kicks off tomorrow. Join your fellow Clark Park supporters and help them rake, mulch, water, weed, and generally tidy up the park. For more information and to RSVP, email: lisa@lisamcdonaldhanes.com

At 4 p.m. don’t miss a rare event – local Girl Scout troop #92373 will be releasing 18,000 ladybugs and 10 lbs of earthworms to benefit the ecological health of Clark Park and West Philly. Earthworms aerate soil, creating increased water absorption and air circulation, and ladybugs feed on aphids and other soft bodied insects that feed on plants. This is the Girl Scout troop’s main community service project for the spring.