Modern row houses, late 1930s. Illustration by Sylvia Barkan 1971. Image courtesy of UCHS.

Would you like to take a stroll around some West Philly neighborhoods and learn more about architectural styles of some oldest homes in the area? You can do it this Sunday thanks to University City Historical Society (UCHS) who is organizing the “House and Home” walking tour. Here’s more information from the UCHS website:

“In a variety of building styles spanning a century of West Philadelphia development, see the special ways homeowners have decorated, furnished, and adapted to make these houses ‘homes.’ The homeowners will be on hand to tell you more…

The houses on the tour will only be revealed the day of the event when you pick up your tickets…

This is a walking tour, involving many staircases — wear comfortable shoes!”

If this sounds like something you want to do on a Sunday afternoon, you can purchase tickets in advance at EventBrite.com for $20. Same day tickets are $25. Tickets bought in advance online can be picked up at 4501 Baltimore Ave., ZED’s Last Minute Gifts from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

The tour will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. For more details about the tour and UCHS, visit http://uchs.net.

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

Tickets are still available for the University City Arts League‘s annual fundraiser, “Spring Fling,” happening this Saturday, May 10 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hall of Flags (Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St). Traditionally, the fundraiser includes a silent auction featuring many great items and dinner. The online portion of the auction is also still open (closes tonight at 10 p.m.). You can choose from a number of unique experiences, classes, works by local artists and more. To view the auction items, to bid, and to buy tickets, go here.

The Spring Fling fundraiser will take place on Saturday from 6 – 9 p.m. and here are some more details (from ucartsleague.org):

Times

6 p.m. – Cocktails and Silent Auction; 7:30 – Dinner (by chef Greg Salisbury); 8 p.m. – Live Auction.

Parking

Free parking will be available at the Penn Museum Garage at South St and Convention Center Blvd. A shuttle will be running from the garage to the Hall of Flags from 6 to 7 p.m. and then from the Hall of Flags to the garage at the end of the evening.

Child Care

The Arts League will be offering an evening of pizza, movies and activities for children aged 5 to 12 from 5:30 to 9:30. Cost will be $35 for the first child and $25 for each additional child for the evening. Please contact the Arts League Office to make arrangements for child care.

Sample of Auction items

• Six oriental carpets including beauties from Tibet and Pakistan will be available at the Auction plus two silk on silk wall hangings. Winning bidders can also get free custom padding for their carpets at Woven Treasure.
• An iPad from the University of Pennsylvania Computer Connection, one of the special items to be auctioned at the Arts League auction.
• Gift certificates to numerous local restaurants including the White Dog Cafe will be available.
• Numerous spa services.

For more information, call 215-382-7811 or email: info@ucartsleague.org.

A three-day mini-collaborative arts festival, the Collage Festival, is taking place this week in West Philadelphia. The annual festival focuses on the idea of “collaboration, intermingling, exploration and diversity.” Philadelphia Magazine suggested the Collage Festival as one of “gay things to do in Philly this week.”

Collage 2014 is the “year of the gewgaw,” which means all the work submitted for the festival, regardless of media, must center around or include a gewgaw (see video below).

The 2014 Collage Festival will feature performances, installations, and pieces from over 40 artists of the Philadelphia area and beyond. Artists will be featuring interactive works and audience participation performances. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the art on several different levels. Between artist collaborations and audience participation, the experience will never be the same or predictable.

The Collage Festival will be held from Thursday, May 8 – Saturday May 10 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Community Education Center (3500 Lancaster Ave). Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. Three-day passes are also available.

There are also volunteering needs at the festival. All volunteers will receive free passes to events. If you’re interested to volunteer, email: info@collagefestival.com.

COLLAGE 2014 : YEAR OF THE GEWGAW from George Alley on Vimeo.

Some of our readers have asked and now we can confirm that Philly Lug Nuts (Facebook page), an alternative competition for dogs, will be back in our neck of the woods on Sunday, May 4. This time the event will take place in Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore), with a low-cost vaccine clinic starting at 11 a.m. and the weight pull at 1 p.m.

As a reminder, the Lug Nuts program was designed as a way to provide competition for men and their dogs that didn’t involve fighting. All kinds of dogs are welcome to take part in the competition, from the smallest to the largest ones. All dogs will be judged by how much weight they pull as a percentage of their body weight.

The dogs wear padded harnesses and pull sleds filled with bags of dog food. Please note that no dog is forced to pull the sled (my dog, a Boston Terrier, refused to pull and preferred to lie down in the grass instead no matter how hard I and Lug Nuts folks tried to encourage him).

The event is co-hosted by the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). Check out the flier below for more details.

Photo by JR Blackwell.

If you haven’t been to West Philly’s Curio Theatre recently, you probably should go soon. Curio has just premiered its last show of the season, Oedipussy, a hilarious fusion of the well-known Greek tragedy and James Bond. Oedipussy was originally created by super inventive U.K.-based company Spymonkey, and this is its North American premiere.

Inspired by Barbarella and a little bit of Bond, this is a tale of the ultimate dysfunctional family: a jealous father, a messed-up son, and one mother of a brilliant comedy. The Times in London called the show, “Remarkable.Powerful. Joyful.” The Guardian said, “’Riotous laughter. Funny but shocking.”

The play is adapted by Emma Rice and written by Carl Grose and Spymonkey. The cast includes Curio Company members Aetna Gallagher, Paul Kuhn, Brian McCann and Harry Slack.

Previews began last night (this is your last chance to use 2013-2014 Dollar Stroll tickets!). The official premiere is Friday, May 2. All performances run Thursday-Saturday night at 8 p.m. The closing date is Saturday, May 24.

Tickets are $20-$25 and can be purchased here.