Here’s an assortment of events taking place in the area this weekend. We hope that the rainy weather will not dampen your fun. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, visit the Events Calendar.

Friday, Oct 11

• Second Fridays on Lancaster – various locations on Lancaster Avenue between 35th and 39th Sts (see flyer) – 5:30 – 10:00 p.m. – Join your neighbors and celebrate the arts on Lancaster Avenue. The event will feature art openings, African artifacts, vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories, handmade candles and cards, garden-fresh vegetables, live music, cafe, and outdoor grilled jerk chicken! More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

• Jump ‘N Funk – Penn Museum (3260 South St) – 6:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. – Penn Museum invites young professionals for a night of music, dance, and networking at this late-night event. DJ Rich Medina and partner Mark Hines take center stage for the evening (8:00 pm to 12:00 am) introducing guests to dance, music, and visual display inspired by late African musical icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti. A pre-event Professionals Garden Party in the Museum’s Warden Garden off the Kamin Entrance runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (cash bar). Guests are also invited to wander the Museum galleries and take in special exhibitions, including the critically acclaimed Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster. Admission to  Jump ‘n Funk, including Penn Museum admission, is just $10. Buying tickets in advance is recommended. Click here for more info.

• Romeo and Juliet opens at Curio Theatre – 4740 Baltimore Ave – 8:00 p.m. – This Friday, there’s an opening night of the widely discussed Curio Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Even The New York Times did a story on it. We hear that the opening night is sold out but there are 10 more nights remaining. The shows are every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Oct 11 – Nov 2. To buy tickets and for more information, visit this page.

Saturday, Oct 12

• Octoberfest, 6th Annual Community Festival – on 60th Street between Chestnut and Locust – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Residents are invited to the 6^th Annual Community Festival called Octoberfest. The festival, which takes place on 60^th Street between Walnut to Locust, will have something for people of all ages. From bounce houses and face painting for the kids, to blood pressure and dental screens for adults, table games, zumba, line dancing, and musical performances throughout the day. The event is co-sponsored by the 60^th Street West Market Business Association. See the flyer for more information.

• From “Farm to Ford” Garden Court Neighborhood Tour – Lea Elementary School Courtyard (47th & Spruce) – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Historical tours of West Philly’s Garden Court neighborhood continue. The tour is only $5! For more information and to RSVP, visit the event’s Facebook page.

• Philly Zine Fest 2013 – The Rotunda (40th & Walnut) – Noon – 11:00 p.m. – From The Rotunda website: “The Fest showcases local artists and zinesters, as well as zine distros, bringing DIY, radical, whimsical, and artistic small press publications to the public. Ranging from bike repair to poetry to crafts, the Zine Fest is a great place to go to learn new things, connect with local writers, and get involved with creating new forms of accessible media.” Check this page for more information on the festival events or go to: http://phillyzinefest.com/.

Sunday, Oct 13

• Second Sunday Culture Film: Maestra (2011) – Penn Museum – 2:00 p.m. – The Second Sunday Culture Films series kicks off with Maestra, a 2011 documentary about volunteer female teachers who joined the Cuban Literacy Campaign. This year’s series focuses on individual stories of resistance to cultural change, often in the face of imminent threats of violence. Information about the full series is available online.

The leaves are falling and the weather has turned a bit. It’s already October and we’ll be posting information on upcoming Halloween events in the area. This post is dedicated to spooky and ghostly happenings the staff at the Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion (40th & Woodland) have prepared for local residents and visitors. This is the first year that The Woodlands is offering so many Halloween-themed events – and they’re collaborating on a lot of them with other local organizations and businesses. Are you ready to get frightened? Then read on. (By the way, stay tuned for future posts on our annual pumpkin carving contest.)

Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours

This October, Curio Theatre Company and The Woodlands are teaming up to present Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours. For three nights only (October 24, 25, and 26), you can experience The Woodlands as you’ve never seen it by taking a guided tour after dark to some of the final resting places of the Cemetery’s most notorious residents. You’ll hear torrid tales, spooky stories, and scary spirits abound this Halloween (and you’ll even be invited to join the hauntings in a mausoleum). There are six tours every night, starting at 8:00 p.m., and a limited number of tickets ($20/person) are available. To buy tickets, click here.

The Return of Edgar Allan Poe

The night of mystery and macabre is back by popular demand. Literary historian and playwright Rob Velella returns to bring the work of Edgar Allan Poe to life on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 6:30 until 9:00 p.m. Valella will demonstrate some of Poe’s most loved works. After the performance, you’ll have the unique opportunity for a nighttime cemetery walk to visit Poe’s contemporary, Timothy Shay Arthur, at his eternal resting spot. Also a writer, Arthur was a fellow member of the literary coterie Seven Stars. Tickets for this event ($15) are available here.

All Hallow’s Read

Little ones and grown-ups alike are invited to this fun event. Books about monsters, pumpkins, goblins and ghosts, fall books, harvest books, and other seasonal reads will be hidden throughout the cemetery in age-appropriate sections and the book will be on on Saturday, Oct 19, 1:00-3:00 p.m. To sweeten the deal, cold treats from Weckerly’s Ice Cream will be provided! (In case of rain, this event will be held on Sunday, Oct 20 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.)

Halloween 

Finally, bring your kids for some treats at the mansion on Halloween day (October 31) from noon-4 p.m. before the tot parade in Spruce Hill.

To learn more about The Woodlands and upcoming events at the historic cemetery and mansion, visit: http://woodlandsphila.org/.

Looped In, three social seating structures, popped up in Clark Park’s northern section earlier this week and will stay for a few weeks.

Clark Park was buzzing today, with several events taking place at the same time. Philly’s first Pétanque tournament was held in the circle of the northern section of the park. The tournament participants were trying to concentrate on their shots while the sounds from a kids’ concert, organized by the acclaimed Tune Up Philly afterschool program, and from Clark Park’s Farmers’ Market filled the air. The pétanque players also tried to avoid hitting new seating structures, called Looped In, which were installed in the circle a couple of days ago. Check out more photos below.

Local kids enrolled in the “Tune Up Philly” afterschool program performed on Saturday in Clark Park.

You can use the Looped In seating any way you like.

The 1st Philadelphia Petanque Tournament was held in Clark Park today, in the same circle where the Looped In structures were installed. The French game of boules is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide.

The Clark Park Farmer’s Market is every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

UPDATED 10/6/13 at 5:51 p.m. If you’re a runner and love a good challenge, there’s still time to register for the Third Annual Cobbs Creek 5k Run/Walk, taking place at 9 a.m. next Saturday, Oct 12.

Taking place now in the fall, the yearly Cobbs Creek race serves as a way to draw people—particularly locals—into the sprawling green space running along 63rd Street between City and Woodland Avenues. Overseen by the recently formed Friends of Cobbs Creek (Facebook page), Cobbs Creek Park features extensive hiking trails, full forests, a rambling creek and rushing waterfalls, and accessible recreational facilities such as basketball courts and playgrounds–all right within reach of even University City’s most eastern boundary. The park also offers children’s programming, like the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, that will receive financial support from the registration fees, sponsorships and donations gathered from the run/walk.

“I don’t think a lot of people are aware of Cobbs Creek and it’s a shame. It’s really beautiful … It really feels like it’s part of your home,” said Alon Abramson, founder of West Philly Runners and member of Friends of Cobbs Creek. West Philly Runners is sponsoring the event along with Philadelphia Runner, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Philadelphia Water Department, and Fairmount Park Conservancy. “This is good opportunity to get more than just the people that live in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood to recognize this is within a few miles of us.”

In an effort to motivate more runners to register for the race and explore the park, West Philly Runners and Philadelphia Runner have organized a fun run for 9 a.m. this Sunday, Oct 6. The run will start at Philadelphia Runner’s University City location, 3621 Walnut Street and take participants to Cobbs Creek’s Education Center, 700 Cobbs Creek Parkway, for an informational session on the park. Brunch at Cedar Park Café is scheduled after the run.

Abramson theorizes that part of the reason fewer West Philadelphians east of 52^nd Street travel to Cobbs Creek Park is a deceptive perception of distance, assuming it’s much further from University City proper than it actually is. In fact, if 40^th and Market Streets is your starting point, you can traverse between less than two and a half to less than four miles depending on what section of the over 700-acre park you are visiting. And, depending on where you live in West Philly, traveling time to Cobbs Creek can take 5 – 20 minutes by car, 30 – 40 minutes by public transportation, or a 30 minute bike ride.

“As [part of] West Philly Runners, I’d love to get more runners … people to go that far west and people crossing the invisible divide,” Abramson told West Philly Local. “There’s a real racial boundary at 52nd Street that keeps people separated and segregated, so this is a great opportunity to cross that [border] and see that there’s a really safe, beautiful space. If we could get more people in there, it would be generally positive for the community.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

Here’s an assortment of events happening in the area this weekend. We hope this list is not too overwhelming. Enjoy your weekend and the warm weather while it lasts. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, visit the West Philly Events Calendar.

Friday, October 4

Bindlestiff Books hosting author Stewart Acuff – 4530 Baltimore Avenue – 7:00 p.m. – This Friday, Bindlestiff Books will host Stewart Acuff, author of Playing Bigger Than You Are: A Life in Organizing. Acuff has spent more than 30 years as a union organizer, including several successful organizing campaigns in the south and serving as national Organizing Director for the AFL-CIO from 2001-2008. The event will be at the bookstore; copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.

Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Romeo and Juliet – Curio Theatre (4740 Baltimore Avenue) – 8:00 p.m. – Curio Theatre Company is continuing its season with a production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Curio is taking a very different look at the story by exploring gender roles – they made the decision to case Romeo and Juliet as two teenaged daughters of warring families. The young women fall desperately in love and set off a heartbreaking chain of events.  The same-sex casting proves the universality of Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy of pure, teenage love. Previews begin October 3. The show opens Friday, October 11 and runs through November 2. All performances are at 8 p.m. For more info and tickets ($20), go here. Continue Reading

Photo from West Philly Grows Again Facebook page.

West Philly grows again… and again and again. If your child needs something and you don’t want to pay retail, check out the “West Philly Grows Again” kids’ consignment sale this Saturday, Oct 5. This is an annual event benefiting St. Mary’s Nursery School, so you’ll also be contributing to a great cause.

As always, there will be tons of great deals on clothing, toys, games, and other things that local kids have outgrown, all in great condition. The sale will be held at St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk) on Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

A limited number of Friday evening (9-10 p.m.) pre-sale tickets are available. The cost of the ticket ($20) will offset the cost of renting the space and running the sale. The ticket is good for a child-free shopping evening complete with wine and cheese. Please contact the West Philly Grows Again team at: westphillygrowsagain@stmarysnursery.org for more details and availability.

For more information about this event, click here or visit the event’s Facebook page.