Things are looking up. Spring is near. We can taste it. Here are a few things going down this weekend. Let us know if we missed something especially important to you. Write editor — at — westphillylocal.com.

Saturday, March 12

• Chess Tournament • 1 p.m. • Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library (125 S. 52nd St.) • Free

Join chess players from around West Philly for this free chess tournament. Adults and children are welcome, though they will compete separately.  See more information here.

• Tool Library Yard Sale • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. • West Philly Tool Library (4620 Woodland Ave.)

The West Philly Tool Library is celebrating its third anniversary with its annual yard sale. Four Worlds Bakery will provide treats.

• All Around This World musical snack time • 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. • Milk and Honey Market (4425 Baltimore Ave.) • Free

Good music and snacks from Jay Sands for kids 0-8 years. This thing fills up quick so you might want to RSVP. Call Jay at 215-913-2679.

• Javaflix Movie Discussion Night • 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. • VCC Office and Cultural Center (4523 Springfield Ave.) • Free

The Javaflix discussion group will watch and discuss Gasland, the Oscar-nominated documentary about the effects of natural gas drilling (a process called “fracking”). The film is particularly pertinent for Philadelphia residents because of the drilling upstream in northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania. Here’s a trailer for Gasland.

Sunday, March 13

• Kids Rock for Kids benefit Concert • 11:30 a.m. • World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut St.) •Tickets: $7

World Cafe Live’s “Kids Rock for Kids” rock concert series benefits children’s medical charities in the Philadelphia area several times throughout the year. Concerts feature teenage rock bands from Music Training Centers’ Rock 101 program in a family-friendly atmosphere.This event will benefit LiveConnections.org, which creates innovative music education programs for children and special needs populations.

• Cat’s Pajamas Kids Music Fundraiser for the Global Leadership Academy • 5 p.m. • Green Line Cafe (45th and Locust) • Tickets: $5-$15 for kids and adults on a sliding scale.

On January 9, 2011, a fire hit the building housing the Global Leadership Academy in West Philly. We’re joining the fundraising effort, as GLA prepares to open a new building next school year! The Cat’s Pajamas makes very cool music for kids, bringing a musical-comedy twist to high-octane kid-rock. All the proceeds go directly to the GLA’s Fire Relief fund! For more info on Cat’s Pajama’s go here.

The Friends of Clark Park has released a tentative list of large events for this spring, summer and fall. The events still need to go through the permitting process of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Because of the ongoing construction at the “A” park, all of the large events this year will take place in the “B” or “C” parks below Chester Avenue.

One recent fixture on the summer park calendar, the annual music festival Best Fest, will not take place this year.

The Friends of Clark Park has recommended that no large events take place in Park A this season.

Here is the tentative schedule:

April 16/23: Uhuru Flea Market
May 7: Spruce Hill May Fair
May 14: Uhuru Flea Market
June 28: Uhuru Flea Market
June 25: Summer Solstice Festival
July 23: Uhuru Flea Market
August 20: Uhuru Flea Market
September 10: Woodland Avenue Reunion
September 17: Fall Equinox Festival
September 17: Uhuru Flea Market
(These two events will coordinate space-sharing)
September 24: Youth Soccer Fall Season
October 15: Uhuru Flea Market

Here are a few select events this weekend:

Friday

• Great Expectations • 8 p.m. • Curio Theatre (815 S. 48th) •Tickets $10 to $15.

Join the Curio Theatre performers as they explore Charles Dickens’ world of Pip, Estella, Miss Havisham, Joe and a small army of other characters in a classic story of love, revenge, redemption and the discovery of self. Preview performances will be Feb. 4, 5 and 10. The play opens Feb. 11. Jared Reed adapted the play and will direct it.

• Serafin String Quartet • 8 p.m. • Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts • General admission $25

Serafin String Quartet debuted in New York in 2004 to a sell-out crowd at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and has consistently received rave reviews in the press and ovations in the concert hall. New York Concert Review has applauded the quartet for their “excellent music making” and “uncommonly fine interpretation.” Enjoy Sky Quartet by 2010 Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Philadelphia composer, Jennifer Higdon.

Saturday

• SAT Prep for Teens • 1 p.m. • Walnut Street West Library (201 S. 40th St.)

• Peanut Butter and Jams Welcomes Bollywood Dance • 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. • World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut St.) • Tickets $7 to $10

This workshop is a unique fusion of Bollywood beats, Indian folk dance moves and western style with an exhilarating style of dance technique, all in an easy-to-understand, format that anyone can follow. It’s a great way to experience healthy physical activity, broaden cultural understanding, develop musical skills and have fun. All Workshops are designed and conducted by celebrity choreographer Rujuta Vaidya who has the credit of choreographing this year’s Oscar ceremony as well as the Bollywood dance routines for superstars like Britney Spears, Cheetah Girls and Black Eyed Peas among others

The 10 a.m. show is for kids 4-11 and the Noon show is a fitness workshop for teens and adults.

Sunday

• Charles Dicken Birthday Party • 2 p.m. • Griffith Hall (University of the Sciences, 43rd and Kingsessing Mall) • Free

Dramatic readings and party refreshments. Sponsored by the Friends of Clark Park.

• Super Square Dance for beginners • 8 p.m. • The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.) • $5 to $10

This could be all kinds of fun. Featuring Jamie Herman and Marian Macrae Band. Your caller is Keith Brand.

A sampling of things going on today. Check the happenings page for more. Send information on your event to: editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• Mummenschanz • 8 p.m. • Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts • 3680 Walnut St. • $28-$48.

From the Annenberg website: “Using ordinary materials such as toilet paper, white sheets, foam and recycled junk that morph into giant balloons, huge slinkies, gargantuan potato heads and accordion-pleated tubes, this beloved Swiss company tells incredible stories that transcend the need for words.” That sounds kind of interesting.

Here they are (Oh, and it’s supposed to be quiet):

• Christmas Bazaar • 9 a.m. • Mercy Hospital lower atrium • 501 S. 54th St.

The bazaar will include jewelry, clothing, handcrafted items, artwork and more.

• Manga Cafe • 3 p.m. • Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library • 125 S. 52nd St.

Teen and ‘tween manga fans are invited to read, draw and chat about their favorite Japanese comics. Art supplies will be provided and Japanese snacks will be served.

A sampling of things going on today. There may be more in the happenings section (our ever-expanding listings). Send your listings to: editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook-up/Ideal Bread • 8 p.m. • The Rotunda • 4014 Walnut St. • Free

Drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara was born in Boston and studied under Joyce Kauffman and Alan Dawson. Over the years he has performed with Anthony Braxton, Norah Jones, Herbie Mann, Joe Morris, Roy Campbell, William Parker, Vernon Reid, Vijay Iyer, and many others. His current projects, in addition to The Hook Up, include his duo work with Taylor Ho Bynum, The Thirteenth Assembly, the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet and Trio, Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin, Ideal Bread, Red Baraat, and several others. He has released many records as both a group leader and sideman on labels like Important, hatOLOGY, Engine, Firehouse 12, Cuneiform, and 482 Music. Ideal Bread will perform the works of famed soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. Here is a review of Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook-up from the New York Times. Here’s a taste of the music:

• Son Step/Renne • 7 p.m. • Green Line Cafe • 4426 Locust St. • $5-10 sliding scale

Son Step is Pat Lamborn, Jon Coyle, Chris Coyle, Matt Scarano and they play garage/folk/experimental songs “with 2 voices and muchos drumming.” Renne features Tim Brey, Chris Pearlberg, Mike Rowland and Doug Raus and is a 4-piece rock/pop/jazz group that “churns out some really great, interesting music.”

• WPEB programming meeting • 6 p.m. • WPEB Studios • 541B S. 52nd St.

The programming committee at WPEB, West Philly’s low-power FM station, will hold their regular monthly meeting.

A sampling of things going on today. There may be more in the happenings section (our ever-expanding listings). Send your listings to: editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• Advent concert • 7 p.m. • Saint Francis de Sales Parish • 4625 Springfield Ave. • Free

The annual Advent concert, Veni, Immanuel.

Ayca Yasmin

• Ayca Yesim at Penn Museum • 6 p.m. • 3260 South St. • Free with regular admission donation.

Ayca Yesim is a Turkish music singer who performs in New York Philadelphia area. Classical Turkish music is a centuries old music tradition which was passed from generation to generation by means of personal training rather than through written instructions. Free with regular museum admission donation.

• Folk Arts Roundtable • 6 p.m. • Philadelphia Folklore Project • 735 S. 50th St. • Free/RSVPs required

PFP invites you to gather with artists and cultural workers committed to folk arts to discuss what is on your mind and share your experiences.