Update: The event has been rescheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8 due to rain.

Chester Avenue Community Garden (4715 Chester Ave) is hosting a plant/seed swap, bake sale, and an overwintering workshop from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Community members are invited to participate. This is a fundraising event for a new front gate and kiwi tree supports. Here’s what you can bring to trade at the plant swap:

-Winter hardy vegetable starts
-Fast-growing cold season seeds
-Heirloom garlic
-Berry bushes
-Perennials including flowers and bulbs

You can also purchase plants available for sale at the garden. Suggested entry donation for this event is $5. For more information visit the event’s Facebook page.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is holding a party and fundraiser at Keswick Cycles (4040 Locust Street) on Friday, March 23, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. At this event you can hear about the state and future of bicycling in the region, meet Bicycle Coalition staff and members, talk to fellow bicyclists and enjoy beer and snacks. This is also a great opportunity to become the coalition member or renew your membership.

The Bicycle Coalition is a non-profit, membership organization working to make our region a better place to ride a bike. For more information, email: nicholas [at] bicyclecoalition.org or call (215) 242-9253 ext. 311.
 

The 5th Annual Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship Fundraiser supporting West Philadelphia youth’s pursuit of higher education will take place on Sunday, March 25, from 4-6 p.m. at Dock Street Brewery.

There will be free beer and pizza, a silent auction, and live music by The Wayside Shakeup The Old Fashioneds.

Tickets are $40 and are available here. For more information, email: scholarships [at] cedarparkneighbors.org

Enjoy a lot of chili and help a local pottery studio this Sunday, March 18 at University City Arts League’s annual Chili Bowl fundraiser. The event will be held from 1 – 5 p.m. at 4226 Spruce Street. Here’s how it works.

You can eat all the chili you want, just pay for the hand-crafted chili bowl made by Arts League potters. You can also vote for the best chili maker among neighbors (there will be an amateur competition between about 10 neighborhood residents).

It is a really fun event, with music and raffles, so make sure to bring your kids. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about the Arts League. If you’ve never been there before, you are welcome to take a look around or you can even get a tour.

Yards Brewery will be providing beer for the event. A bowl plus all you can eat chili will be $20. For more information, visit ucartsleague.org or call 215-382-7811.

Here’s one delicious way to help stray cats and kittens in West Philadelphia. City Kitties, a local non-profit volunteer-run feline rescue organization, are bringing back their favorite fundraising event – Cooking with Cat Ladies. The event will take place the evening of Saturday, March 10, at a volunteer’s home.

The hostess, who is an extraordinary cook, will prepare a mouth-watering five-course feast for the event guests. A $50 ticket purchase reserves your seat at the table, where you will enjoy the dinner and the company of other City Kitties volunteers and cat lovers. The menu is not yet finalized, but it will be vegetarian with vegan and gluten-free options.

Seats are limited and City Kitties would like to fill up the table by this Thursday, March 1, so don’t delay in purchasing your ticket. To check out the menu and to reserve your seat, visit this page.

Mariposa Food Co-op is hosting a screening of the documentary Queen of the Sun tomorrow, June 23, at 7 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.). All proceeds will go toward the co-op’s expansion.

The film, directed by Taggart Siegel, offers an insightful look at the global bee crisis. It explores the disappearance of bees and bee colony collapse disorder, which has dramatically increased since 2006. The authors try to find explanations and solutions to the crisis by interviewing beekeepers, scientists and philosophers and venturing into a wonderful and mysterious world of the beehive.

Here’s the thing; bees are directly responsible for producing a whole lot of the food we eat through pollination. They’re disappearing and we need to figure out why so we can help bring them back. This film goes a long way to highlighting this issue.

In addition to the Queen of the Sun screening, “West Philly Grown,” a short documentary about Mill Creek Farm will be shown.

Admission is on a sliding scale, from $5 to $20.

Here’s the Queen of the Sun preview: