Photo courtesy of Curio Theatre Company

Curio Theatre Company will hold two in-person summer camp sessions for children in grades K through 8th next month with a limited number of students due to COVID safety protocols. Session one will be held from July 5-16 and Session Two from July 19-30. Session One has mostly sold out, but some spots are still available for campers in grades K through 2nd.

Some of you may be familiar with Curio’s scholarship program. The 16-year-old West Philly theatre company has always strived to offer year-round theatre education to all area children, regardless of their financial situation. Especially in 2021, Curio believes in the power of “safe and responsible” creative outlets for kids and is offering in-person education with limited capacity. After being virtual for so long, Curio staff can’t wait to get back into playing spaces with creative campers. Since the number of campers this year is limited and to be able to give scholarships to kids who cannot afford camp tuition Curio needs to raise about $7,500. Continue Reading

The second Philly location for the South Philly based pizza joint, Pizza Plus, has opened on the 4800 block of Spruce Street (4814 Spruce St.). In March, its Passayunk Avenue location celebrated one year in business and also was included in the Philadelphia Magazine‘s Guide to Pizza in Philly.

Pizza Plus is a place vegans would especially appreciate since it offers a vegan option for almost all of their menu items – pizzas, burgers and sandwiches, and salads and sides.

Pizza Plus accepts orders for pick up or delivery via phone or online. Walk-ins are also welcome. The hours of operation are Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.

For more info, visit their website: pizzaplusphilly.com.

The 4224 Baltimore development site in 2013 (Photo by West Philly Local).

There’s finally some news on a development across from Clark Park that has been years in the making. The developers are set to proceed with the construction of a 132-unit residential building at 4224 Baltimore Avenue, the project that was first announced eight years ago and took a few years to get zoning approval.

The work is expected to begin within a few weeks, according to Barry Grossbach, Zoning Chair at Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA), and will include installation of the fence around the construction area, removal of trees in the area, removal of existing sidewalks and installation of concrete barriers to provide temporary sidewalks, closure of parking around the construction area, and finally, beginning of excavation work.

Zoning approval was granted in June 2015 and building permit was issued in May 2019.

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Trash and recycling collections in the city will continue experiencing delays this week, according to an announcement by Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams. The delays are caused by the COVID pandemic: there are higher levels of residential trash tonnage due to people remaining in their homes for extended periods of time, as well as staff shortages.

This week, recycling collections across the city may be experiencing additional delays as Streets Department crews have been focusing on picking up trash first to help mitigate health risks and attracting rodents. Continue Reading

The 2021 Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade and Festival will not take place in their usual form due to continued COVID restrictions, but the organizers, Juneteenth Philly, will hold some other great events this Saturday to commemorate the end of slavery and celebrate Juneteenth.

The celebrations will kick off at 10 a.m. with Freedom Day Rally, followed by a march down 52nd Street from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The inaugural “Art in the Park” exhibit featuring local artists will take place in Malcolm X. Park (52nd and Pine) from 12-7 p.m.

Gathering for the Freedom Day Rally and March will begin at 9 a.m. at 52nd and Haverford. The organizers are encouraging participants to fill out a sign-up form online.

For more information, please visit http://juneteenthphilly.org/.

The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, the University City District’s program that provides job training opportunities to unemployed Philadelphians and connects them with potential employers, now also supports its alumni who want to continue their professional education. The inaugural group of “WPSI Scholars” was announced yesterday. Each of the 16 scholars received $1,000 scholarships toward tuition to cover degree, certification, or credentialing programs.

The goal of the program is to “offer a small but significant incentive to graduates to continue growing in their careers and open new professional opportunities,” according to Skills Initiative Managing Director Cait Garozzo. Continue Reading