Friday night jazz is returning to Cedar Park next week, with free outdoor performances by the area’s finest jazz musicians and bands. The annual series, presented by Cedar Park Neighbors and sponsored by local businesses and individual donations from neighborhood residents, kicks off Friday, June 7, at 49th and Baltimore.

Shows will take place every Friday from 6-8 p.m. (weather permitting) in June and July, plus an additional “rain date” performance on August 2nd.

Here’s this year’s schedule:

June 7: Rich Tucker & The Universal Music Koncept
June 14: Weez The People Collective
June 21: Rayburn Wright’s Jazz Lab  Continue Reading

University City District has released dates and more details for their signature summer events.

The Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll will return on Thursday, June 6 and Thursday, Sept. 12, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. This popular event showcases local businesses with a chance to try their signature items and offerings – for just $1! The event also provides an opportunity for new businesses to introduce themselves to the community. As the event has grown over the years, more community vendors have joined it. UCD is now also offering smaller vendors an opportunity to sell food and merchandise at the event after they obtain a permit through the Philadelphia Health Department. Read more about participating vendors for the June 6th Dollar Stroll here. Continue Reading

Newly-elected State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell will host her first Community Town Hall since being sworn in.

Residents are invited this Thursday, May 30, to Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (5732 Race St.) to have an open discussion on some key topics, including the 2019-20 state budget, reduction of violence and poverty.

“I look forward to engaging my constituents on ways to create a safe and economically viable community throughout my district,” Johnson-Harrell said in a statement. “Before being elected to office, I was on the frontlines of community activism, with a mission to empower my community. Now as a state legislator, still in the forefront of improving my community, I feel like my goals to better my community has been made all the more possible.”

The community town hall is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Street improvement work will take place in West Philadelphia during the week of May 27th in the areas covered by the 16th and 19th Police Department – including portions of Vine Street, Aspen Street, Malvern Avenue, Wynnefield Avenue and some other areas. The work schedule includes temporary full street closures and parking restrictions. The work will be completed in separate phases – milling, adjusting of manhole covers, and resetting of utility boxes – which will take place in separate activities over the course of the week.  Continue Reading

On Saturday, June 1, the Activities for Community Education in Science (ACES) outreach program at the University of Pennsylvania, is inviting students in grades 3rd-8th to perform a diverse and exciting line-up of experiments. Each student will have an opportunity to perform and discuss several different experiments in small groups, engaging in science demonstrations with other attendees.

Experiments will include:

• Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
• Balloon-Powered Cars
• Colorful Chemistry
• Gold Nanoparticles
• Separating Dyes with Electricity
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Towers  Continue Reading

Jamie Gauthier

Political newcomer Jamie Gauthier pulled off the biggest upset in Tuesday’s primary election, handily defeating longtime incumbent Jannie Blackwell in the City Council 3rd District race. The win appears to end the 45-year reign of the Blackwell family in the district, which has undergone massive demographic changes in recent years.

Gauthier garnered about 56 percent of the approximately 25,000 votes cast and with no Republican candidate in Tuesday’s primary, the win almost assures her victory in the November general election.  Continue Reading