The Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change (Facebook page) brought a lot of joy to the field near 40th and Walnut last night as part of the 40th Street Summer Series. Group members Fatu Gayflor, Marie Nyenabo, Tokay Tomah, and Zaye Tete performed traditional songs and called for unity in the Philadelphia community. Some audience members joined them in singing and dancing. (Photos by West Philly Local).

The Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change! (Image from the Philadelphia Folklore Project).

The Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change is performing Saturday in the green space near the Walnut West Library at 40th and Walnut in one of the summer’s most anticipated neighborhood events.

Part of the University City District’s 40th Street Summer Series, the free performance begins at 6 p.m. and also includes Modero Dance Company, which were founded to combine traditional and modern Indonesian dance disciplines.

The Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change combines traditional song with a social message to promote strong and safe communities. Made up of accomplished singers, dancers and musicians, the chorus’s focus is awareness and dialogue about domestic violence and other concerns of Philadelphia-area Liberian immigrants.  Continue Reading

The Philadelphia Film Society (PFS) is launching a free seasonal community screening program, Movies on the Block, this Saturday (Aug. 20). This will be the second year of Movies on the Block, an initiative designed to support established community organizations in neighborhoods that have little access to film by providing film programming and facilitating engagement.

PFS has chosen weekly lead partners through a public application process. All partners worked with PFS to develop Movies on the Block events in collaboration with other community leaders, stakeholders and organizations.

The first screening (Ernest & Celestine) will be this Saturday at Kingsessing Playground (51st & Chester), and on Saturday, Sept. 17, Belmont and Mantua community members are invited to a screening of Shake the Dust at Belmont Charter School. Here are more details for each screening:  Continue Reading

Nothing says summer in Philly quite like closing down the streets and throwing a good block party. It turns out that West Philly – particularly Cedar Park, Cobbs Creek, Kingsessing and Garden Court – have thrown more block parties than anyone else in the city.

Our friends over at PlanPhilly have crunched the data drawn from block party permits issued over the past 10 years and the 19143 zip code came out on top with 7,109 block party permits issued over the 10-year period. North Philly, particularly 19140, was second. The block that parties the hardiest? The 3500 block of Ryan Avenue in Mayfair, with 69 block party permits issued.

PlanPhilly’s Jon Geeting writes that the total number of block parties in the city over the past 10 years have decreased since a peak in 2008 of 7,679 total permits issued. But, Geeting points out, “this data set only includes authorized block party permits that people paid for. It doesn’t include all the block parties out there held without a permit from Streets, so keep in mind that this is only a partial picture of the phenomenon.”

Not surprisingly, the permit data shows that the most block parties are held around July 4th, Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Check out the full post at PlanPhilly here.

The proposed site plan for the Centennial Commons (Courtesy of Studio | Bryan Hanes)

Centennial Commons, the project that will provide a much needed recreation space near The Please Touch Museum in West Parkside, is expected to break ground this Fall, according to a report by PlanPhilly. The first construction phase of the project, initiated by Fairmount Park Conservancy, the Parkside Association of Philadelphia and East Parkside Residents Association, includes park “porches”.

When completed, the project will provide a seating area with landscaping that will give both residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the space. It will also include a large playground with a climbing wall and spray park.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the William Penn Foundation are funding the project as part of an $11 million grant to re-imagine public spaces in Philadelphia. The total cost of the Centennial Commons project is approximately $7 million.

Read more about the project here and here.

Colorful banners now decorate the 48th and Spruce Street Business Corridor as part of an effort to spur commerce near that corner, which includes the restaurant incubator, the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises, Baltimore Crab and Seafood and Accu Pizza.

Garden Court Community Association has installed 14 distinctive banners along Spruce and 48th Streets thanks to generous funding from Mosaic Community Church, the University City District, and The Enterprise Center. (Photo by Mark Mendenhall)