Peoplehood Parade returns to West Philly streets and Clark Park this Sunday. Archived photo / West Philly Local.

Local parks will host some great community events on Sunday, Nov. 3.

The Spiral Q Theater is bringing its giant puppets back for the annual Peoplehood Parade that will kick off at 1 p.m. near the Paul Robeson House (4951 Walnut St.). The parade will proceed to Clark Park (45th and Chester Ave.) where it will be followed by a pageant at 2:15 p.m. Here’s some more information from the event’s Facebook page:

Join in the Parade!
Individuals, families and friends – all are welcome!
Come to the Paul Robeson House at noon to get a spot in the parade.
Bring your own puppet, costume, fancy parade outfit, your art and/or your heart and jump into the action or join in a Spiral Q section.

The parade organizers are also looking for volunteers who can provide help to seniors from the Renaissance nursing home who would like to join the parade and the action at Clark Park. Volunteers are asked to come to the home between 12:30 and 1 p.m. and bring the seniors in wheelchairs outside to wait for the parade, join the parade as it passes, and then stick with them until about 3 p.m. and bring them back to the home. The nursing home is located at 4712 Chester Avenue, which is a few blocks from Clark Park. If you would like to volunteer please contact Liza Goodell at community@spiralq.org.

Also this Sunday, Vineyard Community Church is inviting community members to a free “Fall Festival” for children in Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine). The event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. and will feature fall themed arts and crafts, games, and activities.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest and submitted their entries. Each year we are blown away by the creativity of our pumpkin-carving neighbors. This year we received many amazing entries again. It’s worth mentioning that this year, more neighbors focused on Philadelphia related topics, including serious ones like school closings.

So judge for yourself: check out the pumpkin photos below (click to enlarge) and then vote for your favorite. The Readers’ Choice winner will get the grand prize. West Philly Local will select winners in the following categories: Funniest, Scariest, Best Philly-themed, and Kids. The voting will close at midnight on Sunday, Nov. 3. We’ll post the results on Monday, Nov. 4.

Voting has ended.

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As budget cuts slash deeper and deeper into the city’s public schools, teachers and principals need to get more creative in looking for resources to help students. Parents and community residents are a great place to start.

That’s why parents and community members are invited to the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust) on Monday for a community forum hosted by principal Sonya Harrison. The roundtable discussion will focus on the question, “How can all adults work together to improve student success at the Lea School?”

Two sessions of the forum will be held Monday. The first is 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and breakfast will be provided. The later session runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and dinner and homework help are provided.

RSVP is required. To register, go to the office at the Lea School or call 215-898-1112 or email PPCE@gse.upenn.edu.

Head over to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools website for more Lea-related news.

A whole host of goblins, ghosts and other creatures large and small turned out yesterday for the Halloween Parade through the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The annual tradition began near 45th and Baltimore and concluded on the finely decorated 4200 block of Osage Ave, (“Little Osage”). We could go on about the costumes, but it’s easier just to show you. Check out the photos below.

(Photos by Mike Lyons / West Philly Local)

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Philly Thriller dance group performing on the streets of West Philly. Photo from Philly Thriller’s Facebook page.

You’ve probably heard about the Philly Thriller “zombies” group, which dances at various locations around West Philly on Halloween night. But it’s hard to catch up with them because they show up flash mob style, perform their routine and move on to the next location. So here’s the Philly Thriller performance schedule for tonight that their leader, Rashida Holmes, kindly shared with us:

“Weather permitting, we’ll be doing a dress rehearsal performance on The Rotunda Plaza (40th & Walnut) from 4-ish to 4:30-ish, then we’ll be “flashmobbing” a couple spots along Baltimore Ave around 5-ish then we will be stationed at the Haunted Gym at St. Francis de Sales (47th & Windsor) from 6-ish to 7-ish. If we are totally rained out, we’ll make our way to the gym earlier (5-ish or so) but that doesn’t seem likely.”

For more info about today’s activities in the neighborhood, including the Halloween Tot Parade and Haunted Gym, check out this page.

Growing up, my late Nana would always make fried chicken. Thighs, breasts, wings…no part of that bird was left out of our frying pan. And her fried chicken was delicious, crispy, and addictive.

Up until last night, I thought I had lost my taste for fried chicken after my Nana passed away in 1999. None of the fried chicken could compare to hers—whether from a fast food dive or “upscale” home-cooking joint, the crispy coated birds were just grease-bomb artery cloggers. Then I tasted Wishbone‘s classic craft fried chicken and it was like I was eight years old, chomping on a thigh during holiday dinner. With each bite I understood why the line at Wishbone, which opened last week in Lee’s Hoagie House’s former home at 4034 Walnut Street, was almost out the door when I stopped by on Tuesday night. And this person agrees.

Wishbone is co-owned by veteran chefs Alan Segel and Dave Clouser who spoke with The Insider back in June about their plans to open a shop with a “takeout, delivery, some seating, a small menu… and no pretense.”

Battered in buttermilk and pretzel crust, Wishbone’s classic fried chicken, available in dark or white meat and offered at $8.95 a pound, was tender, crispy and juicy and had a minimal aftermath of grease (there’s also a Thai coconut curry & basil special offered, which I didn’t try due to food allergies). A variety of dips are offered at $0.50 each (I tried the pimenton aioli and modern BBQ), but—while good on their own—they lack the kick necessary to a proper accompaniment to the delicious (albeit slightly salty) chicken.

While the chicken’s a production, Wishbone is not. It’s nothing more than a “quirky” take out joint done cafeteria style with an upstairs seating area and decked out in a simplified country-inspired decor (think ceramic roosters and tin watering cans with flowers). It’s in its evolving stages as the general manager Erica Hope told me, so expect a few bumps like waiting 10 minutes for more chicken or stopping by to a closed shop because the chicken’s run out. As of Thursday, Wishbone is tentatively open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with possibly later closing hours during the weekends.

– Annamarya Scaccia