Spring Break is here for most city schoolchildren and we wanted to pass along information about some free activities for West Philly kids this week. The Free Library Hot Spots at select West Philly locations will offer some fun events from Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, where kids, tweens and teens can learn how to make video games online, spice up their wardrobe with e-textiles, practice their DJ skills, make videos, and more.

At Blackwell Regional Library (52nd and Sansom), teens and tweens ages 12 and up can visit the Hot Spot to get creative. On Tuesday, March 26 from 2-4 p.m., teens at Blackwell can create and play video games. On Wednesday, March 27 from 1:45-3 p.m., there will be creative digital freeplay, from making beats to editing photos and making videos.

From Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, teens, tweens, and kids ages 8 and up are invited to visit the Free Library Hot Spot at Heavenly Hall located at 4015 Poplar Street (Hours: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.) to make video games, edit music, create an e-textiles project, or edit photos. Also, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, there will be a dance party to close out the week.

If you have questions about these events, please email Jazmin at: idakaarj@freelibrary.org

An artist’s rendering of the building project at 43rd and Sansom. This is an early rendering and thanks to some pressure from the Spruce Hill Community Association, the building will include some brick facade, windows on the west-facing wall and more landscaping.

Construction of a 4-story, 31-unit apartment building (artist’s rendering above) on the southeast corner of 43rd and Sansom could begin as early as this spring.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the project earlier this month. The building will occupy 121-133 S. 43rd St., which is now a vacant lot near the Bravo Advanced Care Center on the 4300 block of Walnut Street.  The Spruce Hill Community Association signed off on the project in February.

The project will include 31 off-street parking spots and 11 bicycle “parking spaces.” Two commercial spaces will also be located in the building ground floor. Most of the 31 apartments are between 600 and 750 square feet.

Police are investigating another shooting outside of a residence in the Cedar Park neighborhood last night, on the same block where a man was shot and wounded last Friday. Police say shots were fired Thursday night around 6:30 p.m., on the 4900 block of Catharine Street.

Officers from the 18th District responded to a call of “a person with a gun” and found eight shell casings. Police say no victims were present. The investigation continues.

A New York-based property developer is hoping to build a 92-unit residential building on the large vacant lot at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue (pictured), across from Clark Park.

The property owner, Clarkmore LP, is associated with Thylan Associates Inc., whose properties include the University of Pennsylvania-run independent housing complex for the elderly, LIFE UPenn, at 4508 Chestnut St., the Bailey Building at 1218 Chestnut St. and the Biddle Building at 1217 Sansom St. The company also owns upscale condos at 1111 Locust St. and the Heid Building, 325 N. 13th St., which houses lofts.

The conditional zoning permit, granted on March 11, confirms that the developer meets some basic requirements for construction, but does not give a green light for construction.

A 17,600 square-foot structure and the plot, which is a little over an acre, was purchased by Thylan in 2008 for $3.5 million. The building was demolished soon after. The building had most recently housed a women’s shelter. In the past it had served as a nursing home and before that a private boarding school.

The proposed project will also include 36 “bicycle spaces” and 6 parking spaces.

Anyone who opposes the permit for the project can file an appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. For instruction, call them at 215-686-2429.

Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Starting this Wednesday, Curio Theatre will begin showing Madville, a new play written by West Philly playwright and Curio’s Artistic Director Paul Kuhn. This is his first original work produced by Curio since co-writing 2009’s A Funeral Farce.

Madville is the world created by children living in the Canadian woods who return as adults and struggle with memories of surviving in this remote location. They share stories from their experience trying to connect with or understand their shared past and disagreements arise over whose memories are more accurate. The audience will face this puzzle along with the characters.

“For me, it’s about madness,” says Kuhn. “It’s that time that you look back on your past and how crazy it was, that you weren’t even realizing you were steeped in madness at the time… Hopefully the audience will see something in their own childhood, that moment of, ‘Oh my God, why didn’t we die?’”

Madville is directed by Rosemary Fox who is making her directorial debut at Curio Theatre. The cast includes Jennifer Summerfield, Paul Kuhn, Rachel Gluck and Harry Slack of West Philadelphia.

Paul Kuhn’s “Madville”

March 20-April 13, 2013 
at the Calvary Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue
Tickets: $15-20 ($5 off for preview tickets: March 20-21)
Thursday’s, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Zora checking out a playground in Manyunk. (Photo from ZoraPlays.com).

Last April we wrote about a West Philly girl, Zora, and her dad Michael Froehlich’s awesome project, Zora Plays (“Zora plays and we all get a lesson on West Philly playgrounds“). Michael and his daughter, now 3, visited 31 West Philly playgrounds every day last January and documented them all – they made playground equipment photos, sketches and maps and posted them on their website (zoraplays.com).

We have to admit that we haven’t followed this project for a while and were amazed to learn that Zora has recently completed her West Philly playground quest and even started venturing outside of the area. As of today, Zora and Michael have visited and documented 89 playgrounds in West Philly and beyond (here’s a direct link to the map of the playgrounds).

What can we say? Keep playing, Zora!