Don’t feel like venturing too far from home on New Year’s Eve? Here’s a sampling of things going on to send out 2010 in West Philly. This list will be continually updated so if you know of something that should be on the list, send the details to editor – at – westphillylocal.com.

Here’s information on the fireworks at Penn’s Landing. There’s an early show for the kiddos. And if you are planning on venturing out of the hood, here’s info on SEPTA’s schedule.

By the way, we had to chuckle a little at this warning we found on a prominent Philadelphia tourism website about heading to West Philly for New Year’s Eve:

“That having been said, this neighborhood is very dicey, and is on the outer fringes of University City, in fact. And it may be particularly dangerous, on New Year’s Eve – it’s not like being in Old City, or on the Avenue of the Arts.

Accordingly, if you decide to venture that far west of Broad Street on New Year’s Eve, have a heightened sense of awareness to any potential safety issues (especially if you’ve been drinking).”

The place they were talking about is at 39th and Chestnut. Our italic, their bold.

Well, we can agree with one thing: It is definitely not like being in Old City.

Anyway, here’s what we have so far:

• Gojjo • 4540 Baltimore Ave. • No cover

Free champagne toast at midnight and a DJ.

• Forrest Yoga Ceremony • Studio 34 • 4522 Baltimore Ave. • Suggested donation: $5 to $20 or books from selected list

Say farewell to the old year and hello to the new with an extended Forrest Yoga Ceremony led by Studio 34′s Morgan Andrews. Through silent and guided meditation, pranayama and asana, this will be an opportunity for you to go deeper into the playful side of your practice. All are welcome to attend, whether you’re new to yoga or ready to work with more advanced poses. Proceeds go toward building up Studio 34′s Yoga|Healing|Arts Library as a resource for students and teachers of yoga. You can contribute through a monetary donation, or by providing books from this list.

• New Year’s Eve with DJ Jazzy Jeff • The Blockley • 38th and Chestnut • Tickets: $85

Includes a 6-hour “top shelf” open bar and a buffet from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

• Slainte Pub • 3000 Market St. • No cover

Free midnight champagne toast and drink specials and a DJ from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

• New Year’s Eve with Slo-Mo and Steph Hayes and the Good Problems • World Cafe Live • 3025 Walnut St. • Tickets: $25 in advance  and $28 day of the show

Slo-Mo is the brainchild of Philadelphia steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner. Brenner has spent time on the road and in the studio playing steel guitar with such bands as Marah, Magnolia Electric Company and Badly Drawn Boy, but Slo-Mo featuring Mic Wrecka is something totally different.

For those interested in recycling their Christmas tree,  we have so far found two options. The best local option in West Philly is to take it to Clark Park at 43rd and Chester Ave. on Jan. 9 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.. UC Green will turn your tree into wood chips that will be used for neighborhood parks and gardens. The cost is $5, which will go toward recouping the costs of the chipping. Your tree should be free of decorations etc. before you drop it off.

The City provides a second option. Trees will be accepted for recycling from Jan. 3 through Jan. 15 at three locations in the city. The closest for West Philly residents is 3033 South 63rd St. (between Lindbergh Blvd. and Passyunk Ave.). Other drop-off locations include near  the intersection of Domino Lane and Umbria Street in Manayunk, and State Road and Ashburner Street in the Northeast. More information about the program is available at (215) 686-5560.

Trees left curbside will be taken to the landfill.

Here is a flyer on the UCGreen option:

If you can stand the wind – and it is brutal at times – there is good sledding to be had at Clark Park today. A nice little ramp has been set up near the maintenance building. See more photos on our Flickr feed. About a foot of snow fell in West Philly overnight.

The City has announced that trash and recycling collection has been suspended for today. Residents with regular Monday trash and recycling collection should hold their trash until next week for regular pickup on Monday, Jan. 3. On Tuesday through Friday, residents with rear driveway collection should place their trash and recycling in front of their homes for pickup. Rear trash collection will resume next week.

Tuesday pick-up appears to be on as usual.

In a recent piece in Philadelphia Magazine, the new Drexel president John Fry lays out his hopes for the remaking of the neighborhoods near the campus – the Eds and Meds (universities and medicine/science) approach a la Penn. Fry imagines a Drexel that is the most “civically engaged university in America.” The plan seems to be similar to what has taken place at Penn, where Fry was a vice president under former president Judith Rodin. The plan includes more police, help with faculty and staff mortgages and improved schools.

From the piece:

The short-term goal is to make the northern University City neighborhoods around Drexel more like the clean, leafy, surprisingly safe and prosperous precincts that adjoin the Penn campus, whose very niceness Fry had more than a little to do with creating during a seven-year stint as Penn’s executive vice president under then-president Judith Rodin.

The piece is also sprinkled with contrasts between Fry and the neighborhoods he proposes to revamp – references to his Land Rover, his degrees and the fact that he lives in Bryn Mawr.

Young orange and white tabby with a fluffy tail found on 49th and Baltimore, approx. 6 months old. Needs a foster home after tomorrow. Call 215-589-2437 or 267-882-8817 if you can help.