Photo courtesy of Parks on Tap

Parks on Tap, Philadelphia’s traveling beer garden, will kick off its 2021 season tomorrow with the first-ever Cherry Blossom edition. The garden will pop up at two locations outside the Fairmount Horticulture Center Arboretum (100 N. Horticultural Drive) through Sunday, April 25 and will partner with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia to present the Shofuso Cherry Blossom Viewing. This new campaign includes three weeks of prime Cherry Blossom viewing, socially distanced activities, virtual programming, and new Japanese-inspired fare.

Parks on Tap will also feature products from Two Local’s Brewing, Philadelphia’s first Black-owned brewery, and will offer three weeks of free live performances to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month. Continue Reading

Philadelphia will enter the next phase of COVID vaccine eligibility, Phase 1c, beginning Monday, April 5, the city’s Department of Public Health announced today. This phase includes essential workers with lower risk of coronavirus exposure. The following four groups of essential workers are being prioritized within this phase and will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting this Monday:

• sanitation workers
• maintenance and janitorial workers
• utility workers
• postal and package delivery workers

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The Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion will be auctioning off rare wood from the Grove of Seven Giants – the historic English Elm trees that had stood there for over 200 years, but had to be cut down after succumbing to Dutch Elm disease a few years ago.

The wood from the Grove of Seven Giants was milled in 2017, and has been carefully drying ever since. This rare wood is now ready to be used in restoration projects at The Woodlands, and in your own home! The Woodlands is auctioning off live edge, raw slabs in a variety of sizes to be used for woodworking projects, furniture, and more. Continue Reading

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has expanded the list of COVID vaccination clinics around the city and has added more clinics in West Philadelphia. A new city-run COVID vaccination site has opened at the Salvation Army (5501 Market St.).

The new site is open every Friday through at least April 30 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is operating mostly by appointment. Walk-ups are possible after 3 p.m. if there are any unused doses left, according to a staff member.

Only eligible Philadelphia residents can get vaccinated at city-run clinics (check eligibility criteria here). Please make sure to bring your ID or a piece of mail with your address.

For more information on city-run COVID vaccination clinics, go here.

Today, the School District of Philadelphia has announced its plans to welcome back students in grades 3-5 and students with complex needs in grades 6-8 in school buildings (Phase 2 of its Hybrid Learning Plan), and the beginning of the application process for families.

Beginning Tuesday, April 6, families can complete the Phase 2 Learning Model Selection Survey, where they can choose to have their children participate in hybrid learning. Families will have to make this selection until Tuesday, April 13. Phase 2 hybrid learning students would attend school in-person two days per week and engage in digital learning three days each week, beginning the week of Monday, April 26. Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a West Philly-based non-profit organization that has been providing free bikes to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, is holding a virtual Spring Fundraiser on Thursday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Over the past year, the organization has been working through its Bikes for Neighbors program to connect people all over the city with safe and reliable bicycle transportation. The bikes were made available for free to essential workers – those working in hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, warehouses, etc.

The Bikes for Neighbors program received over 540 requests for bicycles from Philadelphia residents in need, and 118 bicycles have been given out so far. Forty-five percent of the bikes have gone to healthcare workers and another 20 percent to grocery store employees. Continue Reading