Map created by Dre Grigoropol

At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when art galleries and museums are closed, West Philly artists will put their work on their porches for everyone to enjoy! The very first West Philly Porch Art Show will take place this Saturday, June 27, from 2 to 6 p.m. with over a dozen artists participating in the event. The organizers, West Philadelphia Community Art Alliance (Facebook page), are excited to bring this event to the West Philly community:

“This is the first time many of us have seen art [in real life] in many months!”

Here’s the list of participating artists:  Continue Reading

As an alternative to public pools, the city’s spraygrounds will be allowed to open this summer. Beginning Monday, July 6, 91 public spraygrounds will start to open in Philadelphia on a rolling basis. All spraygrounds will be staffed at all times to make sure that everyone is safe on-site. COVID-19 safety measures at spraygrounds include the following rules:

• Limited capacity based on sprayground size
• Social distancing of at least six feet

To find a sprayground near you and its hours of operation, go here.

Public pools will remain closed this summer due to COVID-19.

A special one-day event will support West Philadelphia’s underserved community as COVID-19 restrictions have started to relax in the city. This Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m., the Family Practice and Counseling Network (FPCN) will be offering free COVID-testing event at Church of Faith at 38th and Brown Streets. Testing will be available to all – no symptoms, no insurance, no PCP (primary care provider) and no referrals will be required.

Here are more details:

• From 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Residents age 65 and older (first come, first served).

• From 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Everyone.  Continue Reading

The University City Science Center is launching a free STEM job training for their workforce development program with a particular interest in recruiting participants from West Philadelphia. This is part of the Science Center’s effort to create greater access to and new pathways into family-sustaining STEM jobs for under- and unemployed Philadelphians.

As part of this new program, the Science Center is now accepting applications for the first cohort of trainees for their free STEM job training program – “Building an Understanding of Lab Basics (BULB)”. The program is open to Philadelphians age 18 or older with a high school degree or GED interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM) field. Applications close on Monday, June 29.  Continue Reading

As COVID-19 spread in Philadelphia continues to slow down, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf included the region in the list of 12 more counties allowed to move from Yellow to the Green re-opening phase beginning Friday, June 26. The Green phase allows re-opening of all businesses, including limited indoor operations for in-person businesses, such as hair salons, restaurants, and gyms/spas (at 50 percent occupancy and by appointment).

Masks are still required when entering a business and social distancing protocols must be followed.  Continue Reading

Photo by Ken McFarlane; digital rendering by Jeff Sugg.

To celebrate Black Lives and Black Fatherhood an outdoor public art installation by West Philly artist and activist Ken McFarlane will be projected on the façade of the Barnes Foundation this Saturday and Sunday (June 20 & 21) from 8 – 11 p.m.

The project, titled “From the Root to the Fruit: Portraits of Black Fathers and Their Children“, is presented by We Embrace Fatherhood, a coalition of West Philadelphia fathers, activists and artists, as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement for eradicating systemic racial injustice and in response to the COVID-19 health crisis which has dramatically decreased public access to the arts.

The installation will be projected onto the facade of the Barnes and can be viewed from their South East plaza as well as from the streets. Music will provided by DJs from PC Radio Live. This will be a COVID-19-safe environment, with six foot spacing. Attendees must wear masks at all times.  Continue Reading