Warrington Community Garden (photo from ngtrust.org).

June 20th is the second annual Community Gardens Day in Philadelphia. The celebration is sponsored by the Neighborhood Gardens Trust (NGT), an organization that helps preserve community gardens. Thanks to NGT’s work, Community Gardens Day was recently officially recognized by the city.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, 45 community gardens throughout the city will host free activities, such as tours, demos, work days, family activities, and other special programs. This is a great chance to visit your neighborhood garden, show your support and participate in activities (click here to find a community garden near you).

A celebration will also be happening tomorrow at Warrington Garden at 4731 Warrington Ave. Guests are welcome to explore this green oasis and take part in the following activities: tours of the garden, scavenger hunt for children, photo display from the garden’s archives, herb identification, medicinal plant walkthrough (at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.), and an art project organized by the University City Arts League (from 1 to 3 p.m.). Light refreshments will be served.

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program will unveil a new mural in Southwest Philly on Saturday that honors the commitment of incarcerated fathers to their children.

The mural, entitled Fathers and Children Together (FACT), will be installed at 55th and Woodland on Saturday (the day before Fathers’ Day) at 11 a.m.. The public is invited and light refreshments will be served.

The mural is the result of collaboration between the Mural Arts Program, the United Community Action Network at SCI Graterford, the maximum security state prison outside of Philadelphia, and the Fathers and Children Together (FACT) program. The FACT program helps incarcerated fathers reconnect with children in the hopes that they can become positive role models and encourage their kids to choose education over incarceration. During FACT session inside Graterford, kids are able to interact one-on-one with their fathers.

About a third of the mural, which is painted on parachute cloth, was painted inside Graterford. Christy Bottie, who has led art workshops in the FACT program, is working on the rest of the mural with lead muralist Ernel Martinez.

Drawings created together by fathers and their children during FACT sessions make up the border of the mural.

Here are a few chances to visit Curio Theatre before it closes its doors until the next season. The local theater company will present a series of free performances this weekend and on Monday, June 22.

CuriosiTeens! (Photo courtesy of Curio Theatre Company)

Curio’s young company, CuriosiTeens! will present three performances of Bang Bang You’re Dead, a powerful drama written by William Mastrosimone in the wake of the school shootings of the late 1990s. The goal of this production is to search out and answer a very complex question: “Why?”. The first performance is tonight at 7 p.m., and there will be two shows tomorrow (Saturday, June 20) – at 2 and 7 p.m. All shows are on Curio’s Main Stage (48th and Baltimore). Please call 215-525-1350 or email steven@curiotheatre.org to reserve your tickets.

On Monday, Curio’s 2015 New Play reading series concludes with Antagonyms written by Rachel Gluck. “When a man returns to his home city after fifteen years of running, four people must struggle to maintain control over their lives, and keep the past in the past.” The play is directed by Jack Tamburri. The cast features Isa St. Clair, Trevor Fayle, Colleen Hughes and Andrew J. Carroll. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. on Curio’s Corner Stage, 48th and Baltimore Ave.

The University Avenue drawbridge over the Schuylkill River will be temporarily closed tomorrow for maintenance. The following temporary restrictions are scheduled to be in effect from approximately 7  a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.

• The University Avenue drawbridge will be closed to all traffic. No detours will be posted for this short duration closure. Alternate Schuylkill River crossings include Gray’s Ferry Avenue to the south of the project, the Schuylkill Expressway, and South Street Bridge to the north.
• Northbound University Avenue traffic closures will begin at Gray’s Ferry Avenue.
• Southbound Schuylkill Expressway traffic will be stopped at the westbound entrance.
• The eastbound Schuylkill Expressway ramp will remain open, however existing traffic on the ramp will not be permitted to travel southbound on University Avenue.
• Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will not be allowed.

Reader Jared Brimfield, who lives on the 200 block of Melville, sent us the following email:

Garden Court boundaries map.

“I was reading your article today that showed the Garden Court neighborhood map. I’m a little confused because there seems to be some overlap between Garden Court and Spruce Hill. Below is the link to the SHCA map, which shows the west line of the neighborhood at 46th St. The GCCA map show[s] the east neighborhood boundary between 44th and 45th.
I have always identified my street (200 block of Melville) as Spruce Hill, but maybe I’m wrong.
Do you have any idea which is correct?”

Here is the article Jared was referring to. He also sent his question to both community associations and kindly shared their replies with us.

Spruce Hill map.

There is indeed an overlap between Spruce Hill and Garden Court. According to Garden Court Community Association’s (GCCA) website, 45th street is considered their eastern boundary. Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) identifies 46th street as their western boundary. So, what neighborhood does one belong to if they live between 45th and 46th streets and between Locust and Baltimore/Cedar?

“The simple answer: both! Several of the community associations in W[est] Philly overlap (for a block or two) at the boundaries. And, it is completely fine to belong to one or more than one association,” says Jamie Gauthier, GCCA president.

“I agree. It is your choice,” said SHCA Board member Rich Guffanti.

If you live in the Garden Court neighborhood (see map), read on. Residents are invited to Garden Court Community Association‘s annual meeting this Thursday (June 18). The meeting will take place at Community College West, from 6 to 9:30 p.m and include the following agenda:

Old West Philly High School building at 47th and Walnut.

• Hear about progress on the development planned for the former West Philadelphia High School building. As you probably know, the former West Philadelphia High building is slated to become a 300-unit apartment complex with ground floor retail. A development of this magnitude will no doubt have a dramatic impact on the community. Come out to hear about the status of the project, and ways in which the developer, Andrew Banks, aims to engage community members.

• Vote in Garden Court’s 2015-2016 board. Come meet the nominees and exercise your right as a member to vote in the 2015-2016 board.

• Learn about GCCA’s latest happenings, from education to business district to zoning.  Continue Reading