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Help a neighborhood school get green: Deadline extended for Greening Lea Naming Campaign

Posted on 01 June 2015 by Mike Lyons

Both

The Henry Lea School playground at 47th and Spruce a few of years ago (left) and an artist’s rendering of the Greening Lea plan (right).

It’s not too late to support a neighborhood public school and at the same time beautify the neighborhood. The Greening Lea Naming Campaign, the grassroots effort to turn the vast tarmac playground at The Henry Lea School (47th and Spruce) into an inviting space, has been extended to June 15.

You can buy a brick (also, here is an order form), paver or a cluster of bricks with your name, your business’s name or a name in memory of a loved one online that will be used for the project. The brick and paver campaign is part of a multi-year effort to transform the physical surrounding of the Lea School led by the West Philly Coalition of Neighborhood Schools, a grassroots organization started in 2010. Details on the Greening Lea project are here.

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Like bikes? Volunteers needed at Neighborhood Bike Works summer camp

Posted on 01 June 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com

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Photo courtesy Neighborhood Bike Works.

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a nonprofit that offers bike education and recreation opportunities to West Philly youth, is seeking adult volunteers to help with their summer camp program. NBW’s Summer Cycling Day Camp, held from June 29 to August 21, offers youth ages 8 through 14 the opportunity to recondition and earn a bike, helmet, and lock in a two-week session. Youth complete our Earn-A-Bike curriculum, participate in fun outdoor activities, go on educational field trips, and learn about safe cycling, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.

If you enjoy working with youth and want to develop or improve your mechanics or riding skills, this is a great opportunity for you. No experience is necessary – just a willingness to learn and potentially get your hands dirty! The camp will be held at NBW’s headquarters at 40th and Locust Walk from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

If you’re interested please contact Nadav Carmel at nadav@neighborhoodbikeworks.org or 215-386-0316.

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Support emerging local playwrights: A free reading of ‘Candy Candy’ tonight at Curio

Posted on 01 June 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com

theaterCurio Theatre Company continues its reading series supporting emerging Philadelphia playwrights and invites everyone to tonight’s reading of Candy Candy by Chris Davis. The series is co-produced by Philadelphia Dramatists Center.

The peformance is directed by Liam Castellan and features Curio actors: Andrew Carroll, Joel Guerrero, Diana Rodriguez, Kelly Cova, Rachel Gluck, Brendan Norton, and Steve Carpenter. It will be held in the Curio Theatre Company Second Stage at 4740 Baltimore Avenue, starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be provided. And here’s some information about the play from Curio’s website:

“This high octane bilingual comedy follows the televisual fantasies of a young girl named Candy who dreams of escaping her quotidian life in Mexico.”

Visit curiotheatre.org for more information.

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40th Street Summer Concerts return, West Philly Tool Library sale, West Philly Flea Market and more weekend events

Posted on 29 May 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com

This weekend’s events list includes an outdoor music concert (free and family-friendly), a tool sale, a flea market, and more awesome events. Our roundup is below.

TheChairmanDancesflierThis Friday, local indie band The Chairman Dances (Facebook page) is inviting folks to a release show for their new record, Samantha Says. The show will be held at The Rotunda (40th and Walnut), from 8 to 9:30 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.). Tickets at the door are $10. Click here for more information.

This Friday and Saturday are the last two days when you can see Curio Theatre‘s comedy Noises Off before the theater closes its 2014-2015 season. Shows begin at 8 p.m. For more information and tickets ($25) go here.

SummerSeriesflierUniversity City District’s 40th Street Summer Series returns this Saturday, at 6 p.m., with a free outdoor concert by Philadelphia’s experimental cabaret group The Bearded Ladies. In addition, local group Tapestry Tribal will present Middle Eastern music and belly dancing. The popular concert series takes place on the last Saturday of every month, from May to September, on the green space behind Walnut Street West Library at 40th and Walnut and also includes family-friendly activities: balloon art, face painting, jugglers and more. This Saturday, you can also enjoy free ice cream served by Ben & Jerry’s.

ToolLibraryAlso on Saturday, West Philly Tool Library invites neighbors to their Spring Tool Sale. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and will include a wide selection of hand and power tools at affordable prices, as well as West Philly Tool Library T-Shirts, bibs, and carpenter’s pencils. Tax-deductible donations are also encouraged. Coffee Market (AKA Earth Cup) will be serving their delicious cold brew coffee. West Philly Tool Library is located at 1314 S. 47th St. (between Woodland and Grays Ferry). For more information, visit: www.westphillytools.org.

On Saturday at 7 p.m., FloByFaith Productions and local Boy Scout troop 152 will present The Soul of a Woman, a musical that tackles various issues such as homelessness, mental health and self worth. Proceeds will benefit the troop’s scholarship fund, helping create young leaders from West Philadelphia. Tickets: $35 in advance and $40 at the door (St. Francis de Sales Auditorium, 917 S. 47th St.).

For more upcoming events, including West Philly Flea Market, Women’s Day of Wellness, and film screenings at International House Philadelphia, visit our Events Calendar.

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Beat the Commute: West Philly Runners are racing a car and bus in rush hour traffic

Posted on 28 May 2015 by Mike Lyons

You probably know the feeling. Sitting on a bus or in your car during rush hour, you gaze out the window and say to yourself, “I could probably walk home quicker.”

BeatTheCommuteFlierWell, an intrepid group of runners are going to test that theory tomorrow. Only they will be running, not walking. Yep, at 5 p.m. tomorrow runners will meet at the Philadelphia Runner store near 37th and Walnut to race a car and a SEPTA bus, which will traverse rush-hour traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway, to the Wissahickon Transportation Center between Manayunk and East Falls – some 6.6 miles. First person there – whether driver or runner – wins. UPDATE: Indego, Philadelphia’s bike share program, has also announced its participation in the event.

West Philly Runners (Facebook page), the group that meets at 45th and Locust for weekly runs every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., came up with the idea and got SEPTA onboard. You may remember a similar event last November when a group of runners “Beat the Bus.” West Philly Runners was behind that one too.

This is super short notice, but if you are a runner, there are still some spots open. Go here to register. SEPTA is supplying tokens to get runners back to West Philly and Philadelphia Runner will haul your stuff to the Wissahickon station. We also hear that there will be a special deal on Yards beer afterward at City Tap House.

If you are not up for the run, you can cheer the runners on as they head out by stopping by the 3700 block of Walnut St.at 5 p.m.. Runners can pick their own route, though the two suggested routes go near the zoo and along Martin Luther King Drive (shorter, but harder) or the Schuylkill River Trail (longer but a little easier).

Our money is on the runners, unless of course the car is a taxi.

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Clark Park Thursday Farmers’ Market to return June 4

Posted on 28 May 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com

Farmersmarket

Clark Park Thursday Farmers’ Market will re-open at 43rd and Baltimore next week, on June 4, and here’s this year’s vendor lineup:

– Homestead Garden (vegetables and fruit from Ephrata PA)
– Quaff Meadows (vegetables and fruit from Christiana PA)
– Frecon Farms (fruit, baked goods, and hard cider from Boyertown PA)
– Fifth of a Farm Creations (locally sourced preserves and jams produced in Philly)
– Naturally Sweet Baked Goods (vegan, locally sourced sweets and desserts produced in Philly)
– Southwest Child Rebel Gardeners (locally made energy bars)

In addition to the vendors, there will be cooking demos about once an hour. They will be held every week through August.

Also a reminder that on June 4 Tangle Movements Arts will present their new, free aerial show, Intersections, in the park near the market, starting at 6 p.m. Some of the performers will be disguised as market shoppers!

Clark Park Thursday Farmers’ Market is open every Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. and runs through the end of November. Check out the Food Trust’s website for more information.

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