The tables and chairs in Clark Park have been lashed down in preparation for Sandy.

As Hurricane Sandy approaches, we will keep up with closures and changes in city services. Also, West Philly has lots of big, old trees so power outages are typical during big storms. After the news briefs we have a hurricane prep list and emergency phone numbers. If you have any news to report or any additional safety tips, leave a comment below, let us know on Twitter at @westphillylocal or drop us an e-mail at editor@westphillylocal.com. Stay safe everyone.

Here are some Sandy-related news briefs.

• The Streets Department writes on their Facebook page:
“Due to high winds and severe rainfall that is expected, there will be no trash and recycling collections on Monday, October 29. Residents whose trash day is on Monday are urged to keep their collections indoors to prevent loose items from blowing throughout the streets. Monday collections will resume on Monday, November 5.” Continue Reading

 
Someone on the 400 block of S. 45th Street is taking a novel and seasonal approach to get out the vote. If you’ve got a jack-o’-lantern you’re proud of, take a picture of it and get it entered in our Pumpkin Carving Contest. It’s free to enter and we have great prizes from local businesses. Look here for more details.

Here’s a couple of fun pumpkin carving and decorating events taking place in the neighborhood this weekend:

“Build it Bus” for pumpkin carving at Clark Park

Saturday Oct. 27, 1:00-2:00 pm

Woodland Presbyterian Church is hosting a Fall pumpkin carving and craft time in Clark Park. The “Build it Bus” will be there too! The bus is a place where kids can come and use woodworking tools to carve the pumpkins and make crafts. The first 50 to arrive will get pumpkins to take home with them. Look for the converted paratransit bus in the parking lot by the soccer field between 1 and 2 pm.

Pumpkin Day at Vineyard Community Church

Sunday Oct. 28, 1:00-4:00 pm

If you are looking for something fun and free to do this upcoming Sunday with your family, check out the annual Pumpkin Day event hosted by Vineyard Community Church. Due to the forecast calling for rain, it’ll be indoors, in the new church building located at 123 S. 51st Street.  If by chance the weather is gorgeous, the event will be held at Malcolm X Park (52nd & Pine). There will be plenty of fun things to do that involve all things fall, including pumpkin decorating, face-painting, fall crafts, jewelry making, games and prizes, and yummy fall treats!

Photo courtesy of Bartram’s Garden.

Your input is needed on a plan to transform a mile of vacant land along the western banks of the Schuylkill river between Grays Ferry Avenue and 58th Street, which is set to become a key link in the Schuylkill River trail.

The project provides an opportunity to convert publicly owned vacant land into public green space and to increase access to a West Philly gem – Bartram’s Garden. But there’s more to it; this new open space could provide riverfront access and recreation opportunities to local neighborhoods, help restore an important watershed, and extend the Schuylkill River Trail.

PennPraxis is conducting a series of public events and meetings to open up the “Bartram’s Mile” project to public input. Your input will be used to create a series of design proposals and cost estimates. The first meeting/walking tour is this Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m. Here’s more information:

EVENT #1: WALKING TOUR

Sunday, October 28, 2:00-4:00pm

Meet at the Bartram’s Garden Trail Head (make a left at the end of the entry road)

Featuring: Mark Focht (Parks and Recreation), Maitreyi Roy (Bartram’s Garden), Jose Almiñana (Andropogon Associates)

EVENT #2: BIKE TOUR

Saturday, November 3, 1:30-4:00pm

Meet at the Bartram’s Farm for its Fall Harvest Day — celebrate its one-year anniversary before biking!

Organized with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

EVENT #3: DINNER CONVERSATION

Monday, November 5, 6:00-8:00pm

Bartram’s Garden, 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard

EVENT #4: DESIGN WORKSHOP

Saturday, November 10, noon – 3pm

Bartram’s Garden, 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard

To RSVP email: praxis@design.upenn.edu or call 215-573-8720. If you cannot attend any of the meetings, you can also provide your input at www.planphilly.com/bartramsmile.

The Curio Theatre Company, a favorite West Philly theater spot, is premiering Stoker’s Dracula adapted and performed by company member Josh Hitchens. The seventy-minute adaptation, previously seen at the Philly Fringe Festival, the Independent Voices Festival, and many other venues, re-imagines Stoker’s chilling vampire tale as a one-man show, with Hitchens inhabiting twelve distinct characters, just in time for Halloween! As an added bonus, Hitchens acts out the famous vampire tale using nothing but Stoker’s original text from the novel for dialogue.

Performances include late-nights tonight and tomorrow at 10:30 p.m., as well as October 30 and 31 at 8:00 p.m. at the theater, located at 4740 Baltimore Avenue. Tickets ($15) can be purchased online or at the door.

– Kelly Lawler

The third annual Philly Photo Day is tomorrow (Oct. 26) and everyone in the city is invited to take a photograph. The photo can be of any subject, as long as it’s taken on October 26. Philadelphia Photo Arts Center will print all the pictures and hang them for exhibition in the Crane Arts Building in Kensington. In addition to the main exhibition, PPAC will place select Philly Photo Day pictures on city billboards, Septa buses and trains, creating a public exhibition of the work.

“At its core, Philly Photo Day is about increasing access to the arts for everyone in Philadelphia,” said Sarah Stolfa, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center.

You can upload your photo from October 26 to October 30 on this page (you can only submit one picture).

This year, PPAC is reaching out to local community centers, providing cameras and artists who will teach photography basics and help participants select their best photos for this event. If you need instruction or a camera to participate, here’s where you can go to in West Philly:

Morning Sites, 9am – 12pm

Action AIDS
3901 Market Street

People’s Emergency Center
325 N. 39th Street

Ronald McDonald House
3925 Chestnut Street

West Philadelphia Senior Community Center
1016 41st Street

Afternoon Sites, 1-4pm

Mariposa Food Co-Op
4824 Baltimore Avenue

People’s Emergency Center
325 N. 39th Street

West Philadelphia Community Center
3512 Haverford Avenue