If your child is entering Philadelphia School District Kindergarten this fall and needs some extra help getting ready for the first day of school, here’s a program that can help. Lucien E. Blackwell Regional Library (52nd & Sansom) is hosting Ready, Set, Kindergarten, an interactive program for parents and children, tomorrow, June 26, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Families will play educational games and will learn about important skills for Kindergarten. Families will also leave with fun, educational giveaways.

Ready, Set, Kindergarten is a new initiative started in partnership with The School District of Philadelphia, LEARN, The Free Library of Philadelphia and Please Touch Museum.

To register, please contact: Betsy Vassallo, 267-350-2863, learn@ccisnephila.com. See the flyer for more information.

A neighbor found these two dogs loose near 47th and Baltimore. Please email shildebrand@mac.com if you have any information about these dogs or think you know where they belong.

Reader Tina sent us these beautiful photos of hydrangeas near 42nd and Pine. Thanks Tina!

Have you recently taken a great/interesting/unusual neighborhood photo? Send it to us at: editor@westphillylocal.com. Please don’t forget to include your name and your photo’s title/description.

Click here to see other photos submitted by our readers.

The 2012 season of the annual 40th Street Summer Series, the free outdoor concert series in West Philly, starts tomorrow, June 23. Slavic Soul Party (pictured below) will bring a mash-up of Balkan and Gypsy sounds to the green space behind the Walnut Street Free Library at 40th and Walnut Streets, beginning at 6 p.m.

The series of concerts is scheduled for the fourth Saturdays in June to September. Other performers in this series include internationally-renowned ensembles Sun Ra Arkestra, Adventuredrum, and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Odean Pope and Dave Liebman. Look for more information on the upcoming performances on our Happenings page.

Complimentary (first come, first served) Rita’s Water Ice will be given out during the performances. Also, for the June and July Summer Series events, Tsirkus Fotografika (“Photographic Circus”) will bring their antique mobile portrait studio and offer free photos to the concert audience.

The series is presented by University of Pennsylvania, University City District (UCD), and The Rotunda. For more information, visit this page.

OK, stop. Before you read any further go check out the video below.

Done?

Cool right? That piece is by West Philly artist Nilé Livingston and is part of the “Baltimore Avenue Series,” which she will show on Monday, June 25th at The Gold Standard Café (4800 Baltimore Ave.) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Livingston describes the exhibit as:

“Biographic interpretations of growing up in West Philadelphia have inspired me to explore endless character encounters. I sketch my ideas on paper and then collage them in Photoshop. Creating art is my relentless urge to explore sources of anxiety, document interactions, share memories, as well as provide evidence for narrative works that address social, environmental, and technological changes.”

You can read more about Nilé at her website.

If you want to learn the basics of riding your bike in the city, come to The Coffee Ride this Saturday, June 23. The event is hosted by Keswick Cycle and Green Line Cafe and will start at 10:15 a.m. at Keswick Cycle (4040 Locust) with a skills clinic. You will learn everything from hand signals to how to properly lock a bike and everything in between. After the skills clinic you will go on a short ride (about 6 miles) through the city to practice the skills you went over in the clinic. The ride will end at Green Line Cafe at 43rd and Baltimore with a relaxing cup of coffee and sweet treats.

Here’s the event’s flyer.