This beautiful photo of a sunny day in West Philly was submitted by Rebecca Hill.

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This Sunday you could be part of something big and unforgettable. Clark Park is hosting the “Picnic for the Planet” – an Earth Day celebration and an attempt to set a Guinness record for the world’s largest picnic. Clark Park folks will be recording the number of participants and completing required paperwork. This is a nationwide record attempt – simultaneously, picnics like this one will be held in various locations in North America.

Sounds cool, right? So come to Clark Park from Noon until 4 p.m. (record attempt begins at 12:30). Don’t forget to bring your family, blanket and favorite picnic food and enjoy your day in the park. Elevation Burger will provide food for the first 100 participants.

Data Garden, a group of artists that brought The Switched-On Garden, a bio-interactive art and live outdoor musical festival to Bartram’s Garden in October 2011, is working on putting together another outdoor event this year. Over 700 people of all ages and backgrounds got to enjoy The Switched-On Garden, which, according to Data Garden co-founder Joe Patitucci, was a truly transformative day and the biggest event ever to take place at Bartram’s Garden (check out the video here).

For 2012 Data Garden wants to expand the event and increase the ways people can engage with the environment and history of Bartram’s. Same as last year, Data Garden wants the event to be free of charge and accessible to everyone. To get funding to make this event possible for a second year, they launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign. Additional funds will also allow them to attract and compensate some amazing artists from the US and beyond.

“One thing that we proved last year was that people really enjoy the type of events we produce and find it really refreshing,” Patitucci says. The event was covered by Inhabitat, MTV Brasil, the Philadelphia Inquirer and even Vice Magazine’s music blog among others.

Unfortunately, Data Garden hasn’t reached its funding goal yet and there are only five days left in this campaign. This project will only be funded if at least $7,000 is pledged by Tuesday, April 24 (11:59 p.m.). Click here to donate and help this project.

Dick Clark’s death yesterday will no doubt prompt loads of stories and television programs chronicling the legacy of American Bandstand. West Philly residents can experience that legacy first-hand.

American Bandstand started in 1952 in a studio at WFIL (which became WPVI, “6ABC”) located adjacent to the EL tracks at 4548 Market Street. The nondescript, cream-colored building now houses The Enterprise Center and other non-profits. The only reminder of its past is the small American Bandstand historical marker out front and the massive satellite dish on the roof.

The building was one of the first designed specifically for television broadcasting.

This Saturday, the Enterprise Center will open to the public the original American Bandstand studio, “Studio B,” which contains photos and memorabilia from the show. Although the studio appeared much larger on television, it is only about 3,300 square feet. The show was broadcast from Philadelphia until 1964 when it moved to Los Angeles.

This Saturday the studio will be open for visits and tours from Noon-3 p.m.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) recently acted on two disputed West Philly development proposals. The ZBA approved a developer’s proposal to turn the long-empty Apple Lofts Storage building at 780 S. 52nd St. into a 112-unit apartment complex. But it denied the proposal to convert the adult video store near 43rd and Chestnut into a state Wine and Spirits Shoppe.

The Apple Lofts project, which required a rezoning from industrial to residential, garnered wide support from many residents and businesses nearby. Dozens of letters in support of the project, proposed by Iron Stone Strategic Capital Partners, came into the ZBA. Those in favor included the Cedar Park Neighbors Association and community radio station WPEB. That support outweighed the opposition, which was orchestrated by the Community Achievement Association (CAA). The CAA, as the City Paper recently reported, is essentially one person – West Philly resident Shawn Kelly.

Kelly submitted a thick file of petitions and community meeting minutes to the ZBA. Concerns included an increase in surrounding residents’ property taxes and the environmental hazards, including the disruption of toxic soil at the site.

Meanwhile, the ZBA denied the proposal to convert Risque Video (pictured), the largest storefront in a strip mall at 43rd and Chestnut, into an “upscale” liquor store. Many West Philly residents supported the proposal because of the closing of a Wine and Spirits Shoppe at 4049 Market Street earlier this year. That closure has put considerable customer pressure on the remaining local shop near 49th and Baltimore.

The Spruce Hill Community Association last month tentatively supported the proposal with the stipulation that the 5,000-square-foot space be converted to an “upscale” store.

But many Muslim residents who live near the location oppose the proposal. The plaza also includes a halal restaurant and butcher shop. The Masjid al-Jamia mosque is a block away on 43rd and Walnut.

This is not the first time the ZBA has rejected a plan for a liquor store in the area. In 2007 the ZBA rejected an application for a liquor store near 43rd and Walnut – across the street from Masjid al-Jamia – after vocal opposition from Muslim residents.

But this one might not be over. The ZBA is currently reconsidering the denial after an appeal.

Since the summer of 2009, members of Riders Against Gender Exclusion (RAGE) have been organizing against SEPTA’s use of gender marking stickers on their weekly and monthly TransPasses that were designed to prevent heterosexual spouses from sharing passes. The stickers, they argue, make commuting difficult and dangerous for riders whose gender identifications don’t match the stickers on their passes, and have produced countless incidents of gender-presentation based harassment and unjust confiscation of passes.

On Thursday April 12, SEPTA General Manager Joe Casey announced that SEPTA plans to remove the gender stickers from all monthly transit passes by 2013. “A fare policy proposal will be submitted to SEPTA’s board of directors that includes this change beginning in the second half of 2013,” reported Max Ray, founding member of RAGE and West Philadelphia resident. “We thank SEPTA for doing the right thing,” continued Ray. “New fare system delays may be unavoidable, but SEPTA realized that human rights can’t wait. I’m proud of the tremendous amount of work that the transgender community has put into this project and all we’ve accomplished during this campaign.” West Philadelphians have been heavily involved in the organizing work that produced this groundbreaking victory – Robin Markle, Wren Warner, Victoria White, Ray Murphy, and Nico Armador to name just a few.

“On a personal level, the victory is meaningful to me because I think there are so few examples of trans people who are doing grassroots organizing and direct action on trans issues,” said founding member Nico Amador.  “I think that the success of this campaign isn’t just about getting the gender stickers removed, but also about sending a message that trans people don’t have to wait for the legal system or social workers to change things for us, we can do it ourselves.”

– Emma Eisenberg