December 3, 2014
Bartram’s Garden signature wreath. (Photo courtesy Bartram’s Garden)
There will be a few local holiday shopping opportunities this week, which we are happy to pass along. We’ll start with a great festive annual event at the historic Bartram’s Garden.
On Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bartram’s Garden will be holding a Greens Sale and Holiday Market. The Greens Sale is a great opportunity to shop for beautiful handmade wreaths, centerpieces, and pine roping. Fresh evergreens and poinsettias will also be available for sale. There will also be an opportunity to decorate your own wreath at the DIY craft station or you can just purchase one made by volunteers.
The holiday market is a new event at the garden. It will feature local vendors and unique gifts for everyone on your list, including jewelry, pottery, handmade bags, natural apothecary and more! The event will also feature music and fresh apple cider.
The Bartram House, a national historic landmark, closes for restoration work next year, so guests are also invited to its tour while it’s still open.
Bartram members will get first pick of this year’s selection of wreaths and fresh cut greens during the preview party on Friday, December 5.
Bartram’s Garden is located in Southwest Philadelphia, at 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard (#36 Trolley line). For more information, click here.
December 2, 2014
Curtis (left) and his crew. (Archived photo / West Philly Local).
There are a few things around that signal the arrival of the holiday season. The squirrels bulk up a little for the winter, parking is a little easier to come by as the students start leaving and, like clockwork, Curtis and his amiable crew set up their Christmas tree operation at 50th and Baltimore (just like they have every year for 25 years or so).
This year, they began selling trees on the triangle in front of Dock Street the day after Thanksgiving and will continue right through Christmas Eve. The selection is good – different sizes, types and prices. They also have stands if you need one of those and they will tie up your tree so it can go in your grocery cart (or on your car).
Curtis is typically open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m..
We’ll keep you posted on other spots to buy a tree around the neighborhoods, but as usual Curtis gets first mention of the season.
December 2, 2014
Today is #GivingTuesday, a nationwide campaign encouraging people to support not-for-profit organizations. We’re joining in and would like to remind our readers that there are dozens of great non-profits in West Philly, working on improving communities and schools, and providing help to those who need it most. Please visit our Civic Life page and choose an organization you would like to support. We will also be tweeting and re-tweeting #GivingTuesday messages from local non-profits throughout the day (@westphillylocal). Here are some of them:
While many non-profit organizations would appreciate a monetary donation today, others are seeking volunteers. Repair The World: Philadelphia is teaming up with the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) to reopen a school library that has been closed for over a decade. Volunteers are welcome to help these organizations clean up the Andrew Hamilton Elementary School library this afternoon, from 4 to 7 p.m. The school is located at 5640 Spruce Street. Here’s the flier:
December 1, 2014
Like helping clean up a park, organize a block party or attend a civic meeting, the holiday shopping season can offer a chance for community engagement. Where you shop and what you buy matters.
Here are five reasons we hope you will buy local during the holidays (and the rest of the year too for that matter):
1. An estimated 68 cents of every dollar spent locally goes back into the community. So you get to help feed this virtuous circle of convivial commerce. That makes you awesome in our book.
2. Local non-profits receive an estimated 250 percent more assistance from local businesses than they do from national chains. When was the last time Applebee’s offered to cater a University City Arts League event? That’s what we thought.
3. You can find high-quality, locally made items. For example, VIX Emporium sells locally made nail polish with West Philly themed colors like “Kingsessing Crimson.” You think you’re going to find that at Target? No mam.
4. Small business owners are our neighbors and friends. Typically, they’re in the neighborhood for the long haul. Among other things, that means we can yell at them if they don’t shovel the snow in front of their shop.
5. Locally owned small businesses don’t need much to operate so they are better for the environment. They don’t tax the infrastructure or gobble up tons of land. Local businesses are usually located along a public transportation route, they often have bike racks and they very rarely have big parking lots.
For those reasons and a ton of others we are doing our best to promote local businesses this holiday season. Pleas check out our annual “Buy Local for the Holidays” campaign page to see what our partners – local shops, restaurants, arts, and other organizations – have to offer this holiday season.
December 1, 2014
Public hearings on proposed charter schools in West Philly are set for Dec. 11 at the School District of Philadelphia’s headquarters at 440 N. Broad St.
The School District of Philadelphia received over a dozen applications from charter schools interested in opening new schools in West Philadelphia. The next step in the application process is the presentation and review of the applications at public hearings, which have been scheduled to start next Thursday.
The hearings will include a 15-minute presentation by the applicant followed by public comments, according to The Notebook. A second round of hearings will reportedly begin in January and will include evaluations from the District.
Here’s the list of the applicants, the zip codes where schools are proposed, and the schedule of the public meetings: Continue Reading
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