Dogs on and off leashes in the Clark Park Bowl will be the main focus of Monday’s annual members meeting of the Friends of Clark Park.

The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation has promised to step up enforcement of rules about off-leash dogs in city parks following dog attacks in Pastorius Park in Chestnut Hill. City park rules require dogs outside of a dog run to be on a leash that is 6-feet long or shorter.

But what about the Bowl, where dogs have been running free with their owners nearby for years and years? Monday’s meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the University of the Sciences’ Griffith Hall (43rd and Woodland), will take up this discussion – again.  Continue Reading

Youth soccer returns to Clark Park this month. Registration has begun for Clark Park Youth Soccer League (CPYSL), a low-cost sports and recreation program of Friends of Clark Park that provides soccer instruction for children ages 5 to 11. The CPYSL spring season will begin on March 25 and will feature 90-minute sessions every Saturday through May 20.

Children are assigned to teams by age:

– Mornings (10:30 a.m.-Noon): ages 5 to 6.5 and ages 6.5 to 7
– Afternoons (Noon-1:30 p.m.): ages 8 to 9 and ages 10 to 11

Deadline for registration is March 20. Online registration is available here. Walk-in registration will be possible on Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the University of the Sciences, Rosenberger Hall (43rd and Woodland).  Continue Reading

Shakespeare in Clark Park will return in July with five nights of Coriolanus. The company is continuing its commitment to “radical community engagement,” which for the past three years has seen the community become a part of its annual summer show.

Shakespeare in Clark Park community workshop (Photo courtesy SCP).

Since this fall, Shakespeare in Clark Park has been hosting free acting workshops for the community and private workshops at senior centers and youth groups.

On February 16 and 17, the company will host two workshops in West Philly, where community members can hone their acting skills, have a good time, and even prep for the upcoming community auditions for Coriolanus. Community members will receive training on voice, movement and scene work from professional actors.

Here’s more information on the workshops:  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of Clark Park Youth Soccer.

From daily jogging to youth soccer to boot camps, Clark Park is a great place for physical activities. But, does it need any improvements?

The next Clark Park General Membership meeting will take place Monday, Jan. 30 at the University of the Sciences, where Friends of Clark Park (FoCP) members and all interested community members are invited to ask questions and voice their concerns or ideas about the park. The focus of the upcoming meeting is how the park can contribute to the health of its users.

“The discussion will go beyond general environmental health sources such as tree cover and air quality, focusing more acutely on opportunities for evaluating the physical attributes of the park and healthy programming for all ages,” according to a message on the FoCP website.

So, if you would like to participate in this discussion and share your thoughts and ideas for improvements to the park-built environment and programming, come USciences’ Griffith Hall (43rd and Woodland) on Monday. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. More information can be found on the Friends of Clark Park website.

This is a reminder that Clark Park Thursday Market (43rd and Baltimore) is taking a break until June 2017, and the last mid-week market will be held this Wednesday (Nov. 23) due to Thanksgiving. The market will have special hours this Wednesday – from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Clark Park Saturday Farmers Market is open throughout the year, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information on other city markets run by The Food Trust, visit: http://thefoodtrust.org/farmers-markets

The northern section of Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore (Clark Park “A”) has been under construction this week. The work includes installation of long-awaited permanent chess tables to “replace the ratty units the players now employ,” according to the Friends of Clark Park website, and restoration of the layer of gravel that covers the plaza, which hasn’t been updated since 2009.

A rough estimate of the cost of this project is $15,000, and the funding became possible thanks to Friends of Clark Park membership dollars.

Continue Reading