Spring is finally here and The Porch, once a congested parking lot and now an animated public space adjacent to the second busiest train station in the country, is getting ready to start its 2013 season programming. Beginning this Wednesday, April 3, all are welcome to stop by The Porch between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on most weekdays and enjoy gourmet food trucks, live music, street performers, fitness bootcamps, and a beer garden. Here’s more information on what’s coming up this month.

Lunchtime Accordion Serenade, Mondays & Fridays, Noon – 1 p.m.

Experience the beauty of solo accordion, from Eastern European to South American, Polka to American Jazz.

WXPN Philly Local Wednesdays, Wednesdays, Noon

Live music every Wednesday from Philly’s rising stars.
April 3 – Dante Bucci
April 10 – The Fleeting Ends
April 17 – Christie Lenée
April 24 – The Splashing Pearls

Gourmet Food Trucks

Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Cow and the Curd
Cupcake Carnival
Lucky Old Souls
The Sunflower Truck Stop

Fridays, 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.
Just Jackie’s Food Truck
Say Cheese
Spot Burger
Sweetbox Cupcakes

Bodyrock Fitness, Thursdays, 6 p.m.

Put your lunch break to work for you with fitness programming from University City’s BodyRock Bootcamp.

April 4 – Bootcamp
April 11 – Bokwa
April 18 – Zumba
April 25 – Bootcamp

Give And Take street performers and The Little Circus

The Give and Take Jugglers and Little Circus shows feature juggling, comedy, vaudeville, circus arts and theater.

Wednesday, April 3, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Street Performers

Friday, April 12, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Little Circus

Backpack Gallery, Friday, April 5, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Combining contemporary visual art and performance, the Backpack Gallery brings the art to you.

The Porch Beer Garden, Thursday, April 18, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, April 19, 3-8 p.m.

Experience the Outdoor Beer Garden at The Porch at 30th Street Station. Bridgewater’s Pub will offer German and craft beers. Enjoy the fresh air and live music.

For more information about events at The Porch at 30th Street Station visit http://universitycity.org/porch-events

Mariposa celebrates a year in its new home next week.

Our friends over at Mariposa Food Co-op have had a fantastic year since they moved to their new location at 4824 Baltimore Ave last spring and to mark the first anniversary of the move the store is planning a full week of celebration that begins this Saturday, March 16 (March 17 is the actual anniversary).

Here are some things that the store is planning and inviting residents to check out:

– In-store product sampling and special sales all week

– PARTY on Sunday, March 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be food, entertainment, raffles, and fundraising for a food justice and anti-racism library.

– Mariposa is also recruiting new members. If you are a member, each time you refer a new member your name will be entered in a drawing at the anniversary party on Sunday. Prizes include gift baskets, food and health and beauty products.

The inside of the new Mariposa location back when was all still just an idea.

It has already been a year since Mariposa opened at the new location. Here’s a quick look at how it got there:

• When it was all just a dream.
• A peak inside before renovations began.
• Mayor Michael Nutter stops by to celebrate before the renovations officially get under way.
• A video that gives sneak peak inside the store in March, a couple of days before the grand opening.

The new Cedar Park Cafe location at 2035 N. 63rd St. (Photo from Yelp)

We have some good news and bad news for those of you who enjoyed a hearty, all-day breakfast at the Cedar Park Cafe on the 4900 block of Baltimore Avenue, which was heavily damaged in the Christmas Eve fire that destroyed Elena’s Soul. The bad news for Cedar Park residents and others nearby is that the cafe has relocated to north 63rd Street near the Overbrook train station. The good news is that it might come back.

The roof collapsed at the cafe’s Baltimore Avenue location when a wall fell on it as crews demolished what was left of the adjacent Elena’s Soul building. The cafe’s owners hope to return to Baltimore Avenue later this year.

Rimedio at 45th and Spruce streets. What kind of place might make it here?

Café Renata (Facebook page) on the 4300 block of Locust opens for brunch this weekend. But the Spruce Hill neighborhood is apparently losing a brunch spot as Rimedio, the Northern Italian brunch and dinner joint, has closed. A notice is posted on the restaurant’s front door at 45th and Spruce claiming that it is several months behind in rent.

Rimedio’s apparent departure (their website is offline too) has sparked some conversation about what kind of business might succeed at the 45th and Spruce location, where two businesses have opened and closed since the original Rx restaurant, which had a lengthy spell of success, changed owners in 2010.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about what kind of place might succeed there.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) yesterday cleared the way for local ice cream producer and retailer Little Baby’s Ice Cream to open shop on the 4900 block of Catharine Street, across the street from Cedar Park. If all goes as planned, the shop should be open by April 1.

Little Baby’s has been wooing Cedar Park residents for a while now and even sent them an “open love letter” on Valentine’s Day. The Cedar Park Neighbors civic association loved them back with a letter of support to the ZBA, which late yesterday provided Little Baby’s with the necessary permit to convert the storefront at 4903 Catharine into the company’s first retail shop west of the Schuylkill.

The company got a massive boost in the form of a 5-year, $50,000 loan from The Enterprise Center to expand into Cedar Park.

Little Baby’s Ice Cream is handmade in their production facility in East Kensington. Their dairy comes from Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, Penna. Here is a great profile on the three musicians who turned their passion for ice cream into a successful business.

Neighborhood Foods, a West Philly urban farm, is bringing its CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) back to Four Worlds Bakery for pick-up and adding one new pick-up point at 37th and Lancaster this year. Here’s a reminder of how CSA works: Customers pay the farmer at the beginning of the season and receive a box of local produce every week.

This year, Neighborhood Foods is working directly with Lancaster farmers to supplement what they grow in the city and are also incorporating Philly-produced jam, honey, bread, and locally roasted coffee, all of which are available through the CSA.

Neighborhood Foods consists of a group of activists, farmers, and entrepreneurs of all ages whose main goal is to unify communities through urban farming and civic action. They offer educational programs for people of all ages, bring neighbors together through events, and make fresh local produce accessible in low-income neighborhoods. All of the income from the CSA goes to support these programs.

The Neighborhood Foods CSA runs from May 24 through October 25. To sign up, please visit neighborhoodfoods.org or email: neighborhoodfoods@gmail.com.

Pssst. Hey, West Philly meat eaters! This Saturday, March 2, there’s a great opportunity to try meat from local farms and help neighborhood schools. Philly CowShare, a West Philly-based company that  sells “shares” of locally-raised, grass-fed beef and pastured pork, is hosting a one-day meat sale at the Calvary Center at 48th & Baltimore, from 2 – 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools and Penn Alexander School’s HSA.

The sale offers a one-stop shop where you can learn about participating farms, buy a package of beef or pork to cook at home and even get some recipes! The following items will be available for purchase: steaks, roasts, ground beef, no-nitrate bacon, sausage, pork chops, and sampler packs (pre-orders for sampler bundles are available online). All meat is individually packaged, labeled, and USDA certified.

Philly CowShare helps connect “communities of responsible farmers and butchers with urban communities who simply want to eat well.” The company sells bundles of beef called CowShares and bundles of pork called PigShares that are available to purchase individually and as a group. Philly CowShare challenges the consumer to eat healthy meat and to eat meat more mindfully and wants to make sure that “the farmer and butcher are paid fairly and the animals are raised in accordance with their nature and in harmony with the land.”

To learn more about how Philly CowShare operates, visit their website or Facebook page.