The Porch, the outdoor space at 30th Street Station, is adding a few new things for the summer.

The University City District (UCD) recently received a $375,000 grant from ArtPlace to fund a permanent art piece at The Porch. Prema Katari Gupta, UCD’s Director of Planning and Economic Development said: “We will invite exceptional artists to engage creatively with our site, with our audience, and within our neighborhood context. Art will bring beauty, reflection, and delight to The Porch, as the site continues its evolution.”

One new fun activity to look out for at The Porch is a free nine hole mini golf course open every day in July from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. All you need to bring is a photo ID. A second new project is the opening of a beer garden with German and craft beers, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and Italian sausage sandwiches by Bridgewater’s Pub. The beer garden will include live music and is open July 12 (4-8pm), July 13 (noon-8pm), and July 14 (noon-5pm).

The Porch will exhibit two new visual art works. The first is a representational and experiential exhibit by Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto. She is installing a Hakoniwa, Japanese for miniature garden as well as a form of psychotherapy called “sandplay therapy.” The therapy method involves subjects who order and design items within a sandbox. Nami’s art will recreate this form of therapy across the concrete of the porch.

Also, Justin Duerr’s Anaesthasia Emeralda Lucian piano, designed for UCD’s Heart and Soul piano project will be on display and ready for play at The Porch.

– Erica Kimmel

Update: The race has been sold out, but non-runners are welcome to the music fest.

Do you love running? Do you love beer even more? Does your passion for live music trump both your love for running and for good beer? Well prepare yourself for the Dock Street Brewing Co.’s annual Beer Run and Free Music Fest on Sunday, June 10. The 5K race runs through University City and culminates at the Free Music Fest where racers are rewarded with tasty Dock Street pizza slices and refreshing beer. The run will get your blood flowing for the local music line up featuring Hoots & Hellmouth, O’Death, The Extraordinaires, Street Walkers, and Tsunami Rising. All runners receive a token limited-edition pint glass, refreshments from Vita Coco, fruit, snacks and pizza/beer coupons.

Run pre-registration is $35 and on-site registration $40. The first 50 registered runners will receive a free Dock Street Philly Beer Run t-shirt. You can register at https://www.runtheday.com/app/find/register/841. Philadelphia Runner is the equipment headquarters and host for the packet pickup. On-site registration begins at 12 p.m. and the race starts at 2 p.m. just as the music fest begins. A portion of the proceeds benefits Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship Fundraiser. The race is a great opportunity to feel a sense of community and spread fun energy throughout West Philly. Work up an appetite for Dock Street Philly Beer Run & Music Fest!

– Erica Kimmel

Health Center 3 at 43rd and Chester (across from Clark Park) is inviting friends and neighbors to participate in a Walk-A-Thon this Saturday, June 2, from 9 to 11 a.m. This fundraiser will benefit preventive health programs at HC3. The event also raises awareness about healthy eating and a more active lifestyle through walking. Adults and children of all fitness levels can participate, and even family dogs are welcome.

You can choose one of the two routes – a full lap or a short lap around Clark Park. The full lap around Clark Park B and C is approximately 1/3 mile. The short lap around the “Dog Bowl” in Clark Park B is approximately 1/5 mile.

Registration fee is $5-$20 on a sliding scale at a discretion of each participant and participants experiencing financial hardship can register for free. Non-participants can make a donation. To register or donate, please follow this link. For more information, check out the event’s Facebook page.

West Philly Runners are sponsoring and participating in the annual Cobbs Creek Park race on Saturday, April 21 (see flyer below). This is the official West Philly Runners race, but everyone is invited to join them. This event will also feature a 1 mile walk – a great opportunity for families to get out and explore the park. Click here to register.

Registration fee is $20 and all funds raised from this event will go to benefit kids’ recreational activities in the Cobbs Creek Park. But there’s more to it. Alon Abramson, who organizes West Philly Runners, sent us this information:

“Philly Parks and Rec, the Fairmount Park Conservancy and PA Environmental Council are putting on the ‘Run for the Kids of Cobbs 5K’ race for the 2nd year. The goal of the race is first and foremost to bring people back to the park and encourage some ownership of this shared space. Cobbs Creek sat forgotten and abandoned for years and the city is making a concerted effort to reverse this trend. If you’ve been to the park recently, you will be pleasantly surprised to find it well utilized by the community with picnic areas, and paved and unpaved recreational trails (it is absolutely beautiful). Proceeds from the race go towards outdoor recreational programs for kids in the area. Get people to come to the park and support kids programming…win-win, right?

I am the organizer for West Philly Runners, a local running group, now in our 2nd year. We have been growing alongside this initiative and we have been heavily involved in planning the event from the start. In fact, I created the race website this year (www.cobbscreek5k.com), I am working on promotion and I have been involved in trail work in preparation for the race, which is mostly a trail run. For us, it is THE race of West Philly and thus THE race of the West Philly Runners. I’d love to get the word out to the West Philly community so that runners (and walkers) take advantage of this opportunity to (re)discover this amazing park in our back yards.”

If you have questions about the race or West Philly Runners, you can email Alon at alon.abramson [at] gmail.com

West Philly resident Michael Froehlich and his 2-year-old daughter Zora love playgrounds. No wait, they really love playgrounds.

What began as the occasional bicycle excursion from their home on 48th Street to nearby playgrounds like Malcolm X. Park has turned into a full-on quest to document a bunch of playgrounds in this part of the city – 31 playgrounds in all.

“We went a little overboard,” said Froehlich, a legal aid attorney.

The result, the website zoraplays, is an invaluable guide to playgrounds that includes photos of equipment, sketches of the playground’s layout and a map showing the location. Each playground was within a mile of their home.

Froehlich said he and Zora’s goal is to help convince people that there is fun beyond the usual spots like Clark Park and Cedar Park.

“I hope that this project will show people that there are a lot of great playgrounds in our community so they should get on their bicycles and ride out and explore them,” he said.

The big question, of course, is which is Zora’s fav?

“I’d like to say that Zora has developed a discerning eye for quality playgrounds,” said Froehlich. “But the truth is that she loves all playgrounds. Tall slides, wide slides, single slides, double slides: she digs them all with the same gusto.”

As for Froehlich himself? “Malcolm X. Park,” he said. “There’s so much there.”

 
– Emma Eisenberg contributed to this story

 
University of the Sciences is organizing its 7th annual 5K Race for Humanity on Saturday, March 31. The race begins at 9 a.m. and both runners and walkers are welcome to participate. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Athletic Recreation Center at 43rd and Woodland Avenue.

Proceeds from the race will go to Livengrin Foundation for Addiction Recovery to support their patient programs and services.

Some of the race features:

Free T-shirts
Refreshments
Water stations along course
Medals for Winners
Timing by Athlete’s Closet
Ample parking and restrooms
Free raffle prizes

For more information and to download the registration form, visit this page.