A sampling of things going on around the hoods today. There may be more in the happenings section (our ever-expanding listings). Send your listings to editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• Members-only sneak preview • 7 p.m.-10 p.m. • University City Arts League • 4226 Spruce St.

UC Arts League members get a sneak preview of the handcrafted items up for sale in the annual Holiday Craft Show and Sale. The show is open to the general public on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then again Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society presents fantasy novelist Ellen Kushner • 9 p.m. • The Rotunda • 4014 Walnut St. • Free

Ellen Kushner is a writer of fantasy novels and the host of the radio program Sound & Spirit, produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.

• Emil Baumann: Return To The Future exhibition opens today at the Second Floor Gallery • 6 p.m.-9 p.m. • 3809 Pearl Street

Emil Baumann’s present body of work and his exploration of yet another dimension of painting: Still Life. Also on display, Emil Baumann’s recent ceramic art. The exhibition will run Dec 10-Dec 23. For more information call: 215-382-1541.

A sampling of things going on around the hoods today. There may be more in the happenings section (our ever-expanding listings). Send your listings to editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• Snow Caps CD Release Party/Kate Ferencz and The Chairman Dances • 7 p.m. • Green Line Cafe • 4426 Locust St. • Cover: $5-7 sliding scale.

Snow Caps is Andrew Keller. Here he is performing in Tulsa in 2009

“Baby Bird” by Andrew Keller (a.k.a. Snowcaps) from Taryn Jones on Vimeo.

• WPEB Programming meeting • 6:30 p.m. • WPEB studios • 541b S. 52nd St.

Check out West Philly’s FM station here.

• Books Through Bars 20th Anniversary Film Festival • 7: 30 p.m. • Cindergarden • 4823 Baltimore Ave. • Suggested donation $3-5.

Books Through Bars’ film festival continues tonight with the theme Immigration Detention: The Racialized Face of U.S. Incarceration. Mia-lia Kiernan, a Cambodian Community Organizer, will introduce the three films. See the full schedule and a description of the films here.

• Andrew’s Video Vault at The Rotunda • 8 p.m. • The Rotunda • 4014 Walnut St. • Free

This month installment of A.R. McElhinney‘s movie madness features:

Before I Forget [aka, Avant que j’oublie] (2007 / 108 minutes) In one of the great movies of the last decade Jacques Nolot writes, directs and stars as a gay man adjusting to his lover’s death, advancing age, and his failing body.

Poison (1990 / 85 minutes)  Todd Haynes’ masterful first feature is inspired by the writings of Jean Genet and propelled by Haynes’ own unique sense of collage.

The Meatrack (1970 / 65 minutes)  A young boy grows up to be a hustler in this time capsule of a more carefree and groovy era.

City and private planning officials last night unveiled an “action plan” to turn 500 acres of vacant lots, desolate schoolyards and derelict parks into revitalized green space.

Green2015: An Action Plan for the First 500 Acres is the result of cooperation between the city and PennPraxis, the hands-on branch of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. It’s ambitious and expensive, although the city maintains that the costs will be kept low thanks to private and community partnerships and the fact that many of the sites under consideration will be relatively easy to green-up.

The idea is to create green space where there isn’t much, particularly for the 200,000 or so Philadelphians who live further than a 10-minute walk from a public park. A caveat: These spaces won’t necessarily be turned into “parks.” Some will be spruced up school playgrounds, for example. Many are an acre or less.

The city is inviting citizen feedback here.

Here are some “opportunity sites” in West Philly that the plan mentions:

• Walnut Hill Community Park and Farm (pictured left). This project on a quarter-acre lot near 46th and Market is actually already underway and will include a pocket park and an urban garden (p. 79).

Green 2015

Tom McCusker makes some damn fine tacos and now Channel 10 knows it too. Oooo, and he wants to make and bottle his own hot sauce. Bring it on Honest Tom.

The Provident Mutual Building at 46th and Market in its glory days from an old postcard.

(UPDATE: The Preservation Alliance is holding an art show Friday that includes pieces inspired by the buildings on the endangered list. The show is at the Globe Dye Works (4500 Worth Street) and starts at 7 p.m. Half the proceeds go toward the Alliance’s Advocacy Fund.)

The Provident Mutual Life Insurance Building at 46th and Market, that majestic, cupola topped building overlooking the El tracks, is eroding before our eyes and it is still unclear whether help is on the way. The building is one of many that the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia has identified as “still endangered”  in its eighth annual Endangered Properties List released today. The list is full of sad stories of landmark buildings that have fallen into disrepair.

The list also includes the Divine Lorraine Hotel on North Broad Street, the Germantown Town Hall on Germantown Avenue and 109 Elfreth’s Alley.

Built in 1926 by Cram and Ferguson, the Provident Mutual building was abandoned when the company moved in 1983. Parts of the building have been occupied by a hodgepodge of agencies over the years. The building has been considered for the relocation of both the Philadelphia Family Court and the Philadelphia Police Headquarters. The Family Court contract went elsewhere (under a cloud of alleged corruption) and the estimated $70 million rehab price tag has made the police move doubtful, at least for now.

Sadly, the building is not on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, making it even more likely to be ignored, according to the Preservation Alliance.

Here is the Endangered Properties list:
Preservation Alliance 2010 Endangered Properties List