Here’s a good opportunity to help a local cause and to get your energy back for the holidays. This Friday, Dec. 16 join a fundraising yoga class hosted by Wake Up Yoga (4916 Baltimore Ave.). All proceeds from the class will go to support the Saint Francis de Sales Christmas Outreach program, which provides gifts for children in West and Southwest Philly.

This is a restorative yoga class and it is perfect for beginners. Instructor Alane Benson (pictured) will teach you how to ease away tension, stress and fatigue using gravity as a prop, so you leave feeling rejuvenated and renewed.

The class will run from 7:45 – 9:15 p.m. No pre-registration is required. For more information go here.

There have been a few muggings in the area in the past few days, which occurred relatively early in the evening. The muggings were reported by neighbors on neighborhood listservs first and just now we were able to confirm them with the police.

Neighbor Stephen says that on Saturday, Dec. 10, around 6:30 p.m. two men (black males in their 30’s, wearing dark clothing) followed him from the 46th & Chester trolley stop and mugged him just half a block from his house.

Stephen was punched in the face multiple times and the men took his wallet, phone, and backpack. During the robbery Stephen screamed repeatedly that he was being mugged but no one heard him.

The victim reported the incident to the police and they were able to track his iPhone to 53rd Street in Southwest Philly and later stopped a man, who had a gun in his possession but none of the victim’s items. The victim could not identify the man, according to Joseph Murray of Southwest Detectives. The man was arrested for a weapons violation. There is nothing on the second suspect as of yet.

Another mugging was reported about a week ago in the same area (near 46th and Kingsessing) around 7 p.m. A man was pushed to the ground by a couple of young men and his wallet was taken.

These two cases do not seem to be related as the descriptions of the robbers do not match, Murray reported.

We asked Murray to comment on muggings taking place in early evenings. Here’s what he wrote: “It is not quite our peak time for robberies but they are not that rare. It is worrisome though.”

From the Spruce Hill Community Association’s Facebook post:

“A Subway sandwich shop wants to open up at a chronically vacant storefront on Baltimore Avenue and is scheduled to go before the city’s Zoning Board later this month. Lots of controversy swirling about this with neighbors for and against it for lots of reasons. The SHCA Zoning Committee has been compiling community input, concerns, and recommendations. What do you think, and if you could nudge the franchisee to make this amenable to the neighborhood, what would you like to see them do/not do?”

Leave a comment and we will forward it to the SHCA.

Tonight is the opening night of Dario Fo’s play Accidental Death of An Anarchist at Curio Theatre (4740 Baltimore Ave). This comedy is probably the best-known play written by Fo and features both real and fictional characters. The shows run through January 7 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets ($15-$20) are still available for tonight’s show. To buy tickets click here.

Check out the promotional video below (it’s hilarious!).

Two more awesome holiday events are happening in the neighborhood this weekend.

• This Saturday, Dec. 10 come and see what Stanford Thompson (director of Play On, Philly!) and his student musicians at Saint Francis de Sales have achieved when they present their Holiday Concert. Guest conductor is Rossen Milanov, who has conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann. The concert begins at 2 p.m. in the school auditorium (917 S. 47th St., at Windsor Ave.). Admission is free.

• Are you up for caroling this weekend? If yes, come to Clark Park “B” (45th & Regent) on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 5:00 p.m. for the annual Clark Park Christmas Caroling. Sing traditional Christmas carols around the Community Christmas tree with your neighbors and enjoy some refreshments afterwards. For more information call 215-222-2255.

Two new pickup sites for the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative’s affordable produce have been established in West Philly, according to the cooperative’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program Manager Evan Elizabeth Miller. The previously established site at CHOP has been recently suspended by the hospital.

CSA is currently working with two residents in the area, one in Spruce Hill, and the other in Garden Court, who will serve as site hosts for this program. A site host is a volunteer who provides an area where the CSA produce boxes are delivered.

Lancaster Farm Fresh is a non-profit organic farmers cooperative with the headquarters in Lancaster County, PA. One of the cooperative’s goals is to increase access to local, fresh and organic foods to inner city neighborhoods, like West Philadelphia. According to Miller, farmers markets are a great way for people to get produce in the summer months, but it is rarely affordable to lower income families. The CSA program is offering the farm’s produce at the same prices as those given to their wholesalers.

CSA also has a Fresh Food Fund, which grows through contributions given by the members, used to subsidize the costs of CSA shares to families and individuals in need. They were recently approved to accept Access card/SNAP benefits and are looking for an organization in West Philly to sponsor them (manage their EBT machine), so they can establish an additional pickup site where the membership can pay for their food with their access funds.

To sign up for the CSA membership please go here and fill out an application form. West Philly residents can either pick the ‘Garden Court’ or ‘Spruce Hill’ options. The Winter Share program begins January 16, 2012. You can find detailed description of winter product offerings here. If you have questions please email: csa [at] lancasterfarmfresh.com or call 717-656-3533.