Volunteer soccer coaches with young players at Clark Park. Photo courtesy Clark Park Youth Soccer.

Do you enjoy playing soccer and know a little bit about the game? Do you like running around and having fun with kids? If so, read on.

The Clark Park Youth Soccer program is still looking for volunteer coaches for their Fall season, which starts on Saturday, Sept. 28 and continues until November 23. It takes place on Saturdays at Clark Park, with age groups 5-6 and 6-7 playing from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and age groups 7-8 and 9-11 playing from noon to 1:30 p.m. Volunteer coaches are asked to commit to being there most of the Saturdays through the season, but there will be three to four coaches assigned to each team so that you’ll always have backup.

Clark Park Soccer is a non-competitive program, aiming to give kids of any ability the opportunity to have fun, get some exercise, and learn the basic skills of the game. Coaches of all ages and abilities are welcome; the only requirement is that you like to have fun!

To read more about this program visit this page, or email: clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com if you’re interested.

Hawthorne Hall. Photo via Hiddencityphila.org.

West Philly neighbors and friends have a great opportunity to learn more about the Powelton and Garden Court neighborhoods and their hidden architectural gems at a series of neighborhood walking tours that begin on Saturday, Sept 21. Here’s more details:

• Two Powelton Village tours, organized by Hidden City, will take place on Saturday (Sept 21). Each event will start with a tour of Hawthorne Hall, home to a remarkable installation created for the 2013 Hidden City Festival. Then participants will get a chance to check out the Divine Tracy once owned by Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement, the Hotel Powelton (Albert Barnes’s first factory), the Cloister, a gorgeous church converted to apartments, and more.

The tours will be led by Rachel Hildebrandt, a writer for the Hidden City Daily, who has an MA in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and now works at Partners for Sacred Places, and Caroline Acheatel, who is also of Partners for Sacred Places.

The tour hours are: 1:00 p.m.  –  2:30 p.m. and 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. and the starting point is Hawthorne Hall, 3849 Lancaster Ave. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) and spots can be reserved here (Tour I) and here (Tour II).

• Also beginning Saturday, Sept 21, there will be a few chances to explore the Garden Court neighborhood. “Farm to Ford” is the name of this historical walking tour. Organized by Garden Court Community Association, it is scheduled for Sept 21, Oct 5, 12 and 19 (all Saturdays).

During this tour you will learn the history of the neighborhood from its rural beginnings to today. You will also find out which children’s author made her livelihood here and discover a “secret” garden typically closed to visitors.

The tours will run from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the starting point is in the courtyard of the Lea Elementary School, on 47th, between Spruce and Locust Streets. Tickets are only $5 (only cash accepted) and the organizers would appreciate if you RSVP at: GCCAtour@gmail.com. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

West Philly resident Katy and her husband Dave heard a meowing coming from under the hood of a car in the CVS parking lot. They flagged down a CVS employee and asked, “Do you know whose car this is; there’s a kitten stuck in the engine!” It turns out it was his car!

One hour and one random good Samaritan with a jack later, they pulled this little guy safely out of the engine block. Whew! Katy is holding little Fonzy, who looks like he’s not quite certain that he didn’t lose one of his 9 lives in that scary experience.

Fonzy is too young to be adopted just now, so he’ll be fostered by a Project MEOW volunteer until he is ready for all of his vet work. Then he will be available for adoption. If you want to adopt Fonzy, you can apply now by emailing: info@projectmeow.org.

As of 4:30 p.m. 46th Street between Pine and Spruce streets was closed to traffic due to a fallen tree. It is still unclear what caused the tree to fall. One fireman said: “We don’t know what the hell happened.”

Thanks to neighbor Nadia Adawi for the first photo.

UPDATE (9 p.m.): The tree was removed around 7 p.m., according to some neighbors who live on that block.

Here’s a recap of what’s happening in the hoods this weekend, Thursday, Sept 12 – Sunday, Sept 15. Do you know of more events and want to share them with your neighbors? Please add them in the comments below or submit them for the Events Calendar.

Click to enlarge.

Thursday

• Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll – Along Baltimore Avenue between 43rd and 51st Streets. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Come to Baltimore Avenue rain or shine to enjoy $1 deals from over 30 local businesses. There will also be music, entertainment and activities for the little ones. Read more about this event here. Also, check out the flyer.
• Weed Dating – Mill Creek Farm, 49th & Brown. 6:30 p.m. The Mill Creek Farm is hosting a mixer/fundraiser on Thursday called “weed dating”! Admission: $12. More info here.

Friday

• 2013 Fringe Arts Festival continues with three performances of the musical “Jennifer the Unspecial: Time Travel, Love Potions, and 8th Grade” staged in Penn Museum’s Sphinx Gallery (3260 South St): Friday at 7:00 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. Admission: $15. More info on this and other Fringe Arts events and performances, click here.
• LOOK. SEE. HEAR: the glass works of 2012-2013 resident artist Celestine Wilson Hughes. Opening reception – AIR Gallery, 4007 Chestnut St., 1st Floor, 6 – 9 p.m. This is the final exhibition of work by a 2012-2013 resident artist. General public, friends, family, supporters, and past residents are welcome. http://40streetair.blogspot.com/
  
• Patriciu Mateescu: Unbearable Craziness of Onions. Opening reception – Art on the Avenue Gallery, 3808 Lancaster Ave. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. This is a solo ceramic sculpture and drawing exhibition, featuring the most recent works of this noteworthy international artist. The event is part of the Second Fridays on Lancaster Avenue (Facebook page) series. The exhibit runs from September 14 to October 5. http://www.artonave.org/
• Free movie in Clark Park, 43rd & Chester. 7:30 p.m. 5 Broken Windows, shown by Philadelphia International Action Center concludes its summer film series. It’s a documentary about a Palestinian videographer who starts documenting Israeli land grabs around his village. Continue Reading

My Task Master, a West Philadelphia based professional organizing business that helps others achieve peaceful and efficient environments for home, work, and play, is holding a suit drive this week to benefit Dress for Success of Philadelphia. They are accepting women’s clothing items for donation that are like new, clean, and current (not more than 3 years old). If the item is something you’d wear for a job interview, they’ll accept it.

The drive will also accept interview appropriate fall and winter blouses, slacks, skirts, shoes, scarves, jewelry, and bags. Special need exists for clothing sized 00-2 and 14+ as well as shoes size 8.5+. All donations are tax-deductible.

The mission of Dress for Success Philadelphia is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Over 10,000 women in the greater Philadelphia area have been referred to Dress for Success Philadelphia since 2008 to receive clothing, confidence, and career boosts.

Donations will be accepted through Thursday, Sept. 12. Please email Emily Anderson at: emily@mytaskmaster.net to schedule a drop-off or to request more information. Please include “suit drive” in the subject line. You may also drop off your donations to My Task Master’s table during the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll on Thursday. Their table will be located near 47th Street on Baltimore Avenue.