If you own some scary or creepy books or books with themes like fall, Halloween, harvest, leaves, pumpkins, etc., you can donate them for this cool Halloween event. This year, All Hallow’s Read is organizing a book hunt for spooky books hidden in Woodlands Cemetery. The event will take place on Saturday, Oct 20. After the hunt, there will be an opportunity to read the books and share them. The idea of All Hallow’s Read was created by author Neil Gaiman, who suggested that people should give each other scary books on or around Halloween.

There are several locations in West Philly where you can drop off your books:

Walnut West Library (40th and Walnut) – drop your book in the regular donation box
Lucien E. Blackwell Regional Library (52nd and Chestnut) – donation box is located in the children’s section
Locust Moon Comics and Movies (34 S. 40th Street)
Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave)
House of Our Own (3920 Spruce Street)
Woodlands Mansion (40th and Woodland Ave)

Donations are accepted through October 15. For more information and to learn about how else you can help at this event, please visit this page.

Here’s a great campaign that helps improve our neighborhoods. Philadelphia Parks and Recreation’s tree planting initiate, TreePhilly, engages property owners, business and community residents to improve their communities by planting and maintaining trees. The fall campaign is underway now and residents can sign up until October 19 to receive their free trees.

This fall, residents are eligible to receive up to two free trees per address. Last spring, West Philly residents ordered hundreds of trees, per information provided by Parks & Rec.

To register for your free tree, please go to www.treephilly.org, or contact Erica Smith,
Tree Philly manager, at 215-683-0217 or email: erica.smith@phila.gov with your request.

Note: You have to be a property owner in order to be eligible and plant the trees in the ground in your private yard space, not in the sidewalk outside of your property.

Update: Nibbler is still missing. Here’s more information directly from the cat’s owner:

“Nibbler has been missing from 49th & Larchwood since July. Numerous reports of possible Nibbler sightings range from 50th to 46th, and from Baltimore Ave to Pine St. Nibbler is a male, and was about 22 lbs when he went missing so this is pretty big cat. He had a collar and tag when last seen, but that may have slipped off. He has black spots on his back, a black tail, and white underbelly. His humans miss him very, very much and believe he is still wandering around West Philly. If you think you have seen him please let us know. Nibbler is micro-chipped.”

Please call Doug at 215 909 2334 if you’ve seen Nibbler.

Spring’s Craft Fest was a big hit.

The fall installment of GO WEST! Craft Fest is coming to the historic Woodlands cemetery this Saturday (Sept. 29), bringing over 50 super crafty vendors and their work. You can find all kinds of handmade stuff at the festival – artworks, cards, prints, clothing, ceramics, jewelry, natural bath & body products, toys, edibles and more. With holidays coming up, the Woodlands this Saturday is the place to be (don’t forget your holiday shopping list). You can check out the vendor list here or visit the event’s pinterest board.

Besides the vendors, there will be live entertainment and fun for the whole family. Here’s the schedule:

Noon: Perseverance Jazz Band, swinging NOLA-style standards
1 p.m.: The Citywide Specials, an authentic bluegrass band
2 p.m.: Jay Sand of All Around This World, engaging world music for kids and their families
3 p.m.: Tinycircus, aerial flights of fancy presented by Tangle Movement Arts

So come support local small, independent businesses this Saturday (rain date – Sunday, Sept. 30).

A 24-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint last night near 47th and Larchwood, according to police. At approximately 11 p.m., the man was standing in front of his apartment, pulling his keys out of the door, when he heard someone behind him say “Yo”. The victim thought it was his friend, but when he turned around he saw an unknown male pointing a gun at him. The victim handed the robber his backpack, $40.00 dollars and his iPhone. The phone was secured with a password which the robber asked for as well.

We are also trying to confirm with police an abandoned firearm report that we received from a reader. Apparently, someone reported a man with a gun on the 4300 block of Spruce last night and around 1 a.m. a few police cars showed up. They caught the suspect, but couldn’t find the gun that the suspect apparently disposed of somewhere on that block. The reader says that the policemen left after 20 minutes of searching the area.

It’s always great news to hear that a local business is doing well, especially when it’s expanding into other locations. One of the anchor businesses in the area, the Green Line Cafe, has posted an announcement that on October 1 it’s opening a shop in Center City, at 15th and Moravian – a couple blocks away from City Hall. Green Line will take over the Cafe Loftus currently operating in that location. This will be Green Line’s fourth shop, with other locations at 45th and Locust, 43rd and Baltimore and 37th and Lancaster. They also operate a kiosk inside the Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania.

This news comes as Green Line, a family-owned business, begins celebrating their 10th anniversary. The first Green Line Cafe opened in January 2003 at 43rd and Baltimore.