Every year, the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) and residents organize a Halloween Parade and Party when our little neighbors can showcase their cute/scary/funny costumes. This year is no exception. The parade will be held on Monday, Oct. 31, beginning at 4:30 p.m. (gathering starts after 4 p.m. at 45th and Baltimore).

The parade will proceed to the 4200 block of Osage Ave. (Little Osage) where the annual Halloween Party will be held until 7 p.m. Neighbors and local businesses will be treating the tots to cider and baked goods.

The parade has taken place over the past eighteen years and has grown each year.

For more information, visit the SHCA website. Also, check this Facebook event page for latest information.

The northern section of Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore (Clark Park “A”) has been under construction this week. The work includes installation of long-awaited permanent chess tables to “replace the ratty units the players now employ,” according to the Friends of Clark Park website, and restoration of the layer of gravel that covers the plaza, which hasn’t been updated since 2009.

A rough estimate of the cost of this project is $15,000, and the funding became possible thanks to Friends of Clark Park membership dollars.

Continue Reading

If you’re going to watch the final presidential debate before the election, check out these viewing parties in West Philly. The debate is this Wednesday (Oct. 19), and begins at 9 p.m. There are various starting times for the parties though, so check out more information below. Also, the following West Philly/University City bars usually host watch parties: The Bar(n) (49th and Catharine), City Tap House (39th and Walnut), as well as the Hillary Clinton SW Philly Office (533 S. 52nd St).

Drexel Dems Presidential Debate Watch Party

8-11 p.m., Wahoo’s (3180 Chestnut St)

West Philly 3rd Presidential Debate Watch Party

8-11 p.m., Cavanaugh’s Restaurant & Sports Bar (119 S 39th St)  Continue Reading

EAT Café, Philly’s first nonprofit, pay-what-you-want restaurant, is opening this month at 3820 Lancaster Avenue, and neighbors are invited to check it out this Friday (Oct. 14) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. during a Community Open House.

This is an opportunity for the community to become introduced to EAT Café, its staff, and its unique payment model before the restaurant officially opens for business. All are welcome, and refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public, and coincides with Lancaster Avenue’s Second Friday.

EAT Café’s Grand Opening date is Wednesday, Oct. 26. Check out this page for updates.

In case you missed it check out our earlier story on EAT Café and the people and organizations behind it here.

The Spruce Hill Zoning Committee will be meeting Thursday, Oct. 13 to take up three RCO cases, and community members are invited to participate in the meeting. Additionally, revised drawings for a proposed apartment building at 4043 Baltimore Avenue will be reviewed (this project is currently in the “talking stage” and no zoning has been applied for).

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the cases heard will be:

• 4407 Pine Street – currently zoned for two units, application seeks four units

• 4301-4303 Baltimore Avenue – application for lot adjustment to create one lot out of two, and for a sit down restaurant in first floor and front of the 2nd floor in 4303. 4301 Baltimore Avenue is currently occupied by Clarkville bar and restaurant.

• 4323-31 Spruce Street – application for a take out restaurant (bakery).  Continue Reading

John Bartram Jawn 2016, a free concert featuring Southwest Philly artists, will take place Sunday, Oct. 16 at Bartram’s Garden.

On Sunday, Oct. 16, Bartram’s Garden will be hosting Harvest Fest, an annual free community event packed with fun activities for the whole family, such as hayrides, cider pressing, face-painting, cooking and canning workshops, games of chance and skill, yoga, boating, and much more. The Fest will take place from 12 – 3 p.m., and more details can be found on the Bartram’s Garden website.

Following the Fest, John Bartram Jawn 2016 will kick off at 3 p.m. This is a FREE family-friendly outdoor concert featuring artists with roots in Southwest Philadelphia: Lee Mazin, E–Ness, Scorp Da Boy, Reed, Beat Peace, Solis, Zai & Rico, MTM, Shyster, DJ POOH GEEZ, Cheris Wimes, Music is Soul Good, FU, Dez, Vito, Jasmine Carter, Host JR Morris, and more.  Continue Reading