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This Friday and Saturday (Nov 15 & 16), Penn Museum and VIX Emporium are teaming up to present one of the first holiday shopping opportunities for local residents and guests – a special two-day craft fair titled “Gifts in the Galleries.” The craft fair means unique, handmade gifts, like jewelry, clothing, accessories, hand knits, ceramics, home wares, original artworks, prints, stationery, soaps, candles and more from over 50 independent artists and craftspeople who will be there in person to present their work.

Gifts In The Galleries will take place in the Kintner and Dietrich galleries and the Widener Lecture Hall, located on the west end of the Museum, near 33rd and Spruce. Admission to the craft show is free, plus guests will receive a coupon for $5 off general museum admission on Saturday, so this is a great opportunity to view the museum’s vast collection of relics from all over the world. On Saturday, visitors are also encouraged to join the free instructional drum circle with internationally renowned Middle Eastern percussionist Joe Tayoun. For more information, go here.

Gifts in the Galleries
Penn Museum (33rd & Spruce)
Friday, Nov 15 – 4-7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov 16 – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Who says sign posts have to be boring? We spotted this one near 47th and Osage. If you know anything about it, please post in the comments below. (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local).

Editor’s Note: Readers’ comments are welcomed. We received a request though not to identify the block or houses seen in the video or neighbors whose surveillance camera or cameras might have been used.

The man who, armed with a gun, robbed and sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman on the morning of October 14 on the 5000 block of Hazel Avenue, is still at large. The police have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for public’s assistance in identifying this person. On the video below, the suspect, an 18-20 year-old man wearing a red t-shirt and dark colored pants, can be seen walking in the area prior to the assault that took place around 11:50 a.m.

The suspect is also wanted in connection to several other robberies in the area, according to police.

If you see this person, you are asked not to approach him but to call 911 immediately. To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215.686.TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

University City Chinese Christian Church.

It’s a big day tomorrow in Spruce Hill – the day for the Spruce Hill Annual Meeting where residents are invited to “mingle, vote, and discuss developments in the neighborhood.” The meeting will be held at a new location – the recently completed University City Chinese Christian Church at the northwest corner of 45th and Walnut. The church building is also used as a community space.

This meeting is an opportunity for neighbors to ask questions and offer comments about the future of the Spruce Hill neighborhood, which covers an area from 40th to 46th street and Market to Woodland avenues, and also a chance to renew your dues. By the way, all new and recurring SHCA members will receive a free Spruce Hill door decal while supplies last.

Martine Decamp, Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s new planner for the University City/Southwest and Lower Southwest region, will be the featured speaker at the meeting. Since the new zoning code went into effect in August 2012, Decamp will talk about the city’s remapping and rezoning efforts. She will also provide some insight into the Commission’s thinking as it developed its recommendations for future development in the Spruce Hill neighborhood.

Voting is a very important part of the meeting. Here is a list of candidates for the SHCA Board of Directors:

• Monica Calkins – president.
• Andy Cole – executive vice president.
• Mark Wagenveld – vice president (operations).
• Marie McCullough – secretary
• Judy Powers – treasurer.

Overall, 10 seats on the 20-member board are up this year and the Nominating Committee is recommending five newcomers and five incumbents. To see the full list of candidates, please follow this link: http://www.sprucehillca.org/shca-annual-election.

For more details about the meeting and to let your neighbors know that you’re coming, visit the event’s Facebook page.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Veterans Day is this Monday and some events and happenings are taking place in the area this weekend to honor and support local men and women who served in the Armed Forces.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, Veterans Day Commemoration is scheduled in the northern section of Clark Park near the Gettysburg Stone (near 44th and Baltimore Ave.) Everyone is welcome to join the Friends of Clark Park, students of the HMS School for Cerebral Palsy and the Boy Scouts in honoring veterans. The event begins at 11 a.m. If you are a local veteran reading this, you can be honored too. Please call 215-222-2255 and leave your name and phone number.

Also tomorrow, dozens of volunteers from Rebuilding Together Philadelphia will gather to renovate the Veterans Group Home at 3209 Baring Street (in the Powelton Village area). The volunteer work team will build a new gazebo for the home, install a new grill and cooking area and renovate the first-floor bathroom. The work will take place from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and HGTV and DIY Network will be there to film it.

The Veterans Group Home, which has the capacity to house 48 men, is located on a quiet tree lined street and includes two-three story homes that are joined in the rear of the property by a shared kitchen and two dining areas.

A couple of months ago, West Philly Local wrote about the call for short film submissions for the 2013 Sloppy Film Fest. Some of your creative neighbors and friends got busy and put together homemade flicks in a “fast and loose” manner, just like the fest organizers wanted. And now it’s time to check out their work. The Sloppy Film Fest, a free show organized by Project Arts, will take place tonight from 10 – 12 p.m. at Dahlak Paradise (4708 Baltimore Ave). Each film screened at the fest is between 5 and 10 minutes long.

The Sloppy Film Fest has been held on and off for the last 15 years. “The idea is to promote DIY filmmaking,” Project Arts executive director Rich Wexler told West Philly Local back in September. Kids are welcome, at least for the first part of the show, as it will begin with films rated PG and PG-13.

More information is available on the event’s Facebook page. And here’s a teaser: