VIX Emporium, the popular everything-cool-and-artsy shop, opened its doors five years ago this month and now the shop owners, Emily and Sean Dorn, need your help to celebrate the 5th anniversary. This Saturday, Nov. 17, all are welcome to the AnniVIXary V party at the shop near 50th and Baltimore. The party runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The party will include festive refreshments, merriment and music by Philly blues legend Shakey Lyman (Facebook page), who will be playing his 1938 National steel guitar from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Shakey also played VIX’s grand opening. VIX’s own Sean Dorn will be on upright bass.

This will also be a good chance to scope out some holiday gifts. Fiber Artist Elissa Kara, the owner of Nice Things Handmade (Facebook page), will be on hand to talk about her crocheted wooly hats, which she has been making for more than a decade. Kara was the featured artist at the very first VIX holiday party back in 2007. Kara will also debut an assortment of pouches and purses in vintage fabrics. These were made from a collection of donated fabrics with wacky 1950s and 60s patterns mysteriously left on VIX’s doorstep a few years ago. A note was attached to the fabrics that read “for a deserving crafter.”

A small section of the new mural near 42nd and Woodland depicts a soccer game in the Clark Park bowl. The mural, “Communion Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” illustrates the transition returning vets are making.

West Philly’s newest mural is a tribute to returning vets and a depiction of their journey from the war zone to a life back home.

Flanking a parking lot near 42nd and Woodland, the mural also contains verse from members of the Warrior Writers group, a non-profit that helps veterans convey their experiences through artistic expression. Phillip Adams and Willis Humphrey designed and installed the mural, which is entitled “Communion Between a Rock and a Hard Place.”

One side of the two-mural installation depicts soldiers on duty. The other includes a scene of Clark Park. Together they represent the two worlds that many returning vets are trying to reconcile.

The mural was financed in part through state and local grants and the city’s Mural Arts Program. Organizers hope the mural will help people better understand the transition to civilian life that many vets are experiencing. Read more about the mural here.

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Sylvia Platypus.

Many neighbors have been asking how they can help Hurricane Sandy victims and here’s a great opportunity. On Saturday, Nov. 10, “psycho-Celtic glam-blues band” Sylvia Platypus (Facebook page), along with a contingent of clowns, jugglers, dancers, face painters, sword swallowers, and fire spinners, will take over the Rotunda at 4014 Walnut St. for a circus-themed extravaganza with music, food, and spectacle to aid those affected by the superstorm.

“As Sandy hit the Caribbean, the suggestion for a hurricane relief concert was raised,” said Janet Bressler, vocalist and principal songwriter for Sylvia Platypus. “Then, the devastation arrived so close to home, and the choice became obvious.”

Sylvia Platypus has a “something-for-everyone” appeal that reaches across demographics and their visionary scope and fearless presentation are attracting increasing attention from both the public and the music industry. The band recently signed a publishing deal for film and TV placement of some of their compositions.

The show begins at 8 p.m. and suggested donation is $5 to $25+. For more information, visit therotunda.org or the event’s Facebook page.

The Curio Theatre Company, a favorite West Philly theater spot, is premiering Stoker’s Dracula adapted and performed by company member Josh Hitchens. The seventy-minute adaptation, previously seen at the Philly Fringe Festival, the Independent Voices Festival, and many other venues, re-imagines Stoker’s chilling vampire tale as a one-man show, with Hitchens inhabiting twelve distinct characters, just in time for Halloween! As an added bonus, Hitchens acts out the famous vampire tale using nothing but Stoker’s original text from the novel for dialogue.

Performances include late-nights tonight and tomorrow at 10:30 p.m., as well as October 30 and 31 at 8:00 p.m. at the theater, located at 4740 Baltimore Avenue. Tickets ($15) can be purchased online or at the door.

– Kelly Lawler

The third annual Philly Photo Day is tomorrow (Oct. 26) and everyone in the city is invited to take a photograph. The photo can be of any subject, as long as it’s taken on October 26. Philadelphia Photo Arts Center will print all the pictures and hang them for exhibition in the Crane Arts Building in Kensington. In addition to the main exhibition, PPAC will place select Philly Photo Day pictures on city billboards, Septa buses and trains, creating a public exhibition of the work.

“At its core, Philly Photo Day is about increasing access to the arts for everyone in Philadelphia,” said Sarah Stolfa, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center.

You can upload your photo from October 26 to October 30 on this page (you can only submit one picture).

This year, PPAC is reaching out to local community centers, providing cameras and artists who will teach photography basics and help participants select their best photos for this event. If you need instruction or a camera to participate, here’s where you can go to in West Philly:

Morning Sites, 9am – 12pm

Action AIDS
3901 Market Street

People’s Emergency Center
325 N. 39th Street

Ronald McDonald House
3925 Chestnut Street

West Philadelphia Senior Community Center
1016 41st Street

Afternoon Sites, 1-4pm

Mariposa Food Co-Op
4824 Baltimore Avenue

People’s Emergency Center
325 N. 39th Street

West Philadelphia Community Center
3512 Haverford Avenue

VIX Emporium has announced that the holiday edition of Go West! Craft Fest will take place in The Rotunda on December 15 and that any artists or craftspeople interested in being a vendor at the event are welcome to apply. Applications are free and available online here. The last day to apply is November 5.

Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming festival. If you missed the fall Craft Fest at The Woodlands, please go here and here to see photos. BTW, the new “West Philly is the Best Philly” hoodie (pictured below) was a hot item at the festival and if you missed it, you can buy it online.