2nd Fall Pétanque Doubles Tournament will take place at Clark Park this Saturday.

There are tons of great events, many of them free, happening in West Philly this weekend, including free workshops, a children’s sale, charitable runs/walks, and a fall festival. Check out the list below and enjoy the beautiful early fall weather. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, visit our Events Calendar.

Thursday, Sept 18

Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll – Baltimore Avenue between 43rd and 51st Streets, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Enjoy $1 items from over 30 neighborhood businesses.

Friday, Sept 19

Wine and Cheese Pre-Sale (West Philly Grows Again Kids Consignment Sale) – St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk), 9-10 p.m.

Saturday, Sept 20

Cobbs Creek 5K Run/Walk – Cobbs Creek Park (63rd and Locust), 9 a.m. (registration begins at 8 a.m.). All funds raised from this event will go to support outdoor recreational activities within Cobbs Creek Park for children and youth. $20 (adults), $10 (youth), free for children (12 and under).

West Philly Grows Again Kids Consignment Sale – St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk), 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Shop for high-quality clothing items and toys for many different ages and stages at affordable prices.

Free Digital Photography Workshop (Free) – University of the Sciences (42nd and Woodland), 10 a.m. USciences photography professor James Hayden offers a free two-hour photography workshop on “Creative Compositions.” Bring your own camera.

Pétanque Tournament – Clark Park “A” (43rd and Baltimore), 10 a.m. 2nd Annual Fall Doubles tournament. (Here‘s our last year’s story about Pétanque in West Philly).

The Woodlands Wobble 5K – The Woodland Cemetery (40th and Woodland), 10 a.m. All proceeds from this run will support trail maintenance for the running paths inside the site. $25.

Poetry Writing Workshop (Free) – University of the Sciences (42nd and Woodland), 10 a.m. USciences poetry professor Warren Hope offers a two-hour introductory poetry workshop. Bring pen and paper.

Clark Park Music & Arts Equinox Festival – Clark Park “B” (43rd and Chester), Noon-Sundown. The festival includes children’s events and activities, arts and crafts, vending, and a great diversity of performances, including all kinds of music, dance and theater.

UPDATE (9/13/2014): Due to rain forecasted on Saturday, Go West! Craft Fest has been postponed until Sunday, Sept 14.

This Saturday, Sept. 13 Sunday, Sept 14, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., VIX Emporium presents the Fall edition of the popular Go West! Craft Fest, bringing over 100 local craftspeople and artisans to the beautiful Woodlands. The vendors will be offering some of the best handmade stuff, including cards and stationery, ceramics, hand-knit items, clothing, jewelry, body and hair products, toys, and more (see the full list of the vendors and their products here).

As always, the fest also features live music, children’s activities, and food from local restaurants and food trucks (don’t forget to bring your picnic blanket). Food will be served by Aksum, Taco Angeleno, the Satellite Cafe and Black Orchid Vegetarian, and dessert by Lil’ Pop Shop and Weckerly’s Ice Cream. Free children’s craft activities will be provided by the University City Arts League and the Philly Free School.

(Updated) And here’s the music lineup that includes performances and entertainment for kids and adults alike:

12 p.m.: The Green Tambourine – children’s musical instruction
1 p.m.: Julian Root (with Liana Moskowitz and Ian Sigler) – traditional roots/bluegrass/Americana
2 p.m.: Silverton – uncompromisingly positive folk rock
3 p.m.: All Around This World – international children’s music with Jay Sand
4 p.m.: Shakey Lyman – blues legend

Brian Eckinrode will be performing random acts of juggling throughout the day.

The Craft Fest guests are also invited to take a guided tour of the Woodlands grounds that begins at the Woodlands table (near the main entrance) at 12 and 2 p.m. Also at the Woodlands table, volunteers will be collecting books for All Hallow’s Read, a children’s “book hunt” that will take place at the Woodlands on October 26. Donate any children’s books with a fall or Halloween theme, and kids can hunt for free books at the October event.

A couple of important notes: No vehicles will be admitted to the grounds from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. during the event. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 14. The organizers will announce Saturday morning if they plan to reschedule the event (we’ll post an update, too, in this case).

Phil Thomas (right) and The ‘G’ Word crew with their prize. (Photos courtesy of Phil Thomas)

The Sloppy Film Fest (Facebook page), a neighborhood festival of short DIY films, took place at the Beaumont Warehouse on Saturday and we hear it was a great success. Today, we present a film that won the Audience Prize for best film. The film is called The ‘G’ Word (“G” for “Gentrification”) and is mostly set in West Philly (Clark Park and Baltimore Avenue).

Phil Thomas wrote and directed the film (thanks, Phil, for sending us the info). The cast and crew are all West Philly folks: Phil, Andy Holman, John H Dukes, and Heidi M. Smithee. Phil hopes that you’ll enjoy the film and says that his crew will be shooting more movies in West Philly.

Here it is:

Pieter Mostert’s Vessel.

University City Arts League, a community non-profit organization that has been serving the community for 45 years, is presenting a two-person ceramics show, “West Philly Ceramics: Ken Beidler and Pieter Mostert.” The opening reception is tonight, 6-8 p.m., at 4226 Spruce Street.

Beidler’s forms combine wheel and hand-built elements. He is a largely self-taught artist, according to the UCAL press release, who has been influenced by the original Arts and Crafts movement, urban life and his life experience in Indonesia. He has a studio at the Cedar Works and teaches at UCAL. Mostert is South African who spen the last five years in Philadelphia. He makes sculptural vessels using a combination of coiling, pinching and paddling.

The works by Beidler and Mostert will be on display at the UCAL gallery until September 26. For more information about classes offered at UCAL, visit: www.ucartsleague.org/classes.

(Photos courtesy of UCAL)

Ken Beidler’s Baskets.

BalletX. (Photo via FringeArts.com)

Each year, the Fringe Festival brings socially-set performances and presentations by innovative artists to various city’s neighborhoods and venues. This year, the festival, presented by Fringe Arts, will take place Sept. 5 – 22 and will feature music, dance, theater, spoken word and circus performances, and visual art installations (some of them free).

Check out below the guide of the Fringe Festival events in West Philadelphia. West Philly venues for the festival include The Rotunda, The Porch at 30th Street Station, University of Pennsylvania, St. Francis de Sales Parish and more. You can also pick up the print version of the guide at the Green Line Cafe at 45th and Locust.

By the way, West Philly based circus-theater company Tangle Movement Arts will present their newest full-length show, Loop, at the festival. Loop premieres on Thursday, Sept 18 at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept 19 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Sept 20 at 3 and 8 p.m. at Philadelphia Soundstage (1600 N. 5th St.). Tickets ($15-20) are now available via www.tangle-arts.com.  Continue Reading

Yes, we know it’s the Labor Day weekend and many of you will head out of town or to the Parkway for the Made in America Festival. But those of you who will stay in West Philly might want to check out the events below, all happening on Saturday, Aug. 30. Have a great weekend!

• The Ultimate Back 2 School Basketball Challenge will be held at the Kingsessing Recreation Center, 4901 Kingsessing Ave, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The goal of the tournament is to collect school supplies for local schoolchildren. The event is hosted by State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and a group of other locally elected officials will be there, including Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and Rep. James Roebuck. This is a free event, but all attendees are asked to bring a school supply to donate. Sixteen basketball teams will represent 16 West Philly schools and the winning team will then donate all of the collected school supplies from the tournament to their selected school. Approximately 20 vendors will be offering food, free beverages and resource information. More details can be found here.

• If you want to learn more about the Pagan community and their beliefs, come to Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore this Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to celebrate Pagan Pride Day. The festival, which is intended to bring together Heathens and Pagans of all traditions, will feature a wide array of vendors, workshops, and entertainment. Project Wendigo is the musical act that will be performing at the event. Doug Stafford, a juggler, illusionist, and otherwise awesome performer is also on the entertainment lineup, according to the organizers. Workshops begin at 11 a.m. The event is free but the organizers are asking to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Mazzoni Center’s food bank, or a make a monetary donation to one of the festival beneficiaries. Visit the Pagan Pride Day website for more details, list of vendors, and schedule of events.

• The Stooges Brass Band from New Orleans is a headline performer at a Saturday afternoon concert organized by City Tap House in collaboration with the production team from The Blockley. This is the second and last concert in the August outdoor concert series (the first one was held last Saturday). The concert will take place outside of City Tap House at 39th and Walnut from 3 – 8 p.m.. New Sound Brass Band (from the Mummers community) will also perform. Admission is $15 and tickets can be purchased here. 21+

• The University City District and The Rotunda invite all residents to the next free outdoor music concert in the 40th Street Summer Concert Series this Saturday. As always, the event will be held on the green lawn behind the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut) starting at 6 p.m. Nation Beat and The Highwater Preachers (Facebook page) will be performing. Also, there will be ice cream vendors and entertainment for kids. The last concert in the 2014 series will be held on Sept. 27. Click here fore more info.