The popular local dance group, Philly Thriller (Facebook page), which holds Michael Jackson inspired flash-mob performances on the streets of West Philly every Halloween, will be entertaining the crowds this year as well. We got in touch with the group director Rashida Holmes to see where folks can catch them this Saturday. According to Holmes, they’ll be at Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore) tomorrow from 5:30-6:45 p.m., so don’t miss their performances. For more Halloween events, go here.

Here are some photos from Saturday’s 16th Annual Peoplehood Parade. The parade is led by the Spiral Q Puppet Theater and this year included help from the Paul Robeson House, Friends of Clark Park, Neighborhood Bike Works, the Caucus of Working Educators, the Philadelphia Coalition for REAL Justice, the West Powelton Steppers and artist Vitus Shell.

“Peoplehood is a celebration of our communities’ creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and courage to act on their convictions,” according to Spiral Q.  Continue Reading

Spiral Q’s Peoplehood Parade is this Saturday.

Here’s an assortment of events happening this weekend in West Philly and vicinity. For more events, check out our Events page. Also, it’s time to carve your pumpkin and enter it in our Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Saturday, Oct. 24

• Give Kids Sight Day – Free eye care and eyeglasses at Give Kids Sight Day from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson Medical College Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust St. No appointments or insurance is necessary.

• A free document-shredding event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at State Rep. James Roebuck’s district office, 4712 Baltimore Ave.

• Spruce Hill Community Association is hosting a Fall Book Sale and Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their office (257 S 45th St.).

• From The Robeson House to Clark Park: the 16th annual Peoplehood Parade will kick off at 1 p.m.

• Catch Curio Theatre’s new show “The Handmaid’s Tale” on the main stage (48th and Baltimore), 8 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 25

• Join your neighbors for Halloween Family Fun Day at The Woodlands (40th and Woodland), 12 – 4 p.m.

• Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra presents music from 5,000 years of civilization at Kimmel Center (300 S Broad St.), 2 p.m.

• A Classical Arab Music and Poetry concert by Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble, with poetry reading by Ahmad Almallah, Trinity Center for Urban Life (22nd and Spruce), 4 p.m.

Peoplehood Parade map (click to enlarge).

The 16th annual Peoplehood Parade, organized by Spiral Q, is happening this Saturday (Oct 24). This year’s parade will pay tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement and honor the life of Fran Aulston, a community leader and former Paul Robeson House president, who passed away on August 9, 2015. People of all ages are invited to join Spiral Q artists and their puppets on Saturday and march, walk or roll through West Philly streets together (wheelchairs, bicycles and strollers are welcome).

The parade, which will span a 1.25 mile route, will feature Spiral Q’s signature giant puppets, stilt-walkers, a drum line, and the artwork of fine artist Vitus Shell, a Monroe, LA native.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. at the Paul Robeson House (4951 Walnut St)  and then moves into Clark Park (45th and Chester), where it will be followed by a participatory group art-making activity starting around 2 p.m. in the Bowl. Visit the Spiral Q website for more details.

UPDATE (10:50 a.m.): The Friends of Clark Park (FoCP) voted last night to recommend to the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation that limited hours be established when off-leash dogs are permitted at the Clark Park Bowl, the latest move in the park’s more than decade-long canine conundrum. The recommendation for permitted hours is daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., though, as in the past, enforcement of the new rule will be tricky.

The “fastest dog” competition during the 2011 Bark in the Park. (Photo West Philly Local).

The vote followed a discussion about off-leash dogs that included suggestions of stepped up enforcement by Parks and Recreation rangers or University City District’s bicycle patrol. FoCP board members agreed that a compromise was to post signs with hours for off-leash dogs, which are prohibited in public areas in Philadelphia but have been a fixture in Clark Park for years.

Tight enforcement risks alienating “a community that is one of the more dedicated to the park,” said resident Valerie Ross, who lives near the park. People who run their dogs in the Bowl often help clean up trash there, she said. And park events sometimes focus on dogs, including the annual Bark in the Park (24 years and counting) and even a corporate-sponsored, dog-friendly singles meet-up last year.

But complaints, including some at last night’s meeting, focused on off-leash dogs’ interactions with leashed dogs and children and adults who are afraid of dogs. Ross said the off-leash dogs are rarely a problem.  Continue Reading

The Friends of Clark Park (FoCP) Membership meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 19, starting at 7 p.m.

The agenda includes:

• Elections are scheduled for President, Vice President, Secretary, and half of the FoCP Board.

• A discussion is planned about trash removal in the park and associated problems.

• A discussion of various upcoming projects including folding chair replacement, new chess tables, and planning for next year’s events.

The meeting will be held at Griffith Hall Lecture Room A, 600 S. 43rd Street, on the University of the Sciences Campus. All are welcome.