To wrap up Love Your Park week in Philadelphia, two West Philly parks will be holding celebrations this Friday and Saturday.

Cedar Park Neighbors are inviting neighborhood residents to have a Picnic in Cedar Park tonight (Friday, May 13) from 6 – 8 p.m. Please bring your blanket and a meal and enjoy the evening with your family, friends and neighbors. If you don’t feel like packing, pick up a dinner at one of great neighborhood businesses and head on over to the park.​​  Continue Reading

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair will be held on Saturday, May 7 in Clark Park. In addition to live music, food, book and plant sales, a raffle, and activities for kids, local artisans and craftspeople will showcase their creations and offer the public an opportunity to purchase their unique handcrafted wares. There will also be booths set up with information about local groups and causes seeking public support.

The Spruce Hill Community Association is hosting the event and is offering vending spots for interested individuals or organizations. Especially welcome are artists and crafters from West Philadelphia who would like to offer their works for sale, as well as any group or organization wanting to promote itself or a cause, event, or activity.  Continue Reading

Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP), the immensely popular annual outdoor theater event, will return in July to the park’s “Bowl” near 45th and Chester. The company recently announced its new production for the Summer 2016 season and provided some other interesting details. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy, is set to run July 27 – 31 and will bring together Philadelphia’s finest actors.

The show is directed by Kathryn MacMillan, a Philadelphia-based theater director who has earned a reputation for directing classical and contemporary works with freshness and clarity and shaping great acting ensembles. She has directed over 25 productions in the Philadelphia area and is currently working on the development of a world premiere musical.  Continue Reading

There’s a chance to help your neighborhood park on the “Love Your Park” fall service day this Saturday (Nov. 14). Over 75 Philly parks need help, including many in West Philadelphia.

Friends of Clark Park is hosting a clean-up and beautification day in the park from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., and seeking community volunteers who can join them. Meeting is at 9 a.m. by the shed (45th and Regent). Please bring a trowel (if you have one).

If you live in Cedar Park, consider volunteering from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. in your neighborhood park. Community members are invited to celebrate fall and spend the day working alongside friends and neighbors to help clean and green Cedar Park. Your work may include raking leaves, putting the gardens to bed, planting perennials and bulbs and doing general clean up. All ages are welcome, and tools will be supplied. To RSVP, please email contact@cedarparkneighbors.org  Continue Reading

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