Photo courtesy of Penn Museum.

There’s a cool free event tomorrow at the Penn Museum and also check out other museum offerings this summer.

Firstly, in July and August, the Penn Museum (3260 South St) is offering admission for a third off the regular price. Adults, seniors, and children get in for one cool price: $10. As always, Penn Museum members, children under 6, PennCard holders and active military enjoy free admission. And through Labor Day weekend, active military families also get in for free.

And here’s a reminder of special summer activities community members are invited to enjoy during the summer months.

• Summer Nights Wednesday evening concert series. A diverse line up of music, a laid back outdoor vibe, as the Museum stays open. Optional gallery tours between sets! 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., through September 3.
• Summer Wonder Family Programs. International, interactive, and fun. Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. in July. (air-conditioned)
• Unearthed in the Archives. Fridays at 2 p.m. Join archivist Alessandro Pezzati and staff as they pull out a gem from the Museum’s archives—and bring Museum stories to life. (air-conditioned)
• Award-winning outdoor gardens. Penn Museum’s lush urban gardens feature sculptures and fountains by Alexander Stirling Calder, places to sit or eat, even a reflective koi pool.
• In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies. Conservators at work open their windows twice a day to chat with visitors. (air-conditioned gallery and workspace)
• Free bottled water at the admission desks, while supplies last.

Continue Reading

Photo via Greensgrow.org

On Thursday, July 10, Greensgrow Farms, one of Philadelphia’s most successful urban farms, is launching their second year of the SNAP Box Program, a low-cost weekly farm share. As many of you know, Greensgrow recently opened a West Philly location, Greensgrow West, at 4912 Baltimore Ave, so now West Philly residents participating in the program can pick up boxes filled with farm-fresh produce in or close to their neighborhood.

The SNAP Box program gives low-income families using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits access to top-quality fruits and vegetables from local farms. SNAP Box participants visit the farm weekly and use their SNAP benefits to pay $6.50 for an assortment of five to eight produce items. The Food Trust will be contributing Philly Food Bucks, giving families the opportunity to stretch their SNAP benefits by providing an extra $10 in coupons per session.

SNAP box pickups will begin July 10 and run in three four-week sessions throughout the summer. In addition, participants are provided nutritional information and are encouraged to attend free cooking classes after picking up their share. They also receive recipes corresponding to the contents of the week’s produce, and information about the farms who contributed to the share.

The SNAP Box is a product of Greensgrow’s Local Initiative for Food Education (LIFE) program, conceived as a remedy to the lack of fresh food available to low-income communities.

Greensgrow provides two farm share pickup locations in West Philadelphia. Here are the schedules:

Greensgrow Farms Mobile Market, 37th and Lancaster Avenue • Thursdays • 3:30–6:30 p.m.

Greensgrow West, 4912 Baltimore Avenue • Saturdays • 12:00–2:00 p.m.

Interested families can sign up here.

For more information or if you have questions, contact Deirdre Sheehy at SNAPbox@greensgrow.org or 215-430-0556 or visit the SNAP Box program website.

Henry IV cast members: Marla Burkholder, Brian Ratcliffe, Brian Anthony Wilson and Jennifer Kidwell. (Photo by Jen Cleary/Shakespeare in Clark Park Facebook page)

The awesome people who bring Shakespeare plays to Clark Park every summer have prepared something of epic proportions this year. Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) is teaming up with Team Sunshine Performance Corporation (TSPC) for an unprecedented collaboration featuring a five-night production of Shakespeare’s HENRY IV, intimate pre-show events at the Gojjo and a nightly conversation station in the park.

The play, titled HENRY IV: YOUR PRINCE AND MINE, combines aspects of both Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, and features a community army of over 100 soldiers, selected during a multi-month open call. The army encompasses a diverse array of folks, ranging in age from 13-59, and representing 36 neighborhoods. The production also stars leading performers of stage and film including Brian Anthony Wilson, Charlie DelMarcelle, and Brian Ratcliffe, and is directed by TSPC’s Co-Founder and Resident Director, Alex Torra.

The shows are scheduled for July 30 – August 3, beginning at 7 p.m. Continue Reading

UPDATE (9:20 p.m.): More reports are coming in on downed trees and limbs in the area. A red maple tree is down on Pine St between 45th and 46th:

Photo by West Philly Local

A huge limb is down on 47th St just north of Locust, too, according to a reader report.

8:02 p.m.:

Photo by Emily Collier

A severe thunderstorm blew through the city just before 7 p.m., knocking over trees. This tree was knocked over at 49th and Pine Streets and we also received a report of a tree down on Saint Bernard between Spruce and Pine. At least one car was also caught up in the fallen limbs, according to a neighbor report. The owner was on the scene, “looking pretty bummed,” according to a tweet. “That WAS some crazy rain,” one neighbor tweeted. We hope no one was injured in tonight’s storm.

If you see any downed wires please report them immediately to PECO by calling 1-800-841-4141.

With the Fourth of July festivities and increased number of visitors in Center City in mind, SEPTA has prepared some subway and bus service changes for tomorrow. Here are some of them that may be of particular interest to West Philly residents:

• The Broad Street & Market Frankford Lines will operate an additional night of overnight subway service beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 4.

•  Beginning at 4:30 p.m., service frequencies on the Broad Street & Market Frankford Line will increase to offer trains every 5 to 7 minutes until 1:15 a.m. to accommodate holiday event travel.

•  Holiday events in Center City and on the Parkway will force dozens of bus detours. Passengers traveling through Center City should consider rail travel alternatives. Detailed bus detour information is available online at http://www.septa.org/realtime/status

And here’s some more information on tomorrow’s parade, party and fireworks. The parade begins at 11:00 a.m. at 6th and Chestnut Sts. It will feature marching bands, floats, military groups and performance teams. Party on the Parkway is from 12 – 7 p.m. on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 20th St to Eakins Oval. The 4th of July Jam and Grand Finale Fireworks will take place at 7 – 11 p.m. on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Roots will perform with Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, Jennifer Hudson, Aloe Blacc, and Vicci Martinez. Click here for more information.

Happy Fourth of July!

Here’s some good news for local moto owners. Starting this month and through October 2014, a new pilot program launched by The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) (we hear it was pushed by the Motorcycle and Scooter Coalition) will address the parking needs of motorcycles and scooters in University City and Center City. The program makes it possible to park your motor vehicles on sidewalks in residential areas and in specially designated corrals on commercial streets. Here are some more details, according to the PPA website:

For the duration of the program, motorcycles and scooters are permitted to park on sidewalks in front of the operator’s residence with a valid Residential Permit Parking (RPP) permit for that district. A Day Pass or Temporary RPP permit issued to a resident’s visitors will also be honored. On unregulated residential blocks motorcycles or scooters may park in front of their home without a permit.

On commercial streets not designated with RPP, sidewalk parking is not allowed. Instead, to accommodate the motorcycle and scooter parking needs, the PPA has installed 47 corrals in Center City and University City to provide parking spaces for 180 motor vehicles (check out the map). We noticed that on the left bank of the Schuylkill there are only three corrals available, so there may be a need for more. Suggestions for additional corrals can be submitted through the PPA Facebook page.

Here’s what you should know if you’re using a corral (from the PPA website):

“Because securing scooters was a major priority for those representing scooter riders, corrals will be equipped with a mechanism to lock the motorcycle or scooter to a post at the curb.

• During the trial period, there will be no charge to park motorcycles or scooters in the designated corrals.  Those individuals who purchased virtual permits to park on the street may apply for a refund of the prorated remaining value of the permit.

• Motorcycles or scooters parked in metered spaces outside of the designated corrals must pay the required meter fee or abide by other posted parking restrictions.

• The Philadelphia Parking Authority will increase enforcement of other vehicles illegally parked in motorcycle/scooter zones.”

The PPA welcomes feedback from motorcycle and scooter riders during the pilot program and encourages them to use their social media (here’s also their Twitter page). For more details about the program, visit this page.