Here’s a chance to check out one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in West Philly and hang out and share in the holiday joy with your neighbors. Garden Court Community Association is hosting a Winter Stroll and Holiday House Tour on Saturday, Dec. 28. The event will also include, music, fun and entertainment. Note to participants: Festive attire is encouraged.

The stroll and house tour will take place from 5 to 8 p.m., followed by dancing at Take the Lead Dance Studio located at 47th and Pine. Light refreshments will also be served. The stroll starts at 4603 Cedar Avenue.

Cost is $10 with advanced registration; $15 at the door. No cost for children under 12.
The event will take place rain or snow. To RSVP email: hwrdlowell@yahoo.com or call 215-747-6371.

Here’s information on holiday hours for some local shops, cafes and restaurants. If you want to add your business hours, please do so in the comments below.

We wish happy holidays to all our readers!

Cafe Renata (43rd & Locust)

Dec. 23-Dec. 28 – Closed
Dec. 29 – Open for brunch
Dec. 31 – 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Jan. 1 – Open for brunch

Honest Tom’s Taco Shop (44th & Spruce)

Dec. 24-26 – Closed
Dec. 30-Jan. 2 – Closed

Mariposa Food Coop (49th & Baltimore)

Dec. 24: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dec. 25: Closed
Dec. 26: 9 a.m.-5 p.m
Dec. 27: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Jan. 1: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Milk & Honey Market (45th & Baltimore)

Dec. 24 – 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dec. 25 – Closed
Dec. 31 – 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Jan. 1 – Closed

Supreme Shop ‘N Bag (43rd & Walnut)

Dec. 24 – 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Dec. 25 – 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Dec. 30 – 7 a.m.-12 a.m.
Dec. 31 – 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Jan. 1 – 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave)

Dec. 24 – 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Dec. 25 & 26 – Closed
Dec. 27 & 28: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Dec. 29-Jan. 1 – Closed

The University City Historical Society (UCHS), an organization interested in enhancing and preserving the heritage of West Philadelphia, is working on increasing community involvement. The UCHS will launch a new website next year where resources and information about UCHS events will be available. UCHS has also prepared a short online questionnaire and would appreciate any input from neighbors.

The survey should take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Besides a few questions related to UCHS membership, the survey asks neighbors about their favorite part of University City and what programming you would you like to see from UCHS.

To access the survey, please follow this link.

For more information please visit the UCHS website or Facebook page.

Every holiday season we encourage West Philly residents to support local businesses and spend more money in the neighborhoods, whether on holiday gift shopping, dining or entertainment. This weekend, some of you will be shopping for last-minute gifts and probably will be looking for books to give to your special someone. This is a brief reminder that we have some really nice bookstores in the area. Some of them are having holiday specials and hope you will stop by and check out their offers. So here are a few suggestions:

Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave) has lots of tasteful, pleasing gifts, including a nice selection of wall calendars. The shop will be open every day through December 24 for your last-minute holiday shopping: Noon – 7 today, Saturday and Monday, Noon – 5 (possibly later) Sunday, closing at 4:00 p.m. on December 24, and of course will be closed on Dec. 25. Stop by for cider at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Feel free to call 215-662-5780.

Penn Book Center (130 S. 34th St.) is offering a special 2 for 1 deal on Everyman’s Library hardbacks and assorted cookbooks. Frequent buyers get a $10.00 credit every time they spent $100.00. Check out the Penn Book Center website to see the poem of the day, for info about the poetry reading series, and more.

Also check:

House of Our Own (3920 Spruce St) – Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sat & Sun Noon – 6 p.m. E-mail: hooo@verizon.net or call 215-222-1576.

The Last Word Book Shop (220 S. 40th St) – Open Mon-Sat 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. For more info call 215-386-7750.

Hakim’s Bookstore (210 S. 52nd St) – Open Wed-Thu Noon – 6 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. E-mail: hakims_bookstore@verizon.net; Phone: 215-474-9495.

Good news for locals missing Philadelphia Community Acupuncture: come early January, PCA’s Sarah Lefkowich, who left the West Philly clinic before it closed its doors in October after six years of service, will open West Philly Community Acupuncture at 4636 Woodland Avenue, in the same building that hosts Four Worlds Bakery.

The new acupuncture clinic, which is a member of the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA), will offer treatments on a $15 – $35 sliding scale, with no first time appointment fee. In celebration of its grand opening, though, treatments at the clinic—based on the community acupuncture model—is running a $10 per treatment promotion for the month of January.

Once opened, West Philly Community Acupuncture’s hours of operation will be Tuesday and Thursday, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The clinic will be closed Sundays and Mondays; however, according to the website, it will open on those days “when you demand it!”

–Annamarya Scaccia

“What they might now see is not always what it was.”

This statement, in its simplicity, carries weight. It’s as somber as it is matter-of-fact—a wistful acknowledgment that the blight that now dots the Mill Creek neighborhood is not the contour that defines it or the future it’s nurturing.

This statement is also at the heart of The Mill Creek Documentary: Past, Present, and Future, a new film by the Mill Creek Community Partnership (MCCP) and Eli Lu Productions exploring and honoring the three prongs of Mill Creek’s history (view trailer below). It’s a provoking documentary that encapsulates shifting images and heavy interviews with hopeful poignancy—refusing to accept the systematic and social issues that devastated the streets north of Market as permanent.

This Friday, Dec. 20, MCCP and Eli Lu Productions will screen The Mill Creek Documentary for Mill Creek residents—and those beyond the West Philly community—at St. Ignatius Nursing Home, 4401 Haverford Avenue. The premiere screening event will open with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by the showing at 6 p.m., and a panel discussion immediately after.

The documentary was made possible by funding and support through the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. It is also a project of MCCP’s Fine Art Through Our Eyes Community Arts Initiative.

For more information, contact info@mccponline.org or call 267-288-3255.

–Annamarya Scaccia