UPDATE (7:30 p.m.): Due to rain in forecast, the gathering and the first part of tomorrow’s event will be held at the Calvary Church (48th and Baltimore, entrance on 48th St), starting at 3 p.m. There will be a march after that, from the Calvary to Clark Park. See more details here.

Earlier: Local parents and recently formed Philly Anti-Racist Solidarity group are organizing a march this Saturday (Jan. 3) in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and against institutional and interpersonal racism.

Parents, caregivers, children, and the whole West Philly community and beyond are invited to participate in the event, which will kick off at Clark Park. “We stand for Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Renisha McBride, Aiyana Stanley Jones and so many more. We march for racial justice and for our collective humanity,” reads the event announcement on Facebook.

The gathering and a portion of the event will take place at the Clark Park bowl (43rd and Chester), starting at 3 p.m. There will be singing and chanting, and moments of making noise (a “Noise-In”) and silence in remembrance of lost lives. After Clark Park, participants will head to Baltimore Avenue for a peaceful march to Cedar Park (49th and Baltimore).

Participants are asked to bring musical instruments of all kinds and signs. In an effort to create a safe space for all participants, the organizers are asking that Saturday’s action be peaceful and non-violent. The event will take place rain or shine. For more information about the march, please visit this Facebook page.

The West Philly Families Solidarity March is coordinated with the Philly Town Hall meetings. The third in a series of meetings for community members to discuss and respond to racist police brutality as well as policies that contribute to institutional racism will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at the Calvary Church (48th and Baltimore). The first meeting took place on Dec. 2 and gathered more than 400 people, according to the organizers. Approximately 500 people showed up for the second meeting on Dec. 16. More information is available here.

If you’re looking for something fun to do on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day check out the events below happening in West Philly and elsewhere in the city. For more events, check our Events Calendar. Please note that subway trains will run all night for party-goers on New Year’s Eve.

Happy New Year, West Philly!

Wednesday, Dec. 31

Bach Christmas Oratorio
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 13 S. 38 Street
4 – 8 p.m.
Choral Arts Philadelphia and the Bach Collegium present Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in its entirety on New Year’s Eve. Some Choral Arts members and artistic director, Matt Glandorf, are West Philly residents. Tickets ($45 general admission; $15 students; $30 seniors) can be purchased online or at the door.

New Year’s Eve with Philly Bloco
World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St
10:30 p.m.
Philly Bloco’s 20+ members return with their raucous mash-up of Samba, Funk and Reggae for a very special New Year’s Eve dance party at World Café Live. Get ready to dance! Doors open at 9:30 p.m. 21+. Tickets ($35) and more information are available here.

West Philadelphia Orchestra’s New Year’s Eve Blowout + Balkan Feast
Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St
9 p.m. – 4 a.m.
Four bands and a DJ will be performing on the main stage and at the black box theater: West Philadelphia Orchestra, Johnny Showcase & The Mystic Ticket, Mercury Radio Theater, You Do You, and Late Night DJ Set from DJ Lebeet. $30 general admission; $40 VIP. 21+. VIP tickets include Balkan Buffet prepared by WPO! Food will be served at 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Underground Arts box office.  Continue Reading

Photo from Fun-A-Day Philadelphia Facebook page.

The annual “Fun-A-Day” Philadelphia community art show organized by the Artclash Collective will be held in West Philly in February, and all creative neighbors are invited to participate in this fun event by making a piece of art every day in January. It can be a series of photographs, drawings, crafts, and even baked items (visit the Artclash Collective website for more ideas). The project kicks off this Thursday (Jan. 1), so there’s not a lot of time left to come up with an idea.

The big group show will take place on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave) and if you want to participate in it please submit your project here. Show set-up is on Friday, Feb. 6 from 12:30-7 p.m. at Studio 34. Please bring your project and set it up yourself. If you can’t make it on Friday projects will also be collected at Studio 34 on Wednesday, Feb. 4 from 7-9 p.m. Just drop off your project, and it will be set up for you.

The show is free, and all ages are welcome. If you have questions, please email corey[at]artclash.com or visit the Fun-A-Day Philadelphia Facebook page and leave a message. For more information, click here.

If you like gospel music you should definitely enjoy this holiday concert: On Sunday, Dec. 21, a 16-piece big band “Big Push”, led by Greg Scott, and Calvary United Methodist, St. Luke, and Greater Exodus Baptist Church choirs will give a joint performance at Calvary Church (48th and Baltimore). The concert, which starts at 7 p.m., benefits West Africa food relief (suggested donation is $10).

A sign erected this fall at the Wiota Street Garden aimed at Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell underscores the campaign to preserve the garden, which developers are eyeing.

A meeting will be held Thursday to discuss the controversial proposal to build housing on the site of the Wiota Street Garden, a neighborhood fixture for 30 years that highlights the tenuous existence of the hundreds of community gardens in the city.

The Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia, the city agency tasked with connecting private investors to developable plots, owns the 1,100-square-foot parcel in the West Powelton neighborhood. The plot, which is zoned for residential development, has been an active community garden, hosting a weekly farmers’ market and providing produce to local residents and food banks. But the proposed construction of a 12-unit residential structure would spell the end of the garden.

Construction is underway on a number of similar housing units, many aimed at students, in the immediate vicinity around the community garden. Supporters of the garden have been pushing to have the plot protected as part of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust.

That’s what Thursday’s meeting is all about. The ultimate arbiter of the parcel’s fate, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, will be at the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at 4001 Baring St. The Redevelopment Authority has reportedly deferred any decision to Blackwell.

Using the Wiota Street Garden as her main example, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Inga Saffron distills the “gardens or housing” dilemma facing many developing neighborhoods here.

– Mike Lyons

Former Transition to Independent Living facility at 46th and Spruce.

Community members are invited to discuss new development projects in the Spruce Hill Neighborhood area at an upcoming Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee meeting this Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Two development projects are at the focus of Wednesday’s meeting:

1) A proposed six unit development at 100-02 Ludlow Street. The project was discussed at an earlier zoning committee meeting and the committee asked for some additional specifics. The property owners are following the procedure for RCO (recognized community organizations) notification.

2) The proposed development to replace the former Transition to Independent Living facility at 4536 Spruce St. This will be a second meeting with the developers to examine updated drawings and plans. The attendees will also hear a report from discussions between the developers and the owner of the adjacent property on 46th Street, according to zoning committee chair Barry Grossbach.

The Mission First Housing Group proposed a four-story affordable housing building at the southeast corner of 46th and Spruce, where the former Transition to Independent Living Center building is located (pictured). The building was damaged in a fire in 2011 and since then has been shuttered and slowly deteriorating.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th St).