UPDATE: The meeting will take place on Zoom due to boiler issues in the church. Register here.

The Friends of Malcolm X Park, in cooperation with other local organizations and groups, is kicking off a series of community meetings focused on potential neighborhood issues related to ICE for the area from Baltimore Avenue to Market Street and 48th to 54th Streets.

The first meeting will take place Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. at Cookman Beloved Community Baptist Church (51st and Spruce).

Meetings will be dedicated to general community concerns. The Saturday meeting will also launch a conversation about “how to protect our neighborhoods from likely future ICE and DHS aggression,” according to the organizers.

Other organizations co-sponsoring the meeting include: Blackwell Culture Alliance Inc., Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia, and Cookman Beloved and Holy Apostles and the Mediator churches.

Here are some Martin Luther King Day of Service events and volunteer opportunities in West Philadelphia. If you’re hosting an event please feel free to add it in the comments section. More events and volunteer opportunities can be found on the MLK Day of Service website.

Friday, Jan. 16:

11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Hope PHL MLK Day Kick-off & Sneaker Drive

4017 Lancaster Avenue

Join Hope PHL’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) for a day of support, resources and community empowerment in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. In partnership with Black Men Run (BMR), Hope PHL’s NAC will also host a Sneaker Drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Please donate new or gently worn sneakers.

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The Free Library of Philadelphia has launched a new club focused on black genealogy, part of The Legacy Lab series. Club events will be held at the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library and the Kingsessing Library and are timed with the nation’s 250th anniversary. The series offers community members opportunities to research, document, and celebrate their own family histories.

“The Legacy Lab demonstrates how libraries can expand access to powerful tools and for learning and discovery,” said Kelly Richards, President and Director, the Free Library of Philadelphia. “By offering free resources, guidance, and welcoming spaces, we are helping ensure that Black families explore their family histories, reclaim their narratives, and pass the knowledge on to future generations.”

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Here are some ways to get rid of your holiday trees in an environmentally and community-friendly way. The City’s Department of Sanitation is again hosting Christmas tree community collection events and offering other tree disposal opportunities. There will also be tree collection events hosted by local non-profits.

City-run drop-off sites

The Department of Sanitation Christmas Tree Recycling Program kicked off Jan. 5 and will run through Saturday, Jan. 17. While the program is running, West Philly residents can bring their Christmas tree to one of the following drop-off locations on specific dates (see below):

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Community voices will come together for candlelit caroling at dusk in Clark Park (45th and Regent) on Sunday, Dec. 21. This West Philadelphia family-friendly tradition of many decades comes with songsheets of familiar carols  – and mulled cider! Meet at 5 p.m. at the shed – with the Christmas tree on top. (Photos by Anthony West)

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Christopher Castagna as Hansel and Maddie Gillespie as Gretel (Photo/Curio Theatre Company)

During this holiday season, Curio Theatre Company is inviting families to their new Make/Partake theatre experience based on a popular children’s tale. Hansel & Gretel opens this Friday at the theatre located at the Calvary Center at 48th and Baltimore, with previews on Wednesday and Thursday.

Curio is bringing another Make/Partake experience following the great success of Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs. It is an immersive experience from the moment it starts. Audience members don’t just watch the show, they take part in the action: making props, sound effects, and shadow puppets and even controlling the weather. This event is fun for the whole family and people of all ages (3 and up) are invited.

The show is written by Curio’s artistic director Paul Kuhn and directed by Mya Flood. It features Philadelphia actors Maddie Gillespie, Christopher Castagna, and Aetna Gallagher.

Hansel & Gretel opens Friday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. and runs December 20th to 31st (11 a.m. and 3 p.m.). Previews are December 17-18 at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available here.