Ana T. Forrest is a yoga superstar. She has been helping people fix body, mind and spirit through yoga for almost 40 years. Developer of Forrest Yoga, an approach that borrows from the East but is aimed at a “Western lifestyle,” has become a standard class in studios around the world. This weekend she will be in West Philly.

Forrest, who has used yoga to overcome much trauma in her won life, will conduct workshops Friday through Sunday at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave.).  Following workshops on Saturday and Sunday, Forrest will read from her new book, Fierce Medicine, and take questions. The book is available at Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave.), which will also have copies at the readings.

Here is the workshop schedule:

Friday: 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (reading to follow)
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (reading to follow)

You can sign up for all four session at a discounted price or individual sessions. For more information and to sign up go to Studio 34’s website.

Landscape crews mowed the newly installed grass at Clark Park “A” today, a major step toward opening the section of the park that borders Baltimore Avenue, which has been fenced off since late last year.

The Friends of Clark Park wrote that one of the “yardsticks” for opening the park was two successful mows of the grass that had been laid down over the last few weeks. The trigger for opening the part will be the next cut. The fencing was scheduled to come down sometime in June. Now we will all be watching for the second cut, which will signal the park’s long-awaited opening.

Here are a few photos from yesterday’s May Fair at Clark Park.

The Spruce Hill Community Association May Fair is this Saturday in Clark Park, where there will be music, food, a moon bounce and raffle prizes ranging from injera to haircuts to an I-Pad 2.

The 53rd annual fair runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the “B” section of Clark Park, south of Chester Avenue.

Children, especially, should enjoy it because this year some new kids’ activities will be added. Bring your little ones to try out things like a moon bounce and an obstacle course and to participate in a variety of games. Live music for kids will include performances by Alex & the Kaleidoscope Band (1:40-2:20 p.m.) and Jay Sand of “All Around This World” (2:30-3:10 p.m.).

The fair will also include food from popular local vendors, arts & crafts, live music, an expanded book sale, a raffle, and a silent auction.

Live music performances, brought by Green Line Cafe, will begin at 11:00 a.m. The Whippoorwills and The Old Fashioneds will be entertaining the crowd with country and folk tunes.

A long list of items to be raffled off is on the Spruce Hill Community Association website and Facebook page.

Raffle tickets are available now at University Pinball (4008 Spruce St.) and last-minute tickets will be available at the fair on Saturday.

At the silent auction, you can bid on a night’s stay at the Gables Bed & Breakfast and a 155 CD set of Bach!

Finally, there will be a plant sale during the fair organized by the University City Garden Club.

Yesterday’s storm dumped a single-day record of 3.11 inches of rain on the Philadelphia area, breaking the previous record of 2.43 inches set in 1986, according to the Associated Press. Flooding and power outages were reported all over the region.

Perhaps the most visible remains of the storm in West Philly is the temporary pond in the Clark Park bowl. Yesterday’s rain led to the cancellation of youth soccer in the park and the leftover water might cause problems for the soccer league in the immediate future.

Attention young chess players. The Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library is hosting a chess tournament on Saturday to help bolster interest in chess among West Philly youths.

The three-round unrated tournament is open to anyone, youths and adults alike (although they will compete in separate tournaments). The event will also include an introduction to tournament play, refreshments and prizes. Organizers hope that they will garner enough interest to start a chess club at the library.

Here is the tournament schedule:

Registration: 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Introduction to tournament play: 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Competition: 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Players from the chess club at the Walnut Street West Library will likely be on hand for the tournament, according to their coach Joe Clarke. Speaking of the Walnut Street West club, several of its members competed last month in the Fourth Annual Checkmate Violence 24-Hour Chess Marathon at Temple University. The tournament took place Feb. 5-6. Club members George Cao, Saleh Ibrahim and Carter Davis, all 9, 10-year-old Sherwin Hosseinpour and 7-year-old Risa Azim all took home medals (see photo below).

About 200 players take part in the event, which includes a series of tournaments and activities, and about 100 play all 24 hours.