“Shopping local is a way to keep more of your dollars in your own community… Dollars spent at a “mom and pop” directly support a local family, who then support other local businesses… Shopping local is a vote for individualism, creativity, sustainability and independence.”

– Emily Dorn, owner of VIX Emporium

“Shopping locally for the holidays means you can find something truly unique for everyone on your list – while supporting your local community.“

– Annie Baum-Stein, Milk and Honey Market

This annual campaign is part of our effort to help local businesses thrive. Please support local businesses by doing as much of your holiday shopping as possible in your neighborhood. You can buy gifts, locally produced food items, dine/book a holiday party or pamper yourself or loved ones for the holidays at a bunch of West Philly businesses. By shopping locally you keep your money where you live.

You have the power to make your neighborhood a great place to live.

Our campaign partners share our commitment to sustainable neighborhood businesses. Check out their holiday messages below and please consider shopping locally this holiday season.

Baltimore Avenue Business Association

http://www.BABAWestPhilly.org

There’s more to explore on Baltimore Avenue. You never know what’s in store! Find a bookstore, pet boutique, co-op grocery, game store, restaurants, cafés, artisan’s gallery, art gallery, shared office space, studio space, pharmacy, theater, brewery, bicycles, ice cream, tacos, hair styling and more. The Baltimore Avenue businesses invite their neighbors to invest in the future of the neighborhood by shopping the Avenue. BABA, the Baltimore Avenue Business Association, is a group of businesses located on Baltimore Avenue. Start exploring now on www.BABAWestPhilly.org.

Bartram’s Garden

5400 Lindbergh Blvd.

bartramsgarden.org

Become a Bartram’s Garden member this month and get a free ornament with each membership purchased by December 31st! Become a Member today and start enjoying these benefits right away: Unlimited regular tour admission; Free specialty tour admission; Admission to members-only plant sale previews and special events; 20% discount for Boating to Bartram’s river cruises and many more!

NEW! FARMER MEMBERSHIP!

Support Bartram’s Garden’s agricultural and community building work by joining as a member at the Farmer level. For $50 you receive free tours and free and discounted programs for one person through September 30, 2018, plus a $5 voucher towards the purchase of farm stand produce.

For more information, visit: https://bartramsgarden.org/join-us/become-a-member/.

Ice Cave

4507 Baltimore Avenue

https://www.facebook.com/icecavepa

Stop by Ice Cave on Baltimore Ave. and enjoy authentic Taiwanese shaved ice, popsicles, wheel cakes, bubble tea, and other hot & cold beverages. Our December special is wheel cake + beverage = $1 off!

Local 44/Bottle Shop 

4333 Spruce Street

www.local44beerbar.com

The Bottle Shop at Local 44 wants to help you share your love of beer with everyone on your holiday shopping list! Join BEER CLUB for three, six or twelve months and enjoy a hand picked selection of beers every month!

Penn Museum Shop 

3260 South Street

http://www.penn.museum/visit/museum-shop

Shop around the World this Holiday Season at the Penn Museum Shop

This holiday season, the Penn Museum—home to an internationally renowned collection of art and artifacts from throughout time and around the world—offers up a range of special gift ideas! Want an international shopping experience? Then visit the Museum Shop for jewelry, clothing, accessories, and crafts, including a large selection of fair trade items, plus games, books, and more.

Thursday, December 14 through Saturday, December 23 
Everyone enjoys discount days in the Museum Shop: 10% off regularly priced items for visitors, and a full 25% off for Penn Museum members!

Membership: A Gift that Keeps on Giving

To give the gifts of adventure and discovery, consider a Penn Museum membership that lasts all year. Members enjoy free general admission, access to exclusive exhibition previews—including the upcoming Middle East Galleries opening in April 2018—and special events. Also included is a subscription to the Museum’s Expedition magazine and discounts every day in the Museum Shop (15%) and Pepper Mill Café (10%).

Special offer! A Penn Museum Membership purchased as a gift in the month of December will include a copy of the latest Expedition magazine–the Museum’s exclusive member’s only publication—specially wrapped for the holidays. Visit www.penn.museum or call 215.898.5093 to select the membership that’s right for your loved one.

Philly Homebrew Outlet West

1314 S. 47th Street

http://www.phillyhomebrew.com/

Holiday Gift Ideas from Philly Homebrew Outlet

DIY SOAP, TEA, AND COSMETICS KITS AVAILABLE! Just in time for the holidays we’ve added a full line of DIY kits to cover soapmaking, tea blends, and even cosmetics! Do you have a DIY person on your shopping list this year or somebody you think may love making their own wares? These kits are the perfect holiday gift from novice to expert DIYers. Make your own soaps, tea blends, and even facial masks. Stop by any of our stores to see all the available kits and learn how easy DIY can be!

While at the store, also check out our vegetable fermentation kits, kombucha kits, and more! Also check out our web store! Gift cards are also available. For December schedule of our FREE Homebrew classes and clinics, visit our website.

Renata’s Kitchen

4533 Baltimore Avenue

www.renatas-kitchen.com

Happy Holidays from Renata’s Kitchen!

Our gift cards are in stock and ready to be gifted! Holiday dinner packages are available now. Party catering is also available. Order your holiday party package by December 20th! For more information, visit: http://www.renatas-kitchen.com.

VIX Emporium

5009 Baltimore Avenue

http://www.vixemporium.com/

VIX Emporium is West Philly’s go-to spot for unique, locally made gifts and cards. Everything is produced by over 200 independent artists, craftspeople and small businesses, primarily from the Philadelphia area. The mix at VIX includes artisan jewelry, functional handmade ceramics, home wares, art prints, accessories, natural bath & body products, candles, baby gifts, holiday decorations and more. The storefront itself, a former 1940s millinery with original built-in cabinetry, inspired the Emporium’s name — VIX (with a bar over the V) is the Roman numeral for 5009, its Baltimore Avenue address.

Our special holiday shopping event, Go West! Holiday Craft Fest, will take place on Sunday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at The Rotunda (40th and Walnut). Find unique, creative wares by 70 local makers! Go here for more information.

West Philly Community Acupuncture

4636 Woodland Avenue

http://www.westphillycommunityacupuncture.com/

We want acupuncture to be accessible to as many people as possible. December Special: $10 treatments for the holidays! $10 treatments for everyone and anyone! Happy Holidays! Purchase as many as you please, share with whomever you will, they don’t expire, and can be used in 2018. You can make your appointment here, give us a call at (215) 222 – 2303, or walk in during business hours.

The Chestnut Street Transportation Project, which includes a parking protected bicycle lane, officially opened on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new bike lane and some pedestrian safety features were added between 45th and 34th Streets as part of the project. The buffered bike lane reduced the three lanes meant for motorized vehicles to two, which allows to slow down traffic in one of the busiest stretches of the street.

Mayor Jim Kenney, who helped cut the ribbon, called the project, also referred to as Chestnut Street Safety Corridor, “a major step towards improving safety for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable roadway users.” The 2012 Pedestrian & Bicycle Plan identified the corridor as a high crash corridor in need of improvement. “We are excited to introduce the first of this type of project in the City and we’ll be back in the coming years with more corridors citywide,” he added.  Continue Reading

Photo by Kyle Cassidy

Shakespeare in Clark Park returns this week for its 12th season with five performances of Coriolanus, a timeless political tragedy of manipulation and revenge. This year, SCP will roll with an all-female cast led by Barrymore Award winner Charlotte Northeast as the title character. The professional cast of women warriors will appear alongside a Chorus of 50 Philadelphians who will become the riotous citizens of Rome. The production is directed by SCP Artistic Director Kittson O’Neill (Interact Theatre Company).

“It’s easy to see Coriolanus, a blunt war hero, as an indictment of “Macho” culture, but there is so much more to this story,” O’Neill, who is pulling double-duty as the director of the show, said in a statement. “By moving our production to a matriarchy I think audiences will more readily see themselves in our hero: we can all be inflexible, we all have deep prejudices and we don’t always get the glory we have rightly earned.”  Continue Reading

From May to July, enjoy a deep and unique all-levels yoga practice on the THIRD Saturday of the month from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.

Yoga in the Cemetery is a relaxing and invigorating yoga and guided meditation practice that will move you in more ways than one. We don’t shy away from exploring and honoring the spiritual. Class takes place on the paved road near the Hamilton Mansion. It is donation based, with a suggested donation of $15. Advanced registration is strongly suggested, as space is limited.

Class will be led by experienced instructor Emily Tara Sabalbaro (RYT-200). Emily has been practicing yoga for twelve years and teaches at studios and gyms throughout the city, including Mindful Elephant Yoga in Fairmount. To see her full teaching schedule, visit www.inspirenjoy.com.

Register  here: http://bit.ly/2qYTTm2

WHO:            Streets Department’s Sanitation Division

WHAT:          Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event

WHEN:          Saturday – May 13, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:        1st District Highway Yard, 4800 Parkside Avenue

Citizens are invited to participate in a free citywide Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Event sponsored by the Streets Department’s Sanitation Division. This event provides citizens with an opportunity to recycle or dispose of unwanted Household Hazardous Waste accumulated in their homes or garages.  As an added incentive, residents signed up for Philadelphia Recycling Rewards may use this opportunity to earn extra Recyclebank® points. A coded card worth 25 points will be given to Philadelphia Recycling Rewards participants as a bonus for recycling their unwanted hazardous waste. No waste materials generated by a business will be accepted. This event will be held rain or shine.

For additional information and a list of materials eligible for drop off, please contact the Streets Department’s Customer Affairs Unit at (215) 686-5560.  For more information regarding drop off events in the participating counties, visit the Streets Department’s web site at http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/hazardous-waste/.

The 2017 “Love Your Park” week kicks off on Saturday, May 13 with a Spring Service Day, and many residents have already registered to help clean up and beautify parks across the city. A lot more volunteers are needed. Here are some volunteer opportunities available in West Philadelphia:

Cedar Park
When: 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: S. 49th & Catharine Sts
What: Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Help is needed planting annuals and perennials as well as pruning garden bushes. (On May 19 from 6-8 p.m., join Cedar Park Neighbors for a Bring Your Own Picnic in the park)
Register to volunteer.  Continue Reading