Starting tonight, there will be a new opportunity to enjoy music and dancing from Africa and the African diaspora at Elena’s Soul Showcase Lounge & Cafe.

Every first Thursday of the month, Elena’s will host the “Sonic Diaspora Dance Party” featuring DJs Brotha Onaci (the People’s DJ Collective) and Champe’ (Lion’s Den Productions) spinning music from traditions as diverse as Afrobeat, Cumbia, Kuduro, Reggae, House, Afro-Latin, Dancehall, and Soca.

Opportunities can be rare to listen and dance to African inspired music, and for many who follow the genre, Onaci is a welcome addition to the West Philadelphia music scene. Having moved from Chicago to West Philadelphia in August 2011, Onaci has made his mark in Philadelphia by performing for Occupy Philadelphia and Sanctuary Holistic Arts, in addition to spending time with broadcasting staff at WPEB 88.1.

Tonight’s Sonic Diaspora is a special celebration of Bob Marley in honor of his birthday on February 6, and there will be Marley tunes every hour, in addition to the high energy dance beats.

9:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. 21+. $5 cover. 4912 Baltimore Avenue.

– Emma Eisenberg

Despite the cold, the intimate gallery space at 4007 Chestnut was filled to the gills Friday night to see new work by West Philadelphia visual artists. The invitational format of the show, in which the artists currently in residence at the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program invited other artists whose work they admire, made for a diverse and full bodied show. Althea Baird’s tracing paper and india ink print (pictured left) was a highlight, bearing resemblance to a sepia toned photograph, and spoke to, in her words, “our body’s ability to remember.”

Other favorites were Corina Dross’ detailed portraits of graphic artist Lynda Barry and writer Zora Neale Hurston, designed to look like oversized playing cards, and Celestine Wilson Hughes’ bold glass sculptures “Black Madonna” and “Women of the Universe Do Not Drown in Three Feet of Water” (pictured below) which were shaped like cabinets containing human hearts and were reminiscent of Mexican folk art’s raw renditions of love and death. “They have to do with women, and with fear,” said Hughes during the brief artist talk.

But it was born and raised West Philadelphian Brian Bazemore’s work that perhaps best summarized the exuberance, delicate hope, and community pride that was palpable in all the works Friday night and in the crowd itself – his approximately 10 ft by 4 ft wooden “testimonial” board made with plywood and spray paint bore the inscription “Use each setback, disappointment and success as a cue to push forward/ahead with more determination than before.”

The show is running until January 27.

– Emma Eisenberg

Whether you’re looking to get involved in the Day of Service by lending a hand to a great West Philly school or organization, celebrate with others looking to think and explore King’s legacy, or donate to folks in need, check out the listings below to see how West Philadelphians will be paying tribute to the spirit of Dr. King this MLK day, Monday, Jan. 16.

SERVICE PROJECTS
 
Who: Bartram’s Garden

Where: 400 Lindbergh Boulevard

When: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

What: 4th annual Martin Luther King Day of Service Project! This year’s project is going to be working around a newly planted orchard as part of a larger farm and community resource center that we have been developing with The Urban Nutrition Initiative, Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, Philadelphia Orchard Project, and other community partners. On MLK Day we will be specifically focusing on clearing and preparing an area adjacent transitional border between the open orchard space and a wooded area. Our goal is to plant berry bushes, smaller understory fruiting trees such as pawpaw and persimmon, and maximize as much of the area for food producing and edible plants as part of the larger farm project. Volunteers will meet at Bartram’s Garden in our coach house (signs will be posted to direct folks when they arrive). Gloves, Tools, Water, and Lunch will be provided (lunch will be at noon). Please wear outdoor work attire such as warm clothes, sturdy foot wear, etc…as it is an outdoor project in mid January. This is a rain or shine event and moderate to heavy duty work. All are welcome to sign up but please keep in mind the nature of the project.

Lunch provided? Yes

Contact/RSVP: volunteer@bartramsgarden.org or call 215-729-5281 x 105

Who: The Church of the Holy Apostles & The Mediator

Where: 51st & Spruce Streets

When: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

What: Throwing out old and broken toys and equipment, repairing basketball nets. Painting and decorating the youth room and hall. Must be able to paint and use a ladder.

Lunch provided? Yes

Contact/RSVP: janispmoore@hotmail.com, 267-322-8795

Who: GEORGE T. CORNISH POST 292 (AMERICAN LEGION)

Where: 4812 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE

When: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

What: During the month of December there will be a donation box located in the Post. We would like donations of new or gently used men’s clothing, new packages of socks and toiletries. On MLK Day the volunteers will assist in sorting of the clothing. The doors of the Post will then be open to those in need to come and select their items.

Lunch provided? no

Contact/RSVP: Bryant Horsely, 267-640-3516, BLHMLH@VERIZON.NET

Who: Philadelphia Veterans Comfort House

Where: 4108 Baltimore Avenue

When: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

What: The Philadelphia Veterans Comfort House (PVCH) provides services for our veterans while they undergo treatment for serious health issues at the local VA hospital and also a shelter for homeless veterans in their time of need. Through meals, comfortable beds and a helping hand, the PVCH gives a little back to the men and women who have given so much for our country. On MLK day, volunteers will be painting the floor and re-arranging the basement to make it more comfortable and pleasant for veterans who live there.

Lunch provided? yes

Contact/RSVP: David Kamioner at dkam@vetscomforthouse.org or 267-292-2052.

Who: Sherwood Christian Outreach Center

Where: 5543 Willows Ave.

When: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

What: Painting project of the gym area.

Lunch provided? yes

Contact/RSVP: Ann Marie Gore, 215-747-2685, marie8652@verizon.net

Who: University of Pennsylvania Community Beautification Projects

Where: Comegys and Huey Elementary Schools, Sayre Recreation Center, and the Community Education Center in West Philadelphia.

When: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

What: Projects vary at the different sites.  Meet at Houston Hall, Hall of Flags, 3417 Spruce Street.  Come dressed for cleaning and painting. Complimentary parking for volunteers will be provided at the following locations: Lot #1 (between 32nd and 33rd and Walnut Sts) and Lot #19 (Northeast corner of 34th and Chestnut Sts). Transportation will be provided to and from Houston Hall (3417 Spruce Street) to the sites.

Lunch provided? Light refreshments only

Contact/RSVP: (please Cut and Paste into your browser): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dFJpRC1uVk44ZlV2d2VkeVFnbC14N1E6MQ#gid=0

Who: University of Pennsylvania Helping Hands & Philadelphia Reads @ Houston Hall

Where: For Philadelphia Reads, meet in the Benjamin Franklin Room of Houston Hall. For Helping Hands, meet in the Reading Room and Bodek Lounge. Houston Hall is located at 3417 Spruce Street.

When: 9:30 – 12:30 p.m.

What: For Philadelphia Reads, volunteers will create books on tape to promote literacy for Philadelphia youth. Participants are asked to bring and donate a children’s book(s) that discusses multi-cultural issues relating to children. For Helping Hands, volunteers will create personal gifts that will be donated to West Philadelphia area shelters, nursing homes, hospitals, and other charities. Complimentary parking for volunteers will be provided at the following locations: Lot #1 (between 32nd and 33rd and Walnut Streets) and Lot #19 (Northeast corner of 34th and Chestnut Streets).

Lunch provided? no

Contact/RSVP: (please Cut and Paste into your browser): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dFJpRC1uVk44ZlV2d2VkeVFnbC14N1E6MQ#gid=0

MARCHES/CELEBRATIONS

MLK Day with Reverend Paul “Earthquake” Moore
“Nobody wants peace on Philadelphia’s streets more than I do, and no Philadelphian has fought harder to reach that goal,” says Reverend Paul “Earthquake” Moore, a fighter turned Reverend that has worked tirelessly to serve the community of Southwest Philadelphia and improve quality of life through anti-violence work, youth advocacy and community beautification initiatives. The afternoon program kicks off with a re-enactment march at 65th and Woodland in which participants are encouraged to bring signs recalling the “we shall overcome” spirit of the MLK era. The march will end at the New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church where Reverend Moore will deliver the famous “I Have A Dream” speech, followed by gospel singers and praise dancers from the church community.  4 p.m., New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 7001 Woodland Ave. 215-385-2696. 

Stand Up for MLK’s Legacy with Occupy Philly
Martin Luther King died fighting for economic justice and dignity for all. The march will start at the east side of 30^th street station and go to the Post Office and then to American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) facility at 30th and Walnut Sts. for an indoor program. Labor struggles will be highlighted by Pete Matthews, AFSCME DC33, John Johnson Jr., Transport Workers Union 234, Henry Nicholas, Hospital Workers1199-C, Gwen Ivey of the American Postal Workers Union, UNITE HERE worker from Citizen’s Bank Park, Eileen Duffy, a Philadelphia Federation of Teachers school nurse.  Educator and activist Tony Monteiro and Poet/educator Ewuare Osayande will reflect on the legacy of Dr. King. Also, Josh Glenn from Youth Arts Self Empowerment Project will talk about the school to prison pipe line, and Whitney Larkins from the Occupy Labor Group will reenact a speech of Coretta Scott King. Video of Dr. King and the “Occupy Union Busters” Nursing Home Action will be shown. Music, poetry and more. 5 pm. Assemble at 30th St. Station (East Side). For more information email: occupyphillylabor@googlegroups.com

DONATION OPPORTUNITIES

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia seeks new toys, games, and other supplies to help their child patients to cope and adjust to illness and hospitalization.  Year-round. 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.  34th Street and Civic Center Blvd. Contact the Toy Donation Line at 267-426-8174, ChildLife@email.chop.edu. http://www.chop.edu/service/child-life-education-and-creative-arts-therapy/donations/toy-donations.html

Operation Warm Hearts seeks blankets to help Philadelphia homeless through the cold winter months. Through 3/1. Contact Fareeda Mabry, 267-707-8979.

Drop off locations:
Rondney Harris Splitten Wigz Barbershop, 48 North 52nd Street, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Bluford Elementary, 5801 Media Street 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Philadelphia Reads seeks new and gently used children’s books, Pre-K through Young Adult, for distribution to classroom teachers at the citywide Children’s Book Bank. Through 1/16. Contact  (215) 590-2819, info@philareads.org.

Drop off locations:
Beulah Baptist Church, 50th & Spruce Streets, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
American Legion Post 292, 4812 Fairmount Avenue, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
The Partnership CDC, 4020 Market Street, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Philadelphia Veterans Comfort House seeks men’s clothing, perishable or non-perishable food, household cleaners and personal hygiene items. Through 1/16.  4108 Baltimore Avenue. Call 267-292-2052 for drop-off hours. 

– Emma Eisenberg

A new reading series is launching this Thursday (March 15) at the Dock Street Cannery + Lounge (705 S. 50th St), and this is a great chance to meet some talented Philadelphia-based writers.

The event is hosted by West Philly authors Matt Jakubowski and Christine Kendall and showcases writers Ru Freeman, Emma Copley Eisenberg and Marc Anthony Richardson who will be reading from their work. Doors will open at 5 p.m. for drinks and snacks; the readings start at 7 p.m. Come early to secure a seat! Books will be available for sale during the event, provided by Bindlestiff Books.

Here’s some more information about the writers from the event organizers:

Ru Freeman is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl and On Sal Mal Lane, a New York Times Editor’s Choice Book. She is the editor of the ground-breaking anthology, Extraordinary Rendition: American Writers on Palestine. Her writing appears internationally in the UK Guardian, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe. She blogs for The Huffington Post on literature and politics, is a contributing editorial board member of the Asian American Literary Review, and is the recipient of many fellowships including from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Lannan Foundation. Ru teaches creative writing at Columbia University.  Continue Reading

Emma Copley Eisenberg / Photo by Keith Alan Sprouse.

The short story “44 True Things About Being Gone,” written by Emma Copley Eisenberg while she lived on 45th and Springfield in 2011, was chosen by writer Maile Meloy as the winner of the 2013 Montana Prize in Fiction and appears in the current issue of CutBank Literary Magazine. The story is set in West Philadelphia and features a friendship between a young, queer, white woman from West Virginia who works at a coffee shop in Center City and a young black male PhD candidate who’s recently left a Rastafarian community in Germantown.

The Baltimore Avenue corridor features prominently as well as other notable Philadelphia locales, and the piece benefited from feedback from the members of local Kelly Writers House-affiliated Backyard Writers club. Eisenberg says, “West Philadelphia is essential to this story. I wanted to highlight the connections and friendships I saw springing up in the neighborhood that crossed lines of geography and class and sexuality and race. People living in close proximity make these relationships more likely, but there is something about West Philadelphia that makes them magic.”

By the way, Eisenberg also contributed to West Philly Local while she lived in West Philly.

To read the story, click on the link below.

http://www.cutbankonline.org/cutbank-79-44-true-things-about-being-gone/