Bartram’s Garden will be hosting the annual Philadelphia Honey Festival this Sunday (Sept. 11). The festival will feature a bunch of fun and educational events and activities for the whole family, include honey tastings and sales from local beekeepers. Festivities will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and daytime events are free and open to the public. Check out the Bartram’s Garden website for more details.

One of the special events planned as part of the festival is the “Buzzed” Ice Cream Social fundraiser, featuring Little Baby’s ice cream, Art in the Age cocktails, and boozy ice cream floats!

Guests are invited to sample the exclusive new Bartram’s Garden flavor from Little Baby’s Ice Cream and enjoy Philly-themed favorites from Art in the Age, which is crafting a number of specialty concoctions specifically for the event including a Bartram-inspired cocktail.

Photos courtesy of Bartram’s Garden

Tickets are $15 ($12 for Bartram’s Garden members) and include your first drink and first ice cream or float. All guests will need to provide photo ID before being served alcohol. Click here to buy your ticket online.

The event will be held from 3 – 5 p.m. and all ages are welcome.

Bartram’s Garden is located at 5400 Lindbergh Blvd. and you can get there by public transportation (Trolley Route 36) or by bike. Parking is also available.

For more information, visit: bartramsgarden.org.

Photo from Unitedbyblue.com

Each year, United by Blue, a Philadelphia-based urban-outdoor apparel and home goods brand, organizes cleanups of and around various waterways. To date, they have cleaned over a quarter million pounds of trash across 23 states and 2 countries.

On Tuesday, March 1, the company, which recently opened a store at 3421 Walnut Street, is hosting its annual Schuylkill River cleanup at Bartram’s Garden, where volunteers from local universities, businesses, environmental groups and neighbors of Bartram’s Garden will get together to remove a winter’s worth of trash.

Volunteers will be supplied with water, gloves, bags, and compete for prizes. All participants are invited to City Tap House-University City immediately following the cleanup for free pizza and drink specials.

The cleanup will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and volunteers will meet near the parking lot at the top of Bartrams Garden (5400 Lindbergh Blvd.), to the left of the Welcome Center.

For more information and to sign up for Tuesday’s cleanup, go here.

Great news for two local non-profit organizations – The Enterprise Center and Bartram’s Garden – which have been selected to receive generous grants.

Bartram’s Garden has announced on their website that they are a recipient of a $2 million grant from the William Penn Foundation. “This funding will increase access to the Schuylkill River and promote Bartram’s Garden as a cultural hub in Southwest Philadelphia. Among the areas targeted are capital projects and programming for enhanced use of the river as a community recreational space and environmental center,” reads the announcement. The grant will be distributed over three years.

The Enterprise Center, a West Philly business accelerator, is in line for up to $1.2 million ScaleUp America grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to reports. The purpose of the ScaleUp America funding is to help existing businesses in underserved neighborhoods grow. The funding will be used for training, technical assistance, and networking events for small businesses in the area, especially those run by minorities and women, Philly.com reports. The first portion of the grant, $239,323, will come in the first year. The Enterprise Center expects to receive $1.2 million over five years.

Click to enlarge

Some nice events will be happening this weekend and next weekend, and we want to highlight a few of them. Also, stay tuned for more information on the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll (Sept. 17), and the fall edition of the Go West! Craft Fest (Sept. 19). For more events or if you want to submit an event, please visit our Events page.

Second Fridays on Lancaster Avenue

Second Fridays will be held on Sept. 11, beginning at 5 p.m., and here’s what’s in store for this Friday: Vendors Village, Neighborhood Time Exchange Open House, paintings and drawing exhibit by Doina Botez, open mic night, a screening of “Song of the South” and more, all on Lancaster Avenue, from 35th to 39th. For more information, visit the Lancaster Avenue Philly website.

Honey Festival at Bartram’s Garden

The beautiful Bartram’s Garden (54th and Lindbergh Blvd.) is hosting the 6th annual Honey Festival this Sunday (Sept. 13). Events will include open hive demonstration, tastings, and even a live “bee-bearding” with Don Shump from The Philadelphia Bee Company. Also beer brewing, beekeeping workshops, kids’ activities, a cooking contest, free yoga sessions, and more! The festival will take place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Check out this page for more details.

Fringe Arts Festival

The annual Fringe Festival kicked off on Sept. 3, with many wonderful performances and art installations taking place in the city. West Philly is also hosting a few Fringe events this and next week, so here are some more details:

• “Body of Water” dance show by Antonia and Artists – Sept 11, 12, 8 p.m.
CEC Meeting House Theatre, 3500 Lancaster Avenue

Our bodies are 75% water. What would happen if we moved like the liquid we are? Antonia & Artists is a dance company made up of talented humans and led by choreographer Antonia Z Brown. Watch as they journey through the depths within to harness the fluidity, agility, and transformative strength of the most powerful element. For more info and tickets ($18), click here. Continue Reading

Two popular annual community events are happening this Saturday and Sunday in West and Southwest Philly. Details are below. Please check our Events Calendar for more events.

West Park Arts Fest – Saturday, June 13

Kyo Daiko performs at West Park Arts Fest (photo courtesy of West Park Arts).

West Park Arts Fest, a fun day of free performances and activities for the whole family, will take place on Saturday, June 13, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., on the School of the Future grounds (4021 Parkside Ave). The festival celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Philadelphia. Outdoor Mainstage performers include: Gretchen Elise, Kyo Daiko, Gegisom MLK Choir, Ceo Black, and more. Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble, Kun-Yang Lin, Lady Hoofers, and other artists will perform on the Dance stage. Children’s Pavilion activities include: a drawing workshop, Treehouse Books giveaway, reading out loud and bookmark making, activities with Franklin Institute and Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia Zoo animals and artifacts, storytelling with Kala Jojo, and more! Also, there will be many wonderful vendors and free historic trolley tours of Fairmount Park Centennial District at 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. (sign up here). More information about the fest is available here.

River Fest & Tidal Schuylkill Boat Parade – Sunday, June 14  

On Sunday, June 14, families are invited to spend the day at the beautiful Bartram’s Garden (54th and Lindbergh). The annual River Fest will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include tons of great stuff: free boat, pony and hay rides, Youth Bicycle Rodeo, Philly’s oldest tugboat, free food (hot dogs, pretzels and snacks), Ice Cream on the River (free ice cream for those who paddle out to the floating ice cream parlor), a petting zoo, live music performances, and more. Plus, the Tidal Schuylkill Boat Parade, which starts at noon. Check out the Bartram’s Garden website for more information.

This funny video of a male turkey challenging its reflection in a window was recently filmed at Bartram’s Garden. This is a great time of the year to spend more time at the garden, located at 54th St. and Lindbergh Blvd. (you can drive, bike or hop on the #36 Trolley) whether it is bird watching, nature walks or special events. Go to Bartramsgarden.org for more information.