UPDATE (5/16/14): The spring picnic in Cedar Park has been cancelled due to rain.

The “Love Your Park” week is coming to an end, but there are a couple of events left that we think you might love. Two great traditions started last year at Cedar Park and Clark Park. This weekend, both events are back and organizers are inviting community members to spend some quality time with their neighbors and friends, enjoy live music and try some food and drinks from local restaurants and breweries.

Friday, May 16

Spring Picnic in Cedar Park (49th & Baltimore)

The 2nd annual Picnic in Cedar Park will take place this Friday, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., so come out and say hello to your neighbors. BYO blanket and picnic or pick up a “picnic special” from one of participating local businesses: Gold Standard Café, Dock Street, Mariposa, Hibiscus Café, Taco Angeleno, and more! The event is organized by Cedar Park Neighbors. Check out the event’s Facebook page for more information.

Saturday, May 17

Party in Clark Park (43rd & Baltimore)

Also in its second year is the Party in Clark Park, which includes food trucks, live music, $1,000 in raffle prizes from local businesses, games for all ages and a Dock Street beer garden.  The party runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and admission is free. The food trucks on hand will include Foolish Waffles and Dapper Dog and the entertainment will include Disco Hootenanny (about 6 p.m.), Flat Mary Road, and Nicole Gauthier’s Temple University Dancers.

New and renewing members of the Friends of Clark Park get a free beer at the beer garden. The party will go down rain or shine, organizers say.

Photo courtesy UCD.

The Free at Noon concert series returns to The Porch at 30th Street station on Friday, May 16 with live performances by Hamilton Leithauser and Chet Faker. Leithauser, the lead singer of the recently broken-up indie rock band The Walkmen, will perform songs from his solo debut album titled Black Hours. Chet Faker is an electronica musician from Australia, who has also recently released his debut album, Built on Glass.

Sounds like something fun to do at lunchtime, plus there will be some awesome food trucks at The Porch on that day: Bonjour Creperie, Dadz Grilled Cheese, Innovative Catering, and Local 215. Smak Parlour, a mobile fashion boutique, will also be there.

Free at Noon concerts are presented by the University City District (UCD) and WXPN Radio. For more events at The Porch, visit: http://universitycity.org/porch-events

Photo via bicyclecoalition.org.

Here’s a community recreation opportunity this Sunday for Mother’s Day: the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is inviting bikers of all levels to free rides here in West Philly, as part of CycloFemme, a Global Women’s Cycling Day celebration. Three rides are scheduled and they all begin and end in Clark Park and are followed by a picnic. The starting time is 10:00 a.m. Here are more details from the Bicycle Coalition website:

• FREE – but please RSVP!

• Meet at Clark Park in West Philly on May 11 (Mother’s Day) at 10a.m.

• 3 ride levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Fast-ish, All will be “no drop” – no one will be left behind. You can choose which one you want to do that morning if you’d like! 1-1.5 hrs of riding.

• Exact route TBD, but the slow ride will stay in West Philly, on bike lanes and paths, and the faster routes will head over to the Schuylkill River Trail.

• Picnic to follow! All levels of riders are invited to return to Clark Park for a picnic after the rides. There are lots of options for grabbing food near Clark Park: Milk & Honey Market, Fu Wah Deli, Green Line Cafe, and more!

• Helmets required!

• All genders are welcome to come ride with us, to celebrate women & cycling together!

Click here to RSVP. For more information, call 215-242-9253.

Go West! Craft Fest Event Map (click to enlarge).

It’s shaping up to be quite an eventful weekend in West Philly. We already wrote about plant sales at PIC and Bartram’s Garden, a free walking tour of Lancaster Avenue, a book release party, and a weight pulling competition for dogs. And here’s one of the year’s most raving events in this part of the city: The spring edition of Go West! Craft Fest is also scheduled for this weekend.

The festival returns on Saturday, May 3 to the Woodlands (40th & Woodland) and this time brings an absolutely ridiculous number of vendors – we hear that over 120 local artists and artisans will be there to present their work to West Philly residents and visitors.

As always, Go West! will also feature local musicians, acrobatic performances by Tangle Movement Arts (tinycircus), great food and fun for adults and kids alike (see the event map).

This year, the craft fest is extensively covered by Grid Magazine, which included a 16-page guide in its May 2014 edition. You can pick up a free copy of the magazine at these locations.

The fest starts at 11:00 a.m. and will go on until 5 p.m. (rain date is Sunday, May 4). For more information, go to: http://gowestcraftfest.blogspot.com

An aerial acrobat from Tangle Movement Arts (tinycircus) performs at Go West! Craft Fest (archived photo / West Philly Local).

An illustration from The Garden of Time by Zoe Cohen.

Nearly five years ago, when Zoe Cohen was pregnant with her first child, she knew she wanted to illustrate a children’s book. That book, the West Philly artist decided, would illuminate the Jewish holiday’s deep-rooted connection to nature and the seasons.

Come 2014, and that seed of thought has developed into The Garden of Time, an illustrated 32-page children’s book exploring this bond, both in history and spirit, through the eyes of Adam and Eve. Published in March by Skinner House, The Garden of Time features 12 illustrations by Cohen, which were crafted between 2009 and 2012, and the interweaving tale written by Rabbi Jill Hammer, author and co-founder of the Kohenet Institute.

To celebrate The Garden of Time, Cohen is hosting a book release party this Sunday, May 4th at The Cedarworks (4919 Pentridge St.) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event will feature a potluck lunch and book reading, and will have copies of The Garden of Time available for sale and signed by the artist.

This week, West Philly Local had a chance to chat with Cohen about the book, how it came to fruition, and its ultimate message. Continue Reading

Click to enlarge.

This weekend there’s an awesome chance to learn more about the city’s commercial corridors on the rise, hidden neighborhood histories and stroll around some great public spaces – all thanks to Jane’s Walk, a free series of neighborhood walks presented by PlanPhilly.

There will be seven walks all together taking place on Friday through Sunday, May 2-4 (learn more about each walk here). But of particular interest to West Philly folks may be a walk organized on Friday on Lancaster Avenue, “Uncovering Historic Buildings on Lancaster Avenue.” Two people from the People’s Emergency Center, James Wright and Stephanie Wall, will be leading this tour of a few blocks of Lancaster Ave to talk about work to improve and reuse significant historic properties along the corridor.

Jane’s Walk is a global movement of free, locally-led walking tours inspired by the urbanist and writer Jane Jacobs. The walks are roving conversations geared at getting people engaged with their city and connecting with one another. This is the first year Philadelphia has formally participated in the festival, which takes place in more than 100 cities.

The Lancaster Avenue walk begins at 4 p.m.