Some major Juneteenth celebrations will be held in West Philly this Sunday. The Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade & Festival is returning after the pandemic-related hiatus. The 2022 Juneteenth Parade participants will march along 52nd Street – from Jefferson to Pine. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and will conclude at Malcolm X Park where the festival will take place (from 12-8 p.m.).

The Juneteenth Parade will include non-profit organizations, youth groups and schools, local politicians, as well as dance and music groups. The festival at Malcolm X Park will feature music and dance performances, local merchants, food vendors, and more. Residents can also get tested and vaccinated against COVID. Continue Reading

Theatre in the X is returning to Malcolm X Park after a year hiatus and will present three evenings of a new production, The West Philly Meeting. The new play by the innovative Black theater troupe was created with the West Philly community in mind and is based on the community input.

The process began in early 2020 with in-person West Philly community meetings that helped devise the new theatre piece. Two significant and tragic historic events are the basis for the new play – the 1985 MOVE bombing and summer 2020 protests and teargassing of protesters by the police on 52nd street, according to an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The new piece, written by Dwayne Alistair Thomas and directed by Katrina Snobe, brings the characters and the audience together to find “the solution to heal what ails them.” Continue Reading

Keni Jackson (Facebook photo)

Great news for local jazz music fans! After a two-year break the popular Thursday night jazz series, Jazz Heritage Series, will return to Malcolm X Park this summer. The series will kick off this Thursday, July 1 (weather permitting), with a performance by Southwest Philadelphia native Keni Jackson, a bass player and vocalist.

All concerts are free and held every other Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. Please bring your blanket or portable chair, and picnic! Please note that performances are not held in inclement weather.

Here’s the full schedule of performances through October 21st: Continue Reading

The first Day of Remembrance of the MOVE bombing, including a march to Malcolm X. Park, will be held on Thursday, May 13. The march marks the 36th anniversary of the bombing, which killed 11 people, including five children, and burned dozens of homes in West Philadelphia.

The MOVE house at 6221 Osage Ave. was the target of the city-sanctioned bombing in 1985. Surviving members and relatives will participate in a MOVE bombing victims commemoration event, which will begin at 5 p.m. at Osage Ave. and Cobbs Creek Parkway. Community members are invited (see the flyer below for more details). Continue Reading

Local non-profit Sharing Excess will be back in Malcolm X Park this Saturday, Jan. 30 and every Saturday in February to distribute food to the community for free.

Folks from Sharing Excess will be on the corner of 52nd and Pine on Saturdays beginning at Noon until everything is gone (for about an hour-and-a-half at most). The organization will have hundreds of grocery boxes containing produce, milk, eggs, cheese and meat to give out to the community.  Continue Reading

UC Green, the West Philly community greening organization, is teaming up with Treeken LLC, a local arborist tree care company, to offer holiday tree collection on Sunday, Jan. 10 at Clark Park and Malcolm X Park. Tree collection in Clark Park (43rd and Kingsessing) will be held from 9 a.m. until Noon and in Malcolm X Park (51st and Osage) from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

UC Green is a volunteer-run organization with a 20-year history, so please bring a donation ($5-$20) along with your tree to support this organization. Donations are also accepted online at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ucgreenphila.

Collected trees will be mulched and used at local parks. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please make sure to wear a mask and avoid congregating with others when dropping off your tree.

Information on other Christmas tree recycling opportunities can be found here.