Today is the mail-in deadline for registering to vote in the May 21 primary. You can check your registration status online here. If you know you are registered, no reason to do it again unless you moved, changed your name or your party affiliation. Your registration must be postmarked by today to be eligible.

The local offices that will be decided this year include: District Attorney, City Controller, Judge of Court of Common Pleas, Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court (3 vacancies), Judge of Traffic Court (3 vacancies), Inspector of Elections.

Statewide offices include the Judge of the Superior Court.

The most notable local race will be for City Controller, where incumbent Alan Butkovitz faces non-profit exec Brett Mandel and attorney Mark Zecca for the Democratic nomination. Current District Attorney Seth Williams is running unopposed for the party nomination.

– Mike Lyons

The Cedar Park Neighbors community association is holding its annual membership meeting tonight at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th & Baltimore) and community members are welcome to attend. The annual Board of Directors election for current CPN members will also take place (voting will be from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.) The general program will start at 7:00 p.m.

The meeting will include the following agenda:

•  Introduction of nominees and standing Board Members
• Update on the AVI Townhall meeting
• Update on “Future of the Neighborhood” survey
• Featured Speaker: Iola Harper, Enterprise Center Senior Director of the Acceleration Group
• Community announcements
• Representative from Police District will speak
• Recognition of long dedication to CPN by Karen Allen, Dorothy Berlind, Laurie Friedman, Victoria Iannotta, and Joanne Pham
• Announcements of new Board Members (polls close at 7:30 pm)

For more information on the candidates running for the board election, including their bios, please visit the Cedar Park Neighbors website.

Little Baby’s Ice Cream is already developing a flair for the dramatic. The artisan ice cream maker announced last-minute that it will open its anticipated Cedar Park location at 4903 Catharine St. at 2 p.m. tomorrow in what will be a busy Saturday in the neighborhood.

Here’s who will be at Little Baby’s:

Play on Philly Youth Orchestra
Sky Sisters Face Painting
Urban Nutrition Initiative’s
Rebel Granola Bars
Yumtown USA Food Truck
Art in the Age Spirits
Philly Roller Girls

The shop will be open until 11 p.m. tomorrow and “every day thereafter,” according to an e-mail.

While you’re on the 4900 block of Catharine, you might want to cross Baltimore Avenue to The Marvelous! for National Record Store Day. The day includes special music releases and, sometimes, live performances at record shops around the country. Here’s what The Marvelous is bringing in for the day (all on vinyl):

Scientist “Scientific Dub” 3×10″ on color vinyl
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, “Animal X” 7″
Rough Guide to Psychedelic Brazil
Aloha, “Here Comes Everyone”
Tame Impala debut EP
Cut Copy, “Bright Like Neon Love”
Can’s “Ege Bamyasi” played by Stephen Malkmus & Friends
Rough Guide to African Disco
Nick Drake comp
Brian Eno / Nicolas Jaar / Grizzly Bear
Grateful Dead, “Rare Cuts & Oddities 1966”
Trashmen, “Mean Woman Blues b/w Big Boss Man 7”
Notorious B.I.G., “Ready to Die” ltd. ed. white vinyl

This, of course, is in addition to the Go West! Craft Fest (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and the Uhuru Flea Market (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at Clark Park.

On June 21, Philly will join over 500 cities world-wide as a landscape for live music—and West Philly needs to get in on the action.

Dubbed “Make Music Philly,” the free multicultural festival is the city’s inaugural entrance into Make Music Day, a global carnival of melodies that started in France in 1982 and came to the states as National Music Day in 2006. Make Music Philly, which will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., will be an experiment in do-it-yourself ingenuity, with artists and venues city-wide taking the helm in planning casual gigs and formal concerts.

Musicians of all calibers, ages, and genres, and venues of all types are invited to participate. So whether you’re an amateur ukulele player, local post-psych outfit, established folk singer-songwriter, or high school drumline, Make Music Philly has a space for you. And anywhere in West Philly can serve as a stage—from the Clark Park Dog Bowl and the basement of the Calvary to street corners, sidewalks, and your best friend’s backyard.

To be considered an official MMP event, all venues, artists, and volunteers must register for free through the official website. Participants can either register already-curated events or use MMP’s matchmaking software to connect with other venues and artists to organize performances.

WXPN is MMP’s lead organizer in partnership with the City of Philadelphia, and METRO Philly is the official print partner.

For more information, visit makemusicphilly.org or check out MMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

– Annamarya Scaccia
 

In late 2011, we reported the West Philly-based real estate developers, the Orens Brothers, plan to revitalize the infamous Croydon Building into a seemingly-affordable 127-unit apartment complex. Work on the extensive project is now underway.

The air surrounding the looming 25,875 square-foot structure on 49th Street between Locust and Spruce Streets was heavy with raucous construction clatter when we visited the location Thursday afternoon. According to one worker on site, renovations of the Croydon began four months ago and should last two years, with the two wings hopefully completed by the fall. Representatives from the Orens Brothers could not be reached for comment.

The Orens Brothers bought the Croydon Building in 2011 for $1.75 million, with renovations budgeted at about $10 million. The once homogenous development, built in the early 20^th century, became known by squatters as “Paradise City” after it was abandoned in the late 1990s. It was also the site of 2007 murder that resulted from a fight between two squatters. The building had been a focus of community concern for many years.

– Annamarya Scaccia

One of the most popular events in the ‘hood, the Go West! Craft Fest, is returning this weekend with a large group of talented folks who will be showcasing beautiful, handmade gifts and wares. We hear that this will be the biggest and best Go West! yet with over 100 Philly region’s finest artists and craftspeople participating. The festival will take place at the beautiful historic Woodlands mansion and cemetery (40th & Woodland) on Saturday, Apr. 20, 11 a.m. -5 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, Apr. 21).

If you’re looking for a unique gift check out Go West! where you can find jewelry, art prints & originals, paper goods, clothing, bath & body products, candles, home wares, children’s items and more (see the full vendor list here).

The festival will also feature great performers, like the well-known Tinycircus by Tangle Movement Arts, presenting artful acrobatics, music by Cassendre Xavier and Sour Mash and songs and entertainment for children by Jay Sand of All Around This World, Ann from the Green Tambourine, juggling throughout the day and free face painting (for the full line-up of entertainers go here).

For your palate there will be various food options provided by local eateries, including the debut of Taco Angeleno, West Philly’s new mobile taqueria serving LA-style Mexican cuisine.

Tinycircus performing at Go West! Craft Fest.