If you need to drive toward Center City or get on the Schuylkill Expressway this weekend It might be a good idea to avoid Market Street. Drexel University’s commencement and student move-out is this weekend (they are on the quarter system so they finish a little later than other schools) and portions of Market and Powelton from 32nd to 34th will be heavily congested today through Sunday afternoon.

The university issued this warning:

Beginning Thursday, June 9 and continuing through Sunday, June 12, 2011, Drexel University will be holding its annual Commencement Ceremonies in the Daskalaskis Athletic Center located at 3300 Market Street. At the same time students will be moving out of the residence halls. As a result, there will be parking restrictions and street closures in effect from 32nd to 34th Streets and Market Street to Powelton Avenue.

Drexel Police will be assisting with traffic. Please avoid these areas if possible and seek alternate routes. Expect traffic congestion when traveling to and from University City.

Unfortunately, they won’t be more specific on exact times, so maybe it’s just better to avoid it all together. Spruce Street and the South Street on and off ramps are the way to go.

We all knew that the heat wave was going to give way to a storm at some point. Last night’s downpour and high winds knocked down trees and left many in West Philly temporarily without power.

Near 49th and Hazel a large tree crashed onto a shed, leaving a man inside trapped for about 30 minutes (see video). The man was not seriously injured.

6ABC Action News was on the scene. Below is video that includes incidents from around the city. The part about 49th and Hazel starts at about 2:20.

The farmers’ market season is in full swing now and while just about everybody knows about the Clark Park market,  many might not know about two other chances to get fresh food in West Philly going on today and tomorrow.

• The Walnut Hill Community Farm Stand

Youth growers from the Walnut Hill Community Farm (4610 Market St.) will be selling food from the farm today (and every Tuesday and Friday) after school from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the farm’s location, right near the 46th Street El stop.

• The African American Farmers of Operation Springplant in Henderson, NC at the 50th and Kingsessing rec center

This is a rare opportunity to meet some small-scale farmers from out of town who will be selling fruits and vegetables (from kale and sweet potatoes to apples and watermelon) who will be selling stuff not yet in season up here. Operation Springplant is made up of African American and limited-resource growers around Henderson, North Carolina. They will be selling their goods from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 50th and Kingsessing near the rec center, where some neighborhood youths also run an urban farm. So far this is planned to be just a one-day deal. If successful, organizers say, the farmers will make return trips to West Philly.

Urban gardening comes in many forms – the backyard plot, the communal garden and even “take back the land” Johnny Appleseed inspired “guerrilla gardening” like Plotland at 44th and Locust. After tonight, guerrilla gardening will get a little easier and quicker.

The University City District will unveil the first quarter-operated seed bomb machine in Philadelphia tonight at the Night Market (3911 Market St.). This retrofitted gumball machine dispenses little seed clusters that can be tossed into an open space with dirt and within a few days (or after there is a little rain or watering) wildflowers will start to grow. Based on the “seed grenades” of the 1970s, these gumball-size, handrolled spheroids contain a little clay, a little compost and some seeds.

The L.A.-based startup Greenaid supplies the machines and the seed balls.

After tonight, Grid reports that the University City District’s machine will go into their lobby and be brought out for special occasions.

You can also buy your own bombs from Greenaid and even get a wooden slingshot for long-distance planting. Look out for more of these in the future. This is right up West Philly’s alley.

Here’s a cool video that shows how it works:

Common Studios: Green Aid from ISHOTHIM on Vimeo.

We went around the neighborhood and snapped pictures of yard/porch/sidewalk sale flyers. Then we put them in a slideshow and ,Voila!, now all the flyers are in one place.

If you have a flyer or spot a flyer that should be here, just snap a picture and send it to editor [at] westphillylocal.com.

You have a chance to see two gems (as in “a person or thing considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect”) of the West Philly music scene in an intimate setting Friday night. Musicians Joshua Marcus and Emily Bate are combining for Sweet Sound of Music at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave.) beginning at 8 p.m. The suggested donation for the show is $8 and sweet teas and simple infused syrups are on the house.

Here are Emily and Joshua’s backgrounds (from the Studio 34 website):

Joshua Marcus

Joshua Marcus lives in Philadelphia, PA and has produced nine recordings under different bands and monikers in the last nine years, including Fan of Friends. This spring Marcus will release his newest recording, Reverse the Charges, on Chicago’s Contraphonic and Philadelphia’s High Two record labels. Joshua is currently working on a collaborative project to produce a folk recording dealing with current U.S. social and environmental justice struggles.

Emily Bate

Emily Bate’s spent 10 years performing, recording and touring, and singing sweetly about complicated things. She’s released three full-lengths and an several EPs. She is one half of the drag cover cabaret band Gender Mountain, with Dave End, and plays with lots of other buddies in West Philly. On this special occasion, expect some ukulele shredding, fingerpicked electric guitar, and big singing.