How the beergarden works; if you are a new or renewing member who reups at the party, your first Dock Street beer is free; $3 thereafter. Nonmembers’ beer is $5. So you don’t have to join to enjoy!
Membership levels: Patron = $50 (2 votes/tickets), Household = $25 (2 votes/tickets), Individuals = $20, Student/Senior/Limited Income = $10.
The Philadelphia Cultural Alliance & Parks Alliance teamed to host a mayoral panel discussion at the Free Library last Monday. It was the best chance for park supporters to hear the candidates’ thoughts on parks.
Phila. Parks Alliance Exec. Dir. Lauren Bornfriend introduces mayoral panel on parks & culture at Central Free Library. Jim Kenney, Tony Williams, Lynne Abraham & Melissa Bailey were on stage then; Nelson Díaz & Doug Oliver arrived shortly thereafter.
Lynne Abraham pressed her fondness for Independence Mall as the ideal park. She hailed the influx of private-charity money from the Knight Foundation & the William Penn Foundation as the best way to fund park improvements. Current PPR Deputy Mayor Mike DiBerardinis is “a keeper,” in her words, whom she would seek to retain as Mayor.
Melissa Bailey, the Republican candidate, runs her 4-year-old child in Starr Garden’s youth-soccer program. She insisted that education comes first in the City budget but said the PPR budget could be increased.
Nelson Díaz is drawn to the Forbidden Drive, where he ran for many years. He deplored the dilapidation of too many rec centers & vowed he would increase the PPR budget by 10%.
Jim Kenney said his dream park is Franklin Square, which he called “the best children’s park in the USA.” He called Rec workers “heroes” who had inspired him as a youth. He thought advertising & other marketing opportunities could boost revenue for parks.
Doug Oliver grew up in Germantown & vividly recalls hitting home runs in Vernon Park. He insisted that Philadelphia’s top budget priority is schools but stated that PPR’s physical training was an essential complement to the School District’s academics.
Tony Williams grew up across from Cobbs Creek Park & still lives in that house. His mother, a science teacher, founded an environmental center in that park. He would increase the PPR budget by $1 million. Like Kenney he advocated private-sector funding opportunities such as branding, & tapping famous Philadelphians to give back to their city.
There are more meetings to attend on 4224 Baltimore! Going to meetings is our best means of showing our support for U3’s exciting mixed-use development project in the vacant lot at 43rd and Baltimore.
First is a City Planning Commission hearing, Tuesday, April 28th,1 PM to 4 PM, 1515 Arch Street, room 18-029.
The most important meeting, the meeting to attend if you’re only going to attend one, is with the Zoning Board, the body that will actually decide whether the project can happen. It’s Wednesday, April 29th, 4 PM, 1515 Arch Street, room 18-002.
See you there!
Don’t forget to come to the Friends of Clark Park general meeting this coming Monday, 4/20, at 7 PM in Griffith Hall, Lecture Hall A. It’s the big USciences building on the east side of 43rd Street just above Woodland. We’ll talk about upcoming climactic zoning hearings on 4224 Baltimore, and volunteer opportunities for our Party in Clark Park beer garden on May 16th, and so much more.
Our friends at U3 Ventures are formally applying for their zoning variance to build the exciting mixed-use project at 4224 Baltimore Ave. They’ve held many community meetings and adapted their plans for our feedback, and now they’re making their case at a Civic Design Review on Tuesday, 4/7, at 1 PM.
Come show your support! We think a building project with locally-oriented storefronts, a nice gym, ample parking, and a sponsor who cares about our neighborhood would be a great addition. The meeting is open to the public, and attending is the best way to show the review board that we want this project to happen.
Sunday, February 8, 2 Pm, Griffith Hall, east side of 43rd just north of Woodland, Free Admission
Dickens fans and neighbors of Clark Park are organizing this year’s fun, festive Charles Dickens Birthday Party. You’re cordially and merrily invited to join us! Sponsored by The Friends of Clark Park, we’re having an afternoon of drama and music near the site of Frank Elwell’s beautiful sculpture of Dickens and Little Nell.
The indoor, on-stage portion of the festivities will be held in Griffith Hall of the University of the Sciences, 43rd and Kingsessing, across the street from the southern tip of Clark Park. Admission is free.
Actors Ceil Mann and Larry Beck, along with members of the Curio Theater Company, will perform scenes from The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. Young Sophie Pettit, accompanied by her father, the writer and local Dickens ambassador Edward G. Pettit, will enact a scene from The Old Curiosity Shop. We’ll also have a special performance inspired by the new benches recently installed at the statue. Several Dickens fans will read the quotations emblazoned on the benches and they’ll give us a taste of the scenes from which the quotes were “lifted.”
The dramatic program is followed by treats for all, Dickensian socializing, and a performance by the Kingsessing Morris Men, first place winners in the comic division at the 2012 Mummers Parade.
Finally, the Morris dancers will lead a procession to the statue where youngsters will decorate Dickens and Little Nell with wreaths and we’ll sing “Happy Birthday.”
West Philadelphians who have grown up, and grown older, in the Clark Park neighborhood have come to respect and admire the bronze statue of Dickens. Created in 1890 by renowned sculptor Frank Elwell, it was installed in Clark Park in 1901. For most of the time since then, it’s been the world’s only public statue of Dickens, due to the novelist’s request that no memorials or statues be erected in his honor. So, to recognize the statue’s special role in our neighborhood’s history, and to pay homage to a great writer, we throw a birthday party every year!
The program begins at 2 pm sharp and ends an hour and a half later. Do come and join us!
Monday, 1/26, is the date for a very important Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee meeting where they will discuss the development project at 4224 Baltimore Ave. That meeting, which is open to anyone, is 7 PM at the Spruce Hill center (257 S. 45th Street). See you there!
We’ll now have the Friends of Clark Park general membership meeting Monday, 2/23, in Rosenberger Hall at USciences, the little building in the park on the west side of 43rd Street a bit above Woodland, 7 PM.
Update: now the Spruce Hill zoning meeting is cancelled, too, due to the weather. No meetings tonight.
Don’t forget to come to the Friends of Clark Park general membership meeting next Monday, 1/26 (now Monday, 2/23), at 7 PM! It’s in Griffith Hall (now Rosenberger Hall), the big University of the Sciences building on the east side of 43rd Street just above Woodland.
We’ll discuss the imminent Clark Park bike share station, congratulate ourselves on all the mulching we’ve done recently, talk about long-term plans for statuary in the park, and so much more!
Don’t throw away your Christmas Tree yet! UC Green is accepting Christmas trees in Clark Park on Saturday, 1/10/15. The trees will be mulched in place, and the fragrant mulch will be returned to the earth in Clark Park by volunteers. 10 AM to 4 PM.
A West Philly Families Solidarity March will proceed from Calvary to Clark Park tomorrow, Saturday, Jan 3.
Due to rain, they are moving the first part of the program indoors! Entrance on 48th St. They will have speakers, songs and noise-in in the church.
After noise-in, they will MARCH TO CLARK PARK to stay, play and connect.
They hope this will allow more families to participate if it is raining, and support in building community indoors. They also hope to raise their voices and be visible outside as they march to Clark Park, rain or shine, for those up for it.
The action in the park should last no longer than 45 minutes.