Author: Ari Kessler

Friends of Clark Park held our annual board meeting on Monday October 17th at the Spruce Hill Community Association with representation throughout our membership and the community. Our latest year in review for the park included highlights around the return to normalcy we have seen this year. The gardens and clean ups committees have been highly active with volunteers making the park look great. We have seen events and programming successfully return with abundance and capacity building within our organization grow. Fiscally membership and bottom line returned to normal and the organization is in solid financial shape.

One of our largest focuses for the year has been kicking off the Master Plan process. This plan will help define the direction of the park and establish goals for future development and fund raising. This year we kicked off the process and completed an RFP for a successful partner to help lead us in design and community engagement. Following the RFP we are excited to welcome Studio Bryan Hanes to help lead the process and look forward to completing the plan by our 2023 annual meeting. As part of this process we will be including a number of our local partner organizations on the steering committee and soliciting community feedback throughout.

The meeting also was marked by a number of local partners who wanted to engage with the Friends. Uhuru joined to discuss their concerns with the increase in unpermitted vending. They shared how the new vendors are crowding out Uhuru and stealing customers without paying for permits, cleaning and supporting the park. We discussed pursuing potential solutions in partnership with Parks and Recreation and passed around a petition supporting Uhuru. Gwen Snyder, a new mother in the neighborhood, has been working to form ongoing children’s programming in the park and was looking to create partnership with the friends to establish a more regular standing music group for young children. Tom Quinn from the HMS School also joined the meeting looking to build a stronger relationship with the Friends and to work to include students at HMS school in park events.

Finally, the friends held elections for the latest slate of directors and leadership. Our full board can be found here, but we are excited to welcome new board members Sam Korn, Pia Von Barby, Oliver Atwood, Daniel Flichberg, and Reilly Wilson. All new candidates and officers were reelected with unanimous support

Huge Thanks too all who work to make Clark Park the magical place that it is!

We are sad to share that we will be unable to run our usual season of Clark Park Youth Soccer this fall. This is a volunteer run program and unfortunately this year we were unable to get enough volunteer coaches to be able to create a safe and engaging experience. We will take some time through the winter to retool and reset in order to relaunch the program again in the Spring.

We are sorry to those who had been looking forward to this season, but if you are interested in helping out volunteering in the future please reach out to soccer@friendsofclarkpark.org

This September Parks on Tap makes its triumphant return to Clark Park. For the uninitiated, Parks on Tap is Philadelphia’s traveling beer garden that was founded as a partnership between Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and FCM Hospitality focused on benefiting parks throughout the city. This festival returns to Clark Park from Wednesday September 7^th – Sunday September 11^th with hours 4PM-10PM on Wed-Fri and 12PM-10PM Sat-Sun. In particular join us on September 7^th for a Happy Hour from 4-6pm with the Friends of Clark Park where 25% of the proceeds will directly support our beautiful park!

Parks on Tap was created to be a traveling beer garden throughout the city’s various, beautiful parks all summer long. Proceeds from Parks on Tap benefit the Fairmount Park Conservancy and each individual host park. Each park and location is collectively selected as a way to highlight and enhance the offerings that Philadelphia city parks provide. It aims for a simple aesthetic: well-kept outdoor spaces where friends and families can meet up to enjoy food, drinks and fun in a natural green space. Expect a laidback outdoor setting with craft beer, cocktails and snacks like soft pretzels and pulled-pork sandwiches. All seating is first come, first served; and, as always, dogs and kids are welcome.

Mark your calendar and join us on June 18 from 3-7pm for the spring time return of one of West Philly’s favorite events – Party in the Park. Party in the Park is an annual event hosted by Friends of Clark Park and is a great way to celebrate the season in Clark Park with all your friends and neighbors.

This year’s version of Party in the Park will be a scaled back, family friendly affair. We will be featuring local live music, kids crafts, and fun events (including a petanque club demonstration) and it is always a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon in the park! As always, there will also be food trucks to keep you fed and happy. Everyone is welcome and admission is free.

Need another reason to attend? Party in the Park is a great opportunity to engage with the Friends of Clark Park. As many visitors to our site know, The Friends are a nonprofit organization that works to preserve, protect, and beautify our beloved community park.  We are the driving force behind park landscaping, tree care, grass seeding, bench installation and repair, excess seasonal trash removal, and park cleanings.  We would love for you to meet the team, let us know what you think, and renew your membership. The Friends need everyone’s support to keep our park vibrant!

Love Your Park is a citywide initiative focused on cleaning, greening, and celebrating Philadelphia’s parks. From regular volunteer workdays to citywide celebrations and year-round community organizing, Love Your Park brings Philadelphians together to clean, green, and celebrate our public green spaces. One of their keystone events is the annual spring and fall Love Your Park Week which is a week-long celebration of parks across Philadelphia. Park Friends groups across Philadelphia will be tending gardens and flower beds, caring for trees, and cleaning up our parks after a cold winter.

Clark Park always embraces Love Your Park Week as a mainstay of our sprint push the ready the park for its peak season. This year we will be celebrating the morning of May 7^th from 10 – 1 with a volunteer day to help keep our neighborhood’s favorite park clean and green for the season. Please sign up to join us for a fun day with your community in the park!

For any questions you can always reach out to Volunteer@friendsofclarkpark.org for more information.

Warm weather is in the air and Clark Park is starting to fill in with friends and families gearing up to enjoy the first days of spring. It is a great time to hang out in the park, but it is also a key time for the Friends of Clark Park in getting our park ready for another peak season. Each spring volunteers work hard to clean and green the park to make it as beautiful as possible for the neighborhood. This includes taking care of all the gardens, maintaining the park furniture, and cleaning up around the park. This year is no different and your help is needed! We have a number of upcoming events to get the park ready for the season:

• Gardening & Pizza – This Sunday (3/20) meet the Friends Gardening Committee from 3PM – 5PM at the Shed at 45th and Regent for a Spring Planting and Pizza party afterwards! It is a great way to meet the team who takes care of the gardens and can always use extra hands throughout the season.
• Volunteer Clean Up Day – Saturday April 2^nd from 10AM – 12PM will be our first big park cleanup day of the season. There will be a variety of activities for all ages to help out. Meet us at the Shed at 45th and Regent to help clean up the park!
• Volunteer Clean Up Day – On Saturday April 16^th from 10AM – 12:30PM we will have a second clean up event. If you can’t join un on 4/2 (or even if you can) it is another opportunity to help clean up the park this spring.

 All these events are fun for the whole family and a great way to spend time outside in the park this spring. For any questions please reach out to Volunteer@friendsofclarkpark.org for more information.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing … in CLARK PARK at the annual Carol Sing on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 5 pm at the Community Christmas Tree atop the maintenance house, near 45th & Regent St. This wonderful, longstanding event draws many neighbors each year as a hushed winter night falls. Sing traditional Christmas favorites by candlelight with your neighbors, and then enjoy hot cider and cookies, thanks to the Friends of Clark Park. NOTE: WEATHER PERMITTING. Watch here for any last-minute weather notices, if necessary.

Saturday, November 13 – 11 am – Veterans Day Commemoration – Gettysburg Stone in Clark Park, near 44th and Baltimore Ave. Please join the Friends of Clark Park, students of the HMS School and the Boy Scouts in honoring all those who have served in the Armed Forces. All are welcome. Question: Are you a veteran? If so, we would like to recognize and honor you. Please write to FRByers@aol.com and leave your name and phone number.