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Peoplehood Parade & Pageant: Saturday, 10/24!

Posted by Samantha Lazar on October 19, 2009

Get excited for one of the most unique sights of the season: Spriral Q Puppet Theatre’s 10th annual Peoplehood Parade and Pageant.

Originally scheduled for Saturday October 17th, the event has wisely been pushed to the following week, the 24th, due to horrendous weather. Hopefully the sun will smile on West Philly and the true colors of the parade will shine forth – because, oh boy, there are a lot of colors!

If you’re not familiar with it already, Spiral Q is something of a blend between a puppet theater (regularly putting on performances), a giant puppet factory (the puppets themselves and the sheer number that they churn out are both giant, and are on display at their museum), and a community organizer and neighborhood touchstone....
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Related Destination: Spiral Q Puppet Theater »

Related Categories: Entertainment, Family Fun, Parks, Culture

The Woodlands: An Oasis of Greenery and History

Posted by Samantha Lazar on August 27, 2009

Back in the day, Philadelphia was pretty much confined to the west bank of the Delaware River. In the Colonial era, Broad Street would have been considered the suburbs, and the other side of the Schuylkill was the boonies. That was just fine for wealthy landowners, though. In 1766 a young man named William Hamilton inherited a vast 300 acres of land that today makes up most of University City. Much of that land was eventually sold off (becoming Penn, Drexel, and 30th St. Station, among other things), but a huge 54 acre chunk remains as The Woodlands Cemetery. Hamilton's mansion, a massive villa modeled on English country estates, also remains and is used for all sorts of events, including tours, lectures, scholarly talks on the famous people buried in the cemetery, and even the occasional theatrical performance (a Flamenco troupe is scheduled to perform there during the Fringe Festival in September!)....
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Related Destination: Woodlands Cemetery »

Related Category: Parks

Free Shakespeare in Clark Park!

Posted by Samantha Lazar on July 31, 2009

Ah, Shakespeare in the park. It’s one of those unofficial rites of summer that people come to expect. If you’ve never seen a Shakespeare performance in a park before, you might not understand what’s so great about it – which is all the more reason to get yourself to Clark Park to see the “The Comedy of Errors” this weekend!

Clark Park is a gem of West Philly, coming alive with children, dogs, exercisers, the farmers’ market and more every summer. Adding to the fun, Shakespeare in Clark Park had been producing free outdoor plays since 2005. This year’s choice is one of the bard’s most popular comedies, and the play features a whole slew of Philly’s comedic actors, with Luigi Sottile (as Antipholus of Syracuse) and David Sweeney (playing many different characters) turning in especially hysterical performances.
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Related Destination: Clark Park »

Related Categories: Entertainment, Family Fun, Clark Park, Parks, Culture

Drexel Park: Best View in Philly

Posted by Samantha Lazar on July 13, 2009

If you’re a Drexel student or hang out in the area much, you’ve probably noticed a distinct lack of places to chill, escape the traffic, sunbathe, or toss a Frisbee. Well, despair no longer! Drexel Park is a cool new green space that was just created at 32nd Street and Powelton Avenue, just a stone’s throw from the Drexel campus....
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Related Destination: Drexel Park »

Related Categories: Entertainment, Parks, Universities + Colleges

Clark Park Farmers’ Market

Posted by Samantha Lazar on July 2, 2009

Sick of hibernating all winter, eating canned food and potato after potato? Hopefully your wintertime culinary experience wasn’t that bad, but no doubt you’re thinking fresh now that summer is upon us. Swing by the Clark Park Farmer’s Market to satisfy that yearning for fresh, healthy and organic local goodness....
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