It's called the Give Back, and for eight years, this community festival has showcased great music and some of the activities and development taking place in the Nicetown section of North Philadelphia, said Majeedah Rashid, executive director of Nicetown Community Development Corp., which hosts the event. "When we first conceptualized the festival, we were interested in getting people in the community to find ways to give back, small, large, whatever," said Rashid. "We thought we would put together something that would celebrate some of the things were doing in Nicetown as well as engage and mobilize people." On Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, the free festival, officially named the 8th Annual Nicetown Community Give Back Festival will feature performances by R&B artist Miki Howard, jazz and soul chanteuse Jean Carne, jazz artist Elliot Levin, neo-soul singer Melvin C. McKnight aka "Blaqmel", hip-hop artists and others at Nicetown Park at 4301 Germantown Avenue. Last year, the festival attracted about 8,000 people, Rashid said. "This is about a lot more than just music," said Rashid. "We always say this is more than a party." In addition to the live music, food and other offerings, the festival will feature socially conscious efforts including a Peace Walk through the neighborhood and 10 college scholarships named for Zakee Z. Abdur Rahman, a young man from the community who was shot to death last year. Rashid said the community development corp. is partnering with Comcast and other corporate and community sponsors for the festival. "It's about giving back, and we really ask people to give of themselves volunteering, helping to set things up, clean things up and just getting the word out," Rashid said.
For Joanne Petroski, leading a town watch group in her Fishtown neighborhood has been way to connect with neighbors and make her community safer for nearly three decades.
"The whole purpose of a town watch is to get to know your neighbors," said Petroski. "Too many people are insulated inside their houses, especially in this kind of weather. People sit inside their houses in the air conditioning and they never look out their front door or back door."
On Tuesday Aug 3, Philadelphia will join cities and towns across the country in marking the 27th National Night Out, an evening in which town watch groups, police and others encourage neighbors to turn on their porch lights and come outside to engage in activities that celebrate their communities and help deter crime.
To help make Philadelphia's National Night Out a success, Town Watch Integrated Services, a city program which coordinates town watch groups in Philadelphia, will host its annual National Night Kick Off event on Monday Aug. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 1601 Columbus Blvd. The event features music, refreshments and prizes.
"The goal is to encourage more people to join town watch groups, to get more involved in their community," said Anthony Murphy, director of Town Watch Integrated Services. Murphy said Philadelphia has about 730 town watch groups with a total of about 20,000 volunteers who serve as eyes and ears of their neighborhoods.
"What we try to do in Philadelphia on National Night Out is get more people engaged in more than just turning their lights on," said Murphy. "We want to get them to do something outdoors."
Murphy said some town watch groups in the city will host barbecues, bike rides, neighborhood walks and other activities.
"The significance of a town watch is that it organizes a community." Murphy said. "And when you have an organized community, you have less criminal activity.… It's also a way of helping young people understand their role as good citizens because it teaches civic values."
For more information about town watches and National Night Out call Town Watch Integrated Services at 215-686-1965.
View galleryAround 1:30 p.m., Dicksy Widing stood on her front steps, with a photo of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski taped to her front window, as a neighbor in a blue sedan slowed down and yelled out the window like a town crier.
For neighbors on Port Richmond's Almond and Schiller Streets, the intersection where officer Liczbinski was shot and killed two years ago, today was verdict day.
"Guilty of all charges," the man in the sedan yelled.
"Thank God, thank God," Widing, 64, rejoiced, clasping her hands.
Friend and neighbor Linda Couch, who had stopped by to learn the verdict was also overjoyed. "Oh God, I’m so happy," Couch said. "Now this man can rest in peace."
After about eight hours of deliberations, which started Monday, a jury found defendants Eric DeShann Floyd and Levon T. Warner guilty of first-degree murder in the May 2008 shooting of Liczbinski.
The day of the shooting, Widing had been outside planting flowers when she heard Liczbinski’s siren.
Moments later, gunman Howard Cain, who was later killed by police, "got out and he shot him," Widing recalled. "I just hollered..."
The trio, Cain, Floyd and Warner, had just robbed a bank branch inside a supermarket, and fled through the neighborhood in a stolen car, with Liczbinski in pursuit.
After Liczbinski was shot, the 12-year police veteran, and married father of three, fell across the street from Widing’s red-bricked row house. He had severe gunshot wounds to his chest and stomach.
As word of the guilty verdict circulated, the tidy, blue collar neighborhood was quiet, almost reflective. The news surprised no one.
"It was just," said 50-year-old Schiller Street homeowner Brian Czarnik. "They took part in a crime, they were going to profit from the crime, and now they got to pay the price."
Still, neighbors remained anxious, especially those who were witnesses, who rushed to the officer's aid in the grizzly aftermath. They await the punishment, to know whether the two men convicted will face death by lethal injection or life in prison without parole.
"I don’t want to spend my tax dollars feeding them," said Pamela Krajewski, 48, sitting on her porch with her two small dogs. That fateful day, after her husband and son heard the shots, they ran out of the house with towels and put pressure on the fallen officer’s wounds.
"They not only terrorized that family by taking their loved one," said Krajewski, who works as a hairdresser, "they terrorized this entire community."
Across from her home, neighbors maintained a memorial, an offering of teddy bears, candles, flowers, and homemade cards, under a protective blue tarp. They added Santa Clauses at Christmas, and crosses during Easter.
In May, it was replaced with a respectful bronze plaque in memory of Liczbinski, "who died in the line of duty protecting the citizens of Philadelphia."
"I hope they never see the light of day again," said Widing, as she and her neighbors await the cop killers' fate. "They don’t deserve to. They took an officer, and a man away from his family."
Four days before Ricci Pagliarella opened his hoagie shop in Point Breeze, the second in his family business, the corner property was tied in yellow police tape. As the Crabhouse bar across the street let out that June 3, someone rained bullets on 22-year-old Joseph Addison-Bryant, hitting him three times and taking his life.
A pile of stuffed animals now sits on the corner, with messages of RIP Crack - part memorial, part reminder. And bullet holes still riddle a few row homes, and the side of Pagliarella's business.
In a small anti-violence effort, Pagliarella is offering hoagies for guns.
"I figure I'm new to the neighborhood," said the 53-year-old father of five, standing behind the counter, amid the aroma of onions and peppers. "Let me show I'm trying to save some people's lives."
In partnership with the police, the gun buy back program runs this Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who turn in a firearm at the shop, located on the 1200 block of South 21st Street, will get two free hoagies, a bag of chips and a soda - while supplies last.
While waiting for a turkey and cheese, one paying customer lamented to Pagliarella, rolling her eyes, "If you get them to turn over guns in this area, you're lucky."
The nine portraits of a pug, German shepherd, beagle, and six other dogs painted in hues of purple, brown, and orange, decorate the walls inside the Gold Standard Café.
The canines are all from the Chester Avenue Dog Park. Their images appear in the Park Pleasant Nursing Home's art show which opened on Monday in the café at 4800 Baltimore Avenue. The show, on display until at least Aug. 19, is open to the public.
The artists are nursing home residents.
Three years ago, Donald Gensler, artist and former University of Pennsylvania mural arts professor, started a photography club with the Park Pleasant residents. The club morphed into a painting class, Gensler said.
When creating the portraits, the residents take a picture and Gensler draws it in paint-by-numbers format for the budding artists to fill in.
The nursing home's last show was self-portraits. Marie Kinnard, 98, a resident who is legally blind, managed to paint her self-portrait, also done in paint-by-numbers format. Her portrait of the beagle for this summer's show took almost a year for her to accomplish.
"I love it... It makes me feel welcome," she said, of her painting. There were times when Kinnard was frustrated and wanted to resign from the club, but Gensler and other residents encouraged her to stay. "They wouldn't let me quit," Kinnard said.
Pursuing its goal of improving the health of children and adults in the Philadelphia area by increasing access to healthy affordable food, the nonprofit Food Trust is launching the grand opening of a farmers market at Broad and Ritner Streets in South Philadelphia. On Tuesday, the organization will host the grand opening of the Broad and Ritner Farmers Market from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market will feature seasonal fruits and vegetables, including organic produce, Free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and lamb, baked goods and other products from local farmers. The market officially opened on July 13, but, Nicky Uy, manager of the Food Trust's farmers market program, said Tuesday's grand opening is "really a celebration of the partnerships that exist to make something like a new market … happen." She said her organization worked with several community groups to develop the market. "What we're trying to achieve here is to bring access to fresh food to more people so that they have a way to buy fruits and vegetables that are at the peak of freshness," Uy said. Many of the products at the market are picked on the day they arrive at the market or the day before, Uy said. The produce will be from farmers in Lancaster and Bucks counties and South Jersey, she said. On August 5, the Food Trust will hold a grand opening of a farmers market at North Philadelphia's Norris Square at Susquehanna Avenue and Howard Street, Uy said, adding that about eight more farmers markets will be developed through next summer.
In a celebration of the work of children in a summer enrichment project, a nonprofit community outreach center in Tioga is hosting a "Block Extravaganza," featuring a water slide, a moon bounce, barbecue and face painting. On Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Mercy Neighborhood Ministries of Philadelphia, will host the event in the 1900 block of Venango Street. Executive Director Sister Ann Provost, said the fourth annual celebration is a way to honor the 190 children in the group's summer enrichment program, their parents and the Tioga community. "The Block Extravaganza is for our children, for our families and for our neighborhood, an opportunity to come together to support the children and to have a positive experience for our neighbors and our seniors," said Sister Ann. "It's a family event in one way in that a lot of parents will come out. They know it's a fun day for their children. Our neighbors come out." Mercy Neighborhood Ministries operates, the Mercy Family Center, which provides educational programs and day care for children, adults, and seniors, in a renovated warehouse at 1939 W. Venango St., which has been converted to a "green building." It's goals are to meet the needs of the poor in the community, especially women, children, and those with special needs.
To promote a lively discussion of race relations in Philadelphia and America, a nonprofit group is hosting it's second annual "Beer Summit". On Friday, Global Citizen, a nonprofit group dedicated to civic engagement and community volunteering, is hosting the event, free and open to the public, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Mace's Crossing, a lounge at 1714 Cherry Streets in Center City. "We’re doing this because there is an obvious continuation in our nation of divisiveness among people of different backgrounds and experiences," said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen, which is organizing the gathering. "While we certainly made fundamental progress through the years through legal remedies, we still have a chasm where people see many things differently." Bernstein, the founder of the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service / MLK365, said last years' summit drew a diverse crowd from throughout Philadelphia. "We're trying to pull people together from all neighborhoods in the city", said Bernstein. He said the event will begin with an hour of free discussion and that he and another panalist will facilitate a group discussion on "how we can all overcome the barriers that threaten to divide us." For more information call 215-665-2595.
New Year's Eve 2010 glasses, red, white, and blue Wawa Welcome America hats, and colonial clothing were all part of the public’s attire at Wawa Welcome America's Dietz & Watson Hot Dog Day at Independence Mall.
A swarm of people mingled with 18th Century citizens Friday afternoon outside the Independence Visitor Center while others waited in line for a free hotdog.
As Dietz & Watson fed the crowds, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, fife drummers and other Colonial impersonators welcomed the public - both on the lawn and on a stage where the actors spoke of the Constitution.
Steve Riley, Dietz & Watson marketing director, said he expected the hot dog feast to be "twice as packed" by afternoon. The hot dog giveaway allowed Dietz & Watson to give thanks to Philadelphia, which has been the company's best customer for 70 years, Riley said.
"It's a beautiful town, beautiful city, but you have to explain to me, what is Wawa?" asked Neal Manly, 43, a Washington state resident on vacation who waited in line for hot dogs with his family.
Manly explained the state of Washington does not have Wawa stores.
Locals expressed their love for the city's festivities and the importance of "the remembrance of what this country was founded on, the recognition of what we stood for and what we stand for," John Nye, 28, said.
Sly Fisher, 53, a military veteran and Philadelphia resident, said he "enjoys the fact that we celebrate America's birth 234 years ago... I love barbeques, good old fashioned cookouts and a good hot dog now and then."
Painting alongside children and parents beside the Mural Arts Program tent, artist Eric Okdeh said the celebration was a chance to "get to have a lot of people have their hands in your work."
When finished, the large mural that Okdeh and the public painted will be mounted onto a wall at the courtyard in City Hall in the beginning of September.
In North Philadelphia, tomorrow evening, a group of tried souls will gather for a candlelight vigil to remember loved ones and friends lost to HIV/AIDS.
Organized by the longtime recovery program One Day at a Time, the theme is "A State of Emergency." The idea categorizes the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the north central section of the city, where the program, founded by the Rev. Henry T. Wells some 27 years ago, primarily operates.
In his younger days, Wells was a drug addict. After he got clean, he set up ODAAT in his North Philadelphia home, to provide others with a path to recovery.
Now, out of its office near 24th and Lehigh, the site for tomorrow’s vigil, the group has 80 employees who help 2,500 residential clients with drug and alcohol counseling, homeless-shelter services, GED tutoring, parenting classes and HIV outreach programs.
In Philadelphia, HIV rates are five times the national average, according to the CDC.
In October 2008, the Inquirer reported that an estimated 1,400 Philadelphians are newly infected each year - on top of the more than 16,000 who are living with HIV or AIDS. And those who do not realize they have been infected are believed responsible for an outsized portion of new cases.
More than half of new infections are passed through heterosexual contact, a third are the result of men having sex with men, and just 13 percent occur from drug addicts sharing dirty needles.
Tomorrow’s vigil begins at 6 pm. There will also be speakers, refreshments, giveaways, and musical entertainment.
Says ODAAT’s president Mel Wells: "As HIV/AIDS ravages our community, while funding for prevention and care is slashed, it is important … to raise awareness about the continued prevalence of HIV, and to honor those who have lost the fight against this disease."
Kia Gregory is a staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She's a proud native of the city and an alumna of Temple University. Contact Kia by e-mail by clicking here, or by phone at 215-854-2601.
Vernon Clark, a staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, has reported extensively neighborhood issues in North and Northwest Philadelphia. Vernon has also been an editor for the Inquirer and has worked as an editor and writer at the Boston Globe and Akron Beacon Journal. Contact Vernon by e-mail by clicking here, or by phone at 215-854-5717.
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