The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 24, 2016

HYPERLOCAL DONE DIFFERENTLY

FISHTOWN + KENSINGTON + NORTHERN LIBERTIES + PORT RICHMOND + BRIDESBURG

THIS

WEEKFEBRUARY 24, 2016

VOL. 13NO. 08

PRESS

HOTOFF THE

FABA & PTSSD

5

Grant money given to local business association to aid

in various initiatives.

MUSIC ROW

8

Local band interviews and concert previews.

CLEAN PLATE

11

Recipe for Easy Vanilla Pudding.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

16

South Kensington build-up continues with new

housing development on N. 2nd St.

DAVID OH

6

Councilman becomes first Republican to sign pledge

to combat Islamophobic bigotry.

LA COLOMBE

7

A new way to drink coffee is coming your way in

March.

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S – F R E E P U B L I C AT I O N – P I C K O N E U P !

When I first began attending college, I was essentially a squatter. I wasn’t the kind of squatter who posted up in abandoned buildings, but rather the type that would pass out for a quick nap in my car between classes in the park-

ing garage, or the type who would buy a friend some beer to sleep on their couch. But after a full semester of that rugged lifestyle, I put down my roots in Philadelphia. I haven’t looked away since. Evil Genius Brewery — soon to be located at 1728 N. Front Street, right under the El — has, up until now, also existed without a true place to call home. “For four years we haven’t even been able to invite people into our home where we make our beers. We’re excited about having that and sharing it with a community that’s ready to accept it,” Jon Defibaugh said. He was brought on by co-founders Luke Bowen and Trevor Hayward to design their brand new brewery. Evil Genius Brewing has been brewing beer since 2008. Bowen and Hayward met at Villanova University, where they were both taking an ac-counting class. Their mutual affinity for craft beer turned into a career when they began brewing beer by renting space at other breweries. They traveled around, not exactly squatting, at breweries in Indiana and New York before arriving at their current space, Thomas Hooker Brewing

Company in Hartford, CT. When the time came to open a brick and mor-tar brewery, the owners were very interested in returning to the Philadel-phia area. Defibaugh, a Port Richmond resident, encouraged his partners to look at spaces in Fishtown and Kensington. After some searching and speculation on where future development may occur, the group found one of the last 6000 square foot buildings for sale in South Kensington. They plan on opening an enormous brewery and restaurant with plans to turn the lot next door into a beer garden that will rival the size of Frankford Hall. “We are going to be the newest members of the neighborhood,” Bowen said. “We’re building a production brewery and beer hall and were really excited to get it open.” According to Bowen, the brewery will have a 15 barrel system for aging their special brews. He also wants the brewery to integrate art, music and even food trucks. They’re still going to use Thomas Hooker Brewing Com-pany to make their keg beers and bottles, but the Kensington location will feature brews only available on the premises. “The [Riverwards] location will be a lot of draft only, exclusive beer,” De-fibaugh said. They hope to have about eight beers on tap, most of which

A LAB FITFOR ANEVIL GENIUS

Craft Brewery Will Call Kensington Its New Home This Summer

Written by Ptah Gabrie

E

Continued on Page 10.

Page 2 The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 24, 2016

THOM NICKELS

IS A PHILADELPHIA BASED AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, POET, FILM CRITIC &

FEATURE WRITER FOR SPIRIT NEWS.

local lensT H E

Does God have a political bias? This age old question can be read in the old antiwar song, “With God on Our Side.” But does God really care whether Donald Trump or Bernie Sand-

ers will be the next president of the United States? Naturally, the answer to this question depends on who you ask. Believers with firm political beliefs — whether it’s helping the poor through something called Democratic So-cialism or guarding the nation’s ‘soul’ by outlawing abor-tion — see God “blessing” as their particular point of view. The ‘God politics’ roulette players remind me of die-hard sports fans who pray to God to help their team win, as if God really cares about home runs, touchdowns and whether Pete Rose should be inducted into the Hall of Fame (he should). Mostly, I think, we are an ailing society that has lost its moorings, especially when it comes to the-ology and religion. We fashion an idea of God to suit our beliefs and sometimes cannot imagine a creator outside that comfortable framework. The unbelievers among us cite ethics as their code of conduct, which I suppose is bet-ter than oozing through life with a self-serving amorality. Whatever our faith, this much is true: There should be a certain level of respect for all people, even for those with whom we disagree and find objectionable. I’m thinking of the heated vitriol after the death of Jus-tice Scalia. Scalia was not someone I agreed with very of-ten. After his death, I thought, “His judicial opinions have now been archived into the annals of history. The Scalia era is over… let’s move on.” Put another way: disagree with him politically, but don’t drag the man through mud and infamy or go to the extreme lengths that some went to on Facebook, which is to say that they offered the idea that if an accidental death hadn’t taken him, they would have gladly been there with an extra pillow to usher it along. Others on social media delivered more benign attacks: “I’m dancing on his grave,” “Ding dong the witch is dead” and “Yippee!” were posted onto the news streams of Face-book’s many users. Our culture has become so fiercely partisan that some even said that President Obama had Scalia snuffed out. Another Scalia hater wrote that the Justice now knows “the truth” and is “in shock,” presumably because he has discovered that God does not share his legal opinions or philosophy. Scalia, the presumption went, is currently be-ing given after-life instructions on the tenets of non-reac-tionary political philosophy. I had to read this post twice to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me, but the implication was there for all to read: God is a political liberal. God is Pro-Choice, loves Bernie Sanders, and more! Behind the ethereal veil, Scalia is now a liberal Democrat. This pop theology sauerkraut is just as bad as comments from fanatical evangelicals who claim that people who die on “the wrong side of the moral fence” are suffering in hell. This means that all pro-choice feminists are burning up like Home Depot Duraflame firelogs, that writers like Susan Sontag, vilified after her death because of her New Yorker 9/11 essay and because she called the “white race the cancer of human history,” is straddling hot coals in a lake of fire. When Susan Atkins, one of the Manson killers, died in 2009, the “you’re going to hell” people couldn’t wait to gleefully write that the killer of Sharon Tate and her un-

born baby was now roasting like a chicken in hell. These hardcore “no forgiveness” people said this despite the fact that for the last 30 years of her life, Atkins had turned her life around and had become, at least according to prison records, “a model Christian.” Some hardcore evangelicals have a Celebrities in Hell list they like to share on YouTube and other social media. Some of the unlucky roasters include:

Michael JacksonJohn Lennon

SelenaPrincess Diana

Whitney HoustonAmy Winehouse

Kurt Cobain

What’s missing here is the story of the Good Thief who was crucified next to Christ. Now, the Good Thief’s life of crime probably included some heinous crimes, a life as deadly and treacherous as the most despicable criminal one might read about on Philly.com. Despite this, with just five words — “Lord, remember me in your kingdom” — all this was wiped away by the forgiveness of God. I need not remind readers how the Good Thief was answered, but it was not what we hear today among those who pretend to speak for the one on the cross. You have to love the old saying “man’s justice is not God’s mercy,” meaning that God is much more merciful than man. Humankind is tougher and always less forgiving than God. Which brings me back to those Facebook com-ments about dancing on Scalia’s grave. I beleive the only time that dancing on a grave would ever be appropriate would be if the dancer knew for a fact that they would never die. Then the dancing could really be a cheerful victory prance. Not to mention that even saying that you’re going to dance on someone’s grave opens up (at least for me) a superstitious feeling that somewhere down the line someone would dance on your grave just as “you” danced on Scalia’s. All this partisan hatred got me thinking about political fanaticism and its roots in history, especially Russian history. I’m thinking of the time of the last Tsars, when student uprisings were common in cities like St. Peters-burg and when students vying for a revolution were ready to die for their point of view. In 1868, for instance, a well known Russian radical writer, Petr Tkachev, who came from a wealthy family, was in and out of tsarist prisons and dreamed of the day when a revolution would destroy people like his parents. “Only people under twenty-five are capable of self-sac-rifice,” he wrote, “and therefore everyone over that age should be killed for the good of society.” This is how far extreme partisanship can take us. A popular book in Russia at this time was Catechism for the Revolutionary by a man named Bakunin. Bakunin wrote: “The revolutionary was a doomed man. He has no inter-ests of his own, no work, no feelings, no ties, no property, not even a name. Everything is subsumed by a single, ex-clusive interest, a single thought, a single passion — rev-olution… He is for anything that promotes the triumph of the revolution. Anything that hinders it is immoral and

criminal.” There were shades of this in our country in late 1960s during the Vietnam War, when some student radicals and activists were actually planning a complete overhaul of the U.S. government. Many decent protest of the Vietnam War were hijacked by radicals (like the Students for a Demo-cratic Society) who wanted a violent second American rev-olution. Bakunin writes that Russia at that time was filled with “young fanatics who know no doubts, who fear nothing… They are believers without God, heroes without rhetoric.” People in pre-1917 Russia danced on the graves of their political enemies after assassinating them. Partisan pol-itics became the new religion and even gave birth to the idea of a suicide bomber. The birth of the suicide bomber or terrorist occurred when a man named Alexander Solo-vyov shot Tsar Alexander II five times during his morning walk. Solovyov, who was a bad shot, missed and went on to kill himself by chewing a nut with cyanide in it. But the cy-anide had deteriorated, so he lived to be hanged although at the gallows he refused absolution from a priest saying he didn’t believe in God. The only God for Solovyov was partisan politics and revo-lution. Of course that revolution failed. Perhaps there’s a lesson here. ·

book reviewW R I T T E N B Y M A R I T A K R I V D A P O X O N

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Page 3The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 24, 2016

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book reviewW R I T T E N B Y M A R I T A K R I V D A P O X O N

T H O M N I C K E L S ’ L I T E R A R Y P H I L A D E L P H I A

Thom Nickel’s latest book “Literary Philadel-phia” profiles centuries of Philadelphia’s most well-known writers, revealing quirky and often salaciously intimate details of their lives. Nick-

els spares no one from his list of Philadelphia’s best, in-cluding Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Owen Wister, Christopher Morley and Pearl S. Buck. But the glory of the book is how Nickel’s brings back to life forgotten writers whose literary star has long since fad-ed: Writers like George Lippard, Charles Godfrey Leland, Agnes Repplier and John T. McIntyre. These are writers whose names do not ring a bell for most and who will nev-er be required reading in any American Literature course. However, “Literary Philadelphia” is invaluable to those among us who seek new insights into our city’s famous writers and familiarity with our lost writers. The pub-lished work of the forgotten can offer insights into world-views formerly relegated to the literary dust bin. Nickel’s first chapter, A Bawdy and Unruly City, gets our attention right away when Philadelphia is christened as a “Sin City” filled with licentious bawdy houses and raucous taverns. Nickels makes a case for Thomas Paine and Ben-jamin Franklin as world-class rabble rousers rather than the darlings of the Age of Enlightenment. Writers need not have spent much time in Philadelphia to warrant con-siderable coverage. For example, Louisa May Alcott, born in 1832, lived only two years in Germantown with her fam-ily which is enough for her to make the book. Just visiting Philadelphia got the “Hoosier Poet” James Whitcomb Ri-ley a few paragraphs. Nickels recounts a little known story of Riley’s trip to Lockwood, a Victorian Gothic mansion owned by a wealthy collar manufacturer. Nickels structures his first three chapters chronological-ly, emphasizing prose writers. But poet Walt Whitman gets equal treatment with the 19th Century novelists Charles Brockden Brown and George Lippard. Included are tidbits that keep the reader’s attention like a list of Whitman’s special male friends, one of whom might have been Oscar Wilde. Wilde is purported to have said: “Of course, I have the kiss of Walt Whitman still on my lips.” And who knew that Poe wrote religious poetry including “A Hymn to the Virgin Mary” and even befriended Jesuit Catholic priests. Poe found the priests: “highly cultivated gentlemen and scholars, they smoked and they drank and they played cards, and they never said a word about religion.”

Agnes Repplier has been dubbed the American Jane Aus-ten and has nearly been all but forgotten. Nickels champi-ons her sixty-five year long career and quotes Edith Whar-ton: “There isn’t a writer in the country who hasn’t been trying to achieve the perfection of style of the distinguished Miss Repplier.” In her book “Philadelphia: The Place and the People” she foretells her own future marginalization with the words: “the Quaker City lacked discriminating en-thusiasm for its own children.” On the other hand, Pearl S. Buck, author of seventy books and winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize for her novel The Good Earth, has had nothing but accolades. Nickels describes her Beaux Arts Delancey Street town house replete with Chinese décor. These same furnishings are still preserved at her foundation located on her sixty acre estate in Bucks County. Fame eluded Ag-nes Repplier but sure blessed Pearl S. Buck. The book’s final chapter, Poetdelphia, weakens the suc-cess of the book since its coverage of the contemporary scene is sparse and limited. It reads more like a Who’s Who of today’s hip, trendy writers who are contemporar-ies of Nickels. It is an idiosyncratic choice of today’s best bards. The strength of “Literary Philadelphia” is its first three chapters that weave the narrative of forgotten writers whose achievements are given equal weight alongside the canon of Philadelphia’s greatest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marita Krivda Poxon is a writer and retired academic, re-search librarian. Two of her regional history books are pub-lished along with two shorter books of short stories. She writes regularly for the Irish Edition, a monthly newspaper.·

Thomas F. Stierle – Born September 21, 1976 Died Febru-ary 7, 2016: Suddenly at the age of 39. Beloved son of Ruth and Sam Amery. Dear brother of the late Christoper. Lov-ing uncle of Chris and Emily. He is also survived by many dear aunts, uncles and cousins. ·


accu reggieS E V E N D A Y F O R E C A S T F O R T H E R I V E R W A R D S

T W I T T E R : @ A C C U R E G G I E • F A C E B O O K : A C C U - R E G G I E

Last week was dry and mild. We hit 60 degrees both weekend days as we all enjoyed an early taste of spring. Speaking of spring, you can probably tell that winter is slowly loosening its grip. Now, we

still have a couple bouts of cold to go and even a few more chances for snow, but winter is starting to slip away. This week will feature a lot of volatility. We start the week mild and wet on Wednesday and Thursday, but then we turn sharply colder for Friday and Saturday. We run back into warm weather for Sunday and Monday before turning colder for Tuesday. Basically, it’s warm two days and then cold two days. Up and down, up and down. Winter and

spring are duking it out! Snow chances this week: We could get a snow shower or flurry Thursday evening as the cold air wraps in behind the big storm that will bring tons of rain. The pattern is not fa-vorable for good snow this week. However, I see one or two more shots at significant snow before the winter is toast. Wednesday is a wet and rainy day. It will not be terribly cold or warm. Watch for thunderstorms coming through in the evening and overnight hours with very windy conditions. On Thursday the rain ends, but it turns much colder be-hind the storm. We could see some snow showers thurs-day night.

Saturday is a cool day, but with plenty of sunshine it won’t feel too bad. Sunday marks the beginning of another warming trend as temperatures climb into the middle 50s. Monday features springlike warmth ahead of an Arc-tic front that will bring back chilly air into the region for Tuesday. Showers will accompany the cold front on Monday night. We then watch another big storm come our way, but we will worry about that one later!

The weather winner of the week is Saturday; the weath-er loser is Wednesday. ·

Is there something going on a that’s a little funky in your neighborhood that you want us look into? Have something juicy you want to leak? Know of something fun or interesting

going on that you think we should know about?

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Be Active

Eat Smart

Evaluate Your Risk

Listen to Your Heart

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Here are 5 simple tips to stay on a heart-healthy track:

Be Active - Exercise, Garden, Walk

Eat Smart – Fruits and Veggies Every Day

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Relax - Reduce Stress

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FABA & PTSSDW R I T T E N B Y J O H N H E N R Y S C O T T

G R A N T W I L L PAY F O R P U B L I C S A F E T Y, B U S I N E S S E N G A G E M E N T A N D B U S I N E S S A R E A P R O M O T I O N I N I T I AT I V E S

Change is coming to East Girard. On February 17th, the Fishtown Area Business Association (FABA), through a grant from the Penn Treaty Special Services District (PTSSD),

received funding for several programs aimed at revitaliz-ing the business corridor. From Front Street up to Aramin-go Avenue, East Girard is home to many independently owned establishments such as DiPinto Guitars, Milkcrate Cafe and Lloyd Whiskey Bar. This revitalization effort, focused on increased public safety and beautification, includes the installation of 14 security cameras out front of local businesses on the corridor as well as the construc-tion and installation of 20 decorative planters. The PTSSD awarded FABA $18,960 in grant money as well as a $17,500 promise grant which will be fulfilled once FABA fundrais-es a matching sum. The initial grant will help to cover the cost of the security cameras, which will be registered with the 26th Police Dis-trict. In a letter to the PTSSD, Sergeant John Massi of the 26th voiced his support for the added security saying that “the community has experienced a significant amount of crime along this corridor” and that “we support a unified business structure along this corridor that can assist the 26th District through social media.” Additional support for the cameras comes from a 50 percent matching grant from the Philadelphia Department of Commerce as well as funding from each of the 14 local business owners. The grant will also help fund a series of six networking and workshop events set up by FABA to build relation-ships between new and old business owners, something they believe will strengthen the business community as a whole. The educational workshops will also provide per-tinent information and “hands-on practice” for new and emerging business owners. The first 2016 event will be held Monday, March 7th from 6-9 PM at the Front Street

Cafe (1253 N. Front St.). There is also funding provided for a paid, part-time, mar-keting intern to manage FABA’s social media and web presence. The purpose of the $17,500 promise grant is to fund the beautification portion of the program, the portion which requires the most money. This effort will include the building and installation of 20 planters at 5 inter-sections on East Girard. According to the grant propos-al, FABA “will enlist local artisans to create sturdy, dec-orative planters highlighting the area’s industrial and [re]fab identity.” FABA believes that these planters will help give the corridor a more uniform identity, trans-forming it from a disconnected strip of commerce into a cohesive destination. The grant application was co-sponsored by the New Kens-ington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC).

PENN TREATY SPECIAL SERVICES DISTRICT TO AWARD OVER $20,000 IN GRANTS AT THE MARCH

2016 MEETING

The Penn Treaty Special Services District (Penn Treaty SSD) announced Grants and Sponsorships to the follow-ing recipients:

· Rock to the Future – $13,756 to support their Mobile-Music program partnership with Hacktett School, which offers in-school and summer hands-on guitar lessons for roughly 90 kids in the surrounding area.· Friends of Adaire – $3,500 to support their Time Capsule fundraising event on May 14, 2016, at which a time cap-sule from 1956 will be opened and displayed.· Fishtown Action (FACT) – $3,500 to support their March Easter Party and June Concert in the Park.

· Sister Cities GirlChoir – $3,200 to support their Flagship Saturday Girlchoir program’s 4th Annual Friends and Family Concert event on April 23, 2016 at First Presbyteri-an Church in Kensington.

The awards will be presented at the March 20 meeting. Also announced was the appointment of Stephen Rich-man to the board of The Penn Treaty Special Services Dis-trict, representing the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. Richman is currently the treasurer of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association and has served on the NLNA board of directors for more than four years. The Penn Treaty SSD, incorporated in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) community-based organization that works to enhance the quality of life for residents of the immediate neigh-borhoods surrounding SugarHouse Casino — including Fishtown, South Kensington, Olde Richmond and North-ern Liberties. Funding — which to date has totaled more than $3.5 million — is provided by SugarHouse Casino through an annual donation. Allocation of funds is determined ex-clusively by the Penn Treaty SSD Board through a grant request form and a review process.

For more information on the Penn Treaty Special Services District, or to apply for a grant, visitpenntreatyssd.com ·


David Oh la colombeW R I T T E N B Y M A X P U L C I N I W R I T T E N B Y M A X P U L C I N I

C O U N C I L M A N O H B E C O M E S F I R S T C I T Y R E P U B L I C A N T O S I G N P L E D G E T O C O M B A T I S L A M O P H O B I C B I G O T R Y

On Friday, February 19, State Sen. Art Haywood (D) and Councilman David Oh (R) visited Al-Aqsa Islamic Society (1501 Germantown Ave.) to sign the Arab American Institute’s

Pledge to Combat Bigotry. Councilman Oh became the first Republican in Philadelphia to sign the pledge. The pledge — which has also been signed by folks like former Mayor Michael Nutter, Mayor Jim Kenney and for-mer Governor Ed Rendell — commits its signatories to support civil discourse, to refrain from participating in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim speech or actions and to stand up to those who do. “It’s my honor to present this along with Senator Hey-wood to Marwan Kreidie and to the community,” Coun-cilman Oh said to a packed prayer room at Al-Aqsa. The Councilman shook hands with Kreidie, the Executive Di-rector of the Al-aqsa Islamic Society, and other members of the congregation before signing the document with Senator Heywood. Regarding his party and it’s members, Oh said, “We’re the party of Lincoln. Don’t be afraid to stand for your be-liefs and don’t be afraid to stand with others.” He added, “Everything is about equal rights and process of law. We should not tolerate any type of discriminatory actions and certainly nothing as vile as throwing offensive animal parts at a religious place. I’m proud to be here and I’m proud to represent the many Republicans in our city who stand together with our Muslim community.” Al-Aqsa became the target of an apparent act of Islam-ophobia after a severed pig’s house was found outside of the mosque on December 7, 2015. Following the incident, a “Picnic for Solidarity” was held and more than 350 peo-ple of all faiths and creeds gathered to show their support for those in the local Muslim community. Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program is currently working on a new piece of art at Al Aqsa, entitled “Windows to Peace,” which will feature a painted mural and hundreds of handmade tiles with personal inscriptions from volun-teers and members of the community. ·

(LEFT TO RIGHT) COUNCILMAN DAVID OH, STATE SENATOR ART HEYWOOD AND MARWAN KREIDIE.

OH SIGNS THE ANTI-BIGOTRY PLEDGE, THE FIRST PHILADELPHIA REPUBLICAN TO DO SO.


la colombeW R I T T E N B Y M A X P U L C I N I W R I T T E N B Y M A X P U L C I N I

C O U N C I L M A N O H B E C O M E S F I R S T C I T Y R E P U B L I C A N T O S I G N P L E D G E T O C O M B A T I S L A M O P H O B I C B I G O T R Y F I S H T O W N - B A S E D C O F F E E C O M PA N Y D E B U T I N G C A N N E D D R A F T L A T T E N E X T M O N T H

The dripping, grinding, tamping and frothing — these are all common sounds associated with coffee. But on March 1st, Todd Carmi-chael and La Colombe will be introducing a

new, groundbreaking sound to the world of coffee — the crack-hiss of a can. The Philadelphia-based coffee company is introducing the first ever draft latte — a mix of milk, coffee and com-pressed gas in its liquid form. The result is a textured caf-feinated beverage in a convenient (and innovative) can. Aside from being really, really good looking, the can fea-tures the Innovalve (innovative valve, get it?) on its bottom side, co-developed by La Colombe and Crown packaging. It’s actually quite the science project: Milk and coffee are put in the can before compressed gas, mostly nitrous ox-ide, is injected into the can. When the can is popped, the liquid gas creates bubbles that froth the beverage up, cre-ating the signature texture. The fat content of the milk is regulated in a way to help control the froth, making for an even texture throughout. The can also features a removable plastic lid cap, which Carmichael said was inspired by his wife. It creates a small-er opening for the coffee to our out of the can and into your mouth, further enhancing the texture and taste of the drink. The draft latte is made with rBST-free milk, cold pressed espresso and sweetened with “only a pinch” of cane sugar. And despite having real milk in it, the draft latte has a rec-ommended shelf life of 180 days. La Colombe will begin rolling out canned draft lattes on March 1, 2016. It will hit Philadelphia, online retail and select retailers at first before being rolled out at other La Colombe locations around the country. Cans will be sold in the range of $2.50 each or in four-packs for under $10. This isn’t the first time La Colombe has ventured away from coffee being served in non-traditional ways. The company launched its Pure Black brew in 12oz. bottles in March, 2012. ·

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PACKAGING FOR THE CANNED LA COLOMBE DRAFT LATTE.

HERE ARE THE PLANS OF HOW THE DRAFT LATTE WAS CONCEIVED. SCIENCE!

TODD CARMICHAEL, FOUNDER OF LA COLOMBE.


music rowW R I T T E N B Y J U S T I N H E L M

Y O U R M O N T H LY G U I D E T O L O C A L M U S I C

Local Band Review

Bardus, a Riverwards-based power trio creates walls of fuzzy guitars, strained vocal melodies and powerful drums in their music. If Minor Threat and Neurosis were cross bred by extraterrestrials, the result would be the sludge rock of Bardus. The band members are fans of all things conspiracy, alien and counter-culture and their lyr-ics make that very evident. Since forming in 2011, longtime friends Justin Tuck (gui-tars and vocals) and Kyle Pierce (drums) have helped lay the ever-evolving foundation for the rock scene in Phila-delphia. Tuck and Pierce grew up together in central Pennsylva-nia and have known each other for more than 15 years. As a result of their familiarity with one another, Pierce says that they “share the same ear and brain when it comes to music.” With bassist Ari Rosenberg rounding out the band’s roster, Bardus has achieved a level of controlled, calculated noise rock that can shake a listener’s core. It’s been three years since Bardus released their first re-cord in 2013, titled “Solus.” Having recently signed to Solar Flare Records — a French, musician-run label — Bardus is now busy booking shows up and down the coast in support of their follow-up record, “Stella Porta,” which is eyeing a physical and digital release on April 1, 2016. So far, the new album sounds powerful, full and inspiring. This is thanks in part to Gradwell House, the studio where Bardus record-ed live in one take, adding only guitar and vocal overdubs. You can come see, feel and hear Bardus for yourself when they play The Waiting Room on April 6, 2016. Doors open at 7PM for this all ages show.

Local Show Review

A delightfully eclectic mix of pop punk and indie rock is gracing the stage at Everybody Hits (529 West Girard Ave.) on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 8PM. Featuring a variety of bands from the East Coast, the show will include some heavy hitters from Washington D.C. (The Max Levine Show), several Brooklyn bands (Bellows, Worriers) and, of course, an amazing local act, Thin Lips. Thin Lips is a local band to get excited about. Featur-ing siblings Chrissy Tashjian and Michael Paul Tashjian and the talented Kyle Pulley, the band sounds a bit like Weezer, but with an awesome female singer. The band re-cently had their record, “Divorce Year”, pressed to vinyl by

Philly’s own Lame-O-Records. Moving on to the out-of-towners, The Max Levine Ensem-ble are a DIY punk band from the D.C. metropolitan area. A powerful trio of musicians, the group consists of Da-vid Combs, Ben Epstein and Nick Popovici. Nostalgic for some and just plain fun for most, The Max Levine Ensem-ble are sure to keep you bopping around for the duration of the evening. Bellows began in 2010 when songwriter and producer Oliver Kalb starting recording in college. An intimate and honest experience, Kalb’s music is equal parts humble and beautiful, featuring sparkling arpeggiated chords with layered vocals. Worriers are a punk band from Brooklyn, featuring Mikey Erg, Audrey Zee Whitesides, Lou Hanman and a few oth-er rotating musicians. With a steady discography on Don Giovanni Records, the band will wrap the night up at Ev-erybody Hits ·

Want your band or a local band you love to be spotlight-ed on Music Row? Shoot us an email at [email protected] with the subject line “Music Row.”

FNA / FACT SURVEYC O N T A C T : O B I E 7 2 5 @ A O L . C O M ( F A C T ) A N D I N F O @ F I S H T O W N . O R G ( F N A )

Fishtown Action (FACT) and Fishtown Neigh-bors Association (FNA) are excited to announce a partnership to address safety concerns in the neighborhood. This is a direct result of a Feb.

1, 2016 meeting, when FACT invited the FNA to co host a discussion about crime and safety issues. At that meeting, Councilman Darrell Clarke suggested the creation of a task force to determine what the biggest concerns are and how his office might help address them. “We believe that the attendance of 200 residents at our joint meeting sends a clear message that people are con-cerned,” FACT President Maggie O’Brien said. “We believe that working with FNA on issues that affect our neighbor-hood is imperative. We are one community and we stand united in making Fishtown a neighborhood where all res-idents feel safe.” The next step in this partnership is to get more feedback from everyone in the neighborhood about crime and how the City can assure Fishtowners that our concerns about safety have been heard. Everyone in Fishtown can par-ticipate by taking an anonymous survey about crime in the neighborhood. Fill out the survey online, or at one of several neighborhood businesses, and tell us about your perception of safety in the community. The survey will be available until March 1. ph.ly/saferfishtown FACT and FNA appreciate Councilman Clarke’s involve-ment, and thank him, Councilman Mark Squilla, and Capt. Kappe of the 26th Police District for attending our Feb. 1 meeting and remaining involved in this partner-

ship. “We appreciate Councilman Clarke recognizing that res-idents feel unsafe despite Police Department statistics showing that crime overall is down in the area,” FNA Pres-ident John Consolvo said. “We’re optimistic that the work

of this task force of community partners and the commu-nity survey will result in action to address this.” FACT will host another joint safety meeting with FNA on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 7PM in the Holy Name Church basement. Everyone in the community is invited to attend.

THIN LIPS

BARDUS


This terrier mix is Oskino. He is about 1 year old. Oskino is a smart and attentive boy and already knows some of his basic commands, like “sit”. He also likes to run around and play ball. To meet Oskino in person, please stop by at ACCT, 111 W Hunting Park Ave. If you have any questions, please call (267) 385-3800 and ask for the Lifesaving De-partment or email [email protected].

Animal ID A30595475

meetoskino

Is it a pile of trash, or a piece of art waiting to be made? We want to know your vision. At The Spirit Newspapers, we distribute a lot of copies, but a few always make their way back to us. We’d like

you to help us breathe new life into them with our Upcycle Throwdown.

Using our newspapers as the primary medium, create something new. It can be anything from functional to beautiful, there are no limits. We’ll supply the papers, and you supply the creativity.

The top works will be unveiled during a First Friday event on March 4 at 6 pm hosted by The Sculpture Gym. The event will be in conjunction with Sculpture Gym’s “Black and White” sculpture exhibition.

Send an email to [email protected] to register and we will respond with info on how to get materials, deadlines and dimension requirements. Space is limited so, register early.

What do you see when you look at a stack of old newspapers?

W R I T T E N B Y J U S T I N H E L M

Y O U R M O N T H LY G U I D E T O L O C A L M U S I C

FNA / FACT SURVEYC O N T A C T : O B I E 7 2 5 @ A O L . C O M ( F A C T ) A N D I N F O @ F I S H T O W N . O R G ( F N A )

THIN LIPS


clean plateW R I T T E N B Y C A S E Y A N N B E C K

R E C I P E F O R E A S Y V A N I L L A P U D D I N G

will be rotating. Their beers are playfully named after 90s pop culture references, like Chickety China the Chinese Chicken Fresh Hop IPA (a nod to “One Week” by Bare-naked Ladies) and Stacy’s Mom IPA (named after Foun-tains of Wayne’s hit by the same name). “The idea is very serious beer with very silly names,” Defibaugh said. They’re currently looking at a wide scope of food options right now, but they want to keep it simple while they focus on their beers. According to Defibaugh, they are going to have a small kitchen, but he says they are very interested in working together with nearby restaurants to have them provide food that can be served with minimal prepara-tion. “I feel like The (Good Spoon) Soupery right down the street could be a good option,” Defibaugh said. Spirit News was granted exclusive access to the space ear-lier this winter. The post industrial building has been unoccupied for approximately four to five years. The interior is split into two large rooms, both with very high ceilings. An old me-chanical lift hangs from wall to wall, well above the floor, and is eerily reminiscent of a time when Kensington was booming with manufacturing jobs. The carriage house in the rear is filled with random discarded items and the roof has collapsed onto everything, so there will be a lot of work to turn the space around. According to Defibaugh, Evil Genius wants to preserve the building’s historic industrial feel, but also utilize the space for indoor plants and green concepts to enhance the overall experience and functionality of the brewery. Defibaugh anticipates that the initial opening will bring about 10-12 jobs to the area, but he believes they will need to hire more people to staff their kitchen once it is up and running. He hopes that the Brewery will open its doors this summer. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of people to a new part of Kensington that they haven’t been to yet,” Defibaugh said. Defibaugh pointed out that the lot across the street had

recently been purchased, as well as the building next to them, so he feels that section of Front Street will experi-ence a major change in the immediate future. “Everyone

just goes to that one little corner of Frankford and Girard, but we have a huge neighborhood with a ton of spots,” Defibaugh said. ·

Continued from Page 1.

THIS DANGLING CHAIN IS ONE OF THE LAST REMNANTS OF INDUSTRY IN WHAT IS ABOUT TO BECOME A BRAND NEW BREWERY. THE ACTUAL BREWING WILL TAKE PLACE ON THIS SIDE OF THE BUILDING.

LUKE BOWEN, LEFT, AND JON DEFIBAUGH, RIGHT, ARE PLANNING TO OPEN A PRODUC-TION BREWERY WITH A PUB AND A BEER GARDEN THIS SUMMER.

THE DILAPIDATED SHACK IN THE BACK-GROUND IS THE ONLY REMNANT OF THE PREVIOUS USED CAR LOT. THIS WILL ALL BE A BEER GARDEN.

EVIL GENIUS BREWING IS BREATHING SOME NEW LIFE ALONG THIS PART OF THE FRONT ST. CORRIDOR. THE BREWERY PLANS ON BRINGING 10-12 IMMEDIATE JOB OPENINGS./ PHOTOS BY JORDYN CORDNER


clean plateW R I T T E N B Y C A S E Y A N N B E C K

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My parents generously took Joey for a sleepover last weekend, so my husband and I did what any couple would do — we caught up on some much needed sleep.

And though I missed the baby once I came of out the haze of a glorious, full night of slumber, I realize how import-ant it is for Joey to spend time with family without mom and dad always being there. Additionally, my parents were so delighted to have him stay over. A few days beforehand, my mom made a special trip to the grocery store to pick up some slumber party snacks. In response to Joey’s newfound skills with the spoon and a set of sensitive gums from teething, she thought he might be a fan of pudding; after checking out the ingredients on a box of the instant variety, though, she decided against it. Surprisingly, something so simple is filled with artificial flavors, dyes, and things I can’t even pronounce. Though it may not be as easy as boxed, powdered mix, homemade pudding recipes are actually pretty basic. And when you consider both take time to chill and set, it’s not as if you can devour the former any sooner than the latter. Easy homemade vanilla pudding calls for the essentials of baking: milk, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla. Add a little cornstarch to help thicken things up and you’ve got a far better version than any of the powdered stuff.

Easy Vanilla Pudding RecipeFrom Chowhound

1/3 cup granulated sugar2 tablespoons cornstarch¼ teaspoon fine salt2 ¼ cups whole milk3 large egg yolks3 tablespoons unsalted butter2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place a mesh strainer over a large bowl and set aside. Com-bine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk until incorporated. While constantly whisking, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup of the milk until smooth. Whisk

in the egg yolks and remaining milk. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking often, until the pudding begins to thicken and just starts to bubble, about 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and switch to a rubber spatula. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the pudding makes visible rib-bons when drizzled over the surface, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract until the butter is melted and completely incorpo-rated. Pour the pudding through the prepared strainer. Lightly press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 2 hours. ·

Eye on CrimeW R I T T E N B Y T H O M A S B E C K

T H E F T A T L O C A L C O N S T R U C T I O N S I T E S

Four incidents of larceny occurred between Tues-day, February 2, 2016 and Monday, February 8, 2016 at construction sites in the 24th and 26th districts of Philadelphia. The three unidentified

suspects have been described as thin, white males, wear-ing dark face masks. Surveillance footage from one loca-tion captured them departing in a dark colored Nissan Frontier with a self made wooden rack situated on top. The first incident occurred on the afternoon of February

2. Two individuals entered a construction site located at 2426 Frankford Avenue and absconded with more than a dozen panels of metal fencing (priced at over $1000). The next morning, two unknown males stole 14 12-foot panels of metal fencing from a site at 1601 North Front St. The third incident occurred on Sunday, February 7. A trio of suspects purloined three panels of metal fencing, 20 sheets of plywood and sixty pieces of lumber from a site at 1830 Frankford Avenue. The fourth incident occurred

early the following morning. The robbers took eight more panels of metal fencing (priced at approximately $4000) from a site at 3551 Aramingo Avenue. Anyone with information regarding this string of robber-ies is strongly urged to contact the Northeast Detective Division. The number is 215-686-3153. You may also con-fidentially submit a tip via telephone (215-686-8477), text (773847) or online. ·


MEETINGS

CALENDARC O M M U N I T Y

N E W S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A A V E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6

EVENTS

NKCDC OPEN OFFICE HOURSNKCDC is hosting open office hours in the 19134 zip code at two locations. They will be at the Firm Hope Bap-tist Church on Tulip and Auburn Streets every second Wednesday of the month from 4-7PM. They will assist you with signing up for benefits like SNAP, connecting to housing counselors for any housing needs, rent and prop-erty tax rebates, food referrals, health insurance and safe-ty or quality of life issues in your community. For further information contact Tess at [email protected] or 215-427-0350 x 139.

AL-ANON AT HOLY NAME CHURCH HALLMeetings are held every Monday night from 7-8PM at Holy Name Church Hall at 701 Gaul Street. Anything shared at a meeting stays there and everyone is welcome to attend. Al-Anon meetings are free, anonymous and confidential.

Thursday, February 25BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE MEETINGThe Beautification Committee is a group of local volun-teers dedicated to making Fishtown a more beautiful place to live. We are looking for new members to share in our vision, bring new ideas and help us to grow through community outreach, neighborhood cleanups, and a number of other projects and activities throughout the year! For more information or to share your ideas, please join us at our next meeting. The meeting will take place at the Fishtown Rec Center (1202 E Montgomery Ave) at 6:30PM.

Thursday, February 25FRIENDS OF H.A. BROWN FEBRUARY MEETINGOur meetings are open to all who are interested in learn-ing more about H.A. Brown Elementary.At this month’s meeting we’ll be discussing opportunities to get in to see the school and meet the staff, volunteer dates and fundraising events. The meeting will take place at Liberty Choice 1939 N Front St. from 7-8PM.

Saturday, February 27MEET AND GREETNorth Philadelphia Health System, Goldman Clinic pride ourselves on being “good neighbors”. This quarterly Meet and Greet will be held at a new location. The purpose of this meeting is to continue our exploration of how we can collaborate to serve the community and to give you an op-portunity to see were we are at. We asked that community, businesses leaders, district leaders, and home association as well as political leaders meet with us at 12PM at the North Philadelphia Health System, located at 801 West Gi-rard Ave., in the Main Building Cafeteria. This quarter we will present a speaker “Anthony’s Mom” who will be shar-ing her story.Light refreshments will be served. For more information call 215-787-2361 or e-mail [email protected].

Tuesday, March 1SKCP ELECTIONElect your new South Kensington Neighborhood Adviso-ry Committee members for 2016-17. The Neighborhood Advisory Committee is a group of dedicated volunteers who help facilitate public outreach and connect neigh-borhood residents with city services. The event will take place at 1301 N 2nd St. starting at 6:30PM.

Tuesday, March 1FNA ZONING MEETINGThis FNA Zoning Meeting will regard 1127 Leopard St – Proposal for the demolition of an existing structure and the erection of a single family home with a 1-car garage. This meeting will take place at the Fishtown Rec Center, 1202 E Montgomery Ave. at 7PM. All residents and busi-ness owners in Fishtown are eligible to vote. Please bring proof of residence or business ownership in the form of a driver’s license or a photo id and a lease, utility bill, or recent piece of mail addressed to your home or business.

Thursday, March 6HARROWGATE CIVIC MEETINGThe meeting will have a neighborhood update, a Town Watch update, a Friends of Harrowgate Park update as well as 24th District update and statistics. It will take place at the Heitzman Recreation Center, 3631 Amber St., at 6PM.

Saturday, March 9 NLNA MEETING ON 5TH ST TRAFFIC & SAFETYJoin representatives from Council President Darrell Clarke’s office, the Streets Dept. and the Planning Com-mission to discuss traffic issues on 5th St and other areas. NL Community Center (3rd & Fairmount), 7PM. The focus will be on 5th St., but other areas will come up as well. RSVP not required and is open to all.

Wednesday, March 16FNA MEMBER MEETING Please save the date for the next FNA member meeting. We will be planning for the future of FNA and hope you can join us. More details will be released soon. The mem-ber meeting will take place at the Fishtown Rec Center, 1202 E Montgomery Ave.

APPLY FOR A STREET TREEApply with Philly Tree People for Spring 2016 planting at phillytreepeople.org. Philly Tree People beautifies the neighborhood by bringing tree coverage to the streets of East Kensington, Kensington and Fishtown.

Wednesday, February 24NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON PROGRAMDo you want a safer, cleaner neighborhood? The Neigh-borhood Liaison Program empowers citizens and unifies communities, improves communities, and gives you a personal account to communicate directly with Philly311 through your smartphone or home computer. Month-ly training is provided on the last Wednesdays of each month at 990 Spring Garden St. Suite 300 from 6-8PM.For more information contact Daniel Ramos at [email protected] or 215-685-3911.

Thursday, February 24FRIENDS OF ADAIRE HAPPY HOURThis happy hour will take place at Starboard Side Tavern, 2500 E Norris St. Come on out to our family-friendly fund-raiser for our work and Adaire. The event will run from 5-8PM.

Wednesday, February 24A NIGHT WITH PERRI SHAW BORISHPregnancy and Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders affect the whole family. Remember that you and your fam-ily members will get through this with help and support. It can be confusing and scary to watch people you love suf-fering during what we’re told is supposed to be a joyous time. This group is designed to provide help and support to family and friends that are caring for a loved one suffer-ing from postpartum or who are concerned about a loved one. Come join us so you can get the support you need to help support the people you love. Group requires a mini-mum of 5 people to run and will run from 6:30-7:30PM. Please RSVP to [email protected]

Saturday, February 26KOMBUCHA FERMENTATION WORKSHOPAmanda Feifer, fermenting enthusiast behind phickle.com comes to the Greensgrow Community Kitchen to talk cultures and tea in this workshop on the ubiquitous and sometimes magical brew, Kombucha. You’ll learn the process for making this brew and techniques for adding flavor and fizz. Registration is required. For more information and to register, visit greensgrow.org.

Saturday, February 26SUMMER CSA SIGN UP STARTSFind out more about the Greensgrow CSA and become a member. Support local farms and producer, reduce your carbon footprint and enjoy the region’s best produce from May through November. For more information visit greensgrow.org/csa.

Saturday, February 27VOLUNTEER DAYJoin us for our first community workday of the year! We need help at our farm in Kensington with; cleaning out beds, organizing product, mulching, and weeding. Come for breakfast at 9AM and then spend the day getting your hands dirty. We’ll provide lunch. Registration is required.Email [email protected] for more information.

Saturday, February 27DESIGNER BAG BINGOFriends of MDG will host a Designer Bag Bingo at MDG Church Hall, located at 2918 E. Thompson St. Tickets are $30 each. There will be more than 10 chances to win! Doors open at 6PM and games will begin at 7PM.For more information and/or to purchase tickets please con-tact Chris Yancer at 267-688-9470, Frank Valentino at 267-408-4926 or Joe/Claire Briscella at 215-680-1870.

Saturday, February 27WINTER WARMERSThe Philly Homebrew Club presents it annual chili cookoff and homebrew festival. It will take place at the Skybox Event Center at 2424 E York St. from 4-7PM. For more information visit phillyHBC.org.

Saturday, February 27CLEAN UP DAYHelp the Friends of H.A. Brown spruce up the school by painting hallways, stairwells, and classrooms. H.A. Brown Elementary is located at 1946 E Sergeant St. The clean up will take place from 10AM-12PM.

Monday, February 29IMPROV UNDER THE EL: BENEFIT FOR TJ REILLY AND MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATIONIt’s that time again – your bi-monthly dose of comedy up north. This month is a very special show. We’re raising money to benefit both the family of TJ Reilly, a 12 year old boy who recently lost the fight with an extremely rare form of brain cancer called Gliomatosis Cerebri and Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, N Delaware & Susquehanna Valley. The show is $5 at the door (or more if you want to donate more to the cause). Doors open at 7:30PM and the show runs from 8-10PM The event is BYOB and no one will be admitted after 8:45PM.

Wednesday, March 2NORTHERN COMEDIESOur last three shows have been standing room only. If you haven’t been to a Northern Comedies yet, make this one the one you attend. The lineup is insane. Get there early to get your spot in the crowd. As always, there will be de-licious food, drink specials, and no cover. The event runs from 9-11PM.

Thursday, March 3CONNECTION THROUGH CREATIVITYExperience and learn interactive arts-based activities, games and rituals to foster community, connection and teamwork within your staff and/or classroom. $150 per person and lunch is included. The workshop takes place at Oxford Mills Center for Educational Excellence (100 W. Oxford St.) from 11AM-4PM.For more information and to register, visit TheArtWell.org.

LEGO ROBOTICS CLASSTake off on a robotics adventure featuring LEGO® models with working motors and sensors! Work in teams under guided instructions to build & program your models for a fun adventure and build a different model each class! Learning is enhanced through use of laptops. This class will meet on Saturday, March 5, 12 and 19 and is great for kids ages about 6-10 years old. The class will take place at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1542 E Montgomery Ave.For more information visit philly.snapology.com or email [email protected].

American Legion Post 152 is hosting a trip to Resorts Casino on Wednesday, March 15th.

Total trip is $26 dollars. Each attendant with receive a $25.00 voucher

The bus will depart from 3524 Thompson St. be-tween Tioga & Venango St. (left side of street)

at 11:30 am and will return at 8:30 pm.To reserve your space, call Walt at 215-426-1056.

RESORTSCASINO TRIP


CHILDREN

seniors

sign ups

Saturday, March 5REPAIR FAIR #7Break out of the winter doldrums and bring something to the Repair Fair on March 5. The Philly Fixers Guild will help you learn to troubleshoot and mend/fix anything you can carry in, free of charge. Spread the word; we want to help our community become more self-sufficient. The event is held at Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, 1834 Frank-ford Ave., from 10AM-2PM.

Sunday, March 6THE SEWING CIRCLE OF PHILADELPHIAThe Sewing Circle of Philadelphia seeks to develop a tight knit community, which impacts its surrounding com-munity in creative and contributory ways. Nurturing the talent, resources, and relationships of the Coral Street Arts House (2446 Coral Street), we continually strive to strengthen our inner circle while expanding our circle’s outside influence and collaboration with community members, organizations, and local businesses. The meet-ing will take place at 2:45PM. RSVP with Scott at [email protected] or 215-990-5150.

Sunday, March 6VALLEY FORGE CASINO TRIPThe Ladies of Port Richmond are hosting a bus trip to the Valley Forge Casino. The proceeds will go towards breast cancer research. The cost is $35, but you will receive $25 in slot plays. All money is due in advance. The bus will de-part from Campbell Square at 11:30AM. For more information call Marylou at 215-427-3222 or Ma-rie at 215-423-3414.

Saturday, March 12SPRING CRAFT FAIR St. Anne’s Senior Community Center, 2607 E. Cumber-land St., is hosting a Spring Craft Fair from 10AM-2PM. Multiple vendors will have a wide array of unique hand-crafted gifts and merchandise. Artisans and crafters of all ages are welcome to participate in this event. Please contact the center if you would like to learn more about reserving a space.For more information or to reserve a space, call St. Anne’s Se-nior Center at 215-426-9799.

Sunday, March 13ALL CASH PRIZE BINGOSt. John Cantius Parish in Bridesburg will host an All Cash Prize Bingo. $30 includes a buffet lunch and 10 regular games. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Chances for baskets, 50/50, and special prizes will be available. Doors open at 12:30PM. Bingo starts at 2:00PM. For more information call 215-535-6667.

Sunday, March 13CHINESE AUCTIONThe Bridesburg Recreation Center (4625 Richmond St.) presents its 15th Annual Chinese Auction. Doors open at 11AM and drawings start at 2PM. The entrance donation is $2, and additional (on floor) drawing tickets cost $5 or 26, and premium, on-stage tickets cost $1 each or 6 for $5. The kitchen will be open. Bring the family and have a great time. For more information call 215-685-1247.

Thursday, March 17THE PHILLY PUFF WORKSHOPCall for Artists! Registration is now open for The Philly Puff, Portside Arts Center’s Annual inflatable sculpture contest! Portside is holding a workshop where you can learn everything you’ll need to know about creating inflat-able art. The workshop will take place at 2531 E. Lehigh Ave from 6-8PM.For more information visit PortsideArtsCenter.org.

Friday, March 18NL VARIETY SHOWIt’s the famous, notorious, don’t-call-it-a-talent-show Northern Liberties Variety Show! Music, dance, comedy and the indescribable - a can’t-miss night at Johnny Bren-da’s (Frankford & Girard). Tickets at this Johnny Brenda’s web page. Want to perform? Contact Katrina at [email protected]. Event is 21+ only. Doors open at 7PM and the show starts at 8PM. Proceeds benefit NLArts.

Friday, March 18 MARCH MADNESS ACADEMIC COMPETITIONJoin us for the 15th Annual Fishtown March Madness Academic Competition at Shissler Rec Center. Hundreds of local grade school students will square off in a stun-ning display of smarts all formatted like the NCAA Bas-ketball Tournament. Winners advance to the Final Four and Championships while their classmates cheer them on. The event is generously sponsored by the Penn Trea-ty SSD and has grown into the largest community-based academic event in Philadelphia. We will also honor our

Fishtown Teachers of the Year and present the Joseph M. Minarik Memorial Educator of the Year Award. This year, we are dedicating the event to the memory of Tim Bres-lin, a neighborhood volunteer, father, coach and husband who was instrumental in creating the SSD and served on its board for many years. We have chosen to dedicate our citizenship award, which will be given to a student from each participating school, in his name. The competition will take place at 3:30PM.If you would like to sponsor of volunteer to ask questions or keep score at the event, [email protected].

Saturday, March 19EASTER EGG HUNTThe Friends of Penn Treaty Park are hosting an Easter egg hunt at 11AM. It will take place in the beautiful and his-toric Penn Treaty Park, located at Delaware and Colum-bia Avenues. Don’t forget to bring a basket or bag for your eggs.

Saturday, March 19STORYUP!In partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia, we’re bringing free family shows to neighborhoods all over the city. Join us for a unique adventure each month as improvisational actors present an interactive show based on ideas and stories from the child audience, with the kids taking part all the way! Recommended for ages five and up. The event takes place from 11Am-12PM at the Fishtown Community Library at 1217 E Montgomery Ave. Visit storyupphilly.com for more information about other free show dates and locations.

Saturday, March 19 INTRODUCTION TO PRESERVINGJoin local cookbook author Marisa McClellan for an intro-ductory workshop on preserving with honey, maple, fruit juice concentrates, and more. This is a great workshop for anyone looking to reduce their refined sugar intake. In this hands on workshop, participants will help prep and preserve a batch of pear jam, sweetened with honey. Marisa will also demonstrate how to make a small batch of fruit juice sweetened blueberry jam. Everyone will get a jar of Pear Honey Vanilla Jam to take home. The workshop runs from 12-2PM and registration is required.For more information and to register, visit greensgrow.org.

Monday, March 29VIETNAM WAR COMMEMORATION PROGRAMThe Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support in Phila-delphia, PA is looking to inform local Vietnam veterans about an event in which they would be honored for their service. This is a free event open to the public. Vietnam War veterans and their families are welcome to attend. The event takes place at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory at 2700 Southampton Rd.For more information contact Vietnam War Vets Philly at [email protected] or 215-737-5700.

Thursday, March 3TOT RECREATION REGISTRATIONIts that time for Tot Recreation registration for Frank Glavin playground. $20 non refundable registration fee and a copy of the child’s birth certificate is required. This program is for 3-4 year olds.For more information call 215-685-9898.

SIXERS NEIGHBORHOOD BASKETBALL LEAGUEHancock Rec has more openings for players in their SNBL league held at Moffett Elementary School. For more in-formation please contact Coach Larry @215-685-9877, or come to Moffet to register on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-6PM.

TuesdaysFISHTOWN LIBRARY EVENTSSit with a PAWS therapy dog and read them a story. Chil-dren improve their reading and communication skills in a fun, non-judgmental environment. Open to all reading levels. The event takes place on Wednesday, January 27, February 10 and 24 at 4PM.For more information call the Library at 215-685-9990.

WednesdayPRESCHOOL STORYTIME AT RICHMOND LIBRARYThis program is intended for children ages 1-4 and their caregiver. Siblings are always welcome. Daycares should call for separate appointments. Richmond Branch of the Free Library, 2987 Almond Street.For further information call 215-685-9992.

CHILDREN’S THEATER ARTS Come grow, play and explore with the Portside Arts Cen-ter. Students will use their imaginations and learn acting skills like speech, movement, improvisation and character development through the use of theatre games, exercises and preparation for performance. Children will showcase their skills in a shared performance that will be presented at the end of the term. The class will be taught by Portside’s celebrity acting instructor Angela Goethals, an accom-plished film, television and stage actress who has appeared in films such as Home Alone and Jerry Maguire.For information and to register visit portsideartscenter.org.

DANCE PROGRAMMs. Jaclyn Scarborough will host hourly classes that take place on Tuesday evenings at 5:30PM for ages 3 and up. Also forming classes for 8 and older in jazz/Hip Hop from 7:30-8:30PM. Fee is $25 a month, with a $20 non-refund-able registration fee also required at sign up.

CIONE SIGNUPSChess Club – For beginner to advanced players of all ages. Meetings take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30-8PM.Arts and Crafts for Kids – Meetings for 5-12 years old. Arts and crafts have no cost and takes place every Wednes-day from 6-7PM.Zumba – Adult classes are on Fridays from 7:30-8:30PM, and the cost is $5 per class.Summer Day Camp – We will be holding registration for kids 5 to 12 starting on March 1. There will be a $100 non refundable Registration Fee. Camp runs from June 27 to August 19.For more information call 215-685-9880.

Wednesday, March 9SEPTA SENIOR PHOTO ID EVENTSEPTA is changing to a new fare system. It’s time to get a free SEPTA Key Senior ID card so you don’t have to use your driver’s license or other ID. A SEPTA representative will be at Taylor’s Port Richmond office to sign up seniors and issue them a new photo ID. The event will take place at Representative John Taylor’s office at 2901 E. Thomp-son St. from 9AM-3PM.For more information and to register, contact Taylor’s district office at 215-425-0901.

FREE ENGLISH & CITIZENSHIP CLASSESCan you or someone you know benefit from English as a Second Language (ESL) or Test for Citizenship Classes? The Richmond Library at 2987 Almond St. presents free English and citizenship classes. Tuesday and Thursdays from 6-7:30PM at the Richmond Library. For more information, call the Library at 215-685-9992.

WALKING CLUBThe Playgrounds and Rec Centers in Parks and Recreation District 2 are starting a Walking Club. Exercise as you wait at your child’s program. There is no cost to sign up, and the first 100 participants get a free t-shirt. Stop in and sign up at the Bridesburg Rec Center at 4601 Richmond St.For more information and to register, call the Center at 215-685-1247.


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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 24, 2016

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mixed-use projectW R I T T E N B Y G R A C E S H A L L O W

F I V E - S T O R Y M I X E D - U S E P R O J E C T I S C O M I N G T O S O U T H K E N S I N G T O N A T 1 2 2 2 N . 2 N D S T R E E T

According to a recent Curbed Philly article, a five-story mixed-use project is coming to South Kensington at 1222 N. 2nd Street. The building, designed by Harman Deutsch

Architecture and being developed by Blackstone Devel-opment, will have eight live-work spaces and commercial space on the first floor. The building will have 78 other apartments, each with their own balcony, and a green roof terrace on the fourth floor. The proposal also includes a parking garage with 50-plus car spaces and 29 bike spaces. This release of this proposal precedes the Civic Design Review’s meeting on March 1. The building must be re-zoned since the it is currently zoned as industrial. This is not the first mixed-use development Kensington is yet to see. Harman Deutsch Architecture also designed a 46-unit space named Techadelphia, located at 1525 American Street. Techadelphia, like the five-story development, will in-clude commercial space, apartments and a parking ga-rage along with space for single-family homes. Techadelphia was created as part of a mission to keep the city’s youth and their ideas in the area. “We want to be able to tell kids to stay here and build the city back,” developer Sean Frankel said to residents at a South Kensington Community Partners zoning meeting, according to Curbed Philly. They plan to do so by having startups pitch business ideas annually to Frankel and his partners, who want to give 40 scholarships to high-schoolers yearly. Entrepreneurs will also be able to rent the first floor workspace for free as a way to build on their innovations and ideas. ·

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 24, 2016