Saturday: A Free ‘Baby Goods eXchange’ in South Philly
Photo: Kris Eden
Whether you have a child, you’re expecting one, or you know someone who is, this is one event you’re going to want on your radar because times is tough—and kids are expensive.
This Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m, Baby Goods (& kids) eXchange (BGX) will be bringing its massive stockpile of gently used children’s clothes and gear to the Circle Thrift at the corner of Broad and Washington (1125 S. Broad St.) for a free swap open to all parents and caregivers.
Besides clothing for tots of all sizes, some of the many items up for grabs include baby carriers, tubs, strollers, high chairs, books, toys and perhaps best of all, maternity apparel. Snacks and bags will also be provided.
Although you don’t have to drop off any children’s stuff in order to come and pick up some new ones, if you do happen to have some stashed away, you should definitely consider donating it. Circle of Hope accepts donations every day during normal business hours at both its South Philly and Kensington (2233 Frankford Ave.) thrift store locations.
And if you can’t make it out this Saturday, be sure to follow BGX on Facebook, as they host monthly exchanges at various spots around the Philly area and in South Jersey.
Summer 2013: Morgan’s Pier Reopens Tonight
This just popped into our Inbox from the Morgan’s Pier team:
“We can’t believe it’s almost here! Our doors re-open TODAY at 4pm, and the kitchen fires up at 5, with some exciting new additions and some old summer favorites.
Dave P of Making Time will be kicking-off our entertainment season in a BIG way with a FREE DJ set of futuristic sounds for your ears from 10pm-2am! We’ve also got a weekend of incredible DJ’s lined up like Harvard Bass, Liv Spencer + Prince Language. See the full list here and click here to RSVP for FREE admission to this Friday & Saturday’s shows!
Keep the dance vibes going all summer with local DJs every weeknight, and DJs from across the globe every weekend—like Simian Mobile Disco, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and Dimitri From Paris.
Throughout the season, our buds over at R5 Productions are pulling out all the stops with FREE shows every Wednesday Night—including some heavy-hitters like Cold Cave, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and We Were Promised Jetpacks—from June 5th-August 28th.
DINING
This year, we’ll have a picnic menu, with all items around $10, that’s foodie, vegan, veggie, kid, omnivore—you name it—friendly. This menu is served in our Picnic Area. Although we won’t be taking reservations for this section, with 300 seats, there should be plenty of room for all.
In addition to the picnic options, there’s also a $30 fixed price menu, served exclusively in the elevated Dining Area. Space is limited so we encourage you to make your reservations here.
You can always find our upcoming events, specials and information at MorgansPier.com and for our nightly dinner specials & updates as they happen keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter. Can’t wait to see you at the Pier!
xoxo,
MP”
Man, oh man. We’d been checking in on the site to see what kind of shows and schedule they were booking, but we weren’t expecting this kind of fullness. Not gonna lie: In reading the hours of operation—and by that, we guess, they mainly mean when the kitchen’s open, not how late they’ll be serving drinks—it’s gonna be a service industry summer at the Pier. The picnic menu’s available from 5 to 11pm Sunday through Thursday and only 5 to 10pm on Friday and Saturday.
Things I can’t wait to put in my mouth from that menu: Smoky Party Wings; honey + chili glaze ($7.50), Blistered Shishito Peppers; ranch dressing + lemon wedge ($7.00), BBQ Pulled Mushroom Buns; house tofu + cucumber salad ($6.50), Really Good Fries; spicy salt + daily aioli (Side $3.00/Basket $7.00), Poached Lobster & Bibb; green goddess + brioche crumbs ($10.00), White Fish Salad Sammie; baby arugula + pickled red onion ($8.00), Slow Roasted Bacon Sammie; pickled cabbage + spicy mustard ($7.50).
Oh, and the talent. A handful of shows that made our eyes bug: a Classixx DJ set on Friday, June 14th ($5.00), a Cold Cave show a few days later on Wednesday, June 19th (free), then a Simian Mobile Disco DJ set on Saturday, the 22nd ($5.00), and OMG a Small Black free show on Wednesday, June 26th, and DAMN a James Murphy DJ set on the weekend of July 4th ($10.00) on Saturday night, the 6th). There’s obviously a ton more booked, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg and the tip that’s closest to May.
Check out this cool lil’ mini-short doc about DFA records to get excited for James Murphy to visit our little pier on Columbus Ave.
It’s a New Day: There’s an Openly Gay Man in the NBA
At this point, you may feel inundated with Jason Collins talk. The 34-year-old free agent came out in dramatic fashion with a Sports Illustrated cover story that hits stands next week. And last night it was everywhere: from CNN to Sportscenter to, in all likelihood, your local news broadcast. And not without reason —it’s a pretty huge moment in sports. As the first active male athlete in a professional sport (MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL) to come out of the closet publicly, he’s earned himself a spot in LGBT history. And while we don’t talk too much about athletics and professional sports here at PW Style, Collins’ case deserves a moment of reflection and praise. So, let’s go there.
Let’s start with some details about the man: He’s a Stanford alum, he grew up in California, and he played the first seven of his now 12-season career with the New Jersey Nets. He’s a center and thusly 7 feet tall and 255 pounds, and he isn’t shy about the fact that he’s doing something pretty profound right now. Here’s a significant snippet from the opening of his SI interview:
“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.
I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different.” If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
There have been significant figures in the glacial tide of equality in the NBA and elsewhere, and Collins is well aware that he’s able to make this kind of announcement without a real fear of physical or professional consequences. From Jon Wertheim’s Viewpoint piece:
“Barely five minutes into a wide-ranging, hours-long conversation, Collins expressed a debt of gratitude for the other athletes, gay and straight, who helped accelerate this climate change, as it were. If he is the trailblazer, a team of others cleared the brush. Martina Navratilova, who’s not only regarded as the first active athlete to come out but also did so at the peak of her career? John Amaechi, the NBA player who came out of the closet in 2007, four years after his NBA career ended? NFL players Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo, “straight allies,” who became gay rights advocates, especially within the last year? “The words thank you aren’t enough,” says Collins.”
So, that’s all nice and good—barriers broken, perhaps a taboo shattered and, for the most part, positive response. The NBA commish, David Stern, was interviewed with glowing and warm receptiveness. And then, of course, there were the tweets. But the fact that he got a congratulatory vote of confidence from the likes of the President Barack Obama (Michelle too!), Condi Rice, Chelsea Clinton (Stanford love) and Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (more Stanford love), his former roommate, is pretty wild, too.
But here’s the creepy part. After everyone’s done praising and congratulating him, the speculating starts. Yes, he’s a free agent with less-than-All-Star status—meaning, whether he gets signed for a new season and to a new team is uncertain. And some are going as far—way too far—as to suggest that this was a ploy for him to keep his career going. A media stunt. In fact, in this pretty annoying Philly Mag blog post by Gail Shister, she lays it out as plainly as she sees it: Collins can wave a homophobia flag if he doesn’t get signed, and any team that picks him up could be waving a pride flag as a cash grab. It’s sad, but it got that ugly that quickly.
It’s a fascinating aspect of this story. Nate Silver weighed in on pure probabilities on his NY Times blog and looked to statistics to figure out the likelihood of Collins getting signed as a modest performer, with his age, in all reality, being a detriment. He’s got about a 61 percent chance. And his reputation for being a physical player, a humble and modest team player less interested in scoring than getting teammates scoring, a player that comes off the bench and ropes in a significant amount of rebounds and blocks, could be the tipping point. If it gets him signed for a new season, and thus in the spotlight as an out player until his run as an NBA athlete loses steam, we’ll be cheering him on with ROYGBV facepaint wherever he lands.
Lastly, to add a little more heart warmth to this whole affair, Collins wears the number 98 in honor of the year in which Matthew Shepard was kidnapped and killed in Laramie, Wyoming. This is a big week for gay athletes.
Poetry Month Comes to a Close in Philadelphia with Two Big Bangs
The Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan spotlighted Philadelphia’s fluorishing local poetry culture via the excellent Apiary Magazine last week. From the piece itself: “Apiary’s first issue appeared in 2010. The magazine is Philly-centric but hardly parochial; 730 men, women, and children from all over the country submitted poetry and short fiction for the forthcoming Apiary 6.” And “Apiary, a print and online literary magazine as energetic and eclectic as the Philly poetry scene it nurtures.”
By the way, an apiary is, by Webster’s definition: “a place where bees are kept; especially a collection of hives or colonies of bees kept for their honey.” Just an FYI.
In a way, poetry’s never really been as sexy as it should be. It’s the art of words, an art form that dwells in ideas and nuance. And an intuitive and sensitive mind, one that cherishes the technicality of expression, doesn’t always lead to a well-attended and buzzworthy event. Poets have often been outsiders, too, writers who’ve known the burden of constant thought interpretation. The poetry reading and writers workshop has always been a haven of judgement-free safety. In the best way possible, the love of letters and expression of free literary thought has been a historic playground for freaks, outcasts, weirdos and philosophers.
With these two big events next week, there’s an opportunity to see just how diverse and lively Philly is as a poetry breeding ground. Apiary’s big on promoting poetry events in Philadelphia, and they’re pushing these two: the Philadelphia Poetry Grand Slam FINALS and the Philly Youth Poetry Movement Grand Slam FINALS. The more-adult Grand Slam Finals are on Friday night, May 3rd, at PhilaMOCA, but it’s still all ages; it’s at 8:30pm, and tickets are $8 in advance (and a little more at the door) and $15 for VIP. The young kids’ll be selling out the Art Museum (the Van Pelt Auditorium) with a quick 5:30pm door and 6pm sharp show time; tickets are $7 for students and the youth and $15 for adults. A special appearance is planned by the Swarthmore College Poetry Team, and last year over 400 people showed up for some slammin’.
Oh, and by the way, Apiary’s been highlighting local writers’ favorite poems all month, so I thought it’d be nice to share one of those here and now. This is Helen W. Mallon’s pick, a writer/writing coach/book reviewer, a(n excerpt from a) poem by Louise Erdrich called “Advice to Myself”:
“Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw out the cracked bowl and don’t patch the cup.
Don’t patch anything. Don’t mend. Buy safety pins.
Don’t even sew on a button.
Let the wind have its way, then the earth
that invades as dust and the the dead
foaming up in grey rolls underneath the couch.
Talk to them. Tell them they are welcome.
Don’t keep all the pieces of the puzzles
or the doll’s tiny shoes in pairs, don’t worry
who uses the toothbrush or if anything
matches, at all.
Except one word to another. Or a thought.
Pursue the authentic–decide first
what is authentic,
then go after it with all your heart.
Your heart, that place
you don’t even think of cleaning out.
That closet stuffed with savage mementos.
Don’t sort the paper clips from screws from saved baby teeth
or worry if we’re all eating cereal for dinner
again. Don’t answer the telephone, ever,
or weep over anything at all that breaks….“
Crush Balls In Cages Soon: Everybody Hits Philadelphia’s Opening Any Day Now
Exciting things are happening in this weird little pocket of Northern Liberties that, three years ago, I would have never imagined possible. At 529 W Girard Avenue, David Gavigan’s opening up a really cool new business called Everybody Hits – a humble batting cages enterprise for folks to go get some softball and baseball in their lives, all year round. We’re not breaking any stories here; Gavigan’s gotten love from Naked Philly, Hidden City and Philebrity, getting our mouths watering for the grand opening. And he’s so so close to opening up his doors for the greater good of Philadelphia. He’s just waiting on the city. It make take a few more minutes.
There’s nothing quite like getting in that batter’s box, making contact and sending that fat golf ball flying. Yeah, there’s everything from slow pitch softball to 75 mph baseball. And even if you don’t play on a slow pitch softball team, you might want to start here and get some good contact goin’. Even when it’s meatballed to you, it takes a few pitches to get your eyes and your arms talkin’. If you’ve been waiting for this convenience to come closer to Philly, and plenty are waiting impatient because the closest cages to Center City are a solid 15-minute DRIVE, get pumped. Forget tryin’ to public transit it out there. Now loads of Philadelphians can walk, bus, and bike to some indoor athletic leisure times.
Alright, some nitty gritty: food and drink, hours, prices and rates. Food’s going to be on the minimum but he’s got a handful of picnic tables and the concession’ll keep it to dry goods and soft drinks; pretzels, gum, popcorny stuff and non-alcoholic beverages. Of course, if and when you rent out the place, you can do whatever you want as long as you act like an adult human being. One round of 16 pitches is $2.25; 5 rounds is $10; a 30-minute rental in one cage is $35 and an hour’s $60; an hour of all three cages, and essentially the whole place, is $125. On weekdays, he’ll open doors from 3p-8p with longer hours on the weekend, opening at noon with lights out at 8p. However, being on a team himself, Gavigan’s looking forward to working with teams all over the area, extending hours for facility rentouts earlier and later than hours – get a team together and you can rent any weekday from 9a-noon and on the weekends from 8-10p. Schedule four hours and you get an hour for free.
But you know what? The sky’s the limit with this space. Wanna throw a big ole’ baseball party? Rent it out, get a keg, order a dozen pizza pies, screen some Phillies and don’t get hit by a pitching machine (helmets required for everything faster than slow pitch softball hitting). I’d go to that party. Think about all the cute dates you can go on here, or birthday parties you can have for your kid. The space is all ages, so during business hours, if the space isn’t rented, you can expect family friendliness all the way. Can’t wait to start crushing balls here all summer and hitting up the area attractions that aren’t far, either: Borderline Records, the impending Third Ward, shoot, maybe we’ll work up a sweat and go for a swim at the pool on 321 Fairmount and get a beer at North Third. Gavigan’s single-handedly making Summer 2013 a little more awesome.
Break It Down: Michael Byrne Of ActionAIDS On Thursday’s Dining Out For Life
Even though he and his team are busy coordinating over 150 restaurants in the Delaware Valley, ActionAIDS’s development director, Michael Byrne, took a few minutes to give us some specifics about Dining Out For Life and how it works. Suffice it to say, on Thursday night, you have options. You can make a simple, philanthropic effort by simpling going out to eat at any number of restaurants, many of which you probably already love. This is the easiest way to give back to a community in need, and to support your local businesses doing good by being a willing participant. Here’s how it works.
PW: Can you give us the breakdown of what Dining Out For Life is all about?
Byrne: Dining Out for Life was created by an ActionAIDS volunteer 23 years ago. Twenty years ago, ActionAIDS sold the trademark for Dining Out for Life to Dining Out for Life International for $1. The event now takes place in over 60 cities across North America.
Money raised in any particular region stays in that region. All funds raised in Delaware Valley are used for HIV/AIDS services. Funds benefit HIV and AIDS services at ActionAIDS, AIDS Delaware, Family and Community Service of Delaware County, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA.
On one special day (the last Thursday in April), restaurants across the region donate 33 percent of their food sales for the day to much-needed services for thousands of men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS in the Delaware Valley.
We begin prospecting each year in October, but any restaurant that would like to participate can simply reach out to ActionAIDS at any time of the year, and we will make sure they are contacted and signed on to our great list.
So, ActionAIDS is the driving force behind Dining Out?
ActionAIDS created the event and has one of the larger, more successful Dining Out for Life events. As the founding organization, we have a permanent seat on the Dining Out for Life International Board of Directors.
What’s the financial breakdown? Where does the raised money go?
All funds are contractually obligated to be spent on HIV/AIDS services. Last year, we raised $245,000 in the Delaware Valley and over $4 million across North America, but funds raised in other cities stay in those cities benefiting their citizens living with HIV/AIDS.
Personally, what do you think is cool about the Dining Out campaign?
It would be another 10 years before I started working at ActionAIDS, but it was my favorite fundraiser that very first year 23 years ago. I thought it was a FABULOUS idea. Who doesn’t love to go out to eat? My friends and I jumped at the chance and had a great meal at Judy’s Cafe. It was packed, and you could feel love in the air. That feeling has not changed, in my heart, or in the restaurants that night. Everyone is out to make a difference . It is magical!
Shop to Support The Friends of 4th Street This Wednesday
As you probably recall, back on April 6, a devastating fire broke out at 4th and Fitzwater streets along Fabric Row, destroying two businesses, leaving 17 people homeless and killing Fire Captain Michael Goodwin.
Almost immediately, the community rallied together to create the Friends of 4th Street Fire Relief Fund, which has already raised nearly $7,000 to benefit those directly affected by the blaze.
To edge them closer to their $15,000 goal, this Wednesday, over 60 sponsoring businesses throughout the South Street/Headhouse and Queen Village neighborhoods, along with a few in Old City and NoLibs, will be taking part in a special, daylong benefit event, donating 10-20 percent of their sales to the fund as well as proceeds from raffles and cover charges.
The long list of participating merchants include American Mortals Hair Salon, Philly AIDS Thrift, Sweet Box, Urban Princess Boutique, Paper Moon, Old City Tattoo, Pet Snobs Boutique, Royal Tavern, P.O.P.E, and BUS STOP Boutique.
After you shop, eat, get your hair did and/or get a new tatty, you can also enjoy some live entertainment for a good cause:
South Street Magic – Super awesome magic show starring Dan Hauss and Captain Swirly. (7pm, $10. 519 S. Fourth St.)
Tattooed Mom’s – DJ Foxx Boogie, $3 dollar burgers and veggie burgers, $2 dollar Narragansett tall boys, half priced drafts from 10-11pm, and tons of raffle prizes, including art donated by Qcknd, Harlequinade, Kid Hazo, Linx, and Joe Boruchow. (8-11pm, Free. 530 South St.)
DOBBS – Raffle prizes all night long and live music from Slo N’ Shakey, The Sideshow Prophets and Atomic Sky. (8pm-1am, $5. 304 South St.)
If you can’t make it out on Wednesday, be sure to make your way over to Fourth Street for their Fourth Friday events.